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Top Ten Cities for arresting Americans


The top 10 cities where Americans were arrested and the number taken into custody:
1. Tijuana: 520
2. Guadalajara: 416
3. Nuevo Laredo: 359
4. London: 274
5. Mexico City: 208
6. Toronto: 183
7. Nassau, Bahamas: 108
8. MĆ©rida, Mexico: 99
9. Nogales, Mexico: 96
10. Hong Kong: 90

Arrests WorldWide (Drug Enforcement)

Arrests WorldWide (Drug Enforcement)

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2,500 citizens are arrested abroad. One third of the arrests are on drug-related charges. Many of those arrested assumed as U.S. citizens that they could not be arrested. From Asia to Africa, Europe to South America, citizens are finding out the hard way that drug possession or trafficking equals jail in foreign countries.
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Drug Enforcement automatically monitors news articles and blog posts tracking breaking news of arrests and drug incidents as they happen worldwide .These inter-active News Reports are followed as they develop. Giving you the chance to comment on breaking stories as they happen. Drug Enforcement alerts you to topics that are frequently linked to and commented upon in the world press. Someone is arrested every 20 seconds for a drug related offense !Readers are solely responsible for the content of the comments they post here. Comments are subject to the Blogspots terms and conditions of use and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or approval of the Drug Enforcement site. Readers whose comments violate the terms of use may have their comments removed or all of their content blocked from viewing by other users without notification.

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Tuesday, April 26

Alleghany Highlands task force begins arrests of 73 indicted in drug cases

Alleghany Highlands Drug Task Force on Monday began rounding up more than 70 people indicted earlier this month on drug charges, Alleghany County Sheriff Kevin Hall said.

The drug investigation began about a year ago and involved cocaine, crack, marijuana, methamphetamine and prescription medicines, Hall said. Earlier this month, the case went before a special grand jury, which indicted 73 people on a total of nearly 250 charges, Hall said.

Many of the suspects were arrested on charges of possessing drugs with the intention to distribute them, Lt. Col. Matt Bowser said.

"These aren't simple drug users," Bowser said.

Officers began the roundup Monday, Hall said.

The Alleghany Highlands Drug Task Force includes officers from the Alleghany, Bath and Highland counties sheriff's offices as well as Virginia State Police troopers.

 

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Malaysian courts sentence 2 Indian citizens to death by hanging for drug trafficking

Officials say Malaysian courts have sentenced two Indian citizens to a mandatory penalty of death by hanging for separate cases of drug trafficking.
An official in a High Court near Kuala Lumpur says businessman Samad Mohamed Sulthan was convicted Monday of smuggling 9 pounds (4 kilograms) of ketamine in a jewelry box at Malaysia's main international airport in February 2009.
Another court official in northern Kelantan state says clothes seller Mukhtar Shakeer Aslien was convicted Monday of smuggling ketamine at the state's airport. Authorities found him in possession of 19 pounds (9 kilograms) of ketamine hidden in photograph frames in July 2009.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity Tuesday because they were not allowed to make public statements.


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Monday, April 25

Academic held after girl's death

A university academic has been arrested after a teenage girl died within hours of being taken ill at a party in west London, which left three others in hospital.
Her death is currently being treated as "unexplained", but police are examining whether she died after taking drugs.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "This is a line of inquiry. We await the results of the post mortem examination."
Officers were alerted by London Ambulance Service at around 4.10am on Saturday after the 15-year-old became unwell at a house in Barlby Road, north Kensington, west London.
The teenager, named by police as Isobel Clara Reilly, of Acton, west London, was taken to hospital but died later that morning.
Police said a 60-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possession of drugs and child abandonment. He was subsequently bailed to return on a date in June. He is understood to be Brian Dodgeon, a research fellow at the University of London's Institute of Education.
A 14-year-old girl, believed to be Mr Dodgeon's daughter and two boys, both aged 14, were also taken to hospital as a precaution and remain in hospital under observation.
Det Sgt Neil Philpott, from Kensington and Chelsea borough, appealed for fellow party goers to come forward with information.
He said: "We believe the victim was taken ill during a party at the address in Barlby Road. We are yet to make contact with all those who attended and would ask anyone who was present at any point during the evening to make contact with officers."
In a statement released through police, Miss Reilly's family said: "Isobel's family and friends are devastated and heartbroken by her untimely death. We hope that if anything positive comes from this dreadful event, it is that others will make the right decisions to be safe and well in the future."

