-from torontosun.com-

By Rob Lamberti

Oscar Henriquez turned and looked as a Toronto narcotics officer put a bag of marijuana into a trailer yesterday.

“I recognize that smell,” the 52-year-old man said while standing outside the apartment building he lives in at 2600 Jane St.

But what the neon sign maker didn’t know was that the drug squad found 22 apartments with active grow operations in the 169-unit building north of Sheppard Ave. Police originally had warrants to search six apartments in the 13-storey building, but they found evidence and were tipped about the others.

It’s estimated each apartment had about 300 plants worth a total of about $6.5 million. Two people have been charged, and police expect further arrests.

“I’ve never seen such a large or dangerous operation,” Drug Squad Staff-Insp. Don Campbell said. “How could someone not know?”

He said, however, the building’s owners and the company that manages it didn’t know about the grow-ops, and helped police in its investigation.

ONE OR MORE

Campbell said it’s still not clear whether one organization is responsible or if there is more than one group.

“Every one looked very similar to each other, most grows do. (But) we anticipate that it was probably a group that was responsible for all the grows,” Campbell said.

MOULD HAZARDS

He said city inspectors and hydro crews took part in the raids to inspect the wiring and check for mould hazards in the units. In one electrical box, the covering of one wire had almost burned through, Campbell said.

“We got here before anything happened,” he said, adding that firefighters found a grow-op in the building in April when they responded to a blaze linked to the operation.

Investigators are reviewing rental agreements to determine who leased the units.

An 18-year-old who lives in the building was shocked at the extent of the grow-op.

“That’s ridiculous. This area has gotten worse and worse as the years go by,” he said.

Henriquez isn’t surprised by the extent of the operation found in the apartments between the fourth and 12th floors.

“I try not to know anybody because I’m afraid of the people here,” he said. “We don’t have friends here.”

Henriquez points to the driveway in which the police trailer was parked and said: “There was shooting right there last year. This area is very dangerous.”

-from wtvm.com-

A Phenix City couple is under arrest, accused of having a meth lab. It’s the first bust for Lee County in more than two months. The discovery was made Tuesday afternoon after an anonymous tip.

Officers say Matthew Hand, 22, and Nekka Pannell, 29, were arrested on Lee Road 430 in Smiths Station with a meth lab in their white Mercury. They were charged with unlawful possession and manufacturing of a controlled substance. Unfortunately, deputies also found Pannell’s nine-year-old son.

“If a person is found to be in possession of a meth lab, and there are children that are inside the home, they have a tighter and tougher sentence enhancement that is mandatory,” said Capt. Van Jackson, chief investigator for the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.

That sentence could be an additional three to five years jail time if convicted. Jackson said cases like this are on the decline because of tougher state laws. For instance, taking meth ingredients, such as pseudoephedrine, off the shelf and putting them behind the counter.

“It lends some credibility and some strength to some success that is occurring because of the legislation that’s been passed,” Jackson said.

Stricter guidelines are keeping some stores from selling it at all.

“They wanted us to have to chart everybody that bought anything. They had to sign a book, and it was too much of a hassle for us to keep up with that because we don’t sell a whole lot of it,” said Vicki Choron, an employee at the Bread & Buggy in Opelika.

Since the crackdown on meth ingredients, Lee County’s cases have dropped tremendously. Jackson said they’ve only seen a handful of meth-related arrests this year compared to more than 100 two years ago.

-from thestar.com-

Organized Crime hit because Montreal airport, border services infiltrated for criminal purposes

MONTREAL — The arrest of 82-year-old Nicolo Rizzuto and other alleged top-ranking mobsters is a “significant blow” to organized crime in Montreal, says an author who has written extensively on the Mafia.

Rizzuto, Francesco Arcadi and Paolo Renda were among more than 70 people arrested today when about 700 police officers swooped down on residences in the Montreal area.

“We’re dealing with people who for decades were able to avoid any kind of investigation in Canada,” Mafia expert Antonio Nicaso said in an interview.

“Nick Rizzuto is a very respected mobster. . . he was born and married into the Mob. . . He was the (Montreal) godfather in the ’70s and he always played an important role in the Rizzuto crime family.

