Clipmarks | Drug trafficking Clips

US tells NATO to help stop opium trade in Afghanistan

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:03:10 GMT

clipped by: Nathan_7870

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - The United States called on NATO allies on Thursday to allow the alliance to attack the Afghan opium trade, which it said was bringing the Taliban up to $80 million a year.

NATO's operations commander, Gen. John Craddock, has asked the 26 NATO countries for authority to attack laboratories, trafficking networks and drug lords to stem a trade helping to finance a worsening Taliban insurgency.

Germany and several other NATO states are wary of extending the role of the NATO mission, whose long-term aim is to create conditions for Afghans to take over responsibility for their own security.

Some are concerned it could worsen the violence and might cause civilian casualties that could turn Afghans against foreign forces.

Proponents of the plan argue it is essential if NATO is to reduce violence in the longer term, and U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the drugs trade was bringing the Taliban $60-$80 million a year.

Prison Beauty Pageant

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:42:54 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: P(r)etty criminals?!

Clip Source: www.odditycentral.com

Prison Beauty Pageant

The Good Shepard is the largest women prison in Columbia.

Every year, the Good Shepard women prison in Bogota, Columbia, organizes an inmate beauty contest in honor of the Holy Virgin,

the patron of the prisoners. The contest is followed by a masquerade party and the whole event is broadcast in all of Columbia, This year the prisoner beauty pageant was won by Miss Yuri Uribe, a beautiful Colombian serving five years for drug trafficking.

Tags: women's prison, beauty pageant, bogota, columbia, inmates

Worldwide Slavery

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:08:01 GMT

clipped by: cyberwiz

Clip Source: www.projectcensored.org

Twenty-seven million slaves exist in the world today, more than at any time in human history. Globalization, poverty, violence, and greed facilitate the growth of slavery, not only in the Third World, but in the most developed countries as well. Behind the façade in any major town or city in the world today, one is likely to find a thriving commerce in human beings.

As many as 800,000 are trafficked across international borders annually, and up to 17,500 new victims are trafficked across US borders each year, according to the US Department of Justice (DOJ). More than 30,000 additional slaves are transported through the US on their ways to other international destinations.

Commerce in human beings today rivals drug trafficking and the illegal arms trade for top criminal activity on the planet.

The United Nations, whose founding principles call for it to fight bondage in all its forms, has done little to combat modern slavery.

Drug Cartel Taken Down

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:54:50 GMT

clipped by: jamesgrimes
clipper's remarks: Emerson is James Emerson, the assistant special-agent-in-charge for NC for the US DEA.

These boys will no longer bring fear into North Carolina via illegal transactions.

If drugs were made legal, this money-wasting stuff wouldn't happen. If only cocaine was made legal.

Clip Source: www.wral.com

Authorities named those arrested Tuesday and charged with trafficking in cocaine:

Eric Alejandro Cortez Cisneros, 25, of Princeton
Pablo Martinez Avellaneda, 34, of Magnolia
Reynaldo Garcia Vasquez, 28, of Goldsboro
Juan Acosta Vasquez, 30, of Goldsboro
Israel Garcia Vasquez, 22, of Goldsboro
Antoine Darnell Lambert, 24, of Brodnax, Va.
Hector Ramos Avellandeda, 23, of Virginia Beach, Va.
Eduardo Anastasio Almanza, 36, of Trenton
Sergio Ramon Perales Reyna, 20, of Trenton
Quentin Ray Locklear, 23, of Robeson County
Cody Varel Locklear, 21, of Robeson County
Antonio Lopez Sanchez, 19, of Johnston County
Johnnie Sanchez, 28, of Raleigh
Javier Nunez "Chaparro" Villaneuva, 42, of Zebulon
Pablo "El Viejo" Palacio

"I commend the hard work and cooperative efforts of the participating law enforcement agencies in this investigation," Emerson said. "The hard work and tireless devotion to making the Raleigh-Triangle area a safer place can be seen in the results."

