Drug Cartels // Current

DEATH BY HEROIN

A LOOK AT HEROIN ABUSE IN THE UNITED STATES. http://www.ChokeonThisVideo.com

ChokeonThis
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Police Chief Attacked w/ Guns, Grenades.

I live about an hour plus form the Mexican border, and more and more stories like this keep coming to my attention. The violence... more

rawlzilla
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Latino drug lords find African allies

An upcoming UN report will shed light on criminal gangs in West Africa that work with South American drug cartels in a murky alliance that threatens stability in the region.

“Besides foreigners there is a growing phenomenon of local criminal groups,” said Antonio Mazzitelli of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). “This certainly creates obstacles to democracy, to good governance, to development.”

The UN estimates that US$2 billion (Dh7.3bn) worth of cocaine enters West Africa each year before being smuggled into Europe. Previous research focused on the role of South American cocaine cartels, which began operating heavily in the region about four years ago.

“We often talk about the Latinos, but what about the Africans involved? There are over 1,600 West Africans all over the world convicted for drug trafficking,” Mr Mazzitelli said in a telephone interview from his office in the Senegalese capital, Dakar.

The new report will look at local criminal networks, which facilitate the passage of drugs through airports and organised human couriers to smuggle cocaine into Europe via commercial flights. These gangs take in about $450 million each year, according to Mr Mazzitelli. Antonio Costa, who heads the UNODC, will unveil the report at a three-day anti-drug trafficking conference that starts today in the island nation of Cape Verde, which has emerged as one of the main transit points for drug smugglers. The conference is being held by the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas).

The title of the conference, Drug Trafficking as a Security Threat to West Africa, shows that West African countries now recognize drug trafficking as a serious danger to their stability, Mr Mazzitelli said. Previously, Ecowas members considered the cocaine trade a problem primarily for governments in South America, the source of supply, and Europe, where the demand lies.

“This overall attitude has characterized the issue,” he said. But the thinking changed as West African countries watched cartels infiltrate their security forces and other state institutions.

“It can cause destabilisation for the government,” said Francis Munu, the head of crime and intelligence in the Sierra Leone police.An upcoming UN report will shed light on criminal gangs in West Africa that work with South American drug cartels in a murky... more

TravG73
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24 days ago

5 More Dead in Tijuana Over Weekend

The body count slowed over the weekend, but the violence continued with a shootout Saturday evening that left one person dead,... more

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1 month ago

Eight more bodies found as Mexican drug violence continues

Mexican police have found eight bodies, two of them decapitated, in the north-western border city of Tijuana and 19 others after... more

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1 month ago

Mexico seeks to decriminalize small-time drug use

Mexican President Felipe Calderon, locked in a bloody battle with drug cartels, wants to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of street drugs in a plan likely to irk Washington.

Calderon, a conservative in power nearly two years, sent a proposal to Congress on Thursday that would scrap the penalties for drugs including cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, opium and marijuana.

"What we are seeking is to not treat an addict as a criminal, but rather as a sick person and give them psychological and medical treatment," said Sen. Alejandro Gonzalez, head of the Senate's justice committee.

Under Calderon's plan, people carrying up to 2 grams (0.07 ounces) of marijuana or opium, half a gram of cocaine, 50 milligrams of heroin or 40 milligrams of methamphetamine would face no criminal charges.

It would also give Mexican states the power to try drug dealers in local courts instead of at the federal level.

Reviving a similar effort by his predecessor, Calderon aims to free up police to hunt for dealers and smugglers. But the plan could run into opposition in largely conservative Mexico as well as in the United States.

In a separate proposal, the president asked the Senate to shake up Mexico's notoriously inept and often corrupt police.

Calderon said poor training and a lack of coordination between forces are hindering efforts to rein in rampant drug violence and organized crime.

"They are at the limit in terms of not sharing intelligence in crime fighting, something which eventually means a lack of organization in the state's capacity to deal with the crime phenomenon," he said.

Some analysts say that up to half of Mexico's police could be in the pay of drug cartels, which offer bribes that dwarf the paltry wages of the average officer.

Former president Vicente Fox introduced a drug decriminalization measure in 2006 but ditched it after Washington objected and critics on both sides of the border said it could lure "drug tourists" from the United States.

Drug use is less common among young people in Mexico than in the United States or Europe. But consumption is creeping up with the growth of the middle class and as tighter border controls mean more cocaine stays in the country.

Calderon has deployed thousands of troops to clamp down on the drug gangs that shuttle Colombian cocaine over Mexico's northern border. But cartel violence has soared as a result, killing some 3,000 people this year.Mexican President Felipe Calderon, locked in a bloody battle with drug cartels, wants to decriminalize the possession of small... more

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1 month ago

Millions Seized In International Drug Bust

Police in four nations have held about 200 people over alleged trans-Atlantic drug-trafficking involving a major Mexican drugs... more

GrandKnow2
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2 months ago

175 alleged drug cartel members arrested

ATLANTA (AP) -- Agents dealt a substantial blow to an extremely violent Mexican drug cartel with 175 arrests in the U.S. and Italy, Attorney General Michael Mukasey said Wednesday.

