Karlos Megale Council has been charged with possession with an intent to sell/deliver cocaine

Karlos Megale Council, of a Barlow Road address, was dealing cocaine. The informant described the type of car Council drove and his whereabouts. Reports said Edwards set up surveillance at Hawthorne Court Apartments on West Wilson Street and waited for Council to appear. At approximately 12:23 a.m. Wednesday, Council came to the apartments in the car the informant had described. "When Edwards approached Council, he took off running," said Tarboro Police Chief Robert Cherry. "Edwards followed in hot pursuit, ordering him to stop." As he ran, Council pulled something from the front of his pants, threw it down and continued running. Cherry said Edwards ordered Council to stop. Council complied and lay waiting on the ground while Edwards handcuffed him. Edwards seized a bag containing seven grams of cocaine, a scale and the suspect's car during the arrest. Council has been charged with possession with an intent to sell/deliver cocaine, possession of cocaine and maintaining a vehicle for the purpose of transporting cocaine.

Ashly Vincent Livingston,Edwin Richard Crawly were picked up on warrants issued by the United States and implemented in cooperation with the US DEA

Two Britons were arrested Friday in the Thai seaside resort of Pattaya on charges of using the Internet to illegally export steroids to the United States, police said.
Police gave the names of the two detained men as Ashly Vincent Livingston, 45, and Edwin Richard Crawly, 44. They were arrested in a sting operation involving US anti-drug agents, police said.The Britons were picked up on warrants issued by the United States and implemented in cooperation with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).The men are set to be extradited to the United States as Thai police said they face no charges in the kingdom.The Britons, who were living in Pattaya with their Thai wives, also had 40 million baht (1.2 million dollars) worth of their assets frozen, police said.Livingston's wife was arrested on a separate Thai warrant for drugs charges, police added.Livingston and Crawly set up an online store to sell steroids to customers in the United States. Steroids are legal in Thailand but are a controlled substance in the US.Earlier this month, the DEA worked with Thai police on an elaborate sting operation to arrest alleged Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who has been charged in New York with conspiracy to provide arms to terrorists.
Bout is being held in Thailand while prosecutors decide whether to bring him before a Thai court before extraditing him to the United States.

Darren Rota admitted two charges of possessing cannabis for supply

Darren Rota, 43, who admitted two charges of possessing cannabis for supply and one charge of supplying the drug, was jailed for 22 months when he appeared in Tauranga District Court.Between March and November last year, Te Puke police received several complaints regarding Rota and other associates selling cannabis tinnies to passing motorists.About 7am on November 22, police searched Rota's Te Kahika Rd home. They found two plastic bags containing 32g of cannabis pre-packed into tinnies, utensils, plus $1220 cash, in a flax bush.Rota was arrested, charged and released on strict bail conditions.But at 4pm on December 3, police found Rota sitting in a Volvo parked on the corner of SH2 and Te Matai Rd in Te Puke.They searched the car and found $140 cash, zip- lock bags and drug utensils. Concealed in Rota's underwear there was also a zip lock bag containing 30 cannabis tinnies.Rota told police he had found the cannabis lying on the ground prior to their arrival.He planned to defend the charges, but pleaded guilty on February 19.Crown prosecutor Heidi Wrigley told Judge Peter Rollo on Wednesday that Rota had two prior convictions.
Defence lawyer Craig Tuck said Rota was taking a pragmatic approach, but had hoped to be eligible for home detention.Judge Rollo told Rota that given his "ill- advised" pattern of offending - including offending while on bail - imprisonment was the only option.

Anthony Rollins earlier admitted trading a shotgun for cocaine

Anthony Rollins earlier admitted trading a shotgun for cocaine.Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Seykora says that in the summer of 2005, convicted cocaine dealer Steve Berg traded one-sixteenth of an ounce of cocaine to Rollins for a 12-gauge shotgun. The prosecutor says Berg also sold Rollins cocaine on four other occasions. The 33-year-old Rollins was sentenced in state court last August to five years in prison for two counts of assault with a weapon. He opened fire with a semiautomatic pistol at a vehicle in January 2006 after losing a fight. It turned out he shot at the wrong vehicle. No one was injured.

