Take a look at some of these News feeds that have found their way onto the Internetwork and landed on the email pages of MKDS. Laugh, Cry, wince or frown on some of the best selections.
Boy George protests innocence after drug bust
Boy George has set out his defence after being arrested late last week in New York City on drugs charges.
The former 80’s star, now a hugely successful dance DJ, returned to the UK Saturday night after being charged with possession of drugs. According to reports, police discovered traces of cocaine after being called to his apartment in the early hours of Friday morning for a suspected burglary.
George has also been charged with making a false report.
The drugs charges carry a sentence of up to 15 years in jail if found guilty. However, in a short statement to the New York Post, his lawyer Lou Freeman denied the drugs belong to the frontman, saying “He doesn’t know where it came from. He’s had a lot of people in his house.”
ILFORD: Man arrested after £4.5 million drug bust
9:49am Monday 8th March 2010
A MAN from Redbridge has appeared in court following a multi-million pound drug bust.
Hikmek Sevim, of Thurlow Gardens, Ilford, was one of three men arrested and charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, after police seized £4.5 million worth of heroin during a raid in Finsbury Park.
The Turkish-born 45-year-old appeared at Thames Magistrates alongside the other two men – Harold Morris, 45, of Glyn Road, Clapton and Florina Burducea, 38, of Seven Sisters Road, Finsbury Park – on Saturday (March 6).
They were all remanded in custody to appear at Snaresbrook Crown Court at an unspecified date.
North Tyneside drug busts net £100,000 harvest
May 22 2008 by Brenda Hickman, Evening Chronicle
THIS hash harvest worth more than £100,000 has been uncovered during police strikes against drug dealers.
Hundreds of cannabis plants were being cultivated in a house on North Tyneside.
And arrests and cash seizures have also been made during raids in Gateshead.
Officers from the Whitley Bay Neighbourhood Team carried out search warrants at addresses in The Gardens, Monkseaton, Plessey Crescent, Whitley Bay, and Laurel Heights, in North Shields, yesterday.
Four suspects were arrested after 470 plants were found in one room of The Gardens house. The operation involved officers from Northumbria Police’s Crime Operations Department and local neighbourhood officers.
Equipment used to heat and light the plants was also recovered.
Neighbourhood Insp Tony Blacklock, of Whitley Bay Policing Team, said: “Our priority is to continue to make our communities safe and protect the public from the menace of drugs.”
Police are asking landlords who rent out private properties to check them regularly for suspicious activity.
Det Supt Tim Walker, of the force’s Crime Operations Department, said: “This operation has shown we can use specialist resources to tackle problems within our neighbourhoods.”
Fifteen men aged between 21 and 44 and a 54 year-old woman have been arrested and bailed following the raids in Gateshead.
They were held in connection with charges of possession, conspiracy to supply, fraud, handling stolen goods and possession of counterfeit goods.
One 35-year-old man was given a cannabis warning. More than £5,000 worth of drugs were seized and over £10,000 in cash recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Warrants were carried out across Gateshead targeting suspected dealers and also those who may be storing drugs as part of a supply network.
Det Inspector Scott Hall, of Gateshead Area Command, said: “We’re linking in with our partners to reduce the level of supply in the borough.” He said police are also liaising with partners over tenancy enforcement to curb anti-social behaviour.
:: Four people will appear at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court today following drugs-related arrests.
Andrew McKay, 46, of Baring Street, Simon Gudgeon, 29, of Gresford Street, Joseph White, 32, of Beach Road, and Kerry Warburton, 25, of Beach Road, all South Shields, have been charged with conspiracy to supply drugs.
£1m drug bust as Gatwick Airport staff discover cocaine in Chocolate Santas
Drug traffickers used chocolate Santas to smuggle liquefied cocaine into Britain. Security staff at Gatwick airport discovered the Class A drug this week as they scanned for liquid explosives.
The Columbian smuggling gang were arrested in Milan after police followed the trail back from Britain.
Investigators also seized a cocaine-packed sweets parcel and another box at Colombia’s Bogota airport.
A Customs official said: “Between us we intercepted £1million of cocaine in one hit. This was a very disciplined investigation carried out across three countries.”
Pete Doherty arrested after ‘drug bust’
Babyshambles man was arrested on a British Airways flight
Pete Doherty was arrested after an alleged drugs bust on a flight on Friday (June 5).
The singer was detained in Geneva after being found slumped in a bathroom on board a British Airways plane, according to the Sunday Mail.
The newspaper reported a hypodermic needle was found at the scene and wrapped in tissue by airline staff.
The Babyshambles man was fined by police and then allowed him to go free and play at the Neuchatel Open Air festival.
“Swiss police met BA730 from Heathrow to Geneva on Friday and a man was arrested,” a British Airways spokesperson told the newspaper.
A Geneva police spokesman told The Sun: “We were contacted by the captain of a BA flight and a passenger was controlled by police. He was charged — but I cannot say what with. He paid a fine and was allowed to go.”
Pete Doherty went on to play a gig at Camden Underworld on Saturday (June 6) as part of the Camden Rocks festival.
Massive drug bust in London
Posted Wed Feb 13, 2008 11:26pm AEDT
Drugs, money laundering: Scotland Yard says a gang was suspected of laundering over $6m every week. (File photo) (Reuters: Toby Melville)
Police have used a mechanical digger to smash through a wall around a suspect’s house during raids to break up one of Britain’s biggest drug trafficking networks.
The JCB digger was used on a house in Hillingdon, north London, during the operation, one of the biggest in the Metropolitan Police’s history.
