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DPMC Moderators: thegreenhand | tryptakid
The Mega Merged Drug Busts Thread
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Edge80
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Dangerous Synthetic Drug Lab Found
Dangerous Synthetic Drug Lab Found
Hazmat, police, and fire crews spent the night on the scene of a dangerous synthetic drug lab in a Williamsburg home.
Police say they now have suspects in the case.
Neighbors say some new people had just moved in the house a couple of days ago to find what old tenants had left behind.
It was a scary night if you were a resident on Sixth Street in Williamsburg. Hazmat Task Force 11 spent nine hours breaking down a lab capable of producing heroin and pcp.
Officials say chemicals they found Wednesday night were so dangerous that if the situation was not handled properly someone could have been killed.
Brian Ream is with the Division of Publice Safety and said, "When you start dealing with chemicals that take grams, we're talking 10 grams to be very lethal and very deadly then it's a lot worse situation than we deal with on a meth production laboratory."
Police say meth labs are becoming more popular in eastern Kentucky and although meth labs and these synthetic drug labs have a lot of the same characteristics, synthetic labs have a few more dangerous chemicals.
There was 12 different chemicals that were discovered and the difference in some of these chemicals than what we have in meth labs is they're a lot more lethal and it takes very little of them on your skin to really cause a problem.
Neighbors say meth lab or chemical lab last night was still a scary situation.
When you start smelling chemical and you start smelling scent that shouldn't be there it's time to retreat from the area. Go to your local law enforcement or emergency management team.
Reams says the situation was handled properly and nobody was injured. Arrests are still pending in the case.
Link
Dangerous Synthetic Drug Lab Found
Hazmat, police, and fire crews spent the night on the scene of a dangerous synthetic drug lab in a Williamsburg home.
Police say they now have suspects in the case.
Neighbors say some new people had just moved in the house a couple of days ago to find what old tenants had left behind.
It was a scary night if you were a resident on Sixth Street in Williamsburg. Hazmat Task Force 11 spent nine hours breaking down a lab capable of producing heroin and pcp.
Officials say chemicals they found Wednesday night were so dangerous that if the situation was not handled properly someone could have been killed.
Brian Ream is with the Division of Publice Safety and said, "When you start dealing with chemicals that take grams, we're talking 10 grams to be very lethal and very deadly then it's a lot worse situation than we deal with on a meth production laboratory."
Police say meth labs are becoming more popular in eastern Kentucky and although meth labs and these synthetic drug labs have a lot of the same characteristics, synthetic labs have a few more dangerous chemicals.
There was 12 different chemicals that were discovered and the difference in some of these chemicals than what we have in meth labs is they're a lot more lethal and it takes very little of them on your skin to really cause a problem.
Neighbors say meth lab or chemical lab last night was still a scary situation.
When you start smelling chemical and you start smelling scent that shouldn't be there it's time to retreat from the area. Go to your local law enforcement or emergency management team.
Reams says the situation was handled properly and nobody was injured. Arrests are still pending in the case.
Link
E-llusion
Bluelight Crew
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- Nov 3, 2002
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Controversy swirls in major pot bust
Jul,02/04
Stories now differ as to how 4,000 marijuana plants were discovered by authorities
By Paul T. Rosynsky and Robert Gammon
OAKLAND -- Controversy and confusion surrounding the largest pot bust in city history continued Thursday as federal agents filed criminal complaints against four Bay Area residents while the defendants' relatives and medical marijuana advocates insisted the arrests were bogus.
Conflicts between the California Highway Patrol and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration also surfaced as each agency gave differing accounts of how almost 4,000 marijuana plants were discovered in a West Oakland warehouse.
CHP officials insisted the huge marijuana bust was the result of a routine traffic stop that led them to the nearby warehouse. But in a sworn federal complaint filed Thursday, the Drug Enforcement Administration said the raid was made during a CHP stakeout/canine training exercise in the same block as the growing operation.
Regardless, the bust brought the arrests of four people: Jesse Nieblas, 31, of Alameda; Jacek Mroz, 26, of San Leandro; Heleno Araujo, 32, of Concord; and Celeste Angello, 28, of Santa Clara.
Because the CHP called in federal agents instead of other local law enforcement agencies to investigate the case, the four defendants face federal minimum prison sentences of 10 years, along with $4 million fines.
Also being investigated is Thomas Grossi, 59, owner of the warehouse at 2638 Market St. CHP investigators searched Grossi's Pleasant Hill pawnbroker business and his Lafayette home.
Grossi, who once owned a pawn shop next door to medical marijuana clubs in Oakland's "Oaksterdam" neighborhood, said in the past he supports both the clubs and medical marijuana laws.
He was convicted nine years ago of selling an ounce of cocaine to an undercover informant and offering to sell marijuana, court records show. He served three years of probation.
CHP Lt. Rob Patrick said investigators found legal pistols and long shotguns in the Pleasant Hill and Lafayette searches. Another search at Nieblas' house found "a small amount of pot," he said.
Although Patrick said "there is no indication whatsoever (the marijuana) was going to be used for medical purposes," advocates for its medical use, those arrested and their relatives said otherwise.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration complaint, Nieblas said during an interrogation "he had a legal right" to distribute the pot. And Angello told agents "she was previously employed by the Compassionate Caregivers Club," a medical marijuana dispensary.
In addition, Elizabeth Mroz, sister of Jacek Mroz, told the Tribune her brother was working with medical marijuana and was "authorized" to do so.
"... If CHP would have done a little bit more investigation, they could have worked this out," said Angel McClary Raich, a medical marijuana advocate who is now battling U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and the Bush administration in the U.S. Supreme Court over the federal government's campaign against medical marijuana. "I think the CHP made some errors by jumping the gun and calling the DEA right away."
Oakland Police Chief Richard Word, whose officers played only a minor role in the raid, said his department's protocol requires a measured approach when officers find a marijuana-growing operation.
"We basically take a go-slow, call a commander and investigate," Word said. "I'm not quite sure why (the CHP) called the DEA."
Word, however, acknowledged the magnitude of the West Oakland growing operation raises suspicions that not all of the cannabis may have been intended for medicinal purposes.
City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente (Fruitvale-Glenview), who has made no secret of his distaste for the growth of medical marijuana clubs in Oakland, said he is "happy the Highway Patrol and the DEA" were involved in the case.
De La Fuente disputed claims the warehouse had the blessings of the city, as some medical marijuana advocates contend. The growers, according to De La Fuente and the CHP, did not have the proper documents as required by city law.
Under Oakland's medical marijuana ordinance, a growing collective may have up to 72 indoor plants for every patient it supplies and must have documentation to prove it. The law is silent, however, on where that marijuana can be grown.
But in this case, Oakland's ordinance is meaningless because the CHP called in the federal government, which contends marijuana is illegal regardless of its intended use.
Raich said she believes the Drug Enforcement Administration targeted the West Oakland operation as part of its campaign against medicinal marijuana. Administration spokesman Richard Meyer said he "could neither confirm nor deny" allegations the agency knew of the grow before Wednesday's bust.
According to the agency's version of events laid out in a seven-page affidavit by special agent Adam Zirkelbach, the CHP told him it had received "numerous complaints from neighborhood residents of a strong odor of marijuana" from the warehouse in the weeks before the bust.
The CHP then decided to conduct a canine training operation in the same block as the warehouse Wednesday, the affidavit said. After a CHP sergeant smelled pot coming from the building during the exercise, officers set up surveillance.
That's when the CHP saw a white truck leave the warehouse and make an "unsafe lane change," the affidavit said. Nieblas was driving the truck and told officers he was delivering "cafe supplies." He allowed officers to search the back, where they later discovered 503 small marijuana plants, according to the affidavit.
CHP Lt. Rob Patrick, however, disputed the Drug Enforcement Agency's version of events, calling it "not accurate."
"Apparently, somewhere there was a miscommunication," he said.