Jamie Blunder,Greensboro firefighter arrested for cocaine possession and trafficking

A Greensboro firefighter has been suspended without pay after being arrested for cocaine possession, according to police.Archdale police arrested Jamie Blunder on Monday for possession of cocaine with intent to sell. Officers said Blunder had almost six ounces of cocaine and $9,400 in his possession at the time of the arrest.
Archdale Police arrested a Greensboro firefighter for cocaine possession and trafficking after getting a tip about a suspicious person at an apartment complex.
Investigators tell us they stopped Jamie Blunder's car at the Westbrook Court Condominiums. They say they found 5.9 ounces of cocaine with a street value of $17,000 and $9,412 in cash. Blunder was booked into the Randolph County Jail on a $50,000 secured bond. He's facing charges of possession of cocaine with intent to sell and deliver and trafficking cocaine. Blunder lives in Jamestown. He worked at Station 53 on Willow Road. Blunder joined the Greensboro Fire Department in 1998 and was promoted in 2002.
Fire Department adminstrators say they were unaware of the charges the media alerted them. They confirmed the arrest and charges early this morning. They immediately suspended Blunder with pay, pending an administrative investigation. Late Friday afternoon, they changed Blunder's status to suspended without pay.Blunder did report to work Friday morning. Department leaders say there is a possibility Blunder worked a shift after the arrest. He was scheduled to work on Tuesday.

David Wren, Gregory William Jones,John Michael Wilson have been charged with importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug Heroin

Gregory William Jones, 48, of Balmain in Sydney's inner west, and John Michael Wilson, 54, of central Sydney, both appeared via videolink at Parramatta Bail Court.
Both have been charged with importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug and attempting to possess a commercial quantity of heroin.Neither man applied for bail and it was formally refused.Both are due to appear at Central Local Court on March 26.A third NSW man, 57-year-old David Wren from Dapto, appeared at Wollongong Magistrates Court on the same charges.He made no application for bail and was remanded in custody to appear at Central Local Court on March 25.
A fourth man, from Adelaide, is due to face the same charges in Adelaide Magistrates Court on Tuesday.It's the second major drug bust by the AFP, NSW Crime Commission and Customs in as many weeks.There have been about 200 separate heroin busts across Australia this year, netting 63kg of the drug.Australian authorities seized cash and drugs worth almost $10 million in raids across three states.
Authorities allege the syndicate concealed 28 kilograms of heroin, with a potential street value of $8.4 million, in three wooden chests of drawers bound for Adelaide.
The chests were intercepted in Sydney in February, then tracked to an address in Camden Park in Adelaide and back to Shellharbour, near Wollongong in NSW, by a joint-agency taskforce made up of the Australian Federal Police (AFP), NSW Police, NSW Crime Commission and Customs.
The taskforce seized the heroin and more than $1.5 million in international currency in raids in Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane on Thursday.
Police said they believed the cash, found in various locations, including the glovebox of a car, was the "proceeds of previous (drug-related) activity".

Mohamed El Ouazzani aka El Nene was allowed to stroll out of prison

Last year drug lord Mohamed El Ouazzani, known as El Nene, was allowed to stroll out of prison and probably fled to Spain to avoid serving the rest of an eight-year prison sentence. Six prison guards were jailed for allowing him to escapeMoroccan drug baron was jailed along with the former head of Tangier's judicial police after a lengthy trial that pitted the Rabat authorities against powerful interests in the kingdom's northern cannabis growing region.A Casablanca court jailed Mohamed Kharraz, better known as Cherif Bin Louidane, for eight years, the government said on Thursday. It ordered 5.2 million dirhams of his fortune to be seized and fined him 500,000 dirhams.Judicial police officers grabbed Kharraz in August 2006 at the Al Ghouroub (Sunset) cafe near the northern port city of Tangier, acting on a warrant issued after a separate drugs trial years earlier, newspapers said.
The arrest surprised locals for whom Kharraz had seemed virtually immune from the law and benefited from a reputation for generosity among the poor of a region neglected for decades by the central government, the papers said.


