The Mega Merged Drug Busts Thread

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Brisbane, Australia

Alert mum sparks raid
Neil Hickey
January 07, 2007 11:00pm

A VIGILANT stay-at-home mum unwittingly helped police bust a major drug manufacturing operation at a southeast Brisbane home early yesterday.
Alexandra Hills mother-of-two Amanda Egstorf phoned police after she was woken about 2am when someone threw a pot plant through her neighbour's window.

Police arrived at the unoccupied Vienna St home a short time later to discover a hydroponic drug set-up.

Replete with lighting and a reticulated water system, all three bedrooms in the home had been modified for the exclusive manufacturing of marijuana, police said yesterday.

More than 90 marijuana plants carrying a street value of more than $180,000 were seized.

"There's been a lot of trouble gone into setting this up," Detective Sergeant Wayne Talbot said.

"A substantial amount of modifications to the house have occurred."

Ms Egstorf, 26, was yesterday coming to terms with her role as an accidental heroine.

She said she had been suspicious about the house but was shocked to learn she was living next door to such a large-scale illegal drug operation.

"(The owner) got the tenants to move out roughly 12 months ago and he told them he was renovating it to sell," she said.

"And he's been coming and going quite regularly and making noises in there that sound like renovation so no one was that suspicious about it, apart from the fact he's had an airconditioner running for the past 12 months.

"That was the only thing I was a bit suspicious about.

"I'd never seen him take in a huge handful of pot plants or anything like that and of course you couldn't see any light shining through the windows."

Ms Egstorf deflected praise for her actions and said she was glad she could help police.

"Anyone would have called the police to that sort of noise," she said.

"More fool him, really. I'm glad it's been discovered."

A 40-year-old man from Alexandra Hills was yesterday charged with three offences, including producing and possessing a dangerous drug.

The charged man was granted watchhouse bail and has been ordered to appear in the Cleveland Magistrate's Court on February 12.

Courier Mail
 
Adelaide, Australia

Six arrested over drug lab
January 09, 2007 09:32am
Article from: AAP

SIX people have been arrested after the discovery of a clandestine drug laboratory in Adelaide's southern suburbs.

The lab was found in the kitchen of a house a Reynella East about 9.15pm (CDT) yesterday, police said.

Three women aged 21, 22 and 32 and three men aged 34, 36 and 37, were charged with drug offences and will appear in court today.

News.com.au
 
Grocery staff finds drugs in banana boxes

AMSTERDAM, Jan 10 (Reuters Life!) - Dutch supermarket staff found millions of dollars worth of cocaine stashed in banana boxes as they were unpacking them, police said.

The drugs, 50 kilos of cocaine, had a value of 5-6 million euros ($6.5-7.8 million), a police spokesman said.

The drugs were found in the towns of Hoensbroek and Brunssum in the province of Limburg.

Supermarket employees discovered the cocaine hidden under bananas in three boxes, the spokesman said.



It was unclear how the cocaine ended up in the supermarkets.

"There probably must have been a logistic mistake," the spokesman said, adding a Colombian label indicated a South American origin for the drugs.

http://today.reuters.com/news/artic...xml&WTmodLoc=OddNewsHome_C2_oddlyEnoughNews-1
 

Priest arrested in Covington by anti-drug unit

A Catholic priest was arrested Monday in Covington by members of the Northern Kentucky Drug Strike Force.

Rev. Thomas Gaeke, 58, was charged with possession of crack cocaine and a crack pipe, according to officials of the anti-drug unit.

Archdiocese of Cincinnati officials said Gaeke has been on medical leave the past six years and had been living in Tampa, Fla., although he also owned property in Covington.

Before going on leave, Gaeke was pastor of parishes in Dayton, Ohio

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070110/NEWS02/701100367
 
Sydney, Australia

Four arrested in police raids
January 11, 2007 11:53am

FOUR men have been charged after prohibited drugs, firearms and illegally imported cigarettes were seized in three separate operations in Sydney's southwest.

In the first raid, police from the Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad seized drugs worth more than $40,000, prohibited weapons and an automatic pistol when they searched a home in Bankstown yesterday afternoon.

Ice, cocaine and a number of pills believed to be ecstasy were seized in the raid, as well as cash and a number of `ninja-style' throwing stars, police said.

Two males, aged 22 and 17, arrested at the house have been charged with supplying an indictable quantity of a prohibited drug, dealing with the suspected proceeds of crime and with possessing ammunition.

The teenager was also charged with possessing an unauthorised pistol, possessing an unregistered firearm, not keeping his firearm safely and with possessing a prohibited weapon.
He was refused bail and will appear at Parramatta Children's Court today.

The man arrested in the raid was also charged with possessing a prohibited drug and with resisting police.

He was also refused bail and will appear before Bankstown Local Court today.