The Gulf cartel is responsible for importing tons of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana from Central and South America into the U.S. and then distributing it, Mukasey said. The cartel is also believed to have laundered millions of dollars and has become a driving force behind escalating violence in Mexico and along the southwestern border of the U.S.

The arrests Tuesday and Wednesday were the result of a coordinated effort among hundreds of law enforcement officials. They were announced in Atlanta, identified as a regional hub for the cartel, where 43 people were arrested.

The Mexico-based cartel has high-level members in other regional hubs, such as Dallas, and is branching out into smaller cities such as Jackson, Miss., and Birmingham, Ala., said Drug Enforcement Administration agent William Matthews.

People were arrested in a dozen states as agents targeted the cartel's infrastructure, including transportation routes and distribution cells. Through collaboration with Italian authorities, 10 people were also arrested in the Calabria region of Italy on charges related to drugs trafficked through New York.

The arrests announced Wednesday were part of a 15-month investigation that has resulted in 507 arrests and the seizure of about $60.1 million, 16,711 kilograms of cocaine, 1,039 pounds of methamphetamine, 19 pounds of heroin, 51,258 pounds of marijuana, 176 vehicles and 167 weapons.

Officials said indictments were unsealed Wednesday morning in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., for three alleged leaders of the cartel: Ezequiel Cardenas-Guillen, Heriberto Lazcano-Lazcano and Jorge Eduardo Costilla-Sanchez. All three are believed to be in Mexico and are considered priority targets by American authorities, who are working with their Mexican counterparts to catch them.ATLANTA (AP) -- Agents dealt a substantial blow to an extremely violent Mexican drug cartel with 175 arrests in the U.S. and... more

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2 months ago

Eight killed in hand grenade attack!

Suspected drug cartel thugs threw two grenades into crowds of revellers in Mexico on independance day, killing eight and injuring... more

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2 months ago

Mexican Police Find 24 Bodies In Suspected Cartel Murder

SAN PEDRO ATLAPULCO, Mexico (Reuters) - Mexican police found 24 bodies dumped outside a small town near the capital on Friday in... more

GrandKnow2
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2 months ago

Suspect in 1998 Baja massacre is arrested in East Los Angeles

U.S. officials have arrested a man in East Los Angeles who is suspected in the gruesome 1998 killing of 19 men, women and children... more

Enjoy_Cannabis
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3 months ago

Alleged drug cartel figure arrested in Tijuana casino raid

Ruben Rios Estrada, nicknamed 'El Pit,' is a reputed enforcer for the Arellano Felix cocaine ring. Agents stormed the... more

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3 months ago

Mexican drug cartel violence takes aim at higher officials

Mexican Congressman David Figueroa already had survived two assassination tries when federal intelligence officials passed the news to him: They'd heard that another attempt soon would be made.

Figueroa took it seriously. He dropped out of the race for governor of Sonora state, and, with the help of Mexico's president, was quickly confirmed last week as the country's new consul general in San Jose, Calif. Almost as quickly, Figueroa, an up-and-coming politician in the president's political party, relocated.

While drug cartels have long targeted local police officials, they're now striking at higher-level officials, particularly those close to President Felipe Calderón, who has made curbing the drug trade a central policy of his administration.

In recent months, gunmen thought to be tied to cartels have killed the national police chief, Edgar Eusebio Millán Gómez, and Roberto Velasco Bravo, who headed the organized-crime unit of the federal police. Calderón appointed both men to their posts.

A cousin of Calderón's wife was killed and stuffed into the trunk of a car in Mexico City 10 days into Calderón's term, in what was seen as a message from cartels.

In March of last year, Calderón revealed that he and his family had received threats from cartel leaders.

U.S. law-enforcement officials, demanding anonymity given the sensitivity of the issue, say they think that the recent killings are an effort to turn up the heat on Calderón, who has undertaken the most concerted offensive against the drug cartels by a Mexican president.

"There is a strategic focus on sending messages to high-level officials within the government," said a U.S. law-enforcement official familiar with Mexico's drug war. By the count of two leading Mexican newspapers, there have been at least 2,400 drug-related murders nationwide already this year. That almost equals the roughly 2,500 drug-related killings for all of 2007.

Many Mexicans, however, question whether the explosion of violence is worth the effort to crack down on what's widely seen as a U.S. problem.Mexican Congressman David Figueroa already had survived two assassination tries when federal intelligence officials passed the... more