A Comprehensive Guide to Cannabis arrests and seizures worldwide

A brief history of cannabis arrests and seizures from around the world, from the blatantly obvious to the downright bizarre, including arrests for cultivation, arrests for possession, arrests for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, Cannabis arrests brought to you on a daily basis, occasionally with a hint of humour.

'20 people were also cautioned for possession of cannabis'.
Raving bonkers
BBC
May 31st 2005:

Hundreds of people had camped out on Betws common Police say 36 arrests were made in connection with an illegal rave held in Carmarthenshire over the weekend. The majority of the arrests at Betws Common, near the village of Ammanford, were for drug-related offences. Other arrests were for public order offences and drink-driving. Dyfed-Powys Police said on Tuesday the gathering - which started on Saturday night - had broken up, and no officers remained at the site. Officers said some people had been released on police bail, pending analysis of seized substances. A further 15 to 20 people were also cautioned for possession of cannabis. Full Rave.............

Floresville> Police arrested two middle-school students last week on drug charges, after one of the students allegedly was found carrying a plastic bag containing marijuana. The charges -- both class-A misdemeanors -- were bumped up in severity since the offense occurred on campus, which is a "drug-free" zone. Cpl. Brenda Ullevig of the Floresville Police Department initiated an investigation May 12, after being told a student at Floresville Middle School had some marijuana, according to a police report. Ullevig and Assistant Principal Arlene Northway interviewed one of the suspects, who allegedly said he gave some marijuana to another student, the report said. Ullevig and Northway interviewed the second suspect, who allegedly turned over a plastic bag containing a small amount of marijuana. The older of the two students, a 12-year-old juvenile, was charged with a class-A misdemeanor count of delivery of marijuana in an amount less than 1/4 ounce in a drug-free zone, according to the police report. The younger student, a 11-year-old juvenile, faces one class-A misdemeanor count of possession of marijuana in an amount less than 2 ounces in a drug-free zone.

Wilkes Barre >

Police said they filed drug charges against Rodney Guy Collins, 38, of Wilkes-Barre, on Saturday after a traffic stop. Patrolman Tom Kaluzny stopped Collins around 12:20 a.m. near the intersection of South Main and South streets, police said. While Collins was looking for his license, insurance and registration, Kaluzny said that he smelled what he suspected was the odor of marijuana smoke, police said. As Kaluzny investigated further he found that Collins was in possession of several plastic baggies of suspected marijuana and suspected cocaine.

Oscar-winning film director Oliver Stone has been arrested for cannabis possession and driving while intoxicated. Stone, 58, was detained at a police checkpoint on Sunset Boulevard after showing signs of alcohol intoxication, according to Los Angeles police. Drugs were then discovered during a search of Stone's Mercedes car, Sergeant John Edmundson said. He did not specify what kind of substances were found, but supected it was cannabis, Stone was released yesterday after posting $15,000 for bail. In 1999, the filmmaker pleaded guilty to drug possession and 'no contest' to driving under the influence and was ordered into a rehabilitation programme. He had originally pleaded not guilty to drug charges stemming from a traffic offence after being stopped by a police officer who said the Hollywood director was driving erratically. Police found cannabis in Stone's Ford Mustang. Full Preview...............

'11 pounds of marijuana and a pit bull '
New York Post
Erin Calabrese
May 29th 2005:

May 29, 2005 >Bullet fragments left two Copiague women wounded yesterday after Suffolk County cops found themselves shooting at a pit bull while serving a warrant, police said. Officers said they entered the house at 1050 Marconi Blvd. after receiving a tip that there were guns and drugs inside. That's when the pit bull lunged at them, they said -- prompting them to open fire. One woman was struck in the calf and shin, the other in a big toe, cops said. A search of the house produced a 9 mm handgun, $2,700 in cash and eleven pounds of marijuana, they said.

Hillsborough County Superior Court judge set bail at $250,000 for a Nashua man accused a stabbing another man to death over a $5 drug debt. Along with the dollar amount, Judge Bernard Hampsey Jr. issued strict bail conditions for Evanor Pineda, 23. As of Friday evening, Pineda remained at the county jail. If Pineda posts bail, he is not allowed to leave the state or have any contact with the family of Kaleek Davis, whom Pineda is accused of stabbing on April 17 outside 20 Everett St. The incident started because Davis believed Pineda had shortchanged him by $5 on a bag of marijuana, Full Murder...............

