A quiet evening beach became just seconds into "absolute chaos." It happened Sunday at the beach of La Bota, around three p.m. . A small tornado surprised people quietly sunbathing and enjoying the sea. The air lifted by this atmospheric phenomenon took everything he found his way, dragging chairs, floats and umbrellas , and lifting more than 20 meters. A few hours earlier, about half past one p.m. , a gust of wind affected similarly Portil beach . The phenomenon s and known as "dust devil" , and is a spiral airflow caused by rising warm air masses from the surface. In appearance and their effects may seem a small tornado and vary in intensity and height . According to Civil Protection caused no injuries , and coincided with the role of a northwest wind blowing southwest at that time.
Spanish police have arrested a Colombian drug boss dubbed ‘The Mouse’, the alleged leader of a major cocaine smuggling gang accused of 400 killings
Spanish police have arrested a Colombian drug boss dubbed ‘The Mouse’, the alleged leader of a major cocaine smuggling gang accused of 400 killings, officials said on Saturday. Officers arrested the 40-year-old, whose real name is reportedly Hernan Alonso Villa, in the eastern seaside city of Alicante on Friday, according to a police statement. He is considered ‘the top leader of the military wing of the Oficina de Envigado, a Colombian criminal organisation accused of 400 killings as well as drug-trafficking, extorsion and forced displacements of Colombian citizens’, it said. ‘He is one of the criminals most wanted by the Colombian authorities. He had more than 200 people under his command and was responsible for exporting cocaine to Spain, the United States and Holland,’ the statement said. Spanish officers arrested him under a Colombian extradition warrant for charges including alleged homicide and arms offences. He was carrying 40,000 euros ($54,000) in cash when he was caught, the statement said. Authorities say the ‘Oficina’ gang dates back to the 1980s when it carried out killings for the now-dismantled Medellin Cartel. Spain is one of the main entry points for illegal narcotics into Europe and Colombia is one of the world’s biggest sources of cocaine. Colombia produced 290 tonnes of cocaine in 2013, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
Spain's Catalonia region to push ahead with burka ban following EU ruling
A burka ban will be brought in by the government of Spain’s Catalonia region in the wake of a European Court of Human Rights ruling that banning veils does not breach human rights laws. Ramon Espadaler, Interior Minister for Catalonia, said that the ban, first proposed in 2013, was in no way an attack on religious freedom as the wearing of helmets and masks in public will also be forbidden. Espadaler announced that the Catalan government aimed to get the ban approved after the summer 2014 recess
Fairbanks man sentenced to 9 years in cocaine case
Fairbanks man linked to local rappers and caught with more than 13 ounces of cocaine in 2012 will spend a little more than nine years in prison. Benjamin Dewayne Smith, once a part owner of Heavy Chevy Entertainment, pleaded guilty in April to having powder and crack cocaine with plans to distribute the drugs. On Wednesday, a federal judge in Fairbanks sentenced Smith, 37, to 110 months in federal prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release. Authorities executing a search warrant at a Wilcox Street apartment in January 2012 found 270 grams of powder cocaine and 107 grams of crack that belonged to Smith in a safe, according to a plea agreement in his case. Smith admitted to using the apartment to distribute drugs, and his wife told investigators they lived at another residence, a prosecutor’s sentencing memorandum says.
Judge accused of buying cocaine as a lawyer attempts to halt disciplinary procedure before hearings even begin
Quebec Superior Court judge facing possible removal from the bench over allegations he bought cocaine during his days as a lawyer has gone to court in an attempt to halt a disciplinary procedure before hearings are even held. In an application for judicial review filed with Federal Court, Justice Michel Girouard is challenging the Canadian Judicial Council’s powers to investigate complaints against judges. Among other arguments, Judge Girouard is saying the council has no business examining his behaviour when he was practising law before his 2010 appointment to the bench. “Only the provincial authority has the jurisdiction to investigate and draw conclusions on the conduct of a lawyer,” his lawyers write in the application. The Council, whose members include Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin and all superior court chief and associate chief justices, announced in February that it would hold a public inquiry into Judge Girouard’s conduct.
Cocaine smuggled into Canada through Lakefield business:
Police have seized six kilos of cocaine and charged two men for smuggling the drug into Canada through a Lakefield business. Peterborough-Lakefield police say as a result of information received earlier this week, police began to investigate allegations that cocaine was being imported into Canada through an unsuspecting business in Lakefield.
54 pounds of cocaine buried in Glendale backyard
Glendale police say they seized more than 50 pounds of cocaine that had been buried in a backyard. Detectives found 20 "brick-shaped items" in a plastic bin they dug up in the backyard of a Glendale home while executing a search warrant on Wednesday, according to police records. Each item contained a powdery substance testing positive for cocaine and, in total, weighed 54.2 pounds, according to police. In addition, police say they seized $17,570 in cash, a digital scale, a drug ledger and a .22-caliber rifle. "You're looking about $500,000 worth of cocaine taken off the street," Glendale police Sgt. Scott Keene said. Saul Sanchez-Leon, 21, Felix Leon-Pacheco, 34, and Efrain Loya-Leon, 25, were arrested in connection with the find and booked into a Maricopa County jail on suspicion of possessing narcotic drugs for sale, police records show. Police said that Loya-Leon, in addition to the potential drug charge, is in the country illegally.
