News Mega Merged Drug Bust Thread v. "Drug Wars" a Bust

[simstim]

I was planning a backpacking trip to Laos when I was 18 but my friend backed out and I wasn't gonna go alone, lol

 

[thegreenhand]

—> merged to drug bust thread

 

[dalpat077]

This is just wrong and on so many fucking levels...

Cocaine worth R200m stolen from Hawks offices in Port Shepstone, South Africa​

Cocaine worth R200m stolen from Hawks offices in Port Shepstone

Hawks officials have confirmed that over R200 million worth of cocaine's been stolen from their offices in Port Shepstone, on the south coast, after a break-in.

www.ecr.co.za

To begin with it was worth more than that by a long shot. More like R270.5M ZAR (which at the USDZAR exchange rate today is around $17.7M USD). Street value of course. And if un-fucked with: worth a hell of a lot more.

Always love how these things happen in odd numbers e.g. 541kg? Oh yeah? What happened to the other 4kg/9kg from the original seizure? Be fucking funny if I'm right i.e. big shit!

Ah well. Somebody gonna have a lovely white Christmas that is for sure!

 

[Jabberwocky]

I wonder if this effects AUS for awhile? They can’t take any more hits to their supply chain right now by the sounds of the prices.

-GC

Even at normal times when the place is awash with meth the prices are pretty sticky and don’t follow any demand/supply curves that make any kind of sense (except for the likelihood that the half dozen organisations that bring in 500kg loads in single shipments operate as a cartel.

The woman who supplied me and generally only dealt in minimum deals of an Oz and claimed to be 2 steps removed from the local head of one of those organisations always insisted her prices were basically dictated to her from above.

 

[relentlessgenjin]

They bustin' the Fruit Belt Posse boys for trafficking crack up in this city

 

[dalpat077]

Arguably a drug bust. Looks more like a job for the ATF than the DEA though!

DEA busts drug ring tied to Sinaloa cartel: 110K fake fentanyl pills, cocaine, $450,000 seized​

https://www.kxan.com/border-report/dea-busts-drug-ring-tied-to-sinaloa-cartel-110k-fake-fentanyl-pills-cocaine-450000-seized/

 

[S.J.B.]

DEA raids large hash-oil lab in El Cajon
The San Diego Union-Tribune
December 3rd, 2021

EL CAJON — Federal agents this week raided a large illicit marijuana-processing operation in an industrial area near Gillespie Field in El Cajon, seizing hundreds of pounds of cannabis and barrels of potentially explosive chemicals, authorities said Friday.

The illegal drug lab on Fayette Street south of West Bradley Avenue was being used to process hash oil, a cannabis concentrate, via processes involving the highly flammable solvents butane and hexane, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Read the full story here.

Now that is a serious setup!

 

[Boku_]

Someone got busted in Thailand!

Chemical Engineer Caught Running ‘E’ And Meth Lab In Nonthaburi

A chemical engineer who turned to producing Ecstacy pills and crystal meth at his condo in Nonthaburi was arrested this morning by officers from the Narcotics Suppression Bureau. The Saturday morning raid on a building in Bang Kruai District, Nonthaburi was led by Police General Manu Makemok...

www.stickboybkk.com

NEWS​

Chemical Engineer Caught Running ‘E’ And Meth Lab In Nonthaburi​

Published
6 months ago
on
June 5, 2021
By
Stickboy BKK

• 
  
  
  

A chemical engineer who turned to producing Ecstacy pills and crystal meth at his condo in Nonthaburi was arrested this morning by officers from the Narcotics Suppression Bureau.
The Saturday morning raid on a building in Bang Kruai District, Nonthaburi was led by Police General Manu Makemok, Deputy Commissioner General, Royal Thai Police and Police Lieutenant General Montree Yimyaem, commissioner of the Narcotics Suppression Bureau.
Inside the apartment, the prime suspect, 42-year-old suspect Patiwet “Heisenberg” Suwankiri was apprehended.
Drug production equipment and chemical precursors were seized along with 20,000 Ecstacy tablets and 50 grams of crystal meth.

Police General Manu said that the Narcotics Suppression Bureau got a tip that there was a group of pill producers who sold E tablets to entertainment venues in Bangkok.
A surveillance operation was set up and pinpointed Prayoon Thapinna as the dealer. He was taken in for questioning and soon after he folded like a deckchair telling cops who “Heisenberg” was.
During questioning “Heisenberg” was evasive saying he sold the drugs to tourists and that he imported the chemical precursors from online dealers.
Police dismissed both explanations as tourism in Thailand is virtually non-existent due to Covid-19 and the chemicals and tools needed to produce the E and meth have been on a banned list for many years.
He did admit to producing the drugs in his apartment saying he used the knowledge from when he studied chemical engineering
Investigators are working to find more people involved in the operation as the set-up was capable of producing around 3,000 tablets per day.
Photo Credit: 77kaoded

 

[Fertile]

Scotland’s biggest street valium factory uncovered at village industrial unit in Lanarkshire​

Mike McQuaid
Daily Record
19 Dec 2021

Excerpt:

Scotland’s biggest street valium factory has been uncovered at a village industrial unit.

Police say the equipment seized could churn out 180,000 so-called blue plague pills an hour.

Officers are now trying to track down the people responsible.

Street valium, also known as etizolam, was involved in the vast majority of Scotland’s record-breaking 1339 drug deaths in 2020.

Full article here.

