Canada has joined Colombia as a leading exporter of synthetic or designer drugs, flooding the global market on an almost unprecedented scale

 

Canada has joined Colombia as a leading exporter of synthetic or designer drugs, flooding the global market on an almost unprecedented scale, police say. The RCMP have seized tonnes of illicit synthetic drugs that include Ecstasy and methamphetamine being shipped abroad after being “cooked” in make-shift labs in apartments, homes and businesses in the GTA. Police are now seizing more chemicals and synthetic drugs, which they say is favoured by young people, at Canadian border checks rather than the traditional cocaine, heroin or hashish that officers call drugs of “a last generation.” Most of the Ecstasy (methylenedioxymethamphetamine), meth or ketamine, a hallucinogenic used in “drug cocktails,” are smuggled from Canada by trucks, air cargo, human couriers or courier services to a network of traffickers. The U.S., Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan are the world-wide targets of these highly organised criminal syndicates, the Mounties said. Two Japanese students were arrested at Vancouver International Airport in 2009 after 47,000 Ecstasy pills with the “Chanel” logo were seized from their luggage. And, in November that year 400,000 tablets and 45 kgs of pot were seized in Michigan as it was being transferred from a small Canadian aircraft to a vehicle. The RCMP is working to stamp out the problem and have created a Chemical Diversion Unit (CDU) to target “rogue chemical brokers” who import and sell chemicals to organized crime cells to “bake” synthetic drugs for export. The force also created a Synthetic Drug Operations (SDO) whose members target clandestine drug labs in the GTA that are operated by crime cells and traffickers. “We execute search warrants once we locate a clandestine lab,” said SDO Sgt. Doug Culver. “These labs are dangerous with toxic chemicals and our members are specially trained to handle them.” His officers use hazardous material suits to enter a suspicious lab to ensure it is safe from corrosive chemicals before uniformed officers can enter. Police said an Ecstasy tablet, that usually features a harmless-looking logo, is sold for up to $15 each at Toronto nightclubs and the potency can last for about 10 hours. The tablets used to sell on the street for about $40 each two years ago. Supt. Rick Penney, who is in charge of an RCMP-GTA Drug Squad, said tonnes of chemicals and synthetic drugs are being seized by his officers. “We are talking tonnes and not kilograms,” Penney said. “This is becoming a matter of routine for us and it concerns me.” Penney said Canadian-made Ecstasy and meth are popular in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the U.S. and some European countries. “Canada is a player on the global market,” he said. “We see a lot of synthetic chemicals passing through the Canadian border or going out of province.” He said some of the chemicals are purchased by criminals on the Internet from suppliers in China or India. “The majority of the drugs we seize in Ontario are for export,” Penney said. “This is a global problem and Canada is a big player.” The drug officers said Canada exports as much Ecstasy and chemical drugs as Colombia ships out cocaine. Police said synthetic drugs are the choice of young people because it is cheap, with a pill being made for 50-cents and sold for up to $15; lasts a long time; can be easily hidden and a tablet appears relatively harmless with a “cute” imprinted logo. Sgt. Brent Hill, of the Chemical Diversion Unit, said rogue brokers use fake names, companies or addresses to import the chemicals into Canada. Some use the name of legitimate companies and give fake delivery addresses, he said. He said the imported chemicals are resold by rogue brokers at exorbitant profits to organized crime groups originating from China, Vietnam and India, including criminal bike gangs in Canada. The chemicals are “cooked” into synthetic drugs. The CDU monitors more than 100 chemicals entering the country. Some are for legitimate industrial uses ranging from industrial cleaners to pharmaceutical products. Others are strictly for “baking” drugs. Hill shows a make-shift laboratory that was seized in a 2007 Scarborough bust in which three people were arrested. Officers seized two million units of Ecstasy and bags of chemicals at a residence on Pipers Green Ave., in the Brimley Rd. and Finch Ave. E. area. Jian Yao Quan, 24, and Yan Shi, 46, both of Scarborough, and Wan Shun Ling, 55, of Brooklyn, New York, were convicted of drug-related offences and will be sentenced on Feb. 14. A warrant has been issued for Wei Quan Ma, 43, of Toronto, who’s believed to have fled to China. During that raid, police found a 22-litre round-bottom heating mantle filled with chemicals being baked as vapors flowed through a hose taped at the top of the container to a large can filled with cat litter, that helps to absorb toxic gases to avoid leaving smells behind, police said. Hill said the mixture leaves a cloud of corrosive chemical hanging over the area that is harmful to people and is the reason why officers wear haz-mat suits to enter drug houses. “These labs pose a serious threat to the safety of the public and emergency first responders such as police, fire and ambulance workers,” Hill said. “Most chemicals in a clandestine drug lab are highly toxic, corrosive, explosive or flammable “ He said some unsafe labs can cause a fire or explosion that can lead to environmental pollution. Police said its common to find an Ecstasy pill containing a combination of controlled substances including methamphetamine or other controlled or non-regulated psychoactive substances. Some doses can be lethal and kill users. Officers point to the deaths of five B.C. young people since last August from Ecstasy laced PMMA, the same lethal chemical linked to deaths in the Calgary area. There have been about 18 Ecstasy-related deaths in B.C. in two years. “Some of these drugs are dangerous cocktails,” Hill said. “Crime groups are putting more addictive chemicals in some of the mixtures to get kids coming back for more. “These brokers are aggressively targeting the legitimate chemical industry. They continue to expand in a highly-lucrative market selling legal chemicals, regulated precursors and non-regulated psychoactive substances.” Officers said some unscrupulous brokers establish fake front companies, or claim to be legitimate companies to import chemicals into Canada. They fill out paperwork required by the Canada Border Services Agency but usually provide false information, police said. “The acquisition of chemicals is the choke point,” Hill said. “We are fully engaged with the legitimate Canadian chemical industry and monitor suspicious chemical transactions.” He said its a crime under Bill C-475 to possess, produce, sell or import “anything” if the person involved knows it will be used to produce methamphetamine or Ecstasy. “Crime groups with links to south-east Asia continue to dominate chemical-brokering operations,” the Mounties said. “There are criminal enterprises including individual operators and semi-legitimate companies that are brokering or procuring chemicals for synthetic drug production.” Police said some chemical shipments imported into Canada for industrial use are stolen by crime gangs to produce drugs. “Global demand for Ecstasy remains high,” Hill said. “Ecstasy continues to be the most sought-after and widely available controlled synthetic drug in the Canadian illicit market.”

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Recession causes 2,000 heart attack deaths

 

Since 2002 the number of people dying from heart attacks in England has dropped by half, the study conducted by Oxford University found. But within that, regional data revealed there was a 'blip' in London that corresponded to the financial crash in 2008 and continued through 2009. Heart attack deaths have dropped due to better prevention of heart attacks in the first place with fewer people smoking and improvements in diet through lower consumption of saturated fat. The treatment of people who do suffer a heart attack has also improved leading to fewer deaths with faster ambulance response times, new procedures to clear blocked arteries and wider use of drugs such as statins and aspirin. The research published in the British Medical Journal showed around 80,000 lives have been saved between 2002 and 2008 as deaths from heart attacks declined.