Birmingham heroin and cocaine ring leader sentenced; had tossed $60,000 out of high-rise condo during arrest
A man described by federal prosecutors as the leader of one of Birmingham's largest heroin and cocaine trafficking rings, who threw more than $60,000 in cash out the window of his downtown high-rise condo when he was arrested, was sentenced Thursday to nearly 22 years in federal prison. Billy Williams Jr., 41, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Blackburn to 262 months in prison for his role in leading the West End-based ring, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance, FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard D. Schwein, Jr., IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Veronica Hyman-Pillot, and Jefferson County Sheriff Mike Hale. Williams pleaded guilty in December 2013 to various drug charges, including using a telephone to traffic drugs and to launder money from the operation. The ring allegedly brought more than $5 million in heroin and cocaine into the Birmingham market in the span of a year. Williams and nine others were originally charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distributing heroin, cocaine, and other drugs in a 41-count May 2013 federal grand jury indictment. A superseding indictment in October 2013 removed one defendant and added two. In addition to being charged in the conspiracy, various defendants were also charged with distributing drugs and laundering money, according to today's statement. "The drug trafficking organization Billy Williams, Jr., led was a significant contributor to our heroin epidemic," Vance said. "This conviction of these eleven heroin traffickers is a great example of how cooperation between federal and local law enforcement can lead to dismantling significant drug-trafficking organizations that are killing our children." "This case is a model of law enforcement coming together to identify and eliminate the criminal element. I would like to personally thank the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and other members of the FBI's North Alabama Safe Streets Task Force, as well as IRS-Criminal Investigation Division, and ATF for their hard work in bringing these drug traffickers to justice and making our community a safer place," Schwein stated. IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Veronica Hyman-Pillot stated that the role of IRS Criminal Investigation in narcotics investigations is to follow the money and financially disrupt major drug trafficking organizations. "This has been illustrated in the financial investigation and subsequent prosecution of Billy Williams, Jr.," she stated. A year-long investigation by the FBI into the drug trafficking operation culminated in the January 25, 2013, arrest of Sammuel Dewayne Gulley, who authorities described as a key member of Williams' organization. Gulley was arrested in possession of two kilograms of nearly pure heroin following a high-speed chase with Jefferson County Sheriff's deputies, according to today's statement. Later that night, agents seized over one and a half kilograms of cocaine from a home associated with Williams and Gulley. During his arrest in late May of 2013, Williams threw over $60,000 in cash out of the window of his 12th floor condo at City Federal, according to the statement. Agents also recovered over $166,000 in cash and over $177,000 in jewelry and other valuables from Williams' condo. Others in the ring who were sentenced today were: Abe Johnson, 51, who received a 54-month sentence Marion Reynolds Jr., 53, who was sentenced to 48 months Walter Johnson, 48, who was sentenced to 42 months
Revolutionary Addiction Treatment Methods to Be Shared in Live Seminar and New Book
Mind & Body Treatment and Research Institute is sharing its remarkable new methods for addiction treatment in an upcoming conference, July 12th in San Diego. Those who can't attend the "Face Your Addiction and Save Your Life Conference" can still benefit from Dr. Keerthy Sunder's treatment expertise, through a conference recording that will be available online, as well as Dr. Sunder's new book, "Addictions: Face Your Addiction & Save Your Life." Those who are personally struggling with addiction and friends and family of addicts are invited to attend in person or online after the conference. The conference will take place from 11 AM – 1 PM, Saturday, July 12th in San Diego at the Porto Vista Hotel in the Costa del Sol Meeting Room. A luncheon for registrants will be held at 1 PM. To register, visit http://mbtrins.com/register-now/. The conference recording will be made available on the Mind & Body Treatment and Research Institute website. From years of helping addicts, Dr. Sunder has developed strategies for addicts and their families to beat addiction for good, defying the alarming relapse statistics. He looks forward to sharing these tools and techniques at the seminar. Not only will participants learn how an individual's genetics make them vulnerable to addiction, they'll learn about dual diagnosis and about addiction's ability to alter someone's brain.
This is a self-help recovery guide for parents in the devastating situation of realizing that they are powerless to stop their children from self-destruction through drug and/or alcohol abuse.
This is a self-help recovery guide for parents in the devastating situation of realizing that they are powerless to stop their children from self-destruction through drug and/or alcohol abuse. It is dedicated to letting parents know when it is time to start saving themselves from being dragged along to destruction as well, and to providing skills that prevent it. The book relies on spiritual but practical teachings and the message is for parents to attain a healthy balance in their lives through the letting go process. While showing parents how to safely distance themselves from the child's destructive patterns, it also shows how to recognize and support healthy requests for real help, if and when they come. It includes anecdotes and quotes from parents who have had to cope with kids on drugs and/or alcohol.
