Drug smugglers taking to the skies to ferry drugs across the border.

They're using ultralight aircrafts as the new tool to smuggle drugs and U.S. Border Patrol officials said the number of encounters are increasing.

U.S. Border Patrol officials from the El Centro sector said it's a sign that drug smugglers are becoming desperate since the border is becoming more secure.

Hang gliders which are usually used for recreational purposes are now being modified to carry drug loads.

Drug smugglers have dug tunnels, sailed boats, built ramps over the border fence and even tried to hide drugs inside of bricks to try and succeed in their smuggling runs.

But now, ultralight aircraft seem to be the new trend among Mexican organized crime groups, now that man power, technology and security has been stepped up along the Southwest border.

"These criminal organizations have become a little bit more desperate and they find dangerous means of transporting their narcotics thru the border via these ultra light aircraft," Victor Lara, Border Patrol spokes for the El Centro sector said.

Lara said they had 118 incursions during the 2009 fiscal year.

The number of incursions doubled last year and they had more than 70 encounters in the first four months of this year.

Lara said the modified hang gliders can zip across the border within minutes.

So now agents have to turn off their engines and roll down their windows.

"They're detected by means of hearing them because they fly at low levels," Lara said. "So the only way of detecting these guys is by hearing these guys at night."

Ultralights make a sound a little louder than a lawnmower.

He said these light-weight planes have a single engine and carry one or two people.

Lara said smugglers won't carry drug loads by the ton as they once did. Ultralight carry only a few pounds at a time.

"It doesn't take a lot of skill to fly these so that's why they pose a major threat to everybody," Lara said.

He said agents can't shoot down the ultralights because it would place the public at risk and they could also crash into power lines.

Agents can only follow the planes to their destination.

They also tip off the Mexican authorities in case they fly back across the southern border.

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Scientists have invented a simple way to tell real Scotch whisky from fake.

They blind-tested 17 samples of blended whisky, correctly identifying eight authentic and nine fake samples using an infrared spectrometer.
The hand-held device identifies the whisky by measuring whether the alcohol content matches the label and whether ingredients such as caramel colouring are present in the quantities expected.
Prof David Littlejohn, who led the research at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, said the present method of checking authenticity involved lab-based analysis “which isn’t always the most convenient system if a sample needs to be identified quickly.
“We have developed a system that could be adapted for use on-site.”
The whisky industry loses millions of pounds a year to black market traders, particularly in the Far East.

 

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Viktor Bout refuses to plead guilty

The lawyers of Viktor Bout have acknowledged for the first time that their client was engaged in arms trade. The defense made their statement at a pre-trial hearing in New York earlier this week.

Bout was extradited to the United States from Thailand in 2008 on charges of attempting to sell a large batch of arms into Colombia to representatives of the FARC group that intended to use them to kill U.S. citizens.

FARC is an acronym for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, a guerrilla group that fights against U.S. influence.

Bout has pleaded non guilty to the charges. If convicted, he faces from 25 years to life in prison.

 

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Twelve million counterfeit cigarettes have been discovered during a search of a warehouse in Gateshead.

HM Revenue and Customs officers said it took three lorries to remove the haul and a full day to count the cigarettes.

The haul, worth £2.2m, was found during checks on industrial sites in the area on Wednesday.

HMRC spokesman Michael Connolly said the find was "staggering" and the largest ever seizure of its kind in the North East.

"This was a staggering amount of cigarettes to uncover in one place and shows the scale of this type of crime," he said.

"Each year the British economy loses over two billion pounds in duty from the sale of illicit tobacco, money that is ploughed straight back into funding other criminal activity in our neighbourhoods.

"We are determined to target the criminal supply chains that flood local communities with these smuggled products."

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Honduran patrol boat has located a semi-submersible craft used by drug traffickers to carry cocaine.

 Five crew members have been detained.

Officials say the submarine-like vessel is floating about 15 meters (50 feet) under the surface of the Caribbean off the Honduran coast after the crew tried to sink it.
They say divers have recovered part of the cocaine aboard the craft. They estimate it was carrying as much as five tons.

Defense Minister Marlon Pascua said Thursday it was the first time Honduran authorities have seized such a craft in their waters.

A coast guard patrol detected the craft Wednesday off the coast of the sparsely populated province of Gracias a Dios, near the Nicaraguan border.

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Three men have been accused of running a cigarette smuggling ring out of a Citgo on U.S. 1 in Spotsylvania County that sometimes sold $1 million in cigarettes a month.

A federal grand jury in Charlottesville on Wednesday indicted Vijay Nanubhai Patel, 50, Pullin P. Amin, 30, and Diveshkumar Desai, 23, all of the Fredericksburg area.

Each is charged with one count of conspiracy to traffic in contraband cigarettes and six counts of trafficking in contraband cigarettes.

The jury also charged Mars and Roshni Inc., the company that owns the Citgo station, and an unnamed man from the Bronx. Patel is the president of Mars and Roshni and runs its operations, including the C&J Citgo near Four-Mile Fork.

