Supreme Court Upholds Order for California To Cut Prison Population

Stop-the-Drug-War
May 27th 2011

A closely divided US Supreme Court Monday upheld a court order requiring California to cut its prison population by tens of thousands of inmates because the state has proven unwilling or unable to provide adequate health care in its overcrowded prisons. The decision came in Plata v. Brown, a case originally filed in 2001.

Peruvian President Equates Drug Legalization with Barbarism and Euthanasia
Stop-the-Drug-War
October 8th 2010

Peruvian President Alan García said Monday he is absolutely opposed to drug legalization and warned that legalizing marijuana will take society down the path toward euthanizing the elderly.  He vowed a constant fight "on all fronts" against drug use and the drug trade.

Peru is now the world's leading producer of coca, from which cocaine is made. In recent weeks, García has angled for a larger share of US drug-fighting dollars.  The stimulating herb has been used as an energy booster and hunger suppressor since time immemorial in the Andean region.

García said Monday that his anti-drug efforts will focus on eradication and alternative crops, as well as interdiction and money-laundering.  A reinvigorated eradication campaign has already led to renewed strife in the countryside, where tens of thousands of peasant families make a living from coca. Two weeks ago, hundreds of in Ucayali province and blocked highways in the region to protest eradication efforts. Police later regained control of the plant, but the region remains restive.

"The Peruvian government has a firm position: I am absolutely against the drug legalization," García said after opening the 20th meeting of the Heads of National Drug Law Enforcement Agencies (HONLEA) of Latin America and the Caribbean. Human beings "cannot kneel before their own powerlessness," he said.

"I think this (drug legalization) is like opening the way for the degradation of human beings, because if we legalize marijuana as a soft drug then we will legalize cocaine as hard drugs, and finally we will also legalize the elimination of the elderly, as in the old societies, because they can no longer contribute to the production," he said.

García added that his government's position is firm and will not change before he leaves office next July "even though those who raise the flag of the drug legalization are very intelligent and well-known and noisy." He said he will always oppose advocates of ending drug prohibition because "they represent, without knowing it, the backward step of the human being in his path to freedom, which is basically the way of his conscience, i.e. to use his skills without escapes through drugs."

Not only will drug legalization lead to killing grandma, García said, it will lead mankind down a death spiral to "fascist barbarism" and genocide.

García's sentiments put him out of step with a region that is increasingly amenable to ending the decades long war on drugs. Former heads of state from Columbia, Brazil, and Mexico have called for an end to the drug war, while Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico have depenalized simple drug possession.

'the result of a call made by a member of the public'
The Daily Gazette
September 28th 2010

Members of the public have been urged to help police clamp down on illegal cannabis farms. The appeal follows a rise in the number of cases reported across the Colchester area. Superintendent Bob Hamilton, who is based at Copford Police Office, said: "Unfortunately, the number of cannabis factories that are being discovered throughout the Colchester Police area, within occupied and unoccupied premises, is on the increase. "The owners or tenants of these properties are solely interested in profit-making and bringing misery to many people."The level of heat and power sources required to cultivate these plants creates a very serious risk of fire within the premises, which could affect adjoining buildings."People's lives are being put at risk by these unscrupulous individuals."The police have issued a check list of signs for residents to look out for: windows being permanently covered from the inside; visits to the premises at unusual times of the day or night; people only visiting the property to maintain it and not live in it; cannabis by-products such as used fertiliser being removed in black bin bags or laundry bags; compost bags or gardening equipment being left outside; a vent protruding through the roof or a rear window; a pungent smell coming from the premises and the noise of cooling fans.
A police raid on an address in Granary Court Hythe Quay, by Colchester police resulted in a mini-cannabis farm being shut down. Officers from the ColchesterTactical Tasking Team executed a drugs search warrant and found 48 cannabis plants with a value of about £15,000, which were taken away along with growing equipment. Superintendent Bob Hamilton said they were a woman in her late 20s was arrested for alleged drug cultivation offences along with her partner Richard Oliver . One resident who saw police on the site said: "They were taking away heat lamps, sheeting and brown paper bags. I saw two police vans there and there must have been at least seven police officers." How many policemen does it take to bust a women in her 20's and 48 cannabis plants? No, its not a joke, honest. Officers in the Essex Constabulary must be feeling left out of things as they announce busting a "mini cannabis farm",

Cannabis arrests pointless - "get away"
News2020.com
June 25th 2010

A top Scotland Yard officer has re-ignited the row over the reclassification of cannabis by saying that it was "pointless" for officers to arrest people in possession of small amounts of the drug.

Sir Ian Blair, deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said it was "grossly inefficient" for his officers to spend hours processing those caught with small quantities of the illegal substance, which neither the Crown Prosecution Service or courts were likely to prosecute.

In a letter to The Times newspaper, which is likely to infuriate opponents of the Government's decision to downgrade the drug, Mr Blair said: "During the 30 years of my police service, the policing of possession of small amounts of cannabis has become increasingly pointless."

He added: "It was grossly inefficient for officers to spend hours processing individuals for the possession of cannabis in amounts about which neither the courts nor, therefore, the CPS were prepared to take any action."

Sir Ian said the Metropolitan Police supported the new prosecution regime and dismissed accusations from opponents who said the new laws on cannabis were too muddled.

He wrote: "In the meantime, while the message to those who use the illegal drug is more complicated, we believe that the new rules of engagement will become clear quite quickly."

In his letter, Sir Ian revealed that the Home Office guidelines broadly followed advice to the UK's largest force.

"The retention of a power of arrest in some circumstances, however, particularly to discourage the use of the drug by people under 18, exactly concurs with the advice we gave to the Home Office," the officer wrote.

The downgrading of cannabis from Class B to C - the same as anti-depressants and anabolic steroids - has been attacked for allowing young people to believe the drug is now legal and safe.

Home Secretary David Blunkett's move to reclassify cannabis - first set in motion more than two years ago - means possession of the drug will not lead to arrest in most cases.

What Not to Do if You Grow Marijuana and Police Visit You
Stop-the-Drug-War
June 20th 2010

[Editor's Note: Last week we reviewed Flex Your Rights' new video, "10 Rules for Dealing with Police." Coincidentally, this piece from law professor John Calvin Jones came in over the transom at the same time. Like Flex Your Rights, Jones, too, is attempting to educate Americans about how to effectively exercise their constitutional rights -- and what can happen to you when you fail to do so. Jones' rules are a little different from Flex Your Rights' "10 Rules," but both are saying essentially the same thing. Here we present Jones' analysis of the case of one New Jersey man and what happened to him when he failed to exercise his rights.]

The latest case of a naïve marijuana grower comes out of New Jersey, where, on March 15, an appellate court affirmed a ruling from 2007 which denied a motion to suppress evidence: a seizure of a lot of weed from the house of one Brian McGacken. Recent headlines on Slate and other web sites emphasized why the police arrived at McGacken's house in the first place -- apparently he and his girlfriend were loud while having sex -- so loud that police received an "anonymous 911 call." Having the police come to your home because of loud sex could lead to amusing anecdotes down the years, but it is doubtful McGacken is finding anything to laugh about.

Instead, we have a scenario where police enter the house, follow McGacken upstairs (without being invited), smell pot, then start asking questions, and well, we know the rest. Before reviewing the legal arguments and ultimate ruling of two New Jersey Appellate Division judges (Lihotz and Ashrafi) in New Jersey v. McGacken, let me start with the errors of Brian McGacken.

According to the opinion, as admitted by McGacken, when police arrived at his place to investigate the 911 call, McGacken invited the police into the foyer. Rule #1: If you are growing any plants, much less have any weed in your domicile, do not invite the police inside. Then, after McGacken explained that any reports of screaming were accurate -- as then confirmed by his sex partner, police asked McGacken for ID. Rule #2: If you are growing weed in your house, speak to the police as little as possible. And since the Supreme Court ruling in Hiibel v. Nevada, 542 U.S. 177 (2004), unless you live in one of 20 states that have a law requiring you to identify yourself, which NJ does not, then you do not need to say anything to the police. That is, it is not a crime to refuse to answer or ID yourself -- even the Appellate Court in McGacken's case noted that. Regardless, if you do live in one of those self-ID states, just give your full name -- do not lie -- and then say nothing more.

By the way, the Supreme Court qualified the issue of ID laws in Hiibel, noting that one must identify only when police say that they have reason to believe that a person is suspected of committing a crime. If you ask the police if you are suspected of a crime, and they say no, as was the case with McGacken, not only are you not required to show ID, but you should then apply Rule #3: Always ask the police, "Am I free to leave?" If they say "no," but are still in your house -- tell them to leave, that you do not consent to their presence or search, and get the phone and tell them that you are calling your lawyer. (The reason you say that you are calling a lawyer is two-fold: first, it puts the cops on notice that they should go harass someone else; and second, while they will tell you that you cannot use the phone, they know that one can always have counsel present while in custody -- so you can surely have advice of counsel when you are not in custody). Of course, you do not have to call any real lawyer, just call your own voicemail and make a recording of the events in a loud voice saying stuff like: "The police are in my house/apartment without a warrant and no probable cause, they are not invited, I have asked them to leave, I do not consent to any search, etc." If after all that, the police still do not leave, just sit there -- and be quiet.

Needless to say, McGacken did not follow rules #2 or #3 either. But, according to the court opinion -- McGacken admitted he went upstairs to get his ID, and was followed by New Jersey State Trooper Thomas Holmes.

According to the opinion, "Trooper Holmes testified that he followed defendant upstairs for two reasons -- to protect his own and his fellow trooper's safety and to make sure there was no other person in the home in need of aid." But did he really?

Earlier in the opinion, the judges wrote that:

"Trooper Thomas Holmes and a fellow trooper responded [to the 911 call]. [Once on the scene, they] heard and saw nothing unusual from outside the residence. They knocked on the door and announced that they were the State Police. Within a reasonable time, defendant opened the door dressed only in a bathrobe. Otherwise, defendant's demeanor and conduct were normal, and he was completely cooperative. When told about the report of screaming, defendant invited the troopers to step inside and explained that the screaming came during loud sex with his girlfriend. The troopers asked to talk to the girlfriend. She came from upstairs wearing only a towel and confirmed defendant's explanation."

If the two occupants of the house said that they are the only two in the house, and the officers believe them, then there is no reason to make sure there is no one else in the house "in need of aid." Further, if the police accept the explanation for the screaming, and the police are ready to end a routine follow-up to an unnecessary 911 call, then there is no reason to suspect that Trooper Holmes or his fellow trooper would be at risk from the sex screamers. But if the police thought that McGacken was lying or acting suspicious, then there might be cause to keep an eye on McGacken. But, according to the ruling, that's not what police thought.

"No evidence suggested [that] the police had any suspicion of criminal activity by defendant or his girlfriend, or [that the police] wished to conduct a search for evidence of crime. Trooper Holmes testified that... nothing that defendant and his girlfriend did or said downstairs raised suspicion of criminal activity."

The police and the court admit that Trooper Holmes lied when he testified there was no suspicion of criminal behavior. He could not have believed the report of the two lovers, but still had cause to look around to see if someone were in need of assistance. And thus, because he did not believe their explanation, Holmes implied that the two were hindering or obstructing an investigation, an arrestable offense.

But as the court recognizes that Holmes declared that he had no suspicions, that means Holmes believed no one else was in the house -- therefore there was no need to go upstairs in the name of what the court references as an exigent circumstance, of the sort where police may enter a house without a warrant so as to preserve life or prevent serious injury. Again, because Trooper Holmes testified that he had no suspicions that McGacken and his girlfriend were lying, he had no basis to justify a warrantless intrusion.

But that's not how the appeals court ruled. The New Jersey judges referred, over and over, to the idea of this type of warrantless search as necessary to save lives -- and not search for evidence of a crime. So, what did Trooper Holmes do and see when reaching the upstairs bedroom with McGacken? First the court says that Holmes smelled marijuana.

What happened next for this Trooper -- who was not searching for evidence of a crime, but merely responding to a perceived exigency to save a life? According to the court:

"Upstairs, Trooper Holmes saw defendant use his foot to push a tray under a couch. [Holmes] asked defendant what was on the tray, and defendant soon admitted that the tray contained marijuana. In defendant's bedroom, the trooper saw, in plain view, a number of growing marijuana plants, as well as bagged and loose marijuana. He placed defendant under arrest."

Thus, two New Jersey Appellate Court judges decided to abandon all pretense of reason. Without comment they claim that Holmes had to go upstairs to find someone to rescue, though he did not suspect anyone was in need of aid.