Police have seized 60 cannabis plants,'so 60 and its commercial', and hydroponic growing equipment following a raid on a rural property near Castlemaine yesterday. Detectives from the Major Drug Investigations Unit executed a search warrant on the Hoinsville Road property in Elphinstone about 8.20am. Police from the Bendigo Divisional Response Unit were also involved in the raid. A large quantity of cannabis - ranging from seedlings to large plants - was seized. Police said hydroponic equipment, including chemicals, lights and electrical wire was also discovered on the property. Detective Sergeant Ned Kelly, from the Major Drug Investigations Unit, More Commerce............

Police officers supervising the return of residents to Jarrow Court last week had a surprise when they discovered that one inhabitant had been growing cannabis in a flat. The 19-storey tower block was vacated on February 7th after the fatal fire that claimed the lives of two fire fighters and one resident. Since then, Stevenage Borough Council has been carrying out repair work on the building after fire, smoke and water damage rendered it inhabitable, During that time, residents were allowed to visit their homes only under supervision while work was completed in the communal areas and individual flats. But council workers did not realise the hydroponics factory was there until last week, when the first residents from the lower floors were allowed to move back in. A 49-year-old Stevenage man has been arrested on suspicion of cultivation of cannabis. He is due to report to Stevenage Police Station on July 11.

Rising British hip hop star SkinnyMan appeared in court today to face drug charges. The rapper - real name Alexander Holland -- admitted possessing 230 grams of cannabis, but denied any intention to supply the drug. Holland, 30, was driving his car in Park Square East near Regent's Park in central London on February 6 this year when he was stopped by police officers who found the stash. The Leeds--born musician, who has supported The Streets in concert as well as performing at last year's Glastonbury Festival, spoke only to confirm his name and enter his pleas during a brief hearing before Judge William Kennedy at Snaresbrook Crown Court today. Smartly-suited Holland, whose much-lauded debut album Council Estate Of Mind was released last summer, pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of a class C drug. However his pleas were not accepted by the Crown. Holland, of Montem Street, Finsbury Park, north London, Full Rap..........

Two men

chose the wrong place to take a nap Sunday morning -- in a supermarket parking lot. One was arrested on a drug charge after being awakened by a police officer. Roger Lee Mallard, 20, Substation Road, was charged with possession of a schedule VI substance (marijuana) after his arrest shortly before 9 a.m. Sunday at Shelbyville Super Market, Union Street. An employee called police after noticing the men had been sleeping in their car since his arrival at 6:30 a.m. Officer Charles A. Merlo found Mallard and the other man asleep, awakened them with a knock on a window and asked to search the car. Mallard, the passenger, was charged after two marijuana cigarettes he said belonged to him were discovered under his seat.

Long Island Man Arrested On Thruway With 240 Pounds Of Marijuana The New York State Police and a pot-sniffing dog ruined a 38-year-old man's travel plans when police a found 240 pounds of marijuana in suitcases in his car. Police said James Carlton Brown is charged with first-degree criminal possession of marijuana. A Trooper James Dewalt saw Brown driving erratically and stopped him at 11: a.m. Tuesday on the Thruway in Ramapo. Leeder had his K-9 partner, Waldo, with him to sniff out the pot, which police say have a street value ofA $250,000, Brown is being held in the Rockland County jail without bail.

Cannabis worth

£10,000 was seized during a raid on a house in Thetford town centre, police revealed today. A 27-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possessing a controlled drug with intent to supply following the discovery on Friday at an address in St Nicholas' Street. He was later released on police bail pending further enquiries. More than 2.5 kilos of cannabis resin, a quantity of herbal cannabis and drugs paraphernalia were confiscated by police.Western Area Superintendant Nick Dean said,“We will continue in targeting dealers who supply drugs and directly affect the quality of life for people residing and visiting Norfolk.” More Confiscations......

A champion anglerwas prosecuted over his bait. Steven Barks, 36, faced a cannabis charge after officers found boxes of leaves in his garden shed. Barks,of Gainsborough, Lincs, insisted the drug was hemp, a widely-used bait. But he says he admitted the cannabis rap to avoid a costly trial. He added: "If it's against the law why can you buy it in fishing shops? He was given a conditional discharge by Lincoln crown court.