Detectives from Strike Force Orcam - set up to investigate the supply of illegal drugs and tobacco in southwest Sydney - conducted the second wave of raids.

Officers raided houses at Beverley Hills and Padstow, and a tobacco store at Lakemba yesterday evening, leading to the arrest of a 31-year-old man.

Illegally imported cigarettes worth $90,000, an amount of cash and Viagra tablets were seized in the raid, police said.

A man arrested at the Lakemba store has been charged with possessing smuggled goods, dealing with property suspected of being the proceeds of crime, displaying drugs paraphenalia in the shop and possessing prescribed/prohibited substance.

He was granted bail to appear at Burwood Local Court on February 1.

A fourth man appeared in Burwood Local Court yesterday charged with supply a prohibited drug in a commercial quantity. He was granted bail to reappear on February 21.

News.com.au
 
Sydney, Australia

Alleged dealer to face court
January 11, 2007 06:14am

A MAN will face a Sydney court today charged with drug offences after police found drugs, cash and other items at a property in south west Sydney yesterday.

Police arrested a 44-year-old man at the property in the south west Sydney suburb of Revesby.

Officers allegedly found methylamphetamine, cannabis, drug paraphernalia, cash and other items.

The Revesby man was charged with drug offences including five counts of supplying a prohibited drug and six counts of dealing with property suspected to be the proceeds of crime.

He has been refused bail and will appear before Bankstown Local Court today.

News.com.au
 
Brisbane, Australia

Alleged drug trafficker denied bail by court
Jasmin Lill
January 11, 2007 12:00am

A TOOWOOMBA man has been refused bail after police claimed he was the key player in a major drug trafficking operation.

Jamie William Williamson, 26, appeared in the Brisbane Magistrate's Court yesterday after he was arrested on Tuesday.

He faces 10 charges including trafficking, supply and possession of dangerous drugs.

Williamson applied for bail but police opposed it, saying his arrest was the culmination of a two-year investigation.

Large amounts of drugs, cash and guns were allegedly found during a police raid on a shed at Toowoomba in December last year. Another man has already been charged over the haul, but police allege he was a minor player.

Sergeant Estelle Carnes told the court that Williamson was the major drug player and controller of the operation.

She said police were concerned Williamson had links to outlaw motorcycle gangs, and should remain in custody for his own protection.

But defence lawyer Denis Lynch argued his client had no prior drug convictions and should be released.

Bail was refused and Williamson was remanded in custody to appear in the Toowoomba Magistrate's Court on February 13.

News.com.au
 
Darwin, Australia

Major Top End drug syndicate smashed
January 18, 2007 - 4:00PM

A major Top End drug syndicate has been smashed following raids on two houses and the interception of a road train and motorbike, police say.

More than $1 million of drugs were seized and five people were arrested in separate raids over nine days since January 7, police said.

"This is a significant drug haul for the Northern Territory and a major organised drug distribution ring has been dismantled," said Superintendent Peter Gordon of the Drug Enforcement Section.

More than 13kg of cannabis with a street value of $658,300 was seized during the operation, but Supt Gordon said it could be worth more than $1 million if sold in remote NT communities.

The combined methylamphetamine seized was valued at $224,000, he said, adding that detectives had cut off a major supply route.

"Not only are the drugs off the street, the alleged offenders have had substantial assets seized and restrained...

"We have effectively taken this syndicate out of business for a very long time."

On January 7, on a road train from Adelaide bound for Darwin, police allegedly discovered 3.7kg of cannabis and four grams of methylamphetamine.

They arrested two male truck drivers - aged 38 and 44 - and charged them with the possession and supply of commercial quantities of cannabis and the possession and supply of methylamphetamine.

On the same day, members of the Drug Enforcement Section arrested and charged a 34-year-old Darwin man following a search of the area near his car on the Stuart Highway at Acacia.

They allegedly found 2.3kg of cannabis along with $23,000 in cash, and charged him with the possession and supply of a commercial quantity of cannabis.

Nine days later, detectives arrested a 58-year-old man from Adelaide after a search of his motorcycle near Tennant Creek.

They seized 6.8kg of cannabis, 150 grams of methylamphetamine and over $7,000 in cash. He was charged with the possession and supply of a commercial quantity of cannabis and the possession and supply of a commercial quantity of methylamphetamine.

Later that day, police searched a house at Stuart Park in Darwin and allegedly located a further seven grams of methylamphetamine and a quantity of cannabis.

They arrested and charged a 39-year-old Darwin man with numerous drug offences, including a commercial quantity possess and tainted property. Bail was refused and he was remanded in custody.

Court dates for the other alleged offenders are yet to be set, said a spokeswoman for police media.

Supt Gordon said police would use the Criminal Property Forfeiture Act, which provides for all crime derived property to be restrained and subject to forfeiture, to destabilise the organisation.

