cocaine

Spanish Police Arrest Stowaway With 200 Kilos of Cocaine

Published

1 year ago

March 25, 2023

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Reported in Maritime Executive

Cocaine smuggling is a commonplace risk for vessels transiting from Colombia to Europe, but a recent bust at the port of Gijon, Spain had an unusual twist. The cocaine was in the possession of a stowaway, a 58-year-old Colombian national who had boarded the ship during a previous port call.

On Monday afternoon, the freighter Iraklis arrived in Gijon on a voyage from Barranquilla, Colombia, carrying a load of coke for a Spanish steel mill. Before arrival, the captain contacted Spanish authorities to report that there was a stowaway aboard. Agents with the Civil Guard, the National Police and the national tax agency (Tributaria) were on hand at the pier to arrest the individual and search the ship.

The stowaway had been hiding in a “covered structure” on board the ship, according to La Nueva Espana. A search with dogs turned up 200 kilos of cocaine on board, worth at least $6 million on the European market.

Cocaine commands a high price in Europe, and criminal organizations based in South America and southern Europe have come up with countless methods for importing it into the continent. Customs authorities discover more than 100 tonnes of cocaine per year in ordinary containers at the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp, the main hubs for the drug’s arrival in the EU. Other known methods include narco-submarine transport; transshipment at sea off the Canary Islands; and the ploy of affixing packages on the hull’s exterior or inside of an intake grate.

The haul found aboard the Iraklis is the second recent report of a drug-smuggling attempt accompanied by stowaways, though in a much different location. Last Tuesday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Coast Guard detained 18 migrants who had stowed away aboard a container barge in an attempt to enter the port of San Juan, Puerto Rico. 16 were rescued from the water, but the remaining two were found aboard the barge, and they were in possession of 11 kilos of cocaine and a handgun.

https://maritime-executive.com/article/spanish-police-arrest-stowaway-with-200-kilos-of-cocaine

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cocaine

Lebanese authorities seize 8kg of cocaine at Beirut airport

Published

4 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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cocaine

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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