Ontario man was arrested in Michigan yesterday after police say they seized $1.8 million worth of cocaine from his tractor-trailer.

Ontario man was arrested in Michigan yesterday after police say they seized $1.8 million worth of cocaine from his tractor-trailer.
State troopers stopped the truck in Van Buren County, about 225 km west of Detroit, at 10 a.m. on Tuesday. A car that was believed to be travelling with the truck was also pulled over. Police say the truck driver, an Ontario man, allowed officers to search his cab. Inside, police say they found three large duffle bags with an estimated 63 kilograms of cocaine. The driver was taken into state custody, but has since been handed over to federal officials, who are now investigating the case.
He hasn't been charged, but is likely facing drug charges, said Michigan State Police Sgt. Richard Dragomer. “With the size of the (drug) seizure, any loose ends to be tied up will be put together” before any charges are laid, Dragomer said. Four people in the car accompanying the truck were also taken into federal custody. They identified themselves as Americans, although police were only able to initially confirm that one of them is from Washington. The Ontario man is not expected to be identified by U.S. law enforcement officials until he faces charges in court.

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24-year-old man has been arrested after police swooped on a house in Bicester

24-year-old man has been arrested after police swooped on a house in Bicester and seized suspected heroin and cocaine.Police stopped and searched a man in the street in Reedmace Road, Bure Park, shortly after 4pm on Monday.Officers then searched a home in the same street and discovered money and a large amount of class A drugs.
Police arrested a 24-year-old man on suspicion of possessing class A drugs with intent to supply who was bailed until May 23.Pc Richie Iwanoff said: "This is a significant arrest as we continue to tackle drug dealers in the Bicester area. Another man was remanded earlier this month after being charged with drug offences.
"Drugs and drug dealing will not be tolerated in Bicester and we will continue to pursue our intelligence-led operations."We are working closely with our partner agencies to reduce drugs and the associated anti-social behaviour. Positive action will be taken at every opportunity to reduce the supply of drugs in the area.

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Mario Alexander Boconovick-Urbina sentenced for possession of marijuana

Mario Alexander Boconovick-Urbina, 24, was sentenced Wednesday in Tucson for possession of marijuana after 1,120 pounds was found in his vehicle.
The sentence stems from an incident Aug. 26, when Border Patrol agents tried to stop Boconovick-Urbina near Ajo, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Arizona.
Boconovick-Urbina refused to comply, and the agents lost sight of him, according to court documents. Other agents in the area were advised to be on the lookout for the pickup truck.
About an hour later, agents found the truck parked in a creek bed on Rasmussen Road in Ajo, court documents state. As the agents approached the truck, Boconovick-Urbina drove toward a senior patrol agent and his K-9, and almost hit the dog.
After a chase, the truck stopped and Boconovick-Urbina got out and ran, documents state. He jumped into the front yard of the home of an off-duty Border Patrol agent and got into a struggle with him.
Boconovick-Urbina was then taken into custody.

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Customs officers at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport arrested a Taiwanese passenger

"The suspect, identified as IK, 44, is suspected to be an accomplice of a drug ring trying to smuggle 7.2 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine into the country from Hong Kong," said head of investigation at the office, Eko Darmanto, as quoted by Tempointeraktif.com. Customs officers at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport arrested Sunday a Taiwanese passenger for the alleged involvement in a recent foiled drug smuggling attempt, an officer said Monday.The customs officers last week arrested the two passengers who had hidden the drugs worth Rp 10.8 billion (US$1.24 million) in biscuit packets. Eko said his office got the information about the suspect from immigration officers about to fly to Hong Kong. "He is suspected to be the supervisor of crystal methamphetamine distribution in Indonesia. We haven't got any evidence but the case has been handed over to the police," he said. --

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largest drug-trafficking ring operating in Greece

Police have broken one of the largest drug-trafficking rings operating in Greece after seizing more than 4 kilos of heroin in Athens, authorities said on Saturday.Police said they arrested three men, aged 19, 22 and 23, after an undercover police officer offered to buy a kilo of heroin for 11,000 euros.When the suspects arrived at the Kifissos KTEL bus station and attempted to sell the drugs, police moved in and made the arrests, a source said.During an inspection of the suspects’ home in Vyronas, eastern Athens, police uncovered the remaining amounts of heroin, 403 grams of cocaine, electronic scales and 520 euros in cash.
The gang is believed to have been smuggled narcotics into the country from Albania before selling them in Athens and Patras.

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Jaime Lopez,Colombian national,was detained four bottles of liquor containing liquid heroin found at Newark Liberty International Airport

Jaime Lopez, a 49-year-old Colombian national, and seized four bottles of liquor containing liquid heroin on Saturday.CBP officers selected Mr. Lopez for a baggage exam after he had arrived on a flight from Bogota, Colombia. Mr. Lopez presented one suitcase and a box of duty free liquor for inspection. After noticing that the liquid inside the four bottles of liquor appeared unusually thick, CBP officers opened the bottles and a glue-like smell permeated from inside. The liquid in the bottles field tested positive for heroin.

A total of three one-liter bottles of Irish Cream liqueur and another one-liter bottle of whiskey were seized. The heroin has a street value of over $1 million. Mr. Lopez was turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents for federal prosecution by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey located in downtown Newark. He appeared this afternoon in front of U.S. Magistrate Madeline Cox Arleo.

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Customs officers have arrested five men at the airport for smuggling cannabis and cocaine worth $1.12 million into Hong Kong.

Customs officers have arrested five men at the airport for smuggling cannabis and cocaine worth $1.12 million into Hong Kong.On April 25 officers stopped four men arriving from India. They found 4kg of cannabis resin worth $288,000 concealed in men's shoes.The next day they inspected a man arriving from Ethiopia and found 1.47kg of cocaine worth $830,000 inside a concealed compartment in a suitcase.The five cases bring the total drug-smuggling detections at the airport since March 26, to 13.

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Massive narcotics seizure at Pearson International Airport totaling close to $2.5 million.

Large narcotics seizure at Pearson International Airport totaling close to $2.5 million.The seizure came April 13, Canada Border Services Agency officers the Commercial Operations unit intercepted more than 113 kilograms of marijuana and more than 10 kilograms of hashish. During a routine container examination, officers came across 10 boxes with the suspect narcotics. In total there were 54 marijuana bricks worth an estimated $2.2 million dollars and seven hashish bricks worth more than $200,000. The narcotics were wrapped in brown tape with "minimal concealment," according to CBSA spokesperson Patrizia Giolti. The narcotics have been turned over to the RCMP, who believe the drugs were destined to be sold on GTA streets. No arrests have been made.

