cocaine

DR national pleads guilty to possession of 630 kilos of cocaine whilst in US waters

Published

2 years ago

April 4, 2023

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Victor Reyes-Martinez, 40, of Nicaragua, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine while on board a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, U.S. Attorney Delia L. Smith announced this weekend.

A sentencing date for Reyes-Martinez will be set by the court, and he will face a maximum of 20 years in prison. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

Reyes-Martinez made his plea before Magistrate Judge Emile A. Henderson, III.

According to court documents, on Sept. 11, 2022, while on routine patrol south of the Dominican Republic, a maritime patrol aircraft detected a go-fast vessel navigating northward approximately 80 nautical miles south of Bani, Dominican Republic. The USS Billings was dispatched to the area when crew members observed that the vessel had no flag flown, no registration numbers and no name painted on its hull. The Dominican Republic Navy later advised that the vessel was not registered with their country. The vessel was therefore treated as one without nationality thereby subjecting it to laws of the U.S. Onboard the vessel, the USS Billings boarding team detained Reyes-Martinez and another individual and located 18 bales of cocaine weighing approximately 630 kilograms, according to court documents.

The U.S. Coast Guard, Homeland Security Investigations and Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan Rikhye prosecuted it.

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cocaine

Shipment of grapes entering Canada hid massive stash of suspected cocaine

Published

3 weeks 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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UK: Drug dealer caught with imitation gun and cocaine after swearing at passing police car

Published

1 month ago

October 19, 2024

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Miguel Mota, 18, was stopped by neighbourhood police officers after he shouted abuse at them and then tried to run. In the video above, the officer can be heard saying “You’re bringing attention to yourself by saying ‘f**k you’ as we drive past you”.

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Dad of Brit facing 60yrs in US prison for ‘trying to smuggle £3.5m in cocaine’ insists she is ‘only guilty of stupidity’

Published

1 month ago

October 15, 2024

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THE DAD of a Brit beautician facing up to 60 years in jail in the US after allegedly smuggling £3.5million worth of cocaine has insisted she is “only guilty of stupidity”.

John Hall, 59, defended his daughter Kim, 28, after she was detained at Chicago’s O’Hare airport as she was waiting for her connecting flight to Manchester.

The dad said she was offered the free holiday by people she met on an earlier trip to Portugal.

And he insisted all she is guilty of is “stupidity and naivety” as they desperately wait for news.

John said that she is “petrified” – and that at first she could barely speak to her family through floods of tears after the arrest.

The dad is convinced that Kim would have been “forced” to carry the drugs “without a shadow of a doubt”.

John told The Sun: “She’s not a drug smuggler.

“She was told that it would be money she was carrying. They got her phone and threatened her family and that’s why she did it.

“She’d been to Portugal with a friend and met people over there who contacted her when she was back saying they were into real estate in Mexico and she could go for a free holiday.

“Her friend declined but she said she would go.

Read more stupidity

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/31038866/dad-brit-drug-mule-cocaine-prison/

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