Mega Merged Drug Bust Thread v2.0

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Feds shutter online narcotics store that used TOR to hide its tracks

Federal authorities have arrested eight men accused of distributing more than $1 million worth of LSD, ecstasy, and other narcotics with an online storefront that used the TOR anonymity service to mask their Internet addresses.

"The Farmer's Market," as the online store was called, was like an Amazon for consumers of controlled substances, according to a 66-page indictment unsealed on Monday. It offered online forums, Web-based order forms, customer service, and at least four methods of payment, including PayPal and Western Union. From January 2007 to October 2009, it processed some 5,256 orders valued at $1.04 million. The site catered to about 3,000 customers in 35 countries, including the United States.

To elude law enforcement officers, the operators used software provided by the TOR Project that makes it virtually impossible to track the activities of users' IP addresses. The alleged conspirators also used IP anonymizers and covert currency transactions to cover their tracks. The indictment, which cited e-mails sent among the men dating back to 2006, didn't say how investigators managed to infiltrate the site or link it to the individuals accused of running it.

Prosecutors said in a press release that the charges were the result of a two-year investigation led by agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration's Los Angeles field division. "Operation Adam Bomb, " as the investigation was dubbed, also involved law enforcement agents from several US states and several countries, including Colombia, the Netherlands, and Scotland.

Lead defendant Marc Willem was arrested on Monday at his home in Lelystad, Netherlands, federal prosecutors said in a press release. On Sunday, authorities arrested Michael Evron, a US citizen who lives in Argentina as he was attempting to leave Colombia. The remaining defendants—Jonathan Colbeck, Brian Colbeck, Ryan Rawls, Jonathan Dugan, George Matzek, and Charles Bigras—were arrested at their respective homes in Iowa, Michigan, Georgia, New York, New Jersey, and Florida. Attempts to reach the men for comment weren't immediately successful.

The 12-count indictment charges all eight men with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and to launder money. Several of them are also charged with distributing LSD and taking part in a continuing criminal enterprise. Each faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.

The arrests come about a year after Gawker documented the existence of Silk Road, an online narcotics storefront that was available only to TOR users. The site sold LSD, Afghani hashish, tar heroin and other controlled substances and allowed customers to pay using the virtual currency known as Bitcoin, the article reported. It wasn't immediately clear what the relationship between Silk Road and Farmer's Market is.

Farmer's Market had thousands of registered users who hailed from every one of the states of the United States and the District of Columbia, as well as 34 other countries, according to prosecutors. The site relied on multiple sources of various controlled substances. The suppliers, operators, and customers communicated primarily through the website's internal private messaging system.

In addition to the eight arrests, authorities arrested seven other people on Monday. In the course of the arrests, authorities seized hash, LSD, and MDMA, in addition to an indoor psychotripic mushroom grow and three indoor marijuana growing operations.

source: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...cs-store-that-used-tor-to-hide-its-tracks.ars
 
Montreal hash bust nets more than 43 tonnes
The Gazette
April 18th, 2012

MONTREAL — Seven people are scheduled to appear at the Montreal courthouse Wednesday afternoon following a massive drug bust involving the seizure of more than 43 tonnes of hashish.

The RCMP estimates the value of the hash seized to be worth more than $860 million on the street.

The RCMP's C Division, based in Montreal, said the investigation into the illegal substance, dubbed Celsius, was conducted with the help of police in Pakistan, Italy, Belgium and the U.S.
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Read the full story here.

Damn, that's a lot of hash!
 
36 Arrested in Puerto Rico drug smuggling ring

Tom Brown
Reuters

Thirty-six people were arrested on Wednesday in a crackdown on a drug trafficking ring that used Puerto Rico's main airport to smuggle large quantities of cocaine off the island aboard U.S.-bound passenger flights, authorities said.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said the 36 detainees, including 22 suspects rounded up at San Juan's International Airport, were among 45 people indicted for smuggling more than 61,000 pounds of cocaine out of the U.S. territory on commercial flights to the U.S. mainland since 1999.

"It's an important blow," said Laila Rico,
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Full article here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47709806/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/
 
Five tons of liquid cocaine seized in Venezuela


Venezuela's top security official says authorities have confiscated 4.8 metric tons of liquid cocaine.

National Guard troops arrested three suspects after they discovered the cocaine mixed with petroleum byproducts and hidden inside oil barrels, said Justice Minister Tareck El Aissami.

