Category Archives: drugs

Mexican cartels escalate violence with mass body dump in Veracruz

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From the Associated Press:

MEXICO CITY — Suspected drug traffickers dumped 35 bodies at rush hour beneath a busy overpass in the heart of a major Gulf coast city as gunmen pointed weapons at frightened drivers. Mexican authorities said Wednesday they are examining surveillance video for clues to who committed the crime.
Horrified motorists grabbed cell phones and sent Twitter messages warning others to avoid the area near the biggest shopping mall in Boca del Rio, part of the metropolitan area of Veracruz city.
The gruesome gesture marked a sharp escalation in cartel violence in Veracruz state, which sits on an important route for drugs and Central American migrants heading north.
The Zetas drug cartel has been battling other gangs for control of the state.
Prosecutors said it’s too soon to draw conclusions from the surveillance video.
“We’re not going to confirm or deny anything,” Veracruz state Attorney General Reynaldo Escobar Perez told the Televisa network Wednesday. “We’re looking at it in
different ways, we’re seeing different numbers, that’s why we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves.”
Escobar said the bodies were left piled in two trucks and on the ground under the overpass near the statue of the Voladores de Papantla, ritual dancers from Veracruz
state. He said some of the victims had their heads covered with black plastic bags and showed signs of torture.
Among the bodies was a local police officer who had gone missing two weeks ago, Escobar told W Radio in Mexico City. He told MVS Radio many of the victims were
strangled, some bled to death and one person had been shot dead.
Escobar did not return phone calls from The Associated Press.
Police have identified 32 of the victims so far and maintain they all had criminal records for acts such as murder, drug dealing, kidnapping and extortion and were
linked to organized crime, said Magda Zayas, spokeswoman for the Veracruz Attorney General’s Office.
State Gov. Javier Duarte said on his Twitter account “the killing of 35 people is deplorable, but it’s even more deplorable the same victims chose to extort, kidnap and kill.”
Duarte said an intelligence database shows the 35 victims had a criminal background.
Motorists posted Twitter warnings said the masked gunmen were in military uniforms and were blocking Manuel Avila Camacho Boulevard.
“They don’t seem to be soldiers or police,” one tweet read. Another said, “Don’t go through that area, there is danger.”
Veracruz is currently hosting a conference of Mexico’s top state and federal prosecutors and judiciary officials.
Local media said that 12 of the victims were women and that some of the dead men had been among prisoners who escaped from three Veracruz prisons on Monday, but Escobar
denied the escaped convicts were among the dead.
At least 32 inmates got away from the three Veracruz prisons. Police recaptured 14 of them.
Drug violence has claimed more than 35,000 lives across Mexico since 2006, according to government figures. Others put the number at more than 40,000.

Arcadia police seize 8,000 ecstasy pills during traffic stop

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52225-Arcadia ecstacy pills-thumb-300x204-52224.jpg
From staff reports
ARCADIA – Police Wednesday announced they’ve arrested a Rosemead man after a traffic stop yielded 8,000 ecstasy pills.
The announcement came via a blog post.
Johnny V. Pham, 18, of Rosemead, and a juvenile passenger in his vehicle were arrested on suspicion of felony possession for sale and transportation of a controlled substance. Pham was released after a $100,000 bond was posted, officials said.
The unidentified juvenile was released to his parents, police said.
“The pills were packaged in 8 separate zip-lock bags, containing approximately 1,000 pills per bag. The total estimated street value of the pills is about $80,000,” according to a post on the Arcadia Police Department’s News and Information Blog.
Pham was pulled over Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. on Golden West Avenue near Huntington Drive for failing to stop at a stop sign, police said.
“During the traffic stop, officers saw what appeared to be a large zip-lock bag containing a large quantity of pills lying on the floorboard of the vehicle Pham was driving,” the blog post said. “Officers conducted a search of the vehicle and found an additional seven large bags in the trunk, also containing similar pills.”
Police believe the pills were ecstasy.
PHOTO of seized ecstasy courtesy of the Arcadia Police Department