Mexico Extradites 'Drug Queen' Sandra Avila To US
Mexico has extradited Sandra Avila Beltran, believed to be the country's highest-profile woman drug smuggler, to the United States to face cocaine trafficking charges at a U.S. District Court in Florida, it was announced late on Thursday. Mexican officials said Sandra was handed over to U.S. authorities in Mexico earlier on Thursday, and has since been taken to Florida to face cocaine possession and trafficking charges. Sandra, dubbed by the media as "Queen of the Pacific," has been in prison ever since she was arrested in Mexico City in September 2007. Mexican prosecutors accuse her of being a major player in building up the infamous Sinaloa Cartel in the 1990s. She is alleged to have supported Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, currently Mexico's most-wanted man, in raising the Sinaloa cartel. The cartel is currently one of the most powerful organized criminal gangs in the Americas, and its leader Guzman has been on the run since he escaped from a Mexican prison ten years ago. Sandra was also accused of being the link between the Sinaloa Cartel and Colombia's Norte del Valle Cartel. She is said to have played an important role in setting up some of the first smuggling routes up Mexico's Pacific Coast into California. Notably, most of the cocaine produced in Colombia is smuggled into the United States via Colombia. Although Sandra was initially charged with money laundering and drug trafficking, Mexican prosecutors failed to make the drug charges stick. Nevertheless, she has been in prison in Mexico on money laundering charges since 2007.
MELBOURNE nurse facing the death penalty for drug trafficking in Malaysia denies any knowledge of the stash and claims she was abandoned by her boyfriend who fled the scene.
Emma L'Aiguille, the Melbourne nurse facing drug charges in Malaysia. Picture: Flickr Source: HWT Image Library
Emma Louise L'Aiguille, 34, wept throughout the court hearing in Kuala Lumpur today as police continued to search for her partner.
It is alleged he left the scene minutes before officers searched their parked car and found 1.05 kilograms of methamphetamine - commonly known as ice - stashed under a back seat.
Ms L'Aiguille was in the driver's seat and will be hanged to death if convicted of the charge.
The incident happened on July 17 but only today was Ms L'Aiguille formally charged.
''She is completely depressed,'' her lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said.
''She just does not understand how this can happen to her, when all she did was to drive a car, in the company of some people.
L'aiguille was arrested with Nigerian man Anthony Ndidi Esikalam.
One other Nigerian man escaped and police are now looking for him.
L'Aiguille and Esikalam, who both reside in Malaysia, fronted the Jalan Duta Magistrates Court in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon, where they were each tentatively charged with one count of joint drug trafficking.
Under Malaysian law there's a mandatory death penalty for possession of 50 gram or more of methamphetamine.
Earlier L'Aiguille's Malaysian-based Australian lawyer, Tania Scivetti, says her client will maintain her innocence, saying the car was not hers and she did not know there were any drugs in it, despite being in the driver's seat when arrested.
Ms Scivetti says her client, who had worked as an aged-care nurse in Perth before moving to Malaysia, was suffering from depression and a chest infection, but was denied medical attention in custody.
Australian consular officials are providing assistance to her and her family in Melbourne.
She is not believed to have any family in Malaysia.
A chemist report on the alleged drugs which were found in the car will be heard in the Magistrates Court in Malaysia on October 1.
A date will then be set for a plea to be entered.
L'Aiguille is the second Australian to face the death penalty in Malaysia, after the arrest of 32-year-old Perth man Dominic Jude Christopher Bird five months ago for allegedly trying to sell them 167 gram of methamphetamine.
He has pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and drug use and will appear in the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Friday.
A Florida woman has learned that being a TSA agent isn’t all just fun, games and genital grabbing
AFP Photo/Stan Honda
A Florida woman has learned that being a TSA agent isn’t all just fun, games and genital grabbing — it can actually be quite costly. For demonstrating on an agent just how invasive those pat downs are, Carol Jean Price has been convicted of battery.
Price, 59, was charged earlier this year after she used a hand-on approach to show a Transportation Security Administration supervisor just how intrusive the screening she had just received was. Now a jury has convicted her of battery and she is being forced to pay $500 and has received six months of probation.
According to Price, she was stopped while attempting to fly to Cleveland, Ohio on April 20 to attend her brother’s funeral when she was forced to undergo a bit too rigorous of a screening. Price says of all people, she should know — she used to work for the TSA.
“(The screener) dug into my bra strap coming down,” Price told the jury. “She also swiped the palm of her hand down the front of my breast.”
“She just took the palm of her hand and went up my leg — front, back, right leg, left leg — and touched my genitals,”she added. Price also claimed that the agent “went up into my buttocks.”
When TSA supervisor Kristin Arnberg approached an outraged Price after the initial screening, the would-be passenger decided to show her just how exactly evasive the whole procedure was. Almost.
“I got up her leg, close to her genitals, but did not even get near enough to touch them,” Price told the court.
The supervisor equated the experience to the court as both painful and embarrassing. Now following this week’s return of a guilty verdict, though, the TSA is applauding the court system for finding Price at fault.
“We are thankful that the state attorney’s office recognized the severity of the violation,” TSA spokeswoman Sari Koshetz tells the media on Thursday, “and took the appropriate action in pursuing this conviction. This decision should send a strong message that violence against our officers will not be tolerated.”
Price’s attorney, John Mills, tells News-Press that both he and his client are disappointed about the guilty verdict but says, “The jury rejected it and we have to accept that.”
“She felt strongly about her defense,” he says of his client.