 

[Fertile]

I've never been quite sure why etizolam is used for fake Valium so often. In bulk etizolam costs $5,100/Kg where as diazepam is under $100/Kg. I suspect it is because etizolam is not controlled in India and so it's easy to buy. I guess, given it's potency it's also quite compact to transport. 180,000 pills/hour means that they would go through a Kg every 3 hours or so (presuming 2mg in each).

I don't know how much these 'street valium' cost in bulk, but I once met a Dutch dizepam seller who charged 11-14 eurocenta each IF you bought a lot.

I've always consider this kind of thing to be crazy. The level of disconnect for people producing LSD (or homologue) is much larger. I mean, Freeblood was making LSD in the UK but it was only ever sent to the US and even then he was caught (but them he did do some dumb things).

 

[JackARoe]

etizolam costs $5,100/Kg where as diazepam is under $100/Kg.

Thanks Fertile, first off you have some great posts that keep me reading. You had said the cost of kilograms of some of these RC benzos before too. And I often wondered who would buy a kilo. Now I know who. Some entrepreneur's do and take it back to their country where it is not technically illegal and sell very expensive tinctures and blotters for the years to come.

I will say I can't see how etizolam is passed off as valium. I mean they are all the same to me but even I can tell the difference. I think diazepam has more muscle relaxing and anti anxiety properties than etizolam. But someone in the street that just wants "pills man" won't care. People seem to buy anything these days on the street.

 

[Fertile]

Yes - people will take ANYTHING. Gabapentin & Pregabalin being good examples of 'anything'. Illicit methaqualone is alive and well in South Africa. Some is made locally, some is made in India and smuggled in. It's very hard to find a dodgy Indian chemical supply company. The Chinese, you ask for something and they say yes or no... but the Indians need a whole fan dance before they will even reply to E-mails.....

Although looking back, I think many Indian companies might have websites because they think they should.... but nobody ever reads the E-mails, or at least nobody who can make decisions.

 

[phenethylo J]

I will say I can't see how etizolam is passed off as valium. I mean they are all the same to me but even I can tell the difference. I think diazepam has more muscle relaxing and anti anxiety properties than etizolam. But someone in the street that just wants "pills man" won't care. People seem to buy anything these days on the street.

That's pretty it most people don't know or care and just want to get fuck up and most likely are mixing other stuff like alcohol with it. I remember back during the pill mill days you'd not believe how many dumb asses thought oxycodone, oxycontin, roxycodone, and percacet were all 4 completely different drugs and that 5mg and 10mg pill were 500mg and 1000mg.

 

[Fire&Water]

dumb asses thought oxycodone, oxycontin, roxycodone, and percacet were all 4 completely different drugs and that 5mg and 10mg pill were 500mg and 1000mg.

Right?

I think the 10's had 750 mgs of acetaminophen if I remember right

but I remember some dumbasses claim they took the most potent " perc30"
... 750 mgs of "pure perc"!

 

[PriestTheyCalledHim]

Yes - people will take ANYTHING. Gabapentin & Pregabalin being good examples of 'anything'. Illicit methaqualone is alive and well in South Africa. Some is made locally, some is made in India and smuggled in. It's very hard to find a dodgy Indian chemical supply company. The Chinese, you ask for something and they say yes or no... but the Indians need a whole fan dance before they will even reply to E-mails.....

Although looking back, I think many Indian companies might have websites because they think they should.... but nobody ever reads the E-mails, or at least nobody who can make decisions.

Isn't it true some people in South Africa take HIV meds like Sustiva or efavirenz, to get high, or they crush HIV meds, mix it with amphetamine tablets or paste, throw in some cannabis and tobacco and call it tak or tik which they smoke?

Whoonga: Potential recreational use of HIV antiretroviral medication in South Africa

Whoonga is a drug cocktail in South Africa rumored to contain illicit drugs and HIV antiretroviral (ARV) medication. Although its use may adversely impact adherence to HIV treatment and may have the potential to generate ARV resistance, there is a paucity ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

I am not poz or HIV+ or living with AIDS, but friends are and they have told me how all of the HIV meds have not so fun side effects and some have been on all of them starting with AZT and some were in drug trials before the cocktail.

 

[PriestTheyCalledHim]

That's pretty it most people don't know or care and just want to get fuck up and most likely are mixing other stuff like alcohol with it. I remember back during the pill mill days you'd not believe how many dumb asses thought oxycodone, oxycontin, roxycodone, and percacet were all 4 completely different drugs and that 5mg and 10mg pill were 500mg and 1000mg.

Hah! I remember those daze, teens and adults who were not even into drugs as in they did not smoke pot or hashish, did not trip on LSD or Psilocybin mushrooms, or did not really drink would take oxy pills-sometimes taking super large doses when they had zero tolerance and had never used opiates ever luckily they did not die from an OD, Percocets, hydrocodone pills, Tylenol 3's, etc. Yes people mixed them with alcohol and with benzos, which is super dangerous.

 

[Fertile]

Police walk-through of clandestine drug lab found in Miami-Dade
Miami Herald
16 Jun 2015

 

[Fertile]

Are ALL meth labs this filthy?

I've also seen footage of Chinese RC vendors who were producing chemicals for consumption without the slightest concern for keeping their benchtops tidy. Even Casey was guilty of it.

 

[izo]

That looks icky.

 

[negrogesic]

I've also seen footage of Chinese RC vendors who were producing chemicals for consumption without the slightest concern for keeping their benchtops tidy. Even Casey was guilty of it.

I think any meth lab containing that many Samurai swords is destined to be pretty messy.