Category Archives: Drugs

22 Pharmacists, Doctors Arrested in DEA’s Drug Abuse Crackdown

Twenty-two pharmacists and doctors were arrested in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) largest-ever operation aimed at curbing prescription drug abuse. The 15-month “Operation Pilluted” targeted areas in Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi, and a total of 280 people were arrested on charges related to illegal pharmaceutical trafficking activities, the DEA stated in a press release. The focus of the operation was to find those involved in distributing and prescribing substances such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, and Xanax. As a result of the operation, 51 vehicles, 202 weapons, and about $404,000 in cash was seized, and 73 seizure warrants led to a seizure of about $11.6 million, plus $6.7 million in real property. The agency also removed or restricted some DEA registrants from prescribing and dispensing controlled substances. The operation resulted in 2 “immediate suspension” orders. In addition, 40 DEA registrants voluntarily surrendered their registrations. – See more at: http://www.pharmacytimes.com/news/22-Pharmacists-Doctors-Arrested-in-DEAs-Operation-Pilluted#sthash.MRGLGB1i.dpuf

Synthetic marijuana cases, many of them adolescents, flooding Pennsylvania hospitals

ALLENTOWN, Pennsylvania — A dramatic increase in hospitalizations tied to synthetic marijuana is hitting eastern Pennsylvania, officials said.

The Morning Call reported (http://bit.ly/1HmHdq5) that Sacred Heart Hospital in Allentown and several other hospitals in the Lehigh Valley have been flooded with at least a dozen cases since Saturday.

The drug, known as “fake weed,” is a plant mixture sprayed with a chemical and is marketed as a legal alternative to marijuana. However, authorities warn that there is no control over the chemicals used, and a number of states and the federal government have sought to outlaw the use of those chemicals.

It was not clear what caused the sudden spike in hospitalizations. But Dr. Ryan McClintock at St. Luke’s University Hospital told the newspaper that it could have been a change in the drug’s formulation or a sudden increase in the number of people using it.

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Former Fresno Police Department Deputy Chief and Six Others Indicted for Drug Trafficking

Fresno, California – A federal grand jury indicted former Fresno deputy police chief Keith Foster and six others Thursday, charging them with a variety of drug trafficking offenses, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. In addition to Keith Foster, 51, the indictment includes charges against Randy Flowers, 48; Iran Dennis “Denny” Foster, 44; Rafael Guzman, 41; Jennifer Donabedian, 35; and Sarah Ybarra, 37, all of Fresno; and Ricky Reynolds, 30, of Shasta Lake. All defendants are scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, April 10, 2015. Source

Fifteen Mexican police officers killed in deadly ambush in Jalisco state

Fifteen Mexican police officers have been killed and five seriously wounded in the deadliest single attack on the country’s security forces in recent memory.

The officers’ convoy was ambushed as it drove along a winding mountain road in the western state of Jalisco on Monday afternoon.

The gunmen, believed to belong to the New Generation Jalisco cartel, reportedly used burning vehicles to block the road while they openend fire with machine guns and grenade launchers from the mountainsides.

FRESNO DEPUTY POLICE CHIEF KEITH FOSTER, 3 OTHERS ARRESTED ON DRUG CHARGES

The Fresno Police Department’s second in command has been arrested in a federal drug conspiracy investigation. Deputy Chief Keith Foster, 51, is accused of distributing and possessing drugs.

Deputy Chief Keith Foster is accused of distributing and possessing oxycodone, marijuana, and heroin. He was arrested on Thursday after a year long investigation by the FBI and ATF.

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MEXICO’S GULF CARTEL MADE $38 MILLION IN A FEW MONTHS DURING LAST YEAR’S IMMIGRATION SURGE

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – The Gulf Cartel made $38 million smuggling illegal aliens during last year’s immigration surge, taking advantage of the situation to smuggle tons of drugs with little intervention by authorities. The quantification of the cartel’s involvement was made in a report by the top law enforcement agency in Texas.

As previously reported by Breitbart Texas, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) had prepared the report to inform lawmakers about the border surge, the potential for terrorists, and the funding needs of the agency. The report had initially been leaked by the Houston Chronicle; however that publication mainly focused on the cost of having an increased number of troopers in South Texas instead of the scores of criminal activities listed in it.

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‘Putin Involved in Drug Smuggling Ring’, Says Ex-KGB Officer

Russian president Vladimir Putin and his long-time ally Victor Ivanov, who is currently head of Russia’s narcotics agency, have been implicated in helping run a drug smuggling and money laundering ring in St Petersburg in the 1990s. The allegations were made by ex-KGB officer Yuri Shvets who spoke at the inquiry into the death Alexander Litvinenko yesterday.

Shvets testified in front of Ben Emmerson QC, expanding on a report he had compiled with fellow ex-Russian intelligence agent Alexander Litvinenko in 2006, a few months prior to the latter’s death from polonium poisoning.

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