Arrested Iyawe Ekhosuh Evans,Okafor Sunday Ken, Arthur Benson Emmanuel; Akaegbobi Festus Ebere, Olise Morgan Clinton,

Attempt by suspected drug couriers to smuggle cocaine worth N20 million through the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) Abuja has been foiled by officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The drug weighing 8.1 kilogrammes was seized from nine suspected drug traffickers last month.The suspects are Iyawe Ekhosuh Evans, 29; Okafor Sunday Ken, 32; Arthur Benson Emmanuel, 44; Akaegbobi Festus Ebere, 31 and Olise Morgan Clinton, 28. Others are Abogun Adesola Henry, 38; Okafor Ugochukwu Godwin, 23; Osamede Otas Oviawe, 31 and Igwenu Godwin Amobichukwu, 29. Preliminary investigation revealed that all the suspects took off from Lagos.The NDLEA Abuja Airport Commander Alhaji Hamza Umar decried the involvement of the suspects in illicit drug trafficking noting that they ought to be gainfully employed in the productive sector of the economy. Hamza disclosed that five suspects were arrested in January, thus bringing the total number of suspects arrested since the beginning of the year to fourteen.
All the suspects ingested the drug except one who packed it on his body. In his words, “It is sad that the suspects who are young, able-bodied and energetic have opted to traffic in narcotics rather than engaging in legitimate undertaking.”

Dennis Paul Paddison, Kelsey Nerbas,Matthew Reed,Dereck Hotner, Dale Handlen drug bust in Australia involving a shipping container from Canada.

Australian police say they expect more arrests will be made here in Canada following this week's huge drug bust in Brisbane involving more than $30 million worth of cocaine and ecstasy. Five B.C. men and an Australian face drug smuggling charges after being arrested in the capital of the state of Queensland on Wednesday.
The seized computer monitors, some of which contained cocaine and ecstasy in a shipment from B.C. Australian customs officials found the drugs on Sept. 8, stuffed into computer monitors in a shipping container that originated in the Lower Mainland.
Bruce Hill, who is in charge of international operations for the Australian Federal Police, told CBC News that he believes more arrests are imminent."We have a federal police officer from Washington in Canada working closely with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. I'm sure, as a result of that, we'll definitely get some very good results out of this."Australian suspect known to police
Hill says the mastermind behind the cocaine import scheme is a well-known organized crime figure in Sydney.
"We will allege in court that he was the intended recipient and financier of this operation from the Australian side. Now we've got inquiries going in Canada to try and establish who the principals are over there."

The five B.C. men arrested in Brisbane have been identified as Dennis Paul Paddison, 40, of Abbotsford; Dereck Hotner, 34, also of Abbotsford;,, 40; Matthew Reed, 26; and Kelsey Nerbas, 28. Nerbas, who had been living in Australia, is a former resident of Kelowna, B.C.All five remain in custody and are next scheduled to appear in court in November. The smuggling charges carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
This is the second recent drug bust in Australia involving a shipping container from Canada.
Four months ago, Australian authorities seized 1.2 million ecstasy tablets from a container in Melbourne, and arrested one man in Melbourne and three men in Sydney.
Michael Carmody, the CEO of the Australian Customs Service, says the two sets of arrests should serve as a warning.
"It does seem that people believe that by shipping goods through what would be seen as a friendly benign country in this area, they thought that they would avoid our scrutiny, and they haven't, and that's probably a message for others who might like to try that."

Ramia Binti Jimson charged with attempting to smuggle almost two kilograms of cocaine into Australia.

Police were called to Brisbane airport when customs found a substance in a passenger's luggage.A 45-year-old Malaysian woman will face Brisbane Magistrates Court today charged with attempting to smuggle almost two kilograms of cocaine into Australia.Customs officers at Brisbane International Airport stopped the woman after she arrived on a flight from South America yesterday morning.
A search of her luggage allegedly revealed a bag of fine white powder in the lining of the suitcase.The woman was referred to the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and her bag was forensically examined.Preliminary testing of the powder indicated the presence of cocaine.The woman was subsequently charged by the AFP with attempting to import a marketable quantity of a border controlled drug under the Criminal Code Act 1995.The maximum penalty for this offence is life imprisonment.Malaysian woman accused of smuggling almost two kilograms of cocaine into Australia through Brisbane airport has briefly appeared in court.Ramia Binti Jimson, 45, was arrested by Customs officers at Brisbane International Airport on Monday morning after arriving on a flight from South America.Officers allegedly found a bag of cocaine in the lining of her suitcase.Jimson, who lives in Kuala Lumpur, has been charged with one count of importing a marketable quantity of a border controlled drug.If convicted, she could be sentenced to life in jail.Jimson briefly appeared in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning.She made no application for bail and the matter was re-listed for mention later this month.

Donnel A. Mathes was charged with aggravated assault, possession of heroin, possession of heroin with the intent to distribute, resisting arrest.

A city police officer was punched in the face Saturday after stopping a man who was reportedly jaywalking near South 3rd Street and Railroad Avenue.
Ptl. Angel Lopez said he stopped Donnel A. Mathes, 42, of Coombs Drive, Fairfield Township, after seeing him commit the violation.The officer said he started talking to Mathes, so he could issue him a summons, but added that while he was talking to him, Mathes wouldn't take his hands out of his coat pockets. After being asked to remove his hands from his pockets numerous times, Mathes complied, and according to police, he removed his right hand, which he used to strike Lopez with a closed fist.
Mathes then ran south on 3rd Street, according to police, and a foot pursuit began.
Lopez said he observed Mathes throwing a bag in the area of 3rd Street and Florence Avenue, but he didn't identify what it was. Police finally caught up to Mathes in the 200 block of South 3rd Street, where he was taken to the ground by officers. Mathes allegedly resisted arrest at this time, according to police. Lopez state that Mathes kept saying that he "wasn't going back to jail for nothing." While saying this, Lopez reported that Mathes kept resisting and then started throwing more closed fist punches, striking the officer in the face and chest area, again.
Police said they then used force to subdue Mathes, but he continued to kick the officer in the legs while he was on the ground. Lopez was able to cuff Mathes after another officer arrived at the scene to help. While searching Mathes after his arrest, Lopez said a sandwich bag with suspected heroin inside, a pocket knife, cigarette paper and approximately $330 were recovered.
Mathes was charged with aggravated assault, possession of heroin, possession of heroin with the intent to distribute, resisting arrest, eluding, failure to deliver a controlled dangerous substance to police, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was taken to the county jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.