Patrick maintained the bust was serendipitous -- a result of a simple traffic stop by an alert patrol officer. "We had no prior knowledge," Patrick said.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration affidavit, CHP officers nabbed Mroz as he was driving his Ford Mustang from the warehouse. Officers said they caught Araujo and Angello running from the scene.
Patrick said the fact they ran away was a tell-tale sign the operation was illegal. While admitting running away may not have been a smart move, Raich argued the growers were probably scared they were being chased by the CHP, not Oakland police, who must abide by the city's medical pot law.
tag: Staff writers Kristin Bender, Laura Counts and Sean Holstege contributed to this report.
Link
Jul,02/04
Stories now differ as to how 4,000 marijuana plants were discovered by authorities
By Paul T. Rosynsky and Robert Gammon
OAKLAND -- Controversy and confusion surrounding the largest pot bust in city history continued Thursday as federal agents filed criminal complaints against four Bay Area residents while the defendants' relatives and medical marijuana advocates insisted the arrests were bogus.
Conflicts between the California Highway Patrol and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration also surfaced as each agency gave differing accounts of how almost 4,000 marijuana plants were discovered in a West Oakland warehouse.
CHP officials insisted the huge marijuana bust was the result of a routine traffic stop that led them to the nearby warehouse. But in a sworn federal complaint filed Thursday, the Drug Enforcement Administration said the raid was made during a CHP stakeout/canine training exercise in the same block as the growing operation.
Regardless, the bust brought the arrests of four people: Jesse Nieblas, 31, of Alameda; Jacek Mroz, 26, of San Leandro; Heleno Araujo, 32, of Concord; and Celeste Angello, 28, of Santa Clara.
Because the CHP called in federal agents instead of other local law enforcement agencies to investigate the case, the four defendants face federal minimum prison sentences of 10 years, along with $4 million fines.
Also being investigated is Thomas Grossi, 59, owner of the warehouse at 2638 Market St. CHP investigators searched Grossi's Pleasant Hill pawnbroker business and his Lafayette home.
Grossi, who once owned a pawn shop next door to medical marijuana clubs in Oakland's "Oaksterdam" neighborhood, said in the past he supports both the clubs and medical marijuana laws.
He was convicted nine years ago of selling an ounce of cocaine to an undercover informant and offering to sell marijuana, court records show. He served three years of probation.
CHP Lt. Rob Patrick said investigators found legal pistols and long shotguns in the Pleasant Hill and Lafayette searches. Another search at Nieblas' house found "a small amount of pot," he said.
Although Patrick said "there is no indication whatsoever (the marijuana) was going to be used for medical purposes," advocates for its medical use, those arrested and their relatives said otherwise.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration complaint, Nieblas said during an interrogation "he had a legal right" to distribute the pot. And Angello told agents "she was previously employed by the Compassionate Caregivers Club," a medical marijuana dispensary.
In addition, Elizabeth Mroz, sister of Jacek Mroz, told the Tribune her brother was working with medical marijuana and was "authorized" to do so.
"... If CHP would have done a little bit more investigation, they could have worked this out," said Angel McClary Raich, a medical marijuana advocate who is now battling U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and the Bush administration in the U.S. Supreme Court over the federal government's campaign against medical marijuana. "I think the CHP made some errors by jumping the gun and calling the DEA right away."
Oakland Police Chief Richard Word, whose officers played only a minor role in the raid, said his department's protocol requires a measured approach when officers find a marijuana-growing operation.
"We basically take a go-slow, call a commander and investigate," Word said. "I'm not quite sure why (the CHP) called the DEA."
Word, however, acknowledged the magnitude of the West Oakland growing operation raises suspicions that not all of the cannabis may have been intended for medicinal purposes.
City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente (Fruitvale-Glenview), who has made no secret of his distaste for the growth of medical marijuana clubs in Oakland, said he is "happy the Highway Patrol and the DEA" were involved in the case.
De La Fuente disputed claims the warehouse had the blessings of the city, as some medical marijuana advocates contend. The growers, according to De La Fuente and the CHP, did not have the proper documents as required by city law.
Under Oakland's medical marijuana ordinance, a growing collective may have up to 72 indoor plants for every patient it supplies and must have documentation to prove it. The law is silent, however, on where that marijuana can be grown.
But in this case, Oakland's ordinance is meaningless because the CHP called in the federal government, which contends marijuana is illegal regardless of its intended use.
Raich said she believes the Drug Enforcement Administration targeted the West Oakland operation as part of its campaign against medicinal marijuana. Administration spokesman Richard Meyer said he "could neither confirm nor deny" allegations the agency knew of the grow before Wednesday's bust.
According to the agency's version of events laid out in a seven-page affidavit by special agent Adam Zirkelbach, the CHP told him it had received "numerous complaints from neighborhood residents of a strong odor of marijuana" from the warehouse in the weeks before the bust.
The CHP then decided to conduct a canine training operation in the same block as the warehouse Wednesday, the affidavit said. After a CHP sergeant smelled pot coming from the building during the exercise, officers set up surveillance.
That's when the CHP saw a white truck leave the warehouse and make an "unsafe lane change," the affidavit said. Nieblas was driving the truck and told officers he was delivering "cafe supplies." He allowed officers to search the back, where they later discovered 503 small marijuana plants, according to the affidavit.
CHP Lt. Rob Patrick, however, disputed the Drug Enforcement Agency's version of events, calling it "not accurate."
"Apparently, somewhere there was a miscommunication," he said.
Patrick maintained the bust was serendipitous -- a result of a simple traffic stop by an alert patrol officer. "We had no prior knowledge," Patrick said.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration affidavit, CHP officers nabbed Mroz as he was driving his Ford Mustang from the warehouse. Officers said they caught Araujo and Angello running from the scene.
Patrick said the fact they ran away was a tell-tale sign the operation was illegal. While admitting running away may not have been a smart move, Raich argued the growers were probably scared they were being chased by the CHP, not Oakland police, who must abide by the city's medical pot law.
tag: Staff writers Kristin Bender, Laura Counts and Sean Holstege contributed to this report.
Link
E-llusion
Bluelight Crew
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- Nov 3, 2002
- Messages
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'I hope you rot in hell' son tells father
'I hope you rot in hell' son tells father
Jul 2 2004
By Court Reporter
A FATHER was told to "rot in hell" by the son he betrayed as they were both jailed for 20 years for their roles in a massive cocaine dealing plot.
Martin Williams, 60, tipped off his underworld contacts to rob son Shane, 36, of £4.5m worth of the drug so they could sell it themselves.
Father and son sat together in the dock of the Old Bailey as they and four associates were given a total of 126 years in jail.
And the son spat out the insult as he was led from the dock.
Martin Williams told his underworld associates about the stash of nearly 79 kilos for a cut of the proceeds.
Shane Williams was zapped with 100,000 volts from a stun gun and then trussed up with cable ties during the "perfect robbery" of 79 kilos of top-quality cocaine in Sanderstead on May 29 last year.
But Flying Squad officers had been watching the gang for days and arrested them as they fled with the drugs.
Along with members of elite firearms unit S019, the officers moved in to apprehend the gang as they sped away.
Special Hatton rounds - large wax and metal powder bullets that disinte-grate on impact - were fired into the wheels of a Mitsubishi Gallant to puncture the tyres.
Other armed detectives entered the house of drug dealer Nicholas Smith in Clyde Avenue, Sanderstead.
They found Shane Williams standing in the conservatory.
Williams was arrested for drugs offences and told officers: "What are you on about?
"I have only just turned up here to see my mate. He is the godfather of my new-born kid."
Sallie Bennett-Jenkins, prosecuting, had told the jury on Tuesday: "You may think this was a perfect robbery, a victimless robbery, because would drugs dealers complain to police of being robbed of a large quantity of drugs? You may think not."
She said Martin Williams, of Thornhill Road, Warden Bay, Isle of Sheppey, was motivated by greed when he acted as the link man to tip off the gang about the drugs haul.
Of the other robbers, William Parker, 45, of Green Wrythe Lane, Carshalton, got 23 years.
