Mega Merged Drug Bust Thread v2.0

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NZ - Drug conspirator escapes prison sentence

A Kaikoura man who admitted funding a P dealer escaped a prison term last week when he was sentenced in Blenheim District Court.

Ross Minshall Sadler, 21, of Kaikoura, was one of six people arrested after a drug bust in the town in May.

He was sentenced to 10 months' home detention and 180 hours' community work. He had earlier admitted charges of conspiring to deal in methamphetamine, offering to sell cannabis and possessing drug utensils.

Judge Tony Zohrab said Sadler was lucky not to be going to prison and warned him not to let his family down. "They may not think it, but you've been dealt with in a fairly lenient fashion," Judge Zohrab said.

Sadler's defence lawyer, Rennie Gould, told the court Sadler was employed in Christchurch and realised he was lucky not to be going to prison.

Crown prosecutor Bryony Millar said home detention should be imposed.

Judge Zohrab said methamphetamine was a nasty drug and had a significant effect on people. Sadler admitted giving co-accused Kaikoura vineyard worker Desmond Steven Stewart Ngawhare $2000 in March with the expectation of receiving $4000 back a week later.

Judge Zohrab said Sadler knew Ngawhare was dealing methamphetamine and was in it for a quick dollar. It was also noted Sadler had made regular trips to Christchurch to purchase cannabis and had significant involvement in the supply of cannabis.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-...0136/Drug-conspirator-escapes-prison-sentence
 
NZ - 18 arrests in BOP drug raid

Police in Western Bay of Plenty have delivered another blow to drug offenders today arresting 18 people during a series of raids.

A total of 17 search warrants were executed in Tauranga, Mount Maunganui and Te Puke.

Ten men and eight women were arrested in relation to methamphetamine, LSD, cannabis, cannabis plants and stolen property offences.

The majority of the methamphetamine (approximately 15 grams) was found at a Tauranga address. A 50-year-old man now faces charges of both possession and supply.

A stolen outboard motor and cannabis were found at a Welcome Bay address. Three men were arrested at the address.

Cannabis plants were discovered at houses in Te Puke (35 plants), Tauriko (31 plants) and Bethlehem (49 plants). The plants were in various stages of development.

Those arrested face a variety of charges including possession and supply of Class A and C drugs, cultivating cannabis, possession of drug utensils, receiving stolen property and breaching court bail.

About 40 officers took part in today's operation, including armed officers and police dogs.

Detective Sergeant Darryl Brazier said: "We have sent a clear message today that we will not tolerate drugs in our community. We will continue to shake the trees until those people intent on criminal offending realise that they have nowhere to hide and that they need to start doing something more productive with their lives."

http://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/227626/18-arrests-bop-drug-raid
 
Aus - Police dog allegedly finds drugs hidden in pool table

THREE people will face court on drug offences after a police dog allegedly detected illicit drugs hidden in a pool table at a Netherby home.

Police said they found a large number of tablets - believed to be ecstasy - bags containing cannabis, plastic bags and scales at the Heather St home yesterday.

It is alleged prescription medications and cash were found in a bedroom.

Three people living at the house were arrested.

A woman, 50, and a man, 44, were charged with possessing a controlled drug, and a man, 18, was charged with possessing a commercial quantity of a controlled drug for sale.

All three were bailed to appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court next

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/ne...en-in-pool-table/story-fndo2izk-1226481804465
 
Aus - Drug case adjourned

DRUG trafficking charges against a Barwon Prison officer have been adjourned for further mention in Geelong Magistrates' Court on October 10.

Gordon Watts, 40, of Riatta Ave, Grovedale, is charged with two counts of traffick- ng amphetamine, one of which allegedly spans the two years between June 2010 and June 2012.

Mr Watts is also charged with trafficking buprenorphine, possessing a firearm, possessing a controlled weapon, possessing/using cannabis and being an unlicensed person in possession of a firearm.

The final charge against Mr Watts relates to misconduct in public office. The accused man did not appear in court yesterday with lawyers arranging to have his matters adjourned.

http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2012/09/27/352171_news.html
 
NZ Drug addict 'swapped weed for P'

In an effort to fund his expensive methamphetamine habit, an Ashhurst man grew more than 800 cannabis plants so he could swap them for methamphetamine.

On October 28 last year, Aaron James Hockly, 29, was living and working near Dannevirke.