 

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arrested. Hank H. Holloway, Kelly R. Adkins, Marsha A. Holloway, and Michael L. Adkins of Chesterhill, Ohio were taken into custody along with Nicole Pauley, of McConnelsville, Ohio.

The Washingtion-Morgan Major Crimes Task Force executed six search warrants on a major drug trafficking operation.

Authorities have seized over $800,000 in cash and large quantities of illegal drugs have been recovered.  

Several people have been arrested. Hank H. Holloway, Kelly R. Adkins, Marsha A. Holloway, and Michael L. Adkins of Chesterhill, Ohio were taken into custody along with Nicole Pauley, of McConnelsville, Ohio.

A 17-year old juvenile was also arrested.

In all, police seized nearly 200 pounds of marijuana, over 800-thousand dollars in cash, ten vehicles, two jet skis, a motorcycle and nearly 100 guns.

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Australian Michael Sacatides has reacted with shock

 

Australian Michael Sacatides has reacted with shock after being hit with a heavier jail term than expected, with judges sentencing him to 18 years for smuggling almost two kilograms of methamphetamine into Bali.

The kickboxing trainer from Sydney's west, found carrying 1.7 kilograms of methamphetamine in a hidden compartment in his suitcase when he arrived on a flight from Thailand last year, was convicted of drug trafficking in the Denpasar District Court today.

However, before Monday's appearance, Sacatides had been expecting a sentence of no more than 16 years, as requested by prosecutors earlier this month after they decided not to ask for the death penalty.

 

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Tuesday, April 19

Thai police arrest 20th Iranian in drug smuggling case at Bangkok airport this year

Thai police say a man arrested while trying to move crystal methamphetamine through Bangkok's international airport is at least the 20th Iranian caught smuggling drugs this year.
Police Col. Pornchai Charoenwong of the Narcotics Suppression Bureau said Monday the seizure of 6.8 kilograms (15 pounds) of the drug was the largest haul at the airport this year.
He said 27-year-old Mehdi Nikzad admitted after his Saturday arrest at Suvarnabhumi Airport on arrival from Abu Dhabi that he was hired by fellow Iranians to smuggle the drug to Malaysia.
Pornchai said the seized drugs were valued at 20 million baht ($655,000).
Drug smuggling carries a possible death sentence in Thailand, but the penalty is infrequently applied.


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German police: $6 million in cocaine seized in strike against trans-Atlantic drug smugglers

German police say almost $6 million worth of cocaine was seized and five people arrested in a crackdown on a group suspected of smuggling the drug from the Caribbean to Germany and Austria in private aircraft.
Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office said Monday that it worked with Croatia, Austria and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, on the case.
It says authorities trailed five suspects after they flew into Stuttgart in a chartered jet last week and hired two cars.
Austrian police stopped one of the cars near the border with Slovenia, found 231 pounds (105 kilos) of cocaine worth some €4 million ($5.8 million) on board and arrested the driver and passenger, a Canadian man and woman.
Slovenian police later stopped the other car. They found no drugs but arrested the three Croatian men inside.


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Friday, April 8

man has pleaded guilty in a drug-smuggling case involving the seizure of 4,497 pounds of marijuana brought from Jamaica and to Bay St. Louis.

James Stavely O’Carroll, the captain of the Sarah Moira, an 80-foot sailboat, has entered his plea in U.S. District Court in Gulfport.
He faces 10 years to life in prison. He is held pending sentencing.
O’Carroll and two others were detained Nov. 21 while the sailboat was searched at the Port of Gulfport.
“The conviction of O’Carroll and dismantling of the narcotics smuggling organization with which he was associated, underscores how effective the BEST concept has proven to be,” said
Raymond R. Parmer, Jr., special agent in charge of ICE HSI in New Orleans.
“By leveraging the combined investigative expertise of our domestic and international partners, we are able to fully and effectively address criminal activity that could undermine and threaten our ports of entry”.
Parmer oversees a five-state area which includes Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee.

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54-year-old Mexican citizen was arrested this week in connection with a foiled drug smuggling attempt of cocaine that carried an estimated worth of more than $2.8 million

54-year-old Mexican citizen was arrested this week in connection with a foiled drug smuggling attempt of cocaine that carried an estimated worth of more than $2.8 million, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported today.