Nathan Allen Kenney was shot and killed during an alleged drug deal gone bad

Police say three suspects held in Saturday night's killing of a man in a church parking lot had met the victim there to buy drugs, and possibly to rob him.
Nathan Allen Kenney, 19, was shot and killed during an alleged drug deal gone bad.The suspects -- an 18-year-old woman and two 19-year-old men -- were to be charged today with crimes stemming from the shooting death of Nathan Allen Kenney, 19.Although police say the suspects were acquainted with Kenney, who was shot about 9:30 p.m. outside the Kentwood Community Church, the victim's girlfriend said he was not involved in the transaction and was not the intended target.
"That's not what he did, selling drugs," said Bethany Dresser, who dated Kenney for six years after meeting him while both attended school in Wayland. "It was just him who ended up getting shot."Dressler said Kenney, the father of her 1-year-old son, Nathan Kenney Jr., was driving a friend to the church lot the night he was killed. The friend witnessed the shooting, but was not hurt, she said.That friend had not spoken with anyone who knew Kenney, leaving it unclear what happened Friday night, Dressler said.Police responded to reports of shots fired outside the church at 1200 60th St. SE and found Kenney inside a vehicle that had hit a snow bank. A witness reported a suspicious car leaving the scene.Around 11 p.m., Kentwood Police Sgt. Button Lee Isle spotted a vehicle fitting that description near 60th Street and Kalamazoo Avenue SE. Police arrested two people inside the car and later tracked down a third suspect using information gathered after the traffic stop.The suspects have cooperated with investigators, who met with prosecutors Monday to determine charges, Kent County sheriff's Lt. Kevin Kelley said.The suspects, whose names were withheld pending charges, had arranged a meeting with the victim in the church parking lot to buy marijuana, and "then it just got out of hand from there," Kelley said Monday."It looks like it was a planned drug buy, even a potential robbery," Kelley said.He said the suspects have provided police consistent statements about events preceding the shooting.The woman who was arrested has no previous criminal record. One of the men has misdemeanor convictions for use of marijuana and providing police false information, police records show. The other has convictions for misdemeanor use of a narcotic and receiving and concealing stolen property, records show.Kenny lived with Dresser and cared for the couple's child while she worked."I do not trust my son with anyone other than him," she said. "He's the best dad and a good guy. He did a lot of good stuff that isn't coming out because he got shot."Dresser said Kenney often fed the homeless and once took up a bottle collection for a family who had lost their home.She acknowledged his convictions for third-degree home invasion and domestic violence in Ottawa County last year, and that he was arrested last month for larceny and resisting arrest.
"He did some stupid stuff once in a while, but it was always to try and support us and to do the best he could for me and his little boy," she said.

Glenn Agliotti ,Lesley 'Bob the America' Curtis ,Clinton Nassif, Christian Alblas ,Pedro Marques.,on trial in Joburg

One of the country's most high profile drug trials gets underway in Johannesburg today. The three men, accused of being members of an international smuggling syndicate, were arrested by the Scorpions in 2006 after the unit intercepted narcotics worth a quarter of a billion rand. Several co-accused including Glenn Agliotti and Clinton Nassif are expected to testify during the trial. Steve Paparas, his elderly father Dimitrio and Lenasia businessman Stanley Poonin are accused of using South Africa as a springboard for a global smuggling network.
The syndicate is believed to have been operating since 1997 and has allegedly successfully made multiple shipments around the world, evading arrest on at least three continents. But it finally crumbled when Scorpions investigators probing the shady network around disgraced tycoon Brett Kebble came across the organisation. The Scorpions have witnesses queuing up to testify against the accused.They've all struck deals with the state accepting lesser sentences in exchange for their evidence. Amongst them is Agliotti, his former colleague Clinton Nassif, a major drugs kingpin Lesley 'Bob the America' Curtis and two South Africans Christian Alblas and Pedro Marques.

Charles Shaw,Kelly A. Grasty were charged with delivery of a controlled substance, drug possession

Charles Shaw , 32, and Kelly A. Grasty, 29, were charged with delivery of a controlled substance, drug possession and related charges in the drug deal at a K-Mart parking lot on Route 309, police said.The arrests were made as part of a continuing crackdown on drug dealers by Quakertown police and the state police at Bethlehem vice unit.Police said Shaw and Grasty met an undercover state trooper and police informant at the parking lot Friday and Shaw sold 215 bags of heroin to the informant.Police also found cocaine in the vehicle in which Shaw and Grasy were traveling, police said.Both were arraigned before District Justice Charles Baum in Perkasie and sent to Bucks County Prison under $100,000 bail.

Mokbel's alleged $4.2 million amphetamines network, dubbed The Company.

THE insider who helped police nab fugitive drug chief Tony Mokbel has denied turning him in for a $1 million reward.The informer (known as 3030) yesterday began giving evidence against those accused of being part of Mokbel's alleged $4.2 million amphetamines network, dubbed The Company. Police allege Mokbel ran the drug business from his Greek hideaway using mobile phones and had more than $400,000 in cash wired to him up to his arrest in June last year. Documents tendered to Melbourne Magistrates' Court alleged that: MOKBEL and The Company hatched a plan to free his sister-in-law, Renate Mokbel, from jail by presenting $1 million in laundered drug money to the Supreme Court; A MAJOR drug import involving a mid-sea transfer of drugs was being organised; MEMBERS of the Mokbel family, including his mother and son, regularly spoke to him while he was on the run;
MOKBEL laughed and joked with associates about media reports he was hiding in Lebanon; and THE court heard 3030 helped Mokbel organise a false passport.
The informer told the court he got involved with The Company when a friend, Bart Rizzo, asked if he could use his spare room for mixing amphetamines in December 2005. He said he handed his current and expired passports to Mr Rizzo last April and was quizzed on personal details by a man who relayed the information to Mokbel by phone.
3030 said he learned of the $1 million reward for information leading to Mokbel's capture around that time but had not put in a claim.
"My motivation was simply to keep myself from going to jail," he said.
He denied money was the real reason, but did not rule out seeking part of the reward after the case was over. He admitted helping transfer money that he believed was going to Mokbel, including paying a "travel agent" who was arranging the drug trafficker's escape from Australia.
The preliminary hearing for Mr Rizzo, 29, of Box Hill, and four others on drug-related charges is continuing.