JAIL sentences totalling more than 27 years were imposed yesterday on a drug-smuggling ring who planned to illegally import £1.2m of cannabis into Britain in a lorry. Six men from South Yorkshire, Nottingham, Cheshire and Lincolnshire, were locked up after a judge at Leeds Crown Court heard police were monitoring their activities as they plotted the "large-scale importation and distribution of illegal drugs."Their arrests followed the seizure of the cannabis by Spanish officials after the lorry was stopped in Alicante in February last year.
Jailing them Judge Stephen Ashurst said: "The sheer volume of cannabis and street value of £1.2m makes it absolutely clear to me this was a very serious criminal enterprise, the success of which depended on all the main players performing a key role. More Porridge............

Frank Marquis Carson, 22, has been charged with fifth-degree controlled substance possession and obstruction. At about 2:40 a.m. Wednesday at 55 E Links Lane, he was arrested for possessing marijuana with the intent to sell and running away from police. Carson reportedly showed some marijuana to police, started laughing then took off when an officer tried to pat him down in search for more drugs. Police found 88 grams of marijuana and $1130 in cash on Carson. The marijuana appeared to be divided in equal amounts in individual bags. Carson was convicted. Jan. 27 on two counts of possessing a controlled substance in the fourth degree. He was on probation at the time of his arrest on Wednesday, and ordered to report on a daily basis.

7 alleged members of a significant drug syndicate have been arrested during raids in Sydney. Detectives and dog squad and airwing officers swooped on six homes, a car yard and a self-storage facility in western Sydney west about 8am (AEST) today and arrested five men and two women, police said. They are expected to be charged later today with various offences, including supplying commercial quantities of cannabis and methylamphetamine.The alleged ringleader, a 41-year-old Shanes Park man, was expected to be charged with supplying drugs worth more than $1.3 million, police said. More of................

Weston Avenue,

5500 block: Residents called police at 7 p.m. Monday to report an attempted shooting. Witnesses told officers that a man in a Jeep pulled up to a home and another man ran out from behind bushes and began shooting at the driver with a handgun. They said the driver ducked down and sped off, leaving two bags of marijuana behind.
Monticello Road, 4800 block: A juvenile was arrested at 8:30 a.m. Thursday on the campus of Eau Claire High School. The teen was asked to leave because school personnel smelled marijuana on him. When police arrived, he became disruptive and used foul language.
Cecil Lane, 11 block: A tenant called police at 9:15 p.m. Monday after he said his landlord threatened him with a sawed-off shotgun. The tenant said the landlord was upset because the tenant had stolen his marijuana stash. The landlord admitted having a shotgun but denied pointing it at the tenant.

Spanish police said today they had uncovered a 7096kg haul of cannabis resin in a tugboat that was searched in the southern port of Algeciras after arriving from the Moroccan port of Tangiers. Police said they made the discovery after moving in yeserday on a travel company which had plied the route several times with the intention of taking the drugs on to France.

Over 500kgs. Of Pot Found In Fabens Home A Fabens man is put in jail for allegedly hiding more than a thousand pounds of pot in his house. 60 year old Joaquin Juan Mendiola is charged with marijuana possession and being held on a $150,000 dollar bond in the county jail. El Paso Police say they found more than a 1000 pounds of Marijuana at Mendiola's house at 1331 Aspan Hills in Fabens. The drugs have an estimated street value of $900,000 dollars,Nice.

With the raunchy stench of marijuana plants hanging in the air, officers from the Joint Forces Drug Unit busied themselves with the grim task of cleaning out Sudbury's latest residential grow operation Monday morning.Police removed 882 marijuana plants from a home in rural Whitefish on Monday morning. The officers removed 882 marijuana plants in various stages of growth from a home in rural Whitefish. Police also removed 3,745 grams of marijuana and 6,810 grams of marijuana shake, consisting of marijuana leaves and stock. The total amount seized is estimated to have a street value of $960,315, say police. The bust was a result of a one-week investigation.The officers, consisting of members from the Greater Sudbury Police Services (GSPS), Royal Canadian Mounted Police, . The two men facing drug charges are Victor Haas, 41, and Gilbert Langlois, 35, both of Chelmsford. Full Stink..........

