Joe Calzaghe admitted he had used cocaine since quitting the sport.
The 38-year-old Welshman, who retired in February last year undefeated in 46 professional fights, made the admission in a statement responding to an undercover investigation conducted by a British tabloid newspaper.
"I very much regret my occasional use of cocaine in what have sometimes been the long days since my retirement from the ring," Calzaghe said. "I am fully aware of the bad example it sets to other people and particularly to youngsters and I apologize to my family, friends and fans. It is not a major problem in my life but it is something which I am actively addressing."
The News of the World reporters posed as potential sponsors to gain access to set up meetings with Calzaghe, and recorded him talking about drugs.
"Many of the other conversations reported to have taken place simply involve men joshing or shooting the breeze over a drink," Calzaghe said. "While some statements are either untrue or exaggerations I am, naturally, sorry for any embarrassment their publication may cause to entirely blameless third parties.
world champion has twice been honored by Queen Elizabeth II.
The British monarch has awarded him the Commander of the Order of the British Empire and the Member of the Order of the British Empire.
"I am deeply sorry if anyone feels let down," Calzaghe said. "And I will make sure that nothing like it happens again
list of drunks whose loutish behaviour led to them being banned from pubs and clubs at the turn of the last century has been launched online.
list of drunks whose loutish behaviour led to them being banned from pubs and clubs at the turn of the last century has been launched online.
Related photos / videos
Enlarge photo Family history website Ancestry.co.uk said the Birmingham Pub Blacklist includes fascinating details, and photographs, of "habitual drunkards" in the city.
Offences included drink-driving a steam engine, riding a horse while under the influence and being intoxicated to the point of "complete incompetence".Each drunkard's entry includes photographs (front and profile views), their name, alias, residence, employment, physical description, distinguishing marks, nature of conviction and the sentence received for booze-related crimes.
The detailed description also lists distinguishing marks such as tattoos and scars, and their professions, including prostitutes, bedstead polishers, hawkers and grease merchants.
Ancestry.co.uk international content director Dan Jones said: "The list paints a fascinating picture of some of Birmingham's most debauched characters from the turn of the last century and we hope to complement it with similar lists from other cities in the future.
"The detail in these records is incredible, featuring photographs as well as physical descriptions, meaning anyone with an ancestor in the collection will find out a great deal about them, whilst others can uncover compelling information about forgotten members of society who were down on their luck or perhaps spending their good fortune in unwise ways."
25-year-old man from Hartlepool is one of eight men and women held over allegations linked to the trafficking of 20 tonnes of cocaine and cannabis.
The suspects are accused of using ‘paper’ companies as a front for drug smuggling.It is also alleged they employed business service centres across the UK to unwittingly receive packages of uncut cocaine and cannabis on their behalf.The arrests come after detectives from the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) raided properties across the UK.Alongside the arrest in Hartlepool, four arrests were made in Greater Manchester, two in Hampshire and one in Grimsby after a SOCA investigation identified connections between several drugs seizures by police in the UK and Spain.The suspects have been taken to Greater Manchester for interview, where SOCA is being supported by Greater Manchester Police.They face charges of conspiracy to supply controlled drugs between February 2007 and March 2010.
"there is no possibility of Mr Warren being fitted up".He dismissed the defence appeal as "not relevant".Advocate Michael Haine
Warren, 46, and five others were found guilty last year of plotting to bring £1m-worth of cannabis into the island.He was sentenced to 13 years in prison; the rest of the gang got between five-year and 12-year jail terms.Defence lawyers for all six men are appealing against the convictions and length of their sentences.Earlier Warren's advocate, speaking on behalf of all six co-conspirators, claimed their trial was unfair because police and the Crown were biased against him.'On Tuesday the appeal court was told the defence had not been allowed three "crucial" witnesses during the October trial.It had denied the jury evidence of the level the police and prosecutors would go to to "fit Warren up", Advocate Stephen Baker claimed.Solicitor General Howard Sharp, the crown prosecutor in the trial, told the appeal "there is no possibility of Mr Warren being fitted up".He dismissed the defence appeal as "not relevant".Advocate Michael Haine, acting for co-convicted Paul Hunt, 27, from Jersey, argued his client's defence was also weakened by an unclear summing up from the trial judge.The appeal hearing continues in the secure court at Jersey Magistrate's Court building.
K2 or Spice, a synthetic substance that, when smoked, gives users a marijuana-like high,
latest trend at teen parties isn't warm beer or prescription medicines pilfered from parents' medicine cabinets. Instead, increasing numbers of youths are turning to an herb-based product to get high, and unlike marijuana, it's perfectly legal.
It's known as K2 or Spice, a synthetic substance that, when smoked, gives users a marijuana-like high, according to drug authorities. Its growing popularity is causing increasing alarm among health care professionals, law enforcement authorities and lawmakers, with one Drug Enforcement Agency official calling its use the equivalent of "playing Russian roulette."
Manufactured in Asia and sold online or in local stores, K2 and similar substances are marketed as herbal incense. A disclaimer on a K2-selling Web site reads: "K2Herbal products are novelty incenses and are not for consumption."
Sold in various flavors in 3-gram bags, the product consists of herbs that are sprayed with synthetic substances that mimic THC, the high-causing natural chemical found in marijuana.
A call to regulate K2
Health and drug officials say the danger in using such products is the unregulated nature of their production and makeup.
"Our biggest concern is that this particular chemical is likely manufactured in a dorm-room setting. And these dorm-room scientists are not going to be exhibiting a lot of quality assurance techniques," says Dr. Gaylord Lopez, a toxicologist and head of the Georgia Poison Center.
As a result, there's a potential for users to inhale contaminants along with the substance they think they're smoking, Lopez said, which may be a contributing factor in the adverse symptoms some of its users have been experiencing.
Political activist wants K2 banned
"Synthetic drugs and herbal drug products like Spice and K2 are not made in a controlled environment and thus you are playing Russian roulette when it comes to these types of products," said Dawn Dearden, a spokeswoman for the DEA, which first began receiving reports about abuse of the substance last year. "There is no way, outside of a controlled laboratory environment, to determine the chemical makeup, synthetic ingredients or amounts, and therefore there is no way to determine with any accuracy what the potentially harmful effects may be."
Since then, the center has seen a spike in cases, with 20 people -- mostly teenagers -- visiting emergency rooms with such symptoms as heart palpitations and respiratory issues. In the most serious case, an otherwise healthy teenage boy, who has since recovered, lapsed into a coma, Lopez said.
According to Dearden, additional side effects can include panic attacks, hallucinations, delusions, vomiting, increased agitation and dilated pupils.
Around the center, Lopez said his employees have begun referring to the substance as "Scary Spice."
Earlier this month, Kansas became the first state to ban synthetic marijuana.
Kansas state Sen. Jim Barnett, a supporter of the effort, said the ban was prompted by reports of abuse of K2 and similar products in cities across the state among high school students and prison parolees who were using it as an alternative to pot to avoid a positive drug test.
Lawmakers in several other states are considering similar legislation, including Georgia, Utah, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Dakota and Illinois.
"Although it is a synthetic drug, it is still a drug with a high potential for abuse," says Barnett, who is a physician. "It was our desire in Kansas to be ahead of the problem."
