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Drug Kingpin Gets 104 to 216 Years

Philadelphia native Gene "Shorty" Carter, considered the kingpin of an organization that distributed a million dollars' worth of cocaine and heroin in Blair County, was sentenced Thursday afternoon to 104 to 216 years in prison by Blair County Senior Judge Thomas G. Peoples. Randy Feathers, the regional director of the Attorney General's Bureau of Narcotics Investigation, said he believes the sentence is the longest ever handed down in Pennsylvania for drug offenses.

Source: The Altoona Mirror, Altoona, Pennsylvania, Published: 1/13/2012 12:00:00 AM

Drug Sweep Grabs Four from Acworth

Four Acworth residents are among seven people arrested in connection with a series of drug raids the Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad carried out the past few days. CMANS seized meth and cocaine worth $266,500 in busting a drug ring based in Woodstock that reached into Cobb County, Phil Price, the commander of the drug task force, said in a news release this afternoon. “This is the fourth major drug trafficking organization we have dismantled in the last year,” Price said. “We will not allow Cherokee County to become a haven for drug traffickers.”

Source: The Acworth Patch, Acworth, Georgia, Published: 1/10/2012 12:00:00 AM

Police (The Burke County Narcotics Task Force) Expect More Meth Busts in 2012

The Burke County Narcotics Task Force dismantled 33 meth labs last year, making Burke the top county in North Carolina for such busts in 2011. Task Force Sgt. Rick Hasson says his investigators expect to find at least that many, if not more, in 2012. Burke County is not alone; North Carolina and much of the nation saw record amounts of meth busts in 2011. But Hasson says Burke’s investigators place a premium on wiping out meth production.

Source: The News Herald, Burke County, North Carolina, Published: 1/7/2012 12:00:00 AM

Fifteen Mexican Drug Cartel Members Operating in Atlanta Sentenced to Federal Prison

Operation Four Horsemen nets 567 kilograms of cocaine and over $23 million in drug proceeds in the Atlanta area. Oliver Maciel-Macedo, 29, of Mexico, an Atlanta-based cell-head of a significant Mexican drug trafficking and money laundering cartel, was sentenced to prison today by United States District Judge Richard W. Story. Macedo and his co-conspirators were targets of a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigation dubbed Operation Four Horsemen, which resulted in the seizure of 567 kilograms of cocaine and over $23 million in laundered drug proceeds in the Atlanta area. Combined with drug and money seizures in Laredo, Texas, the investigation has resulted in the seizure of 973 kilograms of cocaine, 1,445 kilograms of marijuana, and over $31 million in drug proceeds.

Source: U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Published: 1/5/2012 12:00:00 AM

Police: Small Children Inside Room with Drugs

Three small children were inside a motel room with two adults who possessed methamphetamine with the intent to sell it, according to Durant Police. Two people were arrested Thursday after police served a search warrant at a room at Boulder Motel in the 900 block of West Main Street. Officers knocked on the door at 9:39 p.m. and because no one answered, they entered the room.

Source: Durant Daily Democrat, Published: 12/18/2011 12:00:00 AM

Feds Bust 13 Suspected Bloods Members on Narcotics Charges

Thirteen members and associates of a violent drug gang operating throughout the Hudson Valley have been arrested, a law-enforcement official tells NBC New York. The FBI's Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force arrested members of the Bloods gang on federal narcotics charges early Tuesday in Monticello, Fallsberg and Liberty, the law-enforcement official said.

Source: NBC New York, Channel 4, Published: 12/13/2011 12:00:00 AM

Brevard Sheriff's Dragnet Aims At Illegal Prescription Drug Dealers

In response to the trend of illegal prescription drug abuse plaguing our county, the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office conducted a dragnet operation designed to target those illegally distributing prescription medications (and other controlled substances) operating throughout Brevard County. During the past month, narcotics purchases were made throughout Brevard County. As a result, 59 arrest warrants were obtained for individuals who are responsible for illegally selling prescription medications such as Percocet, Lortab, Roxicodone and Oxycodone.

Source: The Brevard Times, Published: 12/8/2011 12:00:00 AM

Drug Tunnel Has Secret Elevator Made to Ship Tons of Narcotics

Federal officials revealed that a drug tunnel discovered Tuesday during a bust that netted 32 tons of marijuana was so sophisticated that it had a secret working elevator, electric lighting, rail cars and hydraulic doors -- but may have been found before smugglers could get the narcotics into the hands of American customers. The tunnel, ending in San Diego, Calif., is easily the "most sophisticated that we have discovered perhaps ever, but definitely at least in the last five years," Lauren Mack, a spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told ABC News early Wednesday.

Source: ABC News, Published: 12/1/2011 12:00:00 AM

Feds Restore Some Meth Cleanup Funds

President Barack Obama signed an appropriations bill into law Friday that restored $12.5 million in federal funding to local law enforcement around the country for removal of former meth labs. Tennessee topped the nation last year in reported labs — nearly 2,100 — and consumed more federal cleanup money than any other state — about $4.5 million.