He was also growing cannabis and when police searched the property he was staying they found a garage with 164 mature cannabis plants and 699 seedlings - 863 plants in total.

On expert estimated the yield from that to be 14.25 kilograms of the drug, the Palmerston North District Court heard yesterday. Judge Gerard Lynch said the operation was sophisticated and included five lamps, six fans, a dehumidifier, a carbon filter and an electric heater.

Hockly was also diverting electricity without paying for it, although the amount he used is disputed.

Hockly admitted growing the drug so he could swap it for methamphetamine, which he had used for eight to 10 years - a habit that could cost $250 to $1000 a week.

''For a man who was in the grip of an extensive methamphetamine addiction you remained productive. You've maintained good employment over those years,'' Judge Lynch told Hockly.

He had been drug free since his arrest and defence lawyer Steve Winter asked for a home detention term to be imposed.

Mr Winter said his client was seeking addiction help and was in a stable relationship.

''He has loving support from people who will simply not tolerate his return to the drug scene.'' But the judge disagreed with Mr Winter's plea and on one charge each of cannabis cultivation and theft of electricity, Hockly was jailed for two years and four months.

''This was an organised an well-prepared growing operation,'' Judge Lynch said.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/7743913/Drug-addict-swapped-weed-for-P
 
NZ - Judge rejects man's drug story

A Temuka man has failed to convince a judge he had cultivated 1.4 kilograms of cannabis, worth $15,500, for his personal use.

Steven Rodney Cook, 42, was found guilty of having cannabis for supply at a defended hearing before Judge Paul Kellar at Timaru District Court yesterday.

Police carried out a search at Cook's address on February 21 this year. Cannabis could be smelt from outside the garage and police found it had been partitioned and a false wall created.

Behind the wall there was 3.4kg of cannabis material in a woolsack, 1.4kg of cannabis head drying, and several recently harvested plants. There were also 49 seedlings that were about six weeks away from harvest.

The usable cannabis was said to have a street value of $15,500 and the upcoming harvest an expected street value of $23,000.

Setting up the hydroponic operation was estimated to have cost $2000. The room was lined with foil and had heating equipment, ducting and extraction fans.

In his evidence Cook said that at the time he was depressed and stressed and having five or six smokes of cannabis a day. He had started smoking cannabis heavily when he was 16.

He estimated the harvest of 1.4kg would have lasted a year and he intended to give the seedlings back to the man who originally supplied him with them.

Judge Kellar said the operation was carefully organised and Cook was clearly living beyond his means. The lack of snap lock bags or weighing equipment may have been because the cannabis head was not dry enough to sell.

"Mr Cook would have incurred the costs of setting up the operation. In addition to those costs, he was incurring the cost of renovating his house and the cost of buying sufficient cannabis to consume five to six cannabis cigarettes per day. That would have been hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

"I reject Mr Cook's evidence he was consuming five to six cigarettes a day. He was functioning at a level he simply could have not have done if he had been consuming that amount . . . Further, he could not have been able to afford to purchase that amount . . .

"In my view he planned to use those seedlings to carry on the operation. I am not satisfied all the cannabis was for his own use or that the grow was a one-off."

Cook had already pleaded guilty to cultivation of cannabis and possession of cannabis utensils and was remanded to November 2 for sentencing.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/7745672/Judge-rejects-mans-drug-story
 
Indonesian drug mule caught with 8 kilos of cocaine – report

Customs authorities arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport late Saturday a suspected Indonesian drug mule whose luggage yielded eight kilos of cocaine.

The suspect was taken into custody shortly after arriving at about 5 p.m. aboard Emirates flight EK-332 from Dubai, radio dzBB reported early Sunday.

Airport authorities found the cocaine in a hidden compartment in a traveling bag.

The Indonesian denied the drugs were his.

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency operatives had been keeping track of the Indonesian, who they said operates in many areas in Asia.

A separate report by dzBB's Paulo Santos said the Customs officials at the NAIA said they would intensify their inspection of baggage of incoming passengers following Saturday's incident. — DVM, GMA News

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/stor...e-caught-with-8-kilos-of-cocaine-ndash-report
 
Aus - Millionaire lawyer Nigel Munt accused of trafficking meth

HE WAS a hotshot lawyer with the world at his feet. Now Nigel Munt could face a lengthy prison term after being accused of being a drug trafficker.