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Cocaine seized Three Jamaican nationals intercepted at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport with cocaine valued at US 20,000

Two of the Jamaicans are in custody at the Customs Anti Narcotics Unit (CANU) while the other was taken to a city hospital under police guard after officials suspected that he had swallowed some of the substance. Three Jamaican nationals were on Friday intercepted at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport with cocaine valued at US 20,000 dollars drug enforcement officials here have disclosed. Speaking to reporters here on Friday CANU prosecutor, Oswald Massaiah explained that around 6:30 Friday morning the three Jamaicans - one female and two males, who are in their late 20s - were outgoing passengers on a Caribbean Airlines flight CA424 destined for Jamaica via Barbados. Massaiah said officers at the airport profiled the female Jamaican and her suitcase was checked in her presence and a dart board was discovered. A preliminary check on the board revealed the substance which appeared to be cocaine. Following interrogation of that passenger, CANU officers subsequently proceeded to take the other two Jamaicans off the flight.
"Further investigations led us to an apartment at Fifth Street, Alberttown; officers recovered fibre glass, plywood, a round piece of wood resembling the bottom of a dart board, fabric used in dartboards, knives, a spatula, scissors and carbon which was also found in the lining of the board after they cut it open and found the cocaine," Massaiah disclosed. The Jamaicans, whose travel documents revealed that they had travelled to Guyana on April 15, had occupied the apartment.
Officials broke open the dart board in the presence of media operatives at CANU headquarters on Friday and removed the substance, which weighed just over two pounds. Asked whether the detection could have been made by sniffer dogs, the officer said yes and added that once the dogs were effective enough they would have been able to pick up the drug even though it was carefully concealed.
However, he pointed out that CANU did not own any such dogs, noting that the sniffer dogs that operate at the airport were owned by the Police Narcotics Branch.

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Managing Director of Goodies Music Productions, Mr Isaac Abeidu Aidoo, has been arrested for allegedly attempting to smuggle cocaine to London

Managing Director of Goodies Music Productions, Mr Isaac Abeidu Aidoo, has been arrested for allegedly attempting to smuggle pellets of cocaine to London.He was arrested while going through departure formalities at the Kotoka International Airport about 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday night.He was said to have requested to be allowed to commit suicide, since he could not bear the humiliation associated with the exposure in the media.He had allegedly swallowed 80 thumb-size pellets of cocaine, which he claimed had been given to him at East Legon by someone he identified only as Abdul. At the time of filing this report, Aidoo had expelled 39 of the pellets.Three others, said to be couriers — Mohammed Yakubu, Othniel Oppong Boansi and Philip Asiedu Kissi — are also in custody for attempting to smuggle various quantities of cocaine to Europe between April 21 and 22, 2008.

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Brian Brendon Wright ordered to pay a confiscation order of £2,311,371

Convicted drug smuggler Brian Brendon Wright was today ordered to pay a confiscation order of £2,311,371 following a hearing at Woolwich Crown Court. Wright, 61, who headed an international drugs smuggling gang, was jailed for 30 years in April 2007 having been found guilty of conspiracy to evade prohibition on the importation of a controlled drug and the conspiracy to supply drugs. His Honour Judge Peter Moss today told Wright that he would have to serve a consecutive 10 years default sentence if the money was not paid in 12 months.Robert Alder, Head of Restraint & Confiscation Unit, HM Revenue & Customs, Criminal Investigation Division, said:
"The size of this Confiscation Order reflects Brian Brendon Wright's role at the very top of a global organised crime network that lived off the misery of the countless victims of the illegal drug trade. "Confiscation Orders like this ensure that career criminals such as Wright are denied the opportunity to profit from their crimes." Wright, originally from the Republic of Ireland, lived a luxurious lifestyle. He portrayed himself as a wealthy entrepreneur and professional gambler with an avid interest in the horseracing world. His friends and associates included many noted figures from the sports and entertainment industries. However, in reality he was the mastermind behind several multi-million pound cocaine shipments into the UK. Passing sentence, Judge Peter Moss told him: "You were a master criminal, manipulative, influential and powerful." He added: "I accept that you will be a very much older man when you are entitled to be released." The investigation that led to 20 convictions worldwide with jail sentences totalling over 250 years, followed an unsuccessful smuggling attempt in September 1996 using a vessel named the Sea Mist which was discovered carrying 599kg of cocaine with an estimated street value of £80 million. Over the next two years four further drug shipments were smuggled ashore.
In February 1999, officers seized 472kg of cocaine from a lock-up garage in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex and from a farm in Laleham in Surrey.
Following the arrest of several members of his gang, Wright, fled to northern Cyprus in 1999. He was eventually discovered in hiding in Spain in 2005 and extradited to the UK. The case was prosecuted on behalf of HMRC by The Revenue & Customs Prosecution Office (RCPO) which was created by Royal Assent on 07 April 2005 and is an independent prosecuting authority reporting directly to the Attorney General.

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Drug smugglers at Lighthouse Reef Atoll fishing vessel with the name “Yashi”.

Members of the coast guard have made arrests out at sea for the possession of illegal drugs. According to the Belize National Coast Guard yesterday while doing their frequent patrols in the Lighthouse Reef Atoll they came across a fishing vessel with the name “Yashi”. In the boat were seven fishermen from the village of Xunox in the Corozal district. When the officer conducted a search of the vessel they discovered what appeared to be cannabis stashed in the sail of the fishing vessel. Further searching led to the discovery of suspected cannabis inside the trouser pocket of two of the crewmen onboard the vessel. The seven men were detained and were transported to Belize City where they were handed over to the police. According to the National Coast Guard a previous search had been conducted last week Friday, April 18, this time at Turneffe Atoll as they had reasonable suspicions that the vessel was involved in illegal activities.

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Vickie Lynn King is charged with drug possession and possession for resale.

Vickie Lynn King of Athens was pulled over for a loud muffler. The deputy said she was acting nervous, so he asked if King had anything illegal in the car. She said no, but the deputy said she consented to a search anyhow.A female officer with the Athens Police Department noted a strange bulge when patting King down for weapons.
The deputy reports it turned out to be two large backs of crack cocaine, weighing 7 grams in all. The deputy also reported finding a crack pipe in the vehicle.King is charged with drug possession and possession for resale. The drugs were secured as evidence and sent to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for examination.

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Transtar, Neptune Tours, Los Primos, USA-Mex and Ameri-Mex identified the five bus companies accused of taking part in the drug smuggling