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Two arrested after headless burnt body is found in 'suspected gangland execution'

 

Two men have been arrested after a man was beheaded and set on fire in a suspected gangland execution. Firefighters discovered the headless body on fire after being called to a wooded area off a car park in Wellington Street, Stockport, in the early hours of this morning. After extinguishing the blaze they found man's head nearby. Forensic officers remove the body in a covered body bag at the murder scene where the body of a decapitated man was found on fire at 5am this morning Two suspects, aged 29 and 31, were arrested prior to the body being found - on suspicion of possessing shotgun cartridges - following an incident at a Stockport flat. On the way to the police station, about 5.10am, officers were alerted to a fire following a call from a nearby casino and the body was discovered. It is feared the victim - a man in his 20s - was killed during a 5am rendezvous at the flat before being wrapped in a duvet and dumped. The scene of the grisly discovery is just 150 yards from the town's magistrates' court and a police station. Forensic officers and the tent where the body of a decapitated man was found on fire at 5am this morning Today, as a police cordon was put up around the murder scene, tests were being carried out on the body to establish where he was killed. It is believed the man was decapitated with some kind of bladed instrument, either a sword or a knife. Further tests will be undertaken to establish whether petrol was used in an attempt to destroy the body. The suspects were arrested at a first floor flat where the 29-year old jobless suspect was believed to live alone. Police questioned two female relatives who are believed to live in Wales. One neighbour said: 'There were always shenanigans going on inside that flat - so much so I would switch a fan on inside my place to drown out the noise so I could go to sleep. 'In the early hours of the morning before the body was found I had heard one such rumpus with lots of shouting going on so I put my fan on as normal.

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The UK could become a hub for smuggling the herbal stimulant khat,

 

European police and politicians have warned. The Netherlands is the latest country to outlaw the sale of the plant, which is now banned in sixteen EU member states and Norway. Khat is freely sold in the UK and observers say the UK's isolated stance could make it the main base for Europe's khat trade. The British government has commissioned a new review of khat use. Until announcing its ban earlier this month, the Netherlands was similar in its stance to the UK where the East African plant is legally imported, sold and consumed. In 2005 the UK Home Office commissioned a report by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) which concluded that "the evidence of harm resulting from khat use is not sufficient to recommend its control." In the UK, the drug is mainly consumed by people of Somali and Yemeni origin and the ACMD report concluded there was "no evidence of its spread to the general population." 'Social harm' Gerd Leers, Immigration and Integration Minister in the Netherlands, says he already has enough evidence of social harm caused by the drug to support a ban, which will come into force from June this year. Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote Those who argue against a ban don't know about the community and they can't see all the damage it is doing to families and individuals” Muna Hassan Sister of khat user Mark Lancaster, MP for Milton Keynes North, argued that khat should be outlawed in Britain in a speech he made in Parliament earlier this month. But others say that making khat a controlled drug could lead to further problems. "What worries me about the Netherlands is that once these legal Somali traders are criminalised and have their livelihood taken away from them - what are they going to do next?" says Axel Klein, an expert witness for the ACMD's 2005 report. "They have contacts, trading skills, financial acumen so it is very possible that they will start trafficking the khat and then diversify into harder drugs. "This is our main concern when looking at the UK as well. "Do we really want to create the opportunity for an organised crime syndicate to start-up from nowhere with long term consequences by banning khat?" Continue reading the main story Find out more Hear more on The Report on Radio 4 on Thursday, 26 January at 20:00 GMT. You can listen again on the Radio 4 website or by downloading the podcast Listen to The Report on the Radio 4 website Download The Report podcast Explore The Report archive Mr Klein argues that khat is chewed mainly by older men in the Somali diaspora and the practice will die out - rather like snuff has done in the UK. But British-Somali Muna Hassan is not so sure. She blames khat use for inducing her younger brother's paranoid schizophrenia. He has lived in the UK since the age of five and had a bright future ahead of him, studying at university, when he then started chewing khat. "The Somali community has a unified voice on this," she told Radio 4's The Report. "Those who argue against a ban don't know about the community and they can't see all the damage it is doing to families and individuals. We know," she says. 'Dangerous' drug Eleni Palazidou, a psychiatrist who has worked with the Somali community in east London, agrees. "For me it is a drug - no two ways about it. "Every patient that I have seen who chews khat, I have seen them worsening and it is impossible to get their condition under control. Continue reading the main story What is khat? Khat refers to the leaves and shoots of the Catha edulis - a flowering shrub native to the Horn of Africa and Arabian peninsula Khat has many names including 'qat' (Yemen), 'jad' or 'chad' (Ethiopia, Somalia), 'miraa' (Kenya) or 'marungi' (Uganda, Rwanda). Khat leaves are chewed and contain stimulant substances that have amphetamine-like properties. Khat contains cathine and cathinone which, as isolated substances, are banned in the UK, but in khat leaves are not. It is chewed mainly by men in khat houses known as Mafrishes, though there is anecdotal evidence of growing use by teenagers and women. In the UK it is an informal, legal trade so it is impossible to know exactly how much is imported. Estimates range from 10 to 60 tonnes a week. "What khat does to the brain is similar to amphetamines. I think heavy, regular use is dangerous. I have no doubt that khat has a major adverse effect on people's mental health and does cause psychological problems," she told The Report. The Netherlands' ban has been welcomed by Dutch citizens like Dagmar Oudshoorn, mayor of the village of Uithoorn, near Schipol, who says the khat trade has been a blight on her community. "Four times a week 200 cars arrive with people who want to buy khat and they fight - we had stabbing incidents - and they leave rubbish everywhere. "We want to refurbish our business area but because of the bad environment we lose investors and customers," she told the BBC. Neighbouring states, where the drug has long been illegal, have also put pressure on the Dutch government in The Hague because they have seen a sharp increase in khat trafficking from Holland. For Europe's Nordic countries, much of the khat arrives by truck across the Oresund bridge between Denmark and southern Sweden. Swedish police estimate that 200 tonnes is smuggled into the country each year, with a street value of 150 euros (£125/$190) a kilo. Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote With the Eurotunnel you can get from London to Malmo in 15 hours. Britain will become the new hub in Europe that is for certain” Detective Stefan Kalman Swedish police After years of lobbying, Swedish MEP Olle Schmidt admits he was pleasantly surprised by the Dutch move to ban khat. "There is a shift in the Netherlands. They no longer want to be seen as a liberal country where tourists can come to smoke pot and buy drugs. "Now, of course, khat will come more extensively to the London airports and then be smuggled to the rest of Europe, because you can earn a lot of money with this drug," warns Mr Schmidt. Stefan Kalman, a senior detective in the Swedish drug squad, says customs officers catch smugglers on the border several times a week. "The couriers often have accidents because they drive so fast", he says. "Sometimes they shoot past the border controls without stopping because they are nervous - khat is quite bulky and you cannot conceal it like other drugs." They are also in a rush because the drug has to be consumed when it is fresh. Cathinone, one of the psychoactive agents in khat leaves, is highly unstable and loses its potency within three days of harvesting. With the door slammed shut in Holland, smugglers will turn to the UK despite the longer distances says Detective Kalman. "With the Eurotunnel you can get from London to Malmo in 15 hours. Britain will become the new hub in Europe that is for certain." The British government has commissioned a new review of khat use - the date of its publication is still to be confirmed.