East Volusia drug sweep nets 18 arrests, more expected
drug sweep in East Volusia by narcotics agents assisted by confidential informants Tuesday nabbed 18 people and at least 25 more arrests expected, a Volusia County Sheriff's Office spokesman said. "Operation Clean Sweep" targeted areas up and down the east side of Volusia County but focused on New Smyrna Beach where police executed three search warrants, said sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson. Narcotics agents seized hydrocodone and marijuana along with marijuana growing equipment at a home at 428 South Myrtle Ave., Davidson said. The drug busts were the culmination of a six-month investigation prompted by neighborhood complaints and anonymous calls reporting drug activity. In addition to a room searched at the Inn Paradise, 1157 N. Dixie Freeway, and a home at 610 Warn-Ree Circle, agents fanned out to numerous locations to pick up suspects. During the six-month investigation, undercover agents and confidential informants bought drugs ranging from marijuana, crack cocaine and hydrocodone to heroin and methamphetamine, Davidson said. Many of the suspects were street dealers already known to investigators. Agents also discovered many of the suspects had ties with one another and often traveled from city to city to either sell drugs to known addicts or supply other street dealers, Davidson said. Agents believe the suspects generated thousands of dollars worth of profits each week and sold more than $100,000 worth of illegal drugs in the past few months, Davidson said. The investigation is ongoing and agents of the multi-agency East Volusia Narcotics Task Force, assisted by the West Volusia Narcotics task Force, continue to search for another 25 people with drug warrants connected to the investigation. Those arrested, with charges and bail, include: - Terry L. Ammons, 27, New Smyrna Beach, three counts sale and delivery of cocaine. $125,000 bail. - John K. Arwood, 29, Daytona Beach, sale of a Schedule II substance. $50,000 bail. - Jessie L. Brown, 41, Edgewater, three counts sale and delivery of cocaine. $125,000 bail. - Jimmy L. Clark Jr., 38, New Smyrna Beach, sale of cocaine. $25,000 bail. - Wesley Evans III, 41, New Smyrna Beach, sale of cocaine. $20,000 bail. - Cheryl R. Ferryman, 54, Ormond Beach, two counts of trafficking hydrocodone. $100,000 bail. - Virgil George, 78, Daytona Beach, trafficking in hydrocodone, possession of marijuana under 20 grams. $25,500 bail. - Arais C. Key, 24, New Smyrna Beach, four counts sale and delivery of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana under 20 grams, possession of drug paraphernalia. $76,000 bail. - Ray E. Leach, 26, New Smyrna Beach, sale and delivery of a controlled substance. $50,000 bail. - Tondrica R. Miller, 20, Orlando, possession of marijuana under 20 grams, possession of drug paraphernalia. $1,000 bail. - Tabitha Moore, 21, New Smyrna Beach, two counts sale of cocaine. $35,000 bail. Malcolm M. Peterson, 33, New Smyrna Beach, three counts sale and delivery of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana, manufacture of marijuana, possession of hydrocodone, possession of drug paraphernalia and ownership, lease, rental or possession for manufacturing cocaine. $157,000 bail. - James A. Sanator, 76, New Smyrna Beach, three counts sale of cocaine, two counts trafficking in hydrocodone, possession of drug paraphernalia. $100,500 bail. - Richard L. Sanders, 53, Ormond Beach, two counts trafficking in hydrocodone. $100,000 bail. - Carl L. Walker, 57, New Smyrna Beach, sale and delivery of cocaine, possession of marijuana under 20 grams. $20,500 bail. - Derika C. Woodard, 23, New Smyrna Beach, sale and delivery of cocaine. $20,000 bail. - Lee C. Hocker, 55, Oak Hill, sale and delivery of a controlled substance. $15,000 bail. - Roger Slade, 45, Port Orange, sale of a schedule II narcotic, $15,000 bail.
The Union City Police Department made arrests in two separate cases involving drugs over the weekend.
Christopher T. Freeman, 27, of 1003 Holly St., Hickman, Ky., and Malcolm J. Caldwell, 22, of 1201 Cedar St., Hickman, were both arrested and charged with sell/manufacture/deliver Schedule VI marijuana on Saturday. Police initially stopped Caldwell’s vehicle for a light law violation in the 300 block of West Reelfoot Avenue. The officer then received a phone call from a Fulton County, Ky., deputy stating Caldwell had had previous drug charges. The Union City Police K-9 was utilized and alerted on the vehicle. Freeman and Caldwell were removed from the vehicle and searched. A search of the vehicle yielded 9 grams of a green leafy substance, believed to be marijuana, packaged in five individual wrapped bags inside a Newport cigarette package in the glove box. In an incident Friday, Dewey Ray Wright of 1371 Highway 51 North, Union City, was charged with evading arrest, driving on a suspended license, possession of Schedule II methamphetamine and tampering with or fabricating evidence. The report at the police department states the reporting officer observed Wright driving a vehicle southbound on Hillsboro Street. The officer stated he had information that there was an active warrant for Wright’s arrest, so he followed him. Wright allegedly stopped at 1340 Hillsboro, Apartment 2, exited the vehicle and ran. The officer told Wright to stop several times while he was running through the middle and backyard of the apartment, according to the report. The officer finally caught up with Wright and got him down before arresting him, At the arrest location, officers located a small blue plastic container under a rose bush with what appeared to be methamphetamine in it. It also contained two stud earrings. A state computer check showed Wright’s driver’s license was suspended due to failure to satisfy a citation in Obion County.
