Crime Correspondent

Yvan Cech, 65, receive a 13-year sentence for his role in smuggling 700 kilos of cocaine

Yvan Cech, 65, receive a 13-year sentence for his role in smuggling 700 kilos of cocaine, packed into aluminum ingots, into the country where much of it was sold to the Hells Angels.The sentence is considerable when Cech’s age is factored in, as well as the fact he has no prior convictions. At the time of his arrest in 2006, the Slovakian-born businessman, who is a Canadian citizen, owned and operated a hotel-casino in the Dominican Republic while splitting much of his time in Quebec City. But, Levasseur argued before Superior Court Justice Guy Cournoyer at the Montreal courthouse Friday morning, Cech played the most important role in the conspiracy as a high-level drug smuggler.The prosecutor pointed out that Richard Sanschagrin, a former police officer, received a 12-year prison term for role. Chagrin received the ingots once they entered Canada, warehoused the shipments before distributing the cocaine.Cech’s son-in-law, Atilio Martinez, a 47-year-old Kirkland resident, received a 9-year prison term for handling the distribution and accounting for Cech’s network while working out of a photo shop on Jean Talon St. E. Cournoyer wanted to hear Levasseur and defence lawyer Julio Peris’s thoughts on whether Cech’s questionable arrest in the Dominican Republic should factor into his sentence. On May 8, 2006, Cech was sitting on an Air France plane at the airport in Santo Domingo about to head off to Paris when he was arrested by four Dominican Republican police officers. This was three days before the Sûreté du Québec made more than 20 arrests in this province in Project Fusion, the investigation into Cech’s network and clients.By the beginning of that month, the SQ knew they had to act fast if they still wanted to arrest Cech while he lived in the Dominican Republic. Investigators knew Martinez had flown to the Dominican Republic to meet with Cech to discuss the fact that $761,000 had been seized by police from Martinez’s home in Kirkland along with accounting documents. They were worried Cech was going to head to the Czech Republic where he had a residence and it would be more difficult to return him to Canada. <blockquote>Cech claims he was held in a filthy cell in the Dominican Republic for three days, was unable to sleep, was given no food and was unable to contact a lawyer before SQ officers escorted him to Canada on May 12, 2006. He was only able to speak to a lawyer after he was brought to the SQ’s headquarters on Parthenais St. Without sleeping for four days he decided to collaborate with police. He gave 29 statements to investigators, but eventually refused to sign a contract that would make him a prosecution witness. He pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and gangsterism in December.</blockquote>Cournoyer already ruled last month that the circumstances surrounding the arrest were not enough to declare a stay of proceedings in Cech’s case. But he said yesterday it was clear “something happened,” likely with the goal of pressuring Cech into becoming an informant.“I have three or four deductions but they were not introduced as evidence,” the judge said.Peris argued the questionable arrest should be factored into Cech’s sentence. He also argued the fact that it took the Crown more than a year to turn over the evidence it had in the case to the defence should also be factored in.The defence lawyer did not ask for a specific sentence length but asked that his client be left with only three years left to serve when Cournoyer renders his decision on April 17.Cech has already served the equivalent of nearly six years behind bars while awaiting the outcome of his case.

Yvan Cech, 65, receive a 13-year sentence for his role in smuggling 700 kilos of cocaine

Yvan Cech, 65, receive a 13-year sentence for his role in smuggling 700 kilos of cocaine, packed into aluminum ingots, into the country wher...

Monica Aguirre charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine

Monica Aguirre shuffled her feet as she made her way to the lectern to address U.S. District Judge Felix Recio.During the hearing, Aguirre...

Edvinas Leonavicius, jailed for 11 years

Edvinas Leonavicius, 25, arrived at the Eastern Docks on May 8. UK Border Agency officers discovered the drugs in 17 brown-taped packages hi...

Joaquín Guzmán Loera, is one of 38 new billionaires.

Joaquín Guzmán Loera, is one of 38 new billionaires.For eight years Joaquín Guzmán Loera reportedly managed his international drug smuggling operation from behind bars while enjoying a lavish prison life with access to booze, women and a home entertainment system. Then in January 2001, facing extradition to the U.S., Guzmán slipped into a laundry cart and escaped.Since then "El Chapo," or Shorty, as he is called, has tightened his grip on Mexico's drug trade as head of the Sinaloa cartel, one of the biggest suppliers of cocaine to the U.S. It is a lucrative business to be in these days. Thirty-five million people in the U.S. use narcotics or abuse prescription drugs, spending more than $64 billion annually. The Drug Enforcement Agency and other industry experts believe Guzmán, 54, has controlled anywhere from a third to half of the wholesale Mexican drug market over the past eight years. In 2008 Mexican and Colombian traffickers laundered between $18 billion and $39 billion in proceeds from wholesale shipments to the U.S., according to the U.S. government. Guzmán and his operation likely grossed 20% of that--enough for him to have pocketed $1 billion over his career and earn a spot on the billionaires list for the first time.While others with ten-figure fortunes have criminal records, Guzmán is probably the only one for whom the U.S. government is offering a $5 million reward for his capture. "He clearly is a sociopath and willing to engage in high levels of violence, but he is skillful in managing these turbulent waters," says Bruce Bagley, chairman of international studies at the University of Miami. While traditional drug cartels are built around a family hierarchy, Guzmán's operates more as a confederation of different groups. He hires gangs that have peeled off from competitors, offering attractive profit sharing. "The Sinaloa cartel is kind of a new animal in a way. He offers them a better deal," adds Bagley.Guzmán grew up in the Pacific coast state of Sinaloa in a rural region that has produced big drug traffickers. The farm boy was likely exposed to the trade at a young age. Officials say he honed his drug-running skills working for different gangs, most notably as an airplane logistics expert for Miguel Angel Félix Gallardo, "El Padrino," or the Godfather, the country's leading trafficker at the time. Gallardo was arrested in 1989.By the early 1990s Guzmán had started his own international firm. Business didn't always run smoothly. In 1993, at the northern border, Mexican authorities seized a 7-ton shipment of cocaine, believed to be his, that was hidden in chili pepper cans. The same year rival gang members, apparently trying to kill Guzmán at the Guadalajara airport, bumped off a Catholic cardinal instead. Also that year he was captured and convicted for homicide and drug trafficking.A 1995 U.S. indictment alleges he directed a vast network of employees and assets, including warehouses in California, New Jersey and Chicago; a tunnel, running 65 feet deep and 1,416 feet long, between Mexico and Otay Mesa, Calif.; an executive jet rental business; and railcars carrying cooking oil. At least one of his employees was in charge of paying off Mexican prosecutors and police, allegedly dropping $1 million in cash in 1991 for the release of Guzmán's brother, "El Pollo," from a Mexico City prison. (El Pollo was murdered in 2004.)How long can Guzmán, who may be in Guatemala, continue to elude authorities? The Mexican government is trying to crack down on the murderous drug trade that has killed 6,000 people in the past year, including Guzmán's son, who was gunned down in May. It has dispatched thousands of soldiers to hot zones. In November it arrested the nation's top antidrug authority for allegedly agreeing to a $450,000-per-month deal to tip off drug traffickers about raids and arrests. That pressure, along with more pressure from rival drug gangs, appears to be making business harder for Guzmán but hasn't persuaded him to get out of the industry

Joaquín Guzmán Loera, is one of 38 new billionaires.