K2 has already been banned in some European countries, including Britain, Germany, Poland and France, and the DEA lists it as a drug of concern in the United States.
"We are seeing several indications that these THC-like substances could become a significant problem both domestically and internationally," Dearden says.
It's known as K2 or Spice, a synthetic substance that, when smoked, gives users a marijuana-like high, according to drug authorities. Its growing popularity is causing increasing alarm among health care professionals, law enforcement authorities and lawmakers, with one Drug Enforcement Agency official calling its use the equivalent of "playing Russian roulette."
Manufactured in Asia and sold online or in local stores, K2 and similar substances are marketed as herbal incense. A disclaimer on a K2-selling Web site reads: "K2Herbal products are novelty incenses and are not for consumption."
Sold in various flavors in 3-gram bags, the product consists of herbs that are sprayed with synthetic substances that mimic THC, the high-causing natural chemical found in marijuana.
A call to regulate K2
Health and drug officials say the danger in using such products is the unregulated nature of their production and makeup.
"Our biggest concern is that this particular chemical is likely manufactured in a dorm-room setting. And these dorm-room scientists are not going to be exhibiting a lot of quality assurance techniques," says Dr. Gaylord Lopez, a toxicologist and head of the Georgia Poison Center.
As a result, there's a potential for users to inhale contaminants along with the substance they think they're smoking, Lopez said, which may be a contributing factor in the adverse symptoms some of its users have been experiencing.
Political activist wants K2 banned
"Synthetic drugs and herbal drug products like Spice and K2 are not made in a controlled environment and thus you are playing Russian roulette when it comes to these types of products," said Dawn Dearden, a spokeswoman for the DEA, which first began receiving reports about abuse of the substance last year. "There is no way, outside of a controlled laboratory environment, to determine the chemical makeup, synthetic ingredients or amounts, and therefore there is no way to determine with any accuracy what the potentially harmful effects may be."
You are playing Russian roulette when it comes to these types of products.t heard of the substance in December when Georgia hospitals began reporting patients who had used K2 or Spice.
According to Dearden, additional side effects can include panic attacks, hallucinations, delusions, vomiting, increased agitation and dilated pupils.
Around the center, Lopez said his employees have begun referring to the substance as "Scary Spice."
Earlier this month, Kansas became the first state to ban synthetic marijuana.
Kansas state Sen. Jim Barnett, a supporter of the effort, said the ban was prompted by reports of abuse of K2 and similar products in cities across the state among high school students and prison parolees who were using it as an alternative to pot to avoid a positive drug test.
Lawmakers in several other states are considering similar legislation, including Georgia, Utah, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Dakota and Illinois.
"Although it is a synthetic drug, it is still a drug with a high potential for abuse," says Barnett, who is a physician. "It was our desire in Kansas to be ahead of the problem."
K2 has already been banned in some European countries, including Britain, Germany, Poland and France, and the DEA lists it as a drug of concern in the United States.
"We are seeing several indications that these THC-like substances could become a significant problem both domestically and internationally," Dearden says.
She says the agency is in "the preliminary stages of determining whether or not some or all of (synthetic substances) need to be controlled."
Mephedrone, also known as "bubbles" or "meow meow", is a readily available legal substance popular among clubbers
Mephedrone, also known as "bubbles" or "meow meow", is a readily available legal substance popular among clubbers. The government's chief drugs adviser Professor Les Iversen said using these students as guinea pigs in the research was "pretty unethical". Prof Iversen has also indicated the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) will recommend that mephedrone be banned. Dr Cathy Montgomery, senior lecturer in psychology at Liverpool John Moores University, said she hoped up to 50 students would take part in the planned research. We don't advertise and say 'Have you taken this drug'. We don't want to be seen to be encouraging the use of it Dr Cathy Montgomery Potential ban for drug Tests will study their thoughts and ability to think coherently after taking the drug. They will also be asked to describe how they feel, with "sad" or "depressed" at the bottom and "euphoric" or "very happy" at the top. Dr Montgomery said researchers would work with students known to them as mephedrone users. "We don't advertise and say 'Have you taken this drug'. We don't want to be seen to be encouraging the use of it," she said. Mephedrone is a recreational drug, which is usually snorted by users. It is often described as a mix between ecstasy and cocaine. Users say they feel more alert, confident and talkative. Like cocaine, the affects appear to last around an hour before wearing off. Prof Iversen said on Tuesday he expected the panel the ACMD to make a recommendation to the home secretary on the drug's legality next week. He said he believed mephedrone was "harmful" and hinted it should be categorised as a Class B drug. He was giving evidence to the Home Affairs committee after the deaths of at least two people who took it. Louis Wainwright, 18, and Nicholas Smith, 19, died in Scunthorpe last week after taking the drug. On Friday, Schools Minister Vernon Coaker wrote to every school in England telling them they could seize the drug under existing rules, even though it is not illegal.
cannabis smuggler Peter Moran Southwark crown court he is to be sentenced for bringing £62 million of “skunk” into Britain
cannabis smuggler Peter Moran Southwark crown court he is to be sentenced for bringing £62 million of “skunk” into Britain hidden in boxes of flowers from Holland.In two years the gang organised at least 88 shipments, making them the biggest cannabis importers in Britain. The gang made so much money that large bundles of cash were left to go mouldy in a safe. Moran's barrister Peter Griffiths, QC, passed Judge Gregory Stone, QC, a written reference from Miss McDonagh, the Labour MP for Mitcham and Morden. She is Moran's second cousin.Miss McDonagh today told the Standard that the letter “was not a character reference” and denied that she had any knowledge of Moran's involvement with the gang.She said: “Peter's mum and dad died in shocking and tragic circumstances within six months of each other about 12 years ago. After that Peter cared for his sister who has suffered from mental health problems. That is all my letter said.”
She added: “I was asked to provide this letter by other members of the family.”Miss McDonagh did admit that she knew her relative was in court over “issues to do with drugs”.Moran, 37, of Fulham, masterminded the operation with Terrence Bowler, 40, of Kingston, and Mark Kinnimont, 40, of Surbiton. They have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import controlled drugs and conspiracy to launder the proceeds of crime. Nine others have been convicted of similar offences.
She added: “I was asked to provide this letter by other members of the family.”Miss McDonagh did admit that she knew her relative was in court over “issues to do with drugs”.Moran, 37, of Fulham, masterminded the operation with Terrence Bowler, 40, of Kingston, and Mark Kinnimont, 40, of Surbiton. They have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import controlled drugs and conspiracy to launder the proceeds of crime. Nine others have been convicted of similar offences.
Michael Daly, 49, was one of the chief organizers of a plot to land some 1.5 metric tons of high-quality cocaine Two other Britons suspected of involvement in the operation have been arrested in Spain
Michael Daly, 49, was one of the chief organizers of a plot to land some 1.5 metric tons of high-quality cocaine on the coast of southern Ireland, where his family had a home.Daly and his predominantly London-based gang of cocaine runners arranged for a catamaran full of Colombian cocaine to sail from the Caribbean island of Barbados to a point off the coast of Ireland, where it was picked up by an inflatable dinghy in the early hours of July 2, 2007.But the plan fell apart after a member of the crew accidentally filled the dinghy's twin engines with diesel instead of gasoline, stranding them in unusually rough seas just a few hundred yards (meters) from shore.An attempt by Daly to rescue the drugs in a second boat failed amid darkness and nasty weather, and the crew abandoned ship, with most of them — including Daly; his younger brother Joe; and Alan Wells, a former firefighter — managing to swim ashore.