Weekend drug arrests in Stuttgart
Two Stuttgart men were arrested in separate incidents over the weekend for possession of a controlled substance, while a Judsonia man was arrested for possessing an instrument of crime. A 27-year-old Stuttgart man was arrested Sunday for possession of firearms by a certain person, possession of a controlled substance and driving on suspended license. SPD Ptl. Cody Church initiated a traffic stop in the 1000 block of North Buerkle due to the vehicle having one headlight and no license plate. While Church went to his patrol car to radio dispatch with the driver’s and passenger’s license information SPD Ptl. Krysta Campbell saw the driver place a black object in back seat of the vehicle. Both the driver and passenger were taken out of the vehicle so it could be searched, and a loaded black pistol was found with one round in the chamber and two in the magazine. A small clear bag of marijuana was also found during the search. It contained one gram, according to the police report. The vehicle was impounded and the passenger was released. The driver was transported to SPD for processing. A 35-year-old Stuttgart man was arrested Friday for possession of a controlled substance. Ptl. Taylor Hopkins with the Stuttgart Police Department initiated a traffic stop on Park Avenue after he heard loud music coming from a vehicle. “As soon as the vehicle came to a stop I could see the driver leave the driver’s seat and jump in the rear seat on the driver’s side,” Hopkins said about the man that pulled into a local convenience store for the traffic stop. The man eventually told the officer he jumped in the back because he had a suspended driver’s license and “didn’t want to go to jail.” The information was verified through dispatch and the man was placed under arrest. During the search of the vehicle Hopkins recovered a small bag of marijuana from the rear floorboard on the passenger’s side of the vehicle. The passengers in the car would not admit to having the marijuana and eventually the driver admitted the drug belonged to him. A 30-year-old Judsonia man was arrested in Stuttgart Friday with possession of an instrument of crime and driving on a suspended driver’s license. Stuttgart Police Department officers were dispatched to a verbal dispute between a man and woman at Factory Connection, located on South Buerkle Street. When officers arrived they were told the suspect had left the area driving a blue Chevrolet Caprice.
An Indonesian court on Wednesday threw out an anti-drug group's legal challenge against a presidential decision to slash the jail term of Australian drug trafficker Schapelle Corby.
An Indonesian court on Wednesday threw out an anti-drug group's legal challenge against a presidential decision to slash the jail term of Australian drug trafficker Schapelle Corby, seen here in 2008.
The state administrative court in Jakarta rejected the challenge from the National Movement Against Narcotics (GRANAT) against the Indonesian president's five-year reduction of Corby's 20-year jail term.
"The state administrative court has no right to proceed with the legal challenge by GRANAT. Clemency is a presidential prerogative protected by the Indonesian constitution," Judge Yodi Martono Wahyunadi said.
The court last month examined documents submitted by the group arguing that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's act of clemency in May was unjustified and drug traffickers posed a "dangerous threat" to the younger generation.
The group's lawyer Henry Yosodiningrat said they would appeal the decision. "Indonesia is in grief today following the court's decision. It reflects the fact that there's no serious commitment to eradicate narcotics from the country," he told reporters outside the courtroom.
Corby, who turns 35 next week, was convicted in 2005 of smuggling 4.1 kilograms (nine pounds) of marijuana onto the resort island of Bali.
With other regular remissions, the presidential pardon brought Corby's release date forward to September 20, 2017.
Indonesia enforces stiff penalties for drug trafficking, including life imprisonment and death.
Man jailed for role in drug smuggling gang
A member of a gang which tried to smuggle £2m worth of cocaine into the UK hidden in a tarmac truck is behind bars after fleeing the country eight years ago. Richard Wright, 51, was jailed for nine years at Manchester crown court on Thursday for his involvement in the attempted smuggling ring, a spokesman for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said. Wright, of Chislehurst, Kent, pleaded guilty last month to conspiracy to import class A drugs through Zeebrugge, Belgium, after he was arrested by HMRC officers in November last year. The spokesman said while on the run Wright used several aliases and continued to trade in drugs and firearms. He was arrested by police in Amsterdam in September 2007 and charged with separate offences relating to the seizure of six firearms and 86lb (39kg) of cocaine concealed in a car door after a Dutch police surveillance operation. Wright was identified from UK fingerprints and photographic records, the spokesman added. Wright was jailed for six and half years in 2008, and after serving his sentence in a Dutch jail he was arrested by HMRC officers under the European arrest warrant for offences under operation Giftwrapped. He was extradited back to the UK last year. The HMRC spokesman said: "Under operation Giftwrapped seven other gang members were jailed in 2006 following the seizure of 29kg (64lb) of cocaine at Hull Docks. The drugs were hidden in a deep concealment underneath solidified bitumen, within one of two pods on the rear of a tarmac truck. The drugs were believed to be destined for organised crime gangs in Derbyshire and London." Mike O'Grady, HMRC's assistant director of criminal investigation, said: "Wright fled the UK when circumstances got difficult and he saw we had arrested other gang members associated with the smuggling attempt. "It became clear that he had continued his illegal activities in the Netherlands in the intervening period when he was arrested by our partners there for similar drug smuggling offences. Combining our intelligence and expertise for both smuggling cases has protected UK citizens and wider European communities from this habitual organised criminal."