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Eating fried foods didn't hurt the hearts of Spaniards who follow a Mediterranean diet

Eating fried foods didn't hurt the hearts of Spaniards who follow a Mediterranean diet, but the findings are too good to be true for Canadians, experts say.

A study in Wednesday's issue of the British Medical Journal suggests that frying foods in olive and sunflower oils is not associated with an increased risk of heart disease or premature death.

The Mediterranean diet favours fruits, vegetables, fish and whole grains. (iStock)

Prof. Pilar Guallar-Castillón from Autonomous University of Madrid and her co-authors surveyed the cooking methods of 40,757 adults aged 29 to 69 over an 11-year period. None of the participants had heart disease when the study began.

The people were asked in a typical week whether they ate food that was fried, battered, crumbed or sautéed. Their answers were divided into categories based on how much fried food they consumed.

During the follow-up period, there were 606 events linked to heart disease and 1,134 deaths.

"In Spain, a Mediterranean country where olive or sunflower oil is used for frying, the consumption of fried foods was not associated with coronary heart disease," the study's authors concluded.

The results directly apply only to Mediterranean countries where foods are fried in a similar way to Spain, the researchers noted.

Spanish participants more active

"When I look at the group of patients evaluated in Spain 10 years ago, they were much more active and fit than we are as Canadians nowadays," said Dr. Beth Abramson, a cardiologist at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto and a spokesperson for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.

And overall, people in the study ate a diet that was heart healthier than a typical North American diet.

The Mediterranean regime favours fruits, vegetables, fresh fish and whole grains.

"Occasionally having some fried food now and then isn't going to be harmful probably in the long run, but routinely frying food just adds to the chance that you're going to become overweight and out of shape," Abramson said.

The investigators only questioned participants about their diet at the start of the study, which isn't as reliable as checking in more often, Abramson said.

Floria Aghdamimehr, a wellness and life coach in Halifax who teaches people how to improve their diet, said the study confirms the value of using olive oil, though sparingly.

The nutritional content of foods changes when they are fried, Aghdamimehr said.

Nutritional changes with frying

"Most of the deep-fried foods people eat in North America … [uses] oil [that] is being recycled — reused several times,” Aghdamimehr said.

In Spain, fried food doesn't equal fast food from restaurants the way it often does in North America, the researchers said.

"Frying leads to an increase in trans fats and a decrease in unsaturated fats in foods," said Prof. Michael Leitzmann of the department of the epidemiology and preventive medicine at University of Regensburg in Germany in a journal editorial published with the Spanish study.

"Frying also increases the energy density of food and makes food more palatable, which may lead to the consumption of larger amounts."

The study was funded by the Fund for Health of Spain, five Spanish regional governments and the Catlan Institute of Oncology.

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Saravy Sok, 22, of 88 Forthill Ave., Lowell, who was identified by prosecutors as a member of the Tiny Rascals Gang-Grey, a violent street gang with ties to California, was arraigned on gun charges

 

Saravy Sok, 22, of 88 Forthill Ave., Lowell, who was identified by prosecutors as a member of the Tiny Rascals Gang-Grey, a violent street gang with ties to California, was arraigned on gun charges and a charge of armed assault to murder after the Sunday morning shooting outside 12 Benefit St. According to police and Assistant District Attorney Roberta O’Brien, a 28-year-old man was at a party at 12 Benefit St. when he got into a minor verbal argument with another partygoer. The 28-year-old man decided to leave the party, but outside the man he had argued with challenged him to a fight. The two men had begun to fight when Mr. Sok arrived to help his friend, Ms. O’Brien said. “As they were fighting, this man pulled out a gun and started shooting,” she said in court yesterday. The 28-year-old was shot once in the shoulder and twice in the leg. The injuries were not life-threatening, but the victim may suffer nerve damage, Ms. O’Brien said. The victim walked into the emergency room at St. Vincent Hospital just after midnight Sunday with the gunshot wounds. Police were called to the hospital and spoke to the victim. He told police he recognized the shooter’s girlfriend, and police were able to identify the suspect. Lowell police told city investigators that Mr. Sok was a member of the TRG-Grey gang and gave them a booking photograph from a previous arrest. Mr. Sok was identified as the suspect through witnesses, detectives and members of the Shooting Response Team. Lowell police located Mr. Sok Monday night and arrested him on a warrant for the shooting. In 2008, Mr. Sok was among a large group of gang members in the Lowell area arrested on a variety of charges. Mr. Sok was charged in federal court with weapons offenses. In mid-2009, he was sentenced to serve 32 months in prison with three years of supervised release. Ms. O’Brien said Mr. Sok was still on supervised release in the federal case when last weekend’s shooting occurred. Federal authorities said members of the TRG-Grey gang are responsible for many acts of violence in Lowell over the past decade. Mr. Sok was charged with armed assault to murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm without a firearm identification card, carrying a loaded firearm without a license and using a firearm during a felony. Not guilty pleas were entered. Bail was set at $50,000 cash, and the case was continued to Feb. 23.

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Spain’s Two Finance Ministers Clash on Budget Amid Recession

 

Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said Spain is sticking to its deficit goal even as the economy shrinks, underlining a rift in the month-old Cabinet over whether the nation can halve its shortfall during a recession. De Guindos said the government’s commitment to budget cuts is “total” and there’s “no change” to this year’s target. His comments in Brussels today came after reporters asked him about Budget Minister Cristobal Montoro’s call on Jan. 22 for the European Union to ease Spain’s 2012 deficit goal to take its shrinking economy into account. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy divided the Finance Ministry in two after coming to power in December, putting People’s Party veteran Montoro in charge of the budget and giving de Guindos, a former Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. banker, responsibility for the economy. Rajoy didn’t make either of them deputy prime minister, as the last two finance chiefs were, saying he would oversee economic issues himself. “It’s a trial of strength to see who’s really in charge of economic issues, and Rajoy will just let it happen,” said Ismael Crespo, a political scientist at the Fundacion Ortega- Maranon research institute in Madrid, who was head of the state polling unit when the PP was last in power. “Montoro is speaking more to the public and Guindos is speaking more to the foreigners,” he said in a telephone interview. Economy Contracting Spain’s government needs to rein in its borrowing costs and convince investors it can cut the euro region’s third-largest budget deficit even as the economy enters its second recession in two years. The Bank of Spain said yesterday the economy contracted in the fourth quarter and may shrink 1.5 percent in 2012, adding to pressure on Rajoy, who won the Nov. 20 election on a pledge of creating jobs. Budget Minister Montoro, a 61-year-old public-finance professor and lawmaker for Seville, said on Jan. 22 the EU should ease Spain’s budget target of 4.4 percent of gross domestic product this year as the goal was set by the previous government, which expected the economy to grow 2.3 percent. The deficit amounted to 8 percent of GDP last year, overshooting the 6 percent target. “If Brussels doesn’t adapt the stability program to the new scenario of a recession, it won’t be realistic and not only will Spain sink but the whole of Europe,” Montoro said in an interview with La Vanguardia newspaper in comments confirmed by a Budget Ministry spokeswoman. Austerity Commitment EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn rejected Montoro’s comments today after a meeting of finance ministers in Brussels, saying it’s “essential” that Spain meets the target, and must take more measures to do so. De Guindos, 52, who described Montoro in December as his “mentor” and “friend,” said Spain would keep its promises. The task of attending the European meetings falls to de Guindos, who speaks fluent English, while Montoro stays in Spain. “The government’s deficit target is 4.4 percent and there is no change in this respect,” de Guindos said after the meeting today. It isn’t the first time the pair has given differing messages in the past week. De Guindos, who is not a member of parliament, wrote in the Wall Street Journal on Jan. 19 that budget cuts were “not a choice.” The same day Montoro was quoted as telling the Financial Times Deutschland newspaper that the nation may miss its budget goal. The two gave conflicting reports of the 2011 deficit on Jan. 2, as de Guindos said the overshoot may have been even greater than the government’s first estimate. De Guindos’ position on this year’s shortfall is backed up by Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, who said on Jan. 20 that the government was “determined” to meet the existing target. Rajoy holds a news conference later today after meeting Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho at 5 p.m. in Lisbon.

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Cannabis taxation: a win-win all round, Richard Branson tells MPs

 

The market for cannabis in Britain should be regulated and taxed, and responsibility for drug policy moved from the Home Office to the health department, Sir Richard Branson has told MPs. The Virgin Group head said the 20% of police time and £200m spent on giving criminal sentences to 70,000 young people for possession of illegal drugs in Britain each year would be better spent going after the criminal gangs at the centre of the drugs trade. "It's win-win all round,'' he told the Commons home affairs select committee. Asked about his personal history of drug use, Branson replied: "I would say 50% of my generation has smoked cannabis. I would say 75% of my children's generation has smoked cannabis … If I was smoking cigarettes, I would be very worried." He said that in his own Virgin companies he did not think staff who were found to be taking drugs should be dismissed but instead treated as having a problem, and helped. "There are many people in companies with drink problems or smoking problems," he said. Branson was part of a global commission on drug policy, which includes five ex-presidents and Kofi Annan, the former United Nations secretary general. The body concluded last year that the war on drugs had failed and called for experiments in decriminalisation. He was the first witness at the Commons home affairs inquiry into drug policy. Branson argued that the policy of switching responsibilty for drug policy from the Home Office to the health department had worked in Portugal, where nobody had been jailed for using or possessing drugs in the last 10 years. Portugal was the only country that had decriminalised all drugs. As a result of treating drug users rather than imprisoning them, he said, heroin use and heroin-related deaths had fallen by more than 50%. In Britain, 100,000 young people a year were arrested for drug offences, and 75,000 of them were given criminal records, which meant they had problems in later life in travelling to some countries, he said. "If next year those 100,000 people are not prosecuted for taking drugs, but they are helped, I think the commission would welcome Britain doing that." He said if the sale of cannabis and other drugs were regulated and taxed, then the quality of what was being taken could be controlled. He contrasted the lack of deaths in Portugal with the recent deaths of three teenagers in Britain from taking tablets they wrongly thought were ecstasy, citing the fatalities as an example of the consequences of failing to regulate the illegal market. The Virgin chief admitted he had not read the UK Home Office drug policy statement, which emphasises diverting drug users from prison, but said the 100,000 arrests each year were evidence the policy was not working in practice. Pressed by some Conservative MPs on the committee to come down on one side or the other in the debate over methadone maintenance versus abstinence, Branson said he was no expert, and it was for the MPs to establish what worked best.

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Drugs mule sentences cut in new sentencing guidelines

 

People who smuggle drugs will face more lenient sentences if they have been exploited, under new guidelines. The change in approach on "drug mules" is in the first comprehensive rules on drugs offences from the Sentencing Council for England and Wales. The council said judges should distinguish between those who have been exploited by gangs and criminals heavily involved in the drugs trade. But it said large-scale drugs producers should expect longer jail terms. The council's role is to provide judges and magistrates with a set of broad guidelines so that sentencing is more consistent across England and Wales. Last year the council carried out research into 12 women convicted of drug mule offences, all of whom received sentences of between 15 months and 15 years. The majority of the women said they did not know that they had been carrying drugs when they arrived in the UK, although some admitted being suspicious. In most cases they had carried the drugs for someone they trusted or feared what would happen if they did not do so. Continue reading the main story DRUGS SUPPLY SCENARIOS Guidelines on sentencing for supply vary due to circumstances Example one: Student club-goer guilty of supply of 20 ecstasy tablets to himself and a friend. He buys off a regular dealer recreation and there is no financial gain. Sentencing starting point is 18 months - but can be as low as a community order or as high as three years. Example two: Police stop man in a car who is carrying cocaine worth up to £6,500. They find more drugs trade evidence at home and incriminating messages on a mobile phone. Suspect is involved in commercial-scale selling for profit. Sentencing starting point is eight and a half years. Under the new guideline, which comes into force on 27 February, the starting point for sentencing drug mules guilty of carrying crack, heroin and cocaine will be six years, before judges take into account aggravating and mitigating factors. Those found guilty of a much higher level of involvement in the drugs trade will face longer sentences. Those coerced into smuggling small amounts of Class C drugs, such as ketamine, could be given a community order. The councils said there would be no change in sentences for the key offences of possession and supply, but dealers who provide drugs to under-18s should receive longer sentences. Class A drug street dealers should expect a starting point of four and a half years. Lord Justice Hughes, deputy chairman of the Sentencing Council, said: "Drug offending has to be taken seriously. Drug abuse underlies a huge volume of acquisitive and violent crime and dealing can blight communities. "Offending and offenders vary widely so we have developed this guideline to ensure there is effective guidance for sentencers and clear information for victims, witnesses and the public on how drug offenders are sentenced. "This guideline reinforces current sentencing practice. Drug dealers can expect substantial jail sentences." The guidelines, which applies to magistrates and the crown courts, covers the most common drugs offences - importing, production, supply, possession and allowing a premises to be used for these offences. Chief Constable Tim Hollis, in charge of drugs policy for the Association of Chief Police Officers, said: "The Council has clearly given a good deal of consideration to the new guidelines and has produced a document which provides the police and our criminal justice partners with consistent guidance yet still provides the courts with flexibility to deal with each case on its own merits where appropriate." Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust campaign group, said in the light of the guidelines it "calls on the government to review the sentences of all those who have been trafficked into acting as drug mules and are currently languishing for long years in British jails".

