Joseph Bennett was arrested Friday evening at the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron.

Joseph Bennett of Scarborough, Ontario, was arrested Friday evening at the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron. Authorities say Bennett's truck was selected for a random search and a canine team uncovered a stash of pills behind the dashboard. A total of 58 bags containing more than 275,000 pills of Ecstasy were found. A Customs and Border Protection spokesman says the haul's street value is $6.5 million or more. A message seeking comment was left for Andrew Wise, who represented Bennett at a detention hearing Monday in U.S. District Court in Detroit. A preliminary examination is scheduled for Aug. 22.

Gary Hardy convicted of masterminding one of the county's biggest ever narcotics empires.

Gary Hardy has been convicted of pumping millions of pounds worth of class A drugs into Ashfield after masterminding one of the county's biggest ever narcotics empires. He controlled the Ashfield drugs scene through fear and violence and swamped the district with huge quantities of heroin and amphetamines between 2000 and 2007. The Mansfield businessman, who ran the criminal gang alongside convicted dealer John Dawes until he was jailed in 2005, earned millions of pounds from his underworld activities to finance a lavish lifestyle. Hardy consistently denied the charges during a two-month trial at Nottingham Crown Court and claimed his millionaire lifestyle had been funded through the profits of his extensive property and luxury car rental business. But a 12-man jury, which took more than three days to deliver its verdicts, declined to believe Hardy's lies and found him guilty of supplying heroin and amphetamines, of money laundering, of having £14,000-worth of cash gained through criminal activities and possessing criminal cash. But Hardy, who is expected to receive a lengthy prison sentence, was cleared of conspiracy to supply cocaine and four counts of conspiracy to supply cannabis. Fellow gang member and brother Paul Hardy is also facing jail after he was convicted for his part in flooding Ashfield and north Nottinghamshire with heroin and amphetamines. Paul Hardy, a crack cocaine addict, was also convicted of two charges of supplying cannabis resin and possessing criminal cash – but was cleared of a further count of supplying amphetamines and two charges of supplying cannabis. His former girlfriend Zoe Chapman, who has had five of his children, was found guilty of supplying amphetamines to a drug dealer lower down the chain between after Paul Hardy decided to lay low following interest from police. The brothers' mother June Muers, who had no previous convictions, was convicted of supplying amphetamines and cannabis resin, which she kept in a garden shed at her former Pearl Avenue home, and possessing thousands of pounds in drugs money. But Clipstone man Carl Busby, who had been accused of laundering hundreds of thousands of pounds of drugs money on behalf of Gary Hardy between May 2003 and December 2006, was cleared of all charges. The gang members are expected to be sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court some time in September.

Marian Serea, 24, was sentenced to ten years in prison at Harrow Crown Court

Marian Serea, 24, was sentenced to ten years in prison at Harrow Crown Court last Friday for importing Class A drugs. Police arrested him when more than a kilo of cocaine was delivered to his home in Edgware. Acting Detective Sergeant Figo Forouzan, of Harrow CID, who worked on the case, said: “I’m happy with the sentence. “He could have got more but he had only been in the country for a few weeks and his lawyers made a lot of the fact it’s going to be hard for him as he doesn’t speak English. “This really sends a message out to the public that anyone thinking of this sort of crime should think twice.”
Serea had only been in the UK for three weeks when police intercepted a parcel of cocaine being sent to his home, in Westleigh Gardens, from South America.
When scientists analysed the contents of the parcel in the lab they discovered it contained 720g of 100 per cent pure cocaine and the overall contents of the parcel, which weighed 1.12kgs, had an estimated value of more than £144,000. An undercover officer was disguised as a postman to deliver the package and Serea was arrested when he produced his passport to sign for the drugs.
Serea was sentenced to ten years in prison at Harrow Crown Court last Friday for importing Class A drugs.
ADS Forouzan said: “This was one of the first cases in court to be affected by new laws regarding anonymous witnesses which were brought in just last week.
“That meant our undercover officer had to jump through a lot of hoops in order to testify and protect his identity.
“Serea answered no comment in interview, but then came out and said in court he had collected the package for someone he was renting the house from, despite it having his name on it. ”It would be very nice for someone to send a package worth that much to someone they don’t know.” The jury took just an hour to return the guilty verdict. ADS Forouzan did not rule out the possibility of Serea having tried the same scam before, as he had lived in Spain for three months before coming to the UK.

