Mexican beauty queen arrested stripped of her Hispanic American beauty title

Laura Zuniga, 23, and seven men were detained at a military checkpoint in central Mexico on Monday. Police found assault rifles and $55,000 in cash in the luxury vehicles they had been driving.Mexican beauty queen arrested in the company of heavily armed, suspected drug traffickers has been stripped of her Hispanic American beauty title, pageant organizers in Bolivia told local media on Saturday.
Zuniga was ordered jailed on Friday for a further 40 days while investigators probe possible ties to violent smuggling gangs.Police say they suspect the dark-haired model, who won the Miss Sinaloa and Queen of Hispanic America pageants earlier this year, was the girlfriend of one of the men arrested. Investigators say he is linked to the Juarez cartel, which operates lucrative smuggling routes into the United States.

"Promociones Gloria, the company that created and is responsible for (the pageant) has dismissed Laura Zuniga as the official Hispanic America Queen 2008," the organisation said in a statement, according to La Paz daily La Razon.

She was to compete in the Miss International pageant next year.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon is battling powerful cartels in his country with soldiers and federal police.

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Takeaway crack gang sentenced

12 men were sentenced for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs throughout east London.
Mobile phones used by the gangs to take orders from drug users received more than 30,000 calls in less than two months, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard.
Seven of the men were members of a gang calling themselves Box, four were from a gang known as Don, and the final defendant was part of a gang nicknamed Laguna by police because of their choice of transport.The court heard that all of the gangs used high-value hire cars as a means of demonstrating their wealth.They would drive to a meeting place where drug users would be waiting. Each car had one driver, one person responsible for receiving the money and a number of passengers who stored the wraps of drugs in their mouths.When a deal was done they would spit out the wraps and pass them to the buyer, instructing them to "mouth" the wrap immediately in a bid to avoid detection and to destroy DNA evidence.Whenever the cars were stopped by police the men could swallow the wraps in order to avoid the drugs being found.
Undercover police officers found that the men were equipped to supply several wraps at a time and even double the order if asked.In February and March of this year, police officers were posing as buyers and wearing concealed cameras in order to record evidence of the operation.The men, all from east London, pleaded guilty and were sentenced by Judge William Kennedy, who said: "Of all the plagues that have brought death and destruction to humankind over the last millennium, the use and misuse of Class A drugs upon the street ranks with the very worst."
He sentenced the members of the Box gang first. Sharif Choudhury, 21, was jailed for three years and nine months and Remo Foa, 21, for three years nine months. Mohammed Rhaman, 22, received the same sentence. Aminul Islam, 20, was detained for two years nine months. Rezaul Islam, 25, was sentenced to four years and Abdul Salam, 21, received a three-year sentence. Ruhel Ahmed, also 21, was jailed for three years six months.The Don gang and the one member of the Laguna gang were sentenced later. Jahagir Alom, 22, was jailed for three years, Nadimul Islam, 32, received a sentence of four years two months, Nazimul Islam, 27, was given three years nine months and Ruhel Miah, 24, was sentenced to four years three months. Laguna gang member Ashrathul Islam, 27, was jailed for three years six months.

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Cocaine worth €175,000 has been seized at Dublin Airport.

Cocaine worth €175,000 has been seized at Dublin Airport.Around 2.5kg of cocaine had been concealed in the back support of two haversacks belonging to a 32-year-old man who had travelled from Santiago, Chile.He was arrested and questioned by gardaí at Dublin Airport, and is expected to appear in court today.Customs officers at the airport have seized drugs with a street value of approximately €8m so far in 2008.