Men accused of smuggling cocaine-laced ropes into LAX

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From City News Service:
LOS ANGELES — Two Arkansas men were arrested at Los Angeles International Airport after U.S. Customs agents found about 20 pounds of ropes and cords allegedly saturated in cocaine in their luggage, officials said Wednesday.
Jonathan Cottrell, 21, and Leanthony Henderson, 20, had arrived from Panama City, Panama, on March 15, bringing seven ropes and about 40 canvas backpacks with attached cords. The ropes and backpacks appeared to be commercially packed, according to Lee Harty of U.S Customs and Border Protection.
The men said they had bought the items at a swap meet, and one said he was bringing the ropes to tie up his fishing boat. The canvas backpacks with attached cords belonged to the other passenger, said Harty.
CBP officers noticed the backpack cords were stiff and had irregular tension and also emitted a chemical odor. Initial testing indicated the ropes and cords had been saturated with cocaine, Harty said.
“This is another prime example of our astute CBP officers continuous discovery of clever concealment methods,” said Carlos Martel, acting director of the CBP’s Los Angeles office.
Cottrell and Henderson both pleaded not guilty in Superior Court to a felony charge of transportation for sale of a controlled substance, prosecutors said, and bail was set at $300,000 for each defendant.
A preliminary hearing is expected to be set March 25 at the Airport Courthouse.

4 arrested, dugs seized, stolen property recovered in West Whittier after anonymous tip

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WEST WHITTIER — An anonymous tip left through the Crime Stoppers program led deputies to make four arrests, seize methamphetamine and recover a stolen car and about $30,000 worth of suspected stolen goods Wednesday from a home in unincorporated West Whittier, authorities said.
Alejandro Salmones, a 37-year-old probationer who who lived at the house where the bust was made, was booked on suspicion possession of methamphetamine for sales, possession of stolen property and possession of a handgun while in possession of drugs, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt. Anthony Romo said.
Three others were also arrested when officials followed up on a tip and carried out a probation compliance check at Salmones’ home in the 10400 block Cliota Street, the sergeant said.
Stefanie Rios, 25, of La Puente and Chasen Nino, 25, of Pico Rivera were booked on suspicion of possession of a stolen car, Romo said. Nino was a wanted parolee.
Anthony Velasquez, 35, Rosemead, was booked on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine.
The Wednesday morning bust was the result of an anonymous tip left with Crime Stoppers last month, officials added.
“The tip was that they were selling narcotics and exchanging stolen merchandise,” Romo said.
Deputies discovered about eight grams of methamphetamine and about $30,000 worth of suspected stolen goods at the home, Romo said, in addition to the stolen car Rios, Nino and Velasquez drove to the house.
Investigators are now working to reunite the stolen goods, including items such as computer equipment, electronics and tools, with their rightful owners.
Those who have had property stolen in the area can call the sheriff’s Pico Rivera Station at 562-949-2421 to see if their belongings may be among those recovered Wednesday, Romo said.
He added that it is always a good idea to place identifying markings on valuable items and write down their serial numbers for easy identification in case of theft.
The Crime Stoppers tip line can be reached at 888-222-8477.

Rowland Heights doctor has license to prescribe drugs suspended

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From City News Service:

ROWLAND HEIGHTS — A Rowland Heights osteopathic doctor’s license to prescribe controlled substances was suspended today by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.
DEA special agents and the California Medical Board investigators posed as patients seeking prescriptions for controlled substances during six undercover visits to the office of Hsiu-Ying Lisa Tseng between April 2008 and July 2010, said Timothy J. Landrum, special agent in charge of the DEA’s Los Angeles Field Division.
On five of those occasions, Tseng issued prescriptions for Vicodin, Suboxone and Xanax without taking medical histories and either not conducting a medical examinations or just a cursory one. The prescriptions were often made for no legitimate purposes, Landrum said.
A newspaper reported that the prescriptions may be linked to eight overdoses. Tseng reportedly blamed the patients and their families.
“I really believe I did nothing wrong,” Tseng told a newspaper. “I was really strict with my patients, and I followed the guidelines. If my patient decides to take a month’s supply in a day, then there is nothing I can do about that.”
An administrative hearing will be held before a DEA deputy administrator to determine whether Tseng’s DEA Certification of Registration should be permanently revoked, Landrum said. “Prescription drug abuse continues to rise at a disturbing rate,” Landrum said. “Many obtain these dangerous drugs from doctors prescribing drugs for no medical need. DEA is committed to working together with our state and local counterparts to ensure these few doctors who abuse their authority are not allowed to continue.”

