The Prime Minister of Iraq, Mohammad Shia al-Sudani, described the ongoing battle against narcotics and illicit substances waged by Iraqi authorities as “complex,” while emphasizing a resolute stance against the scourge that endangers societies and nations. Addressing the First International Baghdad Conference on Drug Control, Al-Sudani said that drugs threaten …
Read More »Police across the world take down dark web drug marketplace: Europol
Law enforcement agencies around the world seized an online marketplace and arrested nearly 300 people allegedly involved in buying and selling drugs, European Union law enforcement agency Europol said Tuesday. The worldwide operation targeting the “Monopoly Market,” coordinated by Europol, is the latest major takedown of sales platforms for drugs …
Read More »CNN: Saudi Arabia is becoming the drug capital of the Middle East
A grisly drug-induced homicide captivated the media in Saudi Arabia this April when a man in the country’s Eastern Province set his family house on fire before iftar, the meal that ends the Ramadan fast. Four members of his family were killed. Police said he was under the influence of …
Read More »French police operation underway in Dijon after earlier gang violence
A police operation is underway in the French city of Dijon following earlier gang violence in the city, the local police force said on Friday. “Following the events of the last few days in the Dijon area, police operation is underway in the Dijon districts of Gresilles and Chenove,” it …
Read More »Violence rocks France’s Dijon as Chechen diaspora, police clash following attack on teenager
French police has put an end to violent clashes between groups of Chechens and members of the North African community in the eastern French town of Dijon. The clashes were linked to score-settling by members of the Chechen community in the low-income district of Gresilles. They started on Friday, June …
Read More »Ten shot dead in attack on Mexican drug rehab center
Ten men were killed on Saturday when gunmen opened fire on a drug rehabilitation center in the Mexican city of Irapuato, the government of Guanajuato state said. Guanajuato, a region in central Mexico, has become one of the principal flashpoints of surging gang violence which President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador …
Read More »The United Nations reveals the impact of the Corona pandemic on drug prices
A UN report said that tighter border controls, public isolation measures and fewer flights due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus led to an increase in drug prices and made it difficult to obtain them worldwide. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime said in a report published today, …
Read More »Longest drug-smuggling tunnel under US-Mexico border found
US officials say they have discovered the longest smuggling tunnel ever found on the border with Mexico. Stretching for 4,309ft (1,313m), the tunnel had a lift, rail track, drainage, and air ventilation systems, and high voltage electrical cables. The passageway connected an industrial site in the Mexican city of Tijuana …
Read More »Record haul of cocaine worth $1bn found in Uruguay
Uruguay says it has seized a record haul of 6 tonnes of cocaine, calling it the biggest setback for traffickers in the country’s history. Naval and customs officers seized 4.4 tonnes of the drug in Montevideo port. It had been hidden in four soy flour containers destined for Lome, the …
Read More »Guatemala admits it is a cocaine-producing nation, not just transit point.
Guatemala must now consider itself a cocaine-producing nation and not just a transit country for the powerful narcotic after authorities discovered new coca processing laboratories, the interior minister said. Last year, Guatemala discovered plantations growing coca, along with a laboratory to process the leaf into cocaine. Until recently, the crop …
Read More »$1.2 Billion Worth of Cocaine Confiscated at German Port
German customs officials seized 4.5 metric tons of cocaine worth $1.2 billion two weeks ago, marking the largest cocaine bust in the country’s history. According to reports, more than 4,200 packages hidden in duffel bags were found in a shipping container in Hamburg, Germany. The freight container was believed to …
Read More »Video: Brazil jail where 57 were killed ‘was understaffed’
Conditions at a prison in Brazil where 57 inmates were killed in fighting on Monday have been described as “terrible” in an official report. The National Justice Council said that Altamira jail in north-eastern Pará state contained more than double the number of inmates it was built for. It also …
Read More »Sri Lanka leader reinstates execution for drug crimes, orders death of 4 convicts.
Sri Lanka’s president has reinstated the death penalty for drug-related crimes, and signed death sentences for four people, more than 43 years after the country’s last execution. Maithripala Sirisena announced the policy change on Wednesday, in what some critics say is a politically-motivated move ahead of elections later this year. …
Read More »London mayor announces car-free day.
London is to get a much-needed breath of fresh air on its most extensive car-free day to date, with 12.4 miles (20km) of the road to be closed in the center of the British capital. Mayor Sadiq Khan unveiled the plans for September 22 on Thursday — Clean Air Day …
Read More »German nurse who killed 85 patients sentenced to life in prison.
A former nurse was jailed for life on Thursday for murdering 85 of his patients – the worst killing spree in Germany’s post-war history. Niels Hoegel injected people with lethal drugs and then played the hero by appearing to struggle to revive them, the district court in Oldenburg heard. “Your …
Read More »At least 40 inmates strangled to death in Amazon prison gang clashes.
At least 40 prisoners in Brazil were found strangled to death on Monday in four jails in the Amazon jungle city of Manaus, where a fight between rival prison gangs resulted in 15 dead the day before, authorities said. A federal task force is being sent to Manaus in an …
Read More »Guatemalan presidential candidate held over ‘drug plot’.
A Guatemalan presidential candidate has been arrested in the US city of Miami on suspicion of conspiring to import cocaine to the United States. US investigators say center-right candidate Mario Estrada, 58, was seeking more than $10m (£7.7m) from the Sinaloa cartel in exchange for helping the powerful Mexican criminal …
Read More »Saudi execution of a Nigerian woman draws criticism.
This week’s execution of a Nigerian woman in Saudi Arabia over drug-related charges has drawn criticism from international human rights groups and the Nigerian government. Kudirat Adesola Afolabi, a mother of two and a widow, was found guilty of smuggling drugs into Saudi Arabia and executed Monday, Nigeria’s Ministry of …
Read More »Deaths from alcohol, drugs, and suicide hit record high in the US.
More than 150,000 people in the United States died in 2017 due to suicide, alcohol and drugs, an all-time high, according to a new analysis of government data. Nationwide, the number of deaths from alcohol, drugs, and suicide rose 6 percent between 2016 and 2017, according to an analysis of …
Read More »