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DPMC Moderators: thegreenhand | tryptakid
The Mega Merged Drug Busts Thread
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mellow_yellow18
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Police bust UK's biggest ever cocaine ring
More than 100 police officers swept through 23 addresses in London today, and smashed what Scotland Yard described as the largest cocaine and money laundering ring ever uncovered in the UK.
Police arrested 10 men and two women in connection with the Colombia-based drugs cartel. Searches were ongoing at a number of homes and businesses in east London, Holloway in north London and Brixton in south London.
Most of those held in London were foreign nationals from south America.
The arrests formed the final phase of a two-year international operation targeting a highly organised cocaine importation and money laundering ring, Scotland Yard said.
Detective Chief Superintendent Sharon Kerr said the investigation was the first time in the history of policing that Scotland Yard had been able to take out an entire network of individuals from top organisers to people selling drugs on the street.
The cartel had netted in excess of £100m in the last six months, Det Ch Supt Kerr said.
Police in Colombia carried out simultaneous raids at up to 25 addresses today and arrested 15 people. Det Ch Supt Kerr said the investigation marked the first time Scotland Yard had coordinated with Colombian authorities.
The investigation has led to 20 arrests over the last six months, with the majority being charged with money laundering or drugs offences. Scotland Yard said officers had also seized cocaine with a street value of over £20m, and £2m in cash during recent operations.
Those drugs, police said, were heading straight onto the streets of London. Detectives said the break up of the cartel, which is based near Colombia's third city of Cali, was expected to have a "massive impact" on the price of cocaine in the UK. 8(
Scotland Yard said the 20 people previously arrested had been minor figures in the ring, while today's raids targeted the "big players".
"No law enforcement agency ever has been able to penetrate this network. Often we have been nibbling around the edges, taking out the patsies, but not going to the heart of the network. It's very sophisticated," Det Ch Supt Kerr said.
Special projects head, Detective Chief Inspector Martin Molloy, said a large amount of the drugs had entered the country through UK ports.
"This amount is not something you carry in as couriers," he said.
The cartel was busted by Scotland Yard's elite and secretive special projects unit, the existence of which was only made public last week. The 30-strong team of detectives began tracking the cartel after picking up intelligence related to its operations in the UK.
Penetrating the cartel is seen as a coup for Scotland Yard after other law enforcement agencies failed to make headway.
Sarah Left and agencies
Wednesday September 24, 2003
from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1048628,00.html
More than 100 police officers swept through 23 addresses in London today, and smashed what Scotland Yard described as the largest cocaine and money laundering ring ever uncovered in the UK.
Police arrested 10 men and two women in connection with the Colombia-based drugs cartel. Searches were ongoing at a number of homes and businesses in east London, Holloway in north London and Brixton in south London.
Most of those held in London were foreign nationals from south America.
The arrests formed the final phase of a two-year international operation targeting a highly organised cocaine importation and money laundering ring, Scotland Yard said.
Detective Chief Superintendent Sharon Kerr said the investigation was the first time in the history of policing that Scotland Yard had been able to take out an entire network of individuals from top organisers to people selling drugs on the street.
The cartel had netted in excess of £100m in the last six months, Det Ch Supt Kerr said.
Police in Colombia carried out simultaneous raids at up to 25 addresses today and arrested 15 people. Det Ch Supt Kerr said the investigation marked the first time Scotland Yard had coordinated with Colombian authorities.
The investigation has led to 20 arrests over the last six months, with the majority being charged with money laundering or drugs offences. Scotland Yard said officers had also seized cocaine with a street value of over £20m, and £2m in cash during recent operations.
Those drugs, police said, were heading straight onto the streets of London. Detectives said the break up of the cartel, which is based near Colombia's third city of Cali, was expected to have a "massive impact" on the price of cocaine in the UK. 8(
Scotland Yard said the 20 people previously arrested had been minor figures in the ring, while today's raids targeted the "big players".
"No law enforcement agency ever has been able to penetrate this network. Often we have been nibbling around the edges, taking out the patsies, but not going to the heart of the network. It's very sophisticated," Det Ch Supt Kerr said.
Special projects head, Detective Chief Inspector Martin Molloy, said a large amount of the drugs had entered the country through UK ports.
"This amount is not something you carry in as couriers," he said.
The cartel was busted by Scotland Yard's elite and secretive special projects unit, the existence of which was only made public last week. The 30-strong team of detectives began tracking the cartel after picking up intelligence related to its operations in the UK.
Penetrating the cartel is seen as a coup for Scotland Yard after other law enforcement agencies failed to make headway.
Sarah Left and agencies
Wednesday September 24, 2003
from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1048628,00.html
Police Bust Multicounty Drug Ring
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ibsys/20031010/lo_wgal/1825677
Police Bust Multicounty Drug Ring
Fri Oct 10,11:03 AM ET
Officials said 16 people are charged in a drug ring that allegedly sold $2 million worth of cocaine, heroin and other drugs in four central Pennsylvania counties over a three-year period.
State Attorney General Mike Fisher, announcing the charges Thursday, said the group brought drugs in from Reading and from New York City. He said they were sold over a three-year period in Montour, Northumberland, Snyder and Union counties.
Fisher said the suspected ringleader, Mario Abreu, 40, of Northumberland, distributed at least a pound of cocaine per week.
He's currently in federal custody in Florida. The other suspects range in age from 27 to 51.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ibsys/20031010/lo_wgal/1825677
Police Bust Multicounty Drug Ring
Fri Oct 10,11:03 AM ET
Officials said 16 people are charged in a drug ring that allegedly sold $2 million worth of cocaine, heroin and other drugs in four central Pennsylvania counties over a three-year period.