Amin and Desai were his employees. The company and the three Fredericksburg men are also charged with one count each of conspiracy for failing to maintain cigarette sales records.

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli announced the indictments yesterday.

According to the announcement, starting in 2009, Patel, Amin and Desai bought cigarettes from legitimate sources in Virginia. They also bought cigarettes, both taxed and untaxed, from undercover law enforcement officers earlier this year.

The men would hold large quantities of cigarette cartons at the Citgo, where traffickers would come buy them for transport to New York, Pennsylvania and other places for resale, according to the indictment.

The men sold more than 38,000 cartons of cigarettes to New York traffickers just between June 2010 and April 2011, according to the indictment. That cost the state and city of New York more than $4.8 million in cigarette taxes and almost $432,000 in sales taxes.

Virginia's cigarette tax rate, 30 cents a pack, is the second-lowest in the nation, while New York's, at $4.35 a pack ($5.85 in New York City) is the highest, according to data from the National Council of State Legislatures and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

At the peak of the trafficking, the three Fredericksburg men are alleged to have sold $1 million worth of cigarettes a month.

If convicted, each man could get five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for each count. The company could face a monetary fine.

The Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office and commonwealth's attorney helped the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the state attorney general's office with the investigation.

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Irish gang runs rhino horn trade

An organised crime gang from Ireland is masterminding illegal trade in rhino horns around the world, according to Europol.
The European law enforcement agency said it has uncovered intelligence and evidence identifying an organised crime group illegally trading stolen rhino horn across Europe and beyond.

"The theft of rhino horn shows how organised criminals are always on the lookout for new and creative crime opportunities", Europol said on Thursday.

"Significant players within this area of crime have been identified as an Irish and ethnically-Irish organised criminal group, who are known to use intimidation and violence to achieve their ends."

The group are targeting antique dealers, auction houses, art galleries, museums, private collections and zoos, also resorting to theft and aggravated burglary, with contacts in the UK, France, North and South America, South Africa, China and Australia.

Police say the group are also involved in drugs trafficking, organised robbery, distribution of counterfeit products, tarmac fraud and money laundering across the EU.

Gardaí and Europol have called for dedicated investigations in countries where the gang has links to determine the scale and threat from the crime.

Police forces have also been urged to swap intelligence on the gang and warn people who own rhino horns or put them on display that they may be a target.

Rhinos are often poached for their horns which are sold on the black market and are used for decoration, to produce luxury products and also used in traditional medicine.

Depending on the size and quality of the specimen, a rhino horn can be worth between €25,000 and €200,000.

 

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Detained Mexico crime boss details US gun smuggling

Captured Mexican crime boss said his gang purchased weapons in the United States and smuggled them across the Rio Grande river, according to testimony released Tuesday by Mexican authorities.

Jesus Enrique Rejon Aguilar, one of the founders and leaders of the feared Zetas drug cartel, said smugglers began transporting the weapons across the river following increased security at international crossings.

"All the arms are bought in the United States... Before we would transport them over the bridges, but now we transport them across the river, with difficulty," he said, according to the public security ministry.

The Rio Grande -- known as the Rio Bravo del Norte in Mexico -- forms the 1,200-mile (2,000 kilometer) border between Mexico and the US state of Texas.

Mexico has long called for stricter gun laws in the United States, which is believed to be the source of much of the weapons that end up in the hands of drug traffickers and is also one of their most lucrative markets.

Some 37,000 people have been killed in mostly drug-related violence in Mexico since 2006, when the government launched a massive military crackdown on the powerful cartels, which also battle each other over territory.

Rejon Aguilar was detained on Sunday in central Mexico as he was traveling to the south of the country to visit his mother in his home state of Campeche, according to Mexican authorities.

He was one of the founders of the Zetas cartel, a group of former soldiers who pioneered the use of military tactics and weaponry, at first in the service of the Gulf cartel, for which they worked as hitmen.

They later split from their employers and founded their own cartel, sparking a brutal turf war. The Zetas are accused of two mass killings, one in Mexico's northeast and one in a Guatemalan border province.

 

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A top member of the so-called Bali Nine heroin trafficking syndicate, Myuran Sukumaran, has lost his final appeal against a death sentence in Indonesia for heroin smuggling.

As a result of the Bali Nine death sentences, Australia — which does not support capital punishment — has put in place measures to prevent the police from putting Australian lives at risk when co-operating with overseas authorities.

A top member of the so-called Bali Nine heroin trafficking syndicate, Myuran Sukumaran, has lost his final appeal against a death sentence in Indonesia for heroin smuggling.

The decision by Indonesia's Supreme Court follows a similar rejection for fellow Bali Nine member Andrew Chan last month, the Daily Telegraph reports.

Another Bali Nine member, Scott Rush, recently had his death sentence commuted to life on appeal. However, Rush was one of the couriers while Chan and Sukumaran were classified as the Bali Nine' ringleaders. Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, treats drug crime harshly.