His father-in-law Raymond Dyson, 57 of Shrublands Avenue, Shirley, was given 18 years after being found guilty of conspiracy to rob and conspiracy to supply cocaine.
John Walton, 47, of Maxwell Close, Valley Park, Croydon, was found guilty of conspiracy to rob and conspiracy to supply cocaine and given a life sentence.
He was on parole from a 13-year sentence for the armed robbery of a Coulsdon post office when the offence happened, the court heard.
Dyson and Walton were also found guilty of possession of a firearm, the 100,000 volt stun gun, but Parker was found not guilty.
Smith, 36, of Clyde Avenue, who was battered over the head with a crowbar during the robbery, was found guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine and was jailed for 20 years.
Shane Williams of Thornhill Road, Warden Bay, Isle of Sheppey, Kent, was also found guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine.
As the men were led away their families in the public gallery hurled obscenities at the judge and the jurors who had come to court to see them sentenced.
One woman screamed: "You have given a family a life sentence. I've got to go back to my five kids now."
LInk
'I hope you rot in hell' son tells father
Jul 2 2004
By Court Reporter
A FATHER was told to "rot in hell" by the son he betrayed as they were both jailed for 20 years for their roles in a massive cocaine dealing plot.
Martin Williams, 60, tipped off his underworld contacts to rob son Shane, 36, of £4.5m worth of the drug so they could sell it themselves.
Father and son sat together in the dock of the Old Bailey as they and four associates were given a total of 126 years in jail.
And the son spat out the insult as he was led from the dock.
Martin Williams told his underworld associates about the stash of nearly 79 kilos for a cut of the proceeds.
Shane Williams was zapped with 100,000 volts from a stun gun and then trussed up with cable ties during the "perfect robbery" of 79 kilos of top-quality cocaine in Sanderstead on May 29 last year.
But Flying Squad officers had been watching the gang for days and arrested them as they fled with the drugs.
Along with members of elite firearms unit S019, the officers moved in to apprehend the gang as they sped away.
Special Hatton rounds - large wax and metal powder bullets that disinte-grate on impact - were fired into the wheels of a Mitsubishi Gallant to puncture the tyres.
Other armed detectives entered the house of drug dealer Nicholas Smith in Clyde Avenue, Sanderstead.
They found Shane Williams standing in the conservatory.
Williams was arrested for drugs offences and told officers: "What are you on about?
"I have only just turned up here to see my mate. He is the godfather of my new-born kid."
Sallie Bennett-Jenkins, prosecuting, had told the jury on Tuesday: "You may think this was a perfect robbery, a victimless robbery, because would drugs dealers complain to police of being robbed of a large quantity of drugs? You may think not."
She said Martin Williams, of Thornhill Road, Warden Bay, Isle of Sheppey, was motivated by greed when he acted as the link man to tip off the gang about the drugs haul.
Of the other robbers, William Parker, 45, of Green Wrythe Lane, Carshalton, got 23 years.
His father-in-law Raymond Dyson, 57 of Shrublands Avenue, Shirley, was given 18 years after being found guilty of conspiracy to rob and conspiracy to supply cocaine.
John Walton, 47, of Maxwell Close, Valley Park, Croydon, was found guilty of conspiracy to rob and conspiracy to supply cocaine and given a life sentence.
He was on parole from a 13-year sentence for the armed robbery of a Coulsdon post office when the offence happened, the court heard.
Dyson and Walton were also found guilty of possession of a firearm, the 100,000 volt stun gun, but Parker was found not guilty.
Smith, 36, of Clyde Avenue, who was battered over the head with a crowbar during the robbery, was found guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine and was jailed for 20 years.
Shane Williams of Thornhill Road, Warden Bay, Isle of Sheppey, Kent, was also found guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine.
As the men were led away their families in the public gallery hurled obscenities at the judge and the jurors who had come to court to see them sentenced.
One woman screamed: "You have given a family a life sentence. I've got to go back to my five kids now."
LInk
Edge80
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2004
- Messages
- 949
Man caught trafficking 15 pounds of cocaine
Man caught trafficking 15 pounds of cocaine
By Royal M Hopper III The Orange Leader
Leader photo by Sally Hamilton Orange County Sheriff's Office John Tarver stands next to the 15 pounds of cocaine and the three gallons of liquid codeine seized by deputies with the office's special services division Wednesday. The drugs had a total value of around $350,000.
A man Orange County deputies caught with 15 pounds of high-grade cocaine and more than three gallons of liquid codeine is in federal custody today. If convicted, the man could face 20 years to life in prison.
"I would like to say we are making an impact with this arrest today," said Orange County Chief Deputy John Tarver.
Henry Michael Jefferson, 27, of Jonesville, La., was arrested Wednesday on charges of aggravated possession of controlled substances and fleeing the police in a vehicle, a third-degree felony.
Orange County Sheriff's Sgt. Joel Stinnet and Tracey Sorge with the office's special services division stopped a 2004 Ford pick up truck on Interstate 10 near mile marker 873 at 12:02 p.m. Wednesday. The truck had no license plates and no dealer's tags when it was stopped.
"The truck was purchased June 13 and had more than 26,000 miles on it," Tarver said.
During the interview, deputies became suspicious and asked for permission to search the truck Stinnet said. When the man refused, deputies called for a drug sniffing dog to be sent to the scene to detect drugs in the car so they could legally search it.
Before the canine unit arrived, the man got back in his truckl and tried to escape custody by driving east on I-10 toward Louisiana. During the pursuit, the truck hit another car that was not involved in the stop, causing serious damage to both vehicles. The truck left I-10 at the 16th Street off ramp and was traveling down the feeder road when the engine experienced mechanical difficulties due to the damage caused to his truck during the accident.
He ran from the truck carrying a black duffle bag but was caught and arrested by deputies on the scene. Deputies found seven 1 kilo, or 2.2 pound, bricks of powder cocaine in the duffle bag and 24 one-pint bottles of commercially packaged liquid codeine in the truck.
The cocaine was wrapped in cellophane and blue painters masking tape, and the codeine was purple and unopened. Officers said it may have come directly from a factory or pharmacy. Tarver said it was impossible to tell exactly where the drugs came from, or where they were going but it was believed they were coming from Houston and headed east perhaps into Louisiana.
I-10 is a "pipeline" for drugs moving between major metropolitan areas and more than $600,000 worth of narcotics have been taken off the Interstate this year.
This seizure has a total street value of $350,000. Tarver said while 15 pounds of cocaine was not a record seizure for the office it was significant, and the three gallons of codeine seized likely was a record amount.
"Three gallons is a lot of codeine," Tarver said.
One rock of crack cocaine is about one half gram. There are 28 grams in an ounce and 16 ounces in a pound Stinnet said.
Essentially prescription cough syrup codeine is sometimes mixed with carbonated beverages and sipped like a soft drink by users. It is usually smuggled in soft drink or Gatorade containers because it is usually dyed bright colors like purple or red. Tarver said the codeine could have originated anywhere in the United States or Canada and could have been bought or stolen from a pharmacy or manufacturer
LINK
Man caught trafficking 15 pounds of cocaine
By Royal M Hopper III The Orange Leader
Leader photo by Sally Hamilton Orange County Sheriff's Office John Tarver stands next to the 15 pounds of cocaine and the three gallons of liquid codeine seized by deputies with the office's special services division Wednesday. The drugs had a total value of around $350,000.
A man Orange County deputies caught with 15 pounds of high-grade cocaine and more than three gallons of liquid codeine is in federal custody today. If convicted, the man could face 20 years to life in prison.
"I would like to say we are making an impact with this arrest today," said Orange County Chief Deputy John Tarver.
Henry Michael Jefferson, 27, of Jonesville, La., was arrested Wednesday on charges of aggravated possession of controlled substances and fleeing the police in a vehicle, a third-degree felony.