McGacken's misadventure leads us to yet another rule, Rule #4: When police ask you something, do not answer. Police are not your friends. They use drug arrests -- the easy pickings -- to gain fame (for some reason local press usually lauds these cops) and fortune. All states and the federal governments have seizure laws that allow law enforcement to take cars, houses, bank accounts, and boats on the mere suspicion that you are engaged in drug-related criminal activity. You can even be acquitted or have charges dropped, yet the cops can keep your stuff.

But more importantly, getting back to Rule #4 and anything related to a search of your person, house, car, or stuff, note what the court did not report that Holmes did after seeing McGacken move the tray? The police officer did not go over and grab the tray. Even though the court said that Holmes was within his right to make a warrantless search given the exigent circumstance of trying to save someone in imminent harm -- and not intending to seize evidence or make an arrest, Holmes did not even try.

Because the tray was not in plain view -- it was hidden under the couch -- and Holmes did not have probable cause to search without a warrant, the cop relied on the tried and true method to collect evidence and make an arrest: a confession. That leads to Rule #5: Never consent to a search. Because the tray was not in plain view -- it was hidden under the couch -- and Holmes did not have probable cause to search without a warrant, the cop relied on the tried and true method to collect evidence and make an arrest: a confession! That is why you are not supposed to answer their questions -- just call the lawyer (see Rule #3 above).

Holmes was careful to say that in no way did he look under the couch to see what was on the tray. However, Holmes testified, and the court explained, that the seized marijuana plants were "in plain view" (meaning not in a closed space, drawer, etc.). Even Trooper Holmes knows Rule #6: If it is in plain view, it belongs to the police, not you!

This exercise in legal sophistry and hypocrisy is not to advocate that anyone should violate state or federal laws -- especially drug laws. Instead it should serve to emphasize that every person should know the limits, guidelines, and rules on constitutional provisions about search and seizure. Even in those states that allow licensed grow operations the Obama administration is still making busts. If you want to stay out of prison, or reduce your chances of getting busted, follow the general advice of The Clash and "know your rights."

"2 men of Chinese origin were seen fleeing"
Shropshirestar.com
December 29th 2008

Cannabis plants discovered in a Shropshire warehouse would have earned the ringleaders £1.5 million a year, detectives revealed today. A total of 1,850 cannabis plants, valued at £250,000, were discovered in the garden-centre style “cannabis factory” on Stafford Park in Telford during a raid on Monday. Detective Constable Paul Stoddart-Crompton, of Telford’s drugs squad, who led the operation, today said the cannabis plants had been seized from the unit and put into 60 sacks. They have all since been incinerated.Mr Stoddart-Crompton said: “We have seized 1,850 plants along with 238 sodium lights, all of which had its own electrical power pack. The estimated value for the crop we have seized is £250,000, but that has got a yearly earning potential of £1.5 million.” Forensic teams have spent two days scouring the premises for clues as to who was behind the class-C drug growing operation. “We have sent numerous items for forensic examination including toothbrushes and razors,” he said. “As they were spooked they left everything behind, even to the point where one of them left in such a hurry he had one trainer on and one was still in the factory. We have got everything for DNA testing.” Two men thought to be of Chinese origin were seen fleeing the scene when the drugs squad officers raided. But Mr Stoddart-Crompton said even if the people behind the “cannabis factory” were in the country illegally he was hopeful of catching them. He said they will start another factory somewhere else and, “when they are arrested we will have their DNA on profile and it will be realised they were behind the Telford one too.”

Police raid canal boats
News2020.com
24th October 2008

Two boats on the Grand Union Canal in Uxbridge were raided by police this morning. Twenty five Officers forced entry to the boats at 7.25am, which were on moorings off Rockingham Road.
The Uxbridge Safer Neighbourhood Team along with the Marine Support Unit carried out the intelligence led raid. They had received complaints from nearby residents, who suspected there was drug dealing taking place on the boat. When raided, there were cannabis plants found and evidence of dealing including bagged up money and weighing scales.
A man and a woman, who were on one of the boats, were detained by the officers. Two dogs were also taken off the boat by police dog handlers. Police are currently carrying out a search of the boats.

'found three cannabis plants being grown, what a waste of police time..'
News2020.com
19th October 2008

Marijuana plants have been seized thanks to information from members of the public. Police raided a house at Wordsworth Road in Skerne Park in Darlington on Friday and found three cannabis plants being grown. It is estimated the plants had a potential value of 1,000. The raid was carried out as part of Not In My Neighbourhood week and follows similar raids carried out in the town earlier in the week. As well as the cannabis plants a small quantity of cannabis resin and amphetamine sulphate (speed) was also found. Police arrested two local men aged 26 and 21-years-old. They have now been released on police bail pending a forensic examination of the drugs that were recovered. PC Jonathan Stoker said: Weve carried out the raid in conjunction with Not in My Neighbourhood week after some community members got in touch with us. We'd like to thank them for their support and the information that led to the successful raid.

Dutchman Busted for Smoking Tobacco in Cannabis Coffee House
News2020.com
September 28th 2008

In the first coffee shop bust since the Dutch imposed a ban on tobacco smoking in public places earlier this year, an unnamed 27-year-old Amsterdam man has been issued a fine for smoking a marijuana joint laced with tobacco, the Netherlands Information Service reported. If he fails to pay the fine, his case will automatically advance to the courts, where it would be the first case to punish someone for illegally smoking a legal product in a legal business selling an illegal product. (Marijuana remains illegal under Dutch law, although the Dutch pragmatically regulate its sale.)

The Dutch banned smoking tobacco in bars, restaurants, and other public accommodations, including coffee shops, beginning July 1. The smoking of cannabis is not banned, but the quaint European habit of mixing tobacco into marijuana joints had observers earlier this year predicting that such an incident was inevitable.

Although Dutch police are not charged with enforcing the smoking ban -- it is the domain of the Food and Non-Food Authority (VWA) -- the man was issued a citation by a police officer. "If a police officer signals an infringement, he does not close his eyes to it," according to a police spokesman.

'the result of a call made by a member of the public'
Liverpoolecho.co.uk
September 22nd 2008

Police uncovered a £600,000 cannabis farm when they raided neighbouring houses in south Liverpool.
Officers burst into the properties in Queens Drive, Wavertree, yesterday to find they had been wrecked by a drugs gang. The scenes confronting the officers included walls which had been smashed down, ceilings ripped to shreds and floors trashed. Almost every room in the adjoining houses, which had been knocked through to make more space to grow plants, was destroyed. The damage was estimated to run into tens of thousands of pounds. The repairs bill was left with the landlord who rented out the properties and was completely unaware of what was going on inside.
Both houses were rigged up with specialist hydroponics systems and lighting rigs to grow cannabis in optimum conditions. But the set-up was relatively new, as very few of the 2,000 plants were ready to harvest. Liverpool has been hit by a scourge of Far Eastern gangs building cannabis farms in houses. They pose as tenants and pay rent in cash upfront, but leave landlords with properties which are unhabitable. Sergeant Martin Randles, of Merseyside police, said: “This raid was the result of a call made by a member of the public.
“By working together with the community, we can effectively tackle drug dealers in Merseyside, and we would urge anyone with any information about this cannabis factory to contact us.”
Police are now following up a number of lines of inquiry and appealing for anyone with any information to call the anonymous Crimestoppers hotline on 0800 555111111111111:-) In a separate raid on Tuesday, Merseyside police seized £7,000 worth of cannabis in Pembery Way, Halewood.
Officers executed a warrant at a house where 200 bags of cannabis were ready to sell. A 21-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply cannabis.

'compassion, honesty, initiative, adventure'
Telegraph.co.uk
July 27th 2008

Twelve pupils at the Prince of Wales's former school have been disciplined for dealing or using drugs.
Teachers at Gordonstoun School in Scotland took action after learning a pupil was selling cannabis to other students.
Masters at the £8,000 a term mixed boarding school were said to have interrogated students by going from room to room.
The pupils were given an ultimatum - either to admit smoking cannabis and face being suspended or to take a urine test and be expelled if it came back positive.
Gordonstoun, motto Plus Est En Vous (There is more in you), is regarded as one of the Scotland's best private schools, and has educated the Prince of Wales and other members of the Royal Family.Mark Pyper, Headmaster at Gordonstoun, said: "Gordonstoun has a strict policy in relation to drugs and both pupils and parents are made aware of this policy from the outset.
"As soon as we became aware of a possible problem we took action and as a result one pupil was asked to leave and 11 were suspended for 2 weeks."The Prince was a pupil at the school in Elgin from 1962 to 1965. He later spoke of its tough discipline and allegedly called it "Colditz in kilts".
He would later send his own children to Eton College, rather than Gordonstoun.The school was founded in 1933 by Dr Kurt Hahn, who "aimed to foster in young people the qualities of skill, compassion, honesty, initiative, adventure and a sense of service to their fellow beings."

'a total of 1,374 plants were found'
News2020.com
July 6th 2008

Police discovered a commercial cannabis growing operation when they raided an isolated farm a few miles outside Lincoln, a court heard.
The raid at Ingleby Farm, Ingleby, near Saxilby revealed hundreds of cannabis plants being grown inside a bungalow where a high-powered lighting system was installed. More plants were found in a two-storey outbuilding.
Andrew Scott, prosecuting, told Lincoln Crown Court that a total of 1,374 plants were found which could have produced cannabis with a potential street value of anything between £30,000 and £100,000. Former RAF serviceman Stephen Marsh and Benjamin Hartley were arrested at the scene.
They later told police that they had been recruited off the streets with the promise of free accommodation, food and alcohol in return for watering the plants and minding the site. Both said they were homeless and desperate when they took up the offer.
Marsh (44) and Hartley (22), both of no fixed address, each admitted production of cannabis between January 1 and April 3 this year.
Marsh was jailed for two years and Hartley, who is a serving prisoner, was given 12 months consecutive to his current sentence meaning he will start serving the drugs jail term in October 2009.

"underground farm"
Shm.com.Au
July 1st 2008

Police have arrested nine people and seized cannabis, heroin and cocaine valued at more than $2 million in three separate drug busts in NSW in the past 36 hours.

More than 500 marijuana plants were seized by NSW Police in another raid on seven houses associated with an alleged hydroponic cannabis syndicate today on the far north coast.Police say today's raid on the seven properties in Cudgera Creek, Burringbar, Terranora, Banora Point and Palmvale were the result of months of planning.

They allegedly found cannabis growing in converted underground bunkers at one property, and sophisticated hydroponic equipment worth $100,000 at others.Seven men have been arrested and are being interviewed. Police say they expect to lay charges.

Tweed/Byron local area command crime manager Greg Carey said it was believed the cannabis was destined for the streets of Tweeds Head and the Gold Coast."This is another significant win for the NSW Police Force in the war against drugs," Detective Inspector Carey said.

A police spokeswoman said at this stage the alleged cannabis syndicate was not related to recent drug raids on a number of properties in Sydney suburbs, particularly Blair Athol.More than 25 'cannabis houses' have been raided and tens of millions of dollars of drugs seized by police during the raids in Sydney's west and south-west.Both the men arrested at Sydney Airport were due to appear in Sydney Central Local Court today.

In Australian Federal Police also arrested two men allegedly trying to smuggle drugs through Sydney Airport yesterday.

A 56-year-old US citizen was allegedly caught trying to smuggle approximately 200 grams of cocaine disguised as pain killers while another 49-year-old man on a flight from Hong Kong was arrested on suspicion of trying to smuggle 65 grams of heroin internally.

The AFP alleged in a statement today that officers found two bottles of what appeared to be paracetamol in the US man's luggage after he arrived on a flight from New York yesterday and preliminary testing revealed the tablets to be cocaine.

The AFP also alleged that the 49-year-old man on the Hong Kong flight was stopped during a baggage examination yesterday morning and he later "passed" a package believed to contain heroin in a Customs facility. The maximum penalty for the alleged smuggling offences is 25 years jail and/or a $550,000 fine.

Afghanistan Makes "World's Largest" Drug Bust -- 260 Tons of Hash Destroyed
News2020.com
June 24th 2008

Afghan police found and destroyed a whopping 260 tons of hashish near Spin Boldak in Kandahar province near the Pakistan border Monday. The contraband cannabis was buried in trenches and bunkers in the desert, and the stash was so extensive that NATO called in two aircraft to bomb it. Also found was five tons of opium.

In a Wednesday press release, NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) claimed to have struck a major blow against the Taliban, which is strong in Kandahar and widely thought to profit handsomely -- along with many other actors -- from the Afghan drug trade.

"With this single find, the police have seriously crippled the Taliban's ability to purchase weapons that threaten the safety and security of the Afghan people and the region," said General David McKiernan, commander of ISAF, the International Security Assistance Force.