Authorities identified the five bus companies accused of taking part in the drug smuggling as Transtar, Neptune Tours, Los Primos, USA-Mex and Ameri-Mex.
According to the indictment, the companies have offices in Monterrey, Mexico, Rio Grande City, Roma, San Antonio and Houston.A telephone number listed for USA-Mex was not working. Representatives with Los Primos did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment. Attempts to reach the other bus companies were unsuccessful as no telephone numbers could immediately be found for their businesses.Investigators said the drugs were smuggled into the United States from Monterrey, Mexico, and transported north through the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, up through Houston and various cities north, including Dallas, Allentown, Pa., and Joliet, Ill.U.S. Attorney Don DeGabrielle said the drugs were stored on the buses inside some "not completely undetectable but some very sophisticated compartments," often below where luggage was stowed.He said the smuggling organization, which began operating in 2001, charged anywhere from $500 per kilogram of cocaine just to get it across the border to as much as $7,000 per kilogram of cocaine to take it as far north as New York City."The buses were transporting people as well but they were also transporting narcotics," DeGabrielle said. "That's what made it so successful for a while, their ability to do this relatively undeterred."Yankovich said at first it was hard to figure out who was smuggling the drugs because anybody, from passengers to drivers to mechanics that worked on the buses, could have been blamed.
"They were secure in the way they did business," he said. "Once we figured out how they were working, we were able to systematically dismantle their plan."Authorities have arrested nine of the indicted individuals.The owners and managers of the bus companies have been identified by authorities as: Abel Trevino Jr., 43, of Houston; Oscar Jaime Garcia Prado, 42, from Brookshire; Miguel Montemayor, 39, of Roma; Victor Hinojosa, 41, of Houston; and Eduardo Trevino, 40, of Linares, Mexico.Abel Trevino, Montemayor and Hinojosa were arrested in Houston on Wednesday.
Those hired as bus drivers and loaders have been identified as: Leticia Enedina Fournier, 58; Guadalupe Karr Cortez, 47, an illegal immigrant; Jesse Trevino, 48; Alejandro Carmargo-Guerra, 59; Victor Rocha, 39, from Dickinson; Enrique Alvaro Saldana, 53, of Roma.Jesse Trevino, Rocha, Carmargo-Guerra and Cortez were arrested Wednesday.Those accused of paying the bus companies to transport the drugs were identified as: Guadalupe Castaneda, 46, of Roma; Eduardo Cirilo, 42, of Pharr; Eduardo Salinas, 29, of Mission; Jose Armando Muniz, 33, of Weslaco; Rafael Armando Ramirez, 32, an illegal immigrant from the Houston area; and Luis Laros, 36; and Robert Salazar Rivera, 48, both of Monterrey, Mexico.Salinas and Cirilo were arrested on Wednesday.The defendants are each charged as part of a 16-count indictment with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana and each faces up to life in prison if convicted. Most of the defendants are also charged with conspiracy to launder drug proceeds. The remaining counts relate to other drug charges.Officials said none of those arrested have made their initial court appearances. It was not immediately known if any individuals in custody had attorneys.

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Gardai have seized heroin worth €200,000 after carrying out a search of a premises in a Dublin business park.

Gardai have seized heroin worth €200,000 after carrying out a search of a premises in a Dublin business park. The search of the building in the Hillcrest Business Park, Greenhills Road, Walkinstown, Dublin 12 was carried out at about 3pm today by the South Central Crime Task Force under Operation Anvil, assisted by detectives and the National Drugs Unit. During the operation, 1kg of heroin and a number of other items were seized, including a trailer stolen in Duleek two years ago.
No arrests were made, but gardai said investigations are continuing.

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Speed boat containing more than a dozen bundles of marijuana washed ashore in San Diego

A boat containing more than a dozen bundles of marijuana washed ashore in San Diego. Someone spotted the 18-foot vessel lodged in some rocks and called the U.S. Coast Guard.An 18-footer crashed onto the rocks at Sunset Cliffs. The marijuana was found but no people were around when investigators arrived. The boat broke apart and sank during the retrieval operation. The exact amount of marijuana found is unknown. Each bundle contained different amounts of the drug.Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Lauren Mack said the boat was already abandoned when authorities responding to a distress call found it. Various law enforcement agencies including San Diego police, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol were on the scene to investigate.Lifeguards assisted in retrieving the drugs from the boat, which were hidden underneath the floorboards, according to ICE spokeswoman Lauren Mack.Lifeguard Lt. Nick Lerma said crews had to use an ax to extricate the bundles of drugs, which were wrapped in plastic and duct tape in various shapes and sizes. The contraband was lifted by crane up the cliff and into the custody of ICE near Sunset Cliffs Boulevard and Carmelo Street.Lifeguards then tried to tow the boat away but due to damaged sustained by the waves and the rocks, it quickly sank about 100 yards offshore.ICE officials said 362 pounds of marijuana were retrieved. Authorities said there is a possibility the there may be more drugs in the water which could wash ashore.Mack said no arrests have been made and none are expected Monday as they have little evidence as to who was driving the boat. Nearby residents told police they saw a white van driving around the neighborhood at about 6 a.m.Mack told NBC 7/39 the increase in smuggling activity is surprising. She said the smuggling is usually more frequent in the summer months when criminals try to hide among the fishing vessels.Two smuggling boats were found on Torrey Pines Beach and Silver Strand Beach last week. One has been linked to a human smuggling organization.

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Moldova is Europe's poorest country Factories produce counterfeit cigarettes on a non-stop basis,

The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has initiated an investigation into counterfeit cigarettes and cigarette smuggling from seven countries, including Moldova. The investigation centers on whether several Internet-based cigarette retailers are selling imported cigarettes in the US that violate patents held by Philip Morris USAThe ITC investigation was requested by Philip Morris in early March, CNN reported, and could result in an order to ban cigarettes from the US that are found to violate patents held by the company.
Philip Morris, is the world's largest commercial tobacco company by sales. Their flagship Marlboro is the world's most popular tobacco brand.
According to the company, Internet retailers are promising to deliver brand name cigarettes at low prices, like Marlboro's, but instead deliver knock-off cigarettes. A total of seven countries were named as problem countries, with Moldova being high on the list. Moldova is Europe's poorest country and known as a "black hole" on the borders of the European Union. Factories located in the outskirts of the capital Chisinau produce counterfeit cigarettes on a non-stop basis, working three shifts and exported the illegally manufactured products into the European Union by crossing its shared border with Romania, the newest EU member state. In the past, Moldova (but not Pridnestrovie) was a part of Romania.Illegal internet sales from Moldova
Smuggling is not the only way that the fake cigarettes reach the end user. Products from Moldova are also sold illegally over the Internet, an the United States' ITC investigation includes Internet companies based in Moldova which use international postal and courier service to ship the cigarettes to the end-user.
A spokesman for Philip Morris said it is hard to estimate the value or volume of sales that might be cut off by an ITC decision to block trade in what the company calls "gray market cigarettes." However, he said that in the USA alone tobacco sales through the Internet exceeded 5 billion US Dollars in in 2005.
According to the official website of Philip Morris USA, the company is committed to informing consumers on the "frequent illegality of internet sales of cigarettes and prevention of the marketing of Philip Morris products to sites that evade state and federal laws."
Philip Morris also wants to prevent contraband cigarettes from reaching the market, given that many don't meet quality standards or federal regulations for labeling and disclosure of ingredients. Moldova's government is not cooperating in the investigation

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Petty Officer Christopher Carlson has also been formally dismissed from the navy for misconduct.

Former Petty Officer Christopher Carlson has also been formally dismissed from the navy for misconduct.In sentencing Carlson, Canada's chief military judge said the case was a prime example of blatant disregard of Canadian Forces drug policy and an absolute abdication by a non-commissioned officer of his roles and responsibilities
But the judge noted that there was no evidence that Carlson was ever involved in cocaine trafficking on board the HMCS Saskatoon, a charge that was dropped at the start of his court martial earlier this week,There was no evidence that Carlson ever used cocaine aboard HMCS Saskatoon but that he was involved in drug use with subordinates on his days off.Four members of the small warship faced court martial as a result of a military sting operation in early 2006 - the one was simply fined and two were handed suspended jail sentences as well as fines.