Orange County Sheriff's Sgt. Joel Stinnet and Tracey Sorge with the office's special services division stopped a 2004 Ford pick up truck on Interstate 10 near mile marker 873 at 12:02 p.m. Wednesday. The truck had no license plates and no dealer's tags when it was stopped.
"The truck was purchased June 13 and had more than 26,000 miles on it," Tarver said.
During the interview, deputies became suspicious and asked for permission to search the truck Stinnet said. When the man refused, deputies called for a drug sniffing dog to be sent to the scene to detect drugs in the car so they could legally search it.
Before the canine unit arrived, the man got back in his truckl and tried to escape custody by driving east on I-10 toward Louisiana. During the pursuit, the truck hit another car that was not involved in the stop, causing serious damage to both vehicles. The truck left I-10 at the 16th Street off ramp and was traveling down the feeder road when the engine experienced mechanical difficulties due to the damage caused to his truck during the accident.
He ran from the truck carrying a black duffle bag but was caught and arrested by deputies on the scene. Deputies found seven 1 kilo, or 2.2 pound, bricks of powder cocaine in the duffle bag and 24 one-pint bottles of commercially packaged liquid codeine in the truck.
The cocaine was wrapped in cellophane and blue painters masking tape, and the codeine was purple and unopened. Officers said it may have come directly from a factory or pharmacy. Tarver said it was impossible to tell exactly where the drugs came from, or where they were going but it was believed they were coming from Houston and headed east perhaps into Louisiana.
I-10 is a "pipeline" for drugs moving between major metropolitan areas and more than $600,000 worth of narcotics have been taken off the Interstate this year.
This seizure has a total street value of $350,000. Tarver said while 15 pounds of cocaine was not a record seizure for the office it was significant, and the three gallons of codeine seized likely was a record amount.
"Three gallons is a lot of codeine," Tarver said.
One rock of crack cocaine is about one half gram. There are 28 grams in an ounce and 16 ounces in a pound Stinnet said.
Essentially prescription cough syrup codeine is sometimes mixed with carbonated beverages and sipped like a soft drink by users. It is usually smuggled in soft drink or Gatorade containers because it is usually dyed bright colors like purple or red. Tarver said the codeine could have originated anywhere in the United States or Canada and could have been bought or stolen from a pharmacy or manufacturer
LINK
Sex drug seized in sweet shop
Sex drug seized in sweet shop
Tele's tip-off leads to major haul
By Sarah Brett, Belfast Telegraph
03 July 2004
A MAJOR haul of Viagra-type drugs in tablet and gel form were found hidden among sweets when police raided a Londonderry sweet shop, the Belfast Telegraph can reveal today.
In response to a tip-off from this newspaper, the raid was the first of its kind in the city, and the first seizure of the impotency drug in its gel form in Northern Ireland.
The raid was conducted by police and Department of Health officers. Police also seized hardcore pornography and 'poppers'.
Police said the drugs were found hidden in a sweet box in a newsagency/sweet shop in John Street.
Known as Kamagra, the drug is thought to contain similar ingredients to Viagra and have a similar effect on the user.
The Department of Health officials on the raid described the gel find as "significant and unique".
Over 40 sachets of Kamagra gel, 27 Kamagra tablets, 62 bottles of amyl nitrate or 'poppers', 33 DVDs and 26 videos of hardcore pornography and about £800 of other goods were seized yesterday.
A seven-man unit from the PSNI Crime Team in Derry and two representatives from the Department of Health entered the shop shortly after midday with a search warrant.
"It was a planned search operation", said Inspector Stephen Cargin.
"We were acting on information that Viagra, or drugs like it, were being sold from the premises."
Police had been working on the case for several weeks prior to the raid.
Where prescription drugs are involved, it is also the remit of the Department of Health to investigate.
While police had no powers of arrest under the Medicines Act, a person was questioned at the scene and offered an interview.
"It was an excellent result for all of us," Inspector Cargin said. "But it is also extremely concerning that this stuff is available in a retail outlet in the city centre.
"This is a sweet shop and newsagents - we found some of the Kamagra in a box of Rainbow Drops.
"Our real concern is for juveniles here, parents should be aware how dangerous drugs like Kamagra can be in an uncontrolled environment.
"Our job is made a lot easier when the public give us information. We would encourage them to continue supporting us in making Derry a safer city."
Department of Health Chief Medicines Inspector Tom Scott said the haul was equivalent to the largest seizure he had ever made from a retailer in the province.
"We have found both the tablet and gel form of this drug, both of which are prescribed medicines.
"This is the first time in Northern Ireland the gel form has been seized."
The drugs found were in 100mg single doses - the strongest available.
Mr Scott warned that users could be putting their lives at risk.
"Our main concern is the public safety angle. These are products which are of doubtful providence and the quality is unproven.
"Anyone with a coronary condition who takes these drugs is taking a serious risk.
"The drugs will now be sent to England for analysis and the department will decide the appropriate action, which is more than likely, in this case, to be a prosecution under the Medicines Act 1968," Mr Scott added.
Link
Sex drug seized in sweet shop
Tele's tip-off leads to major haul
By Sarah Brett, Belfast Telegraph
03 July 2004
A MAJOR haul of Viagra-type drugs in tablet and gel form were found hidden among sweets when police raided a Londonderry sweet shop, the Belfast Telegraph can reveal today.
In response to a tip-off from this newspaper, the raid was the first of its kind in the city, and the first seizure of the impotency drug in its gel form in Northern Ireland.
The raid was conducted by police and Department of Health officers. Police also seized hardcore pornography and 'poppers'.
Police said the drugs were found hidden in a sweet box in a newsagency/sweet shop in John Street.
Known as Kamagra, the drug is thought to contain similar ingredients to Viagra and have a similar effect on the user.
The Department of Health officials on the raid described the gel find as "significant and unique".
Over 40 sachets of Kamagra gel, 27 Kamagra tablets, 62 bottles of amyl nitrate or 'poppers', 33 DVDs and 26 videos of hardcore pornography and about £800 of other goods were seized yesterday.
A seven-man unit from the PSNI Crime Team in Derry and two representatives from the Department of Health entered the shop shortly after midday with a search warrant.
"It was a planned search operation", said Inspector Stephen Cargin.
"We were acting on information that Viagra, or drugs like it, were being sold from the premises."
Police had been working on the case for several weeks prior to the raid.
Where prescription drugs are involved, it is also the remit of the Department of Health to investigate.
While police had no powers of arrest under the Medicines Act, a person was questioned at the scene and offered an interview.
"It was an excellent result for all of us," Inspector Cargin said. "But it is also extremely concerning that this stuff is available in a retail outlet in the city centre.
"This is a sweet shop and newsagents - we found some of the Kamagra in a box of Rainbow Drops.
"Our real concern is for juveniles here, parents should be aware how dangerous drugs like Kamagra can be in an uncontrolled environment.
"Our job is made a lot easier when the public give us information. We would encourage them to continue supporting us in making Derry a safer city."
Department of Health Chief Medicines Inspector Tom Scott said the haul was equivalent to the largest seizure he had ever made from a retailer in the province.
"We have found both the tablet and gel form of this drug, both of which are prescribed medicines.
"This is the first time in Northern Ireland the gel form has been seized."
The drugs found were in 100mg single doses - the strongest available.
Mr Scott warned that users could be putting their lives at risk.
"Our main concern is the public safety angle. These are products which are of doubtful providence and the quality is unproven.
"Anyone with a coronary condition who takes these drugs is taking a serious risk.
"The drugs will now be sent to England for analysis and the department will decide the appropriate action, which is more than likely, in this case, to be a prosecution under the Medicines Act 1968," Mr Scott added.
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See also DITM thread Police fear fatal mix of Viagra and cocaine
E-llusion
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Canada: Gov't aide charged with drug trafficking
B.C. gov't aide charged with drug trafficking
July 03/04
CTV.ca News Staff
A ministerial assistant in the B.C. government has been charged with drug trafficking.
He was arrested Thursday, said Const. Rick Anthony of Victoria Police.