ON CLOUD NINE: BATH SALTS BY ANOTHER NAME... WITH STRONG COMPULSIONS TO REDOSE
After the recent stream of disturbing news reports of people eating others' flesh, Hornaday Manufacturing has released bullets that promise to ‘make dead permanent.’
The ammunition, branded as Zombie Max offers Proven Z-Max bullets, is live ammunition, but is actually only intended for use on targets – not people.
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The Walking Dead: Hornady Manufacturing has started selling Zombie bullets, 'just in case'; it is live ammunition
Attacks: Carl Jacquneaux, left, who was arrested for allegedly biting another man's face and Brandon De Leon, right, who allegedly tried to bite two policemen while threatening to eat them
Hornaday spokesman Everett Deger told WWJ Newsradio 950 that the company’s president has a love of zombie culture – including popular shows like the Walking Dead – and was inspired to make the bullets in honour of the cultural phenomenon.
ON CLOUD NINE: BATH SALTS BY ANOTHER NAME... WITH STRONG COMPULSIONS TO REDOSE
The 'bath salts' sold under the name Cloud Nine are likely to be stimulant drugs such MPDV or ephedrine.
'Bath salts' does not refer to a single chemical, but instead to a range of synthetic drugs that can be sold legally in the U.S. as long as they are not marked for human consumption – hence the misleading name.
Drugs such as MPDV are highly potent stimulants, similar to some amphetamines, and in MPDV's case particularly, cause a strong compulsion to 'redose' with more of the drug.
In high doses, such drugs can cause violent and unpredictable behaviour, and terrifying hallucinations – and the compulsion to take more of the drug continues, even once the 'high' has begun to make the user feel bad.
Various different compounds use the name 'Cloud Nine', and it's still not confirmed which exact chemical was in the drug reported to have caused these attacks, but some reports have pointed the finger at MPDV.
The chemical is already illegal in Florida – although other 'bath salts' remain perfectly legal in the state.
‘We decided just to have some fun with a marketing plan that would allow us to create some ammunition designed for that…fictional world,’ he told the radio station.
Mr Deger noted that the bullets are some of the ammunition company’s most popular products.
The news comes as two more cannibal attacks have been reported in the US as police warn of a dangerous new mind-altering drug called Cloud Nine.
Last week Rudy Eugene - who is believed to have taken the over-the-counter ecstasy-like drug - growled at officers as he chewed off most of a homeless man's face before being shot dead by Miami police.
Since then two further incidents have been linked to the substance, which is part of a new line of 'bath salts'.
More...
- Revealed: Miami cannibal's girlfriend shows herself in public for the first time and claims her beau was carrying a BIBLE before the attack
- Caught on camera: The moment woman driver rams into pedestrian and travels for hundreds of yards with him clinging on 'because of her hormones'
- Revealed: The videos 'Canadian cannibal' sent to his 'fans' while on the run from police - and one of them contains infamous song from American Psycho
The second occurred on Saturday when a snarling homeless man, identified as Brandon De Leon, threatened to eat two officers, echoing the Miami attack.
A third incident took place in Louisiana where Carl Jacquneaux, 43, bit off a chunk of his victim's face. Miami police have issued a warning about Cloud Nine and told their officers to exercise extreme caution when dealing with homeless men who appear to be acting unusually.
Police investigating the case of Rudy Eugene, who ate the face off a homeless man, say as well as being naked, he was carrying a bible.
Some pages had been ripped out of the book and were found close by, according to CBS Miami. A preliminary toxicology examination has also found that the 31-year-old had been smoked cannabis shortly before the incident.
They were forced to fit 21-year-old De Leon with a Hannibal Lecter-style mask after he was arrested for disturbing the peace in North Miami Beach. When put in a police cruiser De Leon slammed his head against the plexiglass divider and shouted at officers, 'I'm going to eat you', NBC Miami reported.
He then growled, gnashed his teeth and tried to bite the hand of an officer attempting to treat his head wounds.
'Brandon growled and opened and closed his jaw, slamming his teeth like an animal would,' the report said. Miami police said they believe he was on a cocktail of drugs, including Cloud Nine.
In a second case Carl Jacquneaux, 43, is accused of attacking Todd Credeur at his home in Scott, Louisiana, over the weekend after he became upset following a domestic issue.
Victim: Todd Credeur, though in shock, managed to spray his attacker in the face with wasp spray to stop him from eating any more of his face
Scene: Todd Creneur was attacked while working on the yard outside his home in Scott, Louisiana
KATC reported that Mr Credeur was working in his front yard when he was attacked.
Scott Assistant Police Chief Kert Thomas said: 'During the attack, the suspect bit a chunk of the victim's face off.'
Mr Credeur reportedly managed to spray Jacquneaux in the face with wasp spray to stop him from eating any more of his face.
Jacquneaux then allegedly left the home and went to another man's home where he held him at knife point and stole a hand gun. This is where police found him and arrested him.
