drug trafficking

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Taliban 'Narco Terrorist' Convicted in US Court

Afghan plotted to use drug profits to fight US

(Newser) - A Taliban militant has become the first person convicted under a "narco-terrorism" provision of the Patriot Act, Reuters reports. The Afghan man was busted by DEA agents for plotting to ship heroin to the US and use the proceeds to buy weapons to use against American and coalition forces....

Prison Escapee, Now Suburban Mom, Caught After 32 Years

She's back in jail to finish drug sentence

(Newser) - A 53-year-old mother of three, on the lam for 32 years after escaping from a Detroit prison, has been nabbed in a San Diego suburb. A fugitive since 1976, Susan Lefevre left the prison on a work pass and didn't return; she'll now have to finish out the remaining 9...

Taliban Bombs Afghan Opium Task Force, Killing 18

41 wounded in attack as authorities target skyrocketing drug production

(Newser) - A suicide bomber struck a meeting today of an Afghan poppy-eradication team, CNN reports, killing at least 18, including 11 police officers and seven civilians. Another 41 were injured in the attack in the eastern Nangarhar province; authorities said the incident was further proof of the rebel Taliban's involvement with...

15 Dead in Tijuana Shootout
 15 Dead in 
 Tijuana Shootout 
Apr 26, 2008 7:20 PM CDT

15 Dead in Tijuana Shootout

Mexico sends in thousands of troops to quell further fighting

(Newser) - A gunfight between Tijuana drug cartel rivals left 15 dead and eight wounded near the US border today, Reuters reports. The worst violence in Mexico's 3-year drug war, it filled a city road with bodies and took the lives of two top hit men from the Arellano Felix cartel. "...

Cocaine on the Upswing in Peru
 Cocaine on the Upswing in Peru 
Mar 23, 2008 3:48 PM CDT

Cocaine on the Upswing in Peru

US attempts to quell trafficking stagnate in coca-based economy

(Newser) - Peru's cocaine business is growing again, sparking a spate of killings, threats, and US-funded attempts to stop it, the Los Angeles Times reports. Coca bush plots have increased by a third since 1999 to feed markets in Europe, East Asia, and Brazil—but growers are hard to collar because they...

Environment, Bioethics Under Vatican's Scrutiny

Church updates Catholic morality for modern, globalized life

(Newser) - Catholics must guard against "new sins" such as polluting the environment and using genetic modification, the Vatican says. Their church has updated the concept of sin for the contemporary world, paying special attention to the expanding and morally murky world of bioethics, a top official from the Apostolic Penitentiary,...

Feds Target 'Extreme Ecstasy' Spread

Potentially lethal drug, mixed with meth, coming from Canada

(Newser) - Federal drug-enforcement agents are setting their sights on a new form of ecstasy containing methamphetamines being smuggled across the border from Canada, the Detroit News reports. Known as "extreme Ecstasy," the combination of the two drugs could easily lead to overdoses and death recalling a recent wave of...

Italian Syndicate Quietly Rules Europe's Cocaine Trade

US market tumbles as mobsters flourish

(Newser) - Europe is gaining a foothold in the world’s cocaine trade, elbowing out the US as the largest market thanks to the bravado of one Italian crime syndicate. The ‘Ndrangheta mafia, based in the hills of southern Italy, has won prominence by dealing directly with Colombian kingpins and shunning...

Thompson Adviser Busted for Drug Dealing

GOP candidate uses jet of pal once nabbed for cocaine trafficking

(Newser) - GOP White House contender Sen. Fred Thompson has been traveling to campaign stops around the nation on the private jet of his close adviser, fundraiser and pal Philip Martin, a former drug dealer with a criminal record. Campaign officials insist Thompson was unaware of convictions for marijuana and cocaine trafficking...

Embattled Blackwater Maneuvering to Expand Role

Seeks new contracts despite massacre

(Newser) - Blackwater, the private security firm under fire for controversial shootings in Iraq, is preparing expansion plans to develop a bigger role as an arm of the US military. Company founder Erik Prince wants to make Blackwater a one-stop shop for all kinds of operations to which Washington won't commit US...

US Cocaine Supply Plummets
US Cocaine Supply Plummets
Oct 3, 2007 5:46 AM CDT

US Cocaine Supply Plummets

Prices rocket to highest in 20 years

(Newser) - The cocaine supply has dropped sharply in the last year in 37 US cities, which law enforcement officials attribute to a crackdown on drug cartels by Mexican authorities and a record volume of drugs seized at sea. New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco were among major cities experiencing sharp...

Noriega Dodges French Trial in Miami Stir

Dictator's fight against extradition delays release date

(Newser) - Eleventh-hour appeals of his extradition to France kept former Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega in his Miami prison cell yesterday, his scheduled release date. The dictator was set to face French money-laundering charges, but his lawyers argued that the Geneva Convention prevents his extradition because Paris doesn't recognize his prisoner-of-war status.

6 Dead in Mafia Hit in Germany
6 Dead in Mafia Hit in Germany
Aug 15, 2007 11:03 AM CDT

6 Dead in Mafia Hit in Germany

Feud between Italian clans boils over with unprecedented cross-border eruption

(Newser) - Police are calling the killing of six Italians early today in Duisburg, Germany, a probable Mafia hit job, Der Spiegel reports. Five bodies with gunshot wounds to the head were found outside an Italian restaurant, and a sixth man died en route to the hospital. The incident is one of...

Mexican Meth Mogul Nabbed in Mall Restaurant

Chinese-born fugitive doesn't get to finish his codfish, DEA says

(Newser) - A reputed Mexican drug lord known for his flamboyant lifestyle and vast supply of cash fell into the hands of the DEA Monday in a decidedly unglamorous setting: a suburban Maryland mall. Zhenli Ye Gon faces charges under US drug laws, the Washington Post reports, and Mexico wants him extradited....

Cartels Come Down Hard on Mexican Cops

Local law enforcement wages drug war within and without

(Newser) - Despite the Mexican government's vow to crack down on drug cartels, local police forces are outmanned, outmaneuvered, and outgunned by the more sophisticated trafficking organizations, the Los Angeles Time reports. The ill-prepared and often corrupt community police have emerged as the weakest link in the offensive against drug trafficking on...

Mexico Deploys Soldiers to Fight Drug War

Law-enforcement gaps, budget woes give traffickers upper hand

(Newser) - In its battle against drug traffickers, the Mexican army fights not just the cartels but also a lethal combination of corruption, power vacuums, and even geography. Desertion rates are high, salaries low, and the assignment difficult if not impossible. The LA Times visits Apatzingan, a drug-war hotspot whose police chief...

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