State Attorney General Mike Fisher, announcing the charges Thursday, said the group brought drugs in from Reading and from New York City. He said they were sold over a three-year period in Montour, Northumberland, Snyder and Union counties.
Fisher said the suspected ringleader, Mario Abreu, 40, of Northumberland, distributed at least a pound of cocaine per week.
He's currently in federal custody in Florida. The other suspects range in age from 27 to 51.
25 Arrested In Lake Drug-Ring Bust
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ibsys/20031010/lo_wkmg/1825834
25 Arrested In Lake Drug-Ring Bust
Fri Oct 10, 6:55 PM ET
Agents arrested 25 people Friday in connection with a year-long investigation into a huge illegal drug ring, according to Local 6 News.
The Lake County sheriff's office said the men arrested Friday were responsible for about 50 percent of all drugs distributed in Lake County.
The suspects arrested face local and state charges for allegedly selling crack cocaine through the Triangle area, Local 6 News reported.
Local 6 News reported that undercover agents were able to buy illegal drugs from the alleged ring numerous times.
Friday's sting netted $30,000 worth of illegal drugs, weapons, several cars and cash.
"Lake County is very large, and that's a small piece of the pie," Lake Sheriff George Knupp said. Hopefully, we can hold the line not allowing somebody to come into the community and start dealing drugs at that level again.
Authorities are still searching for nine more people in connection with the drug ring.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ibsys/20031010/lo_wkmg/1825834
25 Arrested In Lake Drug-Ring Bust
Fri Oct 10, 6:55 PM ET
Agents arrested 25 people Friday in connection with a year-long investigation into a huge illegal drug ring, according to Local 6 News.
The Lake County sheriff's office said the men arrested Friday were responsible for about 50 percent of all drugs distributed in Lake County.
The suspects arrested face local and state charges for allegedly selling crack cocaine through the Triangle area, Local 6 News reported.
Local 6 News reported that undercover agents were able to buy illegal drugs from the alleged ring numerous times.
Friday's sting netted $30,000 worth of illegal drugs, weapons, several cars and cash.
"Lake County is very large, and that's a small piece of the pie," Lake Sheriff George Knupp said. Hopefully, we can hold the line not allowing somebody to come into the community and start dealing drugs at that level again.
Authorities are still searching for nine more people in connection with the drug ring.
Lake County Drug Bust Nets Dozens
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ibsys/20031010/lo_wesh/1826167
Lake County Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Fri Oct 10, 4:32 PM ET
Deputies in Lake County netted several high-level dealers in a drug bust Friday.
The search for more suspects is continuing, WESH NewsChannel 2 reported.
Officials with the Drug Enforcement Administration joined deputies in a raid on 11 homes during the early morning hours. At least 25 suspects were arrested on state or federal charges of distributing regular or crack cocaine.
The raid also confiscated 15 automobiles, $30,000 cash and $30,000 worth of crack cocaine, and officials said 50 percent of those drugs distributed in the triangle area of Lake County came from the ring. The bust completed a year-long operation.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ibsys/20031010/lo_wesh/1826167
Lake County Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Fri Oct 10, 4:32 PM ET
Deputies in Lake County netted several high-level dealers in a drug bust Friday.
The search for more suspects is continuing, WESH NewsChannel 2 reported.
Officials with the Drug Enforcement Administration joined deputies in a raid on 11 homes during the early morning hours. At least 25 suspects were arrested on state or federal charges of distributing regular or crack cocaine.
The raid also confiscated 15 automobiles, $30,000 cash and $30,000 worth of crack cocaine, and officials said 50 percent of those drugs distributed in the triangle area of Lake County came from the ring. The bust completed a year-long operation.
46 In Harlem Drug-ring Bust
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nypost/20031120/lo_nypost/46inharlemdrugringbust
46 IN HARLEM DRUG-RING BUST
Thu Nov 20, 3:48 AM ET
Forty-six people were arrested as part of an NYPD probe into a $2 million-a-year Harlem narcotics ring that used legitimate businesses as a cover, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly announced yesterday.
"Operation Broadway Blues" also resulted in cops shutting down 10 businesses on Broadway, from 139th to 143rd streets. Drug sales inside the businesses made the neighborhood a magnet for buyers, Kelly said.
Customers "from as far away as Virginia and Ohio came to know this area as 'the place to go' for cocaine," the commissioner said.
Philip Messing
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nypost/20031120/lo_nypost/46inharlemdrugringbust
46 IN HARLEM DRUG-RING BUST
Thu Nov 20, 3:48 AM ET
Forty-six people were arrested as part of an NYPD probe into a $2 million-a-year Harlem narcotics ring that used legitimate businesses as a cover, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly announced yesterday.
"Operation Broadway Blues" also resulted in cops shutting down 10 businesses on Broadway, from 139th to 143rd streets. Drug sales inside the businesses made the neighborhood a magnet for buyers, Kelly said.
Customers "from as far away as Virginia and Ohio came to know this area as 'the place to go' for cocaine," the commissioner said.
Philip Messing
missing_one
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- May 14, 2003
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China's largest ever Heroin seizure, Beijing
Heroin traders given death, life imprisonment
BEIJING, Jan. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Ma Xiuqin, a woman from northwest China's Gansu Province was sentenced to death and her accomplice, a woman also from Gansu, given life imprisonment in Beijing on Sunday on charges of trading in narcotics.
The ruling was handed down against Ma Xiuqin, a 31-year-old heroin trader, and her accomplice, Zhang Ganiang, 32, by the No.1 Intermediate People's Court of Beijing at the first trial.
The court was told that Ma came to Beijing in late 2002 and hidplenty of heroin for sale at the apartment she rented in Beijing'sdowntown Xuanwu District. She sold 20 kg of narcotics in June lastyear alone, remitted 3 million yuan (one US dollar equals to 8.3 yuan) from the sale back to the kingpin in Gansu and got 30,000 yuan of bonus in return.