Shequalah Hatchett,conspiracy to deliver crack cocaine

Shequalah Hatchett, 21, of Madison, was convicted by a Monroe jury of one count of felony conspiracy to deliver crack cocaine and one count of felony maintaining a drug trafficking place for activity that took place from March 2005 through June 2006.This was the fifth jury trial resulting from a lengthy, multi-jurisdictional drug investigation that culminated in several arrests on June 29, 2006, said Monroe County District Attorney Dan Cary.“The extraordinary efforts of all law enforcement agencies involved in this investigation resulted in Hatchett being successfully prosecuted for her criminal conduct,” Cary said.Cary also noted that the investigation involved a cooperation effort between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.Presiding Judge Michael McAlpine ordered that a pre-sentence investigation report be prepared, and will schedule sentencing for a later date. As a result of her convictions, Hatchett faces a potential maximum sentence of over $100,000 in fines and imprisonment of more than 43 years.
Hatchett had previously been appointed by Gov. Jim Doyle as a youth representative to the Governor’s Juvenile Justice Commission in 2004.

Andrew Terence Wilkes,Susan Khadeja Creaser received 14 and 4 year jail terms respectively after being convicted of multiple drugs offences

Andrew Terence Wilkes, 49, and his partner Susan Khadeja Creaser, 46, of Jades Acre, St Leonards Avenue in Thrybergh received 14 and 4 year jail terms respectively after being convicted of multiple drugs offences including the supply of Heroin, Amphetamine and Cannabis, as well as the commercial production of Crack Cocaine.
The sentencing followed a two-week trial at Sheffield Crown Court and also included convictions for money laundering following the £70,000 purchase and renovation of local night-spot ‘Le Barge’.Detective Sergeant Paul Wilson, head of the Rotherham Drugs Unit that ran the investigation, said: "We are extremely pleased with the sentences imposed and the recovery of the assets. “This was a difficult enquiry due to the type of determined criminals we were dealing with who, even in the face of overwhelming evidence, still protested their innocence. Fortunately the jury were able to see the facts as they were and returned unanimous guilty verdicts.
“We now continue to target others who peddle drugs misery in order to line their own pockets and they too can expect to go to prison in due course."The operation mounted by the Drugs Unit took months of patient surveillance work in order to secure the convictions. Three other men pleaded guilty to drugs offences during court proceedings.
Richard Boreman, 30, from the Hull area has previously received three and half years imprisonment at Hull Crown Court for possession with intent to supply Heroin and Amphetamine bought from Andrew Wilkes.
Richard Morfitt, 28, also from the Hull area pleaded guilty for possession of Cannabis with intent to supply and is awaiting sentence at Sheffield Crown Court.
‘Le Barge’ has now been confiscated and is subject of asset recovery proceedings after the court found that half a kilogram of Herbal Cannabis had been supplied to Robert Taylor at the night-spot. Taylor, 50, of 26 Strauss Crescent, Maltby, is yet to be sentenced after pleading guilty to possession of Cannabis with intent to supply.
During the trial detectives managed to prove that the couple’s home address on St Leonards Avenue in Thrybergh had been used for the production of Crack Cocaine, which is a highly addictive drug.

Suspected cocaine with a street value of £400,000

Three men have been arrested in connection with the seizure.Suspected cocaine with a street value of £400,000 has been recovered after a vehicle was stopped by police on the motorway in Somerset. Police said the vehicle was stopped on the M5 between the Wellington and Taunton junctions and what is believed to be 9.5kg of cocaine was recovered. Officers searched the driver's home and found a small hydroponics factory and a quantity of pills and white powder.

Dean Miller, went into the Zavvi store, Queen Street, Cardiff, on February 26, and tried to steal DVDs by ripping off their security tags

Miller, 35, went into the Zavvi store, Queen Street, Cardiff, on February 26, and tried to steal DVDs by ripping off their security tags and shoving them into his trouser pockets. He was stopped by security staff.Cardiff Magistrates’ Court heard Miller, of Pearl Street, Adamsdown, Cardiff, who has 27 previous convictions for theft, had traces of cocaine in his system on arrest.
Andrew Gooden, defending, said Miller had been involved with drugs, including cocaine and heroin, from a very young age, but had never been offered help by the courts to deal with his problems.
“He realises he’s slipping back into a criminal lifestyle. He wants to re-engage with the Big Issue. He doesn’t want to steal to fund his habit.”
Miller admitted theft, possessing heroin and failing to surrender to custody. He is due to be sentenced on March 25.
, 35, went into the Zavvi store, Queen Street, Cardiff, on February 26, and tried to steal DVDs by ripping off their security tags and shoving them into his trouser pockets. He was stopped by security staff.Cardiff Magistrates’ Court heard Miller, of Pearl Street, Adamsdown, Cardiff, who has 27 previous convictions for theft, had traces of cocaine in his system on arrest.Andrew Gooden, defending, said Miller had been involved with drugs, including cocaine and heroin, from a very young age, but had never been offered help by the courts to deal with his problems.“He realises he’s slipping back into a criminal lifestyle. He wants to re-engage with the Big Issue. He doesn’t want to steal to fund his habit.”
Miller admitted theft, possessing heroin and failing to surrender to custody. He is due to be sentenced on March 25.

Manuel D. Taitano 42-year-old American civilian was in Okinawa police custody Saturday on suspicion of taking an illegal stimulant.