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Vanessa and Juan Bedoya, Meneses and Rodriguez-Jimenez are being held in DuPage County Jail in lieu of $1 million bond each.

Vanessa Bedoya, 37, and Juan Bedoya, 38, both of the 1400 block of Green Oak Trail, Aurora, were charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.Juan Meneses, 32, and Gonzalo Rodriguez-Jimenez, 38, both of the 800 block of Amli Court, Aurora, were charged with unlawful delivery of a controlled substance, the Kane County state's attorney's office said.According to prosecutors, on March 25, Rodriguez-Jimenez and Meneses delivered more than 900 grams of cocaineto another unnamed person. Later, more than 900 grams of cocaine were recovered from Juan and Vanessa Bedoya, who are married. The cocaine was recovered at the home of Francisco Bedoya, 36, also of the 1400 block of Green Oak Trail, Aurora.
In addition, more than 900 grams of cocaine was recovered in the home of Juan and Vanessa Bedoya, prosecutors said.
Officers searched three Aurora homes Tuesday and found 15 kilograms of cocaine, worth about $4.5 million, along with $50,000 in cash and two vehicles, the DuPage County sheriff's office said.Francisco Bedoya was charged Wednesday in Kane County with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, prosecutors said.
Bail in Kane County for Vanessa Bedoya, Juan Bedoya and Rodriguez-Jimenez has been set at $5 million each. Bail for Meneses in Kane County has been set at $3 million.
Vanessa Bedoya, Juan Bedoya, Rodriguez-Jimenez and Meneses each are being held in the DuPage County Jail on a $1 million cash bond on related charges.
If convicted of the Kane County charges, each defendant faces 15 to 60 years in prison, prosecutors said.

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leather sofas, timber, even soft toys and lunch boxes hidden inside, millions of illegal cigarettes .

leather sofas, timber, even soft toys and lunch boxes hidden inside, millions of illegal cigarettes . Among the vast array of items which criminals try to smuggle through Birmingham Airport are guns and knives, animals, drugs, prescribed medicines and false passports. But it is illicit cigarettes, both genuine and counterfeit, which make up the bulk of the hauls seized by customs officers. On Friday, a hard-hitting campaign to warn smokers of the dangers of buying counterfeit cigarettes was launched in the West Midlands and Staffordshire by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and Smokefree Alliance groups. For those tasked with detecting the hauls before they arrive on the streets, it is a massive challenge. Hidden inside anything from teddy bears to oil paintings, children's lunch boxes to hollow computers, the smugglers are constantly trying to find increasingly imaginative ways to disguise their hauls. This is serious organised crime and will involve all the components of that, such as extortion and murder Freight team leader for HMRC at Birmingham Airport, Jim Ferguson, said: "There is no such thing as a normal day." "Freight is trade and we have a responsibility not to hold up legitimate goods. We can have consignments come through with a legitimate name, but with illegitimate contents. "So we look for abnormalities - things which are not right tend to stick out. And if we are lucky once, we will continue being lucky because we will know what to look for. "They [the smugglers] don't always think the whole process through, and coupled with that, they don't think we are as good as we are." The trade in illegal cigarettes in England is big business. Customs officers seized more than 50 million illicit cigarettes and nearly 4,250 kilos of hand rolling tobacco in the West Midlands area in 2007. Of these hauls, 70% were found to be counterfeit. Jennie Kendall, spokeswoman for HMRC, said the dangers of smoking counterfeit cigarettes were vastly underrated. The 'counterfeit kills' campaign aims to raise awareness of the trade Made in bonded labour factories in China and Eastern Europe, a packet of 20 counterfeit cigarettes can cost as little as 9p to manufacture. Expertly packed by fraudsters, they are practically impossible to distinguish from a packet of genuine cigarettes. But in addition to containing higher levels of chemicals, they have been found to contain sawdust, tobacco beetles and even rat droppings. In October 2007, a system of covertly marking packets of genuine cigarettes was introduced in a bid to disrupt the counterfeit trade. The system will be introduced to packets of hand rolling tobacco later in 2008. Ms Kendall said: "People who are selling these into the UK are not concerned who they are selling to, they are going to be selling to anybody and everybody, including children and young people. "But of course, people don't know what they are smoking, and that is the risk they are taking. "Most people, when they are buying cheap cigarettes, don't know that there is a high chance they are buying counterfeit."
In addition to the increased health risks, the trade in illegal cigarettes has other serious implications.
"This is serious organised crime and will involve all the components of that, such as extortion and murder," she said.
"This is not about somebody bringing in a couple of thousand cigarettes legally and selling them on to you - that is illegal in itself - but there is another very serious dimension.
"If you are buying cigarettes from the man on the street, in the pub, or at the car boot sale, you won't see that link right up the chain."

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Cannabis plants have been flourishing in southern Norway recently

Police have found a cannabis grower, this time in a rented facility on the Bygdøy peninsula, where many of Oslo's most famous museums are located.
Cannabis plants have been flourishing in southern Norway recently, and yet another illegal plantation has been found.The police suspect a Norwegian, who is unrelated to the mostly Vietnamese bands that have been discovered growing cannabis in southern Norway in recent months.About 50 plants and 100 saplings were found by inspectors for the civil defence force, who alerted the police, reported newswire NTB."The confiscated goods are contained in a storage room for drying, on the floor and on shelves," said central police station chief Bjørn Hansen to a local newspaper.
"The smell of so much marijuana is strong, and those who are working with the plants shouldn’t take a chance of going through customs at Gardermoen [Oslo's international airport] right after work," said Hansen.Police have recently uncovered a widespread covert network of hash and marijuana production in Norway. Similar operations have also been found in several other countries in Europe, as well as North America.
This latest find is not considered a big one in relation to many of the earlier discoveries.

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cannabis greenhouse operations have been found in Telemark, Buskerud, Hedmark and Østfold counties

Seizures of cannabis plants that could be used to produce hashish and marijuana were made on the island called Kråkerøy, just outside Fredrikstad, and at Kongsberg in Buskerud over the weekend.The raid on a house in Kongsberg resulted in the fourth seizure of what police are calling indoor "plantations" in just a week. Around 400 cannabis plants were found in the house, which was being rented out.
A Vietnamese man was arrested at the scene, and was to face charges .The Kråkerøy and Kongsberg seizures were the 14th and 15th in recent months in southern Norway. Other cannabis greenhouse operations have been found in Telemark, Buskerud, Hedmark and Østfold counties, and several have involved Vietnamese tenders like at the house in Konsberg.
Police acknowledged over the weekend that they think the cannabis operations are linked, and the national crime unit Kripos has been called in to aid local investigations."We've noticed that many of these cases bear similarities," Atle Roll-Mathiesen told newspaper Aftenposten. "We've gotten involved, to look at the links between them."The tenants of the house on Kråkerøy had engineered and built what police call "professional" greenhouse-type facilities that monitored watering and fertilizing of the plants. Geir Kristiansen of the Fredrikstad Police Station said the operation seemed "very organized."