Source: Knoxville News Sentinel, Published: 11/22/2011 12:00:00 AM

Major Cross-Border Drug Tunnel Discovered South of San Diego

Investigators on the multi-agency San Diego Tunnel Task Force continued sifting through evidence Wednesday at a warehouse in Otay Mesa’s industrial park housing the U.S. entrance to a sophisticated passageway that runs beneath the border to a warehouse more than 400 yards away in Tijuana, Mexico.

Source: U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Published: 11/16/2011 12:00:00 AM

Micro Meth Labs Run Riot

Police across the U.S. are struggling with a proliferation of busts for methamphetamine production, fueled by the rise of small but dangerous "one pot" labs. The increasingly popular technique has largely replaced the kitchen-size meth lab with a single, two-liter soda bottle. Ingredients for a batch can easily be obtained on a single trip to a pharmacy and mixed almost anywhere. One-pot labs aren't new, but they are spreading just as budget cuts are reducing police forces.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Published: 11/2/2011 12:00:00 AM

Prescription Drug Database Launches Today

A long-awaited online database that tracks when, where, how much and how often prescription drugs are dispensed throughout Florida launches today. The system, known as the Electronic Florida Online Reporting of Controlled Substances Evaluation, or E-FORCSE, enables physicians to request the prescription drug history of patients. Pharmacists and other health professionals who prescribe narcotic-grade medication such as oxycodone and hyrdocodone have seven days after painkillers are dispensed to report the information to the database.

Source: Tampa Bay Online, Published: 10/26/2011 12:00:00 AM

Major San Juan County Meth Distributor Gets Twelve Years

One of San Juan County's major methamphetamine distributors was sentenced Tuesday to 12 years in prison. Region II Narcotics Task Force agents arrested 35-year-old Guadalupe Castillo-Pina in April and charged him with six counts of second-degree felony trafficking methamphetamine after agents conducted six separate buys from February through April, according to court records. "He definitely sold a lot of weight here," Region II Narcotics Task Force Lt. Neil Haws said. Agents were able to purchase more than 232 grams of meth — one ounce or more during each buy — from Castillo-Pina.

Source: The Daily Times, Farmington, New Mexico, Published: 10/12/2011 12:00:00 AM

Albertville Man Sentenced to Life on Methamphetamine Charges

A federal judge today sentenced an Albertville man to life in prison on drug distribution charges, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and FBI Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Maley.

Source: United States Attorney's Office, Northern District of Alabama, Published: 10/7/2011 12:00:00 AM

Deputies: Crestview Meth Lab Shut Down

Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded Sunday to complaints of smoke and strange odors coming from a suspected methamphetamine lab located at 957 B Street in Crestview. When they arrived at the house, Robert McDonald, 39, tried to run out the back door, but was confronted by law enforcement and went back inside.

Source: The Crestview News Bulletin, Published: 10/4/2011 12:00:00 AM

Exotic Hallucinogenic Drug Found During Hamblen Raid

Hamblen County sheriff's officers raided a Morristown home and discovered a laboratory producing a powerful designer drug that induces hallucinations. The Thursday raid by narcotics and vice officers with the Hamblen County Sheriff's Office resulted in the arrest of Clinton Lee Hale, 28, according to Hamblen Chief Deputy Wayne Mize. Hale was charged with manufacturing a schedule I drug, possession of schedule I drug for resale, possession of marijuana for resale, possession o f Xanax pills, possession of ecstasy, possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Source: Knox News, Knoxville, TN, Published: 9/16/2011 12:00:00 AM

10 Arrested in Grainger County (Tennessee) Drug Bust

Ten people were arrested following a raid on a Grainger Co. home. Authorities not only nabbed the man they said had a working meth lab in the basement, they also arrested nine others who they claim showed up wanting to buy drugs.

Source: WVLT Volunteer TV, Knoxville, TN, Published: 9/14/2011 12:00:00 AM

Meth's Damage Hits Home

Appalachia Habitat restored the house on Annette Drive off U.S. Highway 27 and handed the keys to the new owner. He moved out after a divorce. His ex-wife stayed. Deputies busted her in November 2005 with a methamphetamine lab in the home. The house squats behind a wall of grass and weeds with the quarantine notice torn from the front door, the floors littered with trash and the walls smeared with filth. The side door stands open, an invitation for vandals and the next meth cook.

Source: Knoxville News Sentinel, Published: 9/14/2011 12:00:00 AM

Drug Trafficking Arrest In Sikeston, MO

An 18 month, multi-agency narcotics investigation leads to the arrest of a number of individuals in the Southeast Missouri area. Wednesday Sikeston DPS and several other cooperating agencies conducted a warrant round up in reference to Drug Trafficking in Southeastern Missouri.

Source: WSIL TV, Published: 9/1/2011 12:00:00 AM