Munt, 42, was a director and a major shareholder of Brisbane-based personal injury law firm Trilby Misso.

The business was sold to Slater & Gordon for $57 million in 2010, and Munt's share of that was believed to be about $19 million.

Now he is charged with trafficking in methylamphetamine, a schedule one drug, allegedly starting just over a year after the law firm sale.

If he is convicted, he could face up to 25 years in jail.

It is alleged the drug trafficking was carried out at diverse places between August 24 last year and August 3 this year.

Munt and three other men have been charged as a result of a joint Federal Police and Queensland Organised Crime operation.

Munt first appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court on August 7, when he was granted bail on the condition that he remain living at his Bridgeman Downs home.

He is represented by law firm Howden Saggers, but did not enter a plea.

Munt and a partner bought the five-bedroom property last year for $1.65 million. Munt also owns a Gympie area cattle property, bought for $3.25 million in 2006.

The father of five was educated at St Paul's School at Bald Hills.

He was admitted as a solicitor in 1994 and in 1995 became a partner in Trilby Misso, a "no win, no fee" law firm.

Munt's case was mentioned in Brisbane Magistrates Court last Monday and adjourned until December.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/...trafficking-meth/story-e6freon6-1226484102100
 
Pot farm bust nets 4,000 plants worth $7.4M near Vegas

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A tip from a citizen led law officers in southern Nevada to an indoor marijuana farm at Mount Charleston with nearly 4,000 pot plants worth an estimated $7.4 million.

Federal agents assisted Las Vegas police in a raid Tuesday in the rugged terrain about 3 miles northwest of the intersections of state routes 156 and 158.

No suspects have been arrested.

Police say it's the fifth major outdoor grow house shut down in Clark County this year.

The raid was led by a task force made up of officers for the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas police. So far this year, the team has removed 36,000 plants worth an estimated $72 million.

http://www.mynews4.com/news/local/s...s-worth-7-4M-near/RM12zHdh8EK9yha1ejtqTg.cspx
 
Us - Courthouse records

Worcester Superior Court

Judge David Ricciardone

Jose Arana, 36, of 27 Lafayette St., Worcester, sentenced to three concurrent terms of 11 to 15 years in Walpole state prison after pleading guilty to trafficking in cocaine, possession of a firearm without a firearm ID card, amended from firearm violation with three prior violent or drug crimes and possession of ammunition without a firearm ID card, amended from firearm violation with three prior violent or drug crimes.

Sentenced to a concurrent term of 8 to 10 years in Walpole state prison after pleading guilty to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

Sentenced to two concurrent terms of 3 to 4 years in Walpole state prison after pleading guilty to attempting to commit a crime (kidnapping) and conspiracy. Sentenced to a concurrent term of 2 years in the House of Correction after pleading guilty to distribution of marijuana.

Placed on two concurrent terms of 3 years’ probation, to begin upon release, after pleading guilty to possession of heroin with intent to distribute, amended from trafficking in heroin, morphine or opium, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

As conditions of probation, ordered to undergo drug and alcohol evaluations with treatment and counseling as recommended by the Probation Department, to submit to random drug tests, to have no contact with the victim, and to pay $150 drug fee, $90 victim witness fee $65 probation fee.

http://www.telegram.com/article/20120919/COURTRECORDS/109199876/-1/court_records_recent#.UGdzOEJRqCc
 
Heroin dealer caught branding packages with LeBron James' name

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LeBron James heroin / Philadelphia Daily News
Click to expand...

A Philadelphia man was arrested Thursday after he sold 140 packets of heroin printed with a label featuring LeBron James' name to an undercover police officer.

Drug dealers often name their product to generate mass appeal, according to my Season 1 DVDs of The Wire.

Marlon Guess, 19, was hit with a quarter-million dollar bail after trying to sell the heroin packets for $750. The drug dealer's decision makes LeBron's Decision look genius in comparison.

At those prices, Darren Rovell would feel compelled to point out that the undercover officer could have bought 3.2 million packets of LeBron heroin with the NBA star's 2012 salary.

Should we be impressed that the drug dealer properly capitalized the letters in LeBron's first name or disappointed that he appears to have used a picture of a basketball player from the 1980s as the dunk silhouette. (It could a picture of LeBron, we guess, but he looks too skinny. It looks more like Dominique Wilkins circa 1987.)