"Two of our officers were in plainclothes, conducting a routine drug surveillance in the downtown core," he said.
"They observed a male that they know, and it wasn't the accused that was finally charged. A short time letter he met up with another gentleman who pulled up in a car," he told BC CTV.
That car was later pulled over and searched. The accused was found to be in possession of a drug known as crystal meth. He arrested and charged with trafficking, Anthony said.
"The quantity I'm not aware of, but it is substantial enough to lay a trafficking charge," he said.
The individual was held overnight and appeared in court Friday. Another court date is scheduled for next week.
BC CTV's Ed Watson said a trafficking-related charge can be laid based on the quantity of drugs and how it was packaged.
Watson said the suspect has been with the B.C. Liberal government since it took power in 2001. He has worked for two cabinet ministers, but a government spokesman said the man was on leave from his job.
Watson said the current arrest is not linked to the searches conducted at the B.C. legislature shortly after Christmas last year.
Those searches looked at the offices of David Basi and Bob Virk. Basi was a ministerial assistant to Finance Minister Gary Collins while Virk worked for former transportation minister Judith Reid. Both lost their jobs.
Coincidentally, they also worked for the federal Liberal Party in B.C.
The RCMP said that investigation had drug overtones, it didn't involve elected officials and that drug trafficking was not taking place at the B.C. legislature.
However, according to a memo released by a judge, it also looked into any possible influence-peddling, including with the controversial $1-billion privatization of B.C. Rail.
With a report from BC CTV's Ed Watson
Link
B.C. gov't aide charged with drug trafficking
July 03/04
CTV.ca News Staff
A ministerial assistant in the B.C. government has been charged with drug trafficking.
He was arrested Thursday, said Const. Rick Anthony of Victoria Police.
"Two of our officers were in plainclothes, conducting a routine drug surveillance in the downtown core," he said.
"They observed a male that they know, and it wasn't the accused that was finally charged. A short time letter he met up with another gentleman who pulled up in a car," he told BC CTV.
That car was later pulled over and searched. The accused was found to be in possession of a drug known as crystal meth. He arrested and charged with trafficking, Anthony said.
"The quantity I'm not aware of, but it is substantial enough to lay a trafficking charge," he said.
The individual was held overnight and appeared in court Friday. Another court date is scheduled for next week.
BC CTV's Ed Watson said a trafficking-related charge can be laid based on the quantity of drugs and how it was packaged.
Watson said the suspect has been with the B.C. Liberal government since it took power in 2001. He has worked for two cabinet ministers, but a government spokesman said the man was on leave from his job.
Watson said the current arrest is not linked to the searches conducted at the B.C. legislature shortly after Christmas last year.
Those searches looked at the offices of David Basi and Bob Virk. Basi was a ministerial assistant to Finance Minister Gary Collins while Virk worked for former transportation minister Judith Reid. Both lost their jobs.
Coincidentally, they also worked for the federal Liberal Party in B.C.
The RCMP said that investigation had drug overtones, it didn't involve elected officials and that drug trafficking was not taking place at the B.C. legislature.
However, according to a memo released by a judge, it also looked into any possible influence-peddling, including with the controversial $1-billion privatization of B.C. Rail.
With a report from BC CTV's Ed Watson
Link
Edge80
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'Favour' ends in cell
'Favour' ends in cell
Elissa Hunt
09jul04
A MAN who said he was just doing a favour for a mate when he moved $10 million in ecstasy has been jailed for at least five years.
Blagojce Stojcevski, 38, was arrested over Victoria's biggest ecstasy importation in 2002.
Yesterday, County Court judge Geoff Chettle said Stojcevski didn't play a part in the importation, but was essential to the enterprise by moving the drugs from Customs to other locations.
The pills were shipped to Melbourne from the Netherlands in July 2002, in boxes purporting to contain "aqua cleaners". Federal police intercepted them and replaced some of the drugs with fakes.
Stojcevski arranged to move the pills into storage and later collected several boxes, which were in his car when he was arrested the following month.
Judge Chettle said Stojcevski, who was described as a generous man, said he got involved only as a favour to a friend he met at his gym.
The judge said he did not believe Stojcevski's claim that he participated out of fear of the man, who had a criminal record. But he did accept that he was afraid to implicate him in the importation.
Judge Chettle said he rejected Stojcevski's explanation that he believed the boxes contained fireworks rather than drugs.
He said the charming businessman and father of two had no convictions and a good reputation before his arrest.
Stojcevski, of Melbourne, was jailed for eight years with a minimum of five after pleading guilty to possessing and attempting to possess ecstasy
Link
'Favour' ends in cell
Elissa Hunt
09jul04
A MAN who said he was just doing a favour for a mate when he moved $10 million in ecstasy has been jailed for at least five years.
Blagojce Stojcevski, 38, was arrested over Victoria's biggest ecstasy importation in 2002.
Yesterday, County Court judge Geoff Chettle said Stojcevski didn't play a part in the importation, but was essential to the enterprise by moving the drugs from Customs to other locations.
The pills were shipped to Melbourne from the Netherlands in July 2002, in boxes purporting to contain "aqua cleaners". Federal police intercepted them and replaced some of the drugs with fakes.
Stojcevski arranged to move the pills into storage and later collected several boxes, which were in his car when he was arrested the following month.
Judge Chettle said Stojcevski, who was described as a generous man, said he got involved only as a favour to a friend he met at his gym.
The judge said he did not believe Stojcevski's claim that he participated out of fear of the man, who had a criminal record. But he did accept that he was afraid to implicate him in the importation.
Judge Chettle said he rejected Stojcevski's explanation that he believed the boxes contained fireworks rather than drugs.
He said the charming businessman and father of two had no convictions and a good reputation before his arrest.
Stojcevski, of Melbourne, was jailed for eight years with a minimum of five after pleading guilty to possessing and attempting to possess ecstasy
Link
E-llusion
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- Nov 3, 2002
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Drugs seizures increase but still tip of iceberg
Drugs seizures increase but still tip of iceberg
07.07.2004 9.00 am
Increased funding has enabled more seizures of hard drugs smuggled into New Zealand, says the Customs Service.
"There's no doubt that increased funding from the Government given to Customs last year has had a flow-on effect in our ability to be more proactive, both in our intelligence and investigative capabilities," Customs drug investigations manager Simon Williamson said.
"It means we have a better idea of where to look."
Customs revealed yesterday hard drugs seizures in the year ended June 30, 2004 included: 22kg of cocaine (up from 217g the previous year); more than 1kg of heroin (up from 233g); 3kg of crystal methamphetamine (up from 941g); 1.2 million tablets of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine used for making methamphetamine (up from 670,784).
Seizures of MDMA (ecstasy) bucked the trend and fell from 265,447 to 180,000 tablets in the latest financial year.
However, Customs estimated it was still only seizing about 20 per cent of the drugs smuggled into the country.
The tightening up of the internal supply of substances had led to a huge increase in volumes being obtained from offshore supplies, Mr Williamson told National Radio today.
"What Customs is now seeing at the border is merely reflective of the ongoing problem in this country in regards to methamphetamine production."
As long as there was demand in New Zealand for the drugs, there would be groups looking to satisfy it, by importing the substances.
Mr Williamson said New Zealand could not just rely on Customs control and policing against drugs, but had to face the whole issue of drug abuse.
New Zealand was also being used as a transit point for drugs intended for larger markets such as Australia, and this raised the risk of "spillover" into New Zealand society, he said.
- NZPA
Link
Drugs seizures increase but still tip of iceberg
07.07.2004 9.00 am
Increased funding has enabled more seizures of hard drugs smuggled into New Zealand, says the Customs Service.
"There's no doubt that increased funding from the Government given to Customs last year has had a flow-on effect in our ability to be more proactive, both in our intelligence and investigative capabilities," Customs drug investigations manager Simon Williamson said.
"It means we have a better idea of where to look."