The hash had an estimated regional wholesale value of $400 million. ISAF officials estimated that the Taliban would have pocketed about $14 million from the sale of the drugs. But despite McKiernan's claim, that's chump change compared to the hundreds of millions of dollars the Taliban is estimated to make each year from the opium trade.

The seizure of such a massive quantity of hashish should also raise questions about the Afghan government's overall anti-drug program. While Afghan and Western officials praised Afghanistan for eradicating opium production in some northern provinces last year, it appears farmers there simply switched over to cannabis.

Still, NATO and the West were patting themselves and their Afghan partners on the back. "This was the largest ever single find of narcotics in history," British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said in a statement. "It reflects the efforts of the Afghan government against the drug trade, and was so large that two aircraft were brought in to destroy the underground bunker in which the hashish was being stored."

"The Afghan National Police Special Task Force has made a huge step forward in proving its capability in curbing the tide of illegal drug trade in this country," said General McKiernan. "The international community will continue to support the Afghan forces with more of the same training and support that helped them achieve such success in this mission."

Meanwhile, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime's most recent report on the Afghan crop, Afghan opium production this year looks to maintain its record high levels. The country currently supplies more than 90% of the world's opium.

Cannabis vanishes from Aus: police station
Stuff.co.nz
June 10th 2008

Mystery surrounds the disappearance of six grams of cannabis from a Western Australian police station last week.
Internal affairs officers quizzed staff at the Fremantle police station over the weekend.
It's the second time drugs have vanished from the building, with $15,000 worth of cannabis also disappearing in 2004.
At the time, four senior police were transferred, but no charges were laid.
This time, investigators are trying to establish whether the drugs were stolen, if a key was used to access the room where they were kept, or whether the drugs fell from a bigger package earlier in the day.

"and speaking of anti-social behaviour"
Cannazine.co.uk
June 9th 2008

Police raid Lancing cannabis cafe for sixth time...........
Police carried out the sixth raid on Lancing's controversial cannabis cafe on Saturday (June 7).
Officers sealed off Freshbrook Road and carried out a search of the premises.
Adur police Chief Inspector Lawrence Hobbs said: "This is the sixth time we have raided these premises and we will continue to execute search warrants all the time the owners flout the law.

"We have received a number of complaints from residents in the area that incidents of anti-social behaviour have been on the increase associated with these premises and I say to them that we remain committed to disrupting the sale of drugs and working with Adur District Council to getting the place shut down.
"These things take time and I ask them to bear with us while we try to gather evidence from these raids. It is too early to tell how many people will be arrested or how many drugs have been found at this raid."

Sergeant Dave Knox, who led the operation, said...
Goldenseed.co.uk
May 31st 2008

More than 450 marijuana plants have been found at three cannabis factories in Thanet. Specialist officers raided three properties in a two-day operation in Church Road, Ramsgate over Wednesday and Thursday. The plants were found in rooms at numbers 20a and 20b where walls had been knocked through to link the two houses and at number 68b. It is estimated that the cannabis could provide more than £50,000 of profit every 12 weeks. Sergeant Dave Knox, who led the operation, said: “Organised crime groups use cannabis factories in order to fund other criminal activities. “They generate significant sums of cash. To disrupt such operations is a county and a national priority. “The classification of the drug is irrelevant – if it is being used to fund criminal activities, it is a crime."

Police said investigations were continuing into whether activities at the three properties are linked. • A 46-year-old man from London has been arrested on Church Road on Wednesday and charged with involvement in the production of cannabis on Thursday. He was due to appear at Margate Magistrates’ Court tomorrow (Friday).

New York City Marijuana Arrest Capital of the World
DrugWarChronicles
May 14th 2008

Police in New York City arrested more than 39,700 people on marijuana charges last year, and that is no fluke. In the last decade, nearly 400,000 New Yorkers have been arrested for carrying small amounts of marijuana, the vast majority of them black or brown.

"Racial profiling is a fact of life on the streets of New York City," said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, during a news conference at the group's Manhattan headquarters.

New York is among the small number of states that decriminalized marijuana possession in the late 1970s, but that hasn't stopped police from arresting people carrying small amounts of weed and then subjecting them to average 24-hour stays in New York City jails while they await arraignment. Police get around the decrim law by "manufacturing" arrests for "possession in public view," said Levine. Police routinely stop young black and brown men on the streets, force them to empty their pockets, then charge them with the more serious "possession in public view" offense.

Since Big Apple marijuana arrests started going through the roof during the administration of Mayor Rudolf Giulianai, the city has sometimes accounted for one out of 10 marijuana arrests in the entire country. Last year, that figure was lower, with New York accounting for roughly 5% of pot arrests nationwide, still a huge number.

That makes New York City "the marijuana arrest capital of the world," said Lieberman.

'81-year-old mother charged in connection with the drug-growing operation'
News.com.au
April 27th 2008

A senior Yatala Labour Prison officer has been charged with drug trafficking offences after being caught with 5kg of dried cannabis.
And in a shock move, Port Adelaide police have also charged his 81-year-old mother in connection with the drug-growing operation.
Like her son, she faces up to 25 years in prison or a fine of up to $200,000 if convicted of possession of a commercial quantity of cannabis for sale and cultivating more than the prescribed number of cannabis plants. The woman also faces the likelihood of her house being seized under the Confiscation of Assets legislation.
Sources have told the Sunday Mail that the cannabis was discovered by police after an attempted "rip off" at the woman's West Croydon house. Police were called to her street just after 4am on April 13 when there were reports of people jumping fences. While investigating the reports, a uniformed officer discovered six mature cannabis plants growing behind a shed, Full Bust......

"It's straightforward possession of cannabis"
News2020.com
April 14th 2008

A chef has admitted possession of cannabis and a bail act offence after he failed to turn up at court.Oliver Wattie, 20, of Richmond Road, off Wyld's Lane, Worcester, admitted both offences when he was brought into custody at Worcester Magistrates Court.Mr Wattie was stopped by police in Worcester city centre and he was found to have between £10 and £12 of cannabis which was for his personal use.Mark Lister, defending, said: "It's straightforward possession of cannabis - he's a social user of the drug. He co-operated fully and entered a guilty plea."The father of two-month old twins was fined £75 for possession of cannabis, £50 for bail act offences, ordered to pay £60 court costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

'we are determined to track down the people behind this'
Macclesfeild UK
April 11th 2008

One of Britain’s biggest ever cannabis farms has been discovered in Macclesfield – after the building it was being grown in caught fire.
Two men were spotted running away from a house, which was hiding the massive cannabis plantation, just moments before it went up in flames.
The men, described as being of oriental appearance were wearing white face masks, were crying as they ran from the three storey building.
An estimated 8,000 cannabis plants said to be worth about £500,000 were discovered by police at the property on Bridge Street, Macclesfield.
It is believed the fire was sparked after the electricity meters had been by-passed to set up the complex cultivation system.
Inside the run down listed building police discovered cannabis plants in rooms on every floor along with fertiliser.
There was a nursery room, growing room and potting room all insulated and set up to create the ideal growing conditions. The living quarters were on the top floor.
Neighbours in the terrace-lined street which is just outside the town centre, believed the building, a former Labour club, was empty and spoke of their shock after learning of the discovery, Full Horror.....

'any suspicious people or activity, or notices an unusual smells'
News2020.com
April 5th 2008

A man has been arrested after about 500 cannabis plants with a street value of about £250,000 were seized following a raid on a house in Nottinghamshire.
Officers discovered hydroponic growing equipment and other drug-related articles in the raid in Toton following an anonymous tip-off.
A man remains in custody following the raid of the property on Norfolk Avenue.Police said the discovery shows how useful information from the public could be in fighting drugs crime. Ch Insp Steve Haylett, from Nottinghamshire Police, said: "Cannabis grown like this is often found in substantial premises, which are largely unoccupied and visited by people infrequently. "I ask anyone who spots any suspicious people or activity, or notices an unusual smell, to call Nottinghamshire Police so we can deal with it."

'3 Cincinnati men and the seizure of 200 pounds of marijuana'
Middletownjournal.com
March 29th 2008

MONROE — A tip from federal drug agents in Missouri led to the arrest of three Cincinnati men and the seizure of at least 200 pounds of marijuana and two vehicles during a drug bust at a Monroe truck stop at the Route 63/Interstate 75 interchange late Friday afternoon, March 28. Warren County Sheriff Tom Ariss said the federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents in Joplin, Mo., alerted the Cincinnati DEA office about the shipment of drugs in a semi-truck, and that agents from Springfield, Mo., followed the cargo on Friday, March 28, to the Stoney Ridge Truck Stop on Route 63. The drugs, which Ariss said had a street value of about $250,000, were found spooled inside four large tires for an all-terrain vehicle, he said.

Teams of DEA agents from Dayton and Cincinnati as well as FBI agents from Cincinnati, sheriff's deputies from Warren and Butler counties and the Warren County Drug Task Force arrested the men during the delivery attempt.

Arrested were Antonio Cabrera, 24; his brother Federico, 25; and Terrance L. Schooler, 22; all of Cincinnati. They all were charged with possession and trafficking of marijuana and are being held in the Warren County Jail in Lebanon in lieu of $30,000 cash or surety bond each, according to Sheriff's Lt. Timothy Johnson. The three are slated for an initial appearance on Monday, March 31, in Lebanon Municipal Court, Johnson said. Ariss said the driver of the truck was taken into custody by federal agents. He had no other information on the driver.

Police seized $300,000 of cannabis near Bellingen, 155km north of Port Macquarie, this week. A member of the public tipped off police, who headed to Bowraville Rd, 15km south of Bellingen. There they saw a parked Holden Commodore with three people inside. Officers said the trio ran off into nearby scrub.
Police chased the group and a woman, 24, was arrested. A large number of freshly cut cannabis plants were found inside the car. Two men, aged 22 and 27, emerged from the bush a short time later and also were arrested. The three were taken to Coffs Harbour Police Station and questioned by police. Coffs/Clarence Duty Officer, Chief Inspector Shane Cribb said the arrests wouldn’t have been made without the information provided by the public. “I want the local community to be aware that any information they provide to us could lead to arrests such as this,” Chief Insp Cribb said. “I’m urging members of the public with information about illegal activities to contact their local police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 33333333 000.” Two men and a woman were charged with possession of a prohibited plant and possession of cannabis. They have been released on bail, to appear at Bellingen Local Court on April 29th

'Marijuana provides relief from his constant pain'
Missoulian.com
March 15th 2008

DILLON - Two people who investigators said had a large marijuana growing operation at their house north of here have been charged with several drug-related felonies.

Scott H. Day, 34, and Summer D. Sutton-Day, 29, were charged Tuesday with production and intent to distribute dangerous drugs and operation of a clandestine laboratory for the 96-plant growing operation raided on Feb. 1.

Day and Sutton-Day said the marijuana was for medical use, but neither were registered under the state's medical marijuana law, which allows people to possess six plants and one ounce of harvested product.

Beaverhead County Attorney Marv McCann also filed a charge of possession of dangerous drugs for a jar of hallucinogenic mushrooms seized during the raid.
Day, who suffers from a terminal degenerative disease, said Thursday that he and Sutton-Day have since obtained medical marijuana cards, but are afraid to cultivate it now.

“It would have to be outdoors because my lights were taken,” Day said. He said he is concerned someone would steal the plants.
Officials said the bust dismantled a major growing operation that was meant to put marijuana on the streets. They estimated the street value of the plants seized as high as $150,000.
Day said he had so many plants because he was trying to find the right strain of marijuana to treat different symptoms.

“If somebody was manufacturing something to sell, they would have a couple of high-yielding varieties and that would be it, but that's nothing like what I had,” he said.
Day has a form of mucopolysaccharidosis, a rare disease in which the body is unable to produce certain enzymes. Day said his symptoms include severe arthritis, joint pain, muscle spasm and chronic pain. Marijuana provides relief from his constant pain, Day said. Sutton-Day said she suffers from chronic pain in her neck and back related to a car accident she was in a decade ago. The marijuana helps her muscles relax, as well as alleviating insomnia, migraines and anxiety.
Patients and Families United, a pro-medical marijuana group that is based in Helena, has criticized the raid on Day's home and has offered to help with the couple's legal defense.