Some details on Russian-Abkhazian-Ossetian treaty

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 02:29:47 GMT

clipped by: tommy2balmy
clipper's remarks: Russian troops to be stationed at a request of hosting states. Sounds familiar.

Clip Source: www.regnum.ru

The big treaties of Russia with Abkhazia and South Ossetia, being framework documents, include about 30 articles. In the future, relationships between the states will be guided by lots of bilateral and interdepartmental agreements. On September 14, in the Abkhazian capital, the head of the Russian MFA, Sergey Lavrov said presence of the Russian army on the Abkhazian territory would be juristically fixed in the agreement as well. The similar article, according to South Ossetian politicians would take place in the agreement with South Ossetia. According to Lavrov, Russian troops, which number the Ministry of Defense would determine (by a special agreement with appropriate Abkhazian and South Ossetian departments), would be dislocated as foreign troops, providing their security at a request of hosting states.

Cooperation in state border security, customs proceeding, combating crime and drug trafficking will be also provided by the treaties.

Tags: russian-abkhazian-ossetian treaty, russia

N.Y. drug dealer admits Phila heroin deal

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:59:07 GMT

clipped by: Rain7128

Clip Source: www.philly.com

A suspected New York drug dealer linked to one of the biggest heroin seizures in the history of Philadelphia pleaded guilty yesterday to federal narcotics-trafficking charges.

Richard Estrada, 41, entered the plea during a brief hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Anita Brody, admitting his role in a plan to bring 121/2 pounds of heroin through the port of Philadelphia.

Ecuador Shows US Base The Door Out

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 03:27:39 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: "Drug War" takes a hit.

Clip Source: www.hindustantimes.com

Ecuador has formally notified the US that it must vacate a base used to combat drug trafficking when the lease expires next year, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

Ecuadorian officials informed the US embassy of the plans, which have long been a pledge by President Rafael Correa

The US and Ecuador signed a 10-year agreement in November 1999, which expires in August 2009, to establish the base in Manta for counter-narcotics operations. About 300 US soldiers are stationed there.

Ecuador is set to hold a referendum on a new constitution September 28 that does not allow for the presence of foreign bases in the country.

US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters in Washington the United States accepts Correa's decision but warned an absence of the base would leave a "serious gap" in efforts to intercept drug shipments.

Mass Iranian execution: 29 drug traffickers, murderers and rapists hanged in one day

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 23:36:12 GMT

clipped by: pitim

Clip Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

Mass Iranian execution: 29 drug traffickers, murderers and rapists hanged in one day

Twenty-nine people convicted of drug trafficking, murder and rape were hanged in Iran today in the country’s biggest mass execution in years.

The hangings were in defiance of growing criticism of human rights in Iran, which Amnesty International says is the world’s most prolific executioner after China.

Hanging is the most common form of execution and the condemned are usually executed inside prison compounds.

But 10 people were hanged publicly earlier this month, despite a moratorium on grisly public executions ordered by the head of Iran’s judiciary, Ayatollah Mahmoud Shahroudi, in January.

And eight women and a man face execution by stoning for adultery.

Hanged: Iranian authorities execute 29 criminals in one day

At least 74 people who were under 18 when they committed their crimes, are also awaiting the gallows

One thing USA has in common with Iran

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 14:15:17 GMT

clipped by: tommy2balmy
clipper's remarks: State sponsered executions

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Reports from Iran say 29 people have been executed by hanging in Tehran.

Among them were convicts found guilty of murder, rape, armed robbery and drug trafficking, state television IRIB reported on its website.

All the executions took place on Sunday morning in Tehran's Evin prison, the report said.

Amnesty International, the human rights group, said that last year Iran carried out 317 executions, a higher total than any other country apart from China.

The latest hangings were carried out after the death sentences were approved by the country's Supreme Court, IRIB reported.