Zhang, who was previously sentenced to a five-year jail term for narcotics trafficking in Gansu, did the leg work for Ma. Whenever Ma called her, Zhang would go pick up the drugs and deliver them to the buyers at the designated venues.
Acting on tips, the police detained both Ma and Zhang on July 1,2003, and confiscated 13.2 kg of heroin, the largest amount ever seized in Beijing since New China was founded in 1949, plus more than 120,000 yuan from the flats rented by Ma.
In accordance with Sunday's ruling, both Ma and Zhang were deprived of their political rights and all their personal properties.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-01/18/content_1282704.htm
Heroin traders given death, life imprisonment
BEIJING, Jan. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Ma Xiuqin, a woman from northwest China's Gansu Province was sentenced to death and her accomplice, a woman also from Gansu, given life imprisonment in Beijing on Sunday on charges of trading in narcotics.
The ruling was handed down against Ma Xiuqin, a 31-year-old heroin trader, and her accomplice, Zhang Ganiang, 32, by the No.1 Intermediate People's Court of Beijing at the first trial.
The court was told that Ma came to Beijing in late 2002 and hidplenty of heroin for sale at the apartment she rented in Beijing'sdowntown Xuanwu District. She sold 20 kg of narcotics in June lastyear alone, remitted 3 million yuan (one US dollar equals to 8.3 yuan) from the sale back to the kingpin in Gansu and got 30,000 yuan of bonus in return.
Zhang, who was previously sentenced to a five-year jail term for narcotics trafficking in Gansu, did the leg work for Ma. Whenever Ma called her, Zhang would go pick up the drugs and deliver them to the buyers at the designated venues.
Acting on tips, the police detained both Ma and Zhang on July 1,2003, and confiscated 13.2 kg of heroin, the largest amount ever seized in Beijing since New China was founded in 1949, plus more than 120,000 yuan from the flats rented by Ma.
In accordance with Sunday's ruling, both Ma and Zhang were deprived of their political rights and all their personal properties.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-01/18/content_1282704.htm
missing_one
Bluelighter
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- Messages
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Another article (more info)
Women drug gang convicted, death, life sentences given
Beijing, Jan. 19, (Xinhuanet) -- The Beijing No 1 Intermediate People's Court Sunday respectively sentenced one woman to death and another to life in prison for drug trafficking.
Police also confiscated 13.2 kilograms of heroin from the two, the largest amount taken in a single case in Beijing history.
Last June, ironically on the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Beijing police received a tip from their Gansu colleagues about a drug-trafficking channel between Beijing and the Northwest province of Gansu.
After a week long investigation,police arrested the suspects Ma Xiuqin, 31, and Zhang Ganiang, 32.
Authorities said Ma arrived in Beijing in late 2002 with a drug boss, from Gansu. By January, the boss went home, leaving a drug business the two had set up to Ma.
Her boss promised Ma 100 yuan (US$12) out of each 10,000 yuan (US$1,200) she made.
Ma excelled, in a single month of last June, selling 20 kilograms of drugs while earning 3 million yuan (US$360,000) for the kingpin and 30,000 yuan (US$361) herself.
Zhang Ganiang, a former convict who served a 5-year jail term for drug-trafficking, followed Ma to Beijing last March.
Whenever Ma had customers, she would call Zhang to deliver the drugs after fetching them from a secret place.
Police found Ma had hidden a large cache of drugs at a rented house in Xuanwu District between April and June of last year.
When the two women were arrested, police discovered 13.2 kilograms of heroin and 120,000 yuan (US$14,500) in cash from their rental sites.
The two were found guilty of trafficking in narcotics, the court ruled.
According to the Criminal Law, people who produce or sell more than 50 grams of heroin may be sentenced to 15 years, life in prison or can be given the death penalty.
The judge's ruled that Ma will die. Zhang has received a life sentence.
It is still unknown whether Ma's former boss has been caught,according to the Xinhua news service.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-01/19/content_1282913.htm
Women drug gang convicted, death, life sentences given
Beijing, Jan. 19, (Xinhuanet) -- The Beijing No 1 Intermediate People's Court Sunday respectively sentenced one woman to death and another to life in prison for drug trafficking.
Police also confiscated 13.2 kilograms of heroin from the two, the largest amount taken in a single case in Beijing history.
Last June, ironically on the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Beijing police received a tip from their Gansu colleagues about a drug-trafficking channel between Beijing and the Northwest province of Gansu.
After a week long investigation,police arrested the suspects Ma Xiuqin, 31, and Zhang Ganiang, 32.
Authorities said Ma arrived in Beijing in late 2002 with a drug boss, from Gansu. By January, the boss went home, leaving a drug business the two had set up to Ma.
Her boss promised Ma 100 yuan (US$12) out of each 10,000 yuan (US$1,200) she made.
Ma excelled, in a single month of last June, selling 20 kilograms of drugs while earning 3 million yuan (US$360,000) for the kingpin and 30,000 yuan (US$361) herself.
Zhang Ganiang, a former convict who served a 5-year jail term for drug-trafficking, followed Ma to Beijing last March.
Whenever Ma had customers, she would call Zhang to deliver the drugs after fetching them from a secret place.
Police found Ma had hidden a large cache of drugs at a rented house in Xuanwu District between April and June of last year.
When the two women were arrested, police discovered 13.2 kilograms of heroin and 120,000 yuan (US$14,500) in cash from their rental sites.
The two were found guilty of trafficking in narcotics, the court ruled.
According to the Criminal Law, people who produce or sell more than 50 grams of heroin may be sentenced to 15 years, life in prison or can be given the death penalty.