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Santa Busted for Cocaine Possession

Santa Busted for Cocaine Possession

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Daniell Anderson, who took the witness stand in his own defence during the trial, argued he was acting in self-defence when he opened fire on officers

Daniell Anderson, will remain free on bail until a hearing in January to see if the charges against him will be tossed out of court based on allegations that arresting officers used excessive force when taking him into custody.Officially, Mr. Anderson was found guilty of attempting to kill Const. Donald Murray and discharging a firearm with intent to injure Const. Curtis Penner. He was not found guilty of trying to kill Penner.Mr. Anderson had no comment after being ushered out of the courthouse by sheriff's officers.About 40 people -- including top brass from the Winnipeg Police Service and the Winnipeg Police Association -- packed the courtroom for Wednesday's verdict.The hearing to determine whether the guilty verdict against Mr. Anderson will stick has been scheduled for Jan. 14.Winnipeg Police Association president Mike Sutherland said he felt heartened by the guilty findings, but somewhat worried the matter's not over."We're not out of the woods yet," he said after the hearing.Mr. Anderson, who took the witness stand in his own defence during the trial, argued he was acting in self-defence when he opened fire on officers who were executing a search warrant for drugs inside his Winnipeg home. He mistakenly believed armed intruders were coming after him, he said, and he was stunned to later learn the victims were police officers.

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Singaporean,arrested at an international airport in Sweden for possessing 5kg of heroin in her luggage.

Singaporean, who accepted free air tickets from her 'benefactors' to seek medical treatment overseas, was duped into becoming a drug courier, reported China Press.
She was arrested at an international airport in Sweden for possessing 5kg of heroin in her luggage. The drug is said to be of high quality and worth RM3.3 million (S$1.39 million) in the market. The victim, who was reportedly suffering from haemorrhoids, had first befriended her Nigerian benefactors in Kuala Lumpur several months ago.The Nigerians then agreed to sponsor her air tickets to South America and Europe where she could seek advice from medical experts to treat her ailment.
It was reported that the victim, who worked as a security guard, did not realise that the Nigerians were actually members of an international drug syndicate.

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Former England all-rounder Chris Lewis was remanded in custody on Wednesday after being charged with attempting to smuggle cocaine

Former England all-rounder Chris Lewis was remanded in custody on Wednesday after being charged with attempting to smuggle cocaine with an estimated street value of 200,000 pounds into Britain.The 40-year-old was arrested on December 8 after border control officers at London's Gatwick airport found four kilogrammes (nine pounds) of the illegal drug in liquid form in fruit tins in baggage that had arrived from the Caribbean island of St Lucia.Lewis was arrested with Chad Kirnon, a 26-year-old one-time English league basketball player, and they were questioned by customs officials before being charged.The duo appeared via video-link on Wednesday from prison for an administrative hearing at a magistrates court in the southern English town of Haywards Heath.Both men were remanded in custody until January 14. No bail application was made.Lewis has not entered a plea to the charge of importing cocaine but Kirnon has pleaded not guilty.Guyana-born Lewis took 93 wickets during his England Test career and 66 wickets in one-day internationals, at averages of 37.5 and 29.4 respectively.He finished with a Test batting average of 23 but was widely regarded as having failed to live up to the potential of his early years, when he was tipped to become the new Ian Botham.He was branded the "Prat without a Hat" by the tabloid Sun newspaper when, after having his head shaved by team-mate Devon Malcolm, he was forced off the field with sunstroke during an England tour of the West Indies in 1994 after failing to apply suncream or wear any headgear.Lewis retired from county cricket in 2000 because of a persistent hip injury after spells with Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Surrey.He re-joined Surrey earlier this year with a view to playing in Twenty20 matches but that plan was scuppered by injury.

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Ishmael Butler, 26, was arrested in the city's Union Street on suspicion of selling drugs in September.