U.S. Border Patrol agents at the Interstate 8 checkpoint found the illegal narcotic Wednesday hidden in a makeshift compartment of a Ford F-250 pickup truck. A drug-sniffing dog alerted the agents to the vehicle, a press statement read.

The total weight of the packaged cocaine is about 88 pounds, according to the statement.

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Greenock drug arrests lead to £237,000 heroin haul


Three people have been arrested during a drugs operation which resulted in the seizure of heroin with an estimated street value of £237,000.

Two men, aged 23 and 29, and a 26-year-old woman were detained by police in Greenock, Inverclyde, on Wednesday.

The operation was led by the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency with support from Strathclyde Police and is part of a wider investigation.

Those arrested are expected to appear at Greenock Sheriff Court later.

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Wednesday, April 6

TWO Zimbabwean women face the death penalty in Malaysia after they appeared in court in the capital Kuala Lumpur last week facing charges of trafficking 7kg of cocaine worth US$900 000.

TWO Zimbabwean women face the death penalty in Malaysia after they appeared in court in the capital Kuala Lumpur last week facing charges of trafficking 7kg of cocaine worth US$900 000.
This comes as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has warned Zimbabweans to be wary of international drug syndicates that reportedly target locals in their deals.
The drug cartels are increasingly using Zimbabweans as mules to take hard drugs to Asian countries, where such crimes attract the death sentence or life imprisonment.
The two women — Faith Rusere and Joyce Tafadzwa Munhenga (whose ages were not given) — made their first court appearance in a Malaysian court last Monday after they were arrested recently for possession of 7kg of cocaine valued at US$900 000.
According to Malaysian police, the drugs were found hidden in the inner layer of a suitcase and in oil filters.
The two women, who have denied the charges, claim that the drugs were inserted into their luggage without their knowledge.
Rusere was arrested at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport after she had travelled from South Africa to Malaysia via Ghana and Morocco purportedly to purchase the oil filters for a South African citizen.
She was arrested at the airport after police discovered 3,850kg of cocaine in the oil filters.
Munhenga was arrested when her suitcase, which she had travelled with from Mozambique, was confiscated at the Malaysian airport.
About 3,2kg of cocaine was discovered hidden in the suitcase’s inner lining.
Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mr Joey Bimha confirmed the arrest of the two women. He said under Malaysian law, drug offences carried a mandatory death sentence, adding that Zimbabwe had little jurisdiction to intervene in the case.
“When our citizens are arrested, we can only provide assistance in the form of consular services.
“In Malaysia, the laws clearly spell out the death sentence when one is arrested and, unfortunately, we cannot interfere in any way with the laws of other countries,” he said.
An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who asked not to be named revealed that international drug syndicates were targeting Zimbabwean citizens to transport their consignments because locals had lesser chances of raising suspicion. This is the first case involving Zimbabweans in Malaysia.
Malaysia’s charge d’affaires Mr Nijon Muhammad said his embassy holds pre-departure briefings with people travelling to inform them of the tough drug laws in his country.
In 2009, two Zimbabwean women were sentenced to death while 10 others were sentenced to life in prison after they were convicted of drug trafficking in China

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Guatemala's most wanted suspected drugs lord, Juan Ortiz Lopez, has been captured by US and Guatemalan agents.


Soldiers and police in helicopters swooped on Mr Ortiz's home in the city of Quetzaltenango.

He is accused of smuggling tonnes of cocaine through Guatemala and Mexico into the US.

The operation is the latest sign of the US's growing involvement in the fight against organised crime in Central America.

"This is the capture of a big fish," Guatemalan interior minister Carlos Menocal told a news conference after Mr Ortiz was flown to Guatemala City and taken to court.

He added that Mr Ortiz would probably be extradited to the US to face trial.

Guatemala is struggling against the growing influence of Mexican drugs cartels in large areas of the country.

Earlier this month US President Barack Obama promised $200m (£125m) in extra funds for the fight against organised crime in Central America during a visit to neighbouring El Salvador.

The UN has also promised more international support for Central America, amid concerns that the region's government's do not have the resources to contain the growing power of the drugs cartels.

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Yong Vui Kong, a 23-year-old Malaysian who faces execution for smuggling 47 grams (1.7 ounces) of heroin to Singapore, lost a bid at the city state’s highest court for a presidential review of his sentence.

Yong Vui Kong, a 23-year-old Malaysian who faces execution for smuggling 47 grams (1.7 ounces) of heroin to Singapore, lost a bid at the city state’s highest court for a presidential review of his sentence.

