cocaine

Kentucky Man Charged with Running Cocaine Distribution Operation

Published

1 year ago

February 25, 2023

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A Hopkinsville, Kentucky, man made an initial appearance in federal court Wednesday after being indicted for drug conspiracy and related charges, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson for the Northern District of Oklahoma.

Melvin Dontreele Brown, 30, was arrested Tuesday in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. Law enforcement executed search warrants at four different locations there associated with Brown and on multiple bank accounts. Initial items recovered include approximately $100,000 in cash, $164,000 from bank accounts, marijuana, fentanyl, and a firearm.

Brown is charged with one count of drug conspiracy; two counts of laundering of monetary instruments; and 14 counts of use of a communication facility in committing, causing and facilitating the commission of a drug trafficking felony.

Brown is accused of conspiring with others to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine.

According to the indictment, Brown and his coconspirators allegedly distributed bulk quantities of cocaine in the Hopkinsville and Tulsa areas from July 2020 to May 2021 .

The cocaine was allegedly imported from Mexico and transported by couriers in vehicles to Oklahoma and to Brown in Kentucky. The conspirators regularly used cellphones and coded phrases to coordinate their drug transactions. Examples of coded language included “ceiling paint” which referenced cocaine and “paper” which referenced currency used as payment for cocaine deliveries.

The conspirators received bulk quantities of currency as payment for cocaine deliveries and conducted financial transactions using banks in the Northern District of Oklahoma and elsewhere. Brown is charged in the indictment with making two financial transactions designed to conceal the nature and origin of the illicit proceeds.

Brown made an initial appearance in the Western District of Kentucky (Paducah) Wednesday and is scheduled for a detention hearing there Friday at 10 am.

The prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas and Louisville Divisions and the Tulsa and Hopkinsville Police Departments are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Tonkin is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law

https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndok/pr/kentucky-man-charged-running-cocaine-distribution-operation

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cocaine

Lebanese authorities seize 8kg of cocaine at Beirut airport

Published

5 months ago

December 31, 2023

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Officials detain suspect who had previously served a six-year sentence for drug smuggling

Lebanese authorities said they had detained a man caught with about 8kg of cocaine at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport.

The man, a Brazilian national with Lebanese origins, had sought to conceal the drugs in a hidden compartment in his suitcase.

He had previously served a six-year sentence in a Lebanese prison on drug trafficking charges and was released in 2022.

Drug busts are relatively common at Lebanon’s only international airport, with authorities stepping up efforts to crack down on the trade in recent years amid pressure from countries in the Gulf.

In January, airport authorities stopped two Brazilian travellers who had ingested 2kg of cocaine in more than 150 capsules.

https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/lebanon/2023/12/30/lebanese-authorities-seize-8kg-of-cocaine-at-beirut-airport/

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Malta: Racehorse tests positive for cocaine and other drugs after winning Marsa race

Published

6 months ago

November 13, 2023

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A racehorse tested positive for cocaine and other drugs after it won a race last month.

Six-year-old mare Halina Jibay was found with cocaine in its body when it outperformed nine other horses on the Marsa racecourse on October 1, tests carried out in a French doping laboratory revealed.

In a decision issued by the Malta Racing Club this week, the mare’s owner was suspended from all races for two years and fined €350.

A doping test result issued by the Laboratoire des Courses Hippiques and seen by Times of Malta confirms a urine sample taken from the horse on the day of the race contained cocaine, stanozolol (a synthetic steroid), ketamine (a form of tranquilliser), and methamphetamine (a stimulating drug), among other similar substances.

At least two of the substances – including cocaine – constitute among the most serious rule breaks according to the Malta Racing Club’s regulations, and the rules state such cases must also be reported to the police since the possession of these substances is illegal.

The Malta Racing Club last night said the horse owner was given until today to contest the findings and present a counter-analysis.

Should the owner not contest the findings, then the case will be reported to the police.

https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/racehorse-tests-positive-cocaine-drugs-winning-marsa-race.1066917

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East Boston man arrested after police find 240 grams of fentanyl in home

Published

6 months ago

November 8, 2023

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An East Boston man is facing a slew of drug charges after police found a stockpile of fentanyl, cocaine, marijuana, psychedelic mushrooms and thousands of dollars in his home, Suffolk DA Kevin Hayden announced Sunday.

“Fentanyl is a death drug, plain and simple,” Hayden said in a release. “The amount seized here — 240 grams of fentanyl, plus sizeable quantities of other drugs — represents a tremendous amount of potential human devastation.”

After months of investigating, police executed a search warrant for the apartment of Robert Ciampi, 63, on Orleans Street in East Boston on Nov. 1, according to the release.

Read the rest of this story on BostonHerald.com.

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