Manuel D. Taitano, who told police he is the husband of an Air Force enlisted member and lives and works on Kadena Air Base, was arrested about 2:30 a.m. at the prefectural police station in Naha after the drug was detected in a urine sample, according to a police spokeswoman. Taitano was at the home of a Japanese man in the Furugen district of Yomitan when police raided the home in a search for drugs, the spokeswoman said. The occupant of the home, Yuichi Mekaru, 29, who is unemployed, was arrested early Saturday for allegedly receiving the stimulant from another individual on a road near his home, according to the police report.The spokeswoman did not know the kind of drug involved.Police had been alerted to Mekaru by neighbors, who reported “suspicious looking individuals” frequented his home. Besides Mekaru and Taitano, another Okinawa man, Ryo Shinjo, 31, also was arrested.Taitano was asked to come to the police station in Naha for questioning and was arrested after his urine tested positive, the police spokeswoman said.
His arrest comes at a time when all Americans connected to the U.S. military on Okinawa are restricted to their bases and off-base homes for a “period of reflection” following several recent high-profile arrests by servicemembers that drew protests from anti-base activists and Okinawa and Japanese officials.

Craig Ainslie,Asha Grey,Carl Dinnage.The trio were sentenced on Friday after admitting several offences including kidnap, grievous bodily harm

PR executive Nick Rappolt, 31, was stabbed in the back and arm with a combat knife as he told his wife on the phone that he was almost home. He nearly bled to death after the attack near his £1million house off Clapham Common, London. Mr Rappolt needed ten hours of emergency surgery and has lost most of the use in his left hand since the attack last September, the Evening Standard reported.
Details of the attack were revealed at Inner London crown court which heard that Mr Rappolt was the third victim that night of the gang - Craig Ainslie, 22, Asha Grey, 21, and Carl Dinnage, 17. The trio drank champagne and took cocaine as they celebrated Grey's birthday before driving around Wandsworth and Clapham in a stolen Ford Fiesta to pick out a victim at random. They first attacked pizza delivery driver Mohammed Dost, who was battered with his helmet and robbed. Then they pulled Neil Dyer into the back of the car and kicked his head 'like a football' after they tried to get money from his bank account. Then they targeted Mr Rappolt who was on his way home from a charity concert at the Royal Albert Hall. He said in an impact statement: 'I could feel my jeans becoming drenched in my own blood and began to realise I might die. 'Two days after the attack my wife found out she was pregnant. Regrettably she lost our baby six weeks later. I have no doubt the stress of this incident was a contributing factor in this.' The trio were sentenced on Friday after admitting several offences including kidnap, grievous bodily harm and robbery.
Grey of Balham, was told he would have to serve a minimum term of five years, Ainslie of Tooting Bec, was given four years. Dinnage was handed a two-year detention and training order.

Former minister for Aboriginal affairs Milton Orkopoulos provided heroin

Former minister for Aboriginal affairs Milton Orkopoulos provided heroin and held a Year 9 student's arm as the boy injected the drug for the first time, the alleged victim claimed yesterday.The alleged victim said he was about 15 when he first met Mr Orkopoulos at a Labor Party function, and the older man soon began providing him with cannabis and heroin and introduced him to sexual activities. The witness, who testified yesterday in the NSW District Court in Newcastle, is the last of Mr Orkopoulos's three alleged victims to give evidence. Mr Orkopoulos is facing 34 charges of sex with minors under 18, indecent assault and supplying cannabis and heroin. The witness said he was initially invited to Mr Orkopoulos's house for dinner as a Year 9 student in about 1995, and after dinner Mr Orkopoulos shared a cannabis cigarette with him in a shed. "I brought up that I'd been molested when I was a young boy," the alleged victim said, saying Mr Orkopoulos encouraged him to talk about it. The alleged victim, now 28, testified via closed circuit television. He told the court he was still in Year 9, or about 15, and that he had already had sexual encounters with Mr Orkopoulos when the older man took him to a park at night and provided heroin and injecting equipment including needles, spoons and swabs.
"I remember him getting it out and showing me how to go about it, I guess, mixing it up," the alleged victim said, adding that he had never injected anything before. Mr Orkopoulos then performed sexual acts on him, the court heard. Two former NSW parliamentarians told the court they had heard about serious allegations made against Mr Orkopoulos a year before his arrest in November 2006. Former MP Bryce Gaudry said he was telephoned in October 2005 by Mr Orkopoulos's electorate secretary, Gillian Sneddon, who told him of allegations "that involved threats or threats of violence towards a young man from Milton". Mr Gaudry and another former parliamentarian, Jan Burnswood, were told by Mr Orkopoulos that he had already advised the police about the matter, and yesterday Superintendent Michael Kenny told the court that in October 2005 he had been asked by Mr Orkopoulos to warn off a young man who had been harassing him

Dudley’s Bushey Fields Hospital are smuggling drink and drugs onto wards

Patients at Dudley’s Bushey Fields Hospital are smuggling drink and drugs onto wards, prompting police searches of the site, it has been revealed.Doctors have warned there is a “rising” number of patients at the mental health hospital sneaking in alcohol and drugs. They say it is making it increasingly difficult for staff to do their jobs and will present a report about the situation to Dudley Primary Care Trust’s (PCT) board at a meeting next week.In the report medical director at Dudley PCT, Dr William Conlon, a consultant at Bushey Fields, and acute services manager in charge of Bushey Fields, Mrs Wendy Pugh, say the problem is worsening.Dr Conlon describes the problem of drinks and drugs within Bushey Fields as “rising” and says it could have “a negative effect on people with mental health problems.”The report admits police have conducted searches.Dudley PCT spokesman, Laura Broster, said: “While we recognise the important nature of this issue we are committed to dealing with it in a sensitive but firm way.”Dudley PCT will hold its board meeting at St John’s House in Dudley on Thursday March 6

Ryan Ludlow sentenced to 11 years in prison after he was caught last August with 30 kilograms cocaine Ray O'Donovan received four years at the same