He named over 30 members of the security services as being implicated in the drugs trade including Abdelaziz Izzou, head of the Tangier judicial police from 1996 to 2003, who was suspended from his job as head of security at Morocco's royal palaces.
Izzou was imprisoned for 18 months and had 700,000 dirhams seized by the state. Two others were jailed including Kharraz's brother while nine people were acquitted including another top former Tangier police official, the government said.
Those imprisoned were found guilty of offences including international drug trafficking, abuse of power, incitement to illegal immigration and failing to report crimes.Morocco had aimed to erase its cannabis industry by this year, a campaign given added momentum by suspicions that hashish was used to partly pay for dynamite that blew up trains in Madrid in 2004, killing 191 people.But the north African country is still the world's biggest hashish producer.The dark green fern-like plant grows well in poor soil of the northern Rif mountains and has come to be known as "green gold" because it staves off grinding poverty for thousands of local families.Smugglers hide the drug in containers and trucks or use powerful speedboats to ship it to Barcelona in Spain or Marseille in France.
Moroccan customs said drugs with a value of 30 million dirhams were seized at the port of Tetouan near Tangier last year, up six times from a year earlier.But catching the top criminals and keeping them behind bars is still proving difficult.

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Jere Karalahti guilty of helping finance the smuggling of amphetamines and cocaine from Estonia into Finland

NHL player Jere Karalahti a 20-month suspended sentence on Thursday for being an accessory in a drug smuggling operation.The Espoo District Court found Karalahti, 32, guilty of helping finance the smuggling of amphetamines and cocaine from Estonia into Finland last year, in a case involving 18 others. He was fined $16,000.
Prosecutors say they will appeal, claiming that Karalahti was directly involved in the smuggling operation. Karalahti denied all charges in the case.Karalahti left the NHL in 2002 after being suspended for six months for his third violation of the league's substance abuse policy. He played 121 games from 2000-02 for the Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators.

Keith Green jailed six years

Keith Green was stopped by customs officials who discovered two packets hidden behind the glove box of his car, Canterbury Crown Court heard. When the contents were analysed they were found to be two kilos of pure cocaine with a street value of £79,920.
Green, 35, of Bellacre Close, Diss, was jailed after he admitted smuggling at Dover on December 16 last year.
Claire Harden, prosecuting, told the court that, when stopped by customs, Green said he had been visiting his parents who moved to France 18 months ago but he couldn't be precise about the town where they lived.
Deanna Heer, mitigating, said Green had run up about £30,000 in debts on loans and credit cards after he was unable to work for 18 months following an operation for a back problem.
She said that he had been offered £4,500 to bring the drugs in and had he been successful would have handed them over at a supermarket car park.

Jonathan Fisher was charged with possession of heroin, possession of heroin with intent to sell

Jonathan Fisher, 26, of 240 Williams St. was charged with possession of heroin, possession of heroin with intent to sell, possession of heroin with intent to sell within 1,500 feet of a school, reckless driving and three counts of risk of injury to a minor.Police Capt. William D. Dittman said the arrest was part of a crackdown on drugs, prostitution and weapons in the city. At about 4:15 p.m., members of New London vice unit, the statewide narcotics task force and the police patrol division attempted to stop a suspect on Williams Street. Officers had information that the suspect was a large-scale heroin dealer in the city, Dittman said.Dittman said Fisher initially attempted to flee the scene, but was stopped by traffic congestion on Williams Street in the vicinity of Mohegan Avenue.Police said they found him in possession of the heroin and $400 in cash. Three juveniles, possibly relatives, ages 8, 11 and 15, were in the vehicle at the time of the arrest, police said. Police seized the vehicle.Fisher was held on a $250,000 bond and is scheduled to be arraigned in New London Superior Court today.

