Category: cocaine

Man, 70, Pleads Guilty to US-Mexico Cocaine Trafficking Conspiracy

SAN DIEGO—A 70-year-old man who prosecutors say ran a Mexican drug trafficking organization that moved “substantial quantities” of cocaine into the United States over the course of several decades pleaded guilty March 8 in San Diego federal court. Raul Flores-Hernandez, of Guadalajara, Mexico, ran the Jalisco-based trafficking organization from sometime in the 1980s until 2017,…


BC Companies Prepare to Become Hard-Drug Manufacturers on a Commercial Scale

News Analysis The recent gaffe in which two B.C. companies announced they had licences to sell cocaine brings attention to the plans such companies may be making to commercialize hard drugs on a broad scale. Cannabis company Adastra Labs announced on Feb. 22 that it had received approval from Health Canada “to include cocaine as…


Police Thwart Attempts to Smuggle $1 Billion Worth of Cocaine Into Australia

An international covert operation has intercepted a record of 2.4 tonnes of cocaine, estimated to be worth A$1 billion ($677 million), from entering Western Australia in what is believed to be the nation’s biggest drug bust. The Western Australian (WA) Police Force said on Saturday that it has arrested 12 individuals, including an American, who…


Nearly a Ton of Cocaine Washes up on French Beach

Maritime police in northwest France found nearly a ton of cocaine washed up on a beach on the English Channel on Feb. 26. The drugs were found near the town of Reville on the Cotentin Peninsula, according to France’s maritime authority for the English Channel and North Sea. The cocaine, weighing about 1,875 pounds (850…


BC Company Granted Permission by Health Canada to Produce and Sell Cocaine

A British Columbia cannabis company says it has received approval from Health Canada to produce, sell, and distribute cocaine. In a news release on Feb. 22, Adastra Holdings Ltd., which produces marijuana for adult use and medical sales out of headquarters in Langley, B.C., announced that it was granted a Health Canada amendment to its…


SD Sheriff’s Deputy Pleads Not Guilty to Bringing Cocaine to Jail Facility

SAN DIEGO—A San Diego County sheriff’s deputy who allegedly had cocaine in his car at a county jail pleaded not guilty Feb. 27 to a felony count of bringing drugs onto jail property. Allen Wereski, 48, was booked into jail earlier this month and suspended without pay, according to a statement from the San Diego…


Belgian Police Seize 4,000 Kg of Cocaine Thanks to Navigation App

Belgian police have seized almost 4,000 kg of cocaine after being led to an address entered into navigation app Waze by two Dutch men, who were arrested on Tuesday, the local prosecutor’s office said in a statement on Wednesday. Police had been informed of suspicious behavior late Tuesday evening in Ravels, a small town in…


New Zealand Police Find 3.5 Tons of Cocaine in Pacific Ocean

WELLINGTON, New Zealand—New Zealand police said Wednesday they found more than 3 tons of cocaine floating in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean after it was dropped there by an international drug-smuggling syndicate. While they had yet to make any arrests, police said they had dealt a financial blow to everyone from the South…


San Diego Deputy Arrested for Allegedly Bringing Drug Onto Jail Property

SAN DIEGO—A San Diego County Sheriff’s Department deputy was arrested Feb. 3 for allegedly bringing an illegal drug onto jail property. Allen Paul Wereski, 48, was taken into custody after a substance believed to be cocaine was found in his vehicle, according to a statement from the department. Wereski has been suspended without pay pending…


Spanish Police Seize Cocaine Worth $114 Million From Cattle Ship

MADRID—Spanish police seized 4.5 tonnes of cocaine with an estimated street value of 105 million euros ($114 million) after raiding a cattle ship off the Canary Islands earlier this week, a statement said on Saturday. The ship had stopped at ports in about a dozen countries before Tuesday’s raid, and police said drug smugglers had…