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Caught with six kilos of cannabis and you could still avoid jail

 

Sentencing guidelines issued today say that offenders who play a “limited” role in gangs could face community orders for intent to supply Class A drugs. Dealers caught with 6kg of cannabis, valued at £17,000 and enough to fill 30,000 joints or keep an average user in supply for 17 years, could also avoid prison. The sentences on drug “mules” will be cut substantially, while workers in small cannabis “farms” could escape custody. Courts will be told for the first time to reduce sentences for cannabis possession if it is being used for medicinal purposes. The guidelines maintain tough sentences for gang leaders and those who sell directly to the public, especially to children.

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Drug Users Could Avoid Jail Under New Guidelines Published By The Sentencing Council For Judges

 

Friends socially sharing drugs and those using cannabis for medicinal purposes could escape jail under new guidelines for judges. Drug runners and small-time dealers caught with heroin, cocaine or thousands of pounds worth of cannabis could also avoid prison. Instead, low-level operatives caught with 6kg of cannabis, 20 ecstasy tablets, or five grams of heroin or cocaine are likely to receive a community sentence. The guidelines, which come into force on February 27, are expected to be met with mixed reaction. They state a prison sentence may not be necessary for people who supply small amounts of narcotics to share with their friends for no personal gain. They also urge judges for the first time to reduce sentences for cannabis possession if it is being used "to help with a diagnosed medical condition". It is the first time all courts in England and Wales have been given a comprehensive guideline setting out how the role of the offender and the quantity of drugs should influence sentencing. So-called drug "mules", often women forced or tricked into the crime, could face a starting point of six years if deemed to be playing a "lesser role" in bringing up to 1kg of heroin or cocaine into the country. This is compared to the 11-year starting point if the offender was one of the leading figures. Those caught with small amounts of cannabis could avoid jail But the Sentencing Council said offenders who were employed by someone else to import or export drugs regularly for profit would still face tough sentences of up to life in prison. It said tougher sentences could also be handed down to key players guilty of producing drugs on a large scale. Offenders in a leading role in the production or cultivation of 11lb (5kg) of heroin or cocaine or tens of thousands of ecstasy tablets could face up to 16 years in prison. Those producing industrial quantities of cannabis for commercial purposes could also face up to 10 years in jail. Anyone dealing to those aged under 18 would also face tougher penalties. Under the guidelines, street dealers will still face jail, with those playing a key role in selling class A drugs facing a starting point of four and a half years, with up to 16 years for a single incident, depending on the quantity of drugs involved. 

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An unflinching look at drugs

 

From the farm fields and jungle labs where drugs such as crack cocaine, ecstasy and hashish get their start to the front-door steps where recreational users and addicts alike have their drugs delivered, National Geographic Channel (channel 260) explores the world of Drugs Inc. The series premieres on the channel at 9pm today and includes eight unflinching new episodes that examine the business of illegal narcotics production. Drugs Inc goes inside the world of producers, traffickers, dealers, users, doctors and cops with first-person perspectives on what keeps this business in motion. It also investigates relative newcomers such as ketamine and oxycontin – designer drugs for the 21st century – and the covert industry of grand theft auto, which provides cartels with stolen vehicles customised for smuggling. Worth an estimated R1.28 trillion, the business of Drugs Inc fuels crime and violence like no other substance on the planet, turning cartel leaders into billionaires. The illegal drug industry also provides vital income to hundreds of thousands of poor workers across the globe. While some users sacrifice their lives to an addiction they can’t escape, others find drugs to be their only saving grace from physical or emotional pain almost impossible to overcome. Where should the lines be drawn in this hugely lucrative industry? The series looks at hallucinogens, once hailed as a panacea. Psychedelic drugs are at the centre of an underground movement experimenting with mind-altering substances as they explore a possible new medical frontier. Deep in the Amazon, Rob, a Wall Street broker-turned-healer, has created a free clinic of sorts, administering a highly potent narcotic known as ayahuasca to patients desperate to escape powerful trauma. Taking on others’ stress releases Rob’s own demons and a shaman must step in as Rob’s trip spirals dangerously out of control. Dimitri, a former heroin addict, helps drug users to overcome addiction by using a controversial hallucinogen called ibogaine, and encounters dangerous side effects in the process. Turning to the power of mushrooms, one family man suffering from cluster headaches contemplated suicide before finding relief in this psychedelic trip, and a Swiss physician uses LSD to help ease terminal patients’ fear of death. The deadly and addictive drug crack cocaine is the subject of another episode in which users will do anything to get their hands on it. Addicts Jeff and Alexis are desperate for its intense high – turning to burglary, drug dealing and even prostitution. Smuggling hashish from the remote Moroccan Riff Mountains to the streets of Europe is a dirty, dangerous and deadly business. A former British gangster serves as guide into this illicit underworld, visiting a secret hash-making location nestled in the mountains. The smugglers use everything from hidden car compartments to donkeys, skis and drug mules. Their aim is to be as inconspicuous as possible – and to make it out alive. Facing off at the front line of Europe’s war on drugs, customs agents near Gibraltar seize 100kg of hashish, but the huge haul barely scratches the surface. From Spain, smugglers like “Billy” strap blocks of hash to their bodies and board flights to London and European cities. While smugglers take great risks, for some users, getting the drugs is as easy as walking into a coffee shop. But despite this easy access, users still pay a heavy price – as seen at a local youth psychiatric clinic in Holland. Ecstasy marks another trail. Dubbed as Christmas morning in a pill and penicillin for the soul, ecstasy’s euphoric high is said to come with major lows. Ravers have died from it and organised crime gangs will kill for it. One of the biggest ecstasy traffickers shares how he dominated the ecstasy smuggling world, and a high-level ecstasy distributor in California outlines smuggling strategies for the 21st century. Drugs Inc joins all the dots in this fascinating and disturbing network.

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Facebook, Twitter addict? Too much Internet may alter your brain

 

This is your brain. This is your brain on Facebook, Twitter, or Match.com. A recent Chinese study found that the brains of people addicted to the Internet may see similar changes to the brains of those addicted to alcohol or drugs. Yahoo News reported that brain scans were conducted of 35 men and women aged between 14 and 21, and 17 of them were identified with Internet addiction disorder. Brain scans of those classified as addicted showed disruptions in the part of the brain that contains nerve fibers, and changes in the brain areas that are used in emotions, decision-making, and self-control. Some of the questions people needed to ask themselves to determine whether they were addicted were, according to the BBC: Do you feel the need to use the Internet with increasing amounts of time in order to achieve satisfaction? Do you use the Internet as an escape from feelings of helplessness, guilt, anxiety and depression? Have you put a relationship, job, or career opportunity at risk because of the Internet? Have you lied to people to hide the amount of time you spend on the Internet? According to safetyweb.com, an Internet monitoring service for parents, teenagers and young adults are the age groups that are more likely to be addicted to the Internet, and they are more likely to neglect work or school than older addicted adults. The Executive director of an Internet addiction recovery center known as restart says overexposure to the Internet can cause these symptoms in anyone’s brain. Hilarie Cash said to technewsworld.com, "We do a combination of psychotherapy and helping these people figure out the skills they need to function in the world. The road to recovery could include plenty of hiking and backpacking to get them both physically fit and reconnected to the world."

