MONTERÍA, Colombia (AFP) — The Colombian army said Tuesday it had killed two members of the infamous Gulf Clan drug cartel and captured one of its bosses as operations resumed after the government called off a ceasefire. On New Year’s Eve, the government of new President Gustavo Petro had declared a bilateral ceasefire with armed groups including the Clan, National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels and dissidents of the disarmed former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia […]
Tag: drugs
Architect of Mexico’s drug war convicted in US of trafficking
by Ana FERNÁNDEZ Agence France-Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — A once-powerful Mexican government minister was convicted by a US jury Tuesday of aiding the very drug smuggling he was tasked with cracking down on. Genaro Garcia Luna, public security minister under Felipe Calderon’s presidency from 2006 to 2012, was found guilty on all five counts following a high-profile trial in New York. The month-long proceedings shone a spotlight on the corruption of the […]
Police seize enough cocaine to supply N. Zealand for 30 years
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — Police said Wednesday they had seized enough cocaine to supply New Zealand for 30 years, after snaring a massive bundle of drugs floating in the Pacific Ocean. New Zealand police commissioner Andrew Coster told reporters the haul — containing 81 bales of cocaine — weighed 3.2 tons and had a street value of around $316 million. “This is the largest find of illicit drugs by New Zealand’s agencies by some […]
Thai police seize 1.1 tonnes of crystal meth in under a week
Bangkok, Thailand | AFP | Tuesday 1/24/2023 Thai police seized 1.1 tonnes of crystal methamphetamine in less than a week, officers said Tuesday, as the kingdom cracks down on smuggling that has surged since the country’s borders reopened. The haul comes after a spike in clashes between police and smugglers in the kingdom’s remote northern hinterlands, long a hub for the trade in illegal narcotics. Following a tip-off, police arrested 10 Thai nationals in a […]
Latin American cocaine cartels bring violence to Europe
by Laetitia Drevet, Arthur Connan and Philippe Alfroy in France, Julie Capelle in the Netherlands, and David Salazar in Colombia Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — “Seventy euros for one, 120 for two,” said the cocaine dealer as the young woman opened her door on Paris’ chic Left Bank. “I’m like all the delivery riders speeding around Paris dropping off sushi and groceries,” he smiled. “I get orders and I deliver them.” Getting cocaine in […]
Mexico arrests son of notorious drug kingpin ‘El Chapo’
CULIACÁN, Mexico (AFP) — Mexican security forces on Thursday captured a son of jailed drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, scoring a high-profile win in the fight against powerful cartels days before US President Joe Biden visits. Ovidio Guzman, nicknamed “El Raton” (The Mouse), was caught in the northwestern city of Culiacan and flown to Mexico City on a military plane, Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval told reporters. He said the arrest was the result […]
Germany to pay more for children’s meds as shortages spike
Berlin, Germany (AFP) Germany will pay up to 50 percent more for common children’s medication such as cough syrup and fever drugs to combat a severe shortage this winter, the health minister said Tuesday. Like other European countries, Germany has for weeks struggled with supply bottlenecks abroad that have hampered the delivery of key medicines, particularly liquid ibuprofen and paracetamol for children. “Children must get the medication they need,” Health Minister Karl Lauterbach told reporters. […]
Bad abbot: Thai temple left empty after monks fail drug tests
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — A Buddhist temple in central Thailand has been left without monks after all its holy men failed drug tests and were defrocked, a local official said Tuesday. Four monks including an abbot at a temple in Phetchabun province’s Bung Sam Phan district tested positive for methamphetamine on Monday, district official Boonlert Thintapthai told AFP. The monks have been sent to a health clinic to undergo drug rehabilitation, the official said. “The […]
Colombia sending troops to southern border to fight drug gangs
BOGOTÁ, Colombia (AFP) — Colombia is to deploy 400 soldiers to fight drug traffickers operating across its rural southern borders, after a recent spike in killings and internal displacement, the South American country’s government said Monday. There will be six sectors along Colombia’s borders with Ecuador, Peru and Brazil, “with 400 soldiers and officers who will be on the front line of operations… to block the drug trafficking corridors,” Interior Minister Alfonso Prada told reporters […]
Ecuador declares emergency after 5 police gunned down
QUITO, Ecuador (AFP) — Five police officers were killed, several more wounded and prison guards taken hostage Tuesday in the latest wave of attacks in a deadly gang war consuming Ecuador, authorities said. President Guillermo Lasso declared a state of exception and nightly curfew in two coastal provinces, Guayas and Esmeraldas. The move allows the government to limit freedom of assembly and movement. Officials said organized crime groups launched nine attacks with explosives and firearms […]
PNP: Over P7.7 million worth of marijuana seized in Mountain Province; 2 nabbed
(Eagle News) — Authorities seized over P7.7 million worth of illegal drugs in Sadanga, Mountain Province, the Philippine National Police said. According to the PNP, also arrested at a checkpoint on Tuesday were Eliseo IV San Pedro Quiambao, 23; and John Cedric Gadia, 21. The PNP said apart from the 67 marijuana bricks with an estimated street value of P7,713,960, also seized from the suspects were one Samsung android cellular phone. “Sa pamamagitan ng ating […]
At least 17 dead in bloody 72 hours in Colombia
BOGOTA, Colombia (AFP) — At least 17 people were killed over the last three days in Colombia in a spate of violent incidents, authorities said, highlighting the huge task facing President Gustavo Petro. In the northern city of Barranquilla, six people were shot dead by gunmen on Monday morning while drinking in a bar. Police said the powerful Gulf Clan drug trafficking gang carried out the attack on members of the rival Los Costenos group. […]