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Edward Monsanto, Angel Perez-Baez, Juan Castro and Diogenis Gonzalez on Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance

Special Narcotics indicted Edward Monsanto, Angel Perez-Baez, Juan Castro and Diogenis Gonzalez on Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the First Degree subsequent to their arrest on February 18, 2008 and the seizure of 3½ kilograms of cocaine in Upper Manhattan. As a result of this collaborative investigation, Operation Ghost Rider resulted in the indictments of 27 individuals, the seizure of 4 kilograms of heroin, 10 decks of heroin, 3 ½ kilograms of cocaine, scales and drug packaging material, a .25 Caliber Beretta handgun, $31,000 of US Currency, 5 handguns, handcuffs, bullet proof vests and ammunition.

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U.S. citizens have been arrested on charges of attempting to smuggle 1,350 beetles out of the country

Two U.S. citizens in their sixties have been arrested in the Australian city of Perth on charges of attempting to smuggle 1,350 beetles out of the country, the West Australian newspaper said on Thursday.The discovery followed an anonymous phone call to a customs hotline.Customs officers in Perth International Airport found some 1,000 tiger beetles, a regulated native species banned from export without a permit, in the luggage of a 62 year-old U.S. tourist. The insects were packed in glass vials hidden inside yoghurt containers.
During questioning the man informed police about his 63 year-old accomplice, who was subsequently detained after another 350 assorted beetles were found in his luggage.
Customs National Manager Investigations Richard Janeczko said the smuggling of rare creatures was a major international problem.
"Australian species are favored targets of wildlife smugglers," the newspaper quoted him as saying. "Wildlife trafficking is a cruel practice and, unfortunately, many animals die before reaching their destination."
Australian insects are popular among overseas collectors because of their bright colors and unique characteristics, he added.
Both men are due to go on trial on Friday. They face a fine of up to $92,000 and / or up to 10 years behind bars if found guilty.

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Arrested two people for smuggling two disemboweled tiger carcasses

Police in Vietnam have arrested two people for smuggling two disemboweled tiger carcasses, a police official said Friday. The local Environmental Police arrested the owners of two houses in Ninh Binh province, 100 kilometers south of Hanoi, on Wednesday after finding two frozen tigers there, said Tran Quoc To, a senior department official. The carcasses, weighing 265 and 245 kilograms, were hidden in refrigerators.
"The houses are only the transit points for the animal smugglers," To said. "Further investigation is under way to find out where the tigers were from and what other people are involved in the case."To said the police also found livers and four skinned feet suspected to belong to other tigers in one of the refrigerators.
"We haven't identified the feet yet, but they look like tiger feet," To said. "The ring must have smuggled more than two tigers."Tiger bones and other parts are often used in traditional Vietnamese medicine. "Tiger paste" - made from boiling the bones of the tiger and said to restore the bones of the elderly - can sell for as much as 5,000 dollars a kilogram on the black market, several clients said.
In December, police in Ho Chi Minh City arrested two people with a frozen disemboweled tiger and a bear in a taxi. In August, a court in Can Tho province, 150 kilometers south-west of Ho Chi Minh City, sentenced eight men to prison terms of up to 11 years for poisoning a tiger in a zoo and stealing the carcass to sell on the black market. Forest rangers in Vietnam seized more than 7,700 trafficked wild animals last year, including more than 1,000 rare animals, according to the National Forest Protection Department.
According to Vietnamese law, people hunting, transporting or trading in rare animals are subject to a prison term of up to seven years and a fine of up to 20 million dong (1,250 dollars).

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John Paul Jones it took doctors two hours to remove the drugs, which were concealed in condoms and probably smuggled into Thailand

John Paul Jones was arrested in Thailand after a doctor allegedly discovered 65 plastic bags filled with $31,608 in hashish in his stomach, police said.
John Paul Jones, 51, was visiting the island of Ko Samui when he was rushed to the hospital after complaining of severe stomach pain, the Bangkok Post reported.
An X-ray of Jones's intestine showed a sausage-like string of objects that were surgically removed and identified as 800 grams of hashish.
"Before the operation, Mr Jones looked nervous and asked whether police would be notified. We found 62 black objects obstructing his small intestine. Three packs had burst," Dr Worapob said.
It is reported that it took doctors two hours to remove the drugs, which were concealed in condoms and probably smuggled into Thailand from India or Pakistan.
Authorities said Jones would be held for questioning and charges.

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Customs officers discovered cocaine, said to be 70 per cent pure, as they were being sent through the post from Brazil

Customs officers discovered the drugs, said to be 70 per cent pure, as they were being sent through the post from Brazil.cocaine with an estimated street value of up to £400,000 destined for the streets of the West Midlands has been found in bottles of cosmetics. Customs officers discovered the drugs, said to be 70 per cent pure, as they were being sent through the post from Brazil.Devious drugs smugglers had used a chemical process to suspend the cocaine in the cosmetics in an attempt to get the drugs onto the region's streets.But suspicious officers decided to test the liquid when it arrived in two separate shipments during the past month.A tell-tale blue circle indicated the bottles actually contained the drugs.In total they found more than a kilo and a half of cocaine in one consignment with an estimated street value of around £80,000.The second consignment contained a further kilo of cocaine with a street value of more than £50,000.The cocaine had a purity of 70 per cent and once "cut" by drug dealers for sale on the streets would have doubled or even trebled in value.It is not the first time that Customs officers uncovered attempts to smuggle drugs in such a way but it is particularly expensive because drugs gangs also have to use a chemical process to get the drugs out of suspension.Lin Coxon, detectionmanager for HM Revenue & Customs, said: "We're working at the forefront in the fight to stop drugs entering the UK and reduce the associated harm to our communities."This latest seizure shows the skills and experience of our dedicated teams of officers in detecting this dangerous drug, despite the ever inventive methods used by drug smugglers."We are determined to disrupt organised drugs scams and our approach continues to be one of zero tolerance."No arrests have currently been made.

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Seized heroin worth $2.5 million at Changi Airport

Narcotics officers have seized heroin worth $2.5 million at Changi Airport and have arrested a woman and two men, the Government-run radio said today. The woman was arrested at the airport Friday with five pounds of heroin strapped to her body as she was about to board a plane for the United States, and the men were arrested later, the radio said. Officials said all were Singaporeans.