Over a thousand pounds of marijuana is off the streets all thanks to a major drug raid. Kentucky State Police say they made the bust Monday night in Franklin County. State Police say they found out in late January that a 1,300 pound shipment of marijuana was on its way from Mexico to Kentucky.
Police say it came to the U.S. by ship, packaged inside 50-pound bags of Barium Sulfate. They say the marijuana was then driven to Kentucky. But officials say it was under police surveillance the entire time. Police say the marijuana was delivered to Kendall's Quik Lube, in Lawrenceburg, before being taken to a Franklin County farm. That's where State Police executed a search warrant Monday night. 49-year-old Andy T. Rendall, of Frankfort, was arrested. Police say other arrests are pending. Police say the 1,200 pounds of marijuana had a street value of nearly $2,000,000.

TBI Dismantles Underground Pot Operation
Myeyewitnessnews.com
March 9th 2008

TBI officials say an underground marijuana-growing operation was busted in Saltillo, Tennessee on a 600 acre farm. Investigators say marijuana plants were found inside a metal tank buried in a field in the 1000 block of Five Forks Road. The tank is about 20 feet long and eight feet tall. More than 1,000 marijuana plants were seized, as well as several guns, $4,000 in cash and paperwork related to the operation. Officials say they are not able to release any more information regarding the drug bust at this time.

"held in the city jail charged with two counts of possession"
Timesnews.net
Feburary 28th 2008

A drug investigation in Kingsport has resulted in the seizure of more than 24 pounds of marijuana, along with guns, cash, cars and motorcycles. One man has been arrested, and police are searching for a second suspect.

According to a press release from the Kingsport Police Department, a search warrant was executed at 5003 E. Stone Drive about 10 a.m. Friday. The search was the result of a long-term investigation into Mark Hendrick of San Diego along with Chris Burchett, 26, of 1217 Riverside Ave.

Police reported finding about 12½ pounds of marijuana inside the East Stone Drive residence, which is the home of Chris Burchett's uncle, Billy Burchett, 49. However, neither Chris nor Billy was located at that time.

Police say around 1 p.m. Friday they found Chris Burchett at 952 E. Sullivan St., where he rents a garage. He was arrested, and a search warrant was obtained for the garage, uncovering an additional 12 pounds of marijuana, police said.

Chris Burchett was being held in the city jail charged with two counts of possession of more than 10 pounds of marijuana for resale; two counts of maintaining a dwelling where illegal substances are used, sold or stored; and possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony.

Police report they are searching for Billy Burchett on related charges. Information about his whereabouts can be relayed to Central Dispatch at 246-911111111111.

As a result of the investigation, detectives seized a 2000 Chevrolet Tahoe, 1997 Chevrolet S-10, 2002 Acura Integra, 2007 Yamaha R-6 motorcycle, 2000 Suzuki GSX motorcycle, two Suzuki Quadsport ATVs, a Kawasaki Prairie 300 ATV, two .40-caliber guns and $8,427. The KPD Vice and Narcotics Units were assisted by the KPD Community Police Team and the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office.

Dillion - The large-scale marijuana bust that law officers here touted as a major success this month was instead the persecution of a terminally ill man who needed the drug to help ease his suffering, a pro-medical marijuana group said Friday.
Patients and Families United, based in Helena, blasted the bust and said it would not stand up in court thanks to Montana’s Medical Marijuana Law passed three years ago. And they criticized law officers for making a terminally ill man’s last days miserable because of the worry that he would end up in prison.

“It amounts to persecution of somebody who’s already so overburdened with a medical condition that no one should have,” said Tom Daubert, founder and director of PFU. “That’s the purpose of our law, to have some relief for somebody who wants to be left alone.”
Daubert said his group will step up to help with the legal defense for the man, whose name has not been released by officials.
Law officers from Beaverhead County and the Southwest Montana Drug Task Force last week were trumpeting the seizure of 96 marijuana plants from a mobile home north of Dillon. They said the sophisticated growing operation was meant to keep a steady supply of marijuana coming, with plants at all stages of development.
They said the marijuana’s street value could be $153,000.Blair Martenson, regional director for the task force, refused to comment specifically on PFU’s comments, saying only that officials will push ahead with prosecution.
“What we have to say will come out in court,” he said. But Daubert said the man targeted in the investigation, who along with a woman, has yet to be arrested and charged, is suffering from a horrific disease. He would not specify what it was to protect the man, but said it is a rare degenerative disease that is always fatal.
Daubert said if taken into custody, Beaverhead County taxpayers will be on the hook for medical care that costs a staggering $136,000 a month for injections to keep the man alive.
“Beaverhead County can have some fun with this: pay to keep a guy alive for a trial that probably won’t happen quickly,” he said.

And Daubert lambasted law officers for conducting a three-month investigation without knowledge of Montana’s medical marijuana law. He said assertions that the operation was too large to be for one patient’s use are bogus, because each individual patient in need of medical marijuana requires different quantities.
For some patients, ingesting the marijuana rather than smoking it is the most effective way to ease pain, maintain appetite or gain the other benefits people garner from pot.
“It is not possible on the basis of the number of plants involved to categorically claim that the growing was for anything other than personal use,” he said.

Daubert promised a “vigorous” legal defense of the man. He said although the quantity of marijuana seized far exceeds the one ounce allowed under state law, they will use an affirmative defense to prove that he needed the quantity for his medical needs.
The man is not a registered medical marijuana user, Daubert said. But his medical records will provide more than enough evidence that he has a qualifying condition and needs the drug to help ease his suffering in the final months of life.
“We will bring in experts on dosage, horticulture and quantity issues,” Daubert said. “This will be potentially a major precedent-setting case in Montana.”

BAGUIO CITY – Police seized 772 dried marijuana bricks en route to Metro Manila reportedly for a "big summer sale" at a checkpoint in Bontoc, Mt. Province’s capital town, last weekend.
Senior Superintendent Pedro Ganir, Mt. Province police director, said the contraband, weighing 742 kilos and valued at 18.55 million, was being transported to Baguio City en route to Metro Manila when it was intercepted last Sunday night.
Acting on a tip, Bontoc policemen led by Senior Inspector Julio Lizardo set up a checkpoint in Sitio Lag­kangeo, Barangay Caluttit for the bust, Ganir said.
Police said the dried marijuana bricks were found in a Hyundai Grace van owned by PCS Cargo Movers Network Inc. and driven by a certain Julius Alcido, who was accompanied by one Mario Dalacnas.
Ganir said the two told policemen that a certain Gina Banao, a resident of Barangay Botbot in Tingalayan, Kalinga, hired them to transport the marijuana to Baguio City, where a trader would then bring it to the metropolis.
The two are now facing charges for violating Republic Act 9165, or the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, for transporting prohibited drugs, said Inspector Ruel Tagel, spokesman of the Mt. Province police.
Ganir said the marijuana bust should serve as a "strong warning" to those involved in the marijuana trade "to better find other means of livelihood or end up in jail."
According to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency’s Cordillera office, marijuana is harvested during this period until summer in the region, which remains to be the biggest producer of marijuana in the country, accounting for at least 85 percent of the supply.
PDEA claimed that the marijuana trade could be stopped in five years if the government would sustain livelihood assistance for marijuana growers and the eradication campaign.
"The drug menace should be dealt with seriously because it is a potent threat to the future, especially of the young," Ganir said.

A police raid on an address in Castlegate, Tickhill, by Doncaster police resulted in a mini-cannabis farm being shut down. Officers from the Doncaster Tactical Tasking Team executed a drugs search warrant and found 18 cannabis plants with a value of about £5,000, which were taken away along with growing equipment.
A woman in her late 20s was arrested for alleged drug cultivation offences. One resident who saw police on the site said: "They were taking away heat lamps, sheeting and brown paper bags. I saw two police vans there and there must have been at least seven police officers."
How many policemen does it take to bust a women in her 20's and 18 cannabis plants? No, its not a joke, honest.
Officers in the South Yorkshire Constabulary must be feeling left out of things as they announce busting a "mini cannabis farm", when it actual fact it sounds a lot like someone's personal grow. Nice job South Yorks. Another criminal off our streets.
Whilst not quite in the realms of the Dorset Police and their recent "390kg haul " of illicit cannabis they (South Yorks) have still managed to make a sow's ear out of a silk purse. Whatever next..

A search of a red Chevrolet Beretta in American Canyon turned up a .357 magnum and six baggies of marijuana early Saturday morning. American Canyon police arrested two Vallejo men — Brandon Singleton and Terry Jasper, both 18 — on suspicion of possession of a dangerous weapon, carrying a loaded firearm in public, possession for sale of marijuana and other charges after the vehicle they were riding in came to a halt at Highway 29 and Mini Drive.
Police followed the vehicle and pulled the men over after they failed to stop for two stop signs, American Canyon Police Sgt. Mike Collins said. Singleton and Jasper were booked into the county jail.
American Canyon Police made another arrest late Sunday evening after spotting two suspicious pedestrians on Donaldson Way. Police stopped Robert Henderson of Vallejo, who was accompanied by an unnamed female. American Canyon Sgt. Mike Collins said Henderson, 37, was carrying two knives and was arrested on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance, possession of a hypodermic syringe and other charges.

An RCMP raid turned up a marijuana grow operation like this province had never seen before -- 6,000 plants, guns, roadblocks, and the potential for a $3-million profit, a Regina courtroom heard Wednesday.
In his opening address, Crown prosecutor Darrell Blais told the seven-woman, five-man jury the case involves "one of the largest and potentially most profitable cannabis marijuana productions in Saskatchewan history."
Lawrence Hubert Agecoutay, 52, Chester Fernand Girard, 59, Nelson Edward Northwood, 58, Jack Allan Northwood, 55, Joseph Clayton Agecoutay, 47, and Robert Stanley Agecoutay, 48, are charged with unlawful production of marijuana and possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking between April 1 and Aug. 21, 2005, stemming from the search on the Pasqua First Nation, near Fort Qu'Appelle. All but Nelson Northwood are also facing a weapons possession charge, while Robert Agecoutay alone is also charged with being in possession of a prohibited weapon -- a sawed-off shotgun. Girard has an additional charge of forcible entry of a house.
As Court of Queen's Bench Justice Frank Gerein introduced each of the defence lawyers and their clients to the jury, Girard clarified that he was the one in the white hemp jacket.
Blais said the Crown expects to prove Girard and the Agecoutays planned to share a profit of more than $2 million. The Northwoods later joined Girard and Lawrence Agecoutay, arrested at his Regina home, to grow pot expected to turn a profit of $1 million to be divided three ways. Robert and Joseph Agecoutay looked after guarding the plants, "using fences, roadblocks and weapons," he added.
RCMP Const. Les Donison, who at that point had only been a Mountie for about a year, became the lead investigator. Asked by the defence why a rookie officer was in charge of the biggest bust in Saskatchewan, Donison said no one knew the scope of the operation until the Aug. 21 raid.
Donison had been getting information for about four months from people on and off the reserve. Three days before the search, he went up in a plane and took pictures of the suspected location and what appeared to be several large greenhouses.
Donison said officers conducting the search encountered roadblocks made of cattle panels chained together as well as engine blocks. Officers found Joseph Agecoutay inside his residence, while Robert Agecoutay was in his nearby home with Jack Northwood. Two large greenhouse-type structures were discovered near Robert Agecoutay's house, while a trail through the trees led to six more makeshift greenhouses, about 10 metres by 50 metres in size.
Four more marijuana plots were also on the site, as was a white teepee from which three people fled, leaving behind a notebook that resembled a payroll list with about a dozen names and their hours worked.
Blais told court the trio who fled was tracked for more than 14 kilometres through the bush. As police were catching up, the three, including Girard, burst into a residence and asked the owner to hide them.

Port st Lucie> It was a call to police about a man playing his drums to loud that first drew officers to the home on Southwest Glenwood Drive. Now, after more than 30 homes have been searched and dozens of people arrested in connection with marijuana grow houses over the past several weeks, the city has formally moved to seize the house where everything first began. Court papers were filed late Thursday to acquire 135 Southwest Glenwood Drive through forfeiture as the city claims it was being used to grow marijuana. According to the forfeiture claim, officers first went to the house May 8 after getting a report of a man chasing another man with a machete. They found the rear sliding glass door of the house shattered and marijuana leaves could be seen.

Colorado Springs police, Saturday night, seized nearly 350 marijuana plants and 3 pounds of refined marijuana from a home at 501 Argus Drive. Police Lieutenant Stephen Tobias says "I would consider that a very large bust for, you know, one night." Acting on a tip, two Colorado Springs Police officers went to the west-side home at around 9:30 pm. According to a report filed by the officers, when they knocked on the door they were "struck by an overwhelming smell of raw marijuana." Detectives from vice narcotics and the ATF were called in to assist with the investigation.
A search of the home would net 342 marijuana plants, 3.2 pounds of refined marijuana, 63.1 grams of mushrooms and 161.9 grams of peyote. Three firearms were also found in the house. 31-year-old Anothony Cappiello was arrested; he now faces drug and weapons charges and remains in custody at the El Paso County Criminal Justic Center, Full Surprise.....