Customs revealed yesterday hard drugs seizures in the year ended June 30, 2004 included: 22kg of cocaine (up from 217g the previous year); more than 1kg of heroin (up from 233g); 3kg of crystal methamphetamine (up from 941g); 1.2 million tablets of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine used for making methamphetamine (up from 670,784).
Seizures of MDMA (ecstasy) bucked the trend and fell from 265,447 to 180,000 tablets in the latest financial year.
However, Customs estimated it was still only seizing about 20 per cent of the drugs smuggled into the country.
The tightening up of the internal supply of substances had led to a huge increase in volumes being obtained from offshore supplies, Mr Williamson told National Radio today.
"What Customs is now seeing at the border is merely reflective of the ongoing problem in this country in regards to methamphetamine production."
As long as there was demand in New Zealand for the drugs, there would be groups looking to satisfy it, by importing the substances.
Mr Williamson said New Zealand could not just rely on Customs control and policing against drugs, but had to face the whole issue of drug abuse.
New Zealand was also being used as a transit point for drugs intended for larger markets such as Australia, and this raised the risk of "spillover" into New Zealand society, he said.
- NZPA
Link
Edge80
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Three Arrested At Courthouse After Drug Dog Reacts To Van
Three Arrested At Courthouse After Drug Dog Reacts To Van
By: By BILL JONES/Staff Writer
Source: The Greeneville Sun
07-08-2004
Three Georgia residents were taken into custody outside the Greene County Courthouse on Wednesday morning after a Sheriff’s Department drug-detection dog reacted to their van and quantities of several drugs then found inside the vehicle.
Deputy Sheriff Mike Fincher, a member of the Sheriff’s Methamphetamine Task Force, said the three Georgians apparently had come to the courthouse to attend a bond hearing for several friends who had been arrested in a drug raid here last Thursday.
Fincher said that during an investigation into the alleged smuggling of “crystal methamphetamine” into Greene County, the Meth Task Force had been searching for a green van bearing a Bartow County, Ga., license plate.
“I was walking to court (to attend the bond hearing for suspects arrested last Thursday in a drug raid) when Detective Capt. John Huffine told me that he had seen a van with Georgia plates on it parked at a convenience store earlier,” Deputy Fincher said.
“As I was walking to (General Sessions) Court, I saw the vehicle (parked on East Depot Street beside the courthouse). Based on what we knew, I felt I had enough information to call in a drug-detection dog.”
Fincher said Deputy Sheriff Jimmy Morgan and his drug-detection dog “Cento” were summoned to East Depot Street where the green Dodge van was parked.
“Jimmy brought in Cento, led him around the vehicle one time and he showed a positive response,” Fincher said. “Based on that, we used vehicle registration information to identify its owner, and I went to the courtroom and retrieved the owner of the vehicle as well as two of his companions.”
Deputy Morgan said his dog, Cento, can detect the presence of narcotics inside a vehicle by simply sniffing the air coming from around the seams in the doors and windows.
“When Cento got to the right rear sliding door of the van, he showed a positive response that there was narcotics in the vehicle,” Deputy Morgan said.
Fincher said he then obtained consent to search the van from its owner.
When officers searched the vehicle, he said, they found “approximately 10.5 grams of crystal methamphetamine” along with small amounts of marijuana and cocaine and about $1,500 in cash.
Charges are pending against the van’s three occupants, who were taken into custody on Wednesday afternoon, according to Deputy Fincher. He said the arrests were made as part of an ongoing investigation of meth-smuggling by what he termed a Georgia-based drug ring.
A fourth suspect believed to have been inside the van on Wednesday morning was still being sought by authorities on Thursday afternoon.
Fincher said that five Georgians and one Greene County resident were charged with being parties to the offense of possessing methamphetamine for resale after a raid on a Stomper Road residence last Thursday morning.
During that raid, the deputy said, some 48 grams of methamphetamine were confiscated.
“Combined with what he found today, that makes more than 50 grams of meth that we’ve found in the last few days,” Fincher said.
Link
Three Arrested At Courthouse After Drug Dog Reacts To Van
By: By BILL JONES/Staff Writer
Source: The Greeneville Sun
07-08-2004
Three Georgia residents were taken into custody outside the Greene County Courthouse on Wednesday morning after a Sheriff’s Department drug-detection dog reacted to their van and quantities of several drugs then found inside the vehicle.
Deputy Sheriff Mike Fincher, a member of the Sheriff’s Methamphetamine Task Force, said the three Georgians apparently had come to the courthouse to attend a bond hearing for several friends who had been arrested in a drug raid here last Thursday.
Fincher said that during an investigation into the alleged smuggling of “crystal methamphetamine” into Greene County, the Meth Task Force had been searching for a green van bearing a Bartow County, Ga., license plate.
“I was walking to court (to attend the bond hearing for suspects arrested last Thursday in a drug raid) when Detective Capt. John Huffine told me that he had seen a van with Georgia plates on it parked at a convenience store earlier,” Deputy Fincher said.
“As I was walking to (General Sessions) Court, I saw the vehicle (parked on East Depot Street beside the courthouse). Based on what we knew, I felt I had enough information to call in a drug-detection dog.”
Fincher said Deputy Sheriff Jimmy Morgan and his drug-detection dog “Cento” were summoned to East Depot Street where the green Dodge van was parked.
“Jimmy brought in Cento, led him around the vehicle one time and he showed a positive response,” Fincher said. “Based on that, we used vehicle registration information to identify its owner, and I went to the courtroom and retrieved the owner of the vehicle as well as two of his companions.”
Deputy Morgan said his dog, Cento, can detect the presence of narcotics inside a vehicle by simply sniffing the air coming from around the seams in the doors and windows.
“When Cento got to the right rear sliding door of the van, he showed a positive response that there was narcotics in the vehicle,” Deputy Morgan said.
Fincher said he then obtained consent to search the van from its owner.
When officers searched the vehicle, he said, they found “approximately 10.5 grams of crystal methamphetamine” along with small amounts of marijuana and cocaine and about $1,500 in cash.
Charges are pending against the van’s three occupants, who were taken into custody on Wednesday afternoon, according to Deputy Fincher. He said the arrests were made as part of an ongoing investigation of meth-smuggling by what he termed a Georgia-based drug ring.
A fourth suspect believed to have been inside the van on Wednesday morning was still being sought by authorities on Thursday afternoon.
Fincher said that five Georgians and one Greene County resident were charged with being parties to the offense of possessing methamphetamine for resale after a raid on a Stomper Road residence last Thursday morning.
During that raid, the deputy said, some 48 grams of methamphetamine were confiscated.
“Combined with what he found today, that makes more than 50 grams of meth that we’ve found in the last few days,” Fincher said.
Link
Markoss
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- Mar 23, 2003
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- 198
During that raid, the deputy said, some 48 grams of methamphetamine were confiscated.
“Combined with what he found today, that makes more than 50 grams of meth that we’ve found in the last few days,” Fincher said.
WOOHOO!! 50 grams!!!!! oh my god......pathetic
“Combined with what he found today, that makes more than 50 grams of meth that we’ve found in the last few days,” Fincher said.
WOOHOO!! 50 grams!!!!! oh my god......pathetic
Edge80
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- Jan 30, 2004
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Colombian Cocaine Kingpin Said Captured
Colombian Cocaine Kingpin Said Captured
By Kim Housego
Associated Press Writer
Published: Jul 10, 2004 4:21 AM EST
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - Colombian officials and anti-narcotics agents will seek the extradition from Cuba of one of the world's biggest drug traffickers, who was captured last week while trying to get to Mexico, police said.
Luis Hernando Bustamante, a leader of Colombia's Norte del Valle cartel that allegedly smuggled more than $10 billion worth of cocaine into the United States, was arrested by Cuban authorities July 2 while trying to make his way to Mexico, a Colombian police official said Friday on condition of anonymity.
Bustamante was arrested after Colombian intelligence agents learned that he traveled to Havana last month on a fake Venezuelan passport, the official said. Colombia then notified Cuban authorities.
Agents planned to travel to Cuba on Saturday in a bid to get him extradited.