The judge's ruled that Ma will die. Zhang has received a life sentence.
It is still unknown whether Ma's former boss has been caught,according to the Xinhua news service.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-01/19/content_1282913.htm
Morrison's Lament
Bluelighter
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- Feb 1, 2003
- Messages
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NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I WAS LIVING THREE BLOCKS FROM A HEROIN DEALER SELLING CHEAP HIGH QUALITY HEROIN AT RIDICULOUSLY LOW PRICES?!!!!!!?!?!?!
And they got busted?!?!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
--- G.
I WAS LIVING THREE BLOCKS FROM A HEROIN DEALER SELLING CHEAP HIGH QUALITY HEROIN AT RIDICULOUSLY LOW PRICES?!!!!!!?!?!?!
And they got busted?!?!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
--- G.
BA
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Rolling Stones members Keith Richards and Mick Jagger drug bust made into film.
The notorious drugs bust which resulted in the arrests of Rolling Stones members Keith Richards and Mick Jagger is to be made into a film, say reports. Actor Nigel Havers will play his real-life father, Lord Havers, who was the defence barrister at the 1967 trial.
The pair were given prison sentences for possessing drugs, but these were later quashed, with Jagger given a conditional discharge.
The Independent on Sunday says US network HBO has commissioned the film.
The newspaper says Nick Fisher, who created the BBC Two male mid-life crisis drama Manchild, is writing the script.
Nigel Havers thought of the idea for the film
Havers also starred in Manchild.
"It's a quirky bit of English history, but it has international appeal - 1967 was just an incredible year and this incident was a very significant turning point in history and the way the media works," Fisher told the Independent on Sunday.
The arrest and subsequent trial of Jagger and Richards split the establishment, with some commentators questioning the severity of the original sentence.
Mr Fisher told the newspaper it was Nigel Havers who gave him the idea for the film.
"It's a bit of family history for him [Havers]. Although Jagger and Richards are central, I'd like a lot of the story not to revolve around just them. The real key to it all is Michael Havers," he told the Independent on Sunday.
"It was a very life-changing experience for him. He was the most expensive silk in the country and the pinnacle of the establishment," he added.
Havers' father Michael went on to become the Attorney General.
The roles of Jagger, Richards and Jagger's then-girlfriend, Marianne Faithfull, will be cast next year.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3657385.stm
4-25-04
The notorious drugs bust which resulted in the arrests of Rolling Stones members Keith Richards and Mick Jagger is to be made into a film, say reports. Actor Nigel Havers will play his real-life father, Lord Havers, who was the defence barrister at the 1967 trial.
The pair were given prison sentences for possessing drugs, but these were later quashed, with Jagger given a conditional discharge.
The Independent on Sunday says US network HBO has commissioned the film.
The newspaper says Nick Fisher, who created the BBC Two male mid-life crisis drama Manchild, is writing the script.
Nigel Havers thought of the idea for the film
Havers also starred in Manchild.
"It's a quirky bit of English history, but it has international appeal - 1967 was just an incredible year and this incident was a very significant turning point in history and the way the media works," Fisher told the Independent on Sunday.
The arrest and subsequent trial of Jagger and Richards split the establishment, with some commentators questioning the severity of the original sentence.
Mr Fisher told the newspaper it was Nigel Havers who gave him the idea for the film.
"It's a bit of family history for him [Havers]. Although Jagger and Richards are central, I'd like a lot of the story not to revolve around just them. The real key to it all is Michael Havers," he told the Independent on Sunday.
"It was a very life-changing experience for him. He was the most expensive silk in the country and the pinnacle of the establishment," he added.
Havers' father Michael went on to become the Attorney General.
The roles of Jagger, Richards and Jagger's then-girlfriend, Marianne Faithfull, will be cast next year.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3657385.stm
4-25-04
Grep
Bluelighter
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- Jun 9, 2002
- Messages
- 989
Youngest Pointer Sister faces drug charges
Monday, April 26, 2004 Posted: 9:48 PM EDT (0148 GMT)
LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- The youngest member of the original hit-making Pointer Sisters was charged Monday with cocaine possession, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said.
June Pointer Whitmore, 50, was arrested last Thursday with two other people outside the Hollywood apartment of her older sister, Bonnie, but was released on bail.
Bonnie Pointer, who left the group in 1978 to pursue a solo career with Motown, was not charged in the case. Whitmore has not performed with the Pointer Sisters in more than three years, their lawyer, Martin Singer, told Reuters.
The two remaining members of the original lineup, Anita and Ruth Pointer, previously obtained a court order barring their younger sibling from the group and asserting their exclusive rights to the Pointer Sisters name, Singer said.
He said Whitmore was kicked out of the group because of repeated substance abuse problems that prevented her from making several appearances.
Anita and Ruth Pointer, who now perform as a trio with Ruth's daughter, Issa, are currently en route to Belgium for a tour, Singer said. He said they were in Montana last week recording a DVD when Whitmore was arrested.
Details of Whitmore's arrest were sketchy. But a spokeswoman for prosecutors said she and her co-defendants were confronted by police officers who responded to citizen complaints and found them in possession of cocaine and cocaine pipes.
Whitmore is charged with one count of cocaine possession and a lesser charge of possessing an illegal smoking device. Although conviction carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison, Whitmore would be eligible for a California program that allows first-time offenders to have their record expunged if they complete drug rehabilitation.
The original Pointer Sisters trio produced a string of hits in the late 1970s and early '80s, including a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Fire," "He's So Shy" and "Slow Hand."
Legal representatives for Whitmore were not readily available. No arraignment date has been announced.
link
Monday, April 26, 2004 Posted: 9:48 PM EDT (0148 GMT)
LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- The youngest member of the original hit-making Pointer Sisters was charged Monday with cocaine possession, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said.