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Hezi Serbero, Mordechai Hirsch,Moshe Keder largest narcotics bust in Israeli policing history

Three suspects are in custody, police said, naming Hezi Serbero, 57, the notorious smuggling ringleader who served a previous seven year prison sentence for attempting to smuggle ecstasy pills out of Holland, Mordechai Hirsch, 67, and sea vessel company owner Moshe Keder, 81, described by police as their oldest drug smuggler in custody to date. Keder was the owner of the tugboat which set sail around the globe, with police agents following close behind. After following a renovated tugboat packed with anywhere between seven to ten tons of Moroccan hashish around three continents for over than a year, Tel Aviv police undercover agents working with their British counterparts made the largest narcotics bust in Israeli policing history Friday, raiding the boat and arresting the Israeli drug smuggling cartel, as well as British nationals in the English port city of Southampton.
The tugboat packed with Moroccan hashish.
"The operation began a year and a half ago, when we received intelligence on an Israeli group attempting to organize a shipment of a large quantity of hashish from Pakistan to Europe," Chief Superintendent Aharon Valariola, head of intelligence at Tel Aviv police, said. "We launched an undercover investigation and followed the ship, a renovated tugboat, as it sailed away from Eilat with an Israeli crew and reached the coast of the [east] African Republic of Djibouti. There the ship changed crews. Members of the ring had made contact in Pakistan with a view to buy the drugs there, but then changed their minds and decided to purchase them in Morocco," Valarioloa said. Meanwhile, a channel of communications had been established with a number of British Pakistanis, as the UK had been chosen as the target country to ship and sell the hashish. Once they learned of the smugglers' intentions, Israeli police made contact with their UK counterparts, and other foreign police forces were also brought into the picture, as the investigation reached Belgium, "where the ringleader spent most of his time organizing funds."
"Throughout the year, the smugglers forked out numerous expenses on fuel, port taxes, ship renovations, and crews. The ship headed for Essaouria, on the Moroccan coast, where the hashish, worth 15 to 20 million dollars, was purchased. It then set sail for Southampton, all the while under our watch," Valarioloa recounted.
By the time the ship had docked in the south coast of England, ready to unload its food containers stuffed with hashish, Tel Aviv police officers, staying at a nearby Southampton hotel, were ready to pounce with UK narcotic officers.
"There could be more arrests in the future. We are now at the opening stage of the investigation, and the suspects will be questioned," the police intelligence head said. He added that he was not surprised that links were forged between Israeli smugglers and Pakistani and Moroccan drug handlers. "Unfortunately, many Israelis are involved in drug smuggling rings around the world."

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Hans Kristian Rausing £5million home in Chelsea searched allegedly a £2,000 drug stash found .

Hans Kristian Rausing was held at his mansion after his wife was allegedly caught trying to smuggle drugs into the US embassy.American-born Eva Rausing, daughter of a wealthy Pepsi boss, was arrested as she arrived for a function just after 4pm on Tuesday.Security guards asked to search her bag and are said to have discovered the drugs wrapped in paper.As Mrs Rausing, 44, was taken to Charing Cross police station, officers raided her £5million home in Chelsea and allegedly found a £2,000 drug stash.

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121 people had been crammed inside an airtight seafood container

The police said 121 people had been crammed inside an airtight seafood container late Wednesday night that measured just 20 feet long and 7 feet wide. Survivors said they had shouted and banged on the sides of the sweltering container as they began to collapse from lack of air. Fifty four migrant workers from Myanmar suffocated in the back of a sealed truck in southern Thailand as they were being smuggled into the country to work as illegal laborers, the Thai police said Thursday. Col. Kraithong Chanthongbai, the local police commander in Ranong Province, on Myanmar’s border, said that the dead included 37 women and 17 men and that they were heading for the resort island of Phuket to work as day laborers. Twenty-one of the survivors were hospitalized and the others were held for questioning, he said. All but two were later discharged from the hospital. The deaths illustrated the dangers migrant workers face as they are smuggled by the millions across borders into countries as far apart in the world as the United States, Britain and Thailand.
In a similar incident in 2003 in Texas, 19 Latin American migrants died from overheating and suffocation inside a trailer truck. In 2001 in Britain, 58 illegal Chinese migrants died when they were crammed into a sweltering tomato truck.
Last December, the bodies of 22 migrants from Myanmar were found floating in the ocean near the west coast of Thailand. Earlier last year, 11 workers from Myanmar died when a pickup truck crammed with 40 passengers crashed near the northern Thai border. In the latest case, the police said they were searching for the truck driver as well as for members of the smuggling ring they believed arranged the trip. They said they had detained the owner of the truck, who said he was unaware that it was being used to transport migrants.
One of the survivors, Saw Win, 30, told The Associated Press: “I thought everyone was going to die. I thought I was going to die. If the truck had driven for 30 minutes more, I would have died for sure.” He said that about 30 minutes into the trip, the workers began to bang on the side of the container, screaming to the driver for help. The driver briefly turned on the air conditioning but it went off again. The workers continued pounding and shouting for another hour until the driver stopped the truck, unlocked the container and ran off, Win said. Officials estimate that about one million workers from Myanmar are in Thailand illegally, usually in low-paying jobs as laborers or domestic workers or on fishing boats.
As in other countries, they face abuse and exploitation with few legal protections.
The London-based human rights group Amnesty International said in a report in 2005 that workers from Myanmar “are routinely paid well below the Thai minimum wage, work long hours in unhealthy conditions and are at risk of arbitrary arrest and deportation.” They are typically brought into the country by large smuggling syndicates in difficult and often dangerous conditions. Survivors told the police on Thursday that they had each paid 10,000 baht ($314) to be smuggled into Thailand.
They said they had come by fishing boat from Myanmar’s Victoria Point to Ranong Province, about 286 miles south of Bangkok, before being loaded into the truck.
Colonel Kraithong said it was not unusual for his station near the border of Myanmar to catch illegal migrants, but he said they usually came in groups of five or six, hidden in secret compartments under piles of vegetables or boxes or loads of wood.

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Dubai Customs have succeeded in aborting an attempt to smuggle heroin through Terminal 1 in Dubai International Airport.

Inspectors of Dubai Customs have succeeded in aborting an attempt to smuggle heroin through Terminal 1 in Dubai International Airport.
According to a statement from the Customs, the inspectors grew suspicious of a passenger who arrived from an Asian country due to his behaviour. A scan conducted on him revealed a number of capsules in his stomach.
The passenger admitted he swallowed 137 capsules containing heroin. He was offered a big amount of money to smuggle the heroin into the UAE.

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$1,000 iphone smugglers in Russia

Notable users include President-elect Dmitry Medvedev, billionaire Alexander Mamut and Boris Yeltsin Jr, grandson of the former president, according to the newspaper Kommersant. iPhones are not sold by Cupertino, California-based Apple in Russia and it can’t be used legally on local networks. Still, about 250,000 people own one, more than any other country except the U.S. and China, according to Eldar Murtazin, chief analyst at Moscow-based Mobile Research Group. That popularity has turned into a bonanza for traders who sell the phones in kiosks and on the internet for $1,000 each, more than twice the U.S. price. Hackers say they charge as much as 2,500 rubles ($105) to “unlock’ ’ them so they work locally.


“It’s an icon for Russians,’’ said Timofei Kulikov, a lawyer and buyer of electronic products for X5 Retail Group NV, Russia’s largest supermarket chain. “If you see two businessmen at lunch in Moscow, they’ll both have iPhones on the table.’’
The evolution from web-surfing, touch-screen gadget to status symbol has been a boon for Peter Aloisson. The jeweler sold a diamond-studded iPhone encased in white gold to a Russian businessman in March for 120,000 euros and is working on a 500,000-euros version that may go to another Russian client. “There is no doubt that Russia, when it comes to luxury items, is by far the best marketplace,’’ Aloisson, 47, said last week from his studio in Vienna.
Murtazin says about 20,000 iPhones arrive in Russia each month. “They arrive in suitcases,’’ Murtazin said. “Practically every flight from the US brings new iPhones.’’
“You can basically do whatever you like,’’ said Ivan, 21, after he unlocked an iPhone in a basement office he shares with two friends in one of the capital’s most expensive neighbourhoods. “We’re not liable for anything because officially it’s not here,’’ said Ivan, who declined to give his last name.
Apple, the world’s biggest buyer of flash memory chips, hasn’t said how many of the 4 million iPhones sold were unlocked to work on unauthorized networks. Analysts put the figure at 1 million.

