cocaine

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Australia's Biggest Cocaine Bust Was Very Easy

Boat breaks down with $500M worth of cocaine

(Newser) - Australian authorities scored the biggest cocaine bust in the nation's history over the weekend, seizing more than 2 tons of cocaine worth about $500 million, reports the BBC . The remarkable thing was how easy it was: Authorities say the smugglers' boat broke down off the coast of Queensland, per...

Massive Drug Bust Makes a Dent in Global Cocaine Supply

225 metric tons of cocaine seized during Colombia-led operation involving 62 countries

(Newser) - A massive anti-drug operation led by Colombia and involving 62 countries has uncovered a world record-setting amount of cocaine. The six-week haul, weighing in at 225 metric tons, is the largest ever for a single anti-narcotics operation, the Guardian reports. It represents about 8% of the total cocaine produced worldwide...

Cartel Honcho Faked His Death, Lived It Up in US: Feds

Cristian Fernando Gutierrez-Ochoa, arrested Tuesday, is son-in-law to 'El Mencho'

(Newser) - Authorities have arrested a high-ranking member of the Jalisco New Generation cartel who allegedly faked his own death before living a life of luxury in California under a fake name. Cristian Fernando Gutierrez-Ochoa, 37, is son-in-law to cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, also known as "El Mencho," CNN...

Cops: Pizzeria's No. 40 Came With Cocaine

They say it was one of the best-selling pizzas at German restaurant

(Newser) - "The number 40 was one of the best-selling pizzas" at a pizzeria in western Germany, police say, and it wasn't because of the toppings. Police say they broke up a drug ring after learning that customers who asked for the No. 40 received a side order of cocaine....

Hurricane Debby Dumps $1M in Cocaine on Florida Beach
Hurricane Debby Apparently
Brought a Lot of Cocaine
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Aug 10, 2024 12:00 PM CDT

Hurricane Debby Apparently Brought a Lot of Cocaine

Storm dumps packages worth $1M on beaches in the Florida Keys

(Newser) - Hurricane Debby is wreaking havoc in the South this week, with Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina its biggest targets, but the storm system brought a little something extra to the Sunshine State, per the AP : 70 pounds of cocaine, worth about $1 million, that washed up in the Florida Keys,...

As It Turns Out, Cocaine Sharks Are Real
Brazil Sharks Test
Positive for Cocaine
NEW STUDY
Jul 23, 2024 12:00 PM CDT

Brazil Sharks Test Positive for Cocaine

Presence of the drug in wild sharks is verified for the first time

(Newser) - Cocaine sharks really do exist, researchers have confirmed, a year after scientists probed the possibility in the "Shark Week" documentary Cocaine Sharks and filmmakers terrified audiences with a horror film of almost the same name . A group of Brazilian sharpnose sharks taken from the ocean near Rio de Janeiro...

Florida Keys Boaters Find $1M in Cocaine

Authorities say floating package was found 7 miles offshore

(Newser) - In the latest of a string of such finds, recreational boaters in the Florida Keys found cocaine with an estimated street value of $1 million. In a Facebook post , the Monroe County Sheriff's Office said the mariners found a package containing individually wrapped kilograms of the drug floating around...

$450K of Cocaine Washes Ashore in Alabama

Similar stashes have turned up in Florida recently

(Newser) - They're not your usual beachcomber discoveries: About $450,000 worth of cocaine washed ashore on an Alabama beach last week, after similar stashes turned up along the Florida coast:
  • Alabama: The Mobile County Sheriff's Office says 55 pounds of the drug wrapped in 25 individual bricks washed up
...

Cops Find 4 Pounds of Coke in Little Kid's Backpack

Tierra Toccara Hill, 35, arrested after raid on her home in Mobile, Alabama

(Newser) - An Alabama woman is in custody after cops found more than 4 pounds of cocaine in the backpack of a 3-year-old in her home, among other discoveries. Per KTLA , deputies with the Mobile County Sheriff's Office got a tip that 35-year-old Tierra Tocorra Hill was stashing illegal drugs in...