Sergio Lopez-Martinez, a Spanish national, was removed without incident and turned over to Spanish INTERPOL agents

Sergio Lopez-Martinez, a Spanish national, was removed without incident and turned over to Spanish INTERPOL agents who were waiting for him at the Madrid Barajas Airport in Spain.Lopez-Martinez was allegedly involved in a shooting on Nov. 9, 2006 at Orrius and La Roca del Valles in Barcelona, Spain. He is alleged to have acted in concert in the fatal shooting of Jose Fort Caballe. On May 14, 2007, the judicial district of Barcelona issued an arrest warrant for Lopez-Martinez for the offenses of murder and drug trafficking."Apprehending dangerous foreign fugitives hiding in the United States is a top priority of ICE and our international law enforcement partners, including European Union authorities and INTERPOL," said Michael Rozos, field office director for the ICE Office of Detention and Removal Operations in Florida. "It is in the interest of public safety and justice around the world to capture and return wanted fugitives to their native countries to face justice."
ICE received information from the U.S. National Central Bureau of INTERPOL that Lopez-Martinez might be living in Miami. ICE deportation officers, working closely the U.S. and Spanish INTERPOL offices and the Miami Beach Police Department, subsequently launched an intensive investigation to locate the suspect.
Further investigation revealed that Lopez-Martinez had entered the United States on Feb. 17, 2007 under the Visa Waiver Program with authorization to remain in the country for a period of time not to exceed May 16, 2007. Lopez-Martinez remained in the United States beyond his period of admission in violation of law.
On July 3, 2008, he was arrested without incident by ICE fugitive operations deportation officers at his residence located at 7125 Bay Drive in Miami Beach. He was subsequently processed for removal under the provisions of Section 217 of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( INA ) and held in ICE custody pending his removal.

David Peter Lindley and Robert Michael Matthews found guilty of importing 810kg of cannabis

David Peter Lindley, 45, of Dorchester Road, Maiden Newton, was found guilty of importing 810kg of cannabis along with his accomplice Robert Michael Matthews, 65, of Mackmillan Road in Rowley Regis, West Midlands.Both had previously served prison sentences for importation of cannabis.During the nine-day trial at Dorchester Crown Court, a jury was told how shrink-wrapped bars of cannabis resin were imported to Lindley's business address - Manorwood Furniture on the Casterbridge Industrial Estate, Dorchester, in October 2005.The delivery was sent from Spain using parcel carrier TNT after an earlier 'dummy-run' of builders' rubble was sent to the same address.The drug had a street value of £1.6 million and was uncovered when Customs officers inspected it on arrival in into the UK.Jury members were taken through details of phone calls that police traced between Lindley, in Dorset, and Matthews who was living in Spain.Throughout the trial both men denied any involvement in the conspiracy.Giving evidence, Lindley repeatedly told the court he had no involvement in the plot 'whatsoever'.But yesterday a jury returned a unanimous verdict of guilty for both defendants.Judge Harvey Clark told the men they had not been deterred by previous prison sentences for importing cannabis.He said: "With that background you can be properly regarded as professional drug smugglers."Not only have you done this before in both cases, but the sentences passed then did not deter you from doing it again."The judge added: "The financial rewards of drug smuggling on this scale are very considerable, matched only perhaps by sentencing powers of the court when drug smugglers are found guilty."You both played for high stakes and you lost."
Lindley and Matthews were both sentenced to twelve years in prison, with half their sentence to be served on licence.Speaking after the case, Detective Chief Inspector Neil Redstone of Dorset Police said: "Today's verdict has come as a result of painstaking, but ultimately very important, good old fashioned detective work.
"From a relatively early point in the investigation it was clear that Lindley was involved in the importation of a large quantity of cannabis.
"Officers from my team then uncovered the involvement of Matthews in the conspiracy.
"A very small team of detectives from the major crime investigation team then spent months piecing together the evidence in this case."

Julian Patrick Garcia arrested on charges of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute marijuana.

Julian Patrick Garcia arrested on charges of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute marijuana.
He's also charged with bringing contraband into a jail, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, attempt to commit a felony by furnishing drugs to a prisoner and a misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia.Bond was set at $56,000.The arrest stems from an investigation into allegations an inmate was arranging for drugs to be smuggled in.

Isaac Abeidu Aidoo, aka Goodies, has pleaded not guilty to narcotic offences.