"Twenty-nine drug smugglers and well-known bandits were hanged in Evin prison on Sunday at dawn," the statement said.

"These criminals had smuggled thousands of kilos of narcotics in the country and outside the country."

Human rights groups have accused Iran of making excessive use of the death penalty but Tehran insists it is an effective deterrent that is used only after a lengthy judicial process.

Tags: us, iran, hangings, executions

Mike Ruppert - CIA and Drug Running (1997) - 105 min

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 09:50:36 GMT

clipped by: WomanInTheMoon11
clipper's remarks: Documentary- Former narcotics investigator Mike Ruppert, and author of "The Truth and Lies of 911", was forced out of the LAPD in 1977 when he exposed evidence of drug trafficking by the CIA. This is one of his first appearances caught on Video in 1997 at the Granada Forum in Tarzana, CA. Topic is "CIA Drug Running..

Clip Source: video.google.com

[Video]

Mike Ruppert - CIA and Drug Running (1997) - 105 min - Aug 9, 2006
The Granada Forum - granadaforum.com

(130 Ratings) Rate:

Former narcotics investigator Mike Ruppert, and author of "The Truth and Lies of 911", was forced out of the LAPD in 1977 when he exposed evidence of drug trafficking by the CIA. This is one of his first appearances caught on Video in 1997 at the Granada Forum in Tarzana, CA. Topic is "CIA Drug Running«

Tags: mike ruppert, cia, drug running, truth

Obama’s $50 Billion AIDS Bill Up For Vote

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 01:39:03 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: However, the United Nations over the years has greatly exaggerated the number of those with HIV/AIDS and it is still difficult to get accurate estimates of the problem.

Richard Darling of the FAIR Foundation told AIM on Friday that federal funding for most diseases is being cut back while spending on AIDS is continuing to rise. fairfoundation.org/

On Friday, the Senate voted 65-3 to proceed to floor action on the bill, with many members absent or not voting. Those voting to invoke cloture and proceed included Senate Republican Leader McConnell. However, this does not mean that all of those voting to bring the bill to the Senate floor will support it when a final vote on the actual legislation is taken.

Some lawmakers have been intimidated by AIDS activists coming to Washington to deliver funeral wreaths to those standing in the way of the passage of the legislation. Opponents of the bill have been labeled as “Global AIDS Super villains” by the homosexual lobby.

Clip Source: www.aim.org

Fighting the liberal media, Senate Democrats, some fellow Republicans and the Bush Administration, three conservative Republican senators are continuing to raise the alarm about the federal government’s out-of-control AIDS spending. Senators David Vitter (La.), Jeff Sessions (Ala.), and Jim DeMint (S.C.) are making a last-ditch attempt to block the irresponsible and budget-busting $50 billion global AIDS bill (S. 2731).

Debate on the bill, which would even permit entry into the U.S. of HIV-positive aliens, begins on Monday afternoon. The legislation doubles funding for the U.N.-affiliated Global Fund, which disregards U.S. policies on abortion and “needle exchange.”

“The [Global] Fund has serious policy problems, drug quality problems, administrative corruption, and [it] operates programs not bound by U.S. laws on abortion, needle exchange, prostitution/trafficking policy and others,” several senators had declared in a letter to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Tags: global aids bill, s. 2731, $50 billion, senate offices, phone #202-224-3121

The Constitution Is Dead - Let's Nail The Coffin Tight

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 14:49:34 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: The DEA is all for the idea.

Clip Source: gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com

When the Texas Legislature authorized red light cameras last year in SB 1119, no one ever mentioned the idea of installing license plate readers along the highway to track travelers who aren't breaking any laws. But that's what the Drug Enforcement Agency and federal High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) task forces want the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDoT) to agree to, according to testimony at yesterday's Senate Criminal Justice Committee hearing.

Stan Furce, Director of the Houston HIDTA, said the feds were prepared to spend nearly $15 million to install license plate readers along Texas highways, but TXDoT has told them the law does not allow it.