Boat Chase Leads to Biggest Cocaine Seizure 'of the Year'

Value of shipment seized off Colombian island estimated at $113M

(Newser) - A high-speed boat chase ended with Colombia's "largest cocaine shipment seizure of the year," per CBS News . The Colombian navy and air force worked with the US Southern Command's Joint Interagency Task Force to chase down the speedboat found to hold nearly 4 tons of cocaine,...

Early Toxicology Reports May Shed Light on 3 KC Fans' Death

Source tells TMZ that the men allegedly showed traces of coke, fentanyl; cops await fuller tests

(Newser) - Three friends and fellow fans of the Kansas City Chiefs who were found dead outside a residence in the Missouri city were said by the homeowner to have frozen to death. Now, early toxicology results suggest there may be more to the story. Sources tell TMZ that preliminary reports have...

40 Nabbed in Mississippi Drug Bust
40 Nabbed
in Mississippi
Drug Bust
Jan 24, 2024 1:12 PM CST

40 Nabbed in Mississippi Drug Bust

Some charged with threatening to murder with explosives

(Newser) - Approximately 40 people with connections to multiple states and Mexico were arrested Tuesday after a four-year federal investigation exposed multiple drug trafficking operations in east Mississippi, federal prosecutors announced, per the AP . In 10 federal indictments filed in the US Southern District of Mississippi, those arrested are accused of distributing...

It's an 'Amount of Drugs Never Seen Before in Galicia'

Some of the cocaine was sandwiched between pieces of frozen tuna

(Newser) - Spanish authorities have confiscated 11 tons of cocaine and arrested 20 people tied to Balkan mafias in two different operations against the smuggling of the illegal drugs inside shipping containers, Spain's National Police said Tuesday. Police said the 16,500 pounds (or roughly 8 tons) of cocaine seized by...

Cocaine in Wheelchair Could Get Man Life Sentence

Hong Kong customs agents found 24 pounds of suspected cocaine in wheelchair cushions

(Newser) - Authorities in Hong Kong say an airline passenger's wheelchair was packed with enough suspected cocaine to get him a potential life sentence. The South China Morning Post reports that the 51-year-old passenger, who has mobility issues, flew with the motorized wheelchair as one of his items of checked baggage....

Tampa Mayor Catches 70 Pounds of Cocaine

'It was a big catch,' she says

(Newser) - Tampa Mayor Jane Castor was the city's police chief for six years, and she knows a bale of cocaine when she sees one. The mayor helped haul in cocaine worth around $1.1 million during a recent fishing trip in the Florida Keys, WFLA reports. She says she was...

Scientists Probe the Possibility of 'Cocaine Sharks'

Investigation to air as part of Discovery's Shark Week

(Newser) - Last month alone, the US Coast Guard seized more than 14,100 pounds of cocaine in the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. That's a lot of cocaine and suggests the drug, dumped by smugglers and picked up by currents, could make its way to marine life, including sharks. You'...

Secret Service: We Can't Solve the Cocaine Mystery

Agency closes its investigation into the West Wing discovery

(Newser) - Whoever brought cocaine to the White House appears to be off the hook. The Secret Service said Thursday it has closed its investigation into the unusual case without discovering any answers, reports USA Today . A small plastic baggie of cocaine was found in a West Wing lobby on July 2,...

Report: There's Little Hope of Finding WH Cocaine Culprit

Sources say drug was found in busy area near West Wing entrance

(Newser) - A lab test has confirmed that the white powder found at the White House on Sunday was definitely cocaine, sources tell outlets including NBC News and the Washington Post . The Post's sources say the drug was found on the ground floor of the White House, in the area where...

Cocaine May Have Been Found in the White House

Discovery by Secret Service prompted a brief evacuation over the weekend

(Newser) - A strange thing happened last weekend: The White House was briefly evacuated on Sunday evening after the Secret Service discovered what it would describe only as an "unknown object," reports Fox News . Now the Washington Post appears to have discovered what the "unknown object" was: cocaine. Authorities...

Pandemic Changed the Way Cocaine Moves Around World

Production is at a record high, and smugglers are using parcel services more

(Newser) - In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, production of cocaine has skyrocketed and new distribution hubs have emerged in Africa, reports the BBC . Cocaine production rose by 35% between 2020 and 2021, marking the biggest increase in seven years, per CBS News , which also cites a new report from the...

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