About 520 officers arrested more than 20 people, seized 100 kilograms of cocaine and found several guns during the raids on about 30 addresses in and around the British capital.
TV footage of the raids showed dozens of officers wearing riot gear and carrying shields running alongside the digger in the early morning fog before it punched through the wall.
Officers using a circular saw to cut through a metal door grille were showered with sparks.
Detective Superintendent Steven Richardson, head of the Met’s Specialist Intelligence Section, said it had “dealt a huge blow to the illegal drugs industry”.
“The suspects arrested are believed to be the top tier and key players involved in the moving and distribution of cocaine and cannabis throughout the UK,” he said.
“They are believed to have substantial connections in Europe, using these contacts to traffic drugs into the UK.”
Scotland Yard said the gang was suspected of converting drug money into 500-euro notes to launder profits worth up to three million pounds ($6.56 million) each week.
The gang was suspected of using a taxi office and bureaux de change shops to launder the money, Sky News reported.
Some of the suspected members had been living the lives of wealthy businessmen, Mr Richardson added.
Before the operation, police had already seized more than 2.5 million pounds ($5.47 million) in cash and several guns.
The raids took place from Marble Arch and Bayswater to Twickenham, West Molesey and St John’s Wood. Houses were also searched in Kent and Essex.
Supermodel’s Fella Jailed In Drug Bust.
SUPERMODEL Jourdan Dunn was devastated last night after her lover was jailed for drugs offences.
Jordan Cummings, father of the beauty’s newborn son, was caged for 3½ years for possessing 2oz of cocaine with intent to supply.
It came just two months after Vogue cover girl Jourdan – dubbed the new Naomi Campbell – gave birth to their baby.
She had appeared in several stunning photo shoots while an expectant mum.
Jourdan, 19 – voted the UK’s Model of the Year in 2008 – returned to the catwalk last Sunday modelling Aquascutum during the London Fashion Show.
But she was hiding the awful secret of her fella’s case at Blackfriars Crown Court in South London the following morning.
Cummings, 20, of Islington, North London, is believed to have been given the harsh 40-month term in a young offenders’ institute due to similar previous convictions.
One source said last night: “The police kicked down his front door when they arrested him.
“He’s well-known on the streets as a dealer. He’s been dealing since he was a teenager, and makes about £1,000 a week. He and Jourdan are always out and have been together about five years – though I’ve never heard marriage mentioned.”
Jourdan, who lives with mum Dee and two younger brothers in Greenford, West London, refused to comment. But a pal said: “She is devastated. She is committed to raising her son and focusing on her career.”
Jourdan was snapped up by top agency Storm after being discovered while shopping in Primark in 2006. She has since modelled for Gap, Topshop and H&M.
25 Year Old Man Sentenced To Death For 21 Grams Of Marijuana.
(Toke of the Town) A 25-year-old man wept openly in Malaysian High Court court this morning when the judge sentenced him to death for marijuana.
Shahrul Izani Suparman was convicted of possessing 622 grams of cannabis with intent to deliver, reports Azreen Hani of The Malay Mail. Shahrul was 19 years old when he was arrested on Sept. 25, 2003.
According to police, Shahrul tried to get away from them on foot when he was ordered to stop while riding his motorcycle in Klang, Malaysia. Authorities said Shahrul had made a U-turn, and was riding without his lights on.
The marijuana, packed in two separate newspaper wrappings, was found in the motorcycle’s basket. Shahrul was charged under Malaysia’s Dangerous Drugs Act of 1952, which upon conviction carries a death sentence by hanging.
Malaysia, along with Vietnam, Indonesia, China and several other Asian countries, has some of the harshest drug laws on Earth. Mere possession of more than 200 grams carries a mandatory death penalty by hanging in Malaysia.
I’m just reeling over this one, considering that in my state with my Oregon caregiver card, I can be in possession of 24 ounces of marijuana and police will let me be.
People like Georgia Rep. Tommy “Caning for Potheads” Benton salivate over the idea of instituting a death penalty for drug crimes, frustrated that our pesky Constitution and enlightened population won’t tolerate that sort of barbarity. They seem to think that such extreme punishment will finally give them the “Drug-Free America*” they’ve always dreamed of.
I’d like to point out that the fact the court had to sentence this young man to death proves that the extreme punishment doesn’t work. Even with that possible outcome, wasn’t there 21 ounces of pot being trafficked through Malaysia? The young man testified that he had already made a couple of other deliveries for a friend but had no idea what he was transporting. Whether he did or not, assuming the deliveries were more ounces of pot, doesn’t that show that Malaysians are finding a way to get high?
All these countries have done is provided insurgents, rebels, and terrorists a very lucrative black market trade to raise liquid cash to fund their activities, made more lucrative the more stringent the punishment. The beneficiaries of this largess are rarely brought to trial; rather, it’s the Shahruls of the world, the low-level mules and dealers, that pay for the profits.
£1 million of Drugs Seized in Operation in West Yorkshire and Merseyside
Update Saturday 1 August 2009
Further to the operation on Thursday 30th July 2009 where in excess of one million pounds worth of drugs were seized two men have now been charged to appear before Dewsbury Magistrates Court this morning.
One in his late forties from Bingley has been charged with possession with intent to supply class A drugs.
One aged 43 from Merseyside has been charged with possession with intent to supply class B drugs
A 37 year old woman from Gomersal has been released on bail pending further enquiries.