'assault on an officer in his execution of duty'
APN Newspaper
May 17th 2005:

Tracie Turner took issue to being handcuffed, after pepper spray did little to subdue her, and kicked a police

officer in the face. The officer's eye was scratched and bloodshot and his upper cheek bruised for several days following the sandshoe blow. Judge Peter Rollo acknowledged Turner's letter of apology to the officer and guilty plea but stressed the gravity of attacking an officer of the law. "Any assault on an officer in his execution of duty must be taken seriously," he admonished. Police searched her Gluepot Rd property on May 5 and found 56 cannabis plants growing in potting mix, under six separate sources of light. The plants were about 70cm tall and just coming into maturity. But Turner's lawyer Craig Tuck claimed the act was "completely out of character for this woman". The assault occurred at about 7.20am on May 4 after a big night drinking on Tauranga's central-city, Full Assault.........

A Woman who tried to smuggle cannabis to her boyfriend in Littlehey Prison was led sobbing "my children, my children" from the dock at Peterborough Crown Court as she was jailed. Margaret O'Reilly, 21, who was sent down for 14 months, stood to lose her two children and her home, the court heard. O'Reilly was said to have hidden the drug in her bra, although there was suspicion that it had been concealed in her baby's nappy. O'Reilly had been visiting her boyfriend Michael Gavin, father of her children, who was serving a four-year sentence for robbery, when she was caught at the prison near St Neots. The court heard that Gavin had been suicidal after becoming the victim of a serious assault while in prison. Judge Neil McKittrick told her: "It is well-known there are drugs in prisons and they are in prisons because of people like you." O'Reilly, of Leighton Street, Preston, admitted possessing cannabis with intent to supply and two offences of possessing the drug. She began crying before, More Smuggling..................

Malta (di-ve news) Over 200 grammes of cannabis resin, said to be ready for sale, were seized last night from a garage in Handaq limits of Qormi.
The drug squad had been investigating the case for these past days. After following a 29-year-old man from Qormi, the police raided his garage and with the help of a sniffer dog, they retrieved 12 packages of cannabis resin, ready for sale.The Drug Squad under the supervision of Inspector Nezren Grixti is carrying out further investigations.

Three Battle Creek men, two age 21 and one age 22, were arrested in the first block of Oneita Street about 1:31 p.m. Friday after another local man, 33, said he suspected the three men were selling marijuana at a vacant house. The three younger men were arrested for alleged unlawful entry and association with a controlled substance. Police found $10 worth of marijuana and $1 worth of ammunition.

AN electrical fault at a cottage being used for cannabis cultivation was the cause of a blaze near Whakatane yesterday, police said. But the police investigation into the discovery of 59-year-old Brian Maurice Martin in a house adjacent to the fire has concluded he died of natural causes. Firemen found Martin's body when they were called to the house fire at the intersection of State Highway 30 and MacDonalds Rd near Awakeri between 2.30am and 3am. Fire, electrical and police investigators determined the fire was caused by an electrical fault in a cottage at the property, which was adjacent to the dead man's house, Eastern Bay of Plenty police acting area commander Bruce Jenkins said. He said the cottage was unoccupied, but being used to house an elaborate hydroponic cannabis growing operation. Full Fire................

Leominster: Police arrested a Roslindale man late Wednesday night for allegedly carrying a billy club and drugs

in the Health Alliance Hospital/Leominster campus parking lot. A district court judge released Richard P. McNutty, 20, on personal recognizance bail for charges of carrying a dangerous weapon and possession of ecstasy and marijuana Thursday. They allegedly discovered a marijuana joint, a bag of marijuana, three empty Bud Light beer bottles and two white ecstasy tablets marked with a "1" in the car. A billy club wrapped with metal wire was in the console. "Where I'm from, we use that for protection," McNutty told police in reports. Hospital security originally stopped McNutty when they spotted him smashing a beer bottle on the ground and driving in circles around the lot, according to police reports. Full Stoning........

Hunstanton

couple jailed in drugs case A couple have been jailed in France after being caught trying to smuggle

nearly half a tonne of cannabis into Britain.French customs officers swooped on Trevor Bentley and his wife, Kerry, at Cherbourg in September 2003 as they returned home from a trip to Malaga.Their lorry was towing another broken down lorry which was found to have 390kg of cannabis stashed on board. Investigators believed the trip was the couple's fourth drug smuggling run between the Costa del Sol and Britain, a French court was told. The Bentleys, of Seagate Road, Hunstanton, were believed, Source...............