The latest verdict means Sukumaran and Chan will be shot dead by a firing squad unless Indonesia's president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. However, Yudhoyono recently said publicly that he does not give pardons to those on death row, even if they are foreigners.

The Australian government has repeatedly urged Indonesia to show leniency to the Australians, including in personal pleas to Yudhoyono, according to the  SMH.

The Bali Nine smugglers were caught by Indonesian police in Bali on a tip-off from the Australian Federal Police. As a result of the death sentences, Australia — which does not support capital punishment — has put in place measures to prevent the police from putting Australian lives at risk when co-operating with overseas authorities.

Both Sukumaran and Chan have admitted their guilt and apologized. Chan has developed a strong Christian faith and has said he doesn't fear death.

Foreign minister Kevin Rudd will likely raise the issue of the death penalty when he visits Jakarta on Friday,

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HONG KONG couple has been arrested in Perth for attempting to smuggle reptiles hidden inside teddy bears.

The 27-year-old man and 30-year-old woman were arrested last night following a joint investigation by Customs and Border Protection officials and the Western Australian Department of Environment and Conservation.

Authorities had been monitoring the pair after they allegedly made several attempts to post teddy bears overseas which contained more than 18 bobtail lizards, sand swimmer skinks and crevice skinks.

Over the past 12 weeks, a total of six packages in four consignments were intercepted by Customs and Border Protection at Perth Mail centre.

Authorities searched a St James residence last night and seized 12 more bobtail lizards, several soft toys, packaging and postage material.

Customs and Border Protection WA Regional Director, Amanda Bott, said: “The smuggling of wildlife into and out of Australia is a serious issue. These activities if left uncontrolled could result in the extinction of species in the wild.”

DEC senior wildlife investigator Rick Dawson said bobtail lizards were worth up to $7500 on the Asian black market.

“While common in Western Australia, these lizards are highly sought after in Asia because they are easy to care for, attractive, and exotic,” he said.

“In some instances the reptiles’ eyes had been taped up, and the cold and cramped conditions they would have had to endure on a long journey without food or water in a cargo hold is abhorrent.

“This joint effort between Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Environment and Conservation demonstrates that we are committed to putting an end to this cruel practice.”

The seized reptiles will be assessed this afternoon by veterinary staff at Perth Zoo.

The maximum penalty for illegally importing and possessing wildlife under WA’s Wildlife Conservation Act is $4000.

The maximum penalties for offences under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 are 10 years imprisonment or a fine of $110,000 or both.

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Six people have been detained for smuggling an unspecified amount of the form of uranium that can be used to make a nuclear weapon

Interior Ministry official Vitalie Briceag said the uranium-235 was brought in from Russia. He said the smugglers were trying to sell it to a North African country for €20 million (£18 million).
Uranium-235 makes up less than 1 per cent of natural uranium. Highly enriched uranium – which is used to arm nuclear weapons – is 90 per cent or more uranium-235.
The International Atomic Energy Agency considers 25 kilograms (55 pounds) of uranium-235 a "significant quantity" – technical language for the amount needed to make a nuclear bomb.
Television channel ProTV Chisinau posted on their web site a video released by the Interior Ministry showing one of the smugglers talking with an undercover police officer who claimed he was interested in buying the uranium. One of the smugglers told the policeman they could provide one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of uranium, but not the whole quantity at once, according to the video.
IAEA officials contacted shortly after the detentions were reported said they had no immediate comment.

Four detainees are Moldovan citizens, one is Russian and another is from Moldova's separatist Trans-Dniester region, Briceag said. He said the uranium was kept in a lead cylinder, adding more information will be disclosed after an investigation is conducted in a Western country.
In 2010, Moldovan authorities arrested three people who were trying to sell nearly two kilograms of uranium-238 worth €9 million on the black market. The amount was too small – and not radioactive enough – to be used in a "dirty bomb."

 

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China sentences Filipina to death for drug smuggling

Filipina teacher was sentenced to death for smuggling heroin into China, three months after three Filipino drug mules were executed, the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila said Friday.
The woman, who was not named, was sentenced last week the DFA said, quoting a report from the Philippine consulate in Guangzhou.
“She was arrested for drug-smuggling in October 2010 at the international airport in Guangzhou, for carrying 1,996 grams (67 ounces) of heroin concealed in a foil packet,” in her suitcase, the DFA said in a statement.
Although the case will be brought to the Guangdong High People’s Court for automatic review, the DFA warned that China was known for its “firm stance” in drug-smuggling cases.
The woman, however, was given a two-year reprieve, according to the DFA. Such convicts in the past have been able to use the reprieve to get their death sentences commuted.
In March, Chinese authorities executed three Filipino drug mules despite repeated pleas by the Philippine government for clemency.
Earlier this year, the DFA said more than 500 Filipinos — men and women — are currently languishing in foreign jails on drug-related cases.

 

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