"This legislation is used extensively by police to target criminals not only for criminal offences but also to seize their crime derived or unexplained wealth," he said.

"It is particularly effective in returning crime derived assets acquired by criminals to the community."

SMH
 
Sydney, Australia

Two arrested on cafe drug supply charges
January 19, 2007 - 11:09AM

Two men have been charged and a Sydney cafe briefly closed after police alleged the business was used to sell cannabis.

The men, aged 27 and 32, were arrested on Thursday by Kings Cross officers attached to Operation Brian, established to investigate mid-level drug trafficking.

Police allege the cafe, owned by the 32-year-old, was being used to sell cannabis.

A quantity of cannabis leaf was allegedly seized by officers during a raid on the cafe.

The men were arrested at the premises and taken to Kings Cross police station.

The 32-year-old Roselands man was charged with four counts of supplying a prohibited drug and one count of possessing a prohibited drug.

The 27-year-old Belmore man was charged with one count of supplying a prohibited drug.

Both were granted conditional bail to appear in Downing Centre Local Court on February 8.

The 32-year-old was also served with a Closure Order which, under the Restricted Premises Act, prevents the cafe trading for 72 hours.

SMH
 
Tip leads DEA to marijuana growers in New Orleans
The Associated Press
January 17, 2007

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Federal and state law enforcement agents, acting on a citizen's tip, found an elaborate marijuana-growing operation on one side of a shot-gun double, and busted two men living on the other side, U.S. Attorney Jim Letten said.

About 384 marijuana plants, along with chemicals, lighting and ventilation, were discovered during a court-ordered search by Drug Enforcement Administration agents and Louisiana State Police troopers, Letten said Friday.

The two men living at the house, identified as Christopher Crayton and Jason Relayson, both in their mid-30s, were booked on federal drug charges, Letten said.

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The marijuana-growing operation is an example of "individuals who are trying to exploit the situation in New Orleans post-Katrina" and of the need for citizens to tell authorities about suspected illegal activity, Letten said.

William Renton, DEA special agent in charge, estimated the street value of the drugs at about $2 million.

Separately, another major drug seizure occurred Thursday on Interstate 12 in Hammond after a Tangipahoa Parish sheriff's deputy stopped a pickup truck being driven erratically.

DEA agents, with a drug-sniffing dog, found six kilograms of cocaine in the truck's door panels, federal officials said.

Letten said the truck's driver, identified as Sergio Villegas and as being in the country illegally, was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.

Renton put the wholesale value of the cocaine at $150,000.

http://www.nola.com/newsflash/louis...s-29/1169328257282260.xml&storylist=louisiana
 
Doctor guilty in OxyContin prescription scheme
Associated Press
January 20, 2007

BEAVER, Pa. - A former emergency room doctor pleaded guilty to illegally distributing the painkiller OxyContin.

Leon Egleston, 60, of New Wilmington, pleaded guilty Friday in Beaver County Court to illegal distribution of OxyContin, criminal conspiracy and racketeering.

Judge John McBride sentenced Egleston to three to 20 years in prison and banned him from practicing medicine for 20 years.

Prosecutors said Egleston, who worked at Aliquippa Community Hospital, wrote hundreds of fraudulent OxyContin prescriptions, charging up to $2,000 for each.

http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/16508000.htm
 
High quality homegrown is called skunk. Even non-users know the difference between the crap Moroccan hash & the good stuff.
 
Adelaide, Australia

3000 ice deals off the streets
MICHAEL OWEN
January 23, 2007 01:15am

POLICE say the seizure of more than 3000 street deals of the drug ice is a significant breakthrough.

Detective Inspector Peter Johns yesterday outlined a weeks-long investigation that resulted in three arrests and the seizure of ice, ecstasy, weapons and $36,610 in cash.

Det Insp Johns said investigations were ongoing and it was possible there might be more further arrests.

"From the number of street deals we calculate could have ended up on the streets, it's quite a siginificant seizure and we are pleased to be able to remove that potential amount of harm from the streets," he said.

"But we do not believe that we have a problem in terms of ice to the same degree in this state as on the eastern seaboard in recent years."

The latest breakthrough for police in its war on ice came on Friday when Drug Investigation Branch detectives arrested a Golden Grove man, 55, allegedly in possession of about 30 grams of ice.

He was charged and granted police bail to appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on April 27.

Later that day, detectives arrested a man, 37, and woman, 36, from Rosewater allegedly in possession of about 390 grams of ice.

Police also seized about 500 ecstasy tablets, a loaded .22 pistol and Taser stun gun.

They also were charged with offences including the unlawful possession of $36,610 and will appear in the Port Adelaide Magistrates Court in March.

The Advertiser
 
U.S. frigate seizes cocaine on Costa Rican fishing boat

A U.S. frigate seized a Costa Rican fishing boat with 2.5 tons of cocaine on board, local media reported on Tuesday.