Lee O'Grady unlawful possession of drugs

Lee O'Grady from Kilbraney, Gusserane was ordered to make a €200 contribution to the New Ross Community Hospital at Tuesday's sitting of New Ross District Court for the unlawful possession of drugs.The defendant, who had no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to unlawfully possessing drugs on January 19, 2007 at Ballycullane.The Court heard that the 20-year-old defendant was employed by a local construction company and the quantity of drugs found was very small'. Solicitor, Gerry Flynn, suggested that his client could make a €200 contribution to the New Ross Community Hospital.

Thomas Kearney considering the number of previous convictions in the case, I am sending this man to prison

Thomas Kearney of Avonmount, Sea Road, will serve two concurrent prison sentences by order of Bray District Court Judge Murrough Connellon, who ruled so having heard the defendants' previous convictions.A 32-year-old Arklow man will go to jail for 12 months for robbing a house in Wicklow to fund his drug habit.Kearney came before the court charged with the burglary of a house at Kilmacanogue in Wicklow, causing considerable damage to the property and trauma to the owner of the house who was on the premises at the time.Garda Damien Travers said Kearney fled the scene with a mobile phone and €37.83 in cash, but had ransacked' the house in his frantic search for loot.'Defence solicitor Conway O'Hara told the court Kearney was a young man with a serious drug problem.'
He realises his burglary of this property must have been a traumatic experience for the owner of the house, but is appealing that you bear in mind his drug problem.'Is he making any attempt to deal with his drug problem?' asked the Judge.He says he is not on anything at present your honour and I have before the court a letter from his doctor detailing his addictions,' replied Mr. O'Hara.Considering the number of previous convictions in the case, I am sending this man to prison,' said Judge Connellan.

Raul Reveron,Alex Serrano,Elizabeth Serrano, just a family affair charged with seven drug distribution charges

Raul Reveron, 26, was charged with seven drug distribution charges and two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer. His brother, Alex Serrano, 24, and their mother, Elizabeth Serrano, 58, were charged with obstructing justice and three counts of aggravated assault on a police officer. Alex Serrano was also charged with hindering the arrest of another. Police suspected that Reveron, of Jersey City, was selling drugs and on March 14, at 12:45 p.m., Detectives Mark Mullins and Steven Aguiar tried to arrest Reveron on the corner of Second and Harrison streets, police said. Reveron pushed Aguiar away, a "short wrestling match" ensued, and Reveron ran into an apartment building on the 200 block of Harrison, police said. The cops chased him to an apartment, but Reveron repeatedly slammed the door on Aguiar's arm and leg, police said.
Mullins and Sgt. Brian Brereton joined the pushing match as people inside the apartment pushed back, police said. Eventually the officers forced their way into the apartment, but the mother and brother continued to push, grab and scream at the officers as they tried to arrest Reveron. Four more officers arrived and cops arrested all three. In the apartment, cops saw three small bags of what they suspect was heroin discarded by Reveron and $304 that they believe came from a drug sale, police said. Aguiar was treated at police headquarters for bruises on his right arm. Elizabeth Serrano complained of heart pains and was treated at Hoboken University Medical Center.

Christopher Pimblett and 17 people have now admitted their roles in the conspiracy to supply drugs of class A, B and C