June Pointer Whitmore, 50, was arrested last Thursday with two other people outside the Hollywood apartment of her older sister, Bonnie, but was released on bail.
Bonnie Pointer, who left the group in 1978 to pursue a solo career with Motown, was not charged in the case. Whitmore has not performed with the Pointer Sisters in more than three years, their lawyer, Martin Singer, told Reuters.
The two remaining members of the original lineup, Anita and Ruth Pointer, previously obtained a court order barring their younger sibling from the group and asserting their exclusive rights to the Pointer Sisters name, Singer said.
He said Whitmore was kicked out of the group because of repeated substance abuse problems that prevented her from making several appearances.
Anita and Ruth Pointer, who now perform as a trio with Ruth's daughter, Issa, are currently en route to Belgium for a tour, Singer said. He said they were in Montana last week recording a DVD when Whitmore was arrested.
Details of Whitmore's arrest were sketchy. But a spokeswoman for prosecutors said she and her co-defendants were confronted by police officers who responded to citizen complaints and found them in possession of cocaine and cocaine pipes.
Whitmore is charged with one count of cocaine possession and a lesser charge of possessing an illegal smoking device. Although conviction carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison, Whitmore would be eligible for a California program that allows first-time offenders to have their record expunged if they complete drug rehabilitation.
The original Pointer Sisters trio produced a string of hits in the late 1970s and early '80s, including a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Fire," "He's So Shy" and "Slow Hand."
Legal representatives for Whitmore were not readily available. No arraignment date has been announced.
link
TheHerojuana
Bluelighter
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- Nov 14, 2003
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Holy Shit! I Knew Issa from when I went to Nipmuc Regional. She never really hung out with me or my friends but we all knew her. I remember getting all stoned out of my mind at 14 or 15 and we ran in to her in Milford. Steve talked to her for a while and she tooks us to the Golden Bhudda. She is a hell of a singer. I remember her doing the national anthem at the Mendon Country Fair. It was a hell of a performance. It wasn't until a few weeks after this I learned who her mother is. Haven't seen her since the early 90's. Blows that her aunt is facing possesion charges. Only in America.
E-llusion
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Ecstasy Bust Keeps Chemical Companies Alert
Ecstasy Bust Keeps Chemical Companies Alert
04/29/2004
The ecstasy bust has put chemical companies on alert for other people who may try to illegally round-up ingredients to make the drug. Making ecstasy requires more scientific know-how than cooking-up methamphetamine in a lab.
Unlike meth, ecstasy is not made from everyday products you find around the house. The recipe for ecstasy reads like a chemical tongue twister. The long scientific names are matched by the lengths ecstasy makers have to go to to get the chemicals.
Lt. Greg Vandekamp, Sioux Falls Police Department: "Most of the chemicals are not things that you would find at a local hardware store, those would be ones you would have to order from a legitimate chemical company."
Maxim Technologies, an environmental laboratory here in Sioux Falls will get calls from people asking where they can get their hands on certain chemicals. But the chemists here are very tight-lipped about their suppliers.
Dan Hanson, Maxim Technologies: "We don't want to get involved with anybody that could be manufacturing drugs."
There's also little margin for error in making ecstasy.
Vandekamp: "You can make a mistake with meth and still get a product, with ecstasy, I don't think you can."
Ecstasy and meth labs are similar in one respect: with so many toxic and flammable chemicals on hand, both drugs are very dangerous to make. While chemicals to make ecstasy are hard to come by, a natural version of the drug can be found in the oil of sassafras and nutmeg.
Link
Ecstasy Bust Keeps Chemical Companies Alert
04/29/2004
The ecstasy bust has put chemical companies on alert for other people who may try to illegally round-up ingredients to make the drug. Making ecstasy requires more scientific know-how than cooking-up methamphetamine in a lab.
Unlike meth, ecstasy is not made from everyday products you find around the house. The recipe for ecstasy reads like a chemical tongue twister. The long scientific names are matched by the lengths ecstasy makers have to go to to get the chemicals.
Lt. Greg Vandekamp, Sioux Falls Police Department: "Most of the chemicals are not things that you would find at a local hardware store, those would be ones you would have to order from a legitimate chemical company."
Maxim Technologies, an environmental laboratory here in Sioux Falls will get calls from people asking where they can get their hands on certain chemicals. But the chemists here are very tight-lipped about their suppliers.
Dan Hanson, Maxim Technologies: "We don't want to get involved with anybody that could be manufacturing drugs."
There's also little margin for error in making ecstasy.
Vandekamp: "You can make a mistake with meth and still get a product, with ecstasy, I don't think you can."
Ecstasy and meth labs are similar in one respect: with so many toxic and flammable chemicals on hand, both drugs are very dangerous to make. While chemicals to make ecstasy are hard to come by, a natural version of the drug can be found in the oil of sassafras and nutmeg.
Link
SilverFeniks
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- Jul 2, 2002
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UK: Pair guilty of smuggling £55m of cocaine
A father and son from north Wales have been found guilty of trying to smuggle cocaine worth £55m into the UK.
Rex Newport, 58, his son Duncan Newport, 36, both of Dyffryn Ardudwy, Gwynedd, were charged along with Mark Reeves, 38, from Kidderminster and Louis Hillard, 57, of no fixed abode.
The four had denied attempting to import 651kg of the drug.
Wolverhampton Crown Court heard that the cocaine was found concealed in earth-moving machinery in 2002.
Rex and Duncan Newport, both directors of a plant and machinery company, and the two other men who were also found guilty, are due to be sentenced in June.
The convictions came at the end of Operation Elysian, a major drugs investigation by HM Customs.