The cocaine was to be shipped to Mexico, which is often used as a distribution point for illegal drugs destined for the US.

El Aissami said that authorities at the port of Maracaibo became suspicious when they learned the barrels of oil were going to be shipped to Mexico, a producer of petroleum.

He called Tuesday's drug seizure one of significant confiscations in recent years.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10816065
 
Canada - Six-week spring sting of alleged crack cocaine dealers nets 30 arrests
Brent Wittmeier
Edmonton Journal
July 11th, 2012

EDMONTON - In the surveillance photo snapped in downtown Edmonton, a man leaps mid-air from a second-storey balcony, a wad of cash sprinkling to the ground below.

Undercover officers made eight arrests during a raid of the purported drug den in early June, halfway through a six-week undercover sting of crack cocaine dealers that netted 30 arrests, six additional warrants, and a total of 155 drug charges.

On Wednesday, police announced the results of an investigation into drug activity in a three-block area along 101st Street between 103rd and 106th Avenue, an area where police say 40 per cent of all of downtown’s violent crime occurs.

Police identified 36 men and women as mostly street level dealers, almost exclusively peddling crack cocaine in the area. Many were known to police.

“They were not high on the drug food chain,” acting Supt. Dave Berry said. “They were the bottom level dealers preying on the people trying to access services in the area or people coming into the area to purchase drugs.”
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Read the full story here.
 
Australian likely to escape Bali death penalty

An Australian man being held on drug charges in Indonesia looks likely to avoid the death penalty, after prosecutors recommended a 15-year jail sentence.

Edward Norman Myatt was arrested in February at Bali's international airport, after a customs officer became suspicious.

Myatt was detained and taken for an X-ray which showed a large number of capsules in his stomach.

Indonesian officials say they recovered 70 capsules filled with more than a kilogram of hashish and about 4.5 grams of methamphetamine.

It is an offence that could carry the death penalty in Indonesia.

But in Denpasar District Court, prosecutors suggested 15 years in Jail for Myatt and a $20,000 fine.

The prosecutors say Myatt has behaved well, apologised and admitted wrongdoing.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-07-11/australian-likely-to-escape-bali-death-penalty/4124528
 
Australia - Police seize $500m worth of drugs in Sydney
Rachel Olding
The Sydney Morning Herald
July 31st, 2012

For 11 months the Australian Federal Police had their eye on a group of alleged big-time drug smugglers.

Along with investigators from the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, their every move was monitored until last night when it was decided the time was right to pounce.

Eight search warrants were executed around Sydney and seven men - four Hong Kong nationals and three men from Sydney's western suburbs - were arrested last night for smuggling a record half-tonne haul of heroin and ice into Australia. The 558-kilogram haul has an estimated street value of $500 million.

The drugs - among the largest amount ever seized by the police and border security agents - were stashed in terracotta pots and arrived in Sydney nearly two weeks ago, addressed to a warehouse in Sydney, police said.

Police believe the drugs were destined not only for the streets of Sydney but elsewhere in Australia.
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Read the full story here.
 
Yeah that was a big bust. I added this to the AUS DD drug busts thread also... 1/2 a billion dollars worth of ice and heroin. Aus's biggest ever ice bust..

Despite an increased number of drug seizures in Australia, Deputy Commissioner Colvin said there were not more drugs reaching our shores. Rather, the police were getting better at working with other agencies at home and abroad to make more arrests, he said.
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I wonder if this is true.
 
Meth dealer faces up to 80 years in prison

A Lafayette man faces a minimum range of 50 to 80 years in prison after being found guilty Wednesday of dealing methamphetamine and nine other charges related to his arrest last September.

Michael D. Toney, 34, stood trial Tuesday and Wednesday in Tippecanoe Circuit Court.

Jurors found him guilty of dealing in meth, a Class A felony; possession of meth, a Class B felony; two counts of maintaining an illegal drug lab, both Class C felonies; two counts of being a serious violent felon in possession of a firearm, both Class B felonies; two counts of possession of a controlled substance, both Class C felonies; and possession of paraphernalia, a misdemeanor.

Toney also was found guilty of being a habitual offender, which is a sentencing enhancement that could add 30 years in prison.

Jurors acquitted him of dealing in a sawed-off shotgun, a Class D felony, and a third count of possession of a controlled substance, a Class C felony.

