A village watchman trains his binoculars on a suspicious fishing boat, the first line of defence as Thailand braces for a fresh methamphetamine influx after a coup in neighbouring Myanmar. The kingdom’s narcotics bureau has already seized more than 80 million “yaba” pills just in the past six months, a record haul partly blamed on a supply glut caused by the coronavirus pandemic. But now the United Nations warns of an even bigger deluge as Myanmar’s legal economy tanks, following weeks of nationwide unrest and strike action following the military takeover.  “If past actions are an indicator of what’s coming, … Continue reading Thailand faces meth trafficking surge after Myanmar coup

Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez has denied allegations made by a US prosecutor that he helped smuggle tonnes of cocaine into the United States. New York prosecutor Jacob Gutwillig said, during the trial of alleged Honduran drug trafficker Geovanny Fuentes in federal court on Tuesday, that Fuentes had paid Hernandez a $25,000 bribe. “How can anyone believe false testimonies that I was dealing with drug traffickers,” Hernandez wrote on Twitter on Thursday. Gutwillig claimed that accountant Jose Sanchez was present at meetings in 2013 and 2014 where Fuentes paid the money to Hernandez. Sanchez was due to tell the New … Continue reading Presidential Crook: Honduran president denies drug trafficking accusations

Customs authorities in Germany and Belgium have seized a record amount of cocaine, more than 23 tonnes, that was destined for the Netherlands. German officials discovered 16 tonnes in five shipping containers that had arrived in the port of Hamburg from Paraguay earlier this month. Police in the Netherlands were notified and a further 7.2 tonnes of cocaine was seized at the Belgian port of Antwerp, German officials said the cocaine had a street value of billions of euros. A 28-year-old man suspected of involvement in the trafficking of the drugs has been arrested in the Netherlands, Dutch police said … Continue reading Cocaine ‘worth billions’ seized in record Germany and Belgium haul

The wife of jailed Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán has been arrested in the US on suspicion of drug trafficking, US authorities say. Emma Coronel Aispuro, 31, was detained at Dulles International Airport outside Washington DC. She is charged with participating in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana. Guzmán is currently serving a life sentence in New York for drug trafficking and money laundering. The 63-year-old is a former head of the Sinaloa cartel, which officials say was the biggest supplier of drugs to the US. His trial in 2019 heard shocking revelations about his life, … Continue reading El Chapo’s wife Emma Coronel Aispuro arrested in US

A large haul of corn flakes cereal covered with cocaine was recently intercepted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection after it arrived in Ohio, officials said Friday. The 44-pound shipment, which had come from Peru, carried an estimated street value of more than $2.2 million, according to the CBP. Corn flakes covered with cocaine were recently intercepted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the agency said. A narcotic-detecting canine was the one who alerted officials to the suspicious substance as the shipment passed through Cincinnati on its way to Hong Kong. Through testing, officials confirmed the substance was cocaine, the agency said. … Continue reading Cocaine-covered corn flakes worth more than $2 million intercepted

Two British men who tried to ride a Jet Ski from the Netherlands to the UK with $278,000 worth of cocaine stuffed in a backpack got swamped with prison time Tuesday. Steven Brogan, 36, and Anthony Reilly, 34, appeared in Ipswich Crown Court for their sentencings after their cocaine caper on the North Sea floundered last September and they both pleaded guilty to importing the drugs. Brogan was sentenced to seven years and six months while Reilly was given a slightly shorter sentence of seven years, Suffolk police said. Steven Brogan and Anthony Reilly got into troubled waters. The men were apprehended … Continue reading 2 men get prison for trying to ride Jet Ski from Netherlands to U.K. with $278,000 worth of cocaine

It is becoming worrisome that ex sports stars are turning to drug trafficking, this is because a former Italian football star, Luigi Sartor, has been put under house arrest after police allegedly found him growing marijuana with an accomplice. This coming on the heels of news of the arrest of a former Australian Olympic swimmer for drug trafficking yesterday. Italian media say Sartor and Marco Mantovani, both aged 46, are to face trial next month. Sartor made no statement at a court hearing. Police reportedly found 106 marijuana plants at Sartor’s mountain cottage, Sartor was a defender with AS Roma, … Continue reading Italian ex-football star Sartor ‘grew marijuana plants’

Former Australian Olympian swimmer Scott Miller has been arrested in a police raid, following an investigation into a A$2m (£1.1m; $1.6m) drugs haul. Mr Miller, now aged 45, was held at his home in the Sydney suburb of Rozelle. Another man, 47, was detained in the nearby Balmain area. New South Wales police allege the pair have concealed methylamphetamine, known as ice, inside candles. Mr Miller won a silver and a bronze medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, the two arrested men were taken to a police station after the police raid on Tuesday morning, and are expected to … Continue reading Developing story: Former Australian Olympian Scott Miller held over ‘hidden drugs haul’

Police took down a “large-scale heroin-packaging mill” in New York City this week and seized suspected drugs worth an estimated $12 million, authorities said Wednesday. Monday’s bust in Queens involved a man who was allegedly overseeing the packaging operation and three women accused of working for him, the Drug Enforcement Administration said in a statement. Around 86 pounds, or 39 kilograms, of what is believed to be heroin and 1,000 suspected fentanyl pills were seized, officials said. Lab tests were pending, the DEA said. Luis Martinez, who allegedly ran the operation out of his apartment, faces charges of operating as a … Continue reading $12 million in drugs seized in ‘heroin packaging mill’ bust in Queens

A second senior leader of a vast drug syndicate has been arrested, a Thai narcotics official said, as a transnational dragnet tightens on the Sam Gor group, which police say dominates the $70 billion annual Asia Pacific drug trade. A Thai soldier guards bags of methamphetamine pills. The October arrest of Hong Kong citizen Lee Chung Chak in Bangkok preceded last month’s high-profile arrest in the Netherlands of Tse Chi Lop, a China-born Canadian national who police suspect is the top leader of the syndicate, also called “The Company.” Lee, 65, is a former prison mate of Tse’s suspected of being involved … Continue reading Update: Second drug kingpin in Tse Chi Lop syndicate arrested in Thailand amidst tightening dragnet on Sam Gor group

 A Sinaloa state police officer at a clandestine lab producing synthetic drugs in El Dorado, Sinaloa, June 4, 2019. RASHIDE FRIAS/AFP via Getty Images Mexico’s powerful Sinaloa cartel built an empire on cocaine, but it’s shifting its focus to a new, more powerful drug in in response to changing demand in the US. Although the cartel, known for its now jailed kingpin, Joaquim “El Chapo” Guzman, is still a huge distributors of cocaine in the US, the organization is betting on fentanyl to feed the demand for opioids north of the border while keeping the cartel on top in Mexico. Fentanyl is … Continue reading Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel built an empire on cocaine, but it’s betting on another drug to feed US appetites