The Managing Director of Goodies Music Productions, Isaac Abeidu Aidoo, aka Goodies, has pleaded not guilty to narcotic offences. Consequently, the circuit court trying him following his arrest at the Kotoka International Airport has remanded him in prison custody and adjourned the case to August 11, 2008. Aidoo was initially being tried at the Regional Tribunal on charges of possessing and attempted exportation of narcotic drugs. The prosecutor, ASP Kofi Blagodzi, told the court that Aidoo allegedly swallowed 80 pellets of cocaine and attempted to smuggle them to the United Kingdom. He said at about 10.45p.m. on April 23, this year, Aidoo arrived atthe Kotoka International Airport to board a Ghana International Airlines flight to London. While going through departure formalities, operatives of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) suspected Aidoo of carrying drugs in his stomach. Aidoo was, therefore, escorted to the 37 Military Hospital for an X-ray, which revealed that he had some foreign materials in his stomach. He was subsequently arrested and put under surveillance and in the process, he expelled 80 pellets of a whitish substance suspected to be cocaine. Aidoo informed the police during interrogation that one Abdul Haid, a musician residing at East Legon, Accra, had given him the drugs to be delivered to one Willie, for a fee of $3,000. According to the prosecutor, Aidoo failed to lead the police to arrest the said Abdul.

Sharon Ann Shirk was sentenced in a Trinidadian court Thursday after pleading guilty in June for trying to smuggle 5.3 kilos of liquified cocaine

Sharon Ann Shirk, 57, was sentenced in a Trinidadian court Thursday after pleading guilty in June for trying to smuggle 5.3 kilos of liquified cocaine in bottles of wine. Court heard Shirk was already seated on a Caribbean Airlines flight bound for Toronto last June when she was called off the aircraft and asked to identify her red and black suitcase. The mother of two, whose family in Toronto has refused to comment, will serve three years' hard labour at the Golden Grove Jail. Her lawyer Sean Cazabon unsuccessfully pleaded for leniency, citing Shirk's age. Readers of the Trinidad Express newspaper, who were seeking comment on the story posted on their website, were barraged with e-mails calling for a stiffer sentence for Shirk.
"Not sufficient time to serve," one reader wrote. "A Trinidadian caught in a similar crime in Toronto would be getting 15 years." Another reader said Shirk should be forced to serve all her time in Trinidad rather than being extradited to Canada to finish her sentence. "The jail sentence must send a message to others," another wrote. "She must go to jail for longer even though Trinidad has good relations with Canada." Shirk will reappear in Trinidad court on Aug. 15 to face a Customs and Excise Office charge of attempting to export prohibited goods.

Nestor Ramirez,was convicted one count of conspiracy and one count of possession with intent to distribute

Nestor Ramirez, 28, New Brighton, Minn., was convicted Wednesday on one count of conspiracy and one count of possession with intent to distribute in a case where the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office seized almost 550 pounds of cocaine. “That qualifies as one of the largest cocaine seizures in state history,” said U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren. Ramirez was arrested Oct. 17, 2007, on Interstate 35 in Franklin County. He was a passenger in a 2006 Chevrolet cargo truck driven by co-defendant Manuel Barraza-Martinez. A Franklin County deputy stopped the truck after authorities were tipped by Georgia authorities that the truck might have an electrically operated hidden compartment that could hold drugs or cash. Truck was driven to the Franklin County Noxious Weed Department in Ottawa, where officers connected a battery charger to wires beneath the truck, causing the first row of trays in a cargo box to open. Inside, they found almost 250 kilograms of cocaine in kilo-sized packages. Ramirez is set for sentencing Nov. 3. He faces a penalty of not less than 10 years and not more than life on each count.

John Halligan,and Alan Macaulay were packaging heroin with a potential street value of £32,250.

John Halligan, 40, and Alan Macaulay, 30, were packaging heroin with a potential street value of £32,250.It was in seven plastic bags, which were thrown out of a window as police burst into the house. The bags were recovered from the back garden.
The court also heard that Macauley tried to escape by jumping from a first-floor window. He claimed that was because he thought there was a warrant out for his arrest.Halligan, of Avon Tower, Motherwell, and MacAulay, a prisoner in Barlinnie, admitted being concerned in the supply of heroin.Macaulay also admitted having a small quantity of cannabis resin with a street value of £40 in his possession.
Judge Lord Hodge deferred sentence on both men until next month at the High Court in Edinburgh.He remanded them in custody and told them: "The supply of Class A drugs is a curse on our society."