Cannabis worth

£750,000 was found in a vehicle, Drugs accused fails in bail bid,Drugs with a street value of £750,000 were smuggled into Northern Ireland inside the tyres of a 4x4 vehicle, the High Court has heard. A lawyer said wheels had been removed and 36 packages of cannabis were found in a slashed tyre at a house at Stoneyford, near Lisburn, on Sunday. Liam Patrick Young, 27, from Avonmere, Craigavon, faces charges of possessing drugs with intent to supply. Mr Young's bail application was refused. Crown counsel David Hopley said when police arrived at the house the Frontera vehicle was on axle stands. Full Drive...........

Three men have been jailed after police smashed Britain’s first internet drugs gang.

Ringleader Steve Jackson, 37, is believed to have earned up to £500,000 by selling cannabis over the web. He started his empire by setting up websites such as Budmonkey.com and Keepit2urself.com, a court heard. The passwords were given to clients who passed them to friends. Clients ordered drugs by email and paid by depositing cash in Jackson’s bank account. He bagged orders using a heat-sealing machine and sent them by post. Pals Mark Harris, 41, and Dominic Bolongaro, 32, leased some of the sites from Jackson. They are both thought to have raked in five-figure sums. Full Tale....

They looked like an ordinary family, living modestly on benefits in a former council house... but a few little secrets were hidden around the back. For along Crooked Bank, the aptly-named footpath running behind their home, Mavis Warden, 54, husband Barry, 60, and their children buried the drugs they sold to earn a fortune lavished on a secret life of luxury. Wads of cash were also hidden. Police said it was like they were "planting potatoes". Dozens of nine ounce blocks of cannabis were buried up to two feet underground in blue plastic pickling barrels and packs of cocaine were placed in sealed glass jars. Police search teams took 12 days to search the Crooked Bank area and recovered 1,000 grams of cocaine worth £62,000 and 52kgs of cannabis worth around £200,000. Full Tale......

The Crown has asked that a man sentenced to three years' jail for cultivating his second cannabis crop within two years be declared a drug trafficker. Colin Jonathon Hennig grew 362 plants in a remote bush location, the Supreme Court heard. Hennig, 36, pleaded guilty to cultivating a commercial quantity of cannabis. Justice Sally Thomas said Hennig had breached a June 2003 suspended sentence for cultivating cannabis and other drug charges. She restored the unserved 18 months of that sentence. For the latest crop, discounting the sentence for his guilty plea, More Trafficking..............

Seattle: A Canadian

customs officer who is accused of trying to bring 100 kilograms of marijuana over the Canada-U.S. border in his car was released on bail Monday. Altaf Merali, 37, who faces the possibility of 40 years in jail and

a $2 million fine, was released on a $50,000 US cash bond, which was secured by his mother. District attorney David Jennings disputed the judge's decision to release Merali, who had been in U.S. custody since he was arrested May 3 at the Blaine, Wash., border crossing and charged with conspiring to distribute marijuana in the United States. "He betrayed the confidence the U.S. placed in him when he came across the border," Jennings said at Merali's detention hearing in U.S. federal district court. "At this point I think the best thing for him is for him to remain in custody." According to court documents, Merali claimed he was coerced into smuggling the drugs after his family was threatened by an Indo-Canadian gangsters in his Surrey neighbourhood. It's a claim that was flat-out rejected by Jennings. "I don't believe that for a minute," he told Judge Monica Benton, describing Merali's claim as a "built-in defence mechanism." More Disbelief....

One major, fascinating fact to be exposed early in the book (Chapter 2, "The Pharmacology of THC") is that cannabinoid receptors exist in the brain and that they may be related to the opiate receptors. This would suggest that there might be naturally occurring cannabinoids in the human body. If this is true, then it is obvious that THC, the drug component of marijuana, works by stimulating the endorphins that regulate cannabinoid activity in the brain. However, as Iversen informs us, more research would be needed to establish this. Read On.........................................