Joaquín Guzmán Loera, is one of 38 new billionaires.For eight years Joaquín Guzmán Loera reportedly managed his international drug smuggling...

Sandy Rodriguez Brito, 21, of San Juan, Puerto Rico, was apprehended Saturday night at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport

Sandy Rodriguez Brito, 21, of San Juan, Puerto Rico, was apprehended Saturday night at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport while waiting for two drug mules to fly in from the Dominican Republic. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Brito at the airport about 10 p.m.Brito fled from a Salem motel room on Nov. 25, when one of three drug mules he hired began absorbing small bags of cocaine lodged in her digestive tract, according to police and court documents. Mally Cruz Rodriguez, 25, was pronounced dead at Caritas Holy Family Hospital in Methuen, Mass., shortly after her sister, Nelly Cruz Rodriguez, another drug carrier, called 911.Nelly Cruz Rodriguez also suffered from drug intoxication and was rushed to an area hospital to have several bags of cocaine removed from her. Federal officials revealed yesterday that a grand jury has indicted Brito and four others in connection with the case. They are Brito's sister Dionaliz; a cab driver Escolastico Suero, 45, of Methuen; Angel Baez-Gil, 45, of Lawrence; and Nelly Cruz Rodriguez, according to federal officials.Brito and his sister accompanied the three drug mules on a flight from Puerto Rico to Fort Lauderdale and then to Boston. Suero picked up the group at the airport with Baez-Gil, according to police affidavits.Suero, Baez-Gil and Nelly Cruz Rodriguez remain jailed as they await trial. Federal officials will bring Brito to New Hampshire, but no exact date has been set, police Capt. Shawn Patten said yesterday."We've worked closely with the federal authorities to make sure all the people involved in this case are brought to justice," Patten said. "We're looking forward to getting Mr. Brito back to the state of New Hampshire to face these charges."It's unclear what charges Brito, who has yet to be extradited, will face. Salem police said previously he could be charged in connection with supplying the fatal drugs that caused Cruz Rodriguez's death. The federal indictments, handed down last month, remain sealed in U.S. District Court. Police were first alerted to the drug ring when Cruz Rodriguez made the 911 call from the Park View Inn about her ailing sister.Brito had allegedly taken suitcases belonging to the sisters and abandoned them with $40 cash and a cell phone when he fled with his sister and a third drug mule, according to a police affidavit.A key clue came about when detectives found a drugstore receipt for laxatives inside the motel rooms the group rented. Surveillance footage from a CVS in North Andover, Mass., showed Brito, Baez-Gil and Suero buying the laxatives around 3 a.m. on Nov. 25.Dionaliz Rodriguez Brito remains at large, but authorities are pursuing leads on her whereabouts.

Sandy Rodriguez Brito, 21, of San Juan, Puerto Rico, was apprehended Saturday night at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport

Sandy Rodriguez Brito, 21, of San Juan, Puerto Rico, was apprehended Saturday night at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport while waiting ...

Keith Morez, 60, Sevenoaks, and fellow gang members Chris Brown, 55, from Greenhithe, and Gerard Dutton, 61, from Suffolk,jailed for 10 years

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwacE45mNvww3ZebJrNfKbwLgqI23c2WSeIvj5hyzT4okfkvZV736MKkgWtrAyqS75HimEnpbcmLIK1kS3lUNkgypgP-4_skMqvPleLSIuTWPWio4sR6zqBft0R4dfkIchg5INIxiij0w/s1600-h/morez_and_brown.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310737438528187778" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwacE45mNvww3ZebJrNfKbwLgqI23c2WSeIvj5hyzT4okfkvZV736MKkgWtrAyqS75HimEnpbcmLIK1kS3lUNkgypgP-4_skMqvPleLSIuTWPWio4sR6zqBft0R4dfkIchg5INIxiij0w/s400/morez_and_brown.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 167px; height: 129px;" /></a> Keith Morez, 60, from Sevenoaks, and his unemployed fellow gang members Chris Brown, 55, from Greenhithe, and Gerard Dutton, 61, from Suffolk, were each given 10-year sentences at Kingston Crown Court.The Metropolitan Police’s Projects Team spent several months investigating the organised criminal network, which involved importing and supplying cannabis from southern Spain, as part of Operation Cromer. Det Insp Grant Johnson said: “This group was highly organised in the way they imported drugs.“They used criminal contacts in the UK and Spain, going out of their way to disassociate themselves from the cargo by using false companies and deliberately deceiving legitimate haulage companies.”The Met’s Projects Team passed intelligence onto Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) officers who searched a Spanish registered lorry in April last year finding 1.5 tonnes of cannabis resin with a street value of around £4.2million.The lorry was seized in Coquelles Port in Normandy, France, and had been travelling from Murcia in Spain bound for the UK. The drugs were found hidden in six pallets of floor tiles when the vehicle reached England.In July, 2008, another Spanish-registered lorry was stopped by HMRC officers at the Port of Dover where they discovered 1.56 tonnes of the now class B substance worth around £4m that had been hidden in pallets of ‘dressed stone’.Intelligence from the seizures led Guardia Civil Grupo de Drogas officers to search a warehouse in southern Spain where a further 690 kilos of cannabis valued at £1.93m was found. DI Grant Johnson said: “Both of these lorry loads were significant seizures, headed for the streets of the capital and these sentences are testament to how seriously both the police and judicial system, take this dangerous, newly reclassified, class B drug.”Morez, of Billet Hill, ran a legitimate traffic management company but was found to be a senior member of the drug network, the Met said.He acted as Brown’s right-hand man, liaising with criminals in Spain and was responsible for transporting the drugs once they reached the UK.Police arrested him in October last year while he was in his car on the A20 in Kent. He pleaded guilty on January 13 this year before sentencing at Kingston with the other men last Friday.Detectives found that Brown was in total control of the importation side of the trafficking and actively involved in both lorry hauls of drugs seized.He was seen meeting face-to-face with Spanish drug suppliers and kept in telephone contact with Morez and Dutton. Brown was arrested in his car near the Dartford Bridge in July last year.Dutton set up two fake companies so the gang could use them to employ legitimate haulage companies to import the loads of cannabis from Spain into the UK.He was arrested in north Yorkshire in July last year. Police said the lorry drivers and haulage companies involved in the case were innocent victims and had been duped into believing they were carrying genuine loads of tiles and stone.Bob Gaiger, a spokesman for HMRC, said: “This is a perfect example of the successful working partnership that exists between the Met Police and HMRC.“We will continue to work together to prevent drugs from entering the UK and harming our communities. We will not only focus on those transporting these deadly drugs, but also those who mastermind and finance this illegal activity.”