Yong’s lawyer M. Ravi asked a three-judge appeal panel to re-examine Singapore’s clemency process, in the first case of its kind. Ravi had argued the president had the power to grant a pardon, rather than Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s cabinet, which had earlier advised President SR Nathan not to commute the sentence.

Yong’s appeal was “devoid of merit,” Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong said in delivering the verdict today on behalf of a three-judge panel.

Singapore, which has one of the world’s lowest crime rates, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes, has a mandatory death sentence for drug smuggling. Yong had lost an earlier appeal in which he argued the mandatory provision was unconstitutional.

Ravi said he plans to appeal again to the city state’s cabinet seeking clemency.

“He was hoping for the best,” Ravi said after the ruling. “He’s deeply disappointed and aggrieved by the judgment.”

Yong, who appeared in court today in a purple prison jumpsuit with his head shaved, was a former kitchen helper who sold DVDs in a night market. He claimed he tried to provide money for his mother by smuggling drugs into Singapore. An online petition appealing for clemency for Yong had at least 42,039 signatures.

Mandatory Death Sentence

Singapore also imposes a mandatory death sentence for murder and some firearms offenses. The city’s overall crime rate slipped 0.6 percent to 32,986 cases last year, according to data from the police.

“We take a very serious view of drug trafficking,” Lee said in December 2005, when he dismissed Australia’s calls to commute Australian drug smuggler Nguyen Tuong Van’s death sentence. “The penalty is death.”

Nguyen’s death sentence for smuggling 396 grams of heroin into Singapore in 2002 caused an uproar in Australia. Consumers, politicians and newspapers editorials there called for boycotts of companies including Singapore Telecommunications Ltd.’s Optus unit and Singapore Airlines Ltd.

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Saturday, April 2

Romanian police arrest 4 people, seize 150kg of cocaine hidden in Bolivian timber shipment

Police say they have arrested four people and seized 150 kilograms (330 pounds) of cocaine hidden in a shipment of Bolivian timber.
Police said in a Thursday statement the cocaine was found in a container in the Black Sea port of Constanta. It originated in South America and had been shipped to a warehouse in northwest Romania.
Anti-crime prosecutors Thursday seized the cocaine, and arrested four people, including a Spanish national of Romanian descent.

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Frederick Johnson, 40, and his one-time girlfriend, Brandi Lynn Watson, 27, both of Wallace Street S.E., are being tried together in the courtroom of Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge Peter Kontos

Frederick Johnson, 40, and his one-time girlfriend, Brandi Lynn Watson, 27, both of Wallace Street S.E., are being tried together in the courtroom of Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge Peter Kontos. A jury of four men and eight women were seated Tuesday.

Assistant county prosecutor Chris Becker, who is up against defense attorneys for each of the defendants, said although agents with Trumbull Ashtabula Group Law Enforcement Task Force already were investigating Johnson and Watson, it was a high speed chase through Warren on Jan. 16, 2010, that broke the case open.

Becker said TAG agents had two places under surveillance and were following a car carrying both defendants, a .40 caliber Glock pistol, nearly 400 grams of heroin and 4.5 ounces of cocaine when the chase started through the east side, sometimes reaching speeds of 70 mph and sometimes with cars jumping curbs onto a sidewalk.

At one point on Porter Street N.E., Becker said, the car driven by Johnson rammed an undercover car driven by Deputy Dave Hoover, who is expected to testify during the trial.

The drugs and the gun were thrown out of the car and later recovered by police, and both suspects escaped from the vehicle on Belvedere Avenue, running in different directions, Becker said. Watson was arrested later that night in a garage on Atlantic Street and Johnson turned himself into his parole officer in Liberty within a couple days.

Becker said Kenneth Cook, a mechanic who had borrowed money from Johnson to start a business and who has pleaded guilty to a drug charge and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, will also testify.

But the first witness, Tom Stewart, who described himself as a former user who was working odd jobs as a contractor at the time, told jurors he observed drug activity at a car wash on West Market Street where he was working. He also saw similar activity at a repair shop that Cook ran and attributed the activity to Johnson and Watson.

Stewart said his father - a major with the Sheriff's Office - warned him to stay away from any drug activity since he was a former user. Stewart said his father put him in touch with Detective Rick Tackett, who works with TAG and who is serving as the lead investigator in the case.