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Faisal Ali Rao,Mumtaza Hussein,Siddiq Ahmed, Said Attar Hussein, they attempted to smuggle drugs

Faisal Ali Rao, 26, Mumtaza Hussein, 33, Siddiq Ahmed, 43 and 64-year-old Said Attar Hussein were observed “behaving suspiciously” at the airport on 29 March.They have been arrested in a joint operation between customs and police as they attempted to smuggle drugs via the Maldives to Tanzania.The four from Pakistan were arrested on 29 March at Malé’s Hulhule International Airport, having swallowed a total of 189 capsules of heroin between them. Information was then passed to police, who arrested the Tanzanian on 6 April.The arrests highlight the use of Maldives as a trans shipment point for narcotics, which drug demand reduction officer Kunal Kishore, of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), says is on the rise.
“Maldives is in the process of evolving as a big transit point,” said Kishore. “I think it will increase.”Arriving from Karachi via Colombo, they were arrested and sent to Malé’s Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital, where they were found to have swallowed a total of 189 “bullets” of heroin between them. Information was then passed to police, whose drug enforcement unit conducted a special operation and arrested Derek Hugh Kasimbe, 39, a Tanzanian citizen, on 6 April after he entered Maldives on a tourist visa.“The drugs were being imported to Maldives with the intention of exporting them to Tanzania,” said police in a statement.Whilst the Maldives’ own narcotics market is estimated to be worth US $50 million per year, a 2003 report by the US State Department said that though Maldives was not then used as a transit point, but “international observers and some government officials remain wary about the country's potential to become a transshipment point for smugglers.”
Though the five recent arrests occurred at the airport, the greatest risk relates to shipping and the extent of Maldives’ coastline, said Kishore.
“It comes in on ships, and they dump it in the sea,” he said. “It’s an organised route, with another gang picking it up from there. They should check all ships [for drugs].”Over a ton of cannabis discovered on the floor of the Alif Alif Maavaru lagoon in April 2006, the largest ever drugs find in the country.

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Senior police officers have been grilled for their alleged roles in log smuggling

Senior police officers have been grilled for their alleged roles in illegal logging in West Kalimantan province on the Indonesian portion of Borneo island, local media reports said Wednesday.National police chief General Sutanto had vowed to take legal action against any police officer involved in illegal logging or log smuggling in the country.‘We want to deal with illegal logging activities conclusively. Whoever is suspected to be involved will be investigated,’ the state-run Antara news agency quoted Sutanto as saying.At least 14 police officers in West Kalimantan province were being held at the national police headquarters in Jakarta for questioning, he said.‘The investigations are being conducted by the National Police general supervisory inspector,’ Sutanto said, adding that they were questioned on suspicion of having colluded with log smugglers in West Kalimantan.
Sutanto, who like many Indonesians goes by only name, said he supported the forestry ministry’s plan to cooperate with neighbouring countries, such as Malaysia, in an attempt to stop log smuggling from the country.West Kalimantan police last month named 26 people as suspects in illegal logging cases, including 14 boat crew members, six officers of the Ketapang transportation service, eight illegal log owners - with two of them still at large - and one mediator between illegal logging financiers and loggers.Police continued their manhunt for four Malaysians who have been named suspects in connection with illegal logging in West Kalimantan province.
In March, police seized around 12,000 cubic metres of illegal logs worth about 208 billion rupiah (22.6 million dollars), which were about to be smuggled to Malaysia from the province’s Ketapang district, the report said.According to the environmental watchdog Greenpeace, Indonesia had the world’s fastest rate of deforestation between 2000 and 2005, with the equivalent area of some 300 football pitches cut down every hour. Deforestation is regarded as the main factor for Indonesia turning into the third largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions in the world.President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono declared a crackdown in 2005 against deforestation in the country, and promised harsh penalties for officials involved in illegal logging which has been blamed to have triggered flash floods and landslides in several regions in the

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Bashir Noorzai charged with smuggling more than $50 million worth of heroin into the United States

Bashir Noorzai, an Afghan tribal leader, was arrested in 2005 and charged with smuggling more than $50 million worth of heroin into the United States. U.S. authorities have called him one of the world's most wanted drug traffickers and compared him to Colombian cocaine trafficker Pablo Escobar.
Noorzai's lawyer denied his client was a drug dealer and argued the charges should be dismissed because U.S. government officials duped him into believing he would not be arrested.According to the ruling by U.S. District Judge Laura Swain, Noorzai told agents that he traveled to the United States to meet with U.S. officials to discuss Afghanistan's future.Prosecutors agreed that officers overseas had at one point promised Noorzai he would not be arrested. But the officers were instructed to back off such promises, and no official immunity deal was offered, the judge said.
Noorzai had previously cooperated with U.S. authorities in Afghanistan in the 1990s and following the September 11 attacks of 2001, providing information and turning over weaponry, including U.S. stinger missiles.Swain also ruled statements taken from a Manhattan hotel room where Noorzai was questioned by FBI agents over an 11-day period could be used in his upcoming trial. Noorzai had argued he did not know he was being investigated."The record makes clear Mr. Noorzai's understanding of the potential gravity of the situation and the events leading up to his travel to the United States," Swain said.

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Harminder Chana was among three persons nabbed by the British police in connection with the biggest ever seizure of heroin worth 20 million pounds

Indian was among three persons nabbed by the British police in connection with the biggest ever seizure of heroin worth 15 to 20 million pounds, police said on Sunday.
The Indian man was identified as 30-year old Harminder Chana, who was taken into custody by the Metropolitan police.
Apart from Chana, Pakistani-origin Atif Khan (31) and Dutchman Patrick Kuster (35) were arrested over the seizure of 350 kgs of heroin valued at 15 to 20 million pounds.The specialist crime central task force seized the huge quantity heroin from two cars at a motorway service station in Kent on Thursday.Chana and Kuster were arrested in the motorway service station, while Khan was taken into custody in Ilford in east London.Officers saw the Dutchman transferring cardboard boxes from a BMW into another car in a parking lot off a highway southeast of London on Thursday.Police found ten more boxes full of heroin inside the BMW. They seized a total of 350 kgs in the bust.Detective chief inspector Peter Beyer said ''this is one of the largest ever seizures of heroin by police in the UK. We've severely disrupted a highly organised criminal network engaged in the wide-scale importation and distribution of class-A drugs.''
The three men will be produced before a court on Monday.