Keith Morez, 60, Sevenoaks, and fellow gang members Chris Brown, 55, from Greenhithe, and Gerard Dutton, 61, from Suffolk,jailed for 10 years

Keith Morez, 60, from Sevenoaks, and his unemployed fellow gang members Chris Brown, 55, from Greenhithe, and Gerard Dutton, 61, from Suffol...

Francisco S. Perez, posted the $20,000 bail and disappeared

Francisco S. Perez, posted the $20,000 bail and disappeared — only to be caught Wednesday with a cache of weapons, including an assault rifle, body armor, marijuana and other drugs.This time he is being held without bail, Deputy Pima County Attorney Richard Wintory said.Perez's story is not uncommon, said Wintory, who contends judges often set bail too low because they rely on questionable information or mistaken perceptions.To prove his point, Wintory had staff members compile statistics on bail conditions set in all Counter Narcotics Alliance cases for the past five years.They found nearly a quarter of those arrested by the alliance disappear after they are released, Wintory said — a statistic he calls especially alarming because they may be among the most dangerous offenders in the community. While their motivation is drug running, the nature of the business frequently involves weapons, violent assaults, home invasions, kidnappings for ransom and even murder — sometimes with innocent victims caught up in the crossfire. Rick Peck, Pretrial Services director, could not verify Wintory's numbers but noted that 16 percent of those arrested for all types of crimes in Pima County abscond after being released from jail.When judges set bail, they are supposed to consider the charges, family ties, employment, financial resources, criminal record, length of time in the community and history of making past court dates. Much of that information is gathered by Pretrial Services.Wintory believes judges give too little consideration to the type of charges Counter Narcotics Alliance defendants are facing.More significantly, he believes judges rely too heavily on information Pretrial Services gets from defendants' families about their community ties without independent verification."It isn't their ties to the community we should be concerned about," he said. "It's that they have resources and an interest in staying in business. The absconders we've caught are caught committing more of the same types of crimes."Counter Narcotics Alliance defendants, if convicted, almost always face mandatory prison time, Wintory said. Yet if a defendant's wife says the defendant has lived in the same house and worked for the same employer for decades, her word is taken at face value without verification.Too many times, detectives later learn the defendant's address is non-existent and the claimed employer has never heard of the defendant, he said. Here is one statistic he discovered: Of the Counter Narcotics Alliance's arrestees who run, the largest share — 33 percent — are those who actually posted bail. The rest vanished after being released on their own recognizance or to a Pretrial Services monitoring program.A few show up again, but only when they're arrested for committing another serious crime, such as in Francisco Perez's case, Wintory said. County Attorney Barbara LaWall said she suspects drug dealers flee more frequently than most suspects because they put up cash. Other defendants put up the equity in their homes or the homes of their loved ones and are unwilling to lose their property to a bail bondsman if they run.Wintory also determined that of the 526 people Counter Narcotics detectives have arrested over the last five years, 304 have been released on bail, on their own recognizance or to Pretrial Services. A third of those who took flight after posting bail vanished before they were arraigned, Wintory said. That means they hadn't been officially informed of the charges against them and given an opportunity to say "not guilty," so they can't be tried in absentia.If his numbers are accurate, they are a "cause for concern" and need to be looked into, Presiding Tucson City Court Judge Tony Riojas said. But Riojas and Pretrial Services Director Peck defended Pretrial Services, saying the department does a good job compiling information for judges in a short time. Peck said he doesn't believe there is a widespread problem with absconders in the general population. He wouldn't comment on Wintory's figures for the more dangerous Counter Narcotics Alliance defendants because his office doesn't separate the numbers that way.

Francisco S. Perez, posted the $20,000 bail and disappeared

Francisco S. Perez, posted the $20,000 bail and disappeared — only to be caught Wednesday with a cache of weapons, including an assault rifl...

Christopher Wiggins, 42, from Spain's Costa del Sol, are charged with attempting to import 1.7 tonnes of cocaine

Philip Doo, 52, of Higher Manor Road, Brixham, David Mufford, 44, of Clennon Court, Clennon Lane, Torquay, and Christopher Wiggins, 42, from Spain's Costa del Sol, are charged with attempting to import 1.7 tonnes of cocaine — believed to be valued at more than 500 million euro (£440m).The three Britons have been remanded in continuing custody after they appeared in court yesterday in connection with the cocaine seizure by Irish Navy, Irish police and Customs in a joint task force operation off the West Cork coast last year.The trio were due to go on trial at Cork Circuit Criminal Court but barristers asked for the case to be put back to the next session so defence teams could continue discussions with state prosecutors. "Certain communications are ongoing with the state," said Marjorie Farrelly, senior counsel for Wiggins.three men were detained last November after the authorities swooped on the 60ft ocean-going boat Dances With Waves, 170 miles off the west Cork coast.Seventy-five bales of cocaine were discovered on the vessel which set sail from the Caribbean a month earlier.They are charged that on November 5, 2008, on the ship, Dances with Waves, a ship not registered in any country or territory, they had possession of cocaine knowing it was intended to be imported into a country other than Ireland.Ms Farrelly's application was supported by Tim O'Leary for Mufford and Donal O'Sullivan for Doo, and the state did not object to the adjournment. Judge Patrick Moran put the case back until April 21.All three have been in custody since their arrest.They are charged with the same offence under Section 34 of the Republic's Criminal Justice Drug Trafficking Act — possession of drugs with intent to import.The seizure exceeded a previous record-breaking haul of 1.5 tonnes of cocaine — valued at 440 million euro (£323m) — which washed up on the Cork coast near Mizen Head in July 2007 after an elaborate trafficking scam fell apart.

Christopher Wiggins, 42, from Spain's Costa del Sol, are charged with attempting to import 1.7 tonnes of cocaine

Philip Doo, 52, of Higher Manor Road, Brixham, David Mufford, 44, of Clennon Court, Clennon Lane, Torquay, and Christopher Wiggins, 42, from...