Two East Ohio law enforcement agencies successfully took more drugs, a gun and a bulletproof vest off the streets this weekend. The latest arrest was made by Bridgeport Police on Sunday when a traffic cop stop led officers to find several bags of marijuana. According to reports, around 12:54 a.m. Sunday, Bridgeport Police Department Sgt. Keith Price stopped a car that matched a description of a vehicle driven by a suspect involved in a fight earlier in the evening. Price explained there were two cars involved in the alleged incident, and although the car did fit the description, it was not one of those involved. However, Price said there was a strong odor of marijuana about the vehicle, and after obtaining consent, he searched the vehicle. Price said there were several bags of marijuana in the car, which totaled grams 700gms of the drug.

Three men were being questioned by drug squad officers last night following a massive seizure of cannabis. The haul, with an estimated street value of £750,000, was uncovered during a search operation in the Stoneyford area outside Lisburn. Following the seizure, three men were arrested and were helping police with their enquiries. Meanwhile, police have arrested one man, following the seizure of a quantity of cannabis in the Ballymurphy area of west Belfast last night.

Monday,

police in Toronto's west end were responding to a call about water leaking from an apartment on the 15th floor of a building on Martha Eaton Way. When police knocked on the door of the apartment, the occupants refused to open it. While the officers tried to enter the unit, Thi Thuy Pham, 45, began climbing down the outside of the apartment balcony in an attempt to reach the floor below. She fell to her death in what police described as a death by misadventure. When officers finally entered the apartment they discovered a marijuana-growing operation and a large number of harvested plants. Police found the apartment's other tenant, 33-year-old Thu Nguyen, elsewhere in the building. She was arrested and charged with producing marijuana and possessing it for the purpose of trafficking.

Vancouver police say they found 2,400 marijuana plants with a street value of more than $1.7 million in an East Vancouver warehouse this week. They say when officers raided the warehouse Wednesday morning, several people were trimming harvested plants. Thirteen people, including five Vancouver residents, were charged with trafficking and cultivation, police said. According to provincial documents, the warehouse was purchased for storing fruits and vegetables.

Police find cannabis in warehouse More than 200 cannabis plants have been discovered by police at a

disused warehouse in Greater Manchester. Officers made the discovery while carrying out a number of searches at the building and an adjoining house on Littleton Road, Charlestown in Salford. The plants, which police say are at various stages of growth, are being examined by police experts. Police said on Friday morning that the street value of the drugs had not yet been determined. Unusual activity' Officers also seized a quantity of lighting and irrigation equipment from the site during the searches on Wednesday morning. Full Activity.........................

The man found guilty of growing cannabis with a street value of $200,000 has been given a six-month good behaviour slap on the wrist. The light sentence has outraged Inverell Shire mayor Barry Johnston and Chairman of the Mayor's Drug Advisory Committee John Irvine. Mr Irvine said he wanted Magistrate Roger Prowse to "leave town” after he handed David Rowley, 30, a six-month good behaviour bond and $450 fine on March 31. When Inverell Police raided Mr Rowley's rural property on February 5 they found the large plantation of the prohibited plant along with dried leaves, seeds along with an unregistered and unsecured weapon. Mr Irvine said the Magistrate did not represent the needs of the Shire."(It's) an utter, total disgrace,” Mr Irvine said."(Cannabis growers) are putting our children at risk and they are being aided and abetted by our local magistrate.”More Slapping................

A REGULAR marijuana user was ordered to pay £145 by Solihull magistrates after police pulled his van over and found him in possession of cannabis. Dean Cowan, a self-employed businessman, was stopped by an officer at 8.30am on April 22, the court heard. It was told Cowan, 24, of Dewbury Road, King's Heath, had been driving a white van erratically when he overtook the unmarked police car. Prosecutor Paul Baty said: "After the police stopped him, he started swearing and shouting at him. "When he sat back in his van, the officer noticed a strong smell of cannabis and found £20 worth of the drug in his tracksuit bottoms. "He asked the police officer 'You're not arresting me for this, are you?' before threatening 'to kick his head off.' " Cowan, who had previous convictions of cannabis possession, still had an outstanding £250 fine to pay on the morning of his court, More Head Kicking.........................