Friday, 31 July, 2009
West Yorkshire Police assisted by Merseyside Police have seized in excess of 1 million pounds worth of drugs as part of an ongoing operation.
On Thursday 30th July officers arrested three people, a man and a women in West Yorkshire and a man in Merseyside.
In both counties officers seized a total of 25 kilos of drugs suspected to be Cocaine, Amphetamine and Cannabis along with equiptment believed to be used in the production of drugs and a large quantity of cash.
All three remain in police custody at this time at police stations across West Yorkshire.
‘I’ve spent £1 million on drugs,’ admits Noel Gallagher
By Nick Pisa
Last updated at 9:49 AM on 05th July 2009
Hedonistic: Noel Gallagher has admitted to spending £1million on drugsOasis hard rocker Noel Gallagher has spent an amazing £1 million on drugs and enjoyed every minute of it, he told an Italian newspaper.
Noel, 42, also labelled Coldplay’s Chris Martin an ‘idiot’ after he claimed not to have taken drugs and for good measure slammed the rival band and U2 for using concerts as stages for ‘rock politics.’
With his brother Liam the two were at the centre of Britpop and their hedonistic excesses were well known and they were legendary for their partying.
Noel even once revealed how he had taken cocaine at a Downing Street reception in a toilet reserved for the Queen.
In his interview with Corriere Della Sera he said: ‘I look at Chris Martin who says he has never taken drugs in his life and I think he is an idiot.
‘Doing drugs is the most beautiful thing about being in a rockband.
‘Up until 1998 I must have spent £1 million on drugs then I stopped because it is bad for your health, brain, life and for people around you.
‘But while you use them – except for heroin which kills people and which I have never tried – as you lot (Italians) would say “Mamma Mia”.’
Then turning to bands who used concerts to get across a political message Noel stormed:’We get on the stage and play. I have been to loads of concerts where bands don’t play they just talk about politics.
‘At a U2 or Coldplay concert there is always a message about poor people or people dying from hunger – OK but can’t we just have a nice evening? Do we always have to feel guilty?’
Party people: Noel (left) and brother Liam were known for their excessive ways at the height of their fameNoel – who with the rest of Oasis met Tony Blair several times at the height of their fame – also spoke of his own political views and said:’I grew up with Labour in opposition.
‘I heard their policies on education and minimum wages and I thought they were right. Then they got into government and wow I got to know them.
‘Then as time passed they became like all the others – it was like when you find out Father Christmas doesn’t exist.
‘I don’t vote any more – anyway it doesn’t matter as nothing will change.’
Oasis are currently on tour and are due to play three concerts at Wembley Stadium this week and will end their series of gig in Milan on August 30th.
Gangster guilty of £1m drug plot
Wednesday, 07, Oct 2009 05:12
By Richard James.
A man believed to be one of Britain’s richest gangsters has been found guilty of a £1 million drug smuggling plot in Jersey.
Curtis Warren was convicted of conspiring to import a controlled drug in 2007.
During the two-week trial at the Jersey royal court, the jury were told the 46-year-old had wanted to make the island the latest target in his drug trafficking business.
Warren is said to have amassed a fortune of over £100 million through illegal operations and even made it onto the Sunday Times rich list.
He spent a decade in prison in the Netherlands and was once Interpol’s most wanted drugs trafficker.
Five other men accused of plotting to import drugs into Jersey were also found guilty on Wednesday.
The jury heard how the group had planned to buy large quantities of cannabis in Amsterdam and gather it in an isolated spot on Jersey.
Commenting after the verdicts, Acting Chief Officer of Jersey police David Warcup said: “We hope that the conviction of the men sends out a clear message to others that we will continue to tackle those responsible for the importation of drugs into the island.”
The six men have been remanded in custody and are due to be sentenced on December 4th.
Bowls boss in £1 million drugs bust
Skunk cannabis – so-called because of its strength and pungent smell – is thought to have been hidden in a lorry importing flowers from Holland to Harwich, in Essex, and police swooped on Thursday after it pulled into a Swaffham yard.
One of three men arrested at the scene was Lance Lewis (41), of Ketts Hill, Necton, who is owner of Pentney Bowls and Leisure Club, in Narborough Road.
Mr Lewis, Benjamin Heward (46), of Woodhill Rise, Norwich, and Rainer Doss (53), of Great Yarmouth, have been charged with conspiracy to supply a Class B drug between January 1 and October 30.
They were remanded in custody at Lynn Magistrates Court on Saturday morning and are to appear for a preliminary hearing at Norwich Crown Court on Monday, November 16.
During extensive searches, a number of vehicles, large quantities of cash and a firearm were recovered and Mr Lewis has also been charged with possession of a shotgun without a licence, between the same dates.
In April, Mr Lewis donated prizes to a charity bowls tournament raising money for West Norfolk MIND and in September he made a £2,175 donation to the Macmillan Unit at Lynn’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital, following a charity dance.
Det Supt Alan McCullough, of the Investigations Directorate, said: “We are committed to tackling those who are involved in serious and organised crime. This is yet another example of Norfolk Constabulary’s commitment to deal with local issues such as reducing crime and anti-social behaviour, yet maintaining our focus on the greater threat of organised crime groups.
“Our communities can be assured we will continue to create a hostile environment for those who believe they can commit crime in Norfolk and with the public’s assistance we will ensure Norfolk continues to be the safest county in England.”
Hamilton drugs bust cops target wrong flat
Nov 26 2009 by Gary Fanning, Hamilton Advertiser
A YOUNG man this week told of his shock after police battered down his door – BY MISTAKE – during a bungled drugs raid in Hamilton.