Ruden Portillo, 32, of Danbury, Conn., and Jose Rodriquez, 38, of Brooklyn collared after selling cocaine to undercover deputies

Ruden Portillo, 32, of Danbury, Conn., and Jose Rodriquez, 38, of Brooklyn are being held at the Putnam County jail and are due in Brewster Village Court Monday night. Smith said that members of the narcotics enforcement unit developed information that the pair were involved in street-level cocaine sales.Undercover officers, posing as buyers, purchased cocaine from the men on several occasions, Smith said. The two were arrested Feb. 26 during a buy-bust operation. They were collared after selling cocaine to undercover deputies, Smith said.Police seized cocaine, marijuana, cash and fake identifications from the men, Smith said.They were charged with five counts each of third-degree criminal sale and third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, felonies.Portillo is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail and Rodriquez on $50,000 bail.Smith said that Portillo, a Guatemalan national, and Rodriquez, from the Dominican Republic, may be in the country illegally. Both men were reported to the federal Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as per Putnam County jail procedure

Ruden Portillo, 32, of Danbury, Conn., and Jose Rodriquez, 38, of Brooklyn collared after selling cocaine to undercover deputies

Ruden Portillo, 32, of Danbury, Conn., and Jose Rodriquez, 38, of Brooklyn are being held at the Putnam County jail and are due in Brewster ...

Reginald Love,was charged last week with two Class X felony counts of delivery of a controlled substance

Reginald Love, 23, who listed an address in the 200 block of West Bradley Avenue, Champaign.Love was charged last week with two Class X felo...

Darrell Woods, 19, of the 1600 block of Harper Drive, Rantoul, was charged with possession with intent to deliver

Darrell Woods, 19, of the 1600 block of Harper Drive, Rantoul, was charged with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and driving under suspension after his arrest Tuesday by Rantoul police.Assistant State's Attorney Lindsey Clark said police tried to pull over Woods' car on Century Boulevard for a traffic violation. As officers approached, he sped off with the police following. Clark said Woods eventually stopped the car, got out and ran. He was caught not far away.Woods was searched at the jail and 17 rocks of crack cocaine, weighing 7 grams, were found in his underwear, Clark said.The drug charge alleges Woods had the drugs within 1,000 feet of St. Malachy School, making the offense a Class X felony, punishable by six to 30 years in prison.If convicted, Woods would have to serve the sentence after whatever sentence he might receive for a 2007 aggravated driving under the influence conviction. The state is attempting to revoke his probation in that case.Judge Rich Klaus set Woods' bond at $50,000 and ordered him back in court April 28.

Darrell Woods, 19, of the 1600 block of Harper Drive, Rantoul, was charged with possession with intent to deliver

Darrell Woods, 19, of the 1600 block of Harper Drive, Rantoul, was charged with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and...

Miguel Angel Mejia was captured as he moved around the country in a specially-designed articulated lorry

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrYH-LSohQFXZ4Kn9XvReV2tcLaHg4yinr97kDnUS14UxgvmcbhsMgECxoff4q2H0RXEpvLwyzD29q7onLDSsvkKtpiUvJwU30RF0-K56H90yH6Fgf6eYZ-hyDrV2qILuOvcE8LhSxlWM/s1600-h/columbia23a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309798513596589474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrYH-LSohQFXZ4Kn9XvReV2tcLaHg4yinr97kDnUS14UxgvmcbhsMgECxoff4q2H0RXEpvLwyzD29q7onLDSsvkKtpiUvJwU30RF0-K56H90yH6Fgf6eYZ-hyDrV2qILuOvcE8LhSxlWM/s400/columbia23a.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 288px; height: 180px;" /></a> Miguel Angel Mejia to give up all he learned in more than two decades in the bowels of the Colombian underworld, the implications could be dramatic for cocaine smuggling. Miguel and his twin brother, Victor, whose organisation became known as the "Twins Cartel", worked their way up the criminal ladder, starting as assassins, then specialising in moving large cocaine shipments by sea, into the US and into Europe via Albania."He has told me that he wants to fully cooperate with the justice system," said Angélica Maria Martinez, a lawyer for Miguel Angel Mejia, who is now on US soil awaiting trail on drugs trafficking charges.The Twins were largely unknown until 2001, when $35 million (£24 million) in cash was found in two of their flats in Bogota. The Twins then bought their way into the illegal Right-wing paramilitary United Self Defence Forces of Colombia (known as the AUC), setting up a private army and a fiefdom in the eastern province of Arauca, astride the strategic smuggling route into Venezuela. Victor was killed in a gunfight with police in April last year. In a scene reminiscent of the film Scarface, he held off attacking police with a machine gun as his bodyguards were cut down, until he, too, received several bullets that killed him before he hit the ground. Just three days later, Miguel was captured as he moved around the country in a specially-designed articulated lorry, which had a secret compartment. Police stopped the vehicle at a checkpoint and even thought they knew the Twin was hiding somewhere inside they could not find him. It was only when a tube, which let air into the secret compartment, was sealed up, that Miguel was forced to reveal himself or suffocate.

Miguel Angel Mejia was captured as he moved around the country in a specially-designed articulated lorry

Miguel Angel Mejia to give up all he learned in more than two decades in the bowels of the Colombian underworld, the implications could be d...

Arrested Julian Burford and Turner D. Williams after officers from Cleveland, Bedford and Garfield Heights seized 70 pounds of cocaine

Arrested Julian Burford and Turner D. Williams after officers from Cleveland, Bedford and Garfield Heights seized 70 pounds of cocaine that police said had a street value of $5 million. Investigators learned during a three-month joint investigation that the shipment would be delivered from California to Cleveland. Police worked with federal authorities to track the shipment. The Iowa State Highway Patrol seized it Thursday and turned it over to Cleveland police. Both men are in Cleveland City Jail for investigation of aggravated drug trafficking. No charges have been filed. Burford, 40, won the local Golden Gloves boxing tournament and twice advanced to the semifinals of the national tournament, where he notched a win over future middleweight world champion Jermain Taylor. Burford then turned pro, compiling a record of 12-2 with 10 knockouts. He lost his last professional fight in 2005. Johnny Avon, one of Burford's former trainers, said the boxer could have been a star. "It's unfortunate," Avon said about the arrest. "He had the potential to be great." Burford faced drug charges before. In 2001, federal authorities accused him of operating a cocaine pipeline between Cleveland and Detroit. He was convicted of drug trafficking in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court in 1992 and spent two years in prison, according to state records. Williams was convicted of carrying a concealed weapon in 1999, records show.

Arrested Julian Burford and Turner D. Williams after officers from Cleveland, Bedford and Garfield Heights seized 70 pounds of cocaine

Arrested Julian Burford and Turner D. Williams after officers from Cleveland, Bedford and Garfield Heights seized 70 pounds of cocaine that ...

Antonio K. Overton, 25, was convicted last week of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and four other drug trafficking charges.