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Paul Simon's music takes meandering spiritual journey

 

Paul Simon says there's always been a spiritual dimension to his music. But the overt religious references in his most recent album, So Beautiful or So What, surprised even him. There are songs about God, angels, creation, pilgrimage, prayer and the afterlife. . Simon says he has many questions about God and explores them through his music. Enlarge By Todd Plitt, for USA TODAY Paul Simon performs at Ground Zero during a 10th anniversary ceremony of the 9-11 terrorist attacks. Simon says he has many questions about God and explores them through his music. Ads by Google 1st Dual Core Mini-ITX VIA EPIA-M900 wi Nano X2 CPU, DDR3 up to 8GB, 2 SATA, 8 USB2.0, 4 www.viaembedded.com Simon says the religious themes were not intentional — he does not describe himself as religious. But in an interview with the PBS program Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly, he said the spiritual realm fascinates him. "I think it's a part of my thoughts on a fairly regular basis," he said. "I think of it more as spiritual feeling. It's something that I recognize in myself and that I enjoy, and I don't quite understand it." BLOG: Is heaven Simon's stunning infinity? REVIEW: 'So Beautiful' sums up Simon's latest STORY: 'So Beautiful' is beautifully familiar Simon may not understand it, but he's been writing and singing a lot about it, and that has generated attention. One Irish blogger suggested So Beautiful or So What could be the best Christian album of 2011. Sojourners' Cathleen Falsani, an evangelical who writes frequently about religion and pop culture, called it "one of the most memorable collections of spiritual musical musings" in recent memory. "It's a stunningly beautiful … album, and he's a great surprise to me and frankly a huge blessing," Falsani said. During a career that has spanned half a century, Simon has received numerous awards, including 12 Grammys. His first Grammy came in 1968 for best contemporary vocal duo, along with his musical partner Art Garfunkel. Their 1970 Grammy-winning song Bridge Over Troubled Water was influenced by gospel music. Simon comes from a Jewish background. "I was raised to a degree enough to be bar mitzvahed and have that much Jewish education, although I had no interest. None," he said. Now at 70, he said he has many questions about God. In his song, The Afterlife, he speculates about what happens after death. He imagines waiting in line, like at the Department of Motor Vehicles. As the chorus goes: "You got to fill out a form first and then you wait in the line." But there's a serious aspect as well, as the song continues: "Face-to-face in the vastness of space/ Your words disappear/And you feel like you're swimming in an ocean of love/ And the current is strong." "By the time you get up to speak to God, and you actually get there, there's no question that you could possibly have that could have any relevance," Simon explained. One of the most unusual songs on the album, Getting Ready for Christmas Day, includes excerpts of a sermon preached in 1941 by prominent African-American pastor J.M. Gates. Simon heard the sermon on a set of old recordings and said he was drawn to the rhythms of Gates' "call and response" style of preaching. The song Love and Hard Times begins with the line: "God and His only son paid a courtesy call on Earth one Sunday morning." According to Simon, "To begin with a sentence that is the foundation of Christianity, I said: This is going to be interesting. Now what am I going to say about a subject that I certainly didn't study?" The song ends with a love story, which he says is really about his wife, and a repetition of the line, "Thank God I found you." "When you're looking to be thankful at the highest level, you need a specific and that specific is God. And that's what that song is about," he said. Simon said the beauty of life and of the earth often leads him to thoughts about God. "How was all of this created? If the answer to that question is God created everything, there was a creator, than I say, Great! What a great job," he said. But he said he won't be troubled if it turns out there is no God. "Oh fine, so there's another answer. I don't know the answer," he said. Either way, he added, "I'm just a speck of dust here for a nanosecond, and I'm very grateful." Simon has sought input on his questions from some religious leaders, including the Dalai Lama. He once spent hours talking with British evangelical theologian John Stott, who died last year. Simon said Stott made a big impression on him. "I left there feeling that I had a greater understanding of where belief comes from when it doesn't have an agenda," he said. Many of Simon's songs raise universal questions about things like destiny and the meaning of life. "Quite often, people read or hear things in my songs that I think are more true than what I wrote," he said. Falsani calls Simon a "God-chronicler by accident." "He looks at the world and kind of wonders what the heck is going on, like many of us do. He asks good questions and seems to have his finger on the heartbeat spiritually of a culture," she said. Simon said he's gratified — and somewhat mystified — that some people have told him they believe God has spoken to them through his music. "Is it a profound truth? I don't know," he said. "I feel I'm like a vessel, and it passed through me, and I was the editor, and I'm glad."

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DRUGS lord who enjoyed a jet-set lifestyle was last night starting an 11-and-a-half-year jail sentence.

 

 Darlington man Paul Brett was at the head of a well organised empire that tried to flood the area with more than £1m of cocaine. The gang was disrupted after an 18-month undercover operation – the biggest in Durham Police history – culminated in raids last year. Brett, 25, was jailed along with five others from Darlington, Teesside and Merseyside. Detective Chief Superintendent Jane Spraggon said afterwards: “This operation proves no one is untouchable.” Brett’s right-hand man, Mark Dee, 25, was jailed for seven years, while fellow Darlington organiser David Pierce, 41, was jailed for five years. Teesside Crown Court heard that they fixed up deals in Liverpool and arranged for couriers to travel across the Pennines and bring back drugs. In Ronald Bennett’s house in Liverpool, police found an industrial blender, cocaine and a 20-tonne hydraulic press. Market trader Bennett, 57, was the “packager” who Judge Tony Briggs said was crucial to the success of the gang. He was jailed for eight years. Lance Kennedy, 24, from Birkenhead, and Craig Costello, 29, from Middlesbrough, were each jailed for 15 months for money laundering. The pair were caught with nearly £20,000 after police watched Brett hand over a holdall at a McDonald’s car park in Darlington. Brett, a one-time fitness instructor who had never worked during the surveillance and had no bank accounts in the UK, made regular trips abroad. He was pictured in a newspaper flanked by two glamour girls at the opening of a Dubai nightclub and stayed at £800-a-night hotels in Thailand. Dee, a joiner, was said to have been paid only £1,500 for arranging deals. Bennett’s barrister said his client was the one who got his hands the dirtiest. Lawyers for charity fundraiser Kennedy and offshore worker Costello said they were unaware the money was from drug-dealing. Brett, of Yiewsley Drive, Darlington, admitted a fraud charge and converting criminal property and conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. Richard Littler, in mitigation, said he deserved credit for being the first to plead guilty, forcing the others to do so. Bennett, of Fairfax Road, Liverpool, and Dee, of Honeywood Gardens, Darlington, also pleaded guilty to being part of the conspiracy. Pierce, a former amateur boxer and shop-fitter, of Kilmarnock Road, Darlington, was found guilty of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. Tom Mitchell, in mitigation, said: “He falls to the bottom of whatever he finds himself involved with.” Kennedy, of Livingstone Street, Birkenhead, and father-of-three Costello, of St Cuthbert Avenue, Marton, Middlesbrough, admitted conspiracy to transfer criminal property.