The former detective managed to dodge the authorities and escape from Ireland on a fake passport, but his brother and fellow gang member Perry Wharrie were arrested by Irish police 48 hours later. Wells also managed to escape.Co-conspirator Martin Wanden was fished out of the sea later that morning, clinging to a bale of cocaine.Authorities retrieved what British police estimated at 200 million pounds ($300 million) worth of the drug from the water, something prosecutor Mark Gadsden described as the largest single cocaine seizure in Britain .Wells managed to evade authorities for about three weeks but was eventually arrested at his home in southern England. Daly was caught in southern England later that year while trying to import cocaine and amphetamines from France.Both Daly and Wells pleaded guilty to conspiring to supply cocaine and were sentenced to 22 years and 15 years in prison respectively at Blackfriars Crown Court in central London on Thursday.Scotland Yard's Detective Inspector Grant Johnson described Michael Daly as a ringleader who "clearly abused the knowledge and skills he gained as a police officer for criminal gain."
Daly's lawyer, Malcolm Swift, said the detective left Scotland Yard in the 1990s after an incident where he was found drunk and disorderly. He argued that his client became embroiled in the plot because he owed one of the conspirators money.
But the judge, Henry Blacksell, dismissed the argument.
"I'm not impressed at all about the debt aspect, if there's any truth in that," he told Daly. "You betrayed your colleagues."Daly is already serving an eight-year sentence in connection with his arrest in southern England. The 22-year sentence will run concurrently.
The four gang members arrested in Ireland received sentences of between 10 and 30 years in jail in 2008.
Two other Britons suspected of involvement in the operation have been arrested in Spain on unrelated drugs matters. Police say they're still hunting for two more suspects in connection with the crime.
The former detective managed to dodge the authorities and escape from Ireland on a fake passport, but his brother and fellow gang member Perry Wharrie were arrested by Irish police 48 hours later. Wells also managed to escape.Co-conspirator Martin Wanden was fished out of the sea later that morning, clinging to a bale of cocaine.Authorities retrieved what British police estimated at 200 million pounds ($300 million) worth of the drug from the water, something prosecutor Mark Gadsden described as the largest single cocaine seizure in Britain .Wells managed to evade authorities for about three weeks but was eventually arrested at his home in southern England. Daly was caught in southern England later that year while trying to import cocaine and amphetamines from France.Both Daly and Wells pleaded guilty to conspiring to supply cocaine and were sentenced to 22 years and 15 years in prison respectively at Blackfriars Crown Court in central London on Thursday.Scotland Yard's Detective Inspector Grant Johnson described Michael Daly as a ringleader who "clearly abused the knowledge and skills he gained as a police officer for criminal gain."
Daly's lawyer, Malcolm Swift, said the detective left Scotland Yard in the 1990s after an incident where he was found drunk and disorderly. He argued that his client became embroiled in the plot because he owed one of the conspirators money.
But the judge, Henry Blacksell, dismissed the argument.
"I'm not impressed at all about the debt aspect, if there's any truth in that," he told Daly. "You betrayed your colleagues."Daly is already serving an eight-year sentence in connection with his arrest in southern England. The 22-year sentence will run concurrently.
The four gang members arrested in Ireland received sentences of between 10 and 30 years in jail in 2008.
Two other Britons suspected of involvement in the operation have been arrested in Spain on unrelated drugs matters. Police say they're still hunting for two more suspects in connection with the crime.
Curtis Warren has questioned the prosecution's late submission of material during his trial for plotting to bring drugs to Jersey.
Curtis Warren has questioned the prosecution's late submission of material during his trial for plotting to bring drugs to Jersey.Warren, 46, and five others were found guilty in October of conspiring to smuggle in £1m-worth of cannabis. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison; the rest of the gang got between five-year and 12-year jail terms. Defence lawyers for all six men are appealing against the convictions and length of their sentences. Earlier they questioned whether the trial had been fair because of the late disclosure of some Crown material used in the trial. Advocate Stephen Baker said it was meant to be released to the defence a year before the trial, but some came 24 hours beforehand. The late disclosure weakened the defence, he told appeal judge Dame Heather Steel. Defence lawyers also questioned the way a juror was removed during the two-week trial. The decision to remove them during was made at a meeting between the trial judge and prosecution lawyers, without the defence team being present. They said that led to justice not being seen to be done. The defence was told in open court the juror was removed because of a contact by an outside source, the prosecution said. The defence argued they were unable to challenge that decision with the judge during the trial. The appeal continues in the secure court at Jersey Magistrate's Court building.
laundering the proceeds of their drugs network by buying chateaux and villas across the Dordogne
officers from France’s elite judicial police raided the homes of three unobtrusive Britons in Augignac and Champniers et Reilhac, two villages barely 10 miles apart, residents realised they had been living side by side with the alleged ringleaders of an international drug-smuggling network with possible links to Premier League football transfers.The French authorities confirmed yesterday that they were in the process of dismantling a suspected cocaine and money-laundering operation run by alleged British gangsters who had used the quiet image of ex-pats seeking the simple pleasures of rural France as a cover for their criminal activities.
Detectives involved in the joint investigation with British counterparts in the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (Soca) have arrested 10 Britons across France and believe the Dordogne served as the hub of a sophisticated smuggling network used to transport large quantities of money and cocaine from Spain through France and on to the United Kingdom.The police operation began last May when customs officers stopped a Mercedes car with British number-plates on the motorway between Narbonne and Toulouse in south-west France. In a secret compartment behind the passenger seats police found ?540,000 (£484,000) in used notes.The 35-year-old British driver, named only as Stephen C, claimed the cash was the commission on transfer deals in the notoriously unregulated market for players in the English Premiership. Forensic tests found traces of cocaine on the cash. Police said cocaine and linked cash were being delivered to Britain from boats from Africa. Guy Sapata, the officer leading the investigation, said: “Those arrested have explained the cash as being commissions for acting in player transfers. Unfortunately, organised crime networks are involved in all kinds of activities, meaning there could be an overlap between drugs, money-laundering and big money transfers.”Interviews with Stephen C, who admitted 20 similar trips across Europe to deliver money to the UK, led detectives to focus on Augignac and Champniers-et-Reilhac, near Perigueux. Attracted by distinctive honey-coloured stone buildings and dramatic landscape, the inward flow of “les Anglo Saxons” has been so widespread that the region is referred to as “Dordogneshire”.
The targets of the Anglo-French inquiry were found to be leading quietly ostentatious lives, allegedly laundering the proceeds of their drugs network by buying chateaux and villas across the Dordogne. In the Champniers-et-Reilhac home of the parents of one of the alleged ringleaders, named as Mark B, officers found a sky-blue Aston Martin DB9 and a Mercedes, also with a hidden compartment.
Mark B was arrested on 14 February in London on a European warrant as he checked into a private clinic. Two more suspects, named as Michael K and Sophie S, were arrested on 24 February in Augignac. Police found documents showing they owned a ?175,000 villa and other property in France worth ?325,000.