Officers smashed in the front door of Anthony Moore’s flat in Low Waters Road last Tuesday at about 4.50pm.
The 23-year-old was getting a haircut at his work, Kasi’s Cadzow Bridge Barber Shop, also in Low Water’s Road, when the botched operation took place.
About 15 officers searching for drugs swooped on Anthony’s flat.
He said: “I was in the hairdresser’s about three or four doors down from my flat.
“My landlord just happened to be walking past when he saw 15 officers with batons battering down my door.
“He came into the hairdressers and told me what was going on.
“I went to my flat and told the officers that I live in the flat.
“They told me the number of flat they were looking for… and I told them that had got the wrong flat.
“I think they were hoping to catch a drug dealer unawares, but they were at the wrong flat.
“But with all the noise and commotion they would have alerted any drug dealer to what was going on.
“You would have thought that the police would have planned this raid thoroughly and at least gone to the right door.
“This was such a waste of police time and money.”
Police have agreed to compensate Anthony for the damage caused to his flat during the raid.
Anthony, who has lived in his flat for about a year, added: “They have damaged the door and the full wooden frame at the door, the walls and the carpet.
“They have given me a reference number, I think for compensation, and I am waiting on someone from the police to call me back.”
A Hamilton police spokeswoman said: “It was a genuine mistake on our part and we have agreed to repair the damage.
“We have asked the gentleman to get three quotes for the repairs for the damage and we will compensate him.
“This doesn’t happen much, but when it does we fully rectify it.”
‘Record’ Afghanistan drugs bust
Opium trafficking provides the Taliban with much of its income
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International and Afghan troops have killed 60 militants and made a record drugs haul in an operation in southern Afghanistan, the US military has said.
Its statement said the four-day attack targeted the town of Marja in Helmand province – a Taliban stronghold.
The troops seized 92 tonnes of opium poppy seeds and other drugs, “severely disrupting” a key narcotics centre and command hub of the insurgency.
The US denied reports that civilians were killed during the operation.
However, a spokesman for the Afghan defence ministry told the BBC that it was investigating the reports.
Taliban militants have so far not commented on the US statement.
Weapons seized
On Saturday, the US military said the joint operation focussed on Marja, south-west of the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah.
It said the troops targeted the town’s bazaar, describing it as a key hub for militant and criminal operations.
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The area was emptied of civilians overnight on Friday, before precision airstrikes were launched, the statement said.
The international and Afghan forces then seized the poppy seeds, along with tar opium, processed morphine, heroin and hashish.
Helmand is the main producer of Afghan opium, which accounts for more than 90% of the global supply.
The US military also said that a large amount of weapons and bomb-making equipment was seized during the operation.
Cocaine kingpin sentenced to 45 years in prison
US judge also orders Diego Montoya Sánchez to pay $500,000 (£301,000) in restitution
The kingpin once responsible for sending more Colombian cocaine into the United States than anyone has been sentenced to 45 years in prison.
A federal judge in Miami also ordered 48-year-old Diego Montoya Sánchez to pay $500,000 (£301,000) in restitution today. In August he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import cocaine, racketeering conspiracy and obstruction of justice.
Authorities say Montoya, known as “Don Diego,” headed the North Valley cocaine cartel from 1990 to 2004. In that time, the cartel exported 1.2m pounds of cocaine worth $10bn.
Montoya said he started down the wrong path after his family abandoned him at age 14. He apologised to families of those killed by drug violence and said he now hopes to live “a life of peace and purpose”.
Man Was Digging Up Pot Plant When Arrested.
JOHNSTOWN — Police jailed a western Pennsylvania man who was allegedly digging up a marijuana plant in his yard as officers arrived to arrest him on unrelated theft charges. Jon Beltz Jr., 23, is in the Cambria County Jail.
Johnstown police went to Beltz’s home to arrest him Wednesday on charges that he stole nearly $2,700 from a woman’s bank account by using her identity to make 32 withdrawals. Police said he also sold more than $12,000 of the her jewelry and computer equipment.
That’s when police saw Beltz standing next to a freshly dug hole and holding the plant, which they charged him with possessing.
Beltz faces a preliminary hearing Sept. 16 according to online court records which don’t list an attorney for him.
Dog Just Doesn’t Say ‘No’ And Get’s “Stoned” At Park
SEATTLE — A dog that ran off from its owner in Seattle’s Seward Park found and ate some marijuana and got high. Owner Jen Nestor Waddell told KING-TV the 11-year-old black Lab mix named Jack was “just stoned” May 12 after they returned home from the park. The dog’s eyes glossed over and he had trouble walking.
The vet said Jack had swallowed a large amount of dried, harvested marijuana. After some medication to induce vomiting and a night of rest Jack was back to normal.
Waddell told police about the drugs and joked they could borrow Jack to find them if they paid the $1,500 vet bill.
(CRYING CORNER) : Police Seize 1,200 Pounds Of Pot In Spinnach Tins.
GALLUP — Police with the New Mexico Motor Transportation Division found 1,200 pounds of pot packed in cans labeled as spinach during a stop at the Gallup port of entry. An inspector noticed that only a few of the cans were labeled and that the weight printed on the side of the can didn’t match the actual weight. A closer look during last Friday’s bust revealed the canned drugs, which were worth an estimated $1.5 million.
The four pallets of cans were being transported along with fresh produce.
The 50-year-old truck driver said he was on his way from California to the East Coast. The driver and the pot were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Man Says He Moved Pot Plants To Keep Burglars Away.