Antonio K. Overton, 25, was convicted last week of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and four other drug trafficking charges.Two of the charges are first-degree felonies, the most serious. Two are fourth-degree felonies, and one is a third-degree felony.Prosecutor Mark Miller had asked the court to impose a 10-year sentence, while Overton's attorney, Jeremy Levy of Toledo, argued for a three- or four-year term.Under law, Overton faced a mandatory three-year sentence on just the corrupt activity offense.Overton was one of 14 people indicted last summer following a two-year investigation of a cocaine distribution ring by the Hancock METRICH drug task force.He was one of the ringleaders in the drug enterprise, and was found to have sold cocaine in Findlay on several occasions while the ring was operating between 2006 and 2008.Authorities said Overton would bring drugs to Findlay and “set up shop” at motels here. He sold some of the drugs himself and also arranged to have “runners” sell drugs.The ring was broken up after several confidential informants made purchases of cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana and Oxycodone, a prescription pain reliever, from various defendants.Judge Niemeyer ordered Overton to make restitution of $1,560 to the METRICH task force, for the money given to informants to purchase drugs from him. The judge also ordered Overton to forfeit $722 in cash that was found on him when he was first arrested.Overton has been held in the Hancock County jail since his arrest last August.

Antonio K. Overton, 25, was convicted last week of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and four other drug trafficking charges.

Antonio K. Overton, 25, was convicted last week of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and four other drug trafficking charges.Two of ...

Peter Gill, 39, of Penrwyn Court, Eynesbury, and Kramer Craft, 29, of Seymour

Peter Gill, 39, of Penrwyn Court, Eynesbury, and Kramer Craft, 29, of Seymour Road, Benfleet, Essex, both deny conspiracy to supply class A drugs. They are accused of the adapting the lorry and organising the transportation of the drugs following scouting missions to Amsterdam.Huntingdon Crown Court was told that the drugs had been hidden in a specially-adapted brake cylinder and the lorry brought back into the country by third party driver. Prosecuting, Bridget Petherbridge said: "There were two cylinders on a lorry that normally has only one." She said Mr Craft, formerly from Eynesbury, picked up a parcel of cocaine from the driver at Thames Industrial Park, in East Tilbury, but only after a delay. The driver was due to arrive with the drugs on March 20, but was a day late and Mr Craft had to book into a hotel and meet him the following day.Miss Petherbridge told the jury that the pair had used the codenames when discussing the drug transportation on mobile phones and referred also to a 'Mr X'.She added: "Mr Gill and Mr Craft are involved at every turn. Everything we know about the conspiracy to import drugs from the continent starts and finishes with them." Graham Parkins QC, defending, said Mr Craft had been acting under duress and fear for the safety of himself, his partner and his child. He owes £16,000 to a drug dealer who threatened to kill him and pressured him into drug smuggling.

Peter Gill, 39, of Penrwyn Court, Eynesbury, and Kramer Craft, 29, of Seymour

Peter Gill, 39, of Penrwyn Court, Eynesbury, and Kramer Craft, 29, of Seymour Road, Benfleet, Essex, both deny conspiracy to supply class A ...

Jorge Luis Posada Guevara arrived on Saturday. Officials say he was to hand the cocaine stuffed in dried soup boxes to Hidsar Orlando Henriquez Parada

Jorge Luis Posada Guevara arrived on Saturday. Officials say he was to hand the cocaine stuffed in dried soup boxes to Hidsar Orlando Henriq...

Miguel Angel Mejia reputed cocaine kingpin extradited

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1luhOVgaiklhaZ5TFL1qdGB2A7aPW3c3ttJHZ8rxCW5QYLXR5sLWjpSSY3XSKJF_NAvKdXoFyoyP9lPUn9dpMGXJWndQBt_L4HzsS83ulLD7cRjmpDm8m0H5_KfNAo-S6R8Rfvrec6ss/s1600-h/miguel23a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309402896934058290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1luhOVgaiklhaZ5TFL1qdGB2A7aPW3c3ttJHZ8rxCW5QYLXR5sLWjpSSY3XSKJF_NAvKdXoFyoyP9lPUn9dpMGXJWndQBt_L4HzsS83ulLD7cRjmpDm8m0H5_KfNAo-S6R8Rfvrec6ss/s400/miguel23a.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 308px; height: 202px;" /></a> Colombia extradited reputed cocaine kingpin Miguel Angel Mejia on Wednesday, making him the 16th paramilitary warlord dispatched to the United States on drug trafficking charges in less than a year.The 49-year-old Mejia was an anomaly among far-right militia bosses. After initially demobilizing in a peace pact with the government, he returned to being a fugitive and authorities say he ran a major drug gang.His extradition Wednesday aboard a DEA Super King turboprop plane was confirmed by Col. German Jaimes, deputy director of Colombia's judicial police, who said Mejia was bound for Washington, D.C. News media were not invited to witness the departure. Police killed Mejia's twin brother and alleged crime partner Victor in an April 2008 raid. Mejia himself was captured the next month in a false compartment in a truck cab. The United States had offered $5 million rewards for the capture of either Mejia, who were known as the twins, "Los Mellizos" in SpanishMiguel Angel was first indicted in the United States in 2000 and is to be tried in District of Columbia federal court.He and brother began trafficking in the 1990s and shipped 4 to 10 metric tons of cocaine to the United States and Europe monthly, according to Col. Cesar Pinzon, chief of Colombia's judicial police.Mejia's lawyer, Angelica Maria Martinez, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that her client faced no charges in Colombia but nevertheless confessed to leading a far-right militia that she said was responsible for the massacre of 10 people in 2004 in a town called Flor Amarillo. Prosecutors say they are investigating Mejia's involvement in many more killings. Martinez said Mejia was hoping that in exchange for confessing to his crimes and handing over ill-gotten gains he might negotiate a reduced sentence in the United States.U.S. prosecutors have shown themselves ill-disposed to such deals, however, seeking prison terms of well over 20 years for other Colombian paramilitary warlords extradited there on drug trafficking charges.Since taking office in 2002, President Alvaro Uribe has extradited more than 800 criminal suspects to the United States to stand trial, the vast majority on drug trafficking charges.

Miguel Angel Mejia reputed cocaine kingpin extradited

Colombia extradited reputed cocaine kingpin Miguel Angel Mejia on Wednesday, making him the 16th paramilitary warlord dispatched to the Unit...