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Bacon, deli meat may raise pancreatic cancer risk

Bacon or sausage? You might want to rethink that decision. Consuming processed meat regularly may increase a person’s risk of developing pancreatic cancer, though the risk is still low, says a new study. A meta-analysis of 11 studies involving 6,643 people with pancreatic cancer suggests an elevated risk of the disease when consuming processed meat such as bacon, cold cuts and sausages. In the study, men who ate red meat also showed an elevated risk of the disease, while women did not. The authors believe this is because men generally consume more red meat than women. For every 50 grams a person adds of processed meat to their diet, the risk of pancreatic cancer increased by 19 per cent, according to the study. "When results from all studies were combined, an increase of 50 grams per day of processed meat consumption was associated with a statistically significant 19 per cent increased risk of pancreatic cancer," the authors wrote. For the study, 120 grams was deemed a serving of red meat per day, while 50 grams represented a serving of processed meat. A typical hot dog is about 45 grams. "Processed meats are usually preserved with nitrite and may also contain N-nitroso compounds," write the authors. They say these compounds can also be formed in the stomach from nitrites and from compounds found in animal products and are potent carcinogens that have been shown to induce pancreatic cancer in animals. The study was conducted by Swedish researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and published Thursday online in the British Journal of Cancer.

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Thornton Heath man in South American jail after being caught with £20k of coke

 

A young man has been jailed in South America for attempting to traffic drugs just three weeks after sneaking out of his Thornton Heath home without telling his mother. Former Stanley Technical School pupil, Nishit Patel, 21, left his home in Attlee Close, in secret on Christmas Day before flying 4,500 miles to Guyana. The next time his mum, part-time Tesco worker Amita, heard from him was on January 3 phoning from a Guyanese jail after being caught boarding a plane with 29 pellets of cocaine worth more than £20,000 inside him. On Monday, January 9, he was sentenced to four years in jail after he admitted drug trafficking. He was also fined $30,000 Guyanese dollars, about £95. Mrs Patel, 46, said she last saw her son, who changed his name to Nikesh after being teased at school, after lunch on Christmas Day. She said: “I came home and he had bags packed. I asked if he was leaving and he said no. I never know where he is going, he tells me nothing. “I didn’t even know where Guyana was. I asked why did you do it, and he said for the money.” On December 31 Guyana’s Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) at Cheddi Jagan International Airport saw Patel acting suspiciously and arrested him. Dennis Mahase a senior supervisor with CANU said Patel, who has spent his whole life in Croydon, missed his earlier flight home and was picked up by officials while he waited. He said: “When the officials began questioning him he complained about feeling unwell. After further question he admitted swallowing the pellets.” Taken to Woodlands Hospital in Georgetown, the country’s capital, Patel, was x-rayed and the pellets, containing 352 grams of the drug with a street value of around £20,000, were found. Mr Mahase added: “He admitted to us he had done this before in November and got away with it.” Mrs Patel said Nishit went off the rails after his grandparents and father died in quick succession four years ago. She said: “He was such a good boy. Very caring. It changed him. A son listens to his father but to his mother, not so much. It was very hard.” The family will now fight to have him extradited to the UK. She said: “I want to be able to see him. I know he has done wrong but he is my son. I have no idea what a jail out there is like.” A foreign office spokesman said: “We can confirm the arrest of a British national on December 31 in Guyana. “We are providing consular assistance.”

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there is an area in your brain where you may hold a reservation and that could, in all likelihood, cause you to return to your drinking. I wish that I might reach this place in your consciousness, but alas, I do not have the skill."

Twelve Step people who study A.A.'s Big Book are, of course, familiar with Bill Wilson's medical mentor, Dr. William Duncan Silkworth. Bill called him the benign "little doctor who loved drunks." Silkworth, a psychiatrist, had treated thousands of alcoholics and was director of Towns Hospital in New York where Bill had several times sought help. Though Silkworth had explained the disease of alcoholism to Bill, Bill continued to drink until he met his "sponsor" Ebby Thacher, who had recovered through the spiritual program of the Oxford Group. Ebby had also gone to Calvary Rescue Mission, run by Dr. Sam Shoemaker's Calvary Episcopal Church in New York; and Ebby had there made a decision for Christ. Wilson went there for the same purpose and, according to a conversation the author had with Dr. Shoemaker's widow (Helen Smith Shoemaker), Bill Wilson made a decision for Christ at the Rescue Mission. Bill stayed drunk for a few days and then checked into Towns Hospital and again sought help from Dr. Silkworth. And it was during this stay, that Bill took the life-changing steps of the Oxford Group, had his "hot flash experience," reported it to Dr. Silkworth, and was told by Silkworth that he (Bill) had better hang on to what had happened to him. Silkworth later was asked to write the "Doctor's Opinion" that opens the basic text of the Big Book. Silkworth's picture appears in A.A.'s Pass It On, the biography of Bill's life.

        Shortly before his death, the author spent an hour with Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, friend of A.A., the Rev. Sam Shoemaker, and Bill Wilson. Dr. Peale told me of the conversations he had with Bill Wilson about Bill's conversion. However, until 1997, I had never heard the following account by Peale about Dr. William Duncan Silkworth. It can be found in Norman Vincent Peale, The Positive Power of Jesus Christ (New York: Foundation for Christian Living, 1980), pp. 60-61. It appears under the title "The Wonderful Story of Charles K.":

        Charles, a businessman in Virginia, had become a full-fledged alcoholic; so much so that he had to have help, and fast, for his life was cracking up. He made an appointment with the late Dr. William Duncan Silkworth, one of the nation's greatest experts on alcoholism, who worked in a New York City hospital [the Charles Towns Hospital]. Receiving Charles into his clinic as a patient, the doctor gave him treatment for some days, then called him into his office. "Charles," he said, "I have done everything I can for you. At this moment you are free of your trouble. But there is an area in your brain where you may hold a reservation and that could, in all likelihood, cause you to return to your drinking. I wish that I might reach this place in your consciousness, but alas, I do not have the skill."

        "But, doctor," exclaimed Charles, "you are the most skilled physician in this field. When I came to you it was to the greatest. If you cannot heal me, then who can possibly do so?" The doctor hesitated, then said thoughtfully, "There is another Doctor who can complete this healing, but He is very expensive."

        "That's all right," cried Charles, "I can get the money. I can pay his fees. I cannot go home until I am healed. Who is this doctor and where is he?"

        "Oh, but this Physician is not at all moderate as to expense," persisted Dr. Silkworth. "He wants everything you've got. He wants you, all of you. Then He gives the healing. His price is your entire self." Then he added slowly and impressively, "His name is Jesus Christ and He keeps office in the New Testament and is available whenever you need Him."