Toney was arrested on Sept. 28, 2011, after Lafayette police were trying to serve unrelated arrest warrants on him from White and Pulaski counties. Officers went to an apartment where Toney was staying on South 18th Street.

According to court documents, officers did a “protective sweep” of the apartment after noticing a strong chemical odor. During the search, they found contraband, glass jars and a pitcher that contained an active “one pot” meth lab.

The firearms charge stems from a sawed-off shotgun found between mattresses in a bedroom.

Toney is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 31.

Chief Deputy Prosecutor Kristen McVey said the state will argue that Toney’s habitual offender conviction be applied to the lead charge, dealing meth as a Class A felony. That count alone is punishable by 20 to 50 years in prison; Indiana law requires that habitual enhancements be served consecutive to the underlying counts.

http://www.jconline.com/article/20120809/NEWS03/308090043/meth-dealer-80-years
 
BULGARIA :: 9 kg of heroin were seized and 7 people detained

"9 kg of heroin were seized and 7 people, members of an organised criminal group involved with drugs smuggling and distribution, were detained late tonight in the frames of a special police operation of the Directorate General for Countering Organised Crime in the Sofia residential district of “Ovcha Kupel”, the Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov told FOCUS News Agency."

The group specialised in the distribution of cocaine, heroin and amphetamines. The leader of the group was Dimitar, a.k.a. “The Pellet” from Haskovo, who was sentenced for murder and drugs distribution in Turkey, where he was released in August 2012. A major part of the group members had previous criminal experience related to narcotics distribution, the minister noted, adding that the group was related to other quantities of drugs discovered and seized by the police in 2012. The police had evidence that the heroin was meant for distribution in Western Europe. The specialised prosecutor’s office would be approached on the case in the morning, Minister Tsvetanov clarified, and presented with the evidence collected throughout the night

http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n286652
 
Local, U.S. agents sweep southeastern island, find 8ks of cocaine

SANTO DOMINGO. - Eight bales of cocaine have been found by local and United States authorities so far, foiling a drug trafficking operation near Saona Island, in the country’s southeast.

The drugs were dumped overboard from a speedboat sailing from South America, after pursuit by the authorities, according to an official source quoted by diariolibre.com.

The joint operation with the National Drugs Control Agency (DNCD), the Navy and the US Coast Guard which began Monday night continues today, but there are no arrests thus far.

http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/lo...sweep-southeastern-island-find-8ks-of-cocaine
 
Lynwood police find 2 tons of pot in house, nearby field

LYNWOOD | Police said more than 2 tons of marijuana with a street value of about $3 million — one of the largest operations ever uncovered in Lynwood — was seized last weekend.

Police Chief Michael Mears said Tuesday that Lynwood police and Public Works officials spent the weekend dismantling the operation based out of a house in the 2600 block of Glenwood-Dyer Road.

Police received a tip last week and obtained a warrant for the house, where officers discovered some pot plants and assorted packaging materials. Mears said each room of the house "was set up for a different phase in cannabis processing and packaging."

About 10 pounds of marijuana was recovered from the house, police said.

Officers noticed a water hose attached to the house and running into a nearby field during a search of the property, Mears said.

After following the hose for about a half-mile, police discovered what turned out to be a 2-acre plot of land where nearly 2 tons of cannabis plants were growing in various stages.

The Cook County sheriff’s police helicopter task force helped Lynwood police determine how large the operation was, and the Lynwood Public Works Department spent two days assisting police in removing the cannabis plants from the field.

"Without their dedication, the village of Lynwood would not have been able to handle an operation of this magnitude," Mears said, adding he is unaware of any similar operation ever being found within Lynwood or any nearby south suburbs.

The cannabis plants are being held at a secure location and will be kept there until the courts issue a destroy order, likely when the criminal investigation is complete, Mears said.

Police also recovered assorted semiautomatic firearms at the house and coolers used by the people who worked in the fields growing the cannabis plants, Mears said.

As for suspects, Mears refused to name who the house belonged to or who might be facing criminal charges as a result of this cannabis operation.

He would not say whether charges already had been filed or were still being sought. Mears also would not say how many people might be involved with the operation.

"It is multiple suspects," said Mears, who added police encountered no resistance when they served the warrant Thursday.

"There was nobody at the residence when officers arrived at the scene," Mears said.

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http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/...cle_f275c647-fd21-591a-ad56-73b6e76b1400.html

With some comments on the link.
 
Large marijuana grow uncovered in Stanislaus Co.