However, Cuban prosecutors were considering charging Bustamante, also known as "Rasguno" or "Scratch," for traveling on falsified documents — a move that could delay extradition proceedings with Colombia, the official said.
"At this moment he is being held by the attorney general in Cuba and we are involved in discussions to bring him back to Colombia," Colombia police chief Gen. Jorge Alberto Castro said Friday.
There was no immediate comment from Cuba's communist government, which has not reported on the arrest in its official media.
Bustamante is among the top three leaders of the Norte del Valle cartel, which supplanted the Medellin and Cali drug organizations in the early 1990s and supplies up to 60 percent of the U.S. cocaine supply, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The United States has offered a $5 million reward for information leading to Bustamante's capture. Colombian authorities estimate that he is responsible for as much as half of the cocaine shipped from Colombia to the United States.
The U.S. Justice Department and DEA said Friday they could not confirm Bustamante's arrest.
A U.S. grand jury indictment unsealed in Washington in May alleges that the Norte del Valle cartel has sent more than 1 million pounds of cocaine from Colombia's Pacific coast to the United States through Mexico since 1990.
Acting in concert with a violent right-wing paramilitary organization called the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, or AUC, the cartel is responsible for at least 500 killings in Colombia, the DEA says.
The cartel also used bribery and kidnapping and eavesdropped on the conversations of drug rivals, the indictment said. The cartel has used trucks, aircraft, speedboats and fishing boats to smuggle cocaine.
Cartel founder Diego Leon Montoya appears on the FBI's most-wanted list. Montoya is engaged in a bitter turf war in the southwestern city of Cali against a rival drug gang led by Wilber Varela.
Colombian authorities, however, said Bustamante, whose exact age is unknown, has largely stayed out of that fight.
Archangel de Jesus Henao Montoya, the third top Valle del Norte leader after Bustamante and Diego Montoya, was captured Jan. 15 in Panama and extradited to the United States, where he was charged with conspiracy to import cocaine and conspiracy to launder money.
Henao, 49, has been implicated in several murders and is accused of employing AUC members to protect the cartel's drug routes and laboratories.
Link
Colombian Cocaine Kingpin Said Captured
By Kim Housego
Associated Press Writer
Published: Jul 10, 2004 4:21 AM EST
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - Colombian officials and anti-narcotics agents will seek the extradition from Cuba of one of the world's biggest drug traffickers, who was captured last week while trying to get to Mexico, police said.
Luis Hernando Bustamante, a leader of Colombia's Norte del Valle cartel that allegedly smuggled more than $10 billion worth of cocaine into the United States, was arrested by Cuban authorities July 2 while trying to make his way to Mexico, a Colombian police official said Friday on condition of anonymity.
Bustamante was arrested after Colombian intelligence agents learned that he traveled to Havana last month on a fake Venezuelan passport, the official said. Colombia then notified Cuban authorities.
Agents planned to travel to Cuba on Saturday in a bid to get him extradited.
However, Cuban prosecutors were considering charging Bustamante, also known as "Rasguno" or "Scratch," for traveling on falsified documents — a move that could delay extradition proceedings with Colombia, the official said.
"At this moment he is being held by the attorney general in Cuba and we are involved in discussions to bring him back to Colombia," Colombia police chief Gen. Jorge Alberto Castro said Friday.
There was no immediate comment from Cuba's communist government, which has not reported on the arrest in its official media.
Bustamante is among the top three leaders of the Norte del Valle cartel, which supplanted the Medellin and Cali drug organizations in the early 1990s and supplies up to 60 percent of the U.S. cocaine supply, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The United States has offered a $5 million reward for information leading to Bustamante's capture. Colombian authorities estimate that he is responsible for as much as half of the cocaine shipped from Colombia to the United States.
The U.S. Justice Department and DEA said Friday they could not confirm Bustamante's arrest.
A U.S. grand jury indictment unsealed in Washington in May alleges that the Norte del Valle cartel has sent more than 1 million pounds of cocaine from Colombia's Pacific coast to the United States through Mexico since 1990.
Acting in concert with a violent right-wing paramilitary organization called the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, or AUC, the cartel is responsible for at least 500 killings in Colombia, the DEA says.
The cartel also used bribery and kidnapping and eavesdropped on the conversations of drug rivals, the indictment said. The cartel has used trucks, aircraft, speedboats and fishing boats to smuggle cocaine.
Cartel founder Diego Leon Montoya appears on the FBI's most-wanted list. Montoya is engaged in a bitter turf war in the southwestern city of Cali against a rival drug gang led by Wilber Varela.
Colombian authorities, however, said Bustamante, whose exact age is unknown, has largely stayed out of that fight.
Archangel de Jesus Henao Montoya, the third top Valle del Norte leader after Bustamante and Diego Montoya, was captured Jan. 15 in Panama and extradited to the United States, where he was charged with conspiracy to import cocaine and conspiracy to launder money.
Henao, 49, has been implicated in several murders and is accused of employing AUC members to protect the cartel's drug routes and laboratories.
Link
SilverFeniks
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- Jul 2, 2002
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Official denies charges. Hilarity ensues.
Read this while eating some cheerios before work, and nearly choked on my milk. worthy of some laughs.
this guy just looks like a tweaker, no doubt about it
Read this while eating some cheerios before work, and nearly choked on my milk. worthy of some laughs.
this guy just looks like a tweaker, no doubt about it
Edge80
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- Jan 30, 2004
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Record Seizures Bring Drug Problem to Light in Lubbock
Record Seizures Bring Drug Problem to Light in Lubbock
7/10/04
DPS troopers across the state seized more than $150 million worth of illegal drugs in 2003. That's up 15% from the year before. Cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine seizures all went up across the state. Here in Lubbock, all three are problems, but it's meth that's keeping local troopers busy.
"From when methamphetamines started coming back around, it has grown even more so since two years ago," said Corporal John Gonzalez with the DPS.
Across the state in 2003, DPS troopers seized a record 145 pounds of methamphetamines. Here in Lubbock, law enforcement saw its share of meth busts. The drug is cheap and easy to make and that's creating a problem.
"The uprising of meth labs and rolling meth labs are very common and a lot of troopers are catching a lot of this material inside the vehicle, everything from scales to syringes to little baggies they have as containers for the drugs themselves," said Gonzalez.
Increased demand for meth means more dealers are moving the drug on our roadways and getting busted during routine traffic stops.
"We just encourage the public to be aware our troops are out there and continue to enforce those criminal laws of drug trafficking/paraphernalia that we get on a daily basis or weekly basis or monthly basis, and it's a growing problem all over," said Gonzalez.
DPS Troopers can only hope to contain the drug and keep it from reaching young people.
"How do we do prevention? That's from education and hopefully get the message out to our community, parents, and second to the students, and what these drugs can do to them," added Gonzalez.
Corporal Gonzalez tells NewsChannel 11 that meth in its purest form can be just as deadly as cocaine or heroin, so it's important for parents and friends to look for symptoms in their loved ones.
Symptoms include:
irritability or nervousness
convulsions
paranoia
hallucinations
delusions of insects under the skin
repetitive behavior
violent or aggressive behavior
Here
Record Seizures Bring Drug Problem to Light in Lubbock
7/10/04
DPS troopers across the state seized more than $150 million worth of illegal drugs in 2003. That's up 15% from the year before. Cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine seizures all went up across the state. Here in Lubbock, all three are problems, but it's meth that's keeping local troopers busy.
"From when methamphetamines started coming back around, it has grown even more so since two years ago," said Corporal John Gonzalez with the DPS.
Across the state in 2003, DPS troopers seized a record 145 pounds of methamphetamines. Here in Lubbock, law enforcement saw its share of meth busts. The drug is cheap and easy to make and that's creating a problem.
"The uprising of meth labs and rolling meth labs are very common and a lot of troopers are catching a lot of this material inside the vehicle, everything from scales to syringes to little baggies they have as containers for the drugs themselves," said Gonzalez.