JACKSONVILLE — Authorities said a man stopped with 17 marijuana plants in the bed of his pickup told police he was moving them to protect them from burglars who robbed his house the night before. Police said they arrested a 26-year-old man after receiving a tip that two men were loading pot plants onto a truck around noon Saturday. Police reported finding the plants beneath a cover in the truck bed.
Authorities said the man was charged with cultivating marijuana and the truck’s driver was charged with felony marijuana possession. The driver told police he was only driving the truck because the man’s license was suspended.
Both men were later released on bond.
Gas (Petrol) Saver? Pot Makes Gas Gauge Read Half Full
SANDY — A stash of grass can take the place of a lot of gas, but it won’t do anything for mileage.
A Utah man took his newly acquired used SUV to a mechanic to find out why the gas gauge always read half-full.
The mechanic in Sandy looked inside the gas tank and found about 35 pounds of marijuana in plastic-wrap packages that filled about half of the tank’s volume.
Police estimate the pot is worth about $35,000.
The Nissan Armada has had several different owners and was once a rental car.
Sandy police are trying to figure out who stashed the pot but say the current owner is not a suspect.
Investigators in the town south of Salt Lake City say the drug packs could have been in the tank for months.
5 Arrested In £20 Million Drug Bust
LONDON (Reuters) – Police said on Wednesday they had arrested five men after a drugs bust worth an estimated 20 million pounds.
Officers swooped on a warehouse in Grays, Essex, where a load from a lorry, supposed to be frozen chickens, was being broken up, and arrested the men, aged 49, 54, 67, 69 and 70, on suspicion of importing controlled drugs.
Two other suspects fled the scene.
A search of the warehouse found what was believed to be 3.5 tonnes of cannabis resin, 1.5 tonnes of amphetamine, 0.5 tonnes of “skunk” and several kilos of a mixed “cocktail” of yet to be identified class A and B drugs.
Raids were also carried out at eight houses in London and Essex, detectives said.
“We believe that we have caused major disruption to a sophisticated organised criminal enterprise,” said Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) Principal Officer Nigel Eeles.
Pete Doherty Arrested After Drug Bust
Pete Doherty was arrested after an alleged drugs bust on a flight on Friday (June 5).
The singer was detained in Geneva after being found slumped in a bathroom on board a British Airways plane, according to the Sunday Mail.
The newspaper reported a hypodermic needle was found at the scene and wrapped in tissue by airline staff.
The Babyshambles man was fined by police and then allowed him to go free and play at the Neuchatel Open Air festival.
“Swiss police met BA730 from Heathrow to Geneva on Friday and a man was arrested,” a British Airways spokesperson told the newspaper.
A Geneva police spokesman told The Sun: “We were contacted by the captain of a BA flight and a passenger was controlled by police. He was charged — but I cannot say what with. He paid a fine and was allowed to go.”
FA And Police To Investigate Roman Bednar’s ‘Drug Bust’
The police and the Football Association have launched their own inquiries into the drug allegations that prompted West Bromwich Albion to suspend Roman Bednar, their Czech Republic striker, last Sunday. Reports claimed that Bednar had bought cocaine and cannabis outside his home and although the club are conducting an internal inquiry, West Midlands police and the FA have confirmed they will be carrying out their own investigations.
Bednar, who was reported to have claimed that he was purchasing the drugs for a friend when he was first confronted, could face criminal charges if the allegations are proved. “We are aware of the content and allegations contained within the newspaper article and are looking into the claims made,” said a West Midlands police spokesman. The FA is also following up the initial report. “Players are prohibited from taking social drugs at any time and we will be looking into the matter,” said an FA spokesperson.
The 26-year-old’s agent last night refused to comment on the latest development but it is understood that talks will be held before the end of the week between the player and officials at The Hawthorns as Albion seek to establish exactly what went on following the Wigan match 11 days ago, when the former Hearts forward is alleged to have handed over £420 to a drug dealer for cocaine and cannabis.
Bednar released a statement on Sunday expressing his regret for the “embarrassment” that he has caused Albion, but he did not address the allegations. The Professional Footballers’ Association has since been in touch with the club to discuss Bednar’s situation while Peter Kay, chief executive of the Sporting Chance Clinic, which provides support for sports people with behavioural and addiction problems, has offered to help the player.
“We are here for anyone,” he said. “I think the important point to make is that we go to great lengths to support people who want to help themselves and as long as they are fulfilling that criterion we will help anyone. We don’t go out tapping the tambourine and say, ‘You’ve got to get help.’ If he [Bednar] was to approach us, of course we would help him. Whichever way you want to look at it, without putting any label on it, anyone who gets caught in that situation has got a problem.”
Walked FREE From Court
A Student
who grew thousands of pounds worth of cannabis plants in a flat has walked free from court. The High Court in Glasgow heard Billy Corr, 21 had converted the home, in Rupert Street in the city’s west end, into a hothouse. He was caught after a man living downstairs complained about a damp patch in his ceiling. The landlord then found hundreds of cannabis plants in the flat and alerted police.
Judge Lord Mackay of Drumadoon told Corr that he could have jailed him but as the accused’s role was limited to growing the plant, not selling the drug, instead ordered him to undertake 120 hours of community service. He was also put on probation for three years. An earlier court hearing was told the street value of the plants produced was between £35,000 and £70,000
Growing In Greenhouse
Broadview
RCMP uncovered one of the largest drug growing operations ever known to exist in the area after the search of a farm yard south of Whitewood resulted in the discovery of close to 4,000 marijuana plants worth nearly $4 million dollars. The discovery was made with the help of Waldo K9s top sniffer dog,during the execution of a search warrant at a residence and farm yard located approximately five miles south of Whitewood and one mile east. The search, which began August 11, took RCMP officers until the following day to complete due to the quantity of marijuana discovered. During the two days of searching, RCMP officers discovered and seized over 3,900 marijuana plants that had been growing in greenhouse.