Ridgefeild Park: - A traffic stop Thursday led borough police to their second large-scale marijuana drug bust in three days - 100 pounds of high-grade

cannabis worth $600,000. Officers Todd Milo and Anthony Sgroi had stopped a 1995 black Honda Accord, with Maryland license plates, being driven erratically on Route 46. When the driver couldn't produce its registration, the officers searched the car and found the "hydroponic cannabis," which is grown in conditions that increase the drug's potency, said Lt. John Diniro, thats news to me ! "The gentleman didn't know whose car it was," Diniro said. "When they asked him why he was here, he said he came up to go to Chinatown for Chinese food. "That didn't really work." Diniro said the driver, Peter Pham, 29, of Virginia, agreed to a search of the vehicle, telling the officers: "Whatever you find in the vehicle, I don't know what it is." They found the marijuana in the trunk, he said. Full Lie.........................

Two Brooklyn men have been charged in connection with the mugging of a Yonkers man on a west-side street corner and with possession of a fully loaded handgun, police said yesterday. McPhatter Shanduke, 26, of 512 Warren St. and Darnell J. Graves, 27, of 740 Marcy Ave. were charged with first-degree robbery and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Shanduke also was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana; Graves also was charged with resisting arrest. A .22-caliber handgun and 77 bags of marijuana were recovered during the arrest, police said. Capt. Patrick McMahon, commander of the 4th Precinct, said a 22-year-old man was robbed at Warburton and Glenwood avenues at 11:43 p.m. Wednesday. A Nextel phone, $12 and a gold chain and necklace were taken from him. Read On.............

'$37 million worth of drugs'
Melainie Bennett
Officials say group supplied drugs to six counties in Columbus area
Friday May 6th 2005

Drug agents seized more than $37 million worth of drugs and more than $600,000 in cash Wednesday,

the largest drug bust in Columbus history. Muscogee County Sheriff Ralph Johnson, standing beside stacks of cash, bundles of marijuana and bags of cocaine, announced the bust Thursday in a Government Center basement training room filled with law enforcement officers and officials from Muscogee and Harris counties in Georgia and Russell County, Ala. Russell County Sheriff Tommy Boswell, Harris County Sheriff Mike Jolley and Phenix City Assistant Police Chief Terry Morris were on hand for the announcement. Five people have been charged so far, and Johnson said more arrests and seizures of cash and drugs are possible. Full Bust............

A SOPHISTICATED

internet drug dealing operation which generated sales of up to £500,000 was crushed by Hertfordshire Police and Sussex Police.
In what is believed to be the first prosecution of its kind, Hove Crown Court heard on Friday how Sean Jackson, of Brewhouse Hill, Wheathampstead, took orders online and packaged drugs himself.
The 37-year-old had a stash of envelopes, address labels and a heat-sealing machine. He would dispatch the drugs and regularly visit cash points, making large withdrawals from his personal accounts.
The "highly lucrative" on-line drug operation was run like a professional business, the court heard.
Thousands of customers placed orders on password-protected websites and received heat-sealed packages of the drugs by recorded delivery. Read On...................

Four Victorian detectives seized cannabis worth $100,000 in a fake drug bust and gave the drugs to a criminal to sell, a jury has been told. The police officers today faced the first day of their Victorian County Court trial for allegedly stealing the cannabis and involving themselves in a conspiracy to sell the haul. Detective Sergeant David John Waters, 44, Detective Sergeant Glenn Saunders, 44, Detective Senior Constable Peter John Alexander, 37, and Detective Senior Constable Stephen Russell Campbell, 35, have all pleaded not guilty to charges of theft and conspiracy to traffic cannabis. Crown prosecutor Colin Hillman SC told the court Saunders was tipped off by an informer that he was meeting a drug dealer to buy $100,000 worth of cannabis at the carpark of St Kilda marina on May 10, 1999. Mr Hillman said Saunders and the other three officers, who all worked at St Kilda police station, went to the marina that night and intercepted the drug exchange. Full Scam..................................

A POLICE drug raid in Sydney's south-west has seized 300 cannabis plants with a potential street value of $600,000. Police said officers from the Ashfield Target Action Group raided a Campsie home yesterday and allegedly discovered 6.65kg of dried cannabis buds and more than 300 plants ranging in size from 15cm to 2 metres high. The total seizure has an estimated street value of $600,000. A 23-year-old Campsie woman has been, Full Tale..............