The 2.5 tons of drugs were hidden inside the boat's freezers when seized. Three people were also arrested during the seizure, which took place on Monday in the course of an operation conducted under the Joint Patrol Agreement between Costa Rica and the United States.

All the arrested were taken to the Costa Rican Pacific coastal town of Puntarensas

On Jan. 16, Costa Rican authorities seized two tons of cocaine hidden in a boat that had been intercepted at about 185 km from Flamingo beach, Guanacaste, on the Pacific coast.

About 25.5 tons of drugs have been seized and 30 people have been arrested since 2006 in the Central American country.

http://english.people.com.cn/200701/24/eng20070124_344223.html
 
from the latest DEA Microgram Bulletin

INTELLIGENCE ALERT -

DRIED OPIUM POPPY PODS IN FRESNO, CALIFORNIA


The DEA Western Laboratory (San Francisco, California) recently received 47 dried plant pods on short stalks, suspected opium poppy pods (see Photo 5). The exhibits were shipped from New York via a commercial carrier, and were seized in Fresno, California by personnel from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (no further details). The pods (total net mass 553.6 grams) averaged 5 centimeters tall by 2.5 - 3.5 centimeters in diameter, and each contained a mass of small black seeds. Following standard acid/base workup, analysis of methylene chloride extracts by GC/MS confirmed morphine and codeine (not quantitated), and also indicated thebaine, noscapine, and papverine, confirming opium poppy pods. This is one of the largest exhibits of poppy pods ever submitted to the Western Laboratory

* * * * *

http://www.dea.gov/programs/forensicsci/microgram/mg0107/mg0107.html
 
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Drug arrests at Sydney's Big Day Out




More than 70 people were charged with drug possession and supply at Sydney's Big Day Out music festival yesterday, New South Wales police said this morning.

Using drug detection dogs, police caught over 60 people allegedly in possession of cannabis and ecstasy. Two people were charged with assaulting police.

Later in the day, four people were charged with supplying prohibited drugs, one was caught allegedly taking drugs, and another three were caught with drugs in their possession.

Police ejected 22 people for minor offences.

A policeman from the Mounted Unit was injured while patrolling the entrance to the Homebush Bay venue, after the horse shied and bucked.

But he was not seriously injured.

http://ibnnews.org/national/drug_arrests_at_Sydney_big_day_out_26107_545678797200147010_000000.html
 
N.J. state police, DEA break up South Jersey narcotics ring
By ANGELA DELLI SANTI, Associated Press
January 25, 2007


TRENTON, N.J. -- State and federal authorities broke up a major South Jersey drug distribution ring Thursday, arresting 14 people in New Jersey and Arizona, and seizing 25 pounds of crack and powder cocaine.

New Jersey State Police Capt. Jeff Simpkins said the bust resulted from a 10-month narcotics trafficking investigation that began as street-level surveillance, then grew.

"We took this one down at the trafficking level," Simpkins said. "When you stop it at the kilo level, it doesn't filter down to the school-yard level. It keeps it (the drugs) out of our neighborhoods."

"It's the most effective way to fight the drug game," said Simpkins who oversees state police in southern New Jersey.

The cocaine was valued at about $15,000 per pound.

State Police Superintendent Col. Rick Fuentes said the information developed with the Drug Enforcement Administration during the joint investigation will be accessible to other law enforcement agents conducting future investigations through the Regional Operations Intelligence Center. The new facility nicknamed "The Rock," is where federal, state and local officials gather to share information on evolving cases.

"This information will have a value beyond the arrest of individuals," said Fuentes. "The information will be linked up with other potential cases and the vehicle for doing that is 'The Rock.' That's our clearinghouse."

Police from Gloucester Township entered six homes and three storage facilities in Gloucester, Camden and Burlington counties Thursday morning.

Three New Jersey men were arrested in Tucson, where the New Jersey suspects went to meet their supplier, police said. Eleven others were arrested in New Jersey, with the highest bail set at $500,000 and some defendants released without bail.

In Arizona, police found a vehicle with hidden compartments for drugs.

Authorities also seized $244,000 in cash and three guns.

Those arrested were charged with conspiracy in connection with the distribution of narcotics. The maximum penalty upon conviction is 10 years in prison and a $150,000 fine. Additional charges are likely, authorities said.

The investigation was code-named Operation Centerfield because one of the first suspects identified was Gary Maddox, who has the same name as the former Phillies center fielder.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-nj--narcoticsbust0125jan25,0,3602421.story
 
Wish I knew that doctor mentioned above. lol j/k. I still see a shitload of doctors who are script happy who will just right you a script without even doing any type of testing and we wonder why perscription abuse is so rampart(yea my spelling sucks).
 
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