Pasquale ''Pat'' Barbaro,Rob Karam ,John William Samuel Higgs.arrested

arrested as Griffiths man Pasquale ''Pat'' Barbaro, Crown casino high-roller and Tony Mokbel mate Rob Karam and the founder of the Black Uhlans bikie gang in Melbourne John William Samuel Higgs.Various close relatives of Mr Barbaro, 46, were named in the Woodward Royal Commission as being members of the Calabrian Mafia gang responsible for the 1977 murder of Donald Mackay.Mr Keelty revealed 400 AFP agents conducted more than 10,000 hours of secret surveillance on gang members and that the AFP estimated the international drug syndicate was responsible for 60 per cent of all drug importations into Australia.Members of various organised crime gangs collaborated with each other in a rare case of unity to fund and organise the massive ecstasy shipments. AFP intelligence suggests Australian members of the Calabrian mafia played major roles in the international syndicate.
They teamed up with criminals from other gangs, including some of Lebanese extraction. A founding member of a Melbourne bike gang was among those arrested today. One of those arrested in Griffith in New South Wales has strong links to the Calabrian mafia cell responsible for the murder of anti-drug campaigner Donald Mackay. That Australia was on the smuggling route of an international gang dominated by the Calabrian mafia came as no surprise to Italian organised crime experts.
The Calabrian secret society at the centre of the global drug racket is known in Calabrian dialect as N'Dranghita. N'Dranghita has had very strong cells in Australia since at least the 1930s.
It is particularly prevalent in Melbourne, Mildura and Shepparton in Victoria, Griffith in New South Wales, Adelaide and Canberra.
N'Dranghita is called L'Onorata Societa or the Honoured Society by some Italians, La Famiglia or the Family by others, and simply the mafia by most in Australia.
It is the gang responsible for the the 1977 murder of Griffith anti-drugs crusader Donald Mackay. N'Dranghita has been responsible for growing and distributing much of Australia's marijuana for decades. It also got involved in heroin importations in 1978 through now dead crime boss Robert Trimbole and is known to have been involved in massive cocaine importations since at least 2000.
The AFP has been working closely with several overseas law enforcement agencies to gather evidence to bust the network's Australian arm. The arrests followed the arrival in Melbourne on July 24 of a shipping container with three 50kg bags of cocaine hidden in a load of coffee.

Susan Vance day care owner charged with maintaining a place where a controlled substance is sold her son, Mark Scott, was selling cocaine

Investigators have charged the day care owner,Susan Vance, with maintaining a place where a controlled substance is sold. They said her son, Mark Scott, was selling cocaine and marijuana out of her in-home day care and she knew about it.Investigators said it was an undercover narcotics team that learned that the day care was also a drug house."They went in posing as drug users for the purpose of buying drugs. Once they got in, they saw all the drugs, the scales; they saweverything that's used for this type of illegal activity," said Jacksonville Sheriff's Office spokesman Ken Jefferson.Investigators said during one undercover buy, Vance came in a bedroom and saw her son selling cocaine and marijuana to the officer. According to the police report, the officer told her he'd better put the drugs away and she said, "Yeah, because her dad is a police officer," as she pointed to a girl she was watching inside the residence.Jefferson said as far as the sheriff's office knows, a police officer's child did not attend the day care. However, he said parents need to do their homework before leaving their children anywhere."Always do a careful and thorough background check on whomever you're going to leave your children with," Jefferson said.According to the state, Vance did have a license. According to DCF records, the Vance Family Day Care only had only minor violations during inspections.In the past, Vance was cited for unsanitary living conditions and some broken toys that could be hazardous to children.
DCF is investigating the incident. It could permanently revoke the license for the day care.Vance has been released from jail on bond. Her son remained in jail on Thursday evening on a $75,000 bond.