"I don't think LeBron James would be too happy with this drug-dealer dude using his name on these street bags," Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood told The Philadelphia Daily News.

http://www.clarionledger.com/usatod...=sportsmod?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Sports|p
 
Inside Look At CBP Drug Seizures

Drugs are found all the time on or with people trying to cross the border.

Our Lauren Kendrick got an inside look at how CBP catches people with drugs.

Within the last few weeks, CBP has made large seizures of drugs.

Most of them were found on buses.

We spoke to someone with CBP about how they find those drugs.

"There is no template for who may be attempting to bring in narcotics."

Chief officer Davolina tells us the agents at the bridge have seen everyone from babies to little old ladies attempting to smuggle in drugs.

The officers decide who to question .

"Upon their discretion, they can send in people to be examined a little bit closer and this is how our officers have been able to encounter the success they've had."

Success they've had in the last two weeks.

"Bringing in seizures of heroin, marijuana. More than a thousand pounds. heroin more than 122 pounds."

Davolina says the last five seizures have dealt with bus passengers.

Most recently, a bus was carrying 123 pounds of heroin in the floorboard of a bus worth twelve million dollars.

"That is one of the largest heroin seizures we have seen in the last few years."

The twelve million dollars worth of heroin seized last week was done so by this x-ray truck right behind me.

Currently, there is an x-ray truck, which drives next to the buses to spot drugs.

This will soon change and be replaced by the z-portal, where vehicles just drive thru it.

With this advancement, speed and efficiency will exist for drug seizures.

http://www.pro8news.com/news/local/Inside-Look-At-CBP-Drug-Seizures-172368821.html
 
Arkansas Woman Faces Drug Charges

A north Arkansas woman is facing drug charges following a search of a residence by Newton County sheriff’s deputies.

Sheriff Keith Slape says the search warrant was executed at the home of 54-year old Ninon Brannon of Jasper. Authorities located 19 marijuana plants, a growing operation for suspected psilocybin mushrooms, components for a suspected meth lab and paraphernalia.

Brannon is charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession of paraphernalia with intent to manufacture, criminal attempt to manufacture a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Brannon’s bond was set at 25-thousand dollars.

http://www.komc.com/12145/arkansas_woman_faces_drug_charges.html
 
Preliminary Hearing Set for Lawyer Arraigned on Felony Drug Charges

Former Centre County Assistant District Attorney Steve Sloane has a preliminary hearing scheduled for 11 a.m. on Oct. 10 after being arraigned on felony drug charges.

Sloane, 53, was arraigned on Monday by Mifflin County Judge Tammy Hunter. His unsecured bail was set at $100,000 and he was not incarcerated.

The former longtime assistant district attorney was charged with felony counts including intent to manufacture and criminal use of a communication facility, and a charge of misdemeanor intent to possess, according to a court spokeswoman.

At 5:38 p.m. on Monday:

Steve Sloane, a former Centre County assistant district attorney, is wanted by police and faces felony drug charges for allegedly dealing pot to co-workers that he received by mail.

According to the Centre Daily Times, a criminal complaint filed on Monday said Sloane, 53, could be charged with seven counts of felony, a third-degree felony and a misdemeanor.

Per the report, a narcotics officer based in Modesto, Calif., contacted State College Police in Oct. 2011 after getting a hold of a package, its contents two ounces of marijuana and 20 hydrocondone pills.

The criminal complaint said a Steven Ice was shipping the contents from California to Sloane's place of work, the Masorti & Sullivan law offices, according to the newspaper.

Police interviewed witnesses who said they bought pot from Sloane, according to the report, but Sloane told the newspaper he was not aware of the charges and acknowledged the 2011 investigation.

http://www.statecollege.com/news/lo...yer-arraigned-on-felony-drug-charges-1145379/
 
Ex-Con with Sag Harbor Past Pulls Gun During Questioning

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An ex-convict with a criminal past linked to Noyac was admitted to the psychiatric unit of Stony Brook University Hospital on Tuesday, September 25. Police say there was an altercation at the suspect’s Wading River home after police went to the house to question the 60-year-old about a missed parole meeting and a drug enforcement officer had to open fire on the suspect after he allegedly pointed a handgun at himself and then police officers.