Ishmael Butler, 26, was arrested in the city's Union Street on suspicion of selling drugs in September. About £18,000-worth of heroin and crack cocaine was later recovered from his flat. He said he had been threatened by his former gang and told to help. Butler, from Birmingham, was jailed for 44 months. He admitted being concerned in drug supply at Glasgow High Court. Butler was stopped by plain clothes officers who suspected he was selling drugs after he was spotted speaking to a homeless person. I accept you found it difficult to break away from the drug culture and have accepted full responsibility for your actions Lord Brailsford When he was searched by police they found almost £700 in cash. Heroin and crack cocaine was found when his Great Northern Road flat was searched. Prosecutor Jennifer Bain said: "DNA analysis revealed a partial DNA profile matching that of the accused on various packages which contained heroin. One of the packages containing cocaine also had a DNA profile matching his." The court was told Butler was jailed for four years at Birmingham Crown Court in March 2005 for drugs offences

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Mexican army has seized 11 airplanes from drug traffickers in the northwestern state of Sonora

Mexican army has seized 11 airplanes from drug traffickers in the northwestern state of Sonora, the Prosecutor General of the Republic (PGR) said Wednesday.Soldiers seized the planes Tuesday in Navojoa municipality, near the California Gulf and 1,500km northwest of Mexico City, and also took control of the landing runway located in the community of Moroncarit in Sonora, the PGR said.
Military intelligence staff are investigating the pilots who could be linked to drug trafficking gangs in Mexico's northern states, according to National Defense Ministry (Sedena) sources.

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Two Dutch men were being questioned after heroin with an estimated street value of six million euro was found in a lorry load of flowers.

Drugs squad and Customs officers swooped on two trucks in Dublin Port after they came off a ferry from the UK. The lorries had travelled from Amsterdam. The two men, aged 55 and 39, were arrested after 30kg (66lb) of the drug was found hidden among flowers in the back of one of the vehicles. It is believed the authorities intercepted the trucks after receiving information on suspected drug trafficking through the port.The intelligence operation involved the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the National Drugs Unit and Revenue's Customs Service. The men are being detained in Dublin under Section 2 of the Drug Trafficking Act and can be held for up to seven days.

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Arrested a 21-year-old Panamanian as he tried to walk across Gateway International Bridge with four pounds of cocaine strapped to his body

U.S. Customs and Border Protection arrested a 21-year-old Panamanian as he tried to walk across Gateway International Bridge with four pounds of cocaine strapped to his body, officials said.The incident took place 6:25 a.m. Monday, according to a government press release. The suspect, who is a resident of Brooklyn, New York, was sent to secondary inspection point."Under further inspection of the gentleman, the officers noticed he had cocaine strapped to his body," CBP spokesman Eduardo Perez said.The investigation led to 15 packages containing close to four pounds of cocaine valued at $118,000, officials said. The suspect was turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for further investigation."Smuggling organizations will try anything to get their loads into the country," said Michael Freeman, CBP port director for the Brownsville Port of Entry. "Our CBP officers are constantly honing their inspection skills in order to shut down smuggling attempts."

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Seized 3 tons of cocaine mixed into a shipment of guano bound for Spain.

Police in Peru say they have seized 3 tons of cocaine mixed into a shipment of guano bound for Spain.A four-month investigation led to the seizure at a warehouse in the capital of Lima, anti-drug police Col. Cesar Cortijo said Monday.Cortijo said the drugs belonged to a trafficking ring that smuggled cocaine out of the country mixed with other products. Four Peruvians and a Colombian were arrested.Police delayed announcing the Dec. 4 raid because it was initially impossible to calculate how much cocaine was mixed with the guano, the nitrogen- and phosphate-rich droppings of birds and bats.Cortijo said the cocaine was destined for Barcelona, Spain.Peru is the world's largest producer of coca and cocaine after Colombia, and it is also a major source of guano, harvested from excrement-stained islands off its southern coast. Most is used as fertilizer in Peru's fields, but some is shipped overseas, where it is a favorite among organic gardeners.

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Police in the Falkland Islands said nearly $1.5 million worth of cocaine disappeared from a double-locked cell at a police station.

Police in the Falkland Islands said nearly $1.5 million worth of cocaine disappeared from a double-locked cell at a police station.Officers at the Port Stanley station, where the 29 packets of cocaine were being stored after they were confiscated from a fishing boat in October, said the two suspects arrested in connection with the raid were jailed at the police station but they were allowed free use of a corridor at night time that allowed access to the cell holding the drugs, The Times of London reported Monday.A court was told one of the suspects had reached between the gap between the bottom of the cell door and floor and removed the drug packets one at a time over the course of several days. Officers said they found last week that 23 of the 29 packets were missing.Investigators said they do not know what became of the drugs but they are looking into whether they were flushed down a toilet or smuggled off the island.