Felipe Ibarra guilty on two counts of delivery of a controlled substance

Felipe Ibarra guilty on two counts of delivery of a controlled substance, Ecstasy; one count of possession of Ecstasy with intent to deliver; and one count of having drugs, Ecstasy and three guns.The jury recommended 20 years at the Arkansas Department of Correction and fines of $25,000 on each of the drug delivery charges. The possession with intent to deliver charge netted a recommendation of 15 years and a $20,000 fine. The drugs and guns brought a recommendation of 25 years.
Ibarra sold 18 Ecstasy pills to a confidential informant on two occasions. Police found three more pills when they raided his home on Arkansas 265 south of Greenland. There was a 12 gauge shotgun, a 9 mm rifle and a large-caliber revolver in Ibarra's closet.The confidential informant, who had been arrested with items used to make methamphetamine, said he'd known Ibarra since the two were in sixth or seventh grade. Ibarra had no previous criminal convictions.Police recorded both buys and actually watched one buy go down in Ibarra's driveway. Ibarra was four days past his 18th birthday when the first of the buys occurred.
Blair Brady, Ibarra's defense attorney, argued that police and prosecutors were painting an inaccurate picture of Ibarra's participation in the drug trade. Brady said Ibarra was not a major dealer and sold his own drugs to his old friend when asked."This is not 'Miami Vice,'" Brady told jurors."What kind of friend sells poison to another for money," deputy prosecuting attorney Mark Booher asked jurors.
Circuit Judge William Storey sentenced Ibarra immediately. Storey allowed the drug-only charges to run concurrently but ordered Ibarra to serve the drugs and guns charge consecutively.Storey said the verdicts should put others on notice that such behavior won't be tolerated in Washington County.Ibarra was tried Wednesday on four of almost a dozen charges he faces. Remaining are more drug charges and an allegation Ibarra and another man fired shots at a University of Arkansas fraternity house after they were thrown out of a party for trying to sell Ecstasy to guests.

Arrested Piya Supaejit, Puek Saeti, and Thanakorn Nontyos, known as ''Ped Wa Daeng'' (Red Wa)

Arrested Piya Supaejit, 30, Puek Saeti, 24, and Thanakorn Nontyos, 50, known as ''Ped Wa Daeng'' (Red Wa), while on their way from Chiang Mai to deliver drugs to dealers elsewhere in the province. Police found 294,000 speed pills hidden in a pickup truck. The drug-busting force had set off in pursuit of the gang from Chiang Mai. Mr Thanakorn was one of the key members in the drug-trafficking network operated by Red Wa guerrillas, according to Pol Lt-Gen Wut Liptapallop, commander of the Police Narcotic Suppression Bureau, speaking at a press conference yesterday.
After the Tuesday arrest, police yesterday raided five locations in Lampang, including Mr Thanakorn's house, in search of ill-gained assets. Police confiscated assets worth more than five million baht. In order for continued success in the fight against drugs, Phayao MP Wisut Chainaroon, also chairman of a House anti-money laundering and drugs committee, urged the government to support police stations nationwide by paying them a fuel subsidy of 100,000 baht a month, as well a budget of 20,000 baht a month towards a force dedicated to the suppression of drugs crimes.
Given the sharp rise in drug trafficking recently, combined with skyrocketing oil prices, Mr Wisut said the additional financial support was vital.

Brittani C. Dorman arrest warrant issued

arrest warrant for Brittani C. Dorman, 21, after she failed to appear for arraignment on charges of possessing heroin and cocaine with the intent to distribute, unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia and driving under the influence of drugs. She failed to appear July 21 and again July 28. Small issued the warrant after the second no-show.
On July 3, Chelan County sheriff's deputies pulled over the Ford Taurus that Dorman was driving and inside the car reported finding 93.6 grams of heroin, valued at roughly $7,000, and 54 grams of cocaine worth about $2,100. Also in the car were several used syringes, according to Chelan County Sheriff's Deputy Jason Mathews. The traffic stop happened on Highway 2 near Cashmere. An employee at BJ's gas station and convenience store in Dryden had called police saying a man and a woman who drove away in the car had been in a bathroom at the store and left behind a syringe. Two deputies who happened to be in Dryden at the time followed the Taurus, reporting that it traveled 10 mph to 15 mph under the 60-mph limit and repeatedly crossed the centerline. The 93.6 grams, or 3.3 ounces, of heroin is the largest known single seizure of the drug in Chelan County history.
Also arrested and charged were Spokane residents 21-year-old Joshua G. Swanson and 47-year-old Patrick E. Dolan, both passengers in the car. The two men are being held in the Chelan County Regional Justice Center on $25,000 and $150,000 bail, respectively. They both pleaded not guilty July 21 to charges of possessing heroin and cocaine with the intent to distribute and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.The group was returning to Spokane after buying the heroin in Seattle, according to a female passenger in the car who was not arrested.
Dorman posted $25,000 bail July 11 and was granted a conditional release by Small. He ordered her to reside at the Spokane address she provided the court. A call placed Monday to the residence, using the phone number Dorman provided, was answered by a man who said Dorman no longer lived there.Dorman's lawyer, John Beuhler of Wenatchee, entered a not-guilty plea on his client's behalf through court papers dated July 15.Meanwhile, the Spokane County Prosecutor's Office charged Dorman with possession of heroin on July 21 in an incident that happened in early June, said Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor John Grasso on Monday. A police report filed in Spokane County Superior Court said a security guard at a drugstore who suspected Dorman of shoplifting found a syringe in her purse containing a substance that a police field test indicated was heroin.Dorman is scheduled to appear in court in Spokane on Wednesday.