Liverpool Crown Court heard from 12 deliveries alone, police managed to recover a total of £405,000.A total of 17 people have now admitted their roles in the conspiracy to supply drugs of class A, B and C between January 1, 2005 and April 17, 2007.The extent of the operation was confirmed by courier driver Thomas Green, who told police following his arrest he had been transporting in excess of £800,000 in cash and £1.3m worth of cocaine in about 30 trips over six months.On one occasion he recalled Pimblett counting out £125,000 in cash that he had brought back from Scotland.A telephone probe planted in the Pimbletts’ house recorded scores of conversations arranging deals.
On one occasion Christopher Pimblett told an accomplice: “I don’t mind when I get sent £35,000 to £40,000 a week, but when it’s not sent for a week-and-a-half or two weeks it’s not on.”At a rate of £40,000 a week, Pimblett would have made more than £4m in two years.In another call Pimblett told a fellow gang member he had £100,000 in a safe, £170,000 in cash and was owed a further £250,000.Officers also overheard conversations between gang members as they arranged to buy properties in Spain and discussed importing drugs from Germany.Judge Brian Lewis warned the defendants they were facing lengthy stretches behind bars, but he suspended sentencing until April 4.
Ringleader Christopher Pimblett, 34, of Newmarket Gardens, St Helens.
Sharon Pimblett, 36, also of Newmarket Gardens.
Darren Platt, 42, of Nutgrove Hall Drive, Nutgrove, St Helens.
Thomas Green, 26, of Lilley Road, Kensington, was a courier of cocaine.
Ian Moffatt, 37, of Falcondale, Winnick, Warrington.
Carl Moffat, 25, of Taylor Road, Haydock.
Fergus Smith, 26, of Fraser Street, Barrowfield, Glasgow.
John Dunbar, 26, of Byers Road, Glasgow.
Philip Browne, 63, of Appleby Lawn, Netherley, St Helens, was Christopher Pimblett’s step father-in-law.
Barry Brownbill, 35, of Constance Street, St Helens.
Peter Jones, 35, of Richard Grove, St Helens.
Christopher Kay, 23, Snowberry Crescent, Warrington.
John Johnson, 26, of Fairclough Road, St Helens.
Kenneth Whitfield, 51, of Marina Avenue, Sutton, St Helens.
John Carr, 47, of Elephant Lane, Thatto Heath, St Helens.
Qamaruddin Munshi , 29, from Avondale Street, Bolton.
Michael Peel, 22, Larkspur Road, Sankey Bridges, Warrington

largest drug haul seized recently by Russian customs officers

Russian customs officers in the Urals have made their largest-ever drug bust seizing a total of 353 kg (780 lbs) of heroin, a spokesman for the Federal Customs Service said on Wednesday."This is the largest drug haul seized recently by Russian customs officers," the source said. He declined to give any further details for investigation reasons.Last May Moscow drug police seized 250-kg (550 lbs) of the drug, with a street value of $25 million in Moscow.A total of 895 kg (2,000 lbs) of heroin was seized in Russia in 2007.

29-year-old Nigerian and a 35-year-old Pakistani were arrested

29-year-old Nigerian and a 35-year-old Pakistani were arrested yesterday by Sharjah Police for smuggling a total of 1.5kg of heroin into the country.They had concealed the contraband in their stomachs.Both of them are in the country on visit visas.
On a tip-off, the police arrested the Pakistani man in whose stomach 585 capsules of heroin were found during medical screening.He informed the police about the Nigerian man who arrived in the country recently with heroin capsules concealed in his stomach.The police arrested the Nigerian and the medical screening revealed 79 capsules of heroin in his stomach. With the help of the doctors, the capsules were removed from his stomach.Both suspects have confessed to their crimes and have been referred to Public Prosecution. Speaking to Khaleej Times, a top official of the Criminal Investigation Research at Sharjah Police said smuggling of narcotic substances by concealing them in the stomach and rectum had become a common phenomenon.The traffickers were using some individuals to smuggle the drugs into the country after paying them some money. In many cases, the carriers who used this method died after the capsules broke inside the stomach or rectum and the substances got into the blood stream, the official said. Of late, the police had acquired advanced technology to track down drug smuggling and trafficking

Maxine Eland,had 68 offences on her record, including cocaine possession, prostitution and breaching an Asbo.

Maxine Eland, 41, evaded justice for months after absconding to Luton while facing allegations of involvement in drugs supply, a court heard.
She was seen passing on £40 rocks of crack cocaine during a police operation targeting drug dealers in Middlesbrough twice in October 2006.Eland, of Lytton Street, Middlesbrough, admitted two charges of being concerned in the Class A drug’s supply and failing to surrender to bail.
She had 68 offences on her record, including cocaine possession, prostitution and breaching an Asbo.Junior Bryan, 50, who lived with Eland on Norcliffe Street, North Ormesby at the time of the 2006 drugs supplies, was jailed for three years last May after admitting 17 crack cocaine supply charges.
Paul Cleasby, defending, said Bryan supplied addicts to feed his own habit, Eland was also a user, it was not her enterprise and she did not profit.
There had been no more loitering offences or trouble in Luton since the drug deals.
Judge Michael Taylor jailed Eland for 18 months.