Police are investigating if travellers at Crays Hill were involved in a plot to flood the streets with nearly £3million of cocaine.Ryan Ludlow, 26, was sentenced to 11 years in prison after he was caught last August with 30 kilograms of cocaine - worth £2.7million - in a car in a McDonald's car park in Harlow.Defending him at Basildon Crown Court on Wednesday, David Williams said he was talked into picking up the package by travellers at the Oak Lane site.Essex Police confirmed investigations are continuing. Helen Cook, Essex Police spokeswoman, said: "Enquiries are ongoing with regard to this case."Officers are looking at the implications of what may have gone on before the arrests and elsewhere."Because of this we cannot comment on any ongoing action at this time."The court was told Ludlow, of Clayburn Circle, Basildon, was seeing a girl from the site, but the travellers did not approve because he was not one of them and he agreed to do the job to "clear the debt".Ray O'Donovan, 27, from Wilsner, Pitsea, who was caught with him in the silver Ford Mondeo with 40 wraps of the drug, worth £10,000, received four years at the same hearing.The boarded up address in Mansfield
Judge Gareth Jones said he must have realised the job involved cocaine, because he admitted to seeing quantities of the drug when visiting the site.Officers from Essex Police's Serious and Organised Crime Directive were monitoring the vehicle before making the arrests.Why use UK gang's address? A LINK between travellers from Crays Hill and a business address run by a member of one of the UK's biggest international drug rings has been discovered. a number of travellers from the Oak Lane site have used the address, 138 Chesterfield Road North, Mansfield, to set up road surfacing businesses in France, register vehicles or give to police as an abode if questioned.The now boarded-up building was formerly antique importer and exporter Fair Deal Antiques, run by Arthur Dawes, 62, of Central Avenue, Ingoldmells, Lincolnshire, until 2005.Dawes was jailed for eight years in May 2005 for money laundering in connection with the drugs gang he was involved in.His son John, 39, of Tudor Street, Sutton-in-Ashfield, headed the gang.He got 24 years at the same trial.
Dawes junior was convicted for recruiting drug dealers and runners to buy and sell heroin and amphetamines, and also money laundering.The nine-week trial at Nottingham Crown Court heard the feared gang's reign of terror took place between 1997 and September 2003, moving more than £5m drugs money around the UK and abroad inside just one seven-month period.It is not know what, if any, connection the travellers had to Dawes, but many of them are known to trade in antiques and have long-standing links to Mansfield.Three of a kind this year latest convictions were the third in a series of cases involving large-scale dealing of cocaine connected to Crays Hill, since the beginning of the year.On January 25, Kevin McNess, 47, of Crays Hill Road, Crays Hill, was imprisoned for 26 years.He was convicted at Cardiff Crown Court of heading a gang which hid £4.5million of cocaine in lorry tyres to supply drugs to cities across the country.On February 22, Ronald Pyke, 56, of Coombe Rise, Stanford-le-Hope, pleaded guilty to being part of a conspiracy to supply the cocaine, after £700,000 worth of the drug was found at his home.He still awaits sentence with Robert Gregory, 56, of Oak Road, Crays Hill, who confessed to masterminding the supply of cocaine worth £500,000 across the Midlands last year, following his arrest at home in August.Kingston Crown Court was told surveillance of Gregory's home had been difficult, because it is directly opposite the entrance to the Oak Lane traveller site.

Natasha Shergold was jailed for three years for supplying drugs.

Natasha Shergold, 26, of Exeter,minder and driver of a girl of 14 caught selling heroin in the street , was jailed for three years for supplying drugs.
A girl of 14 caught selling heroin in the street taunted police that she earned more than them, a court heard yesterday.The truant added: "It makes more than a paper round" after being found in Exeter with £5,000 of heroin. She was caught again two months later with £1,500 worth.The girl, from a Manchester gang, admitted possession intending to supply. Exeter crown court gave her a year's detention and training.

Schapelle Corby's chances of returning to Australia to serve out the rest of her 20-year sentence have been boosted following confidential negotiation

Corby, arrested in 2004 at Bali's Denpasar airport after 4.2kg of marijuana was found in her body board bag, was jailed for 20 years but has maintained her innocence.She was denied an expected reduction in her sentence at Christmas because she had been found in possession of a mobile phone several months earlier. Six weeks ago her father died in Queensland after a long battle with cancer.Schapelle Corby's chances of returning to Australia to serve out the rest of her 20-year sentence have been boosted following confidential negotiations.In the past some members of her family have suggested she would prefer to remain in Kerobokan prison rather than return to Australia. But friends have since dismissed these claims, saying Schapelle would welcome any chance to be close to her Gold Coast family, possibly in a women's correctional centre near Brisbane.Corby has described Kerobokan prison as a disgusting slum with no running water or power. A plan last year to move her to another jail in Java hundreds of kilometres away was shelved when authorities later declared that conditions at Kerobokan had improved.
Home Affairs minister Bob Debus has held high-level talks in Jakarta aimed at finalising a prisoner transfer treaty with Indonesia that could bring Corby home within a year.Mr Debus met with Indonesia's Attorney-General and Foreign Minister a week ago to hammer out details of the proposed treaty, which has languished over the past 18 months after negotiations stalled on several crucial details.A signed treaty would allow Corby and at least three members of the Bali Nine to serve out the remainder of their sentences in Australian jails, close to family and in more comfortable conditions than those in Bali's Kerobokan prison.The government is committed to securing a workable and effective prisoner transfer agreement with Indonesia, Mr Debus said. "I raised the matter at the highest levels with the Attorney-General and the Foreign Minister – the talks were constructive and our two countries are making progress towards resolving some of the ongoing concerns," Mr Debus said.It is believed Mr Debus is not the first cabinet minister to raise the possibility of signing off on a prisoner transfer deal since the government's election victory last November.A succession of Government figures have visited Jakarta since Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has made it clear he wanted relations between Australia and Indonesia to improve during his three-year term. A prisoner transfer treaty is seen as a crucial plank in the new relationship. But several sticking points remain with the Indonesian government remain. , including how to marry the Australian system of applying parole conditions with the Indonesia practice of handing out remissions for good behaviour.

While the new treaty is expected to be applied retrospectively, it will not provide any comfort for members of the Bali Nine heroin ring on death row. Six of the nine face death by firing squad. , including ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, along with drug mule Scott Rush. Mr Rudd told Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono shortly after the election that he would make a personal appeal for clemency for the six Australians on death row if their subsequent legal appeals fail.