Watson's attorney, Jeff Limbian, and Johnson's attorney, Mark Lavelle, both portrayed Stewart and Cook as associates of their clients who are now pointing fingers at them.

''How tough is it to point fingers at Fred Johnson because he happens to be from Detroit and has a prior conviction?'' Lavelle said.

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Shountario Walker, 28, 511 S. Summer St., Selmer, N.C., is charged with possession of cocaine with intent to sell or deliver.

Shountario Walker, 28, 511 S. Summer St., Selmer, N.C., is charged with possession of cocaine with intent to sell or deliver.

Roderick Ray, 27, 801 S. Summer St., Selmer, N.C., is charged with possession of Schedule II substance (cocaine), evading arrest and tampering with evidence.

The two men were stopped by West Tennessee Drug Task Force Special Agent Russell Burrow on Thursday, March 17, when he initiated a traffic stop on a 2010 Nissan Sentra with out-of-state tags near the junction of Interstate I-155 and Highway 412 in Dyer County.

As the vehicle stopped, Ray, who was the passenger in the vehicle, allegedly fled on foot toward the former Quebecor plant holding a plastic bag.

The driver, Walker, was held and a description of Ray was immediately given out to all law enforcement officers. The Dyersburg Police Depart-ment, Dyer County Sheriff's Department and the Tennessee Highway Patrol conducted a search of the area. Officers found Ray hiding beside several large tanks at the plant.

Both Burrow and West Tennessee Drug Task Force Special Agents Shawn Crouch along with Dyersburg Police Department K-9 Officer Brent Hill utilized their narcotics K-9s to assist in locating the plastic bag Ray was seen carrying as he fled the vehicle. The bag was found on the roof of a building close to where Ray was seen.

According to the arrest warrants for Ray and Walker, the bag contained 2 pounds of cocaine.

Both subjects where transported to the Dyer County Jail and were charged in Dyer County General Sessions Court.

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Two Nigerians were arrested along with a south Delhi-based businessman in the national capital allegedly with 122 grams of cocaine

Two Nigerians were arrested along with a south Delhi-based businessman in the national capital allegedly with 122 grams of cocaine, police said today.

Nigerian nationals Mohemmed Owolabi Adigun (56), physically challenged due to polio, and Akanbi Olamilekan and Shobhan Mittal (30) were apprehended from different places in south Delhi yesterday on a tip off, Arun Kampani, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell), said.

Mittal is a businessman and stays in a rented farmhouse in Chattarpur. He had allegedly taken two grams of cocaine from Olamilekan for personal consumption during his visit to Mohali for the India-Pakistan semifinal match.

Police recovered 122 grams of fine quality cocaine from their possession besides two laptops, a note book, five mobile phones, a Range Rover Car and Rs 20,000 cash.

"We were working for a long time on a specific input about fine quality drugs being supplied from neighbouring countries through different borders, which are brought to Delhi for further sale to the end consumers.

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27-year-old Karin Mackaliunas was detained last weekend following a crash. Scranton police say they found three bags of heroin in her jacket and after being taken to the police station she told investigators she had more hidden in her vagina.

Police in northeastern Pennsylvania say they recovered more than 50 bags of heroin, cash and loose change from a woman following a cavity search.
Authorities say 27-year-old Karin Mackaliunas was detained last weekend following a crash. Scranton police say they found three bags of heroin in her jacket and after being taken to the police station she told investigators she had more hidden in her vagina.
A doctor performed a search and recovered 54 bags of heroin, 31 empty bags used to package heroin, prescription pills and $51.22.
Mackaliunas was jailed on $25,000 bail on charges including possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance. It was not clear if she had an attorney.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Monday.

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convicted two men of kidnapping an American drug trafficker from his home near El Paso two years ago, five days before he turned up dead with his hands chopped off in a city across the border in Mexico.

jury on Friday convicted two men of kidnapping an American drug trafficker from his home near El Paso two years ago, five days before he turned up dead with his hands chopped off in a city across the border in Mexico.

The West Texas Federal Court jury found Cesar Obregon-Reyes and Rafael Vega guilty of abducting Sergio Saucedo from his home on Sept. 3, 2009. They could be sent to prison for life when they are sentenced in July. Attorneys for both men said they would appeal.

Prosecutors say Obregon-Reyes, Vega and a third man, Obregon-Ortiz, kidnapped Saucedo under orders of a Mexican drug cartel in what was a rare case of drug war violence spilling into the U.S. Saucedo's body was found on an unpaved street in Juarez, across the border from El Paso.