A French officer added: “The cars were typical of the kind of flash, luxury goods these suspects have been using. They had stacks of money and were regularly investing in land and luxury properties. They are also believed to have been investing in Cyprus. All those arrested are being questioned pending court appearances.”
Detectives involved in the joint investigation with British counterparts in the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (Soca) have arrested 10 Britons across France and believe the Dordogne served as the hub of a sophisticated smuggling network used to transport large quantities of money and cocaine from Spain through France and on to the United Kingdom.The police operation began last May when customs officers stopped a Mercedes car with British number-plates on the motorway between Narbonne and Toulouse in south-west France. In a secret compartment behind the passenger seats police found ?540,000 (£484,000) in used notes.The 35-year-old British driver, named only as Stephen C, claimed the cash was the commission on transfer deals in the notoriously unregulated market for players in the English Premiership. Forensic tests found traces of cocaine on the cash. Police said cocaine and linked cash were being delivered to Britain from boats from Africa. Guy Sapata, the officer leading the investigation, said: “Those arrested have explained the cash as being commissions for acting in player transfers. Unfortunately, organised crime networks are involved in all kinds of activities, meaning there could be an overlap between drugs, money-laundering and big money transfers.”Interviews with Stephen C, who admitted 20 similar trips across Europe to deliver money to the UK, led detectives to focus on Augignac and Champniers-et-Reilhac, near Perigueux. Attracted by distinctive honey-coloured stone buildings and dramatic landscape, the inward flow of “les Anglo Saxons” has been so widespread that the region is referred to as “Dordogneshire”.
The targets of the Anglo-French inquiry were found to be leading quietly ostentatious lives, allegedly laundering the proceeds of their drugs network by buying chateaux and villas across the Dordogne. In the Champniers-et-Reilhac home of the parents of one of the alleged ringleaders, named as Mark B, officers found a sky-blue Aston Martin DB9 and a Mercedes, also with a hidden compartment.
Mark B was arrested on 14 February in London on a European warrant as he checked into a private clinic. Two more suspects, named as Michael K and Sophie S, were arrested on 24 February in Augignac. Police found documents showing they owned a ?175,000 villa and other property in France worth ?325,000.
A French officer added: “The cars were typical of the kind of flash, luxury goods these suspects have been using. They had stacks of money and were regularly investing in land and luxury properties. They are also believed to have been investing in Cyprus. All those arrested are being questioned pending court appearances.”
Naomi Campbell has revealed that she hated herself and found it hard to look at the mirror when she was a cocaine addict.
Naomi Campbell has revealed that she hated herself and found it hard to look at the mirror when she was a cocaine addict.Campbell, 39, who has since kicked the habit, is ashamed of her behaviour in those years.
"I've had times when it was hard for me to look at myself in the mirror, because I didn't really like who I was," the Sun quoted her, as saying. She added: "From 1998 to 2005 was very difficult. Anger wasn't the only one of my issues - I have lots of them. I had to get clean. I'm not proud of things I've done."
"I've had times when it was hard for me to look at myself in the mirror, because I didn't really like who I was," the Sun quoted her, as saying. She added: "From 1998 to 2005 was very difficult. Anger wasn't the only one of my issues - I have lots of them. I had to get clean. I'm not proud of things I've done."
Melinda Zsuzsanna Meszaros, 36 and Katalin Rackso, 53 are believed to have attempted to smuggle the drug into Canada from their base in London.
Two women visiting Canada from the UK have been charged in conjunction with transporting controlled substances after Customs Agents caught the pair with 31 kilograms of Khat. The duo was leaving from London, England and heading to Calgary International Airport last Saturday.
Officials have said the women arrived in on a flight from London, when Canada Border Service officers apprehended the two and upon further examination discovered the drug Khat inside their luggage.
According to Canada Border Services at the Calgary International Airport, both women had several bundles of Khat concealed in their suitcases.
Both women, who are from London, UK, are being charged and have been in custody since their arrest at the airport last Saturday. The duo will appear in a Calgary Provincial Court during the week, and further hearings will see them sentenced on the drug charges.
Melinda Zsuzsanna Meszaros, 36 and Katalin Rackso, 53 are believed to have attempted to smuggle the drug into Canada from their base in London. The pair were able to board their flight in London without being detected, and were not apprehended until landing in Calgary. There they were searched by the Canadian border crews who uncovered the drug.
Officials have said the women arrived in on a flight from London, when Canada Border Service officers apprehended the two and upon further examination discovered the drug Khat inside their luggage.
According to Canada Border Services at the Calgary International Airport, both women had several bundles of Khat concealed in their suitcases.
Both women, who are from London, UK, are being charged and have been in custody since their arrest at the airport last Saturday. The duo will appear in a Calgary Provincial Court during the week, and further hearings will see them sentenced on the drug charges.
Melinda Zsuzsanna Meszaros, 36 and Katalin Rackso, 53 are believed to have attempted to smuggle the drug into Canada from their base in London. The pair were able to board their flight in London without being detected, and were not apprehended until landing in Calgary. There they were searched by the Canadian border crews who uncovered the drug.
Afghanistan REHAB
Their crimes range from terrorism to drug smuggling. And many young criminals in Afghanistan would have expected to serve their sentences in the notorious Pul-e-Charkhi prison, on the outskirts of Kabul. But in a sign of changing times, a new youth rehabilitation centre has been built, with money from the Italian government. Bernard Smith has been given exclusive access.
Brighton,known as the "drugs death capital" of the UK, with per capita mortality rates higher than any other city.
Brighton,known as the "drugs death capital" of the UK, with per capita mortality rates higher than any other city. The city has held this unwanted title for six out of the last eight years – despite costly intervention schemes and dedicated work by police and health services to reduce drug supply and demand.With this – and an estimated 2,300 injecting heroin users – in mind, it's hard to fault Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust for agreeing to support a trial centre, and when I heard about the project, I jumped at the chance to join the nursing team.So, I've been giving people heroin for the last two years. People have often asked me if I think the treatment works. I do. I've seen it first-hand. But until yesterday, you would have had to take my word for it. Now scientifically rigorous evidence is out there.Our trial participants were all long-term heroin addicts who had failed to benefit from existing treatment options. They continued to inject heroin daily, or on most days, and their drug use was considered intractable. In my experience, many had little hope for their own recovery.The results show that, of those receiving injectable heroin, a substantial majority had either dramatically reduced their illicit heroin use or ceased altogether after six months' treatment, although marked improvements were seen after just six weeks. The average weekly spend on illicit heroin, per client, dropped from £300 to £50.The cost of injectable heroin treatment is estimated at £15,000 per person annually, compared to regular methadone treatment at about £3,000. It looks expensive, but if you add in the crime bill, this group of people actually costs less to treat with heroin than with oral methadone. Prison, which has limited therapeutic benefits, costs £44,000 a year. Not treating this group of people at all also comes with a massive bill. Estimates of an annual drug expenditure of £15,000 to £30,000 per addict are not uncommon. If this sum is to be raised through acquisitive crime, as is often the case, goods worth perhaps three times that value need to be stolen.Trial participants showed gains in physical and mental health, social functioning and, I can report anecdotally, self-respect. Almost all of the clients at my clinic have chosen to stop injecting twice a day and only come once in the morning. Two are living drug free. And nobody died.
Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington tested positive for cocaine in a Major League Baseball-administered drug test
Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington tested positive for cocaine in a Major League Baseball-administered drug test, SI.com reported today. Washington confirmed to USA TODAY that he did test positive.
"I made a mistake," Washington told USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale at Rangers camp in Surprise, Ariz. "I thought it was all behind me. I've done everything Major League Baseball has asked me to do."
SI.com also notes that Washington, 57, took the unusual step of informing MLB officials that it was possible he'd test positive before the test came back.
The Rangers held a team meeting this morning to discuss the matter before SI's report went public. They also scheduled a 2 p.m. ET news conference.
Just two years ago, Washington and other managers would not have been subject to testing. But as part of the recommendations made by the Mitchell Report in December 2007, baseball added testing for managers, coaches and clubhouse personnel.
Punishment for offenders is on a case-by-case basis, but there generally are no punitive measures for first-time offenders.
Rangers general manager Jon Daniels told SI.com that Washington will keep his job after the manager made assurances he will not use the drug again.
Said Daniels:
"I made a mistake," Washington told USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale at Rangers camp in Surprise, Ariz. "I thought it was all behind me. I've done everything Major League Baseball has asked me to do."
SI.com also notes that Washington, 57, took the unusual step of informing MLB officials that it was possible he'd test positive before the test came back.
The Rangers held a team meeting this morning to discuss the matter before SI's report went public. They also scheduled a 2 p.m. ET news conference.
Just two years ago, Washington and other managers would not have been subject to testing. But as part of the recommendations made by the Mitchell Report in December 2007, baseball added testing for managers, coaches and clubhouse personnel.
Punishment for offenders is on a case-by-case basis, but there generally are no punitive measures for first-time offenders.
Rangers general manager Jon Daniels told SI.com that Washington will keep his job after the manager made assurances he will not use the drug again.
Said Daniels:
"We asked a lot of questions and worked through Major League Baseball's program, where Ron had appropriate consultation, support and testing. But for all the reasons we hired him in the first place, we felt and continued to feel that he's the right guy to lead the club. He made a significant mistake. He also admitted to it and took steps to ensure that it won't happen again."Washington tied for fourth in American League Manager of the Year voting in 2009. His club had to face another drug-related distraction that season when outfielder Josh Hamilton, whose battles with addiction delayed what became an All-Star career, admitted he suffered a relapse with alcohol in spring training.
girlfriend of actor Michael Douglas' wayward son was freed Tuesday after spending seven months in jail for becoming embroiled in Cameron Douglas' downward spiral with drugs.
A judge in federal court in Manhattan sentenced Kelly Sott to time served for misdemeanor drug possession. She had pleaded guilty last month."I learned a good lesson," Sott told the judge. "I just want to leave all that behind me — the drugs. ... Thank you for giving me a second chance."Sott's lawyer said her time behind bars had given her a chance to kick a drug habit she picked up amid her distress over losing two friends in the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. As part of her sentence, the judge ordered her to undergo drug treatment and counseling for a year after she returns to her home in Pennsylvania.Federal agents arrested Sott last summer after she was caught trying smuggle heroin to Cameron Douglas — an admitted drug addict and dealer who was under house arrest at the time — inside an electric toothbrush.
The son of the Academy Award winner was arrested July 28, 2009, at the trendy Hotel Gansevoort as part of a Drug Enforcement Administration investigation.Investigators say Douglas was paid tens of thousands of dollars for trafficking large amounts of methamphetamine — what he referred to in intercepted phone calls as "pastry" or "bath salts." Cash and drugs were routinely exchanged from coast to coast through shippers like FedEx, the court papers said.
He pleaded guilty in January to conspiracy to distribute drugs as part of a deal requiring to cooperate with an investigation of meth suppliers. He also pleaded guilty to heroin possession — a charges stemming from the toothbrush incident.Cameron Douglas has acted in movies including 2003's "It Runs in the Family," starring his father and grandfather Kirk Douglas.
The son of the Academy Award winner was arrested July 28, 2009, at the trendy Hotel Gansevoort as part of a Drug Enforcement Administration investigation.Investigators say Douglas was paid tens of thousands of dollars for trafficking large amounts of methamphetamine — what he referred to in intercepted phone calls as "pastry" or "bath salts." Cash and drugs were routinely exchanged from coast to coast through shippers like FedEx, the court papers said.
He pleaded guilty in January to conspiracy to distribute drugs as part of a deal requiring to cooperate with an investigation of meth suppliers. He also pleaded guilty to heroin possession — a charges stemming from the toothbrush incident.Cameron Douglas has acted in movies including 2003's "It Runs in the Family," starring his father and grandfather Kirk Douglas.
actor Corey Haim died from an apparent accidental drug overdose
Haim, 38, was taken from his mother's North Hollywood home by ambulance to Burbank's Providence St. Joseph Medical Center, according to police Sgt. Frank Albarran.
He was pronounced dead at 2:15 a.m. PT, Ed Winter, the assistant chief of the L.A. County Department of Coroner, said.
"He got out of bed about 1:30 this morning, was a little unsteady on his feet," Winter said. Haim's mother then called the paramedics.
Haim's mother said her son had been suffering from "flu-like symptoms," Winter said, adding that four prescription pill
Britons are snorting 30 tonnes of cocaine a year and consider the drug to be a socially acceptable part of a night out
Britons are snorting 30 tonnes of cocaine a year and consider the drug to be a socially acceptable part of a night out, a House of Commons report lamented last week. The Home Affairs Select Committee accused law enforcement agencies of intercepting too few shipments and of arresting too few people, allowing the price of the class A drug to fall to as little as £2 a line.But there is a part of the world which is not getting away with cocaine and is not inclined to consider it glamorous, socially acceptable or normal. It is called Latin America, where the coca leaf is grown, turned into paste and powder, and trafficked. And here is where narco-related violence and corruption is exacting a terrible price.Last week brought fresh horrors. In Mexico, authorities found the dismembered body of a journalist, Rodolfo Rincon Taracena, who disappeared in 2007. His articles on the drug trade had prompted his brutal murder. More than 16,000 people have died in Mexico since President Felipe Calderón declared war on drug cartels in December 2006.
In Guatemala, the national police chief, Baltazar Gonzalez, and anti-drug czar, Nelly Bonilla, were detained in a case of stolen cocaine that led to the deaths of five police agents. In a tale too bloody for The Wire, it seems that the agents were killed while trying to steal a stash from members of the Zetas, a group of hit men linked to Mexico's powerful Gulf cartel.
There was more grim news from the US International Narcotics Control strategy report, which said that traffickers were annually sending $8bn to $25bn from the United States, expanding production in Bolivia and finding new routes through Venezuela.
Peru's Shining Path insurgency, once almost extinct, has revived in recent months: the guerrillas have learned from Colombia's Farc how to use cocaine revenue to perpetuate a conflict.
Calls for decriminalisation are growing; former presidents from Brazil, Colombia and Mexico have swelled the chorus. Latin America can only hope that Europe and the US, the main markets, will one day figure out a way to curb demand.