Customs officers discovered the cocaine shipment concealed inside a bulldozer blade which had arrived at Felixstowe, Suffolk, from Ecuador, South America, in November 2002.
The consignment was allowed to continue its journey, under surveillance, to an industrial estate in Wolverhampton.
'Ingenious methods'
Customs officers raided the unit, finding Reeves and Hillard in the process of removing the concealed drugs.
The pair were arrested at the scene and Duncan and Rex Newport were arrested later the same day.
Two other men have also been arrested and prosecuted in Ecuador for their alleged part in the smuggling attempt.
Following the guilty verdicts, Customs Minister John Healey MP, said: "Customs have prevented a huge amount of cocaine reaching the streets of the UK.
"This latest bust shows how sophisticated customs must be to match modern drugs gangs, who use increasingly ingenious methods to smuggle drugs into this country".
'Painstaking work'
Customs' Assistant Chief Investigation Officer, Peter Hollier, added: "This was a well-organised and determined attempt to smuggle a huge quantity of cocaine into this country.
"These men went to great lengths to avoid detection, using false names, a variety of vehicles, public telephones, more than a dozen mobile phones and a complex system of codes to cover their tracks.
"They were well aware of the scale of their criminality.
"I would like to pay tribute to the painstaking work of the case team and the many other customs officers involved in stopping these drugs from reaching the streets and ruining countless lives."
source
A father and son from north Wales have been found guilty of trying to smuggle cocaine worth £55m into the UK.
Rex Newport, 58, his son Duncan Newport, 36, both of Dyffryn Ardudwy, Gwynedd, were charged along with Mark Reeves, 38, from Kidderminster and Louis Hillard, 57, of no fixed abode.
The four had denied attempting to import 651kg of the drug.
Wolverhampton Crown Court heard that the cocaine was found concealed in earth-moving machinery in 2002.
Rex and Duncan Newport, both directors of a plant and machinery company, and the two other men who were also found guilty, are due to be sentenced in June.
The convictions came at the end of Operation Elysian, a major drugs investigation by HM Customs.
Customs officers discovered the cocaine shipment concealed inside a bulldozer blade which had arrived at Felixstowe, Suffolk, from Ecuador, South America, in November 2002.
The consignment was allowed to continue its journey, under surveillance, to an industrial estate in Wolverhampton.
'Ingenious methods'
Customs officers raided the unit, finding Reeves and Hillard in the process of removing the concealed drugs.
The pair were arrested at the scene and Duncan and Rex Newport were arrested later the same day.
Two other men have also been arrested and prosecuted in Ecuador for their alleged part in the smuggling attempt.
Following the guilty verdicts, Customs Minister John Healey MP, said: "Customs have prevented a huge amount of cocaine reaching the streets of the UK.
"This latest bust shows how sophisticated customs must be to match modern drugs gangs, who use increasingly ingenious methods to smuggle drugs into this country".
'Painstaking work'
Customs' Assistant Chief Investigation Officer, Peter Hollier, added: "This was a well-organised and determined attempt to smuggle a huge quantity of cocaine into this country.
"These men went to great lengths to avoid detection, using false names, a variety of vehicles, public telephones, more than a dozen mobile phones and a complex system of codes to cover their tracks.
"They were well aware of the scale of their criminality.
"I would like to pay tribute to the painstaking work of the case team and the many other customs officers involved in stopping these drugs from reaching the streets and ruining countless lives."
source
SilverFeniks
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US indicts leaders of $10 billion Colombian cartel
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- U.S. officials on Thursday unveiled racketeering charges against nine leaders of a powerful Colombian drug trafficking cartel said to be responsible for exporting cocaine worth more than $10 billion to the United States.
Three of the defendants have been designated as among the "most wanted" international drug trafficking targets by U.S. law enforcement authorities. And the FBI said it added one of the defendants to its list of the 10 most wanted fugitives.
The U.S. government also is offering rewards of up to $5 million for information leading to the apprehension of the defendants, a State Department official said.
According to the indictment, the defendants were leaders of the "Norte Valle Cartel," which operates mainly in the Norte Valle del Cauca region. It exported more than 500 tons of cocaine worth more than $10 billion from Colombia via Mexico to the United States since 1990.
"Today, we have ripped out the foundation of the largest and most powerful drug cartel in Colombia," Drug Enforcement Administration chief Karen Tandy said.
"We have indicted the ringleaders of a criminal organization responsible for bringing into the United States one-third to one-half of the cocaine that reaches our shores."
Attorney General John Ashcroft said, "The Norte Valle cartel was as deadly as it was dangerous. ... With today's announcement, we have these defendants running for their lives."
The racketeering indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Washington on April 29 and unsealed today, charges the cartel used violence and brutality to further its goals, including the murder of rivals.
Cartel leaders were accused of bribing and corrupting Colombian law enforcement officials and legislators in an attempt to block the extradition of any Colombian drug dealers to the United States, officials said.
According to the indictment, the cartel even conducted its own wiretaps to intercept the communications of rival drug traffickers, as well as Colombian and U.S. law enforcement officials.
Of the nine defendants, only one -- Arcangel Henao-Montoya -- is in custody in the United States. He was arrested in Panama in January and is in custody in New York, officials said.
They said the cartel took over much of Colombia's drug trafficking after police dismantled the powerful Medellin and Cali cartels in the mid-1990s.
source
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- U.S. officials on Thursday unveiled racketeering charges against nine leaders of a powerful Colombian drug trafficking cartel said to be responsible for exporting cocaine worth more than $10 billion to the United States.
Three of the defendants have been designated as among the "most wanted" international drug trafficking targets by U.S. law enforcement authorities. And the FBI said it added one of the defendants to its list of the 10 most wanted fugitives.