I Have Nothing To Say
Longford
man charged after €10m drug find. A 36-year-old man was today charged in connection with the seizure of cannabis worth €10m. Alan Flood, with an address in Urmston, Manchester, was arrested last Wednesday following the discovery of 1.2 tonnes of cannabis hidden in a lorry parked behind a house in Carbury, Kildare. At Dublin District Court, Detective Garda James O’Sullivan, from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, said he arrested Flood at Newbridge garda station last night. He was charged at 10.30pm with possession of drugs under section three of the Misuse of Drugs Act and with possession with intent to supply under section 15 of the act. Detective Garda O’Sullivan told the court that Flood replied “nothing to say” to both charges. Flood, who is originally from.
2 Men Of Chinese Origin Were Seen Fleeing.
Cannabis plants discovered in a Shropshire warehouse would have earned the ringleaders £1.5 million a year, detectives revealed today. A total of 1,850 cannabis plants, valued at £250,000,
were discovered in the garden-centre style “cannabis factory” on Stafford Park in Telford during a raid on Monday. Detective Constable Paul Stoddart-Crompton, of Telford’s drugs 
squad, who led the operation, today said the cannabis plants had been seized from the unit and put into 60 sacks. They have all since been incinerated.Mr Stoddart-Crompton said: “We have seized 1,850 plants along with 238 sodium lights, all of which had its own electrical power pack. The estimated value for the crop we have seized is £250,000, but that has got a yearly earning potential of £1.5 million.” Forensic teams have spent two days scouring the premises for clues as to who was behind the class-C drug growing operation. “We have sent numerous items for forensic examination including toothbrushes and razors,” he said. “As they were spooked they left everything behind, even to the point where one of them left in such a hurry he had one trainer on and one was still in the factory. We have got everything for DNA testing.” Two men thought to be of Chinese origin were seen fleeing the scene when the drugs squad officers raided. But Mr Stoddart-Crompton said even if the people behind the “cannabis factory” were in the country illegally he was hopeful of catching them. He said they will start another factory somewhere else and, “when they are arrested we will have their DNA on profile and it will be realised they were behind the Telford one too.”
Dutch Marijuana Export Industry Generates $2.7 Billion a Year
Dutch marijuana growers are earning about $2.7 billion a year from exporting their crops, mostly to their European neighbors, Dutch police commissioner Max Daniel told the newspaper NRC Handelsblad last weekend. 
But the black market trade is also engendering violence, he said.
Under Dutch law marijuana possession and production are criminal offenses, but in practice, police tolerate the sale of marijuana in coffee shops, the possession of small amounts, and the growing of up to four plants. Larger grows, including those that supply the coffee shops, are illegal.
But because marijuana production remains prohibited, Holland, like other countries, faces the problems associated with the black market, including prohibition-related crime and violence. Daniel put it starkly: “Today, cannabis is involved in nearly all major cases involving murder, weapons, and drugs.”
And the marijuana trade is seeping into the legitimate economy. Banks finance marijuana grows, companies fund university research in agricultural methods, and the Dutch exchequer benefits from the coffee house sales.
“In the production of cannabis,” said Daniel, “the criminal and non-criminal worlds have become increasingly intertwined. Many people have become rich by growing cannabis. You can become a millionaire within 10 years. Many of the proceeds are invested legally in real estate. But I don’t believe that someone who has had people killed 14 or 15 years ago can turn into a good citizen.”
Dutch Judges Say: “Legalize It”
More than half of Dutch judges surveyed by the newsweekly Vrij Nederland think marijuana should be legalized, according to a report from the Netherlands Information Service. The weekly interviewed 489 judges, 22 apprentice judges, and 140 prosecutors.
More
than half (52%) said “soft drugs,” such as marijuana or hashish (and possibly psychedelics) should be legalized. More than one in ten (12%) said even the use, possession, or dealing of “hard drugs,” such as cocaine, heroin, or methamphetamine, should not be criminally prosecuted.
Although marijuana sales are regulated and taxed in the Netherlands’ famous coffee shops under Dutch “pragmatism” policies, the sale or manufacture of marijuana officially remains a crime under Dutch law. The current conservative Dutch national government has attempted to shut down the coffee shops, but without popular support for such a move has had to settle for tightening regulations on the marijuana outlets and gradually reducing their numbers.
The Dutch judges are apparently a fairly liberal bunch. According to the survey, in addition to supporting anti-prohibitionist drug policies, nearly half (48%) thought anti-terrorism measures had gone too far, 41% were concerned about the privacy of citizens, and 10% believe that the Netherlands is on the path to becoming a police state.
Dutchman Busted for Smoking Tobacco in Cannabis Coffee House
In the first coffee shop bust since the Dutch imposed a ban on tobacco
smoking in public places earlier this year, an unnamed 27-year-old Amsterdam man has been issued a fine for smoking a marijuana joint laced with tobacco, the Netherlands Information Service reported. If he fails to pay the fine, his case will automatically advance to the courts, where it would be the first case to punish someone for illegally smoking a legal product in a legal business selling an illegal product. (Marijuana remains illegal under Dutch law, although the Dutch pragmatically regulate its sale.)