MODESTO, CA - Stanislaus County drug agents uncovered and removed more than a 1,000 marijuana plants Tuesday that were ready for harvest.

Sheriff Adam Christianson said the quantity of marijuana discovered recently around the county is startling.

"The amount of marijuana and the quality and size is better than ever before. It's a bumper crop," said the sheriff.

The most recent gardens were found growing along the San Joaquin River about 20 miles west of Modesto. The land is owned by a former county supervisor who didn't realize his property was being used by people to grow the drug. The plants were well-hidden by thick brush and tall trees.

Even though California voters approved the use of marijuana for medical reasons, Christianson doesn't hide his dislike for any efforts to legalize.

"It's not harmless. It's addictive and mind-altering. Talk to anyone who's addicted to meth: They started with alcohol and marijuana. We have to send a message we don't want this stuff in the hands of our young people," the sheriff said.

Christianson said Mexican drug cartels are often behind the marijuana plots found throughout California. He also said drug agencies like the one in Stanislaus County are only making a dent in the the state's marijuana production.

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http://www.news10.net/news/article/208043/2/Large-marijuana-grow-uncovered-in-Stanislaus-Co
 
Even though California voters approved the use of marijuana for medical reasons, Christianson doesn't hide his dislike for any efforts to legalize.

"It's not harmless. It's addictive and mind-altering. Talk to anyone who's addicted to meth: They started with alcohol and marijuana. We have to send a message we don't want this stuff in the hands of our young people," the sheriff said.
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^ Yeah right. Kind of a mixed message, since alcohol is legal and all. :? Every meth addict starts out with alcohol and pot? Thanks for the great info.
 
£6.5m cocaine siezed as major smuggling route uncovered
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Yorkshire Post

Thursday 6 September 2012

With reader comments
MORE than £6.5 million of cocaine hidden on coal ships by Colombian drug cartels has been uncovered, smashing one of the largest smuggling routes into the region ever known.

UK Border Force officers yesterday announced they have closed down an important supply route through Immingham in North East Lincolnshire, after a series of major seizures of the Class A drug.

The high purity cocaine was found hidden in loads of coal on bulk vessels that had travelled from Puerto Prodeco, in Colombia, to the east coast port.

Seizures have been made on three different vessels in the last three months, with the most recent being eight kilos found on the MV Frontier Island last week.

Sam Bullimore, assistant director for UK Border Force north, said it is hoped the discovery of the smuggling route will have an impact on the efforts of the Colombian drug cartels - known as some of the most dangerous gangs in the world.
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“Smuggling drugs is a vile trade that profits from the misery of others,” Mr Bullimore added.

“We will continue to work closely with partner law enforcement agencies, both in the UK and abroad, to clamp down on the criminals involved.

“Cocaine destroys lives.

“Colombia is one of the main source countries for cocaine and the drug gangs in the country are among the largest and most violent in the world.

“It is an ongoing problem simply because that is the country where it is produced, and while efforts are being made it is likely to go on for the foreseeable future.”
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More...
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news...-as-major-smuggling-route-uncovered-1-4899225
 
About 45 kilos – nearly 100lbs – of the drug worth £5m, was discovered on a cargo ship called the CSK Glory by the UK Border Force on August 13.
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The vessel had also travelled to the UK from Puerto Prodeco in Colombia, via Holland, before it docked in Immingham.

The drug was found to be 90 per cent pure.

In June, 20 kilos of cocaine with a street value of £1m was seized at Immingham on another ship from Colombia.

On each occasion the ships were raided by specially-trained officers from the Border Force Deep Rummage Team, who found the drugs.

No arrests have been made in connection with the seizures at this stage, but investigations are continuing.
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Whoah! I'm guessing there's no shortage of coke in the UK? and that it's pretty cheap? (unlike Oz)
 
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AUS Cop raid uncovers drug lab, weapons

POLICE cracked an intricate drug laboratory seizing a substantial amount of amphetamines, weapons and stolen goods at the weekend.

Victoria Police said officers executed a search warrant at a Kingston St, Grovedale, address where they uncovered a drug laboratory and stolen goods including motor bikes, power tools and firearms, about 4pm on Saturday.

Geelong police, with detectives from the state clandestine laboratory squad, and forensic chemists, attended the scene.

Police would not release the value of the drugs and contraband found, but said they would make a large dent in the stolen goods and drug market.

A second warrant was also executed at an Indented Head property.