37-year-old councillor was interviewed by officers from an elite drug and organised crime squad last year, in a private meeting in his office at the City Chambers.
37-year-old councillor was interviewed by officers from an elite drug and organised crime squad last year, in a private meeting in his office at the City Chambers.It is understood officers from the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) were concerned that he could be in a position where his influence as the head of the country's biggest local authority might be exploited. The latest dramatic revelations about the case came as Purcell quit the country yesterday, with some sources saying he may be away from the country for a year. He is understood to have flown to Australia, for a period of "rest and recuperation."Purcell unexpectedly quit as council leader last Tuesday and it subsequently emerged that the council had prepared a statement linking his decision to a "chemical dependency".
Last night, there were calls for reassurances from the council that crucial decisions made by Purcell over the last few months had not been affected.On 12 May last year, Purcell held a "private meeting" in his office in City Chambers with SCDEA officers. The unit was set up specifically to probe cases of organised crime and major drug dealing. It is understood that Purcell's own activities were not the focus of the police enquiries. Rather they were concerned that, as the head of the council, he should not leave himself exposed to criminal gangs in the city.
Shortly after the interview, Purcell moved flat, leaving the district of Yoker, where he had lived for most of his life, as part of a symbolic attempt to "start afresh".
The fresh details come after Purcell mysteriously announced his resignation as leader of the council last week.It then emerged he had been admitted to the Castle Craig clinic in the Borders, which specialises in the treatment of drug and drink problems.Scotland on Sunday's sister paper, The Scotsman, then revealed that, under an initial plan laid out by council chiefs, it was to have been announced that Purcell had been suffering from a "chemical dependency".
Scotland on Sunday can reveal that lawyers for Purcell asked Glasgow City Council to make a statement declaring that there had never been a draft statement with the words "chemical dependency". However, the council refused to do so.
A spokesman for the council said last night: "He (Purcell's lawyer] asked us to make a statement confirming these things and we got back to him saying we would not make such a statement."Purcell has now quit politics altogether, bringing to an end a 15-year career at the local authority.
A spokesman for the former leader said last night: "Mr Purcell has departed the politics of Glasgow. He is now resting and recovering. He doesn't wish to comment further at this stage."
Yesterday, union chiefs said that there were now question marks over the decisions that the former leader had taken.
Martin Doran, leader of the council's GMB branch, and a personal friend of Purcell's, said: "There are now deep concerns and anxiety that he was making decisions impacting upon thousands of employees."SNP group leader Billy McAllister added: "I think we should go back and look at the decisions that he made. It is very important that we find out if there are any lessons to be learned."However, council officials insist that Purcell's problems had never impacted on the smooth running of the council.
Last night, there were calls for reassurances from the council that crucial decisions made by Purcell over the last few months had not been affected.On 12 May last year, Purcell held a "private meeting" in his office in City Chambers with SCDEA officers. The unit was set up specifically to probe cases of organised crime and major drug dealing. It is understood that Purcell's own activities were not the focus of the police enquiries. Rather they were concerned that, as the head of the council, he should not leave himself exposed to criminal gangs in the city.
Shortly after the interview, Purcell moved flat, leaving the district of Yoker, where he had lived for most of his life, as part of a symbolic attempt to "start afresh".
The fresh details come after Purcell mysteriously announced his resignation as leader of the council last week.It then emerged he had been admitted to the Castle Craig clinic in the Borders, which specialises in the treatment of drug and drink problems.Scotland on Sunday's sister paper, The Scotsman, then revealed that, under an initial plan laid out by council chiefs, it was to have been announced that Purcell had been suffering from a "chemical dependency".
Scotland on Sunday can reveal that lawyers for Purcell asked Glasgow City Council to make a statement declaring that there had never been a draft statement with the words "chemical dependency". However, the council refused to do so.
A spokesman for the council said last night: "He (Purcell's lawyer] asked us to make a statement confirming these things and we got back to him saying we would not make such a statement."Purcell has now quit politics altogether, bringing to an end a 15-year career at the local authority.
A spokesman for the former leader said last night: "Mr Purcell has departed the politics of Glasgow. He is now resting and recovering. He doesn't wish to comment further at this stage."
Yesterday, union chiefs said that there were now question marks over the decisions that the former leader had taken.
Martin Doran, leader of the council's GMB branch, and a personal friend of Purcell's, said: "There are now deep concerns and anxiety that he was making decisions impacting upon thousands of employees."SNP group leader Billy McAllister added: "I think we should go back and look at the decisions that he made. It is very important that we find out if there are any lessons to be learned."However, council officials insist that Purcell's problems had never impacted on the smooth running of the council.
Nigel Smith, 62,British tourist was found dead in his room, the police are now trying to find out who sold the heroin to him
British tourist was found dead in his room, the police are now trying to find out who sold the heroin to him and
his partner at Calangute. Nigel Smith, 62, was found dead in his room early Sunday morning. His live-in partner, a French national, Anne Francoise, informed the police that on Saturday night they had both gone to sleep in their rented room in Calangute after consuming heroin. The lady told the police that they had purchased the drug from someone in Calangute, but added that she will not be able identify the seller. "Nigel must have woken up in the night maybe to go to the bathroom, lost his balance and fallen on the floor. His head must have hit the ground and he must have collapsed. She said that when she woke up at about 2 am she found him dead," police sources added.
his partner at Calangute. Nigel Smith, 62, was found dead in his room early Sunday morning. His live-in partner, a French national, Anne Francoise, informed the police that on Saturday night they had both gone to sleep in their rented room in Calangute after consuming heroin. The lady told the police that they had purchased the drug from someone in Calangute, but added that she will not be able identify the seller. "Nigel must have woken up in the night maybe to go to the bathroom, lost his balance and fallen on the floor. His head must have hit the ground and he must have collapsed. She said that when she woke up at about 2 am she found him dead," police sources added.
Terrence Bowler, from Kingston, led the £62 million syndicate which brought the drugs into the UK hidden in boxes of flowers from Holland
Along with Bowler, who led the gang's so-called board of directors, 11 others now face jail in connection with the network.Bowler, 40, of St Albans Road, Kingston, Surrey; Peter Moran, 37, of Fulham Palace Road, Fulham, west London; and Mark Kinnimont, 40, of Claremont Road, Surbiton, Surrey, made up the board of directors and all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import controlled drugs and conspiracy to launder the proceeds of crime.Liam Salter, David Couchman and Timothy Sullivan represented the next level of authority. Salter, 39, of Reeds Rest Lane, Tadworth, Surrey; Couchman, 38, of Sweeney Crescent, Southwark, south London; and Sullivan, 38, of Ash Court, Epsom, Surrey; all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply controlled drugs and conspiracy to launder the proceeds of crime.Peter Brown, 37, of King Henry's Road, Kingston, was a late entrant into the operation, only joining in September 2008, but was key once the drugs started being imported to Leeds via Hull. Andrew West, 36, of Willowbank Gardens, Tadworth, was a driver for the gang and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder the proceeds of crime. Driver James Hay, of Ashtead, who helped to transport drugs and money, was found guilty on Friday by a jury at Southwark Crown Court of possession with intent to supply controlled drugs. men from across London and Surrey, part of a gang believed to be Britain's most prolific importers of skunk cannabis, are facing jail.At one point, the gang was shipping in consignments worth up to £750,000 a week and would use an east London bureau de change to clean up its "dirty" profits.A 14-month undercover investigation found that the drugs were imported into the UK through Harwich ferry port in Essex and taken to a warehouse in Chatham, Kent. But officers at the port intercepted a shipment of 494lb (224kg), worth more than £750,000 to the gang, on July 16 2008, prompting a major change in tactics.From September 2008, the drugs were shipped to Hull and taken to a warehouse in Leeds, West Yorkshire, before being transported to one of a number of lock-up garages in Kingston, Worcester Park, Epsom and Ashtead, where the skunk cannabis would be unpacked and stored.
people who use cocaine on warm days face an elevated risk of accidental overdose leading to death.