Alleged San Gabriel Valley ecstasy trafficking ring indicted

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44056-Tuan Vu-thumb-300x350-44055.jpgA federal grand jury has indicted 15 people — including one fugitive — accused of being part of an ecstasy distribution ring responsible for trafficking more than $10 million worth of drugs, authorities said Thursday.
Thirteen people were arrested last month at the end of a wiretapping and surveillance operation carried out by a multi-agency task force including the Drug Enforcement Administration. The alleged ecstasy ring is suspected of distributing more than 1 million pills.
Tuan Vu, 24, of Alhambra remains at large and is being sought by authorities, United States Attorney’s Office spokesman Thom Mrozek said in a written statement.
Another suspect, 22-year-old David Kong of Los Angeles, has agreed to turn himself in Monday, Mrozek said.
Those listed in Wednesday’s federal indictment included four El Monte residents, two Monterey Park residents, a Rosemead resident, a Temple City resident and a La Mirada resident.
Tony Barerra Jr., 37 was arrested July 22 at his West Covina home, where authorities allegedly found about 600,000 ecstasy pills, valued at more than $6 million.
During the course of the investigation, which began early this year, authorities seized drugs from warehouses in Industry and Arcadia, according to an affidavit. Guns, cash and drugs were also seized during the investigation.

*PHOTO of Tuan Vu courtesy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office

West Covina woman among those arrested at border on drug charges

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This from Borderfire:

San Diego – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at ports of entry along the California/ Mexico border seized almost 2,900 pounds of narcotics valued at $2.2 million, captured 13 fugitives, and stopped the illegal entry of 417 persons over the busy holiday weekend.

From 6 a.m. on Friday through 6 a.m. on Tuesday, CBP officers at the six land ports of entry intercepted 16 smuggling attempts involving marijuana and methamphetamine. The drugs were hidden in various areas of the vehicles such as in the gas tank, in the bumpers and the spare tire.

The largest seizure occurred at the San Ysidro border station on Sunday at about 1:30 p.m. after a detector dog alerted to a the back wall of a motor-home pulled by a Ford F-350 pickup as it and the two female occupants waited in line to be inspected. The women and conveyance were escorted into the secondary area for a more intensive examination.

Officers subsequently discovered 78 wrapped packages of marijuana in the rear wall of the motor home weighing 1,764 pounds, valued at more than $1 million.

Both the driver, a 34-year-old U.S. citizen from Big Bear, Calif., and her passenger, a 46-year-old U.S. citizen from West Covina, Calif., were turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and transported to the Metropolitan Correctional Center. CBP seized the narcotics and conveyance.

Manny Ramirez — PONCHADO!

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I loved the 100+ point headline in LA Opinion this morning, and the paper’s overall treatment of the Manny Ramirez positive drug test. Most times, the English language blogs in our county overlook the contributions of the region’s lively Spanish and Asian language newspapers.

Fortunately there’s Google translate. Here’s what the few grafs of LA Opinion’s story have to say this morning:

At first sight, and feel the Dodger Stadium seemed to be a branch of hell.

In the midst of a temperature exceeding 90 degrees, the high command of the Dodgers called a rare news conference on an inclement sun.

It was a cold and warm concern to disseminate the news as a bomb fell in Los Angeles.

Manny Ramrez, the man who loaded the team on his shoulders since his arrival at the end of last season, tested positive in doping analysis. Supposedly, Ramirez used Ganodotropina human chorionic (HCG). It is prescribed to stimulate fertility in women and testosterone production in men.

However, Ramirez argued that the real responsibility for what happened was a prescribed medicine that the doctor recently.

The best toletero right of Major League was suspended for 50 games and began yesterday to meet his doom.

Since we’re on the subject, the Chinese World Journal led with the Dodgers first home loss of the season before mentioning Manny:
 
Dodgers (Dodgers) won the first set of six points, but unable to stop in the last three nationals (Nationals) counterattack, very this year, the first home defeat Dodge has just hit the night before the opening quarter of 13 straight major league home record, this was cut.

Manny Ramirez Manny Ramirez hit strong (Manny Ramirez) the use of drugs, starting from the day of suspension 50 Manager Torre (Joe Torre) convened a closed-door meeting of players and coaches to deploy. Andre Ethier  one was sent after against the base. (James Loney) added immediately a hit, scored the first points for the Dodgers. Matt Kamp Camp (Matt Kamp) timely home run ball hit the right wall, hit a grand slam from red.