According to a press release issued by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office on Wednesday, September 26, Thomas Michael Counihan, of Wading River-Manor Road, currently on probation for a drug possession charge, displayed a loaded Colt .45 while investigators from the East End Drug Task Force searched his room last Tuesday night for illegal narcotics after Counihan missed a parole meeting.

The press release states that Counihan grabbed the gun from the top of his bed and first pointed the gun barrel at his face, then his chest.

Counihan then began to turn the gun towards two officers, according to police, and it was at that point one of the officers fired one shot at Counihan, missing him, but prompting the suspect to drop to the floor.

In Counihan’s room, officers say they found and seized 250 packets of heroin, approximately two ounces of powder cocaine, a large plastic bag containing marijuana, a syringe and nine unlabeled prescription bottles containing various pills.

“It is clear the police officer’s discharge of his weapon, given the circumstances, was justified,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota.

According to District Attorney Spota, when Counihan is released from the psychiatric unit of Stony Brook University Hospital he will be charged with Criminal Possession of a Loaded Handgun, a felony, as well as for possession of heroin, cocaine and marijuana.

“We are relieved that the two East End Drug Task Force officers were not injured during the standoff with this dangerous, violent felon,” he said.

Counihan’s criminal history includes six convictions, four on felony charges, including a violent felony conviction in 1985 for a Southampton Village robbery in which Counihan used a deadly weapon, said police.
Part of Counihan’s criminal history also dates back to the Sag Harbor area.

According to a 1990 article in The Sag Harbor Express, written by then reporter Thomas Horn, Jr. — now a Sag Harbor-based attorney — in July of 1988 Counihan was arrested for possession of two ounces of cocaine, holding “a large amount of cash” that did not exceed $1,000 as well as various drug packing materials.

At the time, Counihan was residing in the Noyac Road residence that belonged to his mother, Josephine Counihan, and the suspect’s ex-wife.

At the time of the 1988 arrest, Counihan was already on parole from a 1982 conviction for armed robbery and was indicted on the drug charges.

After his arrest, Southampton Town Police, in conjunction with the Drug Enforcement Agency, made application to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and a warrant for seizure of the Noyac Road property was issued.

After police proved in court that Counihan’s mother allegedly was aware of the criminal activity taking place at the home, the house was seized on February 15, 1990 with police taking control of the residence that July.

Forty-five percent of the proceeds of the home’s sale went to Counihan’s ex-wife, 45 percent was transferred to Southampton Town Police and 10 percent given to the federal government, according to Horn’s article

After the house was sold, it was demolished by new owners in the early 1990s.

In Horn’s article, Southampton Town Police termed it “the first decision of its kind for a property located on Long Island.”

http://sagharboronline.com/sagharbo...arbor-past-pulls-gun-during-questioning-20002
 
NZ - Drugs bound for south intercepted

Customs New Zealand intercepted heroin at Queenstown Airport, one of four attempts to smuggle the Class A drug into the country this year.

Seizures by type, quantity and class nationally, and at Queenstown Airport, Invercargill Airport and port, and drugs bound for Southland and Central Otago in the mail were provided to The Southland Times under the Official Information Act.

In Queenstown, eagle-eyed officers caught one international passenger with 1.2g of heroin - one of four such incidents in the country so far this year, totalling 3.6g overall.

At the Auckland International Mail Centre, officers intercepted drug shipments bound for the south, including magic mushrooms, the class B "date rape drug" GABA, cannabis leaf, cannabis seeds, morphine, ecstasy and ephedrine. In hauls this year, staff stopped 762g of magic mushrooms, 16 ecstasy tabs, 200 capsules of ephedrine and 300g of synthetic class C drugs.

Two temporary drug class notices were handed out for 48g of synthetic cannabis products.

Nationally, officers stopped 16kg of GABA getting into New Zealand in 96 interceptions.

Customs New Zealand drug investigations manager Mark Day said interceptions such as cocaine were often part of a bigger picture and the involvement of international criminal syndicates in, for example, Afghanistan and South America.

"At the very top you have at the moment the largest amount of heroin being produced in the world.

"That's quite simply big powerful cartels trying to generate income.

"Once you have that [in Afghanistan] you have the people out in South America saying we have to get our product out on the street."

Customs intercepted 3.5kg of cocaine in 2011 in five incidents but so far this year 15 intercepts stopped almost 10kg at the border.

New Zealand was an attractive country to drug syndicates because the return on sales was high, Mr Day said.