Nicholas Conway, Martin Maguire and John Heffernan jailed for a combined 20 years and eight months after admitting conspiracy to supply cocaine.

Nicholas Conway, Martin Maguire and John Heffernan had been the subject of a covert police operation which saw officers working with colleagues in Holland.
Over a two-year period, police observed drug dealers in both countries and tapped their phones in a bid to build up enough intelligence to arrest them.
The gang was eventually caught after police heard conversations about a shipment of cocaine being brought into the country. Officers stopped a van being driven by Conway on the A50 in Derbyshire, on November 9, 2006, and found an industrial drill part, which contained the drug.
Yesterday, Conway, Maguire and Heffernan were jailed for a combined 20 years and eight months after admitting conspiracy to supply cocaine.
fourth man, pensioner Gordon Watkinson, denied conspiring to supply cocaine but admitted possessing money gained through criminal means after he was caught with a large quantity of cash at Luton Airport.
He was jailed for two years.
Another man from the Derby area, Liam Traynor, who was based in Rotterdam, Holland, and was said to be one of the masterminds behind the operation, is currently serving a prison sentence in the Netherlands for his involvement in the smuggling ring.
In sentencing the British-based quartet at Nottingham Crown Court, Judge Andrew Hamilton told them: “This was a serious and sophisticated importation of drugs in the UK, carried out by a gang.
“You were all intent on assisting in bringing the drugs into Derby so they could be sold on the streets of Derby.
“The British police have worked very closely with the Dutch police to bring you all to justice.”
The court heard that Conway, 38, of Trusley Brook, Hilton, and Maguire, 37, of Leman Street, Derby, were best friends and had assisted Traynor.
The drill had been filled with tiny packages of cocaine and sealed before being shipped to the UK and a building site in Coventry where Heffernan, 31, of Sandalwood Close, Alvaston, was working.
Conway then collected the drill in his van and was driving back to Derby when officers swooped.
They discovered nearly 3kg of the drug in the part, with a street value of up to £120,000.
Maguire was described by the judge as the “chief organiser” in the operation, as there was evidence indicating he had been speaking to Traynor in the lead-up to the shipment.
The operation also led police to arrest Watkinson, 73, whose last address was in Antibes, France, close to where Traynor was also know to reside on occasions.
He was caught with £30,000 in cash at the airport.
Andrew Peet, prosecuting, said: “It's agreed that £10,000 of that £30,000 belonged to and was destined for Liam Traynor and it was drugs money.”
Maguire was jailed for seven years and Conway and Heffernan for six years and nine months each.
Their defence counsels said they had never been involved in the drugs business before and that, in the cases of Conway and Heffernan, they were being used simply as “couriers”.
Traynor, whose last known UK address was in Ashbourne, is currently serving a 30-month sentence in Holland.
Dutch nationals Rene Van Dijk and Iler Halilaj are also serving prison terms of two years, eight months and two years respectively.
Judge Hamilton branded the terms handed out by the Dutch courts as “ludicrously lenient” but pointed out that, unlike in the UK where it is normal for prisoners to serve half their sentences behind bars and the rest out on licence, in Holland the whole sentence is served behind bars.
Traynor's father, Lawrence, who was also arrested during the police investigation but failed to answer bail, is currently on the run. Police believe he is in the Far East.
After the hearing, Acting Detective Inspector Paul Wood, of Derbyshire police, said: “We're very pleased with the sentences.
“It was a fantastic operation with co-operation and collaboration with a number of British and European law enforcement agencies.”
Although they admitted conspiracy to supply, Conway, Maguire and Heffernan all denied conspiracy to import cocaine.
Conway and Maguire also denied conspiracy to supply and conspiracy to import amphetamines, and Conway denied possessing a weapon – a CS gas cannister.
The judge ordered the charges to lie on the file.
Meanwhile, Watkinson, who denied both conspiracy to supply and import cocaine, was found not guilty of both charges.