The U.S. government also is offering rewards of up to $5 million for information leading to the apprehension of the defendants, a State Department official said.
According to the indictment, the defendants were leaders of the "Norte Valle Cartel," which operates mainly in the Norte Valle del Cauca region. It exported more than 500 tons of cocaine worth more than $10 billion from Colombia via Mexico to the United States since 1990.
"Today, we have ripped out the foundation of the largest and most powerful drug cartel in Colombia," Drug Enforcement Administration chief Karen Tandy said.
"We have indicted the ringleaders of a criminal organization responsible for bringing into the United States one-third to one-half of the cocaine that reaches our shores."
Attorney General John Ashcroft said, "The Norte Valle cartel was as deadly as it was dangerous. ... With today's announcement, we have these defendants running for their lives."
The racketeering indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Washington on April 29 and unsealed today, charges the cartel used violence and brutality to further its goals, including the murder of rivals.
Cartel leaders were accused of bribing and corrupting Colombian law enforcement officials and legislators in an attempt to block the extradition of any Colombian drug dealers to the United States, officials said.
According to the indictment, the cartel even conducted its own wiretaps to intercept the communications of rival drug traffickers, as well as Colombian and U.S. law enforcement officials.
Of the nine defendants, only one -- Arcangel Henao-Montoya -- is in custody in the United States. He was arrested in Panama in January and is in custody in New York, officials said.
They said the cartel took over much of Colombia's drug trafficking after police dismantled the powerful Medellin and Cali cartels in the mid-1990s.
source
SilverFeniks
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8 get 40 years for shooting Mexican Cardinal (religious figure not bird)
MEXICO CITY - Eight men have been sentenced to 40 years each in prison for the 1993 killing of Roman Catholic Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo, who died during a shootout between rival drug gangs at a Guadalajara airport, court officials confirmed Friday.
An appeals court in the western state of Jalisco gave the men the maximum sentences allowable under Mexican law for homicide in a Thursday ruling, said Roberto Aguilar, a spokesman for the court system. The sentences are not subject to any further appeal, according to the Federal Judiciary Council.
Seven of the eight men also received additional sentences ranging from 35 to 240 years for an additional six deaths in the May 24, 1993 airport shootout and for subsequent killings. Such multiple sentences in Mexico are served concurrently.
Five men were acquitted of the cardinal's killing, three of whom were sentenced to terms ranging from 28 to 40 years for other homicides. The two others face separate charges. In past trials, several other suspects were convicted of charges relating to the killing, which shocked Mexico.
The Archdiocese of Guadalajara, which Posadas Ocampo headed and which has been an outspoken advocate of a deeper investigation into his killing, said it had no immediate comment on the sentences.
Posadas Ocampo was riddled with bullets while sitting in his car at the airport. Federal investigators concluded that a gang of gunmen confused his luxury car for that of a rival trafficker, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, whom they had targeted for assassination.
In 2002, a judge threw out murder charges against one of the main suspects in the slaying, accused drug lord Benjamin Arellano Felix. Arellano Felix, the reputed head of a ruthless drug gang bearing his family's name, was in the border city of Tijuana at the time of Posadas Ocampo's killing.
But current Guadalajara Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iniguez and other church figures have long disagreed with the official version of events, arguing that Posadas Ocampo had been targeted for his knowledge about alleged relationships between drug dealers and government officials.
Arellano Felix's brother, Francisco Rafael Arellano Felix, has already been convicted in connection with the slaying, but church officials insist that others who are responsible remain free.
source
MEXICO CITY - Eight men have been sentenced to 40 years each in prison for the 1993 killing of Roman Catholic Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo, who died during a shootout between rival drug gangs at a Guadalajara airport, court officials confirmed Friday.
An appeals court in the western state of Jalisco gave the men the maximum sentences allowable under Mexican law for homicide in a Thursday ruling, said Roberto Aguilar, a spokesman for the court system. The sentences are not subject to any further appeal, according to the Federal Judiciary Council.
Seven of the eight men also received additional sentences ranging from 35 to 240 years for an additional six deaths in the May 24, 1993 airport shootout and for subsequent killings. Such multiple sentences in Mexico are served concurrently.
Five men were acquitted of the cardinal's killing, three of whom were sentenced to terms ranging from 28 to 40 years for other homicides. The two others face separate charges. In past trials, several other suspects were convicted of charges relating to the killing, which shocked Mexico.
The Archdiocese of Guadalajara, which Posadas Ocampo headed and which has been an outspoken advocate of a deeper investigation into his killing, said it had no immediate comment on the sentences.
Posadas Ocampo was riddled with bullets while sitting in his car at the airport. Federal investigators concluded that a gang of gunmen confused his luxury car for that of a rival trafficker, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, whom they had targeted for assassination.
In 2002, a judge threw out murder charges against one of the main suspects in the slaying, accused drug lord Benjamin Arellano Felix. Arellano Felix, the reputed head of a ruthless drug gang bearing his family's name, was in the border city of Tijuana at the time of Posadas Ocampo's killing.
But current Guadalajara Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iniguez and other church figures have long disagreed with the official version of events, arguing that Posadas Ocampo had been targeted for his knowledge about alleged relationships between drug dealers and government officials.
Arellano Felix's brother, Francisco Rafael Arellano Felix, has already been convicted in connection with the slaying, but church officials insist that others who are responsible remain free.
source
SilverFeniks
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- Jul 2, 2002
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- 4,541
London - cocaine seizures up, heroin down
Cocaine seizures have quadrupled in London in the past year while heroin seizures have fallen by 50%, according to figures from Scotland Yard.
The force confiscated 360kg of cocaine in the financial year 2003 to 2004, compared with 96kg the year before.
Heroin dealers are thought to be switching to cocaine because it is more profitable, says the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS).