Police nab two cannabis growers in cemetery

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 23:06:10 GMT

clipped by: Socratoad
clipper's remarks: Obviously , just like here, the cops appear not to have anything important to do.

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

Police nab two cannabis growers in cemetery

HANOI (Reuters) - Police have detained two custodians who were about to harvest their first crop of cannabis, a source of drugs like hashish and marijuana, from a cemetery in Vietnam's capital, a state-run newspaper reported on Monday.

Police took in Nguyen Manh Hung, 44, who heads the caretaker team at the cemetery in Hanoi's outer district of Hoang Mai, and Ho A Lau, 46, after the authorities found cannabis plants grown on a 25 square meter (82 square feet) patch, the Vietnam Labour Confederation-run Lao Dong newspaper said.

Lau, a tribal man from the northern mountainous province of Son La bordering Laos, testified he obtained the seeds in Son La for cultivation from early 2008 and that the harvest would soon start.

Vietnam has strict drug trafficking laws, including in some cases the death penalty, but it has long been used as a transit point for trade in heroin, hashish, opium, amphetamine pills and other illegal drugs.

FARC Hostage Ingrid Betancourt Freed

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:21:20 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: But in becoming so famous, the 46-year-old Ms. Betancourt also became more valuable to the FARC, which was feeling the heat from the government under U.S.-ally President Álvaro Uribe (who, it so happened, hosted Sen. John McCain on Tuesday). FARC funds itself largely through drug trafficking and kidnapping, but despite such activities had found a friend in Hugo Chávez. The Venezuelan president and FARC had sought to use the selective release of hostages to get governments allied with him, such as Ecuador and Nicaragua, to grant the group diplomatic recognition -- a move that, if followed by other countries in the region, would undermine the Colombian government's offensive against the FARC and by extension U.S. influence in the region. Mr. Chavez had declared his motives to be purely humanitarian; but, in any event, it is the Colombian military that has now done the selective releasing.

Clip Source: online.wsj.com

On Wednesday, Colombia's defense minister announced that military intelligence agents, by infiltrating the guerrilla ranks, had tricked the rebels into giving up Ms. Betancourt and 14 other prisoners without a single injury. Among those freed were the longest-held American hostages in the world, three Pentagon contractors captured in 2003 when their drug surveillance plane went down. But Ms. Betancourt -- a minor presidential candidate when she was abducted in 2002 -- is the headline name. As reporter Jose de Cordoba described in a Page One story last month, Ms. Betancourt, who holds dual Colombian and French citizenship, had become the face of the hundreds of FARC captives and their heart-breaking suffering. In Europe, she is so famous that she is simply known as "Ingrid." Her portrait hangs on the facade of the Paris city hall and in Milan's main piazza, and across the world, more than 1,000 cities and towns have declared her an honorary citizen.

Tags: ingrid betancourt, farc hostage, president alvaro uribe, columbia military intelligence agents

Some Drug Traffickers Are More Equal Than Others

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:41:20 GMT

clipped by: rustajb

Clip Source: nallforgovernor.blogspot.com

On March 3, 2008 John Alexander Rochester, son of 40th Circuit Court Judge John Rochester, was arrested at the Ashland City Park in Ashland, AL for possession of meth, first degree possession of marijuana, trafficking cocaine, possession of paraphernalia, distribution of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance. I immediately began following the case.

Judge Rochester is legendary for harshly sentencing drug offenders who are unfortunate enough to find themselves in his courtroom.

Judge Rochester doesn't believe in drug treatment before prison.

Will Judge Rochester's son be treated the same way all drug defendants are treated in Clay County? Will his bonds be comparable to the bonds of regular folks up on the same charges?

John Alexander Rochester spent 20 days in the Ashland jail and was then bonded out by his mother for a total of $20,000 and whisked away to treatment in Mississippi to await the next convening of the grand jury in Clay County.