Taking hard drugs is dangerous at any time of year, but new research suggests that people who use cocaine on warm days face an elevated risk of accidental overdose leading to death.The findings could help shape educational campaigns geared toward high-risk chronic drug users, and should serve as a sobering wake-up call to people who treat cocaine as a casual party drug, says Amy Bohnert
The new study shows that temperature-related risks could be more of a factor in accidental cocaine overdoses than most people – drug users in particular – realize.
Dr. Bohnert would like to see the message about the potential risks incorporated into awareness campaigns for chronic drug users and other high-risk groups.
But addicts aren’t necessarily the biggest worry when it comes to cocaine, she says. “The vast majority of drug users are people who have jobs and who contribute to society.”
Cocaine use has increased dramatically in recent years, and many users fail to see the potentially deadly consequences, she says, adding that the increased risk of accidental overdose in warm weather is just one more reason people should turn away from recreational drugs.
There are also troubling signs that more young people may be using cocaine.
Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
“My sense is that not many people who use cocaine think about this as a risk,” Dr. Bohnert says.
Drug traffickers are increasing imports of precursor chemicals used for processing opium poppy into heroin and morphine
Drug traffickers are increasing imports of precursor chemicals used for processing opium poppy into heroin and morphine,They are channeling the chemicals through new routes and diverting them from legal commerce and gray markets, said the State Department's International Narcotics Control Strategy Report for 2009. West Asia and Africa are the new key transshipment points to smuggle and divert chemicals.
"Trafficking throughout Afghanistan continues to be a big challenge," David Johnson, assistant secretary at the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, told reporters here. According to the survey of global counter-narcotics efforts, Afghanistan remains the world's top producer of opium despite a 22-percent decline in the area under poppy cultivation there during 2009. Historically, the raw opium produced in Afghanistan has been exported by traffickers to other countries for processing into heroin and other opiates. In recent years, however, the country has emerged as one of the biggest producers of these refined products, as well. Drug traffickers in Afghanistan deal in all forms of opiates, including unrefined opium, semi-refined morphine base, and refined heroin.
The decline in poppy cultivation has as much to do with economics as security, according to independent experts here.
"The decline is fuelled by over-production of poppy which led to lowering of prices," said Vanda Felbab-Brown, a security expert with Brookings Institution and author of 'Shooting Up: Counterinsurgency and the War on Drugs'.
"The market is saturated," she told IPS.
The increase in precursor chemicals coming into Afghanistan poses major challenges for the U.S. and the international community's efforts to fight drug-trafficking in the war-torn country. It suggests that traffickers intend to expand their refinery operations there.
Under the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama, Washington has altered its approach to tackling drug production in Afghanistan. The focus on eradication that prevailed for most of President George W. Bush's tenure has given way to greater emphasis on efforts to interdict drug shipments and arrest traffickers. It has renewed efforts to promote the production of alternative crops and livelihoods for farmers who are now growing poppy.
The new report cited the arrest of some major drug traffickers in Afghanistan over the past year. But it also suggested that authorities have had less success in disrupting Afghanistan's opium supply chain due to gaps in intelligence and limited international law enforcement expertise in detecting the chemicals.
The report also singled out Pakistan as a major transit country for precursor chemicals, as well as for opiates and hashish destined not only for Afghanistan, but for global markets as well.
In September 2009, for example, prosecutors arrested a Korean suspect who attempted to smuggle 10 tonnes of acetic anhydride, the primary precursor for heroin, to Afghanistan with the help of Pakistani intermediaries suspected of having shipped 6.6 tonnes of acetic anhydride to Afghanistan last February.
The change in U.S. policy from eradication to rural development and interdiction can work well with Washington's overall counter-insurgency efforts in Afghanistan and lead to a sustainable reduction in drug economy, Felbab-Brown said.
Last year, Afghanistan produced more than 90 percent of the world's opium gum, the basic precursor to heroin, worth 2.8 billion dollars. "But how the two aspects of the policy are operationalised will determine their effectiveness," she said.
Russia does not agree with U.S. policy shift. Viktor Ivanov, head of Russia's Federal Narcotics Control Service, said in an interview last week that this will flood Russian markets with heroin.
But Richard Holbrooke, U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, reiterated that eradication works against the larger purpose. "(W)e're focusing on high traffickers' interdiction and destroying drug bazaars, but that's a tactical difference (with Russia)," he said in Washington on Tuesday after completing a visit to Central and South Asia.
Interdiction has proved to be a difficult counter-drug tactic. It was effective at times, such as in Peru during the late 1990s, when smuggling was conducted by air. But in Afghanistan, smuggling is done over land. "The border is a huge highway of illegal trade," Felbab-Brown said.
Border interdiction in Afghanistan is hard due to the lack of resources available to protect its long, exceptionally rugged, and unpopulated borders with Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Pakistan.
Moreover, "(i)nternal interdiction is hard because so much of the terrain is not under government control," according to Felbab-Brown.
Many drug trafficking groups are not linked directly to the Taliban insurgency, which, according to U.S. intelligence agencies, earns about 70 million dollars a year from the drug trade. Some of the most important trafficking operations reportedly involve government officials and the police, while still others are independent and operate from outside Afghanistan, according to the report.
The Taliban has access to parts of the drug trade in Pakistan, but its access is limited. Nor does the group exercise control over smuggling channels and markets in Iran, Central Asia, Turkey, Europe and China.
"I am very sceptical that interdiction will be successful in stopping illicit flows," Felbab-Brown said. "The goal of interdiction should be to prevent or minimise the corruption and coercive power of Taliban and government-linked traffickers and independent groups."
Rural development is the administration's other important approach to combating the drug trade. "But it takes a long time in Afghanistan where challenges are greater than anywhere else in the world," Felbab-Brown said.
While northern Afghanistan has been far more secure than the southern and eastern border areas where the Taliban is strongest, rural development there has been slow in coming. In the north, marijuana has emerged as a competitor with legal crops.
The principal sources of precursor chemicals are believed to be China, Europe, Central Asia and India. Traffickers hide the sources of their chemicals by re-packaging or falsely labeling them, the report said. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), markets and processing facilities are clustered in border areas of Iran, Pakistan and Tajikistan.
Drug laboratories process a large portion of the country's raw opium into heroin and morphine base, which reduces the bulk of the raw opium by about one-tenth and thus makes it easier to smuggle across foreign borders.
