Pot Seizure Sets Record for Randolph County
March 26th, 2009 by Rick
Over the weekend in Asheboro, N.C., 80 bales of marijuana weighing 2,893 pounds were found by Randolph County Sheriff’s deputies. Sheriff Maynard Reid believes the drugs may be part of a larger drug operation along the east coast. You think? Over a ton of marijuana can spread out across a lot of states.
The marijuana seized (estimated street value of about $2.9 million) was found in a tractor trailer that was parked on private property. Apparently an officer had taken it upon himself to investigate the tractor trailer and they had discovered the marijuana from there. What, so they had probable cause because a vehicle was parked on private property? Did they get a warrant to open the trailer? I’m sure it was locked.
It’s not like anyone was arrested (big surprise) so it wouldn’t really matter if they followed procedure anyways. The person that left the trailer there just drove away, after unhooking the trailer. Reid has his own opinion on what was found.
Reid said:
What this is is known as a ’stash house.’ They bring it in, they drop it. The next day people come in from all up and down the East Coast. They get what they’re supposed to get and they’re out of here.
Are you kidding me? People come in from all up and down the East Coast and get what they’re supposed to get? You make it sound as if various people from different states drop by, open up the trailer, grab some weed and dash out of there. Honestly, the first person there would take it all — or possibly as much as they could. Wouldn’t it make more sense that one person or group would have gone there to pick it up? Maybe from there then their connects would come into town and then the product would move wherever. Instead of seizing the marijuana why didn’t you start to do some actual police work and stake it out and see where the marijuana is going. You’d certainly find the traffickers then.
Instead of sitting around and speculating that the shipment came from Mexico, maybe you could do some actual investigation and see where it’ going at least. Is Mexico the big place to claim that marijuana is originating from? I’m sure there are tons of organizations in this country that move marijuana throughout the country – and are not connected to Mexico. A lot of the marijuana coming into this country is from Canada. BC marijuana being injected into this country is a reason that street prices have gone up. Why don’t you target Mexico for all the cocaine and meth that comes into this country — that’s what they bring in.
So what is the Randolph County Sheriff’s Department going to do with all that pot? Reid said police will take it to “a rather large incinerator where it will be destroyed.” Right. I’m sure the police will keep a little bit of it as evidence and use it when they need to conduct stings. Just makes you wonder, does it really go to the incinerator or does it get misplaced along the way and recycled right back into the street? At any rate, it’s the start to a dry season for the folks in North Carolina and probably many other states — until the next successful shipment. It looked like schwag anyhow, so maybe it was for the best. SSDD.
Texas Border Gets Virtual Sentries
January 6th, 2009 by Perry
As part off a new effort to restrict drug trafficking at its borders, Texas law enforcement agents have teamed up with a web server to put their efforts online.
In conjunction with BlueServo, border patrol agents arranged a series of cameras across the border, and then broadcasted the results of what was seen on a website, so people can call in with anonymous tips regarding any suspicious behavior.
The effort recently netted the program’s first bust, a 540-pound seizure, stopped an estimated $2 million worth of marijuana, based on a tip from a citizen. Authorities remained tightlipped about the source of the information, or where the bust took place, for fear of giving up information about camera locations.
While the constitutionality of the system has yet to be questioned, the Houston Chronicle reports that the program is fairly popular with their web traffic. More than 21,000 people from several states have registered to become “virtual deputies.” BlueServo claims more than 5 million visits and more than 1,000 tips.
Mexican Crackdowns Leads to Increase in Domestic Seizures
December 17th, 2008 by Perry
Despite an increase in violence and cartel strength, Mexican enforcement is causing operations to move north, according to American border patrol officials.
John Lopez, a Border Patrol Public Affairs Officer, saw a 150-percent increase in the amount of seizures. He said that officers have become more alert because of the increased activities, which has led to more search and seizures.
Sydney Cops Seize $12m Ecstasy Supply
December 17th, 2008 by Perry
Working on an anonymous tip, police raided a Sydney home and found 200,000 ecstasy tablets, and enough MDMA powder, the drug’s active ingredient, to make 200,000 more.