Collier County deputies arrested 22 year old William Jose Hernandez of Miami after they allegedly found a ten pound brick of marijuana in the trunk of his car.
Hernandez was charged with possession of over 20 grams of marijuana and possession of marijuana with intent to deliver.
Deputies say Hernandez was driving 78 mph in a 45 mph zone at Collier Boulevard and Golden Gate Parkway and was stopped for speeding and having illegal window tint.
Deputies say they could smell the odor of marijuana when they searched it and found the brick of raw marijuana in the trunk. It is estimated to be worth $10,000. Hernandez is currently on state probation for burglary charges in Miami.

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — Costa Rican agents made the largest marijuana bust in the Central American nation's history, seizing 4.85 tons of the drug found in an abandoned boat, police said Saturday.
The marijuana -- enough to roll 17,600 joints, police said -- was discovered Friday during a patrol with the U.S. Coast Guard off the country's Pacific coast, Costa Rican police said in a statement.
The ship's crew fled, abandoning their 48-foot-long boat near the border with Panama, where they appear to have fled, police said. No arrests have been made.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Local marijuana grow operations and related violent crimes are on the rise in the Minneapolis metro, according to Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek. On Tuesday, Stanek announced dramatic results from recent marijuana investigations in the county.
"This is a real problem,” Stanek said. “These criminals are spending a lot of money to pull off highly sophisticated marijuana grows and will do anything to protect them." The sheriff's office and cooperating task forces are currently investigating many high-grade marijuana and grow operation cases that should yield more seizures in the coming months. "Neighbors should be very concerned about this problem, because violence is coming hand-in-hand with these marijuana grows," Stanek said.
Stanek says there is a misconception that marijuana is not linked to violence. Through investigations, the sheriff’s office has learned that marijuana organizations are just as dangerous as other drugs. With large profits made, greed and crimes of violence often accompany the drug operations. Stanek’s office is finding investigations are resulting in the recovery of dangerous weapons along with links to assault and homicide investigations.
Most of the marijuana grow operations uncovered are in single family homes, some in upscale neighborhoods. Some growers are purchasing a home to use it for the sole purpose of growing marijuana, often paying someone to live in the homes to tend to the plants. Stanek says many operations are also linked to mortgage and real estate fraud. "We cannot decrease the prosecution of these drug crimes," Stanek said. "We have to increase the war on these local marijuana grows to keep families safe." This past fall, the West Metro Drug Task Force led a marijuana bust which seized more than 1,100 marijuana plants with a street value of $4,476,000.

'assumed they were large decorative plants'
News2020.com
December 6th 2007

A Greek Orthodox nunnery was turned into a marijuana plantation by two men posing as gardeners for elderly nuns, police said overnight.
Acting on a tip-off, officers raided the nunnery in the village of Filiro, near the northern port city of Thessaloniki, and found more than 30 large cannabis plants in the enclosed garden.
"Two unknown men had told the two elderly nuns in the nunnery they would like to help them with the garden and then proceeded to plant the cannabis," a police official said.
"The nuns did not know what they were and assumed they were large decorative plants," he said. Police did not arrest the nuns and have launched a hunt for the culprits.

Bryan "Baby" Williams — a.k.a. Birdman — reached out to MTV News on Wednesday afternoon (November 28) to talk about his arrest for marijuana possession on Tuesday night. According to a copy of the report from the police department of Kingsport, Tennessee, Williams was among 16 people charged with possession of nearly a pound of marijuana after the RV they were riding in was pulled over for weaving on Interstate 81. Officers said they found a plastic bag of "plant material" believed to be about 1 pound of marijuana.

"We was on the bus. I was asleep in the back," he said. "Why they pulled us over, I don't know. The people are making the situation out worse than what it is. We got arrested for a misdemeanor amount of [marijuana] — we didn't have no pound. The police just found something minor in a garbage can the dog sniffed. We all got out on bond."
Baby also maintained that he is not in trouble with the law for carrying guns. He said he and his security personnel are all licensed gun carriers and their weapons were returned by the authorities.

"The guns we had were good," he said. "I do carry a gun and I am licensed. Tennessee is one of the states I can tote in. We know the guidelines [for carrying weapons]. They make you aware of everything in [marksmanship] class."
Birdman also emphasized that he is not married, as has been widely reported. He said the young woman mentioned in the reports was a friend of one of the guys traveling with him.

"I'm not married," he insisted. "Never! Been! Married! Plus, that girl was 18! I don't get down like that! Plus, if I was married, why would I keep it a secret?" However, he did allow that perhaps the right woman could make an honest man out of him one day.
Baby is on the road promoting his new LP, 5 Star G, which comes out on December 11. He said he's due back in court on March 18.
"Hopefully all the charges will be dropped by then, and we won't have to go to court," he said. "But we good. Everybody is fine."
Police had not returned MTV News' calls for comment at press time, however WVLT in Knoxville, Tennessee, reports that Baby was charged with possession of more than a half-ounce of marijuana and released on $1,500 bond at 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, along with "several others."

Six men allegedly caught unloading $2.5 million in marijuana from a semitrailer are in custody in Aurora.
Acting on a tip, officers from the Aurora police department's Special Operations Group were staking out an industrial area when they caught the men with the drugs. Police say the 2,580 pounds of marijuana was packed in 144 individually wrapped packages and hidden inside watermelon crates.
None of the men has been charged. Two are from Aurora, two are from California, one from Chicago and one from Rockford. Police say the Kane County State's Attorney's office is helping with the investigation.

Another harvest season has come and gone, and the state of California has once again foregone the opportunity to reap hundreds of millions of dollars in marijuana tax revenues. Instead, the state attorney general's office proudly announced this week that the annual Campaign Against Marijuana Planting had uprooted some 3 million plants, wiping out an estimated $11.6 billion worth of weed.
That is more than twice the value of the state's largest legal agricultural commodity, milk and cream, which was worth $5.2 billion in 2005, according to the state Department of Food and Agriculture. It is nearly four times the value of the state's largest legal cash crop, grapes, which was worth $3.2 billion.
While the value of the plants eradicated exceeds that of the state's licit cash crops, they are only a fraction of the state's outdoor crop. Using state and federal government figures, researcher Jon Gettman estimated that the state's outdoor plant count in 2006 was more than 17 million plants in his report Marijuana Production in the United States (2006). Assuming marijuana production levels were unchanged between this year and last, that means CAMP did not eradicate some 14 million pot plants.
According to CAMP's $4,000 a plant estimate, that's some $50-60 billion in marijuana profits that went un-eradicated and untaxed. Gettman uses much smaller crop value estimates, but even using Gettman's more conservative figures, the untouched California pot crop was worth about $10 billion. And we're not even counting the estimated four million plants grown indoors in California in 2006 and presumably again this year. Ending prohibition might reduce the prices by eliminating the "risk premium" effectively added by the current illicit status, but we're still talking about a lot of money.

A Wirral chap was jailed for six years after detectives uncovered three “skunk” cannabis factories capable of producing £1.2m of illegal drugs a year.
Inside a house in Church Street, Ellesmere Port, police found bedrooms lined with foil and a hydroponic system with 59 plants. Another factory in Deeside, North Wales, was capable of producing up to £200,000 of skunk a year. Chester Crown Court heard hidden behind an 8ft high corrugated iron fence and monitored by CCTV cameras, the unit at Pentre, Queensferry, had 523 cannabis plants and a lorry freezer on site. Daniel Murphy, 40, a joiner, of Buchanan Road, Wallasey, was convicted of conspiring to supply cannabis between September 2005 and September 2006 and jailed for six years, Full Stink......

"growing something strange in the dormitory room."
Daily Yomiuri Japan
November 11th 2007

YOKOHAMA--Two university rugby players have been arrested on suspicion of growing cannabis in their dormitory room, police said. Kanto Gakuin University rugby players Taiki Nakamura and Keiji Umeno are suspected of growing about 16 plants in the apartment they share in Kanazawa Ward, Yokohama, according to the Kanagawa prefectural police. Police arrested the two third-year students on suspicion of violating the Cannabis Control Law after finding the plants in a closet at about 7:05 p.m. Thursday. They also seized a pipe that had signs of having been used. The club's head coach, Hiroshi Haruguchi, contacted the police earlier that day after speaking with the pair following a tip-off from someone at the university that they were "growing something strange in the dormitory room." Nakamura, 21, and Umeno, 20, were not regular first team players at the club, which boasts six University Championship titles, and clinched its third consecutive Kanto University League crown on Sunday--its 11th overall. The club leases the apartment building, which is close to its training ground on the university's Kanazawa Hakkei campus in the ward.

A Wirral grandad caught running a commercial cannabis farm was jailed for 12 months on Friday. 61-year-old William Evans has never been in trouble before and Judge David Swift said that it was very sad to see a man of his age and good character in the dock.
Police raided his large semi-detached home in Wallasey on March 13 and found "what can only be described as a cannabis farm", he said.
"The cultivation of cannabis is regarded as a serious offence," he said. "I must reflect the criminality of your behaviour and deter others who might decide to embark on a similar project." Liverpool Crown Court heard that in one room they found 100 mature plants and equipment for their commercial cultivation. In another room there were 28 young plants in a "nursery" and more equipment for producing the drug, Full Tale.....

Three Britons were arrested on a luxury yacht after drugs worth £10.2million were found on board. Spanish customs officers stopped the 43ft Passion Storm 300 miles off the north-west tip of Spain after a tip-off from police. A Moroccan crew member was also held. Police believe the 3.4 tonnes of cannabis stashed below decks were headed from Morocco to the UK.
The three Britons and the Moroccan, who have not been named, were being held last night in the Spanish port of Vigo.
In another drugs sting, two Britons and a Polish man were arrested at a warehouse near Castellon, on the east coast of Spain, accused of preparing to smuggle cannabis hidden among cheap ceramics.

Raids in Queensland and South Australia have allegedly smashed an organised crime network importing huge amounts of cannabis into the state.
Suspects were targeted yesterday morning and earlier this week as part of a joint crime operation involving the Crime and Misconduct Commission, South Australia Police and the Queensland Police Service.
The CMC said search warrants were executed on three properties near Ipswich, Redcliffe and Taigum, on Brisbane's northside, on Wednesday, while in South Australia at least 16 properties were raided. In Queensland, almost 18kg of cannabis with a street value of more than $450,000 and more than $169,000 in cash were found. SA police seized cannabis, drug paraphernalia, including 14,000 ice pipes, $4500 in cash and other illegal substances. Eight men aged between 28 and 59 have been charged with a range of drug-related offences. It will be alleged that a crime syndicate collected hydroponically grown cannabis from a co-operative of producers in South Australia. The drug was then allegedly packaged in cryovac sealed plastic bags, hidden in a modified fuel tank in a four-wheel drive and transported to Queensland, Full Crime.....

Police are quizzing a Pendle man after the discovery of another suspected cannabis factory in Colne, it has emerged.
Acting on a tip-off, officers from Colne police raided a home in Dale Street last weekend and seized 70 plants.
PC Andy Baldwin said: "A man in his mid-40s was arrested and is currently on bail pending further inquiries." Officers also recovered lamps, filters and fans from the premises.It is believed that the attic and two upstairs bedrooms had been converted for cannabis cultivation. The raid is the fourth in as many weeks. Earlier a property in Bond Street was targeted by police, who discovered a loft filled with cannabis plants.
The 40-year-old householder was given a police caution as he was a first-time offender after admitting possession of the drug.
Poilce have said their cannabis campaign will continue until the trade has been wiped out in Colne

Two people have been questioned on suspicion of money laundering after a raid on a controversial cannabis cafe. A Sussex Police spokeswoman said a man in his thirties and a woman in her forties were arrested as officers smashed their way into the shop in Lancing on Thursday evening.
Police used a two-tonne tractor to rip down a wall to get in - the second time they have had to break their way into the building in Freshbrook Road.
The pair arrested at the 6pm raid on suspicion of money-laundering were interviewed and released on bail until December while officers carry out further inquiries. A quantity of cannabis and £2,000 cash was recovered by officers. A teenage boy and girl were later arrested and cautioned for drug offences.
Police previously raided the property back in July and seized a small quantity of cannabis along with cash, Full OverKill...

