-from wral.com-

Lee County is cracking down on hundreds of people who haven’t paid their taxes—for allegedly dealing drugs.

At the Sanford Motel, room service included crack cocaine, according to Lee County sheriff’s deputies.

“Mostly they called the front desk, implied what they wanted, and it was delivered to them,” Capt. John Holly said.

On Friday, after a six-week undercover operation, deputies arrested the motel’s owner and two employees for selling and delivering cocaine. Kenneth Lee Haggerty, 39, the owner; Cathy Bryant Tyner, 44, the live-in motel operator; and Dennis Martin Farmer,24, Haggerty’s son who also lived at the motel, were all arrested.

Haggerty and Tyner were charged with multiple counts of sale and delivery of cocaine, possession with intent to sell and deliver cocaine, and conspiracy to sell and deliver cocaine.

Farmer was charged with possession with intent to sell and distribute cocaine.

“Individuals that are caught with illegal drugs, whether they’re convicted or not, are required to pay taxes,” Lee County Sheriff Tracy Carter said Monday.

Carter has 340 state-issued tax warrants for drug suspects, amounting to more than $10 million.

“We need to hit drug dealers in the pocketbook, and we’re going to do that,” Carter said.

It’s called the Unauthorized Substance Tax. A quarter of it goes to the state. The rest goes to the local agency that handled the original drug case.

“There’s restrictions on what we can use the money for, but basically it’s to buy equipment to fight the war on drugs,” Carter said.

In the past month, Lee County deputies have collected about $40,000 in cash and property during drug arrests. Friday, Holly said, deputies recovered about 10 grams of crack cocaine and several hundred dollars.

“If they don’t have cash, we start looking for vehicles. If they don’t have vehicles, we start looking for personal property,” Holly said.

Some who owe money are in prison and cannot pay, but the tax bill waits for them.

“You can’t get their money if they don’t have any money, but the tax debt will be there when they get out,” Holly said.

The tax rates the state set for illegal drugs include $3.50 per gram for marijuana, $50 per gram for cocaine and $200 per gram for heroin.

When the state seizes vehicles or other property to pay the taxes, the state sells them at auction to convert them to cash.

-from thehawaiichannel.com-

Authorities recover crystal meth at Waimanalo home

WAIMANALO, Hawaii — Police arrested a man who was convicted in the beating death of his wife in the 1990s at a drug raid on Monday morning in Waimanalo.

Alexander “Boy” Carvalho was convicted in 1991 of manslaughter in the beating death of his wife Cathy.Police arrested Carvalho with five other people on various drug charges and outstanding warrants.

About 30 officers stormed the home at 41-723 Mekia St. at about 6:30 a.m., according to neighbor Andy Jamila Jr.

“We woke up to this big explosion. Like a big bang went off and we all came out of our houses,” Jamila said.Police said the bang was a “distractive device.”Three women and three men ages 22 to 56 were taken into custody, police said.Neighbors said Carvalho’s brother-in-law owns the home.

Officers said they recovered a substantial amount of crystal methamphetamine at the scene. However, they would not say how much.”This wasn’t a surprise. This was just a matter of time,” Jamila said.The people who live on the street are happy about all of arrests, Jamila said. They have been complaining about the home for a while.”You got a lot of children playing here. It’s not right having the children being endangered,” Jamila said.Neighbors hope the drug raid will lead to authorities shutting down drug activity at the home for good, Jamila said.

-from theadvertiser.com-

By Kyle Jackson

St. Landry Parish narcotics detectives seized about 50 pounds of marijuana this weekend and arrested two Texas men in connection with the incident.

Based on anonymous tip, detectives seized $30,000 worth of marijuana in the parking lot of King’s Truck Stop on La. 190 near Port Barre. The drugs were seized from a Dodge pickup truck used to transport the marijuana from Round Rock, Texas.

According to Sheriff Bobby Guidroz, the names of those arrested are not being released.

“It could jeopardize ongoing investigations in other states,” Guidroz said.

-from rhea.xtn.net-

By John B. Carpenter

Rhea County and state law enforcement officials seized 30 pounds of marijuana and 2.2 pounds of cocaine Thursday afternoon in one of the county’s largest drug arrests ever.Based on information developed during an ongoing investigation, half a dozen sheriff’s deputies, members of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the 13th Judicial District (Cookeville) Drug Task Force stopped a small Subaru station wagon on Rhea County Highway in front of Clayton Homes at about 2:30 p.m. Thursday, according to Rhea County Sheriff Mike Neal.