Indonesia has asserted that death row prisoners be excluded from any prisoner transfer treaty because Australia does not practice capital punishment.
The treaty could send three others, including convicted drug mule Renae Lawrence – the only female member of the Bali Nine – to Australia to complete their 20-year sentences.Australia already has prisoner transfer treaties in place with Thailand, Vietnam and China. The new treaty with Indonesia was first raised several years ago and former Attorney General Philip Ruddock had hoped to have it signed in 2006.But negotiations stalled soon after following a deterioration in the relationship between the two countries. By the middle of last year an impasse had been reached that made it seem unlikely the deal would ever be finalised.

Christopher Dunworth arrested on suspicion of unlawful possession of marijuana, first-degree theft, delivery of marijuana and delivery of marijuana wi

Christopher Dunworth, 22, was arrested at 206 N.E. Plymouth Circle on suspicion of unlawful possession of marijuana, first-degree theft, delivery of marijuana and delivery of marijuana within 1,000 feet of a school.Portland police initiated a two-day investigation after receiving an unspecified tip, according to an Oregon State Police press release. The investigation was handed over to the OSP Drug Enforcement Section, which brought in Corvallis police and Benton County Sheriff’s deputies to serve the Corvallis search warrant at about 8 p.m. Thursday.Police found the marijuana, the shotgun (which had been reported stolen), $1,500 in cash and evidence related to the distribution of marijuana, OSP spokesman Lt. Gregg Hastings said. The street value of the marijuana was estimated at $10,000.Hastings said the investigation was not related to the Feb. 22 arrest of Joeseph Page, 37, who was arrested after police reportedly discovered 30 founds of dried marijuana inside his Corvallis home.Dunworth is being held at the Benton County Jail in lieu of $45,000 bail.

Tony Mokbel legal team was still deciding whether to proceed with a possible appeal to the European Court of Human Rights,

Tony Mokbel has hired the lawyer who advised accused war criminal Ratko Mladic - the so-called "Butcher of Bosnia" - to fight his extradition from Greece.
High-profile international lawyer Alexander Lykourezos will represent Mokbel, 42, at a final appeal hearing in the Supreme Court in Athens on Tuesday.
Mr Lykourezos said rumours his new client was ready to roll over and return to Australia were false. "We will exhaust all legal weapons. We have grounds to fight and we are going to fight," he said. Mr Lykourezos said he saw similarities between the media treatment of Mokbel in Australia and the coverage of accused Bosnian-Serb warlord Mladic. The lawyer is friend and one-time legal adviser to Mladic.
Both Mladic and Mokbel had been mistreated by the media, Mr Lykourezos said.
Mladic, one of Europe's most wanted men, has been indicted by a UN war crimes tribunal on charges of genocide and other crimes against humanity.
Mr Lykourezos has a history of accepting tough cases. He was part of an unsuccessful bid in 1999 to prosecute NATO for alleged war crimes over its bombing of Kosovo.
Mokbel was in good shape physically and emotionally, Mr Lykourezos said.
"He has good morale," he said.
Mokbel's legal team was still deciding whether to proceed with a possible appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, he said.

William Hooten, Leeanne Bednaro, his girlfriend, with three counts each of possession with intent to deliver and possession of a controlled substa

Police announced details of the drug bust at a news conference Friday. Police seized the drugs Wednesday in a search that grew out of the investigation of a domestic dispute.Along with the 599 bags of heroin, police found 10 grams of bulk heroin, 80 grams of powdered cocaine and 100 grams of crack cocaine in the house. The total street value of all the drugs was $52,000, police said.Altogether, the bagged and bulk heroin had a street value of $34,000 while the rest of the drugs would have sold for about $18,000, Dacus said. Police also seized $4,004 in cash from the house.Police charged William Hooten and Leeanne Bednaro, his girlfriend, with three counts each of possession with intent to deliver and possession of a controlled substance, and one count each of criminal conspiracy and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Hooten, 29, was charged Thursday and is in Erie County Prison on $150,000 bond.
Bednaro, 18, was charged with the drug crimes Friday. She had been charged Thursday with having an unlicensed firearm, and obliterating marks of identification on a firearm. Her bond, with the drug charges, is set at $50,000.Police initially arrived at the Custer Drive house at 6:14 a.m. Wednesday after a neighbor reported hearing shots fired from inside.Police extensively questioned Hooten and Bednaro and learned enough to file a search warrant for the house, Dacus said. He said the drugs were in the living room.Dacus said Bednaro had fired the shots during an argument with Hooten.
Erie police are worried that $34,000 worth of heroin found in a house on Erie's west side could mean the powerful drug is returning to Erie.
"Heroin hasn't been as prevalent in Erie," Detective Sgt. Donald Dacus said. "This concerns us a bit, that heroin is starting to make a noticeable comeback."
Police found the heroin in bags and in bulk at the house at 1415 Custer Drive, in the neighborhood south of West 12th Street and west of Lincoln Avenue.
Dacus said police traced the bagged heroin to New York City, and he said those drugs arrived in Erie recently. He would not comment on how the drugs were transported or specifically about when they arrived.Each of the bags was stamped with the word "Juice."

Stanley Chimezie ,Francis Obasi convicted of hiding cocaine in paintings and smuggling them into Cumbria.

Stanley Chimezie and Francis Obasi were caught trying to bring in half a kilo of the Class A drug – with a street value of £39,000 – from South America.
They were sentenced to a total of 12 years behind bars at Carlisle Crown Court and their conviction has sparked a stark warning from police to those involved in peddling lethal drugs.Detective Chief Inspector Paul Duhig said: “This marks the culmination of a thorough investigation by Cumbria police which illustrates that serious and organised crime will not be tolerated.“Those responsible will be actively targeted and brought to justice.”Security guard Chimezie, 23, of Hawes Street, Carlisle, was jailed for five years and three months on Thursday while Obasi, 29, of Abbeywood in London, was sentenced to six years and nine month. Both pleaded guilty to conspiring to import cocaine.They were apprehended during Operation Alston and arrested in July 2007 after police intercepted the paintings being delivered to a house in Chatsworth Square, Carlisle.Judge Peter Hughes QC was told that Chimezie was offered £500 to receive the parcel.The cocaine – of between 68 and 79 per cent purity – was concealed in the back of three paintings sent by express mail with Parcel Force.The parcel, which came from Guyana, was intercepted at customs. It was delivered by a policeman on July 17 last year, addressed to a fictitious name at a flat in Chatsworth Square.