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Coast Guard and Navy personnel offloaded more than 11 metric tons of cocaine from the USS Samuel B. Roberts

Coast Guard and Navy personnel offloaded more than 11 metric tons of cocaine from the USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58) Friday morning in Mayport, Fla.The 498 bales of cocaine consisted of cocaine seized by various Coast Guard and Navy units from separate cases in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. The drugs were offloaded and transferred to law enforcement personnel on scene.Law enforcement officials will possibly keep a portion of the drugs for future prosecution and the remaining cocaine will be destroyed.

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Iran hanged three convicted drug traffickers in a prison in the southeastern city of Zahedan on Saturday

Iran hanged three convicted drug traffickers in a prison in the southeastern city of Zahedan on Saturday, the Fars news agency reported.Two of the men, identified only as P.D. and M.M., had been found guilty of smuggling 36.5 kilograms and 40 kilograms of heroin respectively, the news agency said.The third man, identified as V.A.R., was convicted of smuggling 15 kilograms of opium and 14.5 kilograms of heroin.The latest hangings took to at least 223 the number of executions in Iran this year, according to an AFP count.Amnesty International says Iran carried out more death sentences in 2007 than any other country apart from China, executing 317 people.Capital offences include murder, rape, armed robbery, drug trafficking and adultery.

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MAXIMUM-security prisoner will be charged for allegedly masterminding a major drug distribution operation from a smuggled mobile phone

Sydney MAXIMUM-security prisoner will be charged for allegedly masterminding a major drug distribution operation from a smuggled mobile phone in his jail cell.Incredible details have emerged after more than 100 police swarmed into Sydney’s southwest today and swooped on a dozen houses, as part of a major investigation into drug trafficking, The Daily Telegraph reports. The co-ordinated raids also included a number of search warrants being executed in Victoria. They are targeting people allegedly on the outside doing the bidding of the caged kingpin. Police today revealed that both cops and Department of Corrective Services are involved in the investigation, which allegedly uncovered the man running a drug syndicate on the outside of prison that sold up to $250,000 a week in cocaine, ice and cannabisacross NSW and Victoria. Shortly after 6am (AEDT) police executed warrants at 12 premises in western Sydney and four in Melbourne, police said. Drugs, firearms and cash have been seized during the operation and further arrests are likely, police said. State Crime Command MEOCS detectives commenced Strike Force Skelton in April this year when they became aware the inmate had access to a smuggled mobile phone in his prison cell. With the knowledge of those only at the highest level at the Department of Corrective Services, MEOCS began intercepting and monitoring the inmate’s mobile phone.

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Discovered more than 140 pounds of cocaine concealed inside concrete decorative pedestals being shipped from Mexico

Discovered more than 140 pounds of cocaine concealed inside concrete decorative pedestals being shipped from Mexico through the Port of Los Angeles to Australia, Schoch said. BEST officers alerted Australia's Federal Police and that country's Customs Service, which assisted in the investigation that led to the arrest of three Mexican nationals who were charged with drug trafficking."They packed 64 kilos inside the pedestals, then poured concrete around them," Schoch said. "The pedestals were packed inside one of thousands of shipping containers on a vessel."In a separate case, officers intercepted two caches of weapons that investigators determined were bound for Mexico. They included a grenade launcher, numerous semiautomatic AR-15s, a sawed-off rifle, bulletproof vests and a silencer that authorities said were destined for drug cartels in Mexico.

