Authorities announced Wednesday that a man from New York and woman from Maine are facing charges after officers seized cocaine disguised as cake from their vehicle. The Maine Drug Enforcement Agency (MDEA) claimed that police officers received a tip, which led to police stopping a car on Interstate 295 in Gardiner, Maine, The Associated Press reported. After a canine trained to sniff out illicit substances discovered four pounds of cocaine, 25-year-old John Cedeno and 33-year-old Chelsy Cochran were arrested and charged with aggravated trafficking in schedule W drug, a statement from Maine State Police spokesperson Shannon Moss stated, according to Sun Journal. Two … Continue reading Authorities seize $200,000 worth of cocaine disguised as cake in Maine

Up to half a tonne of cocaine has been seized after an attempt to import it into the Republic of Ireland, Gardaí (Irish police) have said. The drugs, worth up to €35m (£29.8m), were disguised as charcoal. Two containers, holding up to 2,000 bags of charcoal were intercepted at Rotterdam Port in The Netherlands. The Irish Navy assisted in transporting the containers to Ireland, where they were brought ashore under armed escort at Dublin Port. The drugs were seized as part of an investigation led by the Garda National Drugs and Organized Crime Bureau, working with the Dutch police, Revenue … Continue reading Cocaine disguised as charcoal seized by Irish police in The Netherlands

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers recently stopped a strange drug-smuggling attempt when they discovered smugglers had tried to hide meth in a bag of peanuts. While CBP Press Officer Matthew Dyman told Newsweek, that this particular incident was “unusual,” narcotics are often found disguised as common foods in order to be covertly shipped. The agency reported discovering a “suspicious” shipment at a Memphis, Tenn. hub in a press release last week. According to the release, the package was labeled “REGIONAL BREAD ROASTED PEANUTS REGIONAL DUST SWEET MADE OF CORN” and was headed “from Mexico to East Texas.” After “an x-ray … Continue reading Customs officers seize 489 grams of meth stuffed into peanut shells

Los Angeles-area authorities seized more than 370,000 marijuana plants and harvested product with an estimated street value of $1 billion, officials said Wednesday. More than 130 people were arrested in the 10-day operation in the Antelope Valley north of Los Angeles, and more than 30 guns were seized. The sheriff’s office said that 33,480 pounds of harvested marijuana, or more than 16 tons, was seized and that 131 arrests were made. As big as the effort involving hundreds of law enforcement was, authorities reached only about 40 percent of the illegal grows officials identified, which highlights the scope of the … Continue reading More than $1 billion in pot seized in Los Angeles

A house from which drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán fled as security forces moved in to arrest him in 2014 will be raffled off in Mexico. The home in Culiacán, in the state of Sinaloa, was the scene of one of Guzmán’s dramatic escapes, after he used a storm drain to evade a manhunt. The two-bedroom property is worth about $184,000 (£133,000). Guzmán, the infamous former leader of the Sinaloa cartel, is serving a life sentence in a US prison. He was one of the biggest traffickers of drugs to the US and, in 2009, entered Forbes’ list of … Continue reading El Chapo’s former safe house to be raffled off in Mexico

Algerian authorities have seized half a ton of cocaine floating off the country’s coast, after fishermen in the area raised the alarm. The fishermen spotted and reported suspicious bags floating in the water near Oran, a port city, on Saturday night, according to a press release from Algeria’s Ministry of Defense Monday. Coast Guard units dispatched to the scene fished out the bags, which together contained 490 kilograms (1,080 pounds) of cocaine, according to laboratory analysis conducted by the military police. The ministry press release described the failed smuggling as “an attempt to introduce a huge quantity of cocaine intended to … Continue reading Half a ton of cocaine found floating off Algerian coast

Lawyers for a Canadian national accused of running a global multibillion-dollar methamphetamine cartel have alleged that he was illegally sent to the Netherlands as part of a scheme to ensure he stays behind bars for as long as possible.A secured transport arrives at the court in the Dutch city of Rotterdam on Tuesday ahead of Tse Chi Lop’s hearing. Tse Chi Lop, 57, was arrested in January after he landed on a flight from Taiwan to Amsterdam’s Schipol International Airport. Dutch authorities then detained him on a warrant from the Australian Federal Police (AFP) issued in 2019 in connection with an … Continue reading LOL: Alleged drug kingpin argues Australia and Taiwan conspired to violate his rights

More than 30 kilograms of cocaine with a value topping $1 million were seized after washing ashore last month at the Cape Canaveral Space Station in Florida, according to the U.S. Space Force. The drugs were discovered on May 19 by Angy Chambers, a civil engineer and wildlife manager, who noticed the packages strewn about the beach while conducting a turtle nesting survey, officials said. The estimated value of the 24 packages of narcotics was $1.2 million, according to the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office. Chambers, with the 45th Civil Engineer Squadron, said in a statement she immediately contacted the 45th … Continue reading $1.2 million worth of cocaine found on Florida beach during turtle nesting survey

The wife of jailed Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman will this week plead guilty to helping her husband smuggle narcotics, a person familiar with the matter said Tuesday.Emma Coronel, the wife of Mexican drug lord Joaquin “el Chapo” Guzman, seen during his trial on February 4, 2019 Emma Coronel Aispuro, 31, was arrested by US authorities at Dulles International Airport outside of Washington in February on suspicion of aiding her husband’s drug trafficking business. The former beauty queen was slapped with one charge of conspiracy to traffic cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana for importation into the United States. … Continue reading Wife of drug kingpin to plead guilty to drug trafficking

Fourteen buses and two police cars were set on fire and destroyed in the early hours of Sunday in the Brazilian Amazon city of Manaus in reprisal for the death of a drug trafficker, the state government said.Reactions after the death of a drug dealer inside a prison in Manaus Bus services were suspended until reinforced police patrols could be deployed in the city, which has been badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Amazonas state security secretary Colonel Louismar Bonates said in a statement that the order to torch the public vehicles came from within the prison where drug gang … Continue reading Drug trafficker’s death triggers vandalism in Amazon city of Manaus

A two-vehicle crash in South Texas on Memorial Day turned into a seizure of more than $3 million worth of drugs, officials said Thursday. Seventy bundles of cocaine were found in three burlap bags in the back of a BMW after the crash on a state route west of Rio Grande City, the Texas Department of Safety said. The drugs are estimated to be worth more than $3.3 million, and the bags weighed a total of 180 pounds, the department said in a statement. The driver of the BMW, who later turned himself in to Starr County sheriff’s deputies, faces drug … Continue reading More than $3 million in cocaine discovered after South Texas car crash

Ten people have been arrested after Gardaí (Irish police) seized drugs worth an estimated €2 million on Friday evening. The Class B drugs were recovered after officers carried out a search of premises and a car in County Meath. Officers found 67.5kg of herbal cannabis believed to be worth €1.35 million as part of the operation targeting organised crime. Two men, both aged in their 30s, were detained. In a separate operation targeting drug distribution, a number of premises across Limerick city were searched. Drugs worth around €900,000 were discovered as well as €45,000 in cash, one woman and seven … Continue reading Ten arrested after €2m of drugs seized