        Dr. Peale then describes the healing of Charles through the power of Jesus Christ. 

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Recovering alcoholic Matt Maden: I began drinking at 10 and now I'm facing death at 26

 

Matt Maden, now 26, has been living on borrowed time since he was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis five years ago. Despite his desperate need he has only a 20 per cent chance of getting an organ because of the growing demand. ‘It’s really scary living with the knowledge that the odds are so heavily against you,’ he said. His condition was detected when he spent two weeks in hospital in an alcohol-induced coma – but even then he refused to believe he had a problem. ‘My immediate thought was, “It’s not the drink”,’ he said. The first time Mr Maden got drunk was at 15. ‘I remember waking up the next morning and my first thought was, “When can I do that again”,’ he said. Within a year he went from drinking eight cans of lager in a session to 16 in order to get a buzz. ‘After a couple of years I’d have to have maybe a bottle of spirits to go along with that,’ he added. ‘For a lot of years alcohol gave me  confidence. Little did I know it would actually turn on me and it would start to control me.’ After his health scare Mr Maden left his home in Oxford to check into a rehab clinic in Bournemouth and has not touched a drop since 2007. His physician, Dr Varuna Aluvihare, from King’s College London, believes the binge-drinking culture is behind the increasing number of young people needing liver transplants. ‘Tragically, every year we fail to keep someone like Matt alive,’ he said.

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Money spent on nicotine patches 'goes up in smoke', says survey

 

Those who go cold turkey have just as much chance of quitting the habit long-term, the study published on Monday added. A total of 787 adult smokers trying to quit were followed over five years by researchers at Harvard School of Public Health. One in three relapsed with the numbers spread equally between those going ‘cold turkey’, those using nicotine patches, gums or sprays, and those combining nicotine replacement with counselling. Heavy smokers who used nicotine replacement products without any professional therapy were twice as likely to relapse. Lead author Hillel Alpert said: ‘Some heavily-dependent smokers perceive nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) as a sort of “magic” pill. ‘Upon realising it is not, they find themselves without support in their quitting efforts, doomed to failure.’ But the findings sparked a backlash from the NRT industry, which is worth £150million in Britain and £520million in the US. GlaxoSmithKline, which makes Nicorette gum, said studies show NRT products, combined with support, ‘can double’ smokers’ chances of quitting

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Once powerful Mexican drug lord Benjamin Arellano Felix pleaded guilty in a U.S. federal court on Wednesday to drug trafficking, racketeering and money laundering charges

 

. Arellano Felix, 58, was the head of the feared Tijuana cartel run by his brothers and operated on the Mexico-U.S. border near San Diego until his capture in Mexico in early 2002. He was extradited to the United States last April, and prosecutors said his guilty plea marked the demise of the violent cartel that dominated smuggling on the California-Mexico border in the 1980s and 1990s. "Arellano Felix led the most violent criminal organization in this part of the world for two decades. Today's guilty plea marks the end of his reign of murder, mayhem and corruption," U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy said. "His historic admission of guilt sends a clear message to the Mexican cartel leaders operating today: The United States will spare no effort to investigate, extradite and prosecute you for your criminal activities," she added. As part of a 17-page plea agreement, Arellano Felix admitted smuggling tons of cocaine and marijuana into California and conspiring to launder hundreds of millions of dollars. He also agreed to forfeit $100 million in profits under the plea deal, which is expected to land him 25 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on April 2. "It was a favorable deal to my client who faced a minimum of 40 years and a maximum of 140 years under the extradition agreement," defense attorney Anthony Colombo Jr. said. CARTEL A SHADOW OF FORMER SELF President Barack Obama's administration has worked closely with Mexican President Felipe Calderon in his army-led battle to crush warring drug gangs in a conflict that has claimed more than 46,000 lives since late 2006. At the height of his power in the 1990s, Arellano Felix smuggled hundreds of millions of dollars in narcotics through a 100-mile wide corridor stretching from Tijuana, south of San Diego, to Mexicali, south of Calexico. But after the death and capture of many of its leaders over the past decade, including three of Benjamin Arellano Felix's brothers, the Tijuana cartel, also known as the Arellano Felix Organization, is a shadow of its former self. Arellano Felix's brother Ramon, the cartel's flamboyant enforcer, died in a shoot-out in 2002. Francisco Javier is serving a life sentence in U.S. federal prison after being captured on a fishing boat in 2006, and Eduardo is in jail in Mexico awaiting extradition. With the downfall of the Arellano Felix brothers, the rival Sinaloa cartel run by Mexico's most-wanted man, Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, has largely taken over the cartel's valuable turf in Tijuana. Appearing before U.S. District Judge Larry Burns at the hearing, Arellano Felix was neatly groomed and dressed in an orange jumpsuit. He said he took medication for migraine headaches, but when asked by the judge if it affected his decision to plead, he replied, "no." Among the former kingpins serving time in U.S. jails is former Gulf cartel leader Osiel Cardenas, who was extradited to the United States by Mexico in 2007 and is serving a 25-year sentence in Texas without chance of parole.

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Drug smuggling bid foiled

 

Customs at the airport foiled an attempt by one Egyptian expatriate arriving from Cairo to smuggle 1,000 narcotic pills into the country. The concerned officers said the suspect had kept the contraband hidden in his shoes when they discovered it. He has since been handed over to Drug Prosecution. In a statement following discovery of the illicit drug, the Director General of Customs Ibrahim Al-Ghanim commended efforts exerted by customs men to uncover complicated smuggling cases.

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Drug smuggling compartment specialist sentenced to 24 years

A California man who specialized in building secret compartments in vehicles used to smuggle drugs received a 24-year sentence in what prosecutors said was one of the first cases against a specialist who worked for drug dealers but didn’t directly handle the drugs. Alfred Anaya, 40, a native of San Fernando, CA, was sentenced to 292 months in federal prison and forfeiture of $3.2 million. Anaya, said a Jan. 6 statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Kansas, operated in the state. “Evidence showed the defendant installed sophisticated hidden compartments in dozens of vehicles,” said U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom. “He knew he was working for drug traffickers.” Anaya was convicted on one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, as well as methamphetamine and marijuana, and two counts of attempting to intimidate a witness, said the statement. Convicted in the case along with Anaya were James Clark, 29, of Overland Park, KS, who was given a sentence identical to Anaya’s on the same charges. Curtis Crow, 30, of Leawood, KS, was sentenced to 147 months on conspiracy and drug distribution charges. Anaya and Clark were convicted in Feb. 2011 and Crow pleaded guilty, said the statement. Prosecutors showed the men were members of a California-based drug trafficking organization that operated a drug distribution center in Kansas between 2008 and 2009 that distributed cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana in Kansas and Missouri. Prosecutors also presented evidence that Anaya installed secret compartments including a 20-kilogram compartment in a Ford F-150, a 10-kilogram compartment in a Honda Ridgeline, a 3-kilogram compartment in a Toyota Camry and a 10-kilogram compartment in a Toyota Sequoia.

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