Increased demand for meth means more dealers are moving the drug on our roadways and getting busted during routine traffic stops.
"We just encourage the public to be aware our troops are out there and continue to enforce those criminal laws of drug trafficking/paraphernalia that we get on a daily basis or weekly basis or monthly basis, and it's a growing problem all over," said Gonzalez.
DPS Troopers can only hope to contain the drug and keep it from reaching young people.
"How do we do prevention? That's from education and hopefully get the message out to our community, parents, and second to the students, and what these drugs can do to them," added Gonzalez.
Corporal Gonzalez tells NewsChannel 11 that meth in its purest form can be just as deadly as cocaine or heroin, so it's important for parents and friends to look for symptoms in their loved ones.
Symptoms include:
irritability or nervousness
convulsions
paranoia
hallucinations
delusions of insects under the skin
repetitive behavior
violent or aggressive behavior
Here
Edge80
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- Jan 30, 2004
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Drug-dealing 'candy man' sentenced to 20 years
Drug-dealing 'candy man' sentenced to 20 years in prison on ice charge
By LILA FUJIMOTO, Staff Writer
WAILUKU - Described as a "candy man" suspected of selling methamphetamine in a Kahului housing project, a defendant was sentenced Friday to a 20-year prison term for attempted drug distribution.
Louis Dale Cambra Jr., 43, was ordered to serve at least six years and eight months of the term before being eligible for parole.
Second Circuit Judge Joel August imposed the mandatory-minimum term because Cambra is a repeat offender and because the drug involved was methamphetamine.
While Cambra wasn't caught in the act of selling drugs when police vice officers stopped him on his mo-ped Oct. 1, 2002, in Kahului, the amount of methamphetamine he had didn't appear to be just for personal use, August said. Based on Cambra's statements to police about how much methamphetamine he used, the more than 11 grams he had "would have been approximately 22 days' supply," August said.
He said he hoped Cambra had learned through drug and parenting programs he participated in while incarcerated and awaiting trial.
"Hopefully, the Mr. Cambra we're seeing in court today - and with the insight he has today - is not the same Mr. Cambra that was arrested," August said.
At the Maui Community Correctional Center, Cambra said, he has talked to students for the past six months as part of a jail program.
"I don't think the kids realize how much of an impact it has on me - sharing with them," Cambra said in court Friday. "I'm addressing my drug habit. I'll do whatever it takes to fight this battle against my drug addiction."
At the time he was arrested, Cambra had been recently married and was undergoing drug rehabilitation at the urging of his wife, said defense attorney Vickie Russell.
While family members' letters focused on Cambra's drug addiction, Deputy Prosecutor J.W. Hupp said the methamphetamine and $7,000 cash seized by police were evidence of Cambra's drug dealing.
"He may have a drug problem, but the reality is that he had a significant amount of methamphetamine as well as a significant amount of money," Hupp said. "Someone who is a user typically has one or the other."
At the time of his arrest, Cambra was on parole for 1995 convictions for firearms offenses involving a handgun and a sawed-off shotgun, Hupp said.
Police vice officers had obtained search warrants for Cambra and his mo-ped before he was stopped on Kamehameha Avenue near South Papa Avenue.
"The state's position is the defendant was distributing in the area of Luana Gardens in Kahului," Hupp said. "The defendant's basically the candy man passing out - for a price - methamphetamine to get more and more people hooked on it.
"In 2002, he was destroying lives and contributing to destroying lives of children. Now he's talking about helping children. He should have thought of that a long time ago."
In a trial in April, Cambra was found guilty of attempted first-degree promotion of a dangerous drug and possessing drug paraphernalia. Hupp had asked that Cambra be required to serve the 20 years after his parole in the 1995 case expires next year.
But August said he wouldn't order the consecutive term because Cambra was facing a lengthy minimum term.
Russell said Cambra plans to appeal his conviction.
He also is awaiting retrial on another charge alleging that he attempted to distribute drugs in connection with his arrest Sept. 28, 1999, in the parking lot of the Maui Lu Resort in Kihei. Vice officers reported finding nearly 80 grams of crystal methamphetamine, along with a scale, plastic packets and $5,800 cash in a blue Buick that Cambra was standing beside. Police found another $7,761 cash in Cambra's pants pocket.
A trial in that case last month ended with jurors unable to reach a verdict.
According to federal court records, Cambra was sentenced in December to two years and three months in prison, followed by three years of supervision, after pleading guilty in U.S. District Court in Honolulu to firearms charges
here
Drug-dealing 'candy man' sentenced to 20 years in prison on ice charge
By LILA FUJIMOTO, Staff Writer
WAILUKU - Described as a "candy man" suspected of selling methamphetamine in a Kahului housing project, a defendant was sentenced Friday to a 20-year prison term for attempted drug distribution.
Louis Dale Cambra Jr., 43, was ordered to serve at least six years and eight months of the term before being eligible for parole.
Second Circuit Judge Joel August imposed the mandatory-minimum term because Cambra is a repeat offender and because the drug involved was methamphetamine.
While Cambra wasn't caught in the act of selling drugs when police vice officers stopped him on his mo-ped Oct. 1, 2002, in Kahului, the amount of methamphetamine he had didn't appear to be just for personal use, August said. Based on Cambra's statements to police about how much methamphetamine he used, the more than 11 grams he had "would have been approximately 22 days' supply," August said.
He said he hoped Cambra had learned through drug and parenting programs he participated in while incarcerated and awaiting trial.
"Hopefully, the Mr. Cambra we're seeing in court today - and with the insight he has today - is not the same Mr. Cambra that was arrested," August said.
At the Maui Community Correctional Center, Cambra said, he has talked to students for the past six months as part of a jail program.
"I don't think the kids realize how much of an impact it has on me - sharing with them," Cambra said in court Friday. "I'm addressing my drug habit. I'll do whatever it takes to fight this battle against my drug addiction."
At the time he was arrested, Cambra had been recently married and was undergoing drug rehabilitation at the urging of his wife, said defense attorney Vickie Russell.
While family members' letters focused on Cambra's drug addiction, Deputy Prosecutor J.W. Hupp said the methamphetamine and $7,000 cash seized by police were evidence of Cambra's drug dealing.
"He may have a drug problem, but the reality is that he had a significant amount of methamphetamine as well as a significant amount of money," Hupp said. "Someone who is a user typically has one or the other."
At the time of his arrest, Cambra was on parole for 1995 convictions for firearms offenses involving a handgun and a sawed-off shotgun, Hupp said.
Police vice officers had obtained search warrants for Cambra and his mo-ped before he was stopped on Kamehameha Avenue near South Papa Avenue.
"The state's position is the defendant was distributing in the area of Luana Gardens in Kahului," Hupp said. "The defendant's basically the candy man passing out - for a price - methamphetamine to get more and more people hooked on it.
"In 2002, he was destroying lives and contributing to destroying lives of children. Now he's talking about helping children. He should have thought of that a long time ago."
In a trial in April, Cambra was found guilty of attempted first-degree promotion of a dangerous drug and possessing drug paraphernalia. Hupp had asked that Cambra be required to serve the 20 years after his parole in the 1995 case expires next year.
But August said he wouldn't order the consecutive term because Cambra was facing a lengthy minimum term.
Russell said Cambra plans to appeal his conviction.
He also is awaiting retrial on another charge alleging that he attempted to distribute drugs in connection with his arrest Sept. 28, 1999, in the parking lot of the Maui Lu Resort in Kihei. Vice officers reported finding nearly 80 grams of crystal methamphetamine, along with a scale, plastic packets and $5,800 cash in a blue Buick that Cambra was standing beside. Police found another $7,761 cash in Cambra's pants pocket.
A trial in that case last month ended with jurors unable to reach a verdict.
According to federal court records, Cambra was sentenced in December to two years and three months in prison, followed by three years of supervision, after pleading guilty in U.S. District Court in Honolulu to firearms charges
here
lovehatekill1
Bluelighter
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- Dec 16, 2003
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sounds like someone had one hell of a little operation going.
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