Fortitude Valley nightclub owner Todd Sean Filippa aka Mr T is facing a possible 12 to 16 years' jail

Fortitude Valley nightclub owner Todd Sean Filippa, 44, is facing a possible 12 to 16 years' jail after pleading guilty in January to drug trafficking over a two-year period in 2003-04.In a "contested hearing" that has so far run for several weeks, Filippa is challenging the Crown's assertion that he was the co-ordinator and financier of the syndicate.He also has been accused of being personally involved in the "cooking" of large quantities of methylamphetamine at Miles in August 2004, and organising others to do so on other occasions.Filippa, a tall, thickset man with big broad shoulders and long, slicked-back black hair tied in a ponytail, on Thursday accused prosecutor Don McKenzie of making him out to be "Pablo Escobar", referring to the Colombian drug lord, and "the boss of all bosses of the entire world".
Filippa, or "Mr T" as he is known to his drug criminal associates, is a member of the Bellino family that became infamous during the Fitzgerald inquiry in the late 1980s.His uncle Geraldo Bellino, who was accused of running an empire of illegal brothels and gambling dens in Fortitude Valley in the '80s, was jailed in 1991 for almost seven years after being convicted of paying bribes, worth $17,000 a month, to police.Filippa's father, Tony Bellino, a former nightclub owner who still runs a Valley restaurant, was questioned during the inquiry but not charged.
The CMC began its operation in December 2003 after identifying suspected criminal activity near Scores and Rockafellas – Fortitude Valley nightclubs owned and operated by Filippa.Earlier, police had found five publications detailing how to make methylamphetamine in a shed at Albion linked to Filippa's de facto. Although Filippa denied knowledge of the publications, they had been paid for with his credit card.In September 2003 the CMC set up a hidden video camera in the Valley's Ranwell Lane, behind Filippa's nightclubs. The camera captured alleged key syndicate members and friends Christopher Plaszewski and Filippa and other "persons of interest" having regular conversations in Plaszewski's red BMW and in the lane.The CMC then installed a listening device and tracker in the car and further devices were put into his home and another vehicle.The operation leaders, CMC detectives Acting Inspector Mitch Castles and Sen-Sgt Tony Morgan, believed there was evidence that Filippa and some of his associates were heavily involved in methylamphetamine production and trafficking.They also learned there was a clandestine drug laboratory operating somewhere in western Queensland, the Supreme Court has heard.
From July 2004 the Australian Crime Commission began making legal telephone interceptions of phone conversations between members of the syndicate. Listening devices also were installed at Filippa's Warner home.
Police and the CMC then identified a property, bought by Filippa, in Ryalls Rd, Miles, as the suspected site of large-scale production of methylamphetamine.
Filippa, a father of three, claimed in court he was a successful nightclub owner who never allowed drugs on his premises but had friends and associates involved in drug production.He said the Miles property was simply bought by him so his partner and daughter could go horse and motorbike riding.A search in late July that year uncovered industrial chemicals and drug-making equipment. Investigators installed a listening device.Between August 22 and 27, conversations between Filippa, Warren Bourke, Lee Keily, Steven Jenkins and Trent Evans were recorded during a methylamphetamine "cook" at the property.In one taped conversation Filippa was heard to say: "I've been cooking for 12 years mate. They've never f---in' come to a place where I've been f---in' cooking."In another conversation he says: "This is a great job, great business, the most profitable business in crime."At 5am on August 27 the property was raided, with investigators finding about 2.5kg of pure crystal methylamphetamine and another half-litre of liquid methylamphetamine.
five were arrested and charged, but later were released on bail.The Crown alleges that Filippa, Christopher Plaszewski, Scott Adams, Tony Lalli-Cafini and Warren Bourke were key members of the syndicate.Other criminal associates were sourcing the cold and flu tablets to make the precursor pseudoephedrine for methylamphetamine production.The court heard one person supplied enough pills to make 20kg of methylamphetamine.In court on Wednesday, Filippa claimed he only got involved in the extraction process at Ryalls Rd that August, spending days making the precursor pseudoephedrine.

He denied he was involved in the drug "cook", saying he only wanted to get 30g of methylamphetamine to give to his drug-using partner.After the raid the operation continued, and later some syndicate members were arrested with a pill press machine allegedly bought for $30,000.There also was evidence that some members were involved in another 2kg methylamphetamine cook, and further arrests were made before the operation was closed in December that year.In March 2005 CMC investigators, with the help of the ACC, intercepted Filippa's emails, which led them to suspect he was intending to flee overseas.
He had transferred more than $28,000 to the South American country of Suriname, which had no extradition treaty with Australia.
In May 2005, Filippa was arrested after he lodged an application to obtain a passport in a false name. He has pleaded guilty to charges in relation to the passport application.
Warren "Stumpy" Bourke, the syndicate's methylamphetamine cook now serving 10 years' jail for drug trafficking, denied Filippa was the boss of any drug syndicate.
In court he described Filippa as someone who came across as "the up-front man" and who could appear to be "pretty bloody scary" or "as kind as a kitten".
"My saying is – he watched too many mafia movies," Bourke said.The CMC found a collection of mafia books at Filippa's house.
Justice Ann Lyons will make a finding about Filippa's level of involvement in the drug operation and sentence him within the next few weeks.

Kai Ming Fung,Ka Wah Chan, Patrick Dan Chang ,Tik Sheun Dison Ngai guilty.

50-year-old Kai Ming Fung, 47-year-old Ka Wah Chan, 34-year-old Patrick Dan Chang and 32-year-old Tik Sheun Dison Ngai - guilty.The four have now been given heavy sentences.Chang, who was found guilty of two counts each of production of a controlled substance and possession for the purpose of trafficking, along with one count of conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, has been in custody since his arrest.He got an eight-year jail sentence, with credit for 58 months already served.
According to Brad Smith, a federal Crown lawyer, this is the longest jail term ever given for this type of offence.Crown asked for six years for Ngai, who was found guilty of conspiracy to commit an indictable offence and production of a controlled substance, but the judge sentenced him to five years.Similarly for Fung and Chan, the judge gave sentences of one year less than the five years that Crown asked for.
Both of them had been found guilty of conspiracy to commit an indictable offence and production of a controlled substance.A fifth man has been acquitted of all charges.
The waterfront joint forces operation is a team of officers from the Vancouver and Delta police departments, the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency.
In this case, in addition to the Burnaby RCMP, they were helped by Richmond RCMP, Transport Canada, the Richmond Fire Department, the Lower Mainland Forensic Identification Unit, the B.C. Ambulance Service, the RCMP's major crime unit, the RCMP clandestine lab team, the Vancouver Police drug section, the Department of Public Prosecutions and Health Canada.