Weed farms hidden in houses across Greater Manchester are making millions of pounds for drug gangs - police revealed today that plants worth £10m have been seized in the last six months.
They say there is a booming cottage industry growing the drug - often known as pot - with 96 cannabis farms raided since April.
Three cannabis farms were closed down by police in the latest raids yesterday. One of them, an end-of-terrace house in Halliwell, Bolton, was a sophisticated operation with more than 350 plants maturing in four separate rooms. The rooms, blacked out with curtains, had hi-tech lighting systems attached to cables slung from the ceiling and heating had also been installed, with ducts and pipes controlled by circuit boards leading to each room, Full Boom...

DETROIT - A former Michigan police corporal who admitted taking marijuana from criminal suspects and baking it into brownies has been charged with using a controlled substance. The Wayne County prosecutor's office says Edward Sanchez, 30, and his wife Stacy, 27, are expected to be arraigned on charges of using marijuana. Sanchez was a corporal with the Dearborn Police Department when an emergency call was made April 21, 2006 from his home reporting a possible overdose on marijuana. Sanchez initially told investigators his wife took the marijuana from his police vehicle while he slept.He later admitted to taking the marijuana out himself and putting it in the brownie mix. He resigned in May 2006 from the suburban-Detroit police department. Sanchez is heard saying on the five-minute tape of the emergency call: "I think we're dying."

Members of the public have been urged to help police clamp down on illegal cannabis farms. The appeal follows a rise in the number of cases reported across the Strathclyde area. Superintendent Bob Hamilton, who is based at Cumbernauld Police Office, said: "Unfortunately, the number of cannabis factories that are being discovered throughout the Strathclyde Police area, within occupied and unoccupied premises, is on the increase. "The owners or tenants of these properties are solely interested in profit-making and bringing misery to many people."The level of heat and power sources required to cultivate these plants creates a very serious risk of fire within the premises, which could affect adjoining buildings."People's lives are being put at risk by these unscrupulous individuals."The police have issued a check list of signs for residents to look out for: windows being permanently covered from the inside; visits to the premises at unusual times of the day or night; people only visiting the property to maintain it and not live in it; cannabis by-products such as used fertiliser being removed in black bin bags or laundry bags; compost bags or gardening equipment being left outside; a vent protruding through the roof or a rear window; a pungent smell coming from the premises and the noise of cooling fans.

2 thousand cannabis plants have been seized following drug raids on plastic greenhouses (invernaderos). Police found 664 plants during a raid on an invernadero, which are normally used to grow fruit and vegetables for northern Europe, near Albuñol on September 6. The plastic drugs bust followed a raid on a greenhouse nearby, when civil guards found 560 plants.
In total, four marijuana factories on the Granada coast have been found under plastic since the middle of August. Explaining the increase in the number of drug raids on invernaderos, a police spokesman said: “We have sources who tip us off. We can then locate the greenhouse and their owners. However, some are like cuckoos and it is difficult to locate them.”

6 cannabis factories have been found by police in Bolton within 24 hours. Thousands of plants and growing equipment were seized at rented houses across the town. All of them were empty at the time and police have not yet made any arrests. But they believe all the factories were run by the same gang.
Similar methods to grow the plants were used in all the houses and electricity meters had been bypassed to provide power.
Police discovered the first drug factory on Saturday after a landlord told them about a humming noise coming from a house on Mornington Road.Further finds were then made at Vigo Avenue, Bromwich Street, Bradford Road and Pennington Road. A sixth farm was uncovered on Linnyshaw Close in Dene on Sunday.Detective Chief Inspector George Fawcett, from Bolton CID, said `all indications' pointed to the same group of people being behind the farms. He said they had been set up over a number of weeks and he could not rule out, More....

A man has been jailed for managing one of the biggest cannabis factories ever discovered in Norfolk. The factory, in a converted pig shed at Attleborough, contained thousands of cannabis plants and was capable of producing drugs with a
street value of £2.3m, bringing the growers an estimated £1m profit. Anthony Hindle, 37, of Fifers Lane, Norwich, appeared before Norwich Crown Court and admitted two counts of conspiracy to produce cannabis, possession of cocaine and a firearms charge.Police officers discovered the factory at Walnut Tree Farm, West Carr
Road, Attleborough, on March 24. After forcing entry, they found whatthey described as a “significant hydroponics cannabis-growing facility”.
The court heard the factory was a sophisticated set-up with high-wattage lamps, ventilation ducts and generators. It contained 2,089 flowering cannabis plants capable of producing exceptionally large amounts of good quality skunk-type cannabis with a potential for three crops a year. Hindle admitted his involvement with the Attleborough factory and another at Doncaster, South Yorkshire.

Federal authorities arrested five people, including a father and two sons, who they said cultivated thousands of marijuana plants on state land on Kauai.
The marijuana farm is in an extremely remote area at the foot of Mount Waialeale, halfway up a ridge. The case started with a tip to Kauai police, who went up in their helicopter and spotted thousands of marijuana plants from the air.The people charged cultivated marijuana full-time, authorities said. Images from federal video surveillance from July and August showed people cultivating marijuana plants in rugged, mountainous terrain in what is known as the "Blue Hole" area on Kauai. The feds seized nearly 6,000 pot plants worth about $6 million on the street. It is one of the largest marijuana busts in Hawaii's history, officials said.
"The large amount of drugs involved in this investigation shows that this operation was organized and conducted by this group for profit," Hawaii U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo said.
The feds arrested and charged five people with manufacturing marijuana, including Edward H. Holland, 55; his son Robert Jason Bihm, Bihm's wife, Melissa Ann; Holland's other son, Ryan Edward Bihm; and Mark Steven Darling, 52. "At one point, officers saw several of the defendants even smoking their harvested marijuana during their breaks from their labors," Kubo said, Full Bust....

A cannabis plantation has been uncovered after police raided a house in Droylsden.Officers carried out a dawn raid of the Edge Lane property on Monday and discovered more than 300 cannabis plants and various growing equipment. A man in his 30s, in the house at the time, was arrested on suspicion of cultivating the plants and stealing electricity and is currently being held in custody. Sergeant Paul Garry, based at Droylsden Police Station, said the raid was carried out following a tip-off from a member of the public.
He said: “In order to help us to target this sort of activity, we need the help of the local community. “I would appeal to anyone who suspects that people are cultivating drugs in their local community to contact the police or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 1111111111. "We can treat all information in the strictest of confidence and any piece of information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, could be the key to removing more drugs from the streets of Droylsden." alcohol and tobacco next then ?

A Queensland chap is facing drug charges after police found hundreds of cannabis plants at a central Queensland home.Police said the plants, along with a quantity of cannabis in various stages of drying, were found at a home in Kalapa, near Rockhampton, yesterday. A 43-year-old man is due to face Rockhampton Magistrates Court later this month on one count each of producing a dangerous drug, possessing a dangerous drug, possessing utensils and possessing relevant substances.

A 78 year-old chap who ran to his local police station to report that a knifeman had "burst into" his home to rob him was arrested when police found cannabis plants growing at his flat. Officers who accompanied Maurice Demarco, 78, back to his home after he reported the attack noticed a strong smell of cannabis, and found a large quantity of the plants. Demarco told the officers he smoked cannabis on a daily basis and supplied friends. The police, who obtained a search warrant, also found scales and £720 in cash. At the city's Sheriff Court yesterday, Demarco, of Portobello High Street, Edinburgh, was ordered to perform 100 hours of community service. He had previously pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of the drug on 27 November last year. Sentence had been deferred for background reports. Demarco, who has three children and five grandchildren, was a first offender. The fiscal depute, Ross Mackay, said Demarco had run from the house to Portobello Police Station when "a third party burst in looking for him". Officers who went back with him and entered on his authority noticed the smell of cannabis. The fiscal said the plants, which were of poor quality, were valued at £1,040-£1,255. A small amount of the drug, valued at £46, was also found.

Four people have been arrested and thousands of pounds worth of drugs recovered after a car was stopped by police near Bridgwater. The Land Rover Discovery was stopped by officers on the M5 northbound between junctions 24 and 25 on Tuesday.
Police found about £8,000 worth of cannabis in the car. Four men in the car - aged 48, 24, 57 and 21 - were arrested on suspicion of being in possession of drugs with intent to supply.

BRUSSELS, August 17 (RIA Novosti) - Belgian police seized $67 million worth of cannabis dissimulated in double-bottom olive barrels, Radio Contact said Friday.Police found a number of 250-litre metal drums with 11 tons of cannabis inside in Antwerp, a major Belgian port on the North Sea coast. The drugs apparently originated in Morocco. The 41-year-old CEO of the receiving company, House Toys, has already been detained, and police believe the shipment was the work of an international cannabis network delivering drugs to the French and Belgian black markets.

The kitchen of a semi-detached family home on a Cardiff estate a syringe lies on top of the fridge. Dirty underwear litters the bare staircase and upstairs in a child’s bedroom bin evidence of cannabis cigarettes float in a cola bottle. This was just one of five homes raided by police yesterday in Splott and Tremorfa. Five people were arrested for offences ranging from possession of drugs to handling stolen goods. During the morning-long operation, officers discovered other illegal and suspect items including a Samurai sword in a teenage boy’s bedroom and cannabis plants growing in an attic. Sergeant Jeff Martin, from the Roath Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “Tackling drugs is a force objective for South Wales Police and the purpose of the operation was to reduce drug-related crime. “We want to cut off the drug suppliers and dealers. “I hope this action sends a positive message to the local community that crime will not be tolerated, Full Raid......

Two Perry County, Ind. men were arrested this morning when Indiana State Police pulled them over and discovered 17 pounds of marijuana in their vehicle, according to a news release. Cannelton resident Nicholas J. Stillwell, 23, and Tell City resident John E. Applegate, 27, are being held in the Crawford County, Ind. Jail after being stopped shortly after 5 a.m. According to the release, police were conducting traffic enforcement on I-64 in Crawford County near the 95-mile marker when they pulled over a 1997 Cadillac for an unspecified violation. The trooper noticed suspicious behavior from the two occupants, the release said, and requested backup. A search of the vehicle then reportedly turned up the drugs. Both Stillwell and Applegate are being held on preliminary charges of dealing in marijuana over 10 pounds.

A Sydney chap will face court today charged with growing some of the largest cannabis plants NSW police say they have ever seen. A 55-year-old man from the southern Sydney suburb of Brighton-le-Sands will appear in Kogarah Local Court today after police discovered the plants, some up to 4m tall. Police raided two properties at Campsie and Brighton-le-Sands just before 4pm yesterday. The property in Campsie allegedly had 72 cannabis plants of various sizes growing in an extensive hydroponic set-up. The street value of the plants has been estimated at $360,000. The man was arrested this morning and charged with cultivation and other drug offences.

Residents living near a house where a cannabis factory with was discovered have spoken of their shock following the police raid. Police swooped on the house in Windmill Avenue, Kettering, on Monday after neighbours reported seeing water running down the back wall of the house. Concerned for the welfare of the occupants, police broke in, only to discover 500 cannabis plants throughout the house. Nobody was in the house at the time and the property was sealed off while police and a forensic team carried out investigations and cleared the house. Along with the plants, officers found high-powered bulbs and chemicals for root growth. All the plants will be destroyed with the equipment retained as evidence. As police guarded the property yesterday, people living nearby spoke of their shock at discovering what had been going on in the smart, detached property. One neighbour, who did not wish to be named, said she had never seen anyone going in or out of the house. She said: "I didn't even know it was occupied. I saw the police on Monday and thought that a body had been found there, Full Shock....

The Navy will today search an area off the Co Galway coast where three bales of cannabis were found in three loads at the weekend. The last batch of the drug was brought ashore to Killybegs, Co Donegal, yesterday. A trawler that was fishing about 50 miles off the coast of the Arran Islands on Friday found packages of cannabis in its nets. Two further finds were made by the ship on Saturday morning and evening. The combined value of the three hauls is around €100,000. Gardaí believe the drugs were dumped from a ship that got into difficulties off the west coast a decade ago. The Irish Naval vessel LE Aisling was at the scene at the weekend and was involved in a joint operation with the fishing trawler. The Customs Service cutter was also involved. The LE Aisling will return to the scene today and use specialised sonar equipment to scan the seabed.

2 British chaps have been jailed for four years in a Dubai jail for possessing tiny amounts of cannabis. The harsh sentences were passed in the Gulf state which takes a zero tolerance approach to all drugs. One, identified only as PP, 22, was arrested on June 7 at Dubai airport with just 0.11 grams of cannabis - barely enough to roll a single joint. The other, 27 and known as HV, was stopped by police at the same airport on June 22 with 1.18 grams of the drug, after arriving from a flight from Afghanistan. 'They are receiving consular assistance,' a spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said. Four years is a standard sentence for possession and drugs traffickers can face the death sentence. And the jail terms follow aa four year sentence given to a 25-year-old Briton for holding 0.7 grams of marijuana which was found in his trouser pocket. The penal code in the state is based on Islamic Sharia and British civil law.