A 31-year-old Grovedale man has been charged with burglary, theft, trafficking amphetamines, handling stolen goods, and firearm and explosive offences.

He will appear in court today.

And a 23-year-old Indented Head man has been charged with handling stolen goods, possessing the proceeds of crime and firearm offences.

He has been bailed to appear in court on November 19.

The raid follows the execution of a search warrant at nearby Bieske Rd in August, which netted $250,000 in mature cannabis plants.

Sen-Sgt Dave McTaggart said police from the divisional response unit had worked tirelessly.

In the past month, four major drug laboratories have been raided across Geelong.

Drugs with a street value in excess of a million dollars have been seized.

http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2012/09/17/350521_news.html
 
NZ Sick drug user shown 'mercy' by judge

A severely unwell Aucklander caught growing more than 200 cannabis plants and possessing almost $100,000 of dried plant he claimed was for personal use has been jailed for two years, but was shown ''mercy'' by the courts.

Searching for a man who disappeared while on bail in April 2010, police went to Rourke Peter Gregory Crawford-Flett's rural Ahuroa home and uncovered drugs and a shotgun.

About 200 plants of various stages of maturity were found growing outside his north Auckland home. A further 9.3kg of dried cannabis head was found in a shed, where two rooms had been fitted out with drying racks and dehumidifiers, and a shotgun was found in a bedroom.

Crawford-Flett didn't have a gun licence and told police it was for his ''protection''. The cannabis, he told them, was for his personal use and he grew a year's supply at a time.

The 53-year-old, who is blind in one eye, has limited mobility and suffers from a number of medical conditions, was sentenced at the High Court at Auckland earlier this month on charges of possessing and cultivating cannabis for supply and unlawful possession of a firearm.

Police told the court the cannabis grown outdoors was worth up to $60,000 and the dried cannabis about $98,000.

Justice Peter Woodhouse said there was no evidence that Crawford-Flett sold cannabis, other than the ''inference that can be drawn from the quantity''.

''I accept that you will have grown for your own use, and I accept - as I have indicated - that you probably consume a lot of cannabis,'' he said.

''But the quantity is vastly more than you could have consumed in a year.''

The court noted Crawford-Flettt had six previous cannabis convictions.

Five were minor, Justice Woodhouse said, and occurred between 1980 and 1999, but the sixth charge in 2002, for growing the class C drug, resulted in the ACC recipient being jailed for five years.

The court heard Crawford-Flett had received multiple and severe orthopaedic injuries on four separate occasions, had restricted bodily movement and suffered chronic and severe pain.

Crawford-Flett was also blind in one eye, had severe dermatitis, hepatitis C and coeliac disease. He had been prescribed methadone, but found it unhelpful and problematic, the court was told.

Pre-sentence reports noted Crawford-Flett had ''harmful patterns of alcohol and drug use'' and used cannabis to self-medicate.

Justice Woodhouse said home detention wasn't ''technically feasible'' because of where Crawford-Flett lived and because the judge didn't want him to serve his sentence where he had committed his crimes.

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He said a starting point sentence for the possession for supply charge, including an uplift for growing cannabis, should be three years and three months - a lenient calculation, Justice Woodhouse said, because he was giving him ''substantial benefit of the doubt'' in respect of him not dealing the drug.

Justice Woodhouse increased that by six months to take into account the firearms charge and Crawford-Flett's previous conviction for growing cannabis, bringing the sentence to three years and nine months.

He then reduced that by 18 months for health reasons and to reflect Crawford-Flett's early guilty pleas, bringing the sentence to 27 months.

Justice Woodhouse then took another three months off the sentence, ''as an exercise of mercy and to do the best I can''.

He hoped this would encourage Crawford-Flett to address his problems once released from prison.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/7679768/Sick-drug-user-shown-mercy-by-judge
 
'Nexus' seized in Sydney drug raids

Detectives say they have seized more than 30 kilograms of a prohibited drug similar to ecstasy, called Nexus, from a house at Hinchinbrook in Sydney's south-west.

The seizure has an estimated potential street value of $4.8 million.

Police say Nexus is a new and emerging drug which is popular with ecstasy users.

Detectives also located a stolen Harley Davidson motorcycle and a small amount of precursor chemicals used in the manufacture of prohibited drugs at the home.

Topics: drug-offences, nsw, hinchinbrook-2168

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-17/nexus-seized-in-sydney-drug-raids/4265392
 
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