Nationally the most common interception last year was pseudoephedrine, the precursor for "P".

Nationally, Customs also stopped DMT, a powerful hallucinogen that occurs naturally in the Amazonian ayahuasca brew used by indigenous people for spiritual ceremonies, 150kg of pseudoephedrine and 48kg of the class C khat, a plant with amphetamine-like effects.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/7771915/Drugs-bound-for-south-intercepted
 
Former airport worker pleads guilty in drug plot

ATLANTA (AP) - A former security worker has pleaded guilty in a plot to smuggle drugs through the Atlanta airport.

U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates says the guilty plea was given by 26-year-old Timothy G. Gregory, a former Transportation Security Administration employee. Yates says Gregory tried to smuggle cocaine through security at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

Yates says an undercover officer provided Gregory with five kilograms of fake cocaine and $5,000 in May. Gregory delivered the fake drugs through a TSA checkpoint to another undercover officer in the terminal.

Yates says Gregory agreed to transport another 10 kilograms of fake cocaine in August.

Gregory was indicted in August on three counts of drug trafficking.

Gregory faces a maximum of life in prison and fines up to $10,000,000. Gregory's sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 18.

http://www.wtvm.com/story/19737661/former-airport-worker-pleads-guilty-in-drug-plot
 
Large marijuana grow east of Fresno pulled out

Fresno County Sheriff's and federal officers completed the eradication Saturday morning of a large marijuana grow east of Fresno, pulling out 9,000 plants, sheriff's Lt. Rick Ko said.

In addition to the plants, 500 pounds of processed marijuana were seized, Ko said. Street value of all the marijuana found near Belmont and Academy avenues was estimated at $55 million, he said. The eradication began Friday through a federal warrant.

One man was arrested and about 15 people were detained.

Medical marijuana recommendations were posted. However, Ko said, "Even under state law, when you're growing that many plants, it's beyond what is reasonable and necessary."

The marijuana grow was found on about half of an 80-acre parcel, Ko said. Other crops were growing around the marijuana, he said.

The case will be turned over to the Fresno County District Attorney's Office for prosecution, he said.

http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/10/06/3019749/large-marijuana-grow-east-of-fresno.html
 
Coast Guard vessel returns to St. Petersburg with $36 million in seized drugs

ST. PETERSBURG — A Coast Guard vessel returned to port Sunday with $36 million worth of cocaine and marijuana seized in overseas operations.

The Coast Guard Cutter Resolute, a 210-foot ship, recovered the drugs during a 10-week deployment in the western Caribbean, according to a media release.

On Sept. 27, a patrolling Coast Guard helicopter spotted a 35-foot "go-fast boat" off the coast of Honduras. Four suspected drug smugglers jumped from the boat in an attempt to escape, the Coast Guard said. The Resolute's crews pulled the smugglers from the water and stopped the unmanned go-fast boat, where they discovered 53 bales of cocaine, weighing nearly 3,000 pounds and worth about $35 million.

The Resolute turned the four smugglers over to U.S. authorities.

In another incident, the helicopter tracked a go-fast boat that ditched its cargo: 45 bales of marijuana, weighing about 1,500 pounds. The smugglers escaped into Nicaraguan waters, the Coast Guard said. The Resolute retrieved the $1-million drug load.

The Resolute's arrival Sunday to its home port in St. Petersburg coincided with another Coast Guard vessel's return to Port Canaveral. The Confidence brought back more than 2,000 pounds of marijuana Sunday from counter-drug operations south of Cuba.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/public...sburg-with-36-million-in-seized-drugs/1255324
 
Jailed: Woman who used horse as drugs mule for £5m cocaine haul


A woman who used a horse as a drugs mule has been jailed.

Emma McCue-Smith transported £5m of pure uncut cocaine into the country after importing a horse from Holland.

The 36-year-old of Scott Street, Radcliffe, had arranged for 10kg of the drugs to be concealed in the animal’s rug.

After arriving in the UK, the horse was being cared for on a stable yard in Kent but staff called police after becoming suspicious about the weight of its rug.

Closer inspection found specially designed pockets inside the rug were concealing 10 packets of a white powder.

It was analysed and later confirmed to be pure uncut cocaine with a street value of over £5m.


http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereve...-used-horse-as-drugs-mule-for-5m-cocaine-haul
 
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