400 cannabis plants were seized by police following a raid at a house. Officers had a warrant to search the house in Prestwich. Police said a quantity of electrical equipment, allegedly used to cultivate the cannabis, was also seized. Officers appealed for help from local communities to tackle drug-related crime. Pc Andy Wright said: "To target this sort of crime we need the help of the local community. I would appeal to anyone who suspects that people are cultivating drugs in their local community to contact the police. "We can treat all information in the strictest of confidence and any piece of information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, could be the key to removing more drugs from the streets of Prestwich." A man has been remanded in custody after appearing before magistrates in Manchester charged with cultivating cannabis.

Police in Kilkis, northern Greece, on Saturday arrested a 46-year-old man believed to have been cultivating a cannabis plantation on the banks of Axios River. The cultivation had around 45 cannabis plants ranging in height from 2.5 meters to 4.5 meters, according to police who also confiscated digging and watering equipment as well as two sets of scales from the suspect’s home. The plants and the equipment were subsequently destroyed, police said. In a separate development on Saturday, port authority officials arrested a 35-year-old man who had boarded a ferry at Thessaloniki, after he was found in possession of several small packages of cannabis.

An Chinese immigrant who became the “gardener” of an £85,000 Angus cannabis cultivation was yesterday jailed for 45 months. Zhi Peng Lin will also be deported at the end of his sentence back to mainland China from where he fled in the spring of 2005 on a journey which took him to the bungalow in Forfar which was the scene of the major drugs farm. The asylum seeker had been working to pay his way back to the East where he has a wife and child, initially believing the plants crammed into every room of the house were a crop connected with air fresheners, the court was told. Lin (31), described as a prisoner at Perth, appeared for sentence before Sheriff Kevin Veal at Forfar, having previously admitted producing cannabis at a house in the town’s South Street between February 10 and March 5 this year. Fiscal depute Donna Brown told the court how Lin had arrived illegally in the UK in March 2005 and claimed asylum on arrival, Full Amount....

A chap has been charged over a multi-million dollar cannabis cultivation racket. The charges follow a police operation spanning three years and involving raids on several houses in Sydney's southwest. Cannabis plants worth $3.24 million were seized during the operation. A 36-year-old man was arrested during the search of a Cabramatta house yesterday and has been charged with cultivation offences. He will appear in Parramatta Local Court today. A second man was charged over a $500,000 cannabis crop, following a house fire in Kingsgrove earlier this week. Also aged 36, the man will face drug cultivation charges in Newtown Local Court on August 21.

Police battered through a reinforced door into a cannabis cafe whose owners had previously denied any drug connections yesterday. The venue, which was designed with expensive furniture and trendy fittings, was secured with burglar bars on all windows and an air-lock double steel door, used in some defence bunkers. Officers from Adur stormed the cafe, where 13 people were using the facilities, after reports of illegal drug taking on the premises - despite the recently introduced smoking ban in public places. A furnace, which police believe may have been used to dispose of evidence, was found and was bellowing out smoke. Three local men in their 30s were arrested for drug offences.
Drugs and hundreds of pounds of cash were found and police said they will be investigating whether drugs' profits were used to buy or fund the venue. In February this year a spokesman for the social club, in Freshbrook Road, Lancing, denied the place was a haven for cannabis smokers, Full Evidence.....

Police officers on mobile patrol in the grounds of Coleg Ceredigion in Cardigan at lunchtime saw a student sitting on a wooden bench rolling a cigarette. When the officers approached Gavin Huw Davies they recognised a lump of skink cannabis ?...in his possession and seized 4.2 grammes of the drug. When he appeared before magistrates in the town Davies, a 20-year-oold part-time carpentry student, of Min-y -Ffordd, Llanpumpsaint, pleaded guilty to a charge of possessing herbal cannabis on July 3. He was fined £150 with £60 costs and a destruction order was made in respect of the seized cannabis.

Crestview — Lawmen arrested a man Friday after catching him on video tending marijuana plants in a wooded area near his home on Dove Way.Richard “Rick” Dean, 46, was watering and fertilizing approximately 18 seven- to 10-foot tall cannabis plants, all while under video surveillance, according to an Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office release. The Okaloosa County Multi-Agency Drug Task Force in May launched a special investigation into illegal marijuana cultivation in northern parts of the county. Lawmen searched Dean’s home, seizing the plants and cultivation materials. Dean was charged with cultivation of cannabis and possession of drug paraphernalia.

A wheelchair-bound drug dealer set up a giant cannabis factory in his home and claimed it was all for his own use. But Joseph Dymond was spared prison for growing and possessing the class C drug - and immediately called for the cannabis laws to be further relaxed. Dymond, who was paralysed in a car accident aged 17, told Hove Crown Court yesterday he smoked between one and a half and two ounces of the drug a week to relieve pain and muscle spasms. The 36-year-old described the factory at his home as a hobby that grew out of control. When police raided his house in Priory Road, Hastings, in January they found 43 plants and 43 cuttings, as well as specialist lamps and equipment used to grow cannabis. DS Anthony Pike, of Sussex Police's Serious Organised Crime unit, told the court the plants would yield up to 8,816 grammes, or 311 ounces, of cannabis when fully grown. He estimated the street value of the cannabis at between £5 and £10 for a sixteenth of an ounce, Full Yield....

People living on a Bradford estate would be "alarmed" to learn that a cannabis farm had been set up in their midst, the city's magistrates court was told today. Police found 33 skunk cannabis plants and associated equipment inside the loft of a house in Sutton Avenue, Swain House, in April this year, said prosecutor Simon Broad. Neil Thomas, 37, pleaded guilty to cultivating the plants at his home. He was placed under a four-month curfew between the hours of 9pm and 6am and ordered to pay £50 costs. The plants were ordered to be destroyed. Mr Broad said that after his arrest Thomas told officers he had been experimenting to find out how cannabis was grown, Full Bloom...

Seven pupils are being disciplined after an investigation into cannabis use at an east Devon school. All the students at Torquay Boys' Grammar School are from Year Nine, aged either 13 or 14. Some could now face exclusion as a result of the investigation which is being monitored by Torbay Council. Headteacher Roy Pike has been holding talks with governors, parents and the police and said they were taking the matter "very seriously". A Torbay Council spokesperson said: "The council will always treat the matter of exclusions extremely seriously and we offer appropriate guidance to headteachers, governors and parents in dealing with these sensitive matters which affect individual pupils and the wider school community. "The council works in close partnership with all schools to manage pupils' behaviour in order to avoid exclusions wherever possible."

Swedish authorities charged a man with fraud for allegedly selling nearly half a pound of chocolate for $1,300 to men who believed it contained cannabis. The 20-year-old suspect, whose name was not released, allegedly sold the chocolate to two men who later became displeased to discover the product did not contain cannabis, The Local reported Tuesday. The men have been charged with assault after they allegedly used a table saw on the seller and hit him in the head with an axe. Prosecutor Christer Ovallius told The Local that pretending to sell the drug may be classified as fraud despite the fact that cannabis is illegal in Sweden.

"Cannabinoids can be administered by smoking, vaporizing, oral ingestion, transdermal patch, intravenous injection, sublingual absorption, or rectal suppository. Once in the body, most cannabinoids are metabolized in the liver, although some is stored in fat. Delta-9-THC is metabolized to 11-hydroxy-delta-9-THC, which is then metabolized to 9-carboxy-THC. Some cannabis metabolites can be detected in the body after several weeks"

A small fire in a Novato house turned into a big drug bust Saturday when firefighters found 100 pounds of dried marijuana stuffed into garbage bags in a laundry room. Also discovered were 75 marijuana plants, a room full of lamps and cultivation equipment, a tampered with Pacific Gas & Electric Co. meter, several dead cats and a dead cockatoo, authorities said. "We think the house might've been used specifically for growing, and not for living," said Novato police Sgt. Earl Titman. The fire was reported at 8:28 a.m. when a passerby
Novata Fire Service found the large pot operation.. "It looks like the fire started in the rear of the house, and it was confined to one room only," said fire spokeswoman Sandy Wargo. Firefighters had the fire under control by 8:52 a.m. No one was home at the time. The birds, which were in a cage, died of smoke inhalation, Wargo said.
The room where the fire occurred contained the cultivation equipment and the plants. Firefighters say an electrical problem may have caused the fire. The bagged marijuana was in a different part of the house, Titman said. Another three pounds of unpackaged dried marijuana was found in the yard. Police estimated its street value of the marijuana at $500,000, or about $350 per ounce. No value was given for the plants or growing equipment. Electrical lines in the home were rigged to steal power by circumventing the PG&E meter. "That in itself is another crime," Titman said. The case is under investigation by Novato police, the Marin County Major Crimes Task Force, the Novato Fire Protection District and PG&E. Investigators said the home is a rental unit that has been vacant, but there were reports of people going in and out of the house recently. The owners, who live in Novato, were out of the country on vacation Saturday. A rental agency manages the property.

A "Big Brother" badger baiting police operation accidentally uncovered a cache of cannabis plants, some the size of Christmas trees, a court heard yesterday. Prosecuting lawyer David McDowell told Craigavon Crown Court that on October 14 last year, the PSNI helicopter was flying around the Knockmore Road area of Lisburn looking for people taking part in illegal badger baiting when the "surprised" officers spotted the cannabis plants. He said the find was rather lucky as the field of 99 plants, ranging from small saplings to plants "in excess of seven feet tall; very wide at the bottom and the size of quite large Christmas trees," could only have been seen from the air it was set so far back from the road. Mr McDowell added that the estimated value of each plant was around £500, with the total value close to £50,000. The lawyer said police investigating the find spoke to 44-year-old landowner Kevin Cummings, Full Find....

A kindly woman who allowed cannabis to be smoked at home has been fined. Pauline Wilkinson, 41, of Furness Drive, Mixenden, Halifax, admitted allowing the smoking of cannabis to take place on May 8. Andy Wills, prosecuting, told Calderdale magistrates cannabis resin and bush, plus scales and cash, were found at her home. "She admitted she allowed other members of her family to smoke cannabis," Mr Wills said. Maggie Wood, for Wilkinson, also said Wilkinson used the class C drug to help ease back pain. "She says she would prefer them to be in the house smoking rather than out on the streets. "It's nothing more sinister than that." Magistrates ordered her to pay a £100 fine plus costs.

In two separate incidents at Sydney's North Shore, more than $1,000,000 worth of ecstasy and cannabis was uncovered by police yesterday. The drug haul follows the discovery of a clandestine lab and 10 kilograms of cocaine at addresses in Artarmon, Turramurra and West Ryde last month, but police said the North Shore was not being targeted for drugs. In the first arrest, police took a 34-year-old man into custody as he left his apartment block on Toongarah Road at Waverton about 5.15pm.Acting on information from the community and a surveillance operation carried out that afternoon, police then searched his unit. Inside, they allegedly found 276 cannabis plants and eight kilograms of cannabis leaf, More....

A retailer dealer caught with more than 50 cannabis plants in his home and cocaine hidden in a vacuum cleaner has escaped a jail sentence. When police raided the Queens Road house owned by 33-year-old Gary Woolford in October they found a drugs factory with 57 cannabis plants in various stages of growth and 20 grams of uncut cocaine inside the dust bag of a vacuum cleaner. Woolford initially pleaded not guilty to possession with intent to supply, but changed his mind on the day of trial. And on April 12 this year at St Albans Crown Court he admitted to possession with intent to supply the cannabis, but simple possession to the more serious charge of cocaine. Woolford has not filed a tax return for several years and has had his property including an Audi sports car seized by police. They also seized a Cartier watch Woolford claimed, Full Escape....

Al Hoceïma: The Moroccan navy came under fire from drug smugglers in the region of Al Hoceïma on Sunday, 3.2 tons of cannabis extract, locally known as chira, security sources reported. Four individuals, a Spaniard and three Moroccans, were arrested during this operation which also involved the Moroccan air force the same source said, noting that Mobile phone devices and other equipments used by the drug dealers were seized as well. In a related issue, the customs of the northern city of Tetouan (294 kms north of Rabat) foiled, in three different operations last week, attempts to smuggle about 427 kilos of the banned substance that were mostly concealed on board trucks registered abroad. The customs are currently using a mobile scanner, which enabled in December to seize a record quantity of 11 tons of Hashish aboard two TIR trucks in Nador.