'resident differ over medicinal marijuana after raid'
May 5th 2005
Alan Choate

Sequim police raided the home of a marijuana grower and confiscated 62 plants, but it's unclear what charges -- if any -- will be filed. The two men interviewed after the raid claim protection under the state Medical Marijuana Act. Clallam County prosecutors are now sorting out the details to determine whether the state law applies, voiding the raid made 1½ weeks ago. In statements about the case, Sequim police outlined a ``sophisticated marijuana growing operation'' they said was set up to distribute the drug illegally while using the medical marijuana label as a shield. But Brian Rickard, the man who lives at the house with his elderly mother and grows the marijuana, said Tuesday that the pot he grows, Full Raid..........

The subject was charged at about 7:45 p.m. April 29 with disorderly conduct and unlawful possession of marijuana. Daniel T. Dansone, 60, of 412 W. Third St., Oswego. He was arrested at East Sixth and Bridge streets for allegedly using obscene language and exposing himself to a female officer, after being ordered to refrain from swearing, on at least half a dozen occasions police said. He was also found to be in possession of a kilo: of fine grade marijuana, according to the police report. He is to appear in court on May 12.

The officer in charge of the Tweed-Byron police command says a cross-border operation has highlighted the drugs problem that exists in northern New South Wales and southern Queensland. Tim Tarlinton says 81 people were arrested on 133 drugs-related charges during the weekend operation codenamed Vikings 05. He says amphetamines were found in trucks and other heavy vehicles and officers located cannabis and drug laboratory equipment in a number of cars. "We accept the fact that the area we police is a corridor across the border because the individuals who live in the area don't recognise the border as being a wall that they can't cross," he said. "So realistically I guess the northern part of this command, which takes in say the beach suburbs below Kingscliff and Kingscliff and Tweed Heads is very much aligned to south-east Queensland." Source......

Police in Forster have laid charges against six people, after drug raids on five houses on Friday morning. Thirty-five officers from Newcastle, Port Macquarie and the Manning/Great Lakes command were involved in the raids, which netted just under a kilogram of amphetamines and nearly two kilograms of marijuana. The raids were part of an ongoing covert operation into drug suppliers in the Manning Great Lakes area.

Police have uncovered a large amount of drugs being cultivated at an Isleworth house after a fire on the premises exposed the operation two weeks ago.Firefighters attending a blaze at an address in Morris Road, Isleworth, at 6am on Sunday April 10, contacted the police after they found large quantities of cannabis plants growing in every room. All of the properties were three bedroomed semi-detached houses being used solely for growing the drug. A 30-year-old female and a male, 24, were arrested for the cultivation of cannabis and the intent to supply cannabis. Both have been bailed to attend Uxbridge police station on May 25. A police spokesperson said: "The large quantity of cannabis found on these premises is a significant find, and anyone with information should contact DS Harry McLoughlin of Hounslow CID on 020 8247 6140." More Significance............

A Montreal

cheque-cashing business owner who pleaded guilty to laundering money for the alleged local leader of an international drug-running and money-laundering ring was sentenced to 16 months in jail. But Kien Huy Phung will get to keep $500,000 seized by police in a raid of his business. While Justice Celynne Dorval made the 33-year-old man forfeit $4,000 paid by an undercover police officer as a money laundering fee, she said yesterday the Crown had not proven the money seized from Phung's businesses Candex and Everest Financial on March 31, 2004, was proceeds of crime. According to an agreed statement of facts, police allege Phung agreed to launder money for Mai Le twice between March 4 and 10, 2004. The statement alleges Mai Le and Tuan Anh Nguyen struck an agreement with an undercover police officer to launder $460,000 US into Canadian funds. More Laundering....

Rush

Township: A car stopped for travelling at very high speed on Interstate 80 Friday evening was allegedly carrying a quarter pound of marijuana, state police at Philipsburg said. Police arrested Malcolm R. Barrett, 21, of Shaker Heights, Ohio, and Andreas Tekus, 23, of Cleveland. Police said both appeared nervous when a state trooper stopped their car about 6:30 p.m. and smelled burnt marijuana inside. Barrett and Tekus were arraigned before District Judge Carmine Prestia on felony charges of possession with intent to deliver marijuana. They were sent to the Centre County Jail in lieu of $8,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday the 4th of May in Centre County Court.