cocaine

Canada: Cocaine Accused Fires Lawyer

Published

2 years ago

March 18, 2023

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A 34-year-old man charged in relation to one of the city’s largest drug busts, and who failed to gain his release from custody following a bail hearing earlier in the month, has fired his lawyer.

Calgary lawyer Brad Kraus was allowed to withdraw as counsel for Patrick Rodney, after he told a judge Thursday in Lethbridge provincial court that the accused wants a new lawyer.

Rodney, court was told, has retained Calgary lawyer Gloria Froese.

The accused, who appeared in court by CCTV from the Lethbridge Correctional Centre, is charged with five counts of drug possession for the purpose of trafficking, two counts each of unlawful storage of a firearm, knowingly possessing a prohibited or restricted weapon, knowingly possessing an unauthorized firearm, possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm with ammunition, and single counts of possession of stolen property over $5,000, possession of a weapon dangerous to the public, possession of a firearm obtained by crime, possession of a prohibited weapon, and use of a firearm while committing an offence.

He is also charged with breach of probation stemming from a firearm prohibition in 2014.

On Dec. 20 of last year ALERT Lethbridge’s organized crime team and the Lethbridge Police Service seized more than $1 million worth of drugs and cash after searching two vehicles, a home in the London Road area and a garage in the neighbourhood of Winston Churchill High School.
Police found four firearms, including a prohibited sawed-off shotgun and a loaded handgun that had been reported stolen from Redcliff, and they seized two vehicles, $79,000 in cash, and 5.2 kg of methamphetamine, 3.2 kg of cocaine, 1.6 kg of fentanyl powder, 418 grams of ketamine, and 35 grams of psilocybin mushrooms.

Rodney’s matter is scheduled to return to court April 6.

Source: https://medicinehatnews.com/news/southern-alberta-news/2023/03/17/accused-in-big-drug-bust-fires-lawyer/

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cocaine

ABC (Australia News) Victorian men jailed over attempted ‘astronomical’ cocaine import into South Australia

Published

4 weeks ago

January 30, 2025

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In short:

Two men have been sentenced to three years’ jail with a non-parole period of 18 months for trying to import more than 100 kilograms of cocaine into South Australia.

The judge said the pair had followed the drugs from WA to SA on the instruction of their drug dealers in order to pay off drug debts they had accumulated.

What’s next?

The men’s sentences have been backdated to when they were first imprisoned last February and they will both be eligible for parole in August.

Two young Victorian men who were involved in the attempted importation of an “astronomical” amount of cocaine into South Australia have been labelled “muppets” and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment.

Rayn Sadik, 20, and Yousif Al-Asadi, 23, were sentenced in South Australia’s District Court on Wednesday after they each entered a guilty plea to one count of attempting to possess a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border controlled drug last year.

The maximum penalty for that offence is life imprisonment or a fine of $2,347,500.

More at

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-29/victorian-men-sentenced-over-attempt-to-import-100kg-of-cocaine/104870476

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Military-trained narcos arrested in three tonne cocaine bust in south of Spain: Kalashnikov assault rifles among weapons seized

Published

1 month ago

January 18, 2025

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NEARLY three tonnes of cocaine and four military-grade weapons have been seized in a major drug bust along the Guadalquivir River in Sevilla.

Spanish police reported that the men had ‘paramilitary training’ and were armed with what appeared to be Kalashnikov assault rifles.

The presence of such weapons suggests a level of organisation and capacity for violence far beyond typical drug smuggling operations.

Military-trained narcos arrested in three tonne cocaine bust in south of Spain: Kalashnikov assault rifles among weapons seized

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Shipment of grapes entering Canada hid massive stash of suspected cocaine

Published

4 months ago

November 3, 2024

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More than 600 kilograms of suspected cocaine — roughly the weight of a concert grand piano — was discovered inside a shipment of grapes intercepted by border officers earlier this month.

The seizure took place on Oct. 15 at the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ont.

A spokesperson for the Canada Border Services Agency says an investigation is underway with law enforcement partners.

The agency declined an interview and said it doesn’t comment on the status of ongoing investigations.

CBSA hasn’t provided an estimate of the street value of the 615 kilograms, but earlier this year estimated the value of a cocaine seizure less than half this size at $6.5 million.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/ambassador-bridge-cocaine-grapes-1.7368639

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