Kevin Smith pleaded guilty to charges of supplying cocaine and heroin

police raided the Preston property where teenager Kevin Smith was living they discovered 100 wraps of heroin and 20 of cocaine hidden in a box-set of Catherine Cookson novels.Also found here was £1,600 in cash, said Preston Crown Court prosecutor George Shone. He explained Smith was arrested at a flat on Duke Street, and at another address, of a relative, police discovered further amounts of cash under floor boards.In total, police recovered almost £5,000 cash as well as drugs with a street value of about £1,200.The arrest took place in March at the culmination of Operation Nimrod, the court heard.Smith, said Mr Shone, had been watched as he supplied drugs to undercover police officers posing as users in the centre of Preston.Most of the transactions took place with him turning up on a bike. He attracted "customers" by offering "two for the price of one", the court heard.
Smith, 19, of Duke Street, pleaded guilty to charges of supplying cocaine and heroin, as well as possession of the haul discovered in the box-set with intent to supply.He was sent into youth custody for three years. On his behalf, Daniel King said Smith was a "warehouse man and delivery man" for the drugs.
Judge Robert Brown ordered that all the monies found be forfeited and used in police operations in the city of Preston.

Peri Abernathy was arrested on suspicion of possessing drugs, drug paraphernalia and being under the influence of drugs.

County sheriff's deputies stopped Peri Abernathy, of Grass Valley, at the intersection of Rattlesnake Road and Brooks Road when they allegedly saw her car crossing the double yellow lines and drifting into the opposite lane.
Abernathy, 49, was arrested on suspicion of possessing drugs, drug paraphernalia and being under the influence of drugs. She was booked into Wayne Brown Correctional Facility, and her bail was set at $25,000.

Lee Roy Ellison and James Edward Treadway the two were connected to an illegal prescription drug-dealing ring that operated out of R&L Motors on U.S.

Lee Roy Ellison and James Edward Treadway, both of West Jefferson.
Ellison is charged with trafficking in heroin/opium and possession with intent to manufacture, sell and delivering a schedule IV controlled substance. He also faces a charge of conspiring to trafficking and a misdemeanor charge of simple possession of a schedule IV controlled substance.Treadway is charged with conspiring to traffic in opium/heroin and conspiracy to sell and deliver a schedule IV controlled substanceSheriff James Williams said he believes the two were connected to an illegal prescription drug-dealing ring that operated out of R&L Motors on U.S. 221 Business. “There was a lot of activity in and out of there, but they never seemed to sell a car,” the sheriff said. “We had lots and lots of complaints about possible drug activity there.”The department leaders, Williams, and West Jefferson Police Chief Brian Grogan planned an investigation. “We sat down together and planned a way to put a halt to it,” Williams said.“It’s been on-going for three months,” Grogan said. Williams said that misuse of prescription medications is a growing problem in Ashe and other counties.Grogan said the two law officers learned in a recent seminar that Methadone, Oxycontin and Hydrocodone are substances commonly linked to the illegal prescription drug trafficking.“It is getting to be a terrible problem in the county,” Williams said. “Some say it is getting worse than methamphetamine. Many times in these cases, they buy from prescription drug shoppers and resell them.”He described people who go from doctor to doctor collecting prescription for a variety of ailments and, getting the prescription filled and then selling the drugs to traffickers.Ellison was arrested following a traffic stop. He was in jail under a half million bond. Treadway was picked up at his home and was being held under a quarter million bond.The sheriff and Grogan said that the investigation into prescription drug trafficking continues and other arrests are expected.

Jan Uzdowski has been jailed for 19 years after being found guilty of smuggling cocaine to the value of £8.8 million into Dover port.

Jan Uzdowski, 45 has denied all knowledge of the drugs in his truck which were a staggering 70.79kg of pure cocaine. They were hidden in his refrigerated trailer and discovered by customs services. According to the prosecutor the drugs were hidden underneath the floor of the traier and had not been detected when the lorry had passed through French and German customs inspections.Uzdowski claimed that he was transporting onions and had discovered a telephone that had been left on his battery. When checked it was discovered that there had been several messages sent to the telephone asking about the lorries location. Uzdowski claims that he simply replied to the messages but did not question who had sent them.