The Dutch banned smoking tobacco in bars, restaurants, and other public accommodations, including coffee shops, beginning July 1. The smoking of cannabis is not banned, but the quaint European habit of mixing tobacco into marijuana joints had observers earlier this year predicting that such an incident was inevitable.
Although Dutch police are not charged with enforcing the smoking ban — it is the domain of the Food and Non-Food Authority (VWA) — the man was issued a citation by a police officer. “If a police officer signals an infringement, he does not close his eyes to it,” according to a police spokesman.
[CRYING CORNER] Afghanistan Makes “World’s Largest” Drug Bust — 260 Tons of Hash Destroyed
June 24th 2008
Afghan police found and destroyed a whopping 260 tons of hashish near Spin Boldak in Kandahar province near the Pakistan border Monday. The contraband cannabis was buried in trenches and bunkers in the desert, and the stash was so extensive that NATO called in two aircraft to bomb it. Also found was five tons of opium.
In a Wednesday press release, NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) claimed to have struck a major blow against the Taliban, which is strong in Kandahar and widely thought to profit handsomely — along with many other actors — from the Afghan drug trade.
“With this single find, the police have seriously crippled the Taliban’s ability to purchase weapons that threaten the safety and security of the Afghan people and the region,” said General David McKiernan, commander of ISAF, the International Security Assistance Force.
The hash had an estimated regional wholesale value of $400 million. ISAF officials estimated that the Taliban would have pocketed about $14 million from the sale of the drugs. But despite McKiernan’s claim, that’s chump change compared to the hundreds of millions of dollars the Taliban is estimated to make each year from the opium trade.
The seizure of such a massive quantity of hashish should also raise questions about the Afghan government’s overall anti-drug program. While Afghan and Western officials praised Afghanistan for eradicating opium production in some northern provinces last year, it appears farmers there simply switched over to cannabis.
Still, NATO and the West were patting themselves and their Afghan partners on the back. “This was the largest ever single find of narcotics in history,” British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said in a statement. “It reflects the efforts of the Afghan government against the drug trade, and was so large that two aircraft were brought in to destroy the underground bunker in which the hashish was being stored.”
“The Afghan National Police Special Task Force has made a huge step forward in proving its capability in curbing the tide of illegal drug trade in this country,” said General McKiernan. “The international community will continue to support the Afghan forces with more of the same training and support that helped them achieve such success in this mission.”
Meanwhile, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime’s most recent report on the Afghan crop, Afghan opium production this year looks to maintain its record high levels. The country currently supplies more than 90% of the world’s opium.
New York City Marijuana Arrest Capital of the World
May 14th 2008
Police in New York City arrested more than 39,700 people on marijuana charges last year, and that is no fluke. In the last decade, nearly 400,000 New Yorkers have been arrested for carrying small amounts of marijuana, the vast majority of them black or brown.
The figures come from a just released report by Queens College sociologist Harry Levine and Breaking the Chains executive director Deborah Small. According to the report, “Marijuana Arrest Crusade,” whites constituted only 15% of those arrested, while Hispanics were 31% and blacks made up more than half of all pot arrests, with 52%.
“Racial profiling is a fact of life on the streets of New York City,” said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, during a news conference at the group’s Manhattan headquarters.
New York is among the small number of states that decriminalized marijuana possession in the late 1970s, but that hasn’t stopped police from arresting people carrying small amounts of weed and then subjecting them to average 24-hour stays in New York City jails while they await arraignment. Police get around the decrim law by “manufacturing” arrests for “possession in public view,” said Levine. Police routinely stop young black and brown men on the streets, force them to empty their pockets, then charge them with the more serious “possession in public view” offense.
Since Big Apple marijuana arrests started going through the roof during the administration of Mayor Rudolf Giulianai, the city has sometimes accounted for one out of 10 marijuana arrests in the entire country. Last year, that figure was lower, with New York accounting for roughly 5% of pot arrests nationwide, still a huge number.
That makes New York City “the marijuana arrest capital of the world,” said Lieberman.
[CRYING CORNER] Britain’s Biggest Cannabis Farm
One of Britain’s biggest ever cannabis farms has been discovered in Macclesfield – after the building it was being grown in caught fire.
Two men were spotted running away from a house, which was hiding the massive cannabis plantation, just moments before it went up in flames.
The men, described as being of oriental appearance were wearing white face masks, were crying as they ran from the three storey building.
An estimated 8,000 cannabis plants said to be worth about £500,000 were discovered by police at the property on Bridge Street, Macclesfield.
It is believed the fire was sparked after the electricity meters had been by-passed to set up the complex cultivation system.
Inside the run down listed building police discovered cannabis plants in rooms on every floor along with fertiliser.
There was a nursery room, growing room and potting room all insulated and set up to create the ideal growing conditions. The living quarters were on the top floor.
Neighbours in the terrace-lined street which is just outside the town centre, believed the building, a former Labour club, was empty and spoke of their shock after learning of the discovery.
Home Grown Effect
April 5th 2008
A man has been arrested after about 500 cannabis plants with a street value of about £250,000 were seized following a raid on a house in Nottinghamshire.
Officers discovered hydroponic growing equipment and other drug-related articles in the raid in Toton following an anonymous tip-off.
A man remains in custody following the raid of the property on Norfolk Avenue.Police said the discovery shows how useful information from the public could be in fighting drugs crime. Ch Insp Steve Haylett, from Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Cannabis grown like this is often found in substantial premises, which are largely unoccupied and visited by people infrequently. “I ask anyone who spots any suspicious people or activity, or notices an unusual smell, to call Nottinghamshire Police so we can deal with it.”