The West Australian reported that the uncompressed powder police found weighed roughly 110 pounds (50 kg) and the haul is thought to be large enough to actually affect drug supply in the city, a rare occurrence in even large-scale raids.
Two men who are thought to be the owners of the house — which had basically been turned into a drug lab to process MDMA — are wanted for questioning in connection with the seizure.
Peruvian Police Seize A Shitload of Coke
December 16th, 2008 by Alex
Collection point, Guano Island, off the coast of Peru.What’s with all the Peru posts lately? Well, here’s another…
On December 4th, a four month long investigation led to the seizure of 3 tons of cocaine which was mixed with guano.
That’s right, guano.
The real question is how did they calculate the weight of the cocaine mixed in with all the bird and bat shit?
Either way, the seizure also led to the arrest of 4 Peruvians and 1 Colombian. The guancaine, on the other hand, was destined for Spain.
I wonder how many other people all over the world have been snorting shitty nose candy? We’ll never know…
Mexico, Paraguay World’s Top Marijuana Producers
December 1st, 2008 by Perry
A report by the United Nations listed Mexico as the world’s #1 marijuana producer.
The statistics also suggest that Mexico and the United States combine to account for more than a quarter of the world’s marijuana production, despite accounting for less than one-tenth the population. Few were surprised the United States’ neighbor to the south was at the top of the list, but Paraguay, trailing on slightly behind, came in at #2 with 5,900 metric tons, considering the country’s size and competition.
The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime also found that Paraguay was the main source of marijuana for Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile.
The financial opportunity was listed as the main reason, with marijuana farmers being able to make as much as 500 times as much as traditional crops. The office estimated marijuana production worldwide was around 41,400 metric tons, according to the same report. Mexico produced 7,400 metric tons, compared to 4,700 metric tons for the United States. In comparison, on the African continent, South Africa is the leading producer with 2,500 metric tons.
NOTE: 1 metric ton = 2,205 pounds
Border Patrol Seizes 7,300 Pounds of Grass
November 26th, 2008 by AlexAt the Otay Mesa Port of Entry, Customs & Border Patrol agents stopped two passenger vans loaded with more than $3.3 million worth of marijuana.
According to the article in the San Diego Union-Tribune:
Each van was “just filled” with wrapped packages of marijuana, Bond said. “… Whereas in a cargo port you may get 10,000 or 15,000 pounds of marijuana in a truck, you never see that in a passenger car for obvious reasons.”
Why do you never see that? Because it’s an extremely stupid thing to do. I guess the old ‘this is such a stupid thing to do that I’m going to do it anyway because no one would believe people can be that moronic so they won’t pay attention‘ logic didn’t quite pass the test.
A third arrest rounded out a big day of seizures for the CBP, when an American citizen living in Tijuana crossed the border using the swift-passage SENTRI system and was found with 255 pounds of pot hidden all over a gold 2005 Nissan truck.
That’s not exactly a low-key vehicle, but it’s not the bling that tipped off the drug-sniffing dog to the payload. The K9 did its job and led to the seizure of $115,000 worth of marijuana.
Sounds like more than few muchachos are going to struggle to find something to be grateful about this Thanksgiving.
Is Pot Becoming More Potent?
November 24th, 2008 by Perry
Looking purely at the potency of government-seized marijuana over the years, a 2008 study recently looked at the percentage of THC, marijuana’s active ingredient, prevalent in the drug.
The results show an effect less dramatic than you might suspect, but the discussion underneath the article identifies several relative points to remember, not the least of which is the influence of law enforcement on the grow industry.
Since the first legalization 12 years ago in California, the potency of seized cannabis more than doubled, after staying relatively close to four percent for nearly 20 years.
DrugMonkey does an excellent job of mapping data points and correlating them with the looseness of official anti-drug messages – the article is a bit long, but definitely worth the read. Also, DM has a deep look into the efficacy of the war on drugs.