“You can identify him as one of the last of the untouchables. . . very clever, very smart and for many years he played this role of the old man capable of providing advice and counsel to anyone.”

Rizzuto is the father of Montreal Mafia “godfather” Vito Rizzuto, who was deported to the United States earlier this year to face charges related to the murder of three members of the reputed Bonanno crime family in New York.

Nicaso said police scored a major coup in nabbing Arcadi and Renda, Rizzuto’s son-in law.

“Renda was very powerful,” said Nicaso, who went on to describe Arcadi as “the face of the Rizzuto crime family on the street” and a candidate to replace Vito Rizzuto when he was deported.

“Actually, he travelled to Toronto after the arrest of Vito just to meet with other mobsters and to guarantee them that (it was) going to be business as usual.”

The arrests are a “significant blow” to organized crime in the city, he added.

Police were expected to lay more than 1,000 charges against dozens of people, including a Canada Border Services Agency employee and about 10 people who worked at Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport.

RCMP Cpl. Luc Bessette said the airport employees were helping organized crime import cocaine into Canada.

“We think it is a very serious blow to Italian organized crime,” Bessette said of the raids.

He said a second Canada Border Services Agency employee is being sought in connection with the seizure of 300 kilograms of cocaine. It was found recently in a container on a train that arrived in Montreal from the United States.

The charges to be laid include attempted murder, drug dealing, gangsterism, extortion, bookmaking and possession of restricted weapons.

The RCMP, Montreal police and Quebec provincial police took part in the raids, which also included the seizure of houses and bank accounts.

Bessette said Project Colisee began two years ago and that some of those arrested were involved in online sports betting.

“We’re talking about millions of dollars over a few years,” he added.

Bessette said more than C$3million and US$255,000 was also seized during the police raids.

The RCMP spokesman described the operation as “the biggest one aimed at traditional Italian organized crime that’s ever been seen so far in Canada.”

Nicaso said Rizzuto has been convicted only once — in the ’80s for drug trafficking in Venezuela.

He added that the senior Rizzuto was “practically forced to take charge of the organization” after his son’s arrest and extradition.

Nicaso said Rizzuto left Sicily in 1954 to establish himself in Montreal and he eventually emerged as the new godfather of the Mafia.

It will be “a difficult task” for the Mob to regroup and identify the next crime boss, he added.

In Ottawa, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said he was “very pleased” with how the operation went.

“So far the reports are there were no casualties and a wide range of arrests that took place,” Day said outside a Tory caucus meeting.

-from wmcstations.com-

By Bill Watson

Marion Police say their tracking dog discovered high grade marijuana concealed in an 18-wheeler that was supposed to be carrying a load of pecans.

Police say the occupants of the truck were headed for Virginia.

“This is a new crop of marijuana and it probably came out of Mexico,” says Capt. James Wilson, of the Marion Police Department.

“The load, it wasn’t hidden very well. The boxes didn’t match the other boxes that were in the load and it kind of stuck out as soon as I got on top of the load,” says Wilson.

Two El Paso Texas men, Jose Gallegos and Felipe Avila, were arrested. Police also confiscated their truck.

James Harden’s wrecker service towed the truck. Harden helped officers unload the truck and is thankful to police for putting a dent in drug trafficking along Mid-South highways.

“No sir it ain’t going to be the end of it, but it will cut it down a little bit, maybe, but it ain’t going to be the end of it, says Harden.

And police agree with Harden.

Officers say that the pot confiscated would have gone for 600-dollars a pound on the street.

Once the case has been settled, all of the marijuana will be set on fire and destroyed.

-from aspendailynews.com-

Man and wife arrested after search of Glenwood home

Two Rivers Drug Enforcement Team (TRIDENT) members arrested a Glenwood Springs man and his wife Monday after a two-month investigation netted a large amount of cocaine and cash suspected to be drug proceeds at the couple’s home.

TRIDENT officials began investigating Carmelo Meraz-Godinez, 53, after receiving information that he was allegedly distributing cocaine in the Glenwood Springs area, according to a press release from the TRIDENT office in Glenwood.

On three occasions, agents were allegedly able to buy a total of 38.95 grams of cocaine from Meraz-Godinez, according to the release. Later, they obtained a search warrant for his residence as well as an arrest warrant.

