War on drug traffickers escalates in Rio: 10 dead | www.bullfax.com: "Heavily-armed Brazilian security forces killed 10 more suspects Wednesday as authorities took the fight to drug gangs and traffickers holding sway in the city's violent, teeming slums.The escalating violence casts more doubt on the ability of Rio authorities to get a grip on security ahead of its hosting of two of the planet's largest sporting events, the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics two years later."

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JAMAICAN BROTHERS EXTRADITED TO U.S. ON NARCOTICS TRAFFICKING CHARGES - TheCypressTimes: "Roger and Romeo Folkes, 39 and 27, of Jamaica, West Indies, were extradited to the United States on charges of conspiracy to import and export cocaine into the United States following an international investigation by agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Newark.
According to court documents filed in the extradition proceedings, the conspiracy involved drug couriers from the United States, including Tajara Barnes and Genard Howard who would travel to Jamaica and St. Lucia, where Roger and Romeo Folkes, and co-conspirator Mervin Francis would hide cocaine in the handrails of the couriers' luggage. The couriers would then return to the United States carrying the cocaine-filled luggage, where another co-conspirator, Cortnie Spencer would at times take possession of the luggage and deliver it to couriers who were scheduled to travel to Great Britain. Once in Great Britain, the couriers would deliver the cocaine to Nigel Roberts, Prine George Alfonso Jones, and others in exchange for payment.
Peter T. Edge, special agent in charge of ICE HSI in Newark started: 'HSI and our law enforcement partners are determined to bring drug smugglers to justice, wherever they go. They can not hide from our global reach.'"

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Fugitives captured after decade of public life in the Dominican Republic - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com: "Pedro Ramón Sánchez was a police lieutenant and elected city councilman in the Dominican Republic. Julio Cesar Valerio became a naval officer for the Caribbean country. Both used their real names.
Now the accused Miami cocaine traffickers are finally in jail, after fleeing the United States more than a decade ago.
Both men had used fake identities -- Juan Ramón Ignacio Sánchez-Almonte and Concepción Geovanny De Jesus Acosta -- to obtain travel documents from the Dominican Republic consulate in Miami to return to their native country in 1999, U.S. officials said. Once there, they reinvented themselves in politics and the military.
Dominican authorities and U.S. marshals caught up with the pair this fall. Valerio, 42, arrested after a traffic stop in Santo Domingo last month, was extradited to the United States on Friday and ordered held without bond.
Sánchez, 49, after learning of Valerio's arrest, went into hiding in the central Dominican city of La Vega, officials said. Thanks to a tip, he was arrested Friday at a health clinic and will be extradited in coming weeks."

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The Associated Press: Colombia spurns US extradition for reputed narco: "Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos spurned a U.S. request to extradite an alleged cocaine kingpin from Venezuela, saying Tuesday that the suspect will be sent back to face charges in his home country.
Walid Makled, 41, has claimed close ties with Venezuela's socialist government and the U.S. State Department last year called him that country's 'largest drug trafficker.'
The announcement drew fierce criticism from U.S. Rep. Connie Mack. The Florida Republican accused the Obama administration of 'a complete dropping of the ball' in a case that would have 'shined the light on a lot of bad behavior by Hugo Chavez and his government.'
Once Makled is sent to Venezuela, 'I think that we will lose vital information,' Mack said by phone from Washington.
Arrested Aug. 19 in the border city of Cucuta, Makled later alleged that he had made an indirect payoff to Venezuela's justice minister in exchange for favors.
At the time of Makled's arrest, Colombia's police director called him a 'pseudo businessman' who got rich through a drug-trafficking alliance with the leftist rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. The Makled family at one time owned Venezuela's Aeropostal airlines and a warehousing business at Puerto Cabello, the country's main cargo port."

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Lawyer: Bruno Mars court date postponed in Vegas - San Jose Mercury News: "Singer-songwriter Bruno Mars has had his Las Vegas court appearance for a cocaine charge postponed.
Attorney David Chesnoff told The Associated Press the 25-year-old 'Just the Way You Are' singer did not have to appear in person Thursday in a Las Vegas courtroom.
Mars is due back in court Dec. 14.
Mars' real name is Peter Hernandez. He's accused of having 2.6 grams of cocaine when he was arrested after a Sept. 19 performance at a Las Vegas nightclub.
He could face up to four years in prison if convicted on the possession of a controlled substance charge."

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Ton of cocaine seized from Brazil ship - Hindustan Times: "Italian police seized a ton of pure cocaine worth up to USD 340 million today in a container unloaded off a merchant ship coming from Brazil, in a joint inquiry with British police. 'This is the biggest cocaine seizure in Italy in the last 15 years,' Salvatore Cagnazzo, the commander in charge of the investigation"

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Coke & heroin gang busted | Tri State Community: "This drug ring was toppled like a bunch of dominoes. A Manhattan cocaine and heroin trafficking gang run by men who played dominoes on the sidewalk as they kept a watchful eye on their turf has been busted, authorities announced today. The group – known as the “Old Timers”"

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5 million pounds of heroin shipped as chilli powder: "Heroin worth more than 5 million pounds has been seized by the UK Border Agency at the Port of Felixstowe, the biggest detection of the drug in the UK this year.

The estimated 80 kg of heroin had been shipped to the UK from Asia in a single container listed as chilli powder, official sources said.

Attention was drawn to the shipment by a discrepancy in the paperwork and the container was selected for further examination.

When officers opened the doors they found 600 sacks, each containing 20kg of red chilli powder. Initial examination identified an inconsistency in the weight of one of the sacks"

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Mexico Drug War On A Rise With More Teens Lured To Join The Ranks: "Drug rivalry is reaching new heights with more and more teen crowds being included. As of date, police has detained a minor allegedly working for a drug cartel.
In Mexico there are age long stories of wars between rival cartels. Crimes have no end and suffering the most are innocent civilians. On Friday, a video released in YouTube showed a young boy confessing to be a part of the Beltran Leyva cartel. Another video leakage filmed some youngsters mugging for the camera. They were all armed. In the first video, the youth reveals that for every killing his group was paid $3,000. He even says when they cannot find their rivals to kill, they kill innocent people like a taxi driver or a construction worker as an alternative. Benitez, the attorney general of central Morelos state said it is very easy to hand them a gun and make them appear to be playing stuffs but taking other’s life is not a game."

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Seven in every 1,000 use heroin in Republic - The Irish Times - Thu, Nov 11, 2010: "REPUBLIC’S heroin problem is worse than in any EU country for which figures are available – and it also has the longest waiting lists for treatment for those addicted to the drug, a Europe-wide report has revealed.
The research shows an average of seven people in every 1,000 in the Republic are defined as problem opiate, or heroin, users.
This is the worst record of the 15 European states for which heroin-user data was available. The number of heroin users is more than twice as high as the majority of the other countries.
The 2010 annual report for the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction also indicates the extent of the recession-related collapse of the Republic’s illicit cocaine trade.
The number of seizures of the drug has fallen by two-thirds since its peak. In 2007 there were 1,749 seizures, but last year that fell to 635 seizures.
Despite this, the Republic is listed among a small group of EU states – along with the UK, Italy, Denmark and Spain – seen as having a serious cocaine problem.
There is praise in the report for the Government’s handling of the head shops issue."

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