Obregon-Ortiz, who gave incriminating testimony about the other two men after his arrest, pleaded guilty to undisclosed charges last week and will be sentenced separately, court documents indicate.

Obregon-Reyes and Vega also were convicted of three other counts Friday, including conspiracy to kidnap and kill in a foreign country, and interstate and foreign travel in aid of racketeering.

"We are going to appeal, I think we have pretty good chance there," Vega's attorney, Robert J. Perez, said after the hearing.

Friends and relatives of the defendants wept as they listened to the jury's verdict.

"Before this, I wanted to become a prosecutor. I wanted to work with the system. Now I'll become a defense attorney to defend innocent people like my cousin", Vega's cousin, Maria Biddlestone, said after the hearing.

During the trial, a bus driver testified that Obregon-Reyes was among a group of men she saw shoving another man into a SUV. Two other witnesses testified that they heard Vega bragging at a party about the abduction and the money, car and drugs he received as payment. Prosecutors also presented an undercover recording in which the defendants were heard discussing a defense strategy and how Obregon-Ortiz had wronged them by talking to detectives.

Defense attorneys argued that Saucedo's wife — who admitted on the witness stand that her husband was a drug trafficker — could not identify the kidnappers, and that it was therefore unlikely that the bus driver could do so after allegedly seeing the abduction for less than 10 seconds. A defense witness also testified that they never went to the party where Vega allegedly bragged about the abduction. They also cited excerpts from the recording in which Obregon-Reyes is heard saying that, when questioned by detectives about the kidnapping, he had told them he didn't do it.

A convicted drug trafficker, testifying under an assumed name, said he and Saucedo had been distributing drugs in the U.S. for more than 16 years and that the owners of a 670-pound marijuana shipment that was intercepted at a Border Patrol checkpoint east of El Paso were angry at Saucedo for lying to them about the date it was seized.

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Juan Ortiz Lopez, who is wanted in Florida on cocaine trafficking charges, is arrested at a house in Quetzaltenango




Guatemala's most wanted suspected drug lord was captured on Wednesday in a joint operation involving the government and the US Drug Enforcement Administration.

Juan Ortiz Lopez, who is wanted in Florida on cocaine trafficking charges, was arrested at a house in the western city of Quetzaltenango along with two suspected accomplices. Carlos Menocal, Guatemala's interior minister, said Ortiz had been under surveillance for seven days.

"This is a big fish and we are satisfied with his capture. It's a great achievement by this government," Menocal said.

The arrests came six months after the capture of one of Ortiz's reputed top lieutenants in the same investigation, which also involved the FBI and other US agencies.

Ortiz is charged in Florida with two counts of conspiracy to distribute cocaine. He could face up to life in prison if convicted.

The US attorney Robert O'Neill said: "For over a decade, Ortiz-Lopez's drug organisation received multi-ton cocaine shipments in Guatemala, which would then be transported through Mexico to the United States, where the cocaine would be further distributed."

The DEA considered Ortiz to be the highest-ranking drug trafficker in Guatemala, and the US justice department had designated him a "consolidated priority target", O'Neill said.

Ortiz's alleged lieutenant Mauro Ramirez Barrios is charged in Florida with smuggling 3.7 tons (3,335kg) of cocaine since 2007. He was arrested in the southern Guatemalan town of San Bernardino in October, two weeks after he escaped police during a shootout at a shopping centre in which two officers died.

Ramirez allegedly hired fishermen to smuggle drugs through Mexico and was the leader of one of Ortiz's principal maritime transportation organisations, according to the US.

Read more...

Friday, April 1

Nigerian National Allegedly Ingested 4 Pounds of Heroin

A man who recently flew into Dulles International Airport is in jail on federal drug charges after authorities say ingested nearly four pounds of heroin in a smuggling attempt.

Forty-five-year-old Ebodor Okenwa arrived at Dulles Thursday on a flight from Italy, according to court records. Customs officers thought he was acting nervously and found he was carrying anti-diarrheal medication.

He was taken to Reston Hospital Center and X-rays showed pellets in his abdomen. Okenwa eventually excreted 88 pellets containing 3.75 pounds of heroin.

Customs and Border Protection spokesman Steve Sapp told the Washington Examiner that the heroin had a street value of about $125,000.

Okenwa, a Nigerian national, is being held pending a detention hearing scheduled for Thursday.

Read more...
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