With help from the Garfield County All Hazards Response Team (AHRT), TRIDENT searched Meraz-Godinez’s home Monday in the H Lazy F Trailer Park. Officers allegedly found 431.4 grams of cocaine packaged for distribution along with 394.4 grams of “suspected cutting agent,” according to the release. They also seized more than $7,000 of suspected drug proceeds. Meraz-Godinez was taken into custody along with his wife, Ofelia Meraz, 41.

Meraz-Godinez is charged with four counts of possession of a controlled substance, Schedule II, four counts of possession with the intent to distribute, and four counts of distribution of a Schedule II controlled substance. Ofelia Meraz is also charged with possession of cocaine and possession with the intent to distribute.

Distribution and possession with the intent to distribute are Class 3 felonies, each carrying the potential of four to 12 years in prison and fines between $3,000 and $750,000. Possession is a Class 4 felony; penalties include a range of two to six years in prison and a $2,000 to $500,000 fine.

-from elpasotimes.com-

By Renee Ruelas-Venegas

LAS CRUCES — Three teenagers were among four people arrested today in an undercover drug operation by area officers.Sgt. Joseph Gonzales, of the Metro Narcotics Agency, said the four were picked up after a two-week undercover investigation.

“We received information that these individuals were involved in trafficking cocaine from El Paso and Las Cruces,” Gonzales said. “That’s when we began our investigation.”

In the bust, agents seized nearly two pounds of cocaine, with a street value of $30,000, three vehicles and $6,000 in cash, Gonzales said.

Alejandro Luna, 18, and Jose Garcia, 19, both of Las Cruces were arrested along with Gabriel Evangelista, 18, and Guillen Baltizar, 30, both of El Paso.

Each man is charged with possession with intent to traffic and conspiracy.

Gonzales said the four were booked on bonds of $20,000 each. Metro Narcotics is a joint operation with officers from the Las Cruces Police Department, Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Department, and state and federal agencies that target drug traffickers in the county.Anyone with information on suspected drug activity can contact authorities anonymously at (505) 521-3784.

-from kfoxtv.com-

Border Patrol officials attribute the recent spike in drug busts on the border to summer rains.

“Lately Border Patrol has seen an increase in drug trafficking. Not only in New Mexico, where typically we have a lot of narcotics coming across the border, but also here in Texas, in Hudspeth and El Paso counties,” said Patrick Berry, Border Patrol agent.

Berry said most of the busts are for cocaine and marijuana. This weekend agents made five separate seizures that totaled $933,408 in value, the largest of the five busts being $501,120 worth of cocaine hidden in a secret compartment beneath a pickup truck. Agents stopped the vehicle on Saturday on I-25, north of Las Cruces.

On Sunday, using night vision cameras, border agents spotted nine people crossing the border on foot near Deming. Berry said the group dropped the loads and ran back into Mexico when the agents approached them.

“It was 346 pounds of marijuana. The value of that was over $277,000,” said Berry.

Berry blames the summer rain for the increase in apprehensions. “With the extra rain there have been more marijuana being grown. They’re having a better crop, so therefore, they’re bringing more of the trucks across.”

Some trucks cross over filled to the brim, as was the case last week when agents came across an abandoned pickup truck in Fabens. Inside there was more than 200,000 pounds of marijuana.

Berry said it’s still early in the fiscal year to tell if they’re above or below their average seizure, but agents are ready.

“With our technology and our agents, we’re in place and we’re ready to intercept those drugs as they’re smuggled northbound.”

Border Patrol’s fiscal year started in October. So far they’ve had 130 separate drug seizures worth more than $18 million.

-from cbs4boston.com-

State Police seize 15 kilograms of cocaine and arrest five people in Mattapan following a six-month investigation.

Officials allege the four men and one woman were running a wholesale and retail drug distribution operation. Police say they tracked a large shipment of cocaine from Georgia to Massachusetts.

Police said they found 13 individual bricks of cocaine hidden under the floorboards in the Munson Street home. Another brick was found in the bedroom, and another was in the cellar, being turned into crack cocaine. Police also seized a handgun.

The drugs had an estimated street value of more than one (m) million dollars.

The five people are scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Dorchester District Court. They face trafficking and conspiracy charges which carry a mandatory 15-year sentence.