Gjilan: The Kosovo police service, KPS, arrested one person on Friday suspected to be involved with a group from the Gjilan region cultivating Cannabis sativa narcotic plants. This action follows two previous arrests and the discovery of two Cannabis sativa fields in the village of Kosovic, in the Gjilan area. “This is the result of intensive operational work and good co-operation between the KPS units,” Ismet Hashani, KPS spokesperson for Gjilan, told Balkan Insight. The KPS anti-drug unit found and removed 1,328 Cannabis sativa plants on Wednesday from a field covering over one hectare. A smaller field was discovered on Thursday with another 79 cannabis plants. Hashani said that the KPS doesn't have information whether the drugs were planned to be smuggled outside of Kosovo or dedicated to the domestic drug market.

A team of 35 firefighters in Texas have been told they would fail any drugs test after battling a blaze at a barn where nearly one tonne of cannabis was stored.
Edinburg Fire Chief Shawn Snider said the firefighters were exposed to so much marijuana smoke that they would not be able to pass a drug test, despite the air packs they wore to prevent them from inhaling toxic or hazardous fumes.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were called in to investigate the origin of the drugs, and the Hidalgo County fire marshal was examining whether arson may have been the cause.

Kuala Lumpur.. A sales assistant was jailed 12 years and ordered to be whipped 10 times for having cannabis in the family car of the late Tun Ghafar Baba. The drug, kept in a plastic bag, was found in the boot of the car belonging to Ghafar’s then second wife D. Heryati Abd Rahim, 46. Mohammad Zamri Mohammad Noor, 37, was ordered to serve his jail term from the date of his arrest on July 18, 2001. He was originally charged with trafficking in 1,856gm of cannabis at a car park near Bangunan Perkim in Jalan Ipoh on July 18, 2001. The charge was reduced to drug possession by the court on May 25 after hearing evidence from eight prosecution witnesses. In passing the sentence, High Court judge Justice Heliliah Mohd Yusof said: “The accused has a permanent job but he used a car belonging to a public figure to carry drugs.

Officers from West Yorkshire Police's Organised Crime Group and Operations Support Division have made three arrests and seized almost half a million pounds worth of drugs and cash, following an operation carried out on Tuesday. At 6am on Tuesday five warrants were executed at addresses in the Crossgates and Meanwood areas of Leeds, as well as the Dewsbury, Liversedge and Batley areas. Officers seized Cannabis worth in the region of £300,000. £60,000 in cash, designer jewellery and forged documents were also taken from the addresses. As a result a 39-year old man and a 42-year old woman were arrested from the Crossgates address with a 43-year old man being arrested from the address in Meanwood. Detective Chief Inspector Ingrid Lee of West Yorkshire Police's Crime Division said: "This operation has been six months in the planning and we are pleased that the actions of our officers this week have taken a large quantity of drugs off the streets as well as closing down the means for their production." "The operation is further proof of the seriousness with which our dedicated officers tackle drug crime."All three people were arrested on suspicion of the supply production and cultivation of cannabis and are currently on bail pending further enquiries.

A West Wales chap has gone on trial claiming the right to cultivate his own cannabis. Neil Christopher James Morgan, 52, told police officers they were infringing his rights under the European Human Rights Act--and even lit up a cannabis reefer in front of them. A jury at Swansea crown court heard on Monday how four police officers armed with a search warrant descended on a group of caravans parked in woodland off the B4333 Newcastle Emlyn to Cynwyl Elfed road. Inspector Richard Lee said Morgan volunteered several quantities of cannabis stored in various parts of the caravan. He also began smoking cannabis and officers confiscated the reefer. In two caravans close by, both owned by Morgan, they found 101 cannabis plants. Each van had its own generator attached. Morgan was arrested and taken to Ammanford police station, where he refused to answer any questions. Morgan, who is representing himself during the trial, told the court his defence was Article 8 of the Human Rights Act, which, he said, guaranteed his right to a private life, Full Act......

450 cannabis plants have been seized by police following a raid on a house in Sidcup. The house in Betterton Drive, was hit by police on June 13 and also saw a large amount of hydroponic equipment recovered. Officers from the Bexley Crime Squad say around £4,000 of electricity had been illegally diverted to the premises. Hoang Ba Hung, of no fixed abode, was arrested at the house and charged with illegall drugs and diverting electricity. The 30-year-old appeared at Bexley Magistrates' Court on June 14 and pleaded guilty to all charges. He has been remanded into custody for sentencing at Crown Court on a later date. Detective Inspector Barrry Burke, of the Bexley Crime Squad, said: "We are committed to tackling all types of drug misuse and those who are intent on producing drugs. "The discovery of this factory will have a direct impact on the people supplying and distributing thousands of pounds worth of cannabis."

Chicago Police charged a Chicago chap with posession of marijuana after executing a search warrant Friday at a Southwest Side garage. Jose Leanos, 43, of 5367 W. Kilbourn Road., was charged afyer police seized 998 pounds of marijuana Friday evening from the garage of a Southwest Side apartment building. Police Commander Leo Schmitz said the marijuana was wrapped as if it had recently been shipped, and had an estimated street value of $2.8 million. Schmitz, who has been a police officer for 25 years, says it is the largest drug cache he has ever seen. He says an informant tipped officers off, saying drugs were being sold in the neighborhood, and officers who went to the block reportedly could smell the marijuana from several doors away. Police made one arrest, but no charges had been filed.

A 23-year-old chap has been arrested in Luton in connection with the discovery of a huge cannabis factory in Coventry. The 23-year-old was stopped in a car by police in connection with a drugs factory found in Washbrook Lane, Allesley, in January. Police had found more than 750 plants worth more than £500,000 at the semi-detached house. Four rooms were lined with reflective foil and high-powered lights acted as heaters. Hundreds of plants were packed into each room. Only the front room, kitchen and bathroom were not converted to grow cannabis. The electricity supply had been tampered with and police had to call in an engineer to make it safe. A 23-year-old man who was arrested in Luton on Monday was yesterday charged with possession, production, and being concerned in the management of the premises. He was due to appear before Coventry magistrates this morning. In May a woman was jailed for 15 months after pleading guilty to allowing the premises to be used for the production of cannabis. After her sentence, the Chinese national will be deported to China.

Do I think people who smoke are bad? No, I did my share in the teenage years, now I am in my forties, The enjoyment is gone for me.
Last week my neighbor was busted for a growing operation.
If this is what a person is called to do with all of their being and truly enjoys the fruits of his labor for not only them but to sell to others, why oh why must they do so in a very small community where the only traffic is the traffic going to there home to party and to buy. Why sell in a neighborhood? I firmly believe it is ones business to do what they want to themselves. My children play across the street from this drug house. It just does not seem fair that I have to have this in my neighborhood.
Why can’t people who choose this profession be located where they don’t bother anyone?
My husband and I work very hard, we pay our bills and take care of our children, my neighbor worked from time to time here and there. His supplemental income was from selling. His house looked great, flowers were beautiful, was getting ready to put in a pool…. Sure you could say I am doing something wrong going to work everyday and paying taxes through my nose. Sure you could say legalize it then, then we would not have these independent business people selling paying zippo where taxes are concerned. It is all a catch 22, a circle of he could she could. The truth is though I am very angry that this man set up shop across the street from me. In our little Victorian village.

I just want so peace.
Danielle

A tip-off from nosey neighbours led police to a cannabis den. Todmorden neighbourhood policing team raided a house in the Cornholme area and seized more than 50 plants. One man was arrested and released on police bail pending further inquiries. Sergeant Mick Murgat-royd said: "We received information from local residents which led us to execute a warrant at the address where a large number of cannabis plants were seized. "We always act on any information brought to us and would urge people to come to us with information about any criminal activity as soon as possible." Todmorden neighbourhood policing team can be contacted on 01706 919237. People can leave a confidential message if no one is available.

Singapore authorities are on the hunt for a South Australian man who jumped bail on drug trafficking charges, a local newspaper reported today. Michael Karras, 38, failed to show up in court for a pre-trial conference on May 9, The Straits Times said. He was arrested on January 9 after drug officers allegedly found 189.06g of cannabis and 248.38g of a cannabis mixture in a flat he shared with a Singaporean man. Utensils used for taking drugs and a ketamine-stained note were also seized. Both Mr Karras and Ngo Pee Lin, 28, face up to 20 years in jail and between five and 15 strokes of the cane if convicted under Singapore's tough drug laws, Deutsche Presse Agentur reported. SS Khillon, Mr Karras's lawyer, said the last time he saw his client was about a week before the pre-trial conference. Mr Karras's mother could lose the $S100,000 ($76,055) she put up as bail. Australian man Nguyen Tuong Van was hanged in December 2005 after he was found guilty of heroin trafficking. A clemency plea by Prime Minister John Howard was rejected by Singapore's leaders.

Greek coastguards have found over 130 kilogrammes of cannabis on the island of Crete in a river near the capital of Iraklio and surrounding beaches, the merchant marine ministry said on Sunday. Sixteen plastic packages of cannabis were found on three beaches near Iraklio on Saturday, weighing over 47 kilogrammes. Another 34 packages weighing 86 kilogrammes were found at the estuary of Aposelemis river on Friday, the ministry said. This is the second major haul of cannabis found discarded in a fortnight. In early June, coastguards in the Peloponnese spent days fishing out around 100 plastic packages of unprocessed cannabis that washed up along the coast. Greek coast guard patrols often intercept ships carrying contraband -- mainly cigarettes -- but seaborne cannabis hauls of this size are rare.

A prison inmate was caught with 90 cannabis cigarettes in his cell just two weeks before he was due for release, Taupo District Court was told yesterday. Clayton Wilson, aged 23, was remanded in custody until he is sentenced in July after he pleaded guilty to possessing cannabis for supply. A Police summary of facts stated a package was thrown over the Tongariro/Rangipo Prison perimeter fence on June 1. The package landed behind the cells and an inmate from inside retrieved it. After that the package disappeared. Later that night two Corrections officers noted suspicious activity inside Wilson's cell. The next morning his cell was searched and he was strip-searched. Corrections officers found 90 pre-rolled cannabis cigarettes in a bag concealed in his underwear. It also contained two grams of loose cannabis. The total weight seized was 18 grams. Cannabis cigarettes are called "race horses" in prison and sell for between $10 and $15. When spoken to Wilson said he was holding them for someone else and couldn't say who. He said his job was just to roll them up and hold them -- and in exchange he got to keep some.

Church officials in eastern Germany are shocked at the arrest of a cathedral sexton on drug dealing charges. He had a stash of cannabis in the cathedral's boiler room. St Stephen's Catherdral in Halberstadt -- not the sort of place you'd normally expect to find drugs. The sexton of a cathedral in Germany has been arrested on suspicion of dealing in drugs ad keeping a stash of cannabis in his church, police said. The 47-year-old man was in charge of maintenance of the Protestant St Stephen's Cathedral in the eastern city of Halberstadt. Police said they had found three kilos of cannabis in a wall safe of the cathedral's boiler room. The church has suspended the man, who had worked there for 18 years. "I'm shocked," the bishop of Saxony Axel Noack said, according to the news agency DPA. "Not just because a house of God has been misused. What weighs even more heavily is that a full-time member of staff of our church is evidently caught up in a scene in which people's suffering is accepted in the pursuit of personal profit.

A Patutahi man who allegedly cultivated what the judge called a "Turanganui record" when it came to cannabis production, was denied electronically-monitored bail when he appeared in Gisborne District Court. Manu Terekia Busby Thomas 50, faces charges of cultivating cannabis, unlawful possession of explosives, unlawful possession of three firearms and theft of a motor vehicle. The charges relate to a 4300-plant cannabis-growing operation found on February 13 at a property belonging to him. Hearing the news that he would be denied EM bail, Jobe began swearing at the judge and Crown prosecutor. Hearing that, Judge Tony Adeane said that was yet another good reason for denying him bail. Defence counsel Leighvi Maynard said monitored bail was feasible at a Patutahi address that Jobe’s partner lived at.Judge Adeane said Judge James Rota had strong reasons for opposing bail at a hearing in February, Full Record.....

A Crewe man who was operating a cannabis factory from his home in the West End has been jailed for eight months. Cheshire Police say the prison sentence sends a clear message to people involved in the cannabis trade. Robert Herdman, aged 21, who set up production of the narcotic at his home in Barnabas Avenue was jailed after appearing at Chester Crown Court last week. At an earlier hearing at South Cheshire Magistrates Court he had admitted cultivating cannabis, supplying the drug and possessing it with intent to supply. "We will not tolerate illegal drugs." PC Mike Rushton Police Constable Mike Rushton, from the Crewe Community Action Team, said: "The sentence is a reminder to people that using, dealing and growing cannabis is still illegal. "We always investigate reports of drugs and the courts also take a serious view of the issue. Full Tolerance...