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Angus McDonald has pointed the finger at three of the people he says were involved with him in a plot to import millions of pounds worth of drugs

Angus McDonald drug runner has pointed the finger at three of the people he says were involved with him in a plot to import millions of pounds worth of drugs into South Cumbria.Angus McDonald, 44, was the first prosecution witness in the trial of two men and a woman accused of helping to launder some of the £35m made from importing cannabis into Windermere.One of the men, John James “Jim” Nightingale, is also accused of being one of those who conspired to import the drug from Spain.
Prosecution witness McDonald, of Craig Walk, Windermere, has already pleaded guilty to drugs conspiracy and money laundering charges.Yesterday he became the key witness in the Carlisle Crown Court trial of Nightingale, Sharon Ambrose, and Duncan William Maxwell, who he says were involved with him.The court heard how a gang – led by Liverpool-born George Tymoszycki, who lived in the Lake District for several years – arranged for huge amounts of cannabis to be shipped from Spain to a cash and carry warehouse in Windermere.The plot was foiled when police in Seville became suspicious of a consignment of five pallets awaiting shipment.They found 4½ tonnes of cannabis – worth £12m if it had ever reached the streets of Britain – and replaced it with sand and bricks before sending it on its way. The alleged ringleaders were arrested when it arrived in Cumbria and charged with various drug dealing and money-laundering crimes.McDonald said he and Nightingale had been arrested at the Windermere cash and carry while unloading the pallets of boxes which, unknown to them, contained only the sand and bricks left there by the Spanish police.Further investigations showed that cannabis worth a total of £35m could have been sent in four previous consignments.The prosecution says the conspiracy was masterminded by Tymoszycki, who died in June, before he could be brought to justice. Those on trial are his ex-wife Sharon Ambrose, 48, of Storrs Park, Bowness; Nightingale, 65, of Lane End West, Bowness, who runs a car hire business in Windermere and used to work at Holker Ford in Barrow; and Duncan William Maxwell, 43, of Lake Road, Bowness.
Nightingale has pleaded not guilty to conspiring with others to supply cannabis and to money laundering, while Ambrose and Maxwell have both denied money-laundering.
In evidence yesterday McDonald said all of the defendants had been involved to some extent.He said Maxwell had given him £100 to pay into his building society account £10,000 in cash, which was delivered to him in a carrier bag. He said Maxwell had told him the money belonged to Tymoszycki, who wanted it kept “hush-hush” so the taxman did not get to hear of it.McDonald said he paid in more money on other occasions, sometimes dividing it into smaller amounts after being told that Tymoszycki believed “it wasn’t so noticeable” if it was done like that.He said after paying money into his account he wrote and signed cheques – without filling in any name as the payee.Only later, he said, did he discover that someone else had written in the name “S Ambrose” as payee.The trial continues.

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Lucky and Flo, Malaysian organised crime gangs have put a price on their heads.

Lucky and Flo, black Labrador Retrievers, have been trained to detect 'optical discs' by scent. Their success has meant that Malaysian organised crime gangs have put a price on their heads. The dogs' talents emerged as a campaign said by organisers to be the largest ever collaboration on anti-piracy in the UK was officially launched yesterday. The pilot initiative, involving the Metropolitan Police, the Motion Picture Association and the UK Film Council among others, aims to make London a "fake free zone" by the time of the 2012 Olympics. Higher Education and Intellectual Property Minister David Lammy helped launch the initiative.
He said: "Legislation alone will not combat counterfeiting and piracy. "Good law is great but enforced law is better. "The Fake Free London campaign sends a clear message that we are all serious about tackling this problem. "This partnership will ensure that consumers, legitimate businesses and their employees are protected from those that choose to break the law." Copyright theft cost the film and television industries £486 million in 2007. The campaign aims to educate local government, businesses, traders and the wider community about the seriousness of piracy. In the first two-week period of the programme, 39 arrests were made. This included 82 seizures in Tower Hamlets, Brent & Harrow and Lewisham. In total around 90,250 DVDs were seized along with credit cards and a computer. Adrian Wootton, head of Film London said: "The general public need to know that piracy has a devastating loss to the UK film and TV industry... "This not only affects the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people who work in the UK film industry but may start to impact on the creativity and quality of films themselves."

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