Martin Gowan was jailed for 18 months and his fall from grace was completed when he had to forfeit £14,175 under the Proceeds of Crime Act

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQhYN-UjPa8wb5K0X33JpxlfZNT-UhJOVdGO5wL3PSt5BY-O2tcNRmPV4-1zDGXD5mW3z3WZpCnV8eu3Gxfs4Gr3nrWQ2rVYKwOcU-5hk5E46bvcafUl2O3yZgfE8AOU0Yi7Q2UqNxWhw/s1600-h/gowan.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309400014621647506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQhYN-UjPa8wb5K0X33JpxlfZNT-UhJOVdGO5wL3PSt5BY-O2tcNRmPV4-1zDGXD5mW3z3WZpCnV8eu3Gxfs4Gr3nrWQ2rVYKwOcU-5hk5E46bvcafUl2O3yZgfE8AOU0Yi7Q2UqNxWhw/s400/gowan.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 215px;" /></a> Financial Investigation Unit successfully applied to Chorley Magistrates' Court to have £14,175 forfeited by Martin Gowan, 44, of Great Meadow, Astley Village. Gowan used to run the Rose and Crown pub in St Thomas's Road, Chorley, and was also a well-known karaoke DJ.He was arrested by police on May 7, 2008, and later pleaded guilty to possessing a Class A drug and intent to supply cocaine.Gowan also admitted a lesser charge of possessing cannabis resin.In Feburary he was jailed for 18 months and his fall from grace was completed when he had to forfeit £14,175 under the Proceeds of Crime Act, half of which was returned to Lancashire Constabulary.Tests revealed the cash recovered was heavily contaminated with cocaine.Insp Alison Harris, who co-ordinated the raid on Gowan's home last May, said: "This conviction is really good news for the community in Astley Village. Last year's raids were conducted with intelligence from the local community and it shows the good results we can achieve when the police and local people work together."Let this be a reminder to people that neither the police nor the courts will tolerate drugs and the supply of drugs in our neighbourhoods."Gowan's role at the Rose and Crown is unclear although he's said to have taken over the running of the pub from the previous owner last year.Although he never officially applied to change the licence into his name, revellers say he was a permanent fixture behind the bar and on the turntables as the resident karaoke DJ.A spokesman for Scottish and Newcastle brewery, which is responsible for the pub said: "In respect of the Rose and Crown, I can confirm that Mr Gowan has no involvement with the pub and has been banned from the premises by the current licence holder."

Martin Gowan was jailed for 18 months and his fall from grace was completed when he had to forfeit £14,175 under the Proceeds of Crime Act

Financial Investigation Unit successfully applied to Chorley Magistrates' Court to have £14,175 forfeited by Martin Gowan, 44, of Great ...

Beau Michael Yakimishyn, 26, has forfeited his northeast Edmonton home, his $20,000 motorcycle and his $80,000 customized car

Beau Michael Yakimishyn, 26, has forfeited his northeast Edmonton home, his $20,000 motorcycle and his $80,000 customized car as proceeds of crime.Yakimishyn yesterday pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking cocaine and is slated to begin a two-day sentencing hearing in Court of Queen's Bench this morning.According to agreed facts, Yakimishyn sold cocaine at the ounce and kilogram level between April 23, 2005, and Feb. 14, 2006, and was involved in purchasing the drug and distributing it to street-level dealers.As a result of the wiretap operation by Mounties from Alberta, British Columbia and Newfoundland, as well as police from Edmonton and Calgary, it was learned that Yakimishyn was going to Calgary to buy cocaine in January 2006.He returned with more than four kilos of the drug, with an estimated value of $100,000, and converted half of it into crack cocaine at his residence. He then gave an unidentified man three kilos, however that person was nabbed after leaving Yakimishyn's home.An hour later, Yakimishyn left the home and was arrested after police found one kilo of powder cocaine and 25 grams of crack cocaine in the waistband of his pants.Police then used a warrant to search the home and seized an additional 98 grams of crack cocaine as well as a BlackBerry device that contained information relating to the trafficking organization.Court heard Yakimishyn is forfeiting any interest he has in his residence at 16103 73 St. other than $20,000 which was gifted to him for the down payment.As well, he is forfeiting his 2005 Custom Rigid motorcycle, purchased for $20,000, and his 2005 Chrysler 300C customized car, which was bought for $44,000, but valued at $80,000 after upgrades.Yakimishyn had been facing trial with three other alleged drug traffickers, including John Reginald Alcantara, 36, a full-patch member of the Edmonton Hells Angels. That trial continues.In November 2006, police announced they had seized 20 kilos of cocaine, three kg of marijuana, methamphetamine, guns, prohibited weapons and more than $2 million in cash, cars, trucks, motorcycles, recreational vehicles, jewelry and homes as part of a massive wiretap investigation dubbed Project KOKER.Eighteen people were charged following the 23-month investigation involving 100 officers, including Alcantara and fellow Hells Angel Alan Peter Knapczyk, 34.Police said the arrests were made using intelligence and wiretaps to intercept 58,000 private communications.

Beau Michael Yakimishyn, 26, has forfeited his northeast Edmonton home, his $20,000 motorcycle and his $80,000 customized car

Beau Michael Yakimishyn, 26, has forfeited his northeast Edmonton home, his $20,000 motorcycle and his $80,000 customized car as proceeds of...

Kiel Povall, of Birkenhead, was sentenced in Jersey and received five years.

Kiel Povall, of Birkenhead, was sentenced in Jersey and received five years. Working as a courier, the 21-year-old was stopped at Jersey airport in August last year by Customs officials, minutes after landing on the island.He was found to have 12 packages of cocaine hidden internally, which amounted to 167 grams of the drug. Sir Philip told Povall: “In Jersey, we hate drugs, especially Class A drugs, because they cause misery to those who become addicted to them and they cause distress to their families as well.”Police on British islands like Jersey and the Isle of Man have launched high-profile operations to stop dealers from cities flooding drugs across from the mainland.Steve Le Marquand, director of law enforcement at Jersey Customs, said: “Both these men are typical drugs couriers.“Jersey has a strict zero-tolerance approach to drug smuggling in any form, and any individual who endeavours to bring illegal drugs to the island will be prosecuted with the full force of the law.”

Kiel Povall, of Birkenhead, was sentenced in Jersey and received five years.

Kiel Povall, of Birkenhead, was sentenced in Jersey and received five years. Working as a courier, the 21-year-old was stopped at Jersey ai...

Timothy Pierce, 24, was arrested after he was caught bringing in 2,400 Ecstasy tablets across on a ferry from Portsmouth.

Timothy Pierce, 24, was arrested after he was caught bringing in 2,400 Ecstasy tablets across on a ferry from Portsmouth.The Birkenhead man ...