Mexican national and alleged gang member was arrested carrying large bags of marijuana

Mexican national and alleged gang member was arrested Tuesday near the Ysleta port of entry after Border Patrol agents observed him allegedly crossing the country carrying large bags of marijuana, officials said.Agents said that they saw two people crossing the Rio Grande about a half-mile west of the Ysleta bridge. While pursuing the two people, agents saw one drop a large bag and run back into Mexico.
The second person also dropped a bag while climbing out of the north side of the American Canal, then was caught by Border Patrol agents. The suspect's name was not released. Border Patrol officials said they recovered both bags, which contained 107 pounds of marijuana valued at $86,160.

Bobby Brown ex-hubby of pop superstar Whitney Houston doing community service instead of going to jail for cocaine possession

Former golden boy and snappy dresser Bobby Brown doesn't look so hot these days..
Bobby Brown, the Grammy Award-winning ex-hubby of pop superstar Whitney Houston, will be doing community service instead of going to jail for cocaine possession - but not everyone is happy about it, the Boston Herald reported Wednesday. His attorney Stephanie Soriano told the Herald that no criminal charges would be issued.
"Mr Brown will be accepting the recommendation of the court," she said.
Brown is to work with children and young adults in the city of Brockton outside Boston, where poverty and crime are rampant.But Brockton city councilor Timothy Cruise told the Herald it might not be such a good idea."I dont know a lot about Bobby Brown, but what Ive seen makes me think we dont need him working with the kids," Cruise was quoted as saying.The 39-year-old singer, songwriter and dancer has been charged in the past with nonpayment of child support, kicking a hotel security guard, drug and alcohol abuse and allegedly physically abusing Houston.
State police wanted Brown to be charged with cocaine possession, but Brockton District Court Clerk Magistrate Kevin Creedon thought otherwise and proposed the community service.Police say they found Brown with cocaine inside a car while investigating a fight at a local motel.

Rev. Charles Lanier died of a heroin overdose

San Diego clergyman found dead inside his rented Tijuana apartment Wednesday had marijuana in his system in addition to heroin, the Baja California Attorney General's Office said Friday night.
Dr. Maria Guadalupe Licea, who oversees investigations in Tijuana, said an autopsy had determined that the Rev. Charles Lanier died of a heroin overdose that caused the blockage of a pulmonary artery, with heart failure listed as a secondary cause. Lanier had an enlarged heart, according to the autopsy. Authorities believe the drugs were self-administered. A syringe was found near Lanier's body. Police were called to his third-floor apartment near the border after neighbors saw his body through his partially open apartment door.
Lanier was pastor of Unity Fellowship Church in City Heights. His family reported him missing.

Vu Pham pleaded guilty to being concerned in producing a class C drug

Vu Pham (27) was arrested by police in an early morning raid on a drugs factory in Peterborough during the Making A Difference week in Millfield on January 29.He had arrived in Peterborough from Vietnam in November last year as an illegal immigrant, after being promised a job and a better life in the city. He said he had planned to send the money he earnt back to his wife in Vietnam.But after spending all their money travelling to Britain,when he arrived he found he had been misled, and there was no job waiting for him.Instead, he became caught up in the cannabis factory in Millfield, working as a “gardener” so he had a roof over his head and enough food for him to live on.When police raided the semi-detached house in Clarence Road, they found Pham sleeping on a thin mattress on the kitchen floor.He told police he had moved in just a couple of weeks before, and spent all day looking after hundreds of plants, spread between five rooms – the bathroom had even had the fittings removed to make room for smaller seedlings to be grown.Peterborough Crown Court heard that the plants had not yet reached maturity when they were discovered, but after harvest Pham would have been paid £3,000 for his work.The plants ranged from being just two weeks old, to nearly two months, and if they had been harvested would have had an estimated £120,000 street value.Cheryl Williams, prosecuting, said that to convert the house into the factory, with high powered lights and growing systems in the bathroom, would have cost more than £16,000.
Pham, who pleaded guilty to being concerned in producing a class C drug at a previous hearing was sentenced to two years in prison by Recorder Sean Enright.

Ting Fai Lau was flown out of Calgary earlier this week.

Ting Fai Lau, 26, was serving a three-year jail sentence for trafficking cocaine in Calgary last year but had his parole accelerated to speed up his deportation. He was flown out of Calgary earlier this week.Lau had criminal ties to Minh Tri Truong, a known figure in the violent world of organized crime who was gunned down in front of his Calgary home June 1, 2007.Lau denied being a gang member to the National Parole Board, but admitted to making and selling drugs and seeking employment from top-ranking gang members. His involvement in organized crime and the city's drug trade stretch back nearly a decade.He also blamed his trafficking on a serious gambling problem he says forced him to sell drugs for gangsters to pay household bills for him and his wife."You have remained in Canada since then, supporting yourself through criminal activity," the National Parole Board stated in a January decision obtained by the Herald."Reports suggest you display an overly blatant attitude of indifference toward your criminal behaviour."Lau came to Canada on a student visa in 1997. It expired in 2001.He was caught trafficking cocaine and sentenced to three years in jail Feb. 26, 2007."Canada won't be a safe haven for criminals," said Canada Border Services Agency spokeswoman Lisa White."We're committed to removing inadmissible people from Canada, committed to public safety and security."Lau's associate Truong was identified in 2003 as the mastermind of a "dial-a-dope" operation spanning Western Canada.He admitted using violence to collect drug debts. Police arrested him and found large quantities of cocaine, heroin, crystal meth and ecstasy tablets.Truong was in the middle of a six-year, six-month sentence for conspiracy and drug trafficking, but he had been free to live at home since being granted parole. His killing remains unsolved.