Primary trafficking routes from Afghanistan run through Iran to Turkey and Western Europe; through Pakistan to Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Iran; and through Central Asia to the Russia.
Recent international interdiction efforts under the leadership of the Vienna-based International Narcotics Control Board have led to an increase in the number of large seizures in Afghanistan, the report said.
But Felbab-Brown said the flow of precursor chemicals is hard to measure. More seizures of precursor chemicals can indicate that interdiction efforts are working. But it can also indicate that more is flowing into the country.
Under Obama, Washington, which currently has some 70,000 troops deployed against the Taliban in Afghanistan, has shifted from poppy eradication to a greater emphasis on interdiction and rural development, primarily to avoid antagonising local farmers, Felbab-Brown said.
But the ongoing counter-insurgency operation centred on Marja in Helmand Province, a major poppy-production region, has included the confiscation of poppy seeds discovered by troops during house searches.
"And that is generating political capital for the Taliban," Felbab-Brown said, noting that the some farmers have complained to reporters that the Taliban had let them grow and sell poppy.
"How we handle post-Marja operation will decide a lot," she said. "If we equate good governance with poppy suppression before legal livelihoods are available, we can lose the majority of the population."
"Trafficking throughout Afghanistan continues to be a big challenge," David Johnson, assistant secretary at the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, told reporters here. According to the survey of global counter-narcotics efforts, Afghanistan remains the world's top producer of opium despite a 22-percent decline in the area under poppy cultivation there during 2009. Historically, the raw opium produced in Afghanistan has been exported by traffickers to other countries for processing into heroin and other opiates. In recent years, however, the country has emerged as one of the biggest producers of these refined products, as well. Drug traffickers in Afghanistan deal in all forms of opiates, including unrefined opium, semi-refined morphine base, and refined heroin.
The decline in poppy cultivation has as much to do with economics as security, according to independent experts here.
"The decline is fuelled by over-production of poppy which led to lowering of prices," said Vanda Felbab-Brown, a security expert with Brookings Institution and author of 'Shooting Up: Counterinsurgency and the War on Drugs'.
"The market is saturated," she told IPS.
The increase in precursor chemicals coming into Afghanistan poses major challenges for the U.S. and the international community's efforts to fight drug-trafficking in the war-torn country. It suggests that traffickers intend to expand their refinery operations there.
Under the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama, Washington has altered its approach to tackling drug production in Afghanistan. The focus on eradication that prevailed for most of President George W. Bush's tenure has given way to greater emphasis on efforts to interdict drug shipments and arrest traffickers. It has renewed efforts to promote the production of alternative crops and livelihoods for farmers who are now growing poppy.
The new report cited the arrest of some major drug traffickers in Afghanistan over the past year. But it also suggested that authorities have had less success in disrupting Afghanistan's opium supply chain due to gaps in intelligence and limited international law enforcement expertise in detecting the chemicals.
The report also singled out Pakistan as a major transit country for precursor chemicals, as well as for opiates and hashish destined not only for Afghanistan, but for global markets as well.
In September 2009, for example, prosecutors arrested a Korean suspect who attempted to smuggle 10 tonnes of acetic anhydride, the primary precursor for heroin, to Afghanistan with the help of Pakistani intermediaries suspected of having shipped 6.6 tonnes of acetic anhydride to Afghanistan last February.
The change in U.S. policy from eradication to rural development and interdiction can work well with Washington's overall counter-insurgency efforts in Afghanistan and lead to a sustainable reduction in drug economy, Felbab-Brown said.
Last year, Afghanistan produced more than 90 percent of the world's opium gum, the basic precursor to heroin, worth 2.8 billion dollars. "But how the two aspects of the policy are operationalised will determine their effectiveness," she said.
Russia does not agree with U.S. policy shift. Viktor Ivanov, head of Russia's Federal Narcotics Control Service, said in an interview last week that this will flood Russian markets with heroin.
But Richard Holbrooke, U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, reiterated that eradication works against the larger purpose. "(W)e're focusing on high traffickers' interdiction and destroying drug bazaars, but that's a tactical difference (with Russia)," he said in Washington on Tuesday after completing a visit to Central and South Asia.
Interdiction has proved to be a difficult counter-drug tactic. It was effective at times, such as in Peru during the late 1990s, when smuggling was conducted by air. But in Afghanistan, smuggling is done over land. "The border is a huge highway of illegal trade," Felbab-Brown said.
Border interdiction in Afghanistan is hard due to the lack of resources available to protect its long, exceptionally rugged, and unpopulated borders with Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Pakistan.
Moreover, "(i)nternal interdiction is hard because so much of the terrain is not under government control," according to Felbab-Brown.
Many drug trafficking groups are not linked directly to the Taliban insurgency, which, according to U.S. intelligence agencies, earns about 70 million dollars a year from the drug trade. Some of the most important trafficking operations reportedly involve government officials and the police, while still others are independent and operate from outside Afghanistan, according to the report.
The Taliban has access to parts of the drug trade in Pakistan, but its access is limited. Nor does the group exercise control over smuggling channels and markets in Iran, Central Asia, Turkey, Europe and China.
"I am very sceptical that interdiction will be successful in stopping illicit flows," Felbab-Brown said. "The goal of interdiction should be to prevent or minimise the corruption and coercive power of Taliban and government-linked traffickers and independent groups."
Rural development is the administration's other important approach to combating the drug trade. "But it takes a long time in Afghanistan where challenges are greater than anywhere else in the world," Felbab-Brown said.
While northern Afghanistan has been far more secure than the southern and eastern border areas where the Taliban is strongest, rural development there has been slow in coming. In the north, marijuana has emerged as a competitor with legal crops.
The principal sources of precursor chemicals are believed to be China, Europe, Central Asia and India. Traffickers hide the sources of their chemicals by re-packaging or falsely labeling them, the report said. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), markets and processing facilities are clustered in border areas of Iran, Pakistan and Tajikistan.
Drug laboratories process a large portion of the country's raw opium into heroin and morphine base, which reduces the bulk of the raw opium by about one-tenth and thus makes it easier to smuggle across foreign borders.
Primary trafficking routes from Afghanistan run through Iran to Turkey and Western Europe; through Pakistan to Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Iran; and through Central Asia to the Russia.
Recent international interdiction efforts under the leadership of the Vienna-based International Narcotics Control Board have led to an increase in the number of large seizures in Afghanistan, the report said.
But Felbab-Brown said the flow of precursor chemicals is hard to measure. More seizures of precursor chemicals can indicate that interdiction efforts are working. But it can also indicate that more is flowing into the country.
Under Obama, Washington, which currently has some 70,000 troops deployed against the Taliban in Afghanistan, has shifted from poppy eradication to a greater emphasis on interdiction and rural development, primarily to avoid antagonising local farmers, Felbab-Brown said.
But the ongoing counter-insurgency operation centred on Marja in Helmand Province, a major poppy-production region, has included the confiscation of poppy seeds discovered by troops during house searches.
"And that is generating political capital for the Taliban," Felbab-Brown said, noting that the some farmers have complained to reporters that the Taliban had let them grow and sell poppy.
"How we handle post-Marja operation will decide a lot," she said. "If we equate good governance with poppy suppression before legal livelihoods are available, we can lose the majority of the population."
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