Victoria Nicholson's who flew to China to start a new life with a man she met on the internet has been jailed in Australia

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtDDU5SWwXJiYY5CZfsR51I58bgk4zbeh4hpNxOvczG6R5whyVDBPYijKruA8EzOy7pYL3obX90L-QE0YY0OSPbXtK38X6SPZ-A1Yi4Kb4FR7MainefHExmrG3omk0Y_27wl2YIZKUY6E/s1600-h/viv.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308670125572159010" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtDDU5SWwXJiYY5CZfsR51I58bgk4zbeh4hpNxOvczG6R5whyVDBPYijKruA8EzOy7pYL3obX90L-QE0YY0OSPbXtK38X6SPZ-A1Yi4Kb4FR7MainefHExmrG3omk0Y_27wl2YIZKUY6E/s400/viv.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 298px;" /></a> A British woman who flew to China to start a new life with a man she met on the internet has been jailed in Australia after he forced her to smuggle drugs. Victoria Nicholson's story was revealed today as police in Sydney began an investigation with the Chinese to track down the cruel hoaxer.The school teacher wrote 'Love is blind' on an internet dating site as she searched for a companion after a string of failed relationships. 'Love is blind': Victoria Nicholson is in an Australian jail after she was fooled by a Nigerian drug runner whom she met online Miss Nicholson endured several abusive relationships, but raised two children.She headed off to Turkey for a holiday and met a man in Fetya who was to become her husband - but the marriage failed when she found out he was a gigolo trying to use her to get British citizenship.Her search for love on the internet was 'like an addiction' she told Sydney's Sun-Herald newspaper in an interview in a Sydney prison. Then, online, she met a Nigerian called Emmanuel.He told her he loved her and offered the woman a new life in China.Miss Nicholson's 22-year-old daughter warned her about taking the trip to Guangshou. But on the promise of a job and a lover, the lonely heart took off from London in July 2007. She told her family she had nothing to lose.Emmanuel met her at the airport in China and helped her find a job at a private school but within weeks things began to change. Her plans to return home by Christmas collapsed when her return ticket to England disappeared - and Emmanuel started going out alone at night.When she asked if another woman was involved, he said that was not the case but added: 'Nothing's for nothing, Victoria.' Miss Nicholson described the horror scene that followed. When her lover returned home one night with two other Nigerian men, he told her that she and he would be delivering a packet of 'important medicine' to Australia. But the means of carrying the small package was to be her own body - forced into her during a sex session.She was put on a plane with an escort, who disappeared in the transit lounge of Bangkok airport. She didn't approach any officials to tell them of her plight, fearing that another member of the drug ring was on board the plane. At Sydney airport, she was pulled aside by customs officers and confessed immediately to the secret package she was carrying.She has since pleaded guilty to a charge of importing a marketable quantity of an illegal drug - 264 grams of heroin - and has been sentenced to a four and a half years jail.'If I'm truthful to myself, I've been a fool,' she told the newspaper.Miss Nicholson has pleaded with Australian authorities to serve out her jail term in Britain so she can be closer to her mother, her daughter and her 21-year-old son, a Royal Navy Iraq veteran.

Victoria Nicholson's who flew to China to start a new life with a man she met on the internet has been jailed in Australia

A British woman who flew to China to start a new life with a man she met on the internet has been jailed in Australia after he forced her to...

Richard Rudolph Gayle, 38, was yesterday apprehended at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA)

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPaiUdHh7EkYjI849lcEGvjpEDJGZ5FbruDyL5x0QR26GgbsZzxOnhxTDjb6i5x6DKs0J6y30xKZ8YRRqC3GX2Vh_Jfn0BN0kaOMOW0VIs1zDZCGrTRrs62V5Qm4URQY3dmNIuKw4JsPA/s1600-h/richard-rudolph-gayle.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308667583735466242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPaiUdHh7EkYjI849lcEGvjpEDJGZ5FbruDyL5x0QR26GgbsZzxOnhxTDjb6i5x6DKs0J6y30xKZ8YRRqC3GX2Vh_Jfn0BN0kaOMOW0VIs1zDZCGrTRrs62V5Qm4URQY3dmNIuKw4JsPA/s400/richard-rudolph-gayle.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 237px;" /></a> Richard Rudolph Gayle, 38, was yesterday apprehended at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) at approximately 5:00 hours by the Police Narcotics Unit, under the suspicion that he had swallowed pellets containing cocaine. The suspected cocaine swallower, Richard Rudolph Gayle, who was apprehended at the CJIA yesterday.Gayle is currently under police guard at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) after X-rays of his abdomen showed several foreign objects in his stomach.The Jamaican, who arrived in Guyana on February 26, was an outgoing passenger at the CJIA bound for Trinidad and Tobago when he was searched by the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU). Their initial search discovered no drugs on his person, but Gayle was later detained by the Police Narcotics Unit. Gayle is said to be cooperating with the police, as he has taken the laxatives necessary to help him pass the pellets out of his system.A few weeks ago another Jamaican national, Errol Barrette, spent three days at the GPHC before finally excreting the pellets containing the illicit substance. He was lucky that none of the pellets containing the drug had ruptured in his stomach.Over the last few years, several drug mules have died when the pellets, containing the drugs they were trafficking, burst while still inside them.

Richard Rudolph Gayle, 38, was yesterday apprehended at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA)

Richard Rudolph Gayle, 38, was yesterday apprehended at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) at approximately 5:00 hours by the Pol...

Steven Atiyeh, 33, of Miami, was returned to U.S. police on the weekend after being intercepted Feb. 17 while arriving at Pearson

Steven Atiyeh, 33, of Miami, was returned to U.S. police on the weekend after being intercepted Feb. 17 while arriving at Pearson on a fligh...

Accused drug dealer Richard Buttrose was arrested after police discovered more than $1.3 million in cash and 7.7kg of cocaine

Accused drug dealer Richard Buttrose was arrested after police discovered more than $1.3 million in cash and 7.7kg of cocaine hidden in a Darling Point apartment. Buttrose, the father of a 21-month-old son and whose wife Pollyanna is expecting to give birth on Monday, was released on bail on Thursday after police had allegedl already caught him selling $2500 worth of cocaine.Yesterday morning, about 9am, as he was reporting to Rose Bay police station to meet his bail conditions, police seized the opportunity to arrest him again. While he stayed at his mother's Vaucluse home overnight they had raided the Darling Point apartment on Sutherland Crescent believed to be connected to him.Detectives estimate the street value of the cocaine found there yesterday would be about $2 million. Police said the latest raid was part of a crackdown on street-level drug dealing in Sydney's eastern suburbs and that their investigations were continuing.Buttrose, who is the son of the publishing icon's late brother, appeared before Central Local Court on Thursday charged with five counts of supplying a prohibited drug as well as possession and goods in custody after more police raids at Paddington and Enmore. <blockquote>At noon on Wednesday, undercover officers allegedly watched him sell 2g of cocaine to a man outside the Phoenix Hotel on Moncur St, Woollahra. He was later arrested in his Mercedes on Ocean St. His mother, Elizabeth Buttrose, had already put up $300,000 bail in order to have her son released the first time. Under those bail conditions, Buttrose was to stay inside her Vaucluse home from 6.30pm to 6.30am and report to police twice a day.</blockquote> His lawyer, Brett Galloway, told Central Local Court on Thursday Buttrose's occupation was "company director" - and that his client was in the process of producing a reality television program that turned ordinary people into racing car drivers.A 32-year-old man from Mascot was also arrested and charged on Thursday with possessing a prohibited drug. He was granted strict conditional bail and ordered to reappear in the Downing Centre Local Court on March 18.He was expected to be charged over yesterday's raid last night and is expected to appear before Parramatta Local Court today.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfci6ORJeLx5qR4OpI5nr-D53lUo-NCTrAY9xflhSJtq5IS0Yb7G1RLhgZHo9CFTV18LMHF-eNULMTxXUft1V3OnZf35xNYzqF-uk_lkdQ7vsojXGtnJMv-d8fgZUEEFXvnwUWLVtAnDA/s1600-h/richard++2.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308664483011697906" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfci6ORJeLx5qR4OpI5nr-D53lUo-NCTrAY9xflhSJtq5IS0Yb7G1RLhgZHo9CFTV18LMHF-eNULMTxXUft1V3OnZf35xNYzqF-uk_lkdQ7vsojXGtnJMv-d8fgZUEEFXvnwUWLVtAnDA/s400/richard++2.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 350px; height: 240px;" /></a>