Group Terms Pot Bust Persecution Of Terminally Ill Man
Feburary 21st 2008
Dillion – The large-scale marijuana bust that law officers here touted as a major success this month was instead the persecution of a terminally ill man who needed the drug to help ease his suffering, a pro-medical marijuana group said Friday.
Patients and Families United, based in Helena, blasted the bust and said it would not stand up in court thanks to Montana’s Medical Marijuana Law passed three years ago. And they criticized law officers for making a terminally ill man’s last days miserable because of the worry that he would end up in prison.
“It amounts to persecution of somebody who’s already so overburdened with a medical condition that no one should have,” said Tom Daubert, founder and director of PFU. “That’s the purpose of our law, to have some relief for somebody who wants to be left alone.”
Daubert said his group will step up to help with the legal defense for the man, whose name has not been released by officials.
Law officers from Beaverhead County and the Southwest Montana Drug Task Force last week were trumpeting the seizure of 96 marijuana plants from a mobile home north of Dillon. They said the sophisticated growing operation was meant to keep a steady supply of marijuana coming, with plants at all stages of development.
They said the marijuana’s street value could be $153,000.Blair Martenson, regional director for the task force, refused to comment specifically on PFU’s comments, saying only that officials will push ahead with prosecution.
“What we have to say will come out in court,” he said. But Daubert said the man targeted in the investigation, who along with a woman, has yet to be arrested and charged, is suffering from a horrific disease. He would not specify what it was to protect the man, but said it is a rare degenerative disease that is always fatal.
Daubert said if taken into custody, Beaverhead County taxpayers will be on the hook for medical care that costs a staggering $136,000 a month for injections to keep the man alive.
“Beaverhead County can have some fun with this: pay to keep a guy alive for a trial that probably won’t happen quickly,” he said.
And Daubert lambasted law officers for conducting a three-month investigation without knowledge of Montana’s medical marijuana law. He said assertions that the operation was too large to be for one patient’s use are bogus, because each individual patient in need of medical marijuana requires different quantities.
For some patients, ingesting the marijuana rather than smoking it is the most effective way to ease pain, maintain appetite or gain the other benefits people garner from pot.
“It is not possible on the basis of the number of plants involved to categorically claim that the growing was for anything other than personal use,” he said.
Daubert promised a “vigorous” legal defense of the man. He said although the quantity of marijuana seized far exceeds the one ounce allowed under state law, they will use an affirmative defense to prove that he needed the quantity for his medical needs.
The man is not a registered medical marijuana user, Daubert said. But his medical records will provide more than enough evidence that he has a qualifying condition and needs the drug to help ease his suffering in the final months of life.
“We will bring in experts on dosage, horticulture and quantity issues,” Daubert said. “This will be potentially a major precedent-setting case in Montana.”
Whatever Next…
February 9th 2008
A police raid on an address in Castlegate, Tickhill, by Doncaster police resulted in a mini-cannabis farm being shut down. Officers from the Doncaster Tactical Tasking Team executed a drugs search warrant and found 18 cannabis plants with a value of about £5,000, which were taken away along 
with growing equipment.
A woman in her late 20s was arrested for alleged drug cultivation offences. One resident who saw police on the site said: “They were taking away heat lamps, sheeting and brown paper bags. I saw two police vans there and there must have been at least seven police officers.”
How many policemen does it take to bust a women in her 20’s and 18 cannabis plants? No, its not a joke, honest.
Officers in the South Yorkshire Constabulary must be feeling left out of things as they announce busting a “mini cannabis farm”, when it actual fact it sounds a lot like someone’s personal grow. Nice job South Yorks. Another criminal off our streets.
Whilst not quite in the realms of the Dorset Police and their recent “390kg haul ” of illicit cannabis they (South Yorks) have still managed to make a sow’s ear out of a silk purse. Whatever next..
‘Detectives Uncovered Three “Skunk” Cannabis Factories’
November 14th 2007
A Wirral chap was jailed for six years after detectives uncovered three “skunk” cannabis
factories capable of producing £1.2m of illegal drugs a year.
Inside a house in Church Street, Ellesmere Port, police found bedrooms lined with foil and a hydroponic system with 59 plants. Another factory in Deeside, North Wales, was capable of producing up to £200,000 of skunk a year. Chester Crown Court heard hidden behind an 8ft high corrugated iron fence and monitored by CCTV cameras, the unit at Pentre, Queensferry, had 523 cannabis plants and a lorry freezer on site. Daniel Murphy, 40, a joiner, of Buchanan Road, Wallasey, was convicted of conspiring to supply cannabis between September 2005 and September 2006 and jailed for six years
128 Plants, First Offence, 12 Months.
November 7th 2007
A Wirral grandad caught running a commercial cannabis farm was jailed for 12 months on 
Friday. 61-year-old William Evans has never been in trouble before and Judge David Swift said that it was very sad to see a man of his age and good character in the dock.
Police raided his large semi-detached home in Wallasey on March 13 and found “what can only be described as a cannabis farm”, he said.
“The cultivation of cannabis is regarded as a serious offence,” he said. “I must reflect the criminality of your behaviour and deter others who might decide to embark on a similar project.” Liverpool Crown Court heard that in one room they found 100 mature plants and equipment for their commercial cultivation. In another room there were 28 young plants in a “nursery” and more equipment for producing the drug.
T.H.E.U.1 
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