Police say figures show a "significant success" in the fight against drugs.
An NCIS spokeswoman added there was evidence of more cocaine destined for Britain being seized in Europe.
But she said it was largely due to better co-operation between European police forces.
'Devastating impact'
The Metropolitan Police and Customs and Excise are setting up a new pan-London drugs unit which will start work later this year.
It will target those importing and supplying hard drugs.
Police say it will provide an "innovative approach" to disrupting dealing on the streets and will help confiscate dealers' money.
Over the past year police say £4m has been seized from drug dealers - 50% of all money earned by criminal activities seized in London.
The figures also show crack cocaine seizures rose from 11.3kg in 2002 to 2003 to 17kg the following year.
Over the same period heroin seizures dropped from 105kg to 43kg.
Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur said class A drugs had a "devastating impact" on local communities.
He said: "The very presence of drugs on the streets of London cause increased levels of crime as addicts turn to robbery, burglary and alike, as a means of feeding their habit."
source
Cocaine seizures have quadrupled in London in the past year while heroin seizures have fallen by 50%, according to figures from Scotland Yard.
The force confiscated 360kg of cocaine in the financial year 2003 to 2004, compared with 96kg the year before.
Heroin dealers are thought to be switching to cocaine because it is more profitable, says the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS).
Police say figures show a "significant success" in the fight against drugs.
An NCIS spokeswoman added there was evidence of more cocaine destined for Britain being seized in Europe.
But she said it was largely due to better co-operation between European police forces.
'Devastating impact'
The Metropolitan Police and Customs and Excise are setting up a new pan-London drugs unit which will start work later this year.
It will target those importing and supplying hard drugs.
Police say it will provide an "innovative approach" to disrupting dealing on the streets and will help confiscate dealers' money.
Over the past year police say £4m has been seized from drug dealers - 50% of all money earned by criminal activities seized in London.
The figures also show crack cocaine seizures rose from 11.3kg in 2002 to 2003 to 17kg the following year.
Over the same period heroin seizures dropped from 105kg to 43kg.
Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur said class A drugs had a "devastating impact" on local communities.
He said: "The very presence of drugs on the streets of London cause increased levels of crime as addicts turn to robbery, burglary and alike, as a means of feeding their habit."
source
SilverFeniks
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- Jul 2, 2002
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Cocaine shipped in diplomatic pouches
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (AP) - Police arrested two men after authorities found cocaine in diplomatic pouches addressed to Trinidad's consulates in New York, Toronto and London, officials said Tuesday.
A security officer at the Trinidad Consulate in New York found two kilograms of cocaine on May 5 inside a hollowed-out telephone book and addressed to a low-level employee, a government official said on condition of anonymity. After the discovery, police searched other pouches at the Foreign Affairs Ministry before they left the country and discovered similar amounts of cocaine addressed to employees at consulates in Toronto and London, the official said.
Police arrested two men on Friday, Deputy Police Commissioner Glen Roach said. Micah Smith, a 32-year-old clerk at the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Trinidad, was charged with cocaine trafficking, Roach said.
Curt Alexis, 26, a former security guard at the ministry, was charged with possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, he said.
Both appeared in Magistrate's Court on Monday and bail was set at $100,000 Trinidadian ($23,575 Cdn) each. They didn't post bail and remain in custody.
The three people to whom the cocaine was addressed were recalled from the consulates and were being questioned, said the government official, who described them as low-level employees.
It was unclear how long the drug operation had been underway and whether other shipments had been made.
Smith was responsible for sealing diplomatic pouches to be sent overseas, the official said. The pouches are usually not inspected before they leave the country or by authorities in the receiving countries, but security in the consulates check packages when they arrive.
Acting Foreign Affairs Minister Eric Williams told the Senate on Tuesday the government intended to move quickly on the investigation because of the damage the allegations could inflict on the Caribbean country's reputation.
This former British colony of 1.3 million residents is right off Venezuela's coast, making it an advantageous transshipment point for South American cocaine destined for the United States and Europe, according to a U.S. State Department report published in March.
source
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (AP) - Police arrested two men after authorities found cocaine in diplomatic pouches addressed to Trinidad's consulates in New York, Toronto and London, officials said Tuesday.
A security officer at the Trinidad Consulate in New York found two kilograms of cocaine on May 5 inside a hollowed-out telephone book and addressed to a low-level employee, a government official said on condition of anonymity. After the discovery, police searched other pouches at the Foreign Affairs Ministry before they left the country and discovered similar amounts of cocaine addressed to employees at consulates in Toronto and London, the official said.
Police arrested two men on Friday, Deputy Police Commissioner Glen Roach said. Micah Smith, a 32-year-old clerk at the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Trinidad, was charged with cocaine trafficking, Roach said.
Curt Alexis, 26, a former security guard at the ministry, was charged with possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, he said.
Both appeared in Magistrate's Court on Monday and bail was set at $100,000 Trinidadian ($23,575 Cdn) each. They didn't post bail and remain in custody.
The three people to whom the cocaine was addressed were recalled from the consulates and were being questioned, said the government official, who described them as low-level employees.
It was unclear how long the drug operation had been underway and whether other shipments had been made.
Smith was responsible for sealing diplomatic pouches to be sent overseas, the official said. The pouches are usually not inspected before they leave the country or by authorities in the receiving countries, but security in the consulates check packages when they arrive.
Acting Foreign Affairs Minister Eric Williams told the Senate on Tuesday the government intended to move quickly on the investigation because of the damage the allegations could inflict on the Caribbean country's reputation.
This former British colony of 1.3 million residents is right off Venezuela's coast, making it an advantageous transshipment point for South American cocaine destined for the United States and Europe, according to a U.S. State Department report published in March.
source
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