Accused drug dealer Richard Buttrose was arrested after police discovered more than $1.3 million in cash and 7.7kg of cocaine

Accused drug dealer Richard Buttrose was arrested after police discovered more than $1.3 million in cash and 7.7kg of cocaine hidden in a Da...

Andrew Haig, from Peacehaven, was arrested in Bristol with £34,000 cash

Andrew Haig, from Peacehaven, was arrested in Bristol with £34,000 cash - and told police he found the money under a hedge while relieving himself. Haig, of Cavell Road North, was jailed for three and a half years for conspiracy to supply cocaine on Friday. He was caught after selling cocaine to a dealer described as a ‘regional supplier’ in Bath. A list of names and sums of money then led detectives to other members of the drugs ring. Five men were jailed at Bristol Crown Court following a police operation involving 52 days of surveillance at a Bath nightclub. Duncan Whitefoot, 48, from Chippenham, was jailed for eight years for conspiring to supply cocaine and cannabis. He was found with 1kg of cocaine of 48% purity, which police said he had just bought from Haig in the car park of an Ikea store, and ten bars of cannabis resin. He ran Burdells Yard nightclub in Bath, along with Stephen Carter, 54 of Monkton Farleigh, Wiltshire, who was sentenced to five and a half years on the same charges. Geoffrey Skardon, 48, from Bristol, and Timothy Wimble, 46, of Corsham, Wiltshire, were each jailed for five years for the cocaine conspiracy. Detective Constable Chris Hitchcock of Wiltshire Police said: “These defendants have been supplying drugs across the south of England during several months, and who is to know the extent of the misery they have caused to young people?”

Andrew Haig, from Peacehaven, was arrested in Bristol with £34,000 cash

Andrew Haig, from Peacehaven, was arrested in Bristol with £34,000 cash - and told police he found the money under a hedge while relieving h...

Travis M. Smith,fled on foot after stepping out of a vehicle in a hotel parking lot on South Blackstock Road

Travis M. Smith, 30, must serve 85 percent of the sentence issued by Judge J. Derham Cole before he is eligible for parole.Spartanburg Count...

James Lotharp on Friday was sentenced to three years in prison for drug possession

James Lotharp on Friday was sentenced to three years in prison for drug possession by Senior Erie County Judge Michael L. D’Amico. One of a ...

Ian Donaldson, 29, was snared by Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency officers

Ian Donaldson, 29, was snared by Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency officers on Friday afternoon. They swooped using an international arrest warrant issued by a judge in Madrid. Now Donaldson, of Renton, Dunbartonshire, faces extradition to Spain where he is expected to face money laundering and drug trafficking charges. The arrest is part of Operation Sendero - a long-running investigation spearheaded by Spanish police. Fellow suspects Ronald O'Dea, 4 2, and Jim McDonald, 59, both of Glasgow, are already in custody in Madrid.They were arrested following the seizure of 70 kilos of amphetamines from a lorry in Oxfordshire heading for Scotland. Spanish police have already seized assets worth £12million on the holiday island of Tenerife. The haul includes eight luxury homes, a fleet of sports cars and a yacht which were all owned by Donaldson. One of his properties is a £1million cliff-top villa. Donaldson will appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court tomorrow. A decision will be taken whether to keep him in custody in Scotland, transfer him to Spain immediately, or grant him bail. Last month we revealed Donaldson had been spotted enjoying a night out with pals in a Glasgow nightclub despite being a wanted man. The SCDEA said: "A 29-year-old man was arrested following the execution of an arrest warrant which had been issued in Spain." Donaldson is a struggling amateur racing driver whose team compete in an orange Lamborghini.

Ian Donaldson, 29, was snared by Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency officers

Ian Donaldson, 29, was snared by Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency officers on Friday afternoon. They swooped using an internationa...

Gary Robb, who ran The Colosseum Club in Norton in the 1990s, faces four conspiracy charges - conspiracy to supply Class A and B drugs Ecstasy

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcMeZE7XUKsus6r4R1ieWya3sEYAholUpbkXw6Tk8KrxezuH98oKTAXz855h76gHBSEqYtyHdaBhAvyLb2ngBPz8YuUQACRQVnnI-xnrziKNaEwTbfui-O914aDkqS-zIJK4K3xaqIGdY/s1600-h/gary.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308287055921866274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcMeZE7XUKsus6r4R1ieWya3sEYAholUpbkXw6Tk8KrxezuH98oKTAXz855h76gHBSEqYtyHdaBhAvyLb2ngBPz8YuUQACRQVnnI-xnrziKNaEwTbfui-O914aDkqS-zIJK4K3xaqIGdY/s400/gary.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 280px; height: 390px;" /></a> Gary Robb, who ran The Colosseum Club in Norton in the 1990s, faces four conspiracy charges - conspiracy to supply Class A and B drugs Ecstasy, amphetamimes, cannabis and cannabis resin between 1994 and 1996, and also failure to surrender on July 24, 1998.Gary Robb, 46, and his mother Mavis, 71, appeared at Teesside Crown Court before the Recorder of Middlesbrough Judge Peter Fox QC yesterday.His mother was charged with two offences of doing acts tending and intending to pervert the course of public justice between September and November 1997 by assisting him to flee from the UK.Their barrister Mark Harries said that they would be pleading not guilty, and there would be an application to move the trial to another part of the country because of previous publicity.Mr Harries said a bail application for frail Mrs Robb would be made next Thursday.The Robbs, whose UK address was formerly West Road, Denton Burn, Newcastle, were both remanded in custody until May 29.

Gary Robb, who ran The Colosseum Club in Norton in the 1990s, faces four conspiracy charges - conspiracy to supply Class A and B drugs Ecstasy

Gary Robb, who ran The Colosseum Club in Norton in the 1990s, faces four conspiracy charges - conspiracy to supply Class A and B drugs Ecsta...