Police in Honduras have captured a woman accused of leading a drug trafficking clan with four of her sons. Herlinda Bobadilla, 61, was arrested in the mountains of Honduras after a shoot-out in which her 32-year-old son, Tito Montes, was killed. US authorities had requested that she and her sons Tito and Juan Carlos Montes be extradited to the US and had offered a $5m-reward (£4.1m) for each. Thirty-five-year-old Juan Carlos Montes remains on the run. Police in Honduras say they received many tip-offs after the US State Department offered the multi-million dollar reward for the three two weeks ago. … Continue reading Matriarch accused of leading drug clan captured

A huge drugs tunnel has been found running from Tijuana in Mexico to a warehouse in San Diego in the US. With a length of 1,744ft (531m), the passage had a rail track, electricity and a ventilation system. US authorities had been carrying out surveillance at a property previously used as a stash house for smuggling cocaine when they made the discovery. They seized cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin, six people are being held on drug-trafficking charges. The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California said the tunnel was 61ft (18m) deep and 4ft (1m) in diameter. Prosecutors say … Continue reading Drugs tunnel connecting US and Mexico found

Australian police are investigating after a diver’s body was found near packages of cocaine worth an estimated $14m (A$20m; £11m) in New South Wales. A man wearing high-end diving equipment died after being found unconscious near the Hunter River at Newcastle on Monday, according to police. He has been identified as a foreign national, local media report. Packages containing around 50kg (100 lbs) of cocaine were discovered near his body. “We are trying to identify whether the two incidents are linked. They may well be but we are open-minded as to the options in front of us,” New South Wales … Continue reading Diver’s body washes up near $14m cocaine haul in Australia

Swiss police say they have seized 500kg of cocaine from a shipment of coffee that was sent to a Nespresso factory. Workers at the plant in Romont alerted the authorities after finding white powder in sacks of coffee beans. Police later found more of the drug in five shipping containers. An initial investigation suggested the shipment had come from Brazil. A Nespresso statement said production of coffee capsules at the plant had not been contaminated by the drug. “We want to reassure consumers that all our products are safe to consume,” the coffee company said. The seized cocaine was 80% … Continue reading Cocaine found in coffee sent to Nespresso plant

One of Colombia’s most notorious drug lords was extradited Wednesday to the United States to face drug trafficking charges, announced President Ivan Duque. “I want to reveal that Dairo Antonio Usuga, alias ‘Otoniel’ has been extradited,” Duque said on Twitter, calling him “the most dangerous drug trafficker in the world.” Usuga, 50, was the most wanted person in Colombia until he was arrested last October in the northwest of the country after a massive military operation. Duque described Usuga as a “murderer of social leaders and police, an abuser of boys, girls and teenagers.” “Today legality, the rule of law, the security forces and … Continue reading Colombia extradites major drug lord to United States

The leader of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) has been arrested for alleged drug smuggling and money laundering in the US. Premier Andrew Fahie was detained in Miami by US agents posing as cocaine traffickers from a Mexican drug cartel. He agreed a $700,000 (£560,000) payment to allow traffickers to use BVI ports with an undercover informant, charges filed in the US said. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has said she was “appalled” by the allegations. Mr Fahie, the elected head of government of the British overseas territory, was arrested by US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) officials in Florida, alongside senior … Continue reading Premier of British Virgin Islands, Andrew Fahie arrested in US drug sting

A court in Singapore has executed a Malaysian drug smuggler. Nagaenthran Dharmalingam had been on death row for more than a decade for attempting to bring around three tablespoons of heroin into Singapore. His case was highly controversial as he was assessed by a medical expert to have an IQ of 69 – a level that indicates an intellectual disability. But the government said he “clearly understood the nature of his acts”. The court had earlier on Tuesday dismissed a last-ditch appeal by his mother, adding that Nagaenthran had been given “due process in accordance with the law”, adding that … Continue reading Singapore executes low IQ Malaysian man on drugs charge

A former president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, has been extradited to the United States to face charges of drug trafficking and money laundering. Mr Hernández, who governed the Central American nation until January, was put on board a US Drug Enforcement Administration plane for New York. He was arrested at his home just weeks after his second term in office ended. The ex-leader has denied wrongdoing, arguing that disgruntled drug traffickers are trying to frame him. Mr Hernández is facing charges of, conspiracy to import a controlled substance into the US, using or carrying firearms including machine guns and … Continue reading Honduran ex President Juan Orlando Hernández extradited to US

Four men disguised as police broke into the warehouse in the city of Tena on Sunday and overpowered the lone officer on duty before making off with the massive haul, officials said. Six suspects have been arrested and a lorry full of drugs seized, the counter-narcotics police chief said. He did not say which drug was stolen but said the haul would be destroyed. The contraband had been previously seized during drug raids and was being stored as evidence in a warehouse belonging to Ecuador’s Technical Drugs Secretariat, the government body tasked with preventing and combating drug use. Ecuador is … Continue reading Double Jeopardy: Ecuador robbers who made off with 2.8 tonnes of drugs caught

A “monumental seizure” of cocaine found in a shipment of bananas has been called the UK’s biggest since 2015. The drug, with a potential street value of £302m, was found within five pallets of bananas at Southampton docks on 17 March. Home Secretary Priti Patel said it was the “largest seizure of cocaine in the UK since 2015”. Border Force said the cocaine hydrochloride – used to make crack cocaine – weighed about 3.7 tonnes. Ms Patel said: “It should serve as a warning to anyone trying to smuggle illegal drugs into the country that we are out to get … Continue reading UK makes one of the largest cocaine seizure worth $350m

Colombia’s Supreme Court has approved the extradition of the leader of the country’s largest gang to the US. Dairo Antonio Úsuga, better known as Otoniel, led the Gulf Clan cartel and is wanted in the US on drug trafficking charges. His capture in October, compared to the fall of Pablo Escobar by President Ivan Duque, ended a seven-year manhunt. The court’s decision, announced on Twitter, ends attempts by Otoniel’s lawyers to halt his extradition. Colombia’s Justice Minister Wilson Ruiz had pledged to extradite Otoniel to the US after his capture last year, and Justice Department officials in Washington made a … Continue reading Colombia to extradite drug kingpin Otoniel to US

A prison guard has been arrested in Colombia following the escape of gang leader Juan Castro from the maximum-security La Picota jail in Bogotá. Castro, better known under his alias “Matamba”, escaped in the early hours of Friday and is still on the run. CCTV footage appears to show him leaving through an open cell door wearing a guard’s uniform. President Iván Duque said he was outraged by Matamba’s escape and announced a reform of the jail system. The director of La Picota has been suspended along with more than 50 prison guards who were on shift at the time … Continue reading Colombia guard held after drug lord flees through open door