A friend of the victim said she believes Jacquneaux was under the influence of Cloud Nine, which is the same drug which is believed to have been taken by the 'Miami Cannibal' Rudy Eugene.
Eugene ate the face of homeless man Ronald Poppo in Miami last week and a police memo to officers has highlighted the dangers surrounding the drug's use.
It warned the De Leon case 'bears resemblance to an incident that occurred in the city of Miami last week, when a male ate another man's face'.
'Please be careful when dealing with the homeless population during your patrols.'
Police have suggested Eugene was under the influence of the synthetic stimulant usually sold in drug paraphanelia shops.
Cloud Nine is 'addictive and dangerous', the memo said, part of a 'disturbing trend in which new drugs are sold in the guise of household products'.
The drug, which is also as Ivory Wave in the U.S., comes in harmless-looking packets, police said, adding that it is illegal in Britain and Australia.
Crazed attack: Cloud Nine, which is the same drug which is believed to have been taken by the 'Miami Cannibal' Rudy Eugene (left) when he savagely attacked 65-year-old Ronald Poppo (right)
The potentially addictive drug stimulates the central nervous system and symptoms include heart palpitations, nausea, hallucinations, paranoia and erratic behaviour.
The series of shocking incidents began on May 26 when a naked Eugene encountered his victim, 65-year-old Ronald Poppo, who was sleeping in the shade on elevated train tracks.
In surveillance footage from the nearby Miami Herald building, Eugene was seen struggling with the naked homeless man, throwing him to the ground and then tearing into his face with his teeth as cars and bicycles sped by.
About 18 minutes into the attack, an officer appeared on the scene and yelled at Eugene to stop, but the 31-year-old just growled at him and continued chewing Poppo’s face.
The officer then opened fire on Eugene, shooting him to death.
Horrific attack: The spot on MacArthur Causeway when a man was killed after chewing the face off a stranger
Disfigured: Poppo, here on a stretcher, miraculously survived the attack, but was left without a nose, mouth or eyes
Poppo remains in critical condition at Jackson Memorial Hospital with his nose, mouth and eyes torn off. He faces months of treatment to rebuild his features and psychological care.
Controversially this week the scene of the attack on Poppo has been Miami added to sites visited by a tourist tour's itinerary.
The famous Miami Mystery & Mayhem: Crime Tour tour led by Miami-Dade College professor Dr Paul George will stop on the road that connects downtown Miami to popular South Beach.
Dr Paul told the South Florida Business Journal: 'Horrible as it was, it is part of our history. Currently, our tour takes us over the causeway right past the site, so this fits well.'
In a completely separate case not involving the drug, Canadian Luka Rocco Magnotta has been sent back to his country from Germany after an international manhunt.
He is alleged to have killed his partner, Jun Lin, before eating parts of his body then chopping it to pieces that were then posted to different authorities. Mr Lun's head has not yet been found.
'ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE': RECENT CANNIBAL ATTACKS ACROSS AMERICA
Since Rudy Eugene attacked and ate the face of homeless man Ronald Poppo on May 26 in Miami, Florida, while allegedly high on 'bath salts' there has been a spate of similar attacks.
The 'Miami Cannibal' case shocked the nation after police had to shoot dead Eugene when he refused to stop eating his victim's face off. Poppo is now recovering in hospital with horrific injuries.
Brandon DeLeon, 21, was high on drugs and drunk on Four Loko on June 2 when he tried to bite off a police officer’s hand after he was arrested for disturbing customers in a Miami fast food restaurant.
The homeless man repeatedly banged his head against the patrol car’s Plexiglas and yelled, ‘I’m going to eat you.’
At the police station, De Leon tried to bite the officer who was taking his blood pressure and tending to his self-inflicted wounds. The police report noted that he 'growled and opened and closed his jaw slamming his teeth like an animal would.'
Carl Jacquneaux, 43, is accused of attacking Todd Credeur at his home in Scott, Louisiana, over the weekend after he became upset following a domestic issue.
Mr Credeur reportedly managed to spray Jacquneaux in the face with wasp spray to stop him from eating any more of his face.
A friend of the victim said she believes Jacquneaux was under the influence of Cloud Nine, which is the same drug which is believed to have been taken by the 'Miami Cannibal' Rudy Eugene.
Alex Kinyua, 21, a college student, used a knife to carve up Kujoe Bonsafo Agyei-Kodie, 37, before eating his heart out and parts of his brain.
He then took to his social networking site to boast about it to his friends saying: 'Are you strong enough to endure ritual HBCU mass human sacrifices around the country and still be able to function as human beings?'
He referred to the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech and 'other past university killings around the country' and warned 'ethnic cleansing is the policy, strategy and tactics that will affect you, directly or indirectly in the coming months.'
A mind-altering drug banned in Britain two years ago is being blamed for the spate of cannibal attacks in America.
Narcotic Cloud Nine was blamed for the attack when Rudy Eugene ate 75% of homeless man Ronald Poppo’s face in Miami last month.
Horrific images surfaced of the attack that only ended once police shot and killed 31-year-old Eugene.
Mr Poppo is still recovering from his injuries in hospital.
Police are now warning people to stay away from Cloud Nine – also known as ‘bath salts’ - after two similar attacks were reported.