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Iranian security forces have killed 12 drug smugglers

Iranian security forces have killed 12 drug smugglers and seized 500kg of narcotics in two operations near the border with Afghanistan, state media says.The drug traffickers were killed near the city of Taibad in Khorasan Razavi province in the last 48 hours, the official IRNA news agency said, without elaborating.Iran is on the heroin smuggling route to the West from Afghanistan, the world's number one producer of the opium poppy which is the key ingredient for heroin.
More than 3,300 Iranian security personnel have died fighting drug smugglers since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution.

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Ricardo Lopez-Balli,Roberto Cortez,Salvador DeLaCruz three were being held in the Lucas County jail in lieu of a $1 million bond.

Ricardo Lopez-Balli, 38, of Bradenton, Fla., was charged with possession of drugs, aggravated trafficking in drugs, driving without a valid license, and cited for following too closely.
Roberto Cortez, 33, of San Benito, Texas, was charged with possession of drugs and aggravated trafficking in drugs.
Salvador DeLaCruz, 37, of 3825 Peru St., was charged with complicity to traffic drugs.
All three were being held in the Lucas County jail in lieu of a $1 million bond.
A state trooper stopped a car being driven by Mr. DeLaCruz about 3:30 p.m. Thursday heading eastbound on the turnpike near the interchange at Toledo Express Airport for following too closely. A sport utility vehicle being driven by Mr. Lopez-Balli was stopped nearby for the same offense, the patrol said.
During the stops, troopers determined Mr. DeLaCruz owned the SUV that Mr. Lopez-Balli was driving. A drug-detecting dog was used to search both vehicles and authorities found the 26.4 pounds of cocaine in the SUV, the patrol said.

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Turkish security forces seized 400 kilogrammes (880 pounds) of heroin hidden in vats of olives

Turkish security forces seized 400 kilogrammes (880 pounds) of heroin hidden in vats of olives on a truck headed for Europe, the Anatolia news agency reported on Sunday.
The truck was detained at the Kapikule border post with Bulgaria after investigators became aware of the imminent transfer of the shipment on Wednesday, the report said.
Sniffer dogs found the drug hidden in containers of olives. Investigators had been monitoring the olive exporting company for several months, according to the Turkish news agency.Turkey is a major transit point for drugs heading for western Europe from Asia. The country’s biggest seizure was in February 2007 when officers found 565kg (1,243 pounds) of heroin.

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Turkish security forces seized 108 kg of heroin in two operations staged in eastern province of Van

Turkish security forces seized 108 kg of heroin in two operations staged in eastern province of Van, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported on Sunday. The report said the security forces stopped a truck in Balaban village in Gevas town of Van province and found 70 kg heroin. In another operation, Turkish security forces seized 38 kg heroin and two kg morphine in a minibus in Zernek village in Gurpinar town in the same province, said the report. The security forces detained the truck driver and minibus driver in the two operations, said the report. Turkey is a key transit route for smuggling drugs from Asia and the Middle East to

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Massachusetts Police seized 185 pounds of cocaine from a tractor-trailer truck

Police in Massachusetts have seized 185 pounds of cocaine from a tractor-trailer truck in the city of Lynn, authorities say.The Essex County District Attorney's Office said in a news release that the county's drug task force, working in conjunction with federal authorities, seized the drugs during an unloading operation this weekend, the Boston Herald reported Sunday.Essex County District Attorney Jon Blodgett credited everyone involved with Saturday's raid, which reportedly followed a lengthy undercover narcotics operation."It was a multistate, multifaceted enterprise, so it was a long investigation," Blodgett said. "These people were major players in the drug trade."The attorney's office said five men and a woman were also arrested in the raid. Those individuals face up to 20 years in prison if convicted on drug trafficking charges, the news release said.
Blodgett told the Herald Saturday's raid would likely prompt more arrests as police are investigating related "offshoots" in the criminal case

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$6 million in cash inside a truck near the U.S. border and arrested five men at the scene

Mexican soldiers looking for drug traffickers found $6 million in cash inside a truck near the U.S. border and arrested five men at the scene, the army said on Friday.Army drug squads in the northern state of Tamaulipas, a smuggling hot spot over the border from Texas, found the U.S. currency stuffed into eight suitcases as they inspected a tractor trailer and smaller truck parked along a highway.
They also found four pistols, the army said in a statement.Army and federal police units deployed in President Felipe Calderon's 15-month-old crackdown on drug cartels are grappling with a spike in violence that has left more than 800 people dead in gangland-style killings so far this year.The U.S.-Mexico border is the main entry point for South American cocaine and other drugs smuggled north to U.S. consumers.
Mexico's powerful cartels buy masses of U.S. arms and their safe houses brim with cash from their organized crime businesses. Army raids have turned up big hauls of guns and cash since Calderon's operation began.

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Chi San Kong, Cheng Zhano, Jian Hui Tan 4,800 cartons of illegal cigarettes, many packaged in counterfeit red du Maurier cartons and packages.

4,800 cartons of illegal cigarettes, many packaged in counterfeit red du Maurier cartons and packages. "Sophisticated," is the word investigators used to describe the operation. But finding this hidden shipment was just the start of the investigation. The officers put everything back in place, sealed up the container and on it went -- woks, dishes and illegal smokes -- by train to Toronto. The RCMP was contacted, search warrants were applied for and the sting was on. When five people arrived at the Toronto CN Rail yard last week to pick up the woks and dishes, they were surprised at who greeted them. "They usually are," Sgt. Susan Riddell said. "These are serious charges." Chi San Kong, 43, Cheng Zhano, Jian Hui Tan, 33, Jin Chang Haung, 45, and Hak Hang Lam, 39, are to appear in court May 30, all charged with unlawful possession of tobacco products. The street value of the score would have been $345,600, resulting in a loss of "$212,000 in duties and taxes" for the federal and provincial governments. But it's just a small dent in a major criminal enterprise involving smuggled cigarettes," RCMP Staff-Sgt. John Morton said. Industry experts figure almost one in every three cigarettes smoked in Ontario is contraband. Morton said he's not sure of the number but thinks it's a "significant problem." One way to snuff out the problem is by educating the public and encouraging them not to buy the smokes, Morton said.

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Police have seized around 2 kilograms (4.4 lbs) of heroin in two separate incidents in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg

Police have seized around 2 kilograms (4.4 lbs) of heroin in two separate incidents in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, local police said on Wednesday.A Tajik national was initially detained carrying 15 grams of heroin, but later gave police information about another 1.2 kilograms (2.6 lbs) he had been keeping in the cellar of a city center store. He said his acquaintances had asked him to keep the drugs.
Police discovered another 0.5 kg of heroin in the possession of a train passenger. The 22-year-old woman was arrested and taken of the train.
Both offenders face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of smuggling drugs.
On Monday, police in the Urals region of Orenburg said they had seized more than 43 kg (95 lbs) of heroin hidden in a wood. The whereabouts of the drugs had been reported by an arrested drug dealer.
Customs officers made their largest-ever drug bust in the Urals on March 19, seizing a total of 353 kg (780 lbs) of heroin.Russia's Urals is a major point in the heroin smuggling route from Afghanistan through the former Soviet Central Asian republics on to Western Europe via Moscow and St. Petersburg. Alternatively, the drugs are smuggled into Turkey and then onto Europe via the Balkans.

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