Helsinki brothers smuggled some 3,000 kilograms of hashish and 20 kilograms of cocaine

Helsinki District Court is expected to hand down a decision Wednesday in one of the country's biggest drug cases.Preliminary investigations by police indicate that a gang led by Helsinki brothers smuggled some 3,000 kilograms of hashish and 20 kilograms of cocaine into the country between 2002 and 2006. Twenty-five gang members are being tried for aggravated drug crimes and money laundering.The men were caught after investigators found a stash of drugs in the capital region. During the investigation, police confiscated about 600,000 euros in cash, 36 kilograms of hashish and two kilograms of cocaine.

Joseph W. Houseal was charged with drug possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Joseph W. Houseal of 449 Campus Drive stopped breathing after taking heroin at his house on Feb. 25, according to a complaint filed at District Court in Perkasie on Monday.Minutes after Houseal's parents called for an ambulance, he began breathing again, the complaint said.
When police officers arrived shortly before 10 p.m., they found two small bags of heroin with the words ''Major League'' on them and a syringe next to Houseal, who was lying on his bedroom floor, the complaint says.Police said Houseal, before being transported to Grand View Hospital in West Rockhill Township, admitted that he had been using heroin.Houseal was charged with drug possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Australian Vietnamese woman Jasmine Luong sentenced to death

An appeal court in Vietnam has sentenced an Vietnamese-Australian woman to death for heroin trafficking after prosecutors appealed against her original life sentence, a court clerk said Wednesday.Jasmine Luong, 34, was handed the death penalty on Tuesday by the court in Ho Chi Minh City, he said on condition of anonymity.
Luong, who was born in Vietnam, was arrested at Tan Son Nhat airport outside Ho Chi Minh City in February last year as she preparing to fly to Sydney with nearly 1.5 kilograms (3.3 pounds) of heroin, according to a police source.
"She had been hired to transport those heroin packs, hidden in her luggage and shoes," the source said.Several Australians of Vietnamese origin have been arrested over the past few years for trafficking heroin from Ho Chi Minh City to Australia. Of those, some were given life imprisonment or the death penalty.However, foreigners are rarely executed in the communist state, usually after intense diplomatic pressure from Western governments.Vietnam has some of the world's toughest drug laws. Those caught with more than 600 grams of heroin or 20 kilograms of opium face the death penalty.At least 104 people were sentenced to death in Vietnam last year, and 12 since the beginning of the year, according to figures compiled by AFP from state media and Vietnamese officials.
Vietnamese court of appeals has handed down death sentence to an Australian Vietnamese woman for drug smuggling, instead of life imprisonment one passed by the court of first instance, local newspaper Saigon Liberation reported Wednesday. The Supreme People's Court in southern Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday gave the penalty to the 34-year-old man named Luong Jasmine, who was hired to transport heroin from Vietnam to Australia to tune of 16,000 U.S. dollars. Jasmine was arrested in February in 2007 when completing procedures for her departure to Australia at the International TanSon Nhat Airport in the city. Under Vietnam's laws, anyone possessing, trading or trafficking heroin of 600 grams or above can be sentenced to death or life in prison. facing the firing squad in Vietnam says she became a drug mule to pay off her husband's gambling debts.Jasmine Luong, 34, from Sydney, was arrested at Ho Chi Minh City's airport in February last year with 1.5kg of heroin in her baggage and shoes. Fairfax newspapers say Luong claimed that an unidentified man offered her $US15,000 ($16,458) to take the drugs to Sydney. In December she was sentenced to life imprisonment, but on her appeal this week the sentence was upgraded to the death penalty. It is believed Luong has claimed she was deserted by her husband and was left with little choice when approached about becoming a drug mule, Fairfax reported.