The most recent prompted an internal memo to police warning officers the case “bears resemblance to an incident that occurred in the city of Miami last week, when a male ate another man’s face”.
The memo called the synthetic drug “addictive and dangerous” and said it was part of a “disturbing trend in which new drugs are sold in the guise of household products”.
It added: “Please be careful when dealing with the homeless population during your patrols.”
During the latest attack homeless Brendon De Leon threatened to eat two Miami police officers and had to be fitted with a Hannibal Lecter-style mask to prevent him carrying his threats out.
He had been arrested for disturbing the peace in North Miami Beach while high on drugs and put in a police cruiser when he slammed his head against the plexiglass divider and shouted: “I’m going to eat you” to officers before growling and baring his teeth.
Miami police said they believe he was on a cocktail of drugs including Cloud Nine.
In another case, Carl Jacquneaux, 43, was accused of attacking Todd Credeur in his front garden in Scott, Louisiana, over the weekend after being upset over a domestic issue while under the influence of what is said to be bath salts.
Jacquneaux bit Mr Credeur before being sprayed in the face with wasp spray.
Scott Assistant Police Chief Kert Thomas said: “During the attack, the suspect bit a chunk of the victim’s face off.”
Jacquneaux was then said to have left the property and gone to another man’s home where he held him at knife-point and stole a handgun before being apprehended by police.
The drug, which is also known as Ivory Wave, was blamed for several deaths in Britain during 2010 before being banned. It is also illegal in Australia.
The potentially addictive drug stimulates the central nervous system and symptoms include heart palpitations, nausea, hallucinations, paranoia and erratic behaviour and is often sold in plain packaging with the contents purporting to be harmless.
Lindsay Sandiford, a 56-year-old British woman, has been arrested on suspicion of trafficking cocaine worth around £1.6m into Bali
Lindsay Sandiford, a 56-year-old British woman, has been arrested on suspicion of trafficking cocaine worth around £1.6m into Bali, where the death penalty still exists for this type of crime.
Lindsay Sandiford shielded her face from reporters at the press conference in Indonesia (Picture: EPA)Ms Sandiford was detained on May 19 after she was found to have the 4.7kg haul in a suitcase as she arrived in the Balinese capital Denpasar on a Thai Airways flight from Bangkok.
Four other people - three Britons and an Indian national, who are thought to have been the intended recipients of the drugs - are also being questioned.
Ms Sandiford - who told authorities in Indonesia she was a housewife - could face death by firing squad if convicted.
She was pictured yesterday at a press conference in the Indonesian holiday town of Kuta, wearing an orange inmate's T-shirt, surrounded by brown packages which were cut open by a customs official.
Ms Sandiford could face the death penalty if convicted (Picture: AP)Indonesian customs officer Made Wijaya said the drugs were found in the lining of Ms Sandiford's case after a routine X-ray screening at the airport.
'We are working hard to stop thest type of international smugglers bringing their drugs into Bali and harming our people,' Wijaya said.
'If this woman, and anyone else who is subsequently charged, is found guilty, the punishment will be the death penalty.'
Indonesia has some of the toughest anti-drug laws in the world, with traffickers put to death in the past and others facing life imprisonment.
Cocaine found in South Carolina man's rental car after stop
South Carolina man was stopped Wednesday night after a traffic violation by Cowley County Sheriff's Office deputies, who later found cocaine in his rental car, according to a sheriff's office report issued Friday. Vascarvi Earnest Sloan, 20, of Greenville, S.C., was arrested for driving with a suspended South Carolina driver's license, possession of cocaine with intent to sell, possession of drug-sale paraphernalia and possession of alcohol by a minor. Undersheriff Bill Mueller said Sloan was stopped prior to 7:28 p.m. Wednesday for speeding in his rental car in the 33000 block of U.S. 77. "The rental company wanted the car impounded," Mueller said, "so that's when they discovered drugs in there. That led to the drug arrest." Sloan remained in the Cowley County Jail on Friday in lieu of an $11,800 bond, according to a jail official.
Indonesia cuts Australian Schapelle Corby's jail term
Indonesia has reduced the 20-year jail term of convicted Australian drug smuggler Schapelle Corby by five years following a clemency plea. The president approved the move and officials had notified Kerobokan prison in Bali where Corby is being held, Indonesia's justice ministry confirmed. Corby, 34, was convicted for drug smuggling in 2005 after 4.1kg (9lb) of marijuana was found in her bag at Denpasar airport in Bali in 2004. Australia welcomed the cut in sentence. "The Australian government has consistently supported Ms Corby's application for clemency on humanitarian grounds," Foreign Minister Bob Carr said in a statement. Corby, a former beauty student who insists she is innocent, filed an appeal to have her sentence reduced with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono two years ago, citing humanitarian grounds. Her lawyer, Iskandar Nawing, said that Corby's mental health had deteriorated while in jail. Kerobokan prison was built to hold 300 prisoners but currently houses about 1,000. Aside from Corby, it holds a number of foreign nationals, including members of an Australian drug smuggling ring called the "Bali Nine". Indonesia's Justice Minister Amir Syamsuddin said Corby's conviction was "not related to heroin or other heavy drugs". "It was purely marijuana and the marijuana didn't weigh hundreds of kilograms," he told Reuters news agency.