When the officers searched the car, they found six five-pound bricks of compressed marijuana and a one-kilo (2.2 pounds) brick of compressed cocaine, Neal said. The drugs were wrapped in a black garbage bag, hidden in a pile of clothes inside a cardboard box in the back of the station wagon.

“We had information that this vehicle would be transporting narcotics through Rhea County,” Neal said. “We believe they were headed north to Crossville, and that the drugs were not to be distributed here.”

Neal identified the driver of the car, Brian Eugene Matheney, 33, of Nashville, as a courier who regularly transported narcotics. He was accompanied by Robyn Sue Welch, 31, of Cookeville, who Neal described as Matheney’s girlfriend.

Neal estimated the street value of the marijuana at about $24,000 and the street value of the cocaine at about $20,000.

In addition to the drugs, the sheriff’s department also seized the Subaru station wagon.

Rhea County Narcotics Investigator Mike Bice charged Matheney and Welch with possession of a Schedule VI controlled substance for resale and possession of a Schedule II controlled substance for resale. They are both being held in the Rhea County Jail pending payment of $100,000 bonds and are scheduled for preliminary hearings in Rhea County General Sessions Court on April 3.

Participating in the operation for the sheriff’s department were Neal, Bice, Chief Deputy John Argo, Detective Chris Hall, Sgt. Matt Rose and deputies Gerald Brewer, Wayne Wilkey and Rusty Rogers. The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department also assisted in the operation, according to Neal.

“This is definitely the largest amount of drugs we’ve gotten since I’ve been in office,” Neal said. “It’s certainly the largest amount in a long time, if not ever.”

-from tomahjournal.com-

By Anne Jurgen

Eight Sparta residents face felony drug charges after authorities said they seized marijuana, cocaine and hallucinogenic mushrooms at several city homes early Friday.

Seven adults and a 17-year-old are expected to appear Monday in Monroe County Circuit Court on charges of drug possession, possession with intent to deliver, and possession of drug paraphernalia, said Sparta Police Chief Michael Kass.

No names or other information was released. The amount of drugs confiscated also was not revealed, but Kass said one house had “a significant quantity.”

Sparta and Tomah police, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department and Monroe County Combined Tactical Unit searched three Sparta homes after a two-month investigation prompted by neighbors’ complaints about drug trafficking, Kass said.

Eleven adults, an infant and child were present during the searches, Kass said. Several are being held in the Monroe County Jail.

-from mississauga.com-

Louie Rosella

A 42-year-old man is facing drug charges after Canada Customs officers discovered three kilograms of cocaine at Mississauga’s Pearson International Airport over the weekend.

The man was arrested after arriving at Pearson from Peru to connect with another flight, said Canada Border Services Agency spokesperson Patrizia Giolti, adding the drugs were found in the false bottom of a suitcase.

The street value of the drugs found is nearly $400,000.

Charged with importing a controlled substance is Brendain Liam O’Dorain.

-from wtoctv.com-

By Rachel Lebedin

Two people are behind bars tonight and more are likely to join them after two Coastal Empire drug raids. The Glynn County-Brunswick Narcotics Enforcement Team, the McIntosh County Sheriff’s Office and the Glynn County police department all worked together, making the arrests and rounding up drugs, money and guns.

Mario Melo and Pablo Plandiura face several charges, including possession with intent to distribute. They’re being held in the Glynn County Detention Center without bond.

Both are from Mexico and work in the construction business. Officials are still trying to figure out if the two are legal US residents.

Captain Terry Wright, commander of the Glynn County-Brunswick Narcotics Enforcement Team, says the seizure of these drugs is the largest ever for Glynn County.

-from brudirect.com-

By Lyna Mohamad

Bandar Seri Begawan - Two raids in a matter of hours by the Narcotics Control Bureau personnel last Saturday led to two big drug busts. Following the morning raid, which led to the seizure of 47 packets believed to contain Syabu and $24,000 in cash, NCB law enforcers conducted another raid later in the evening and confiscated 57.55 grammes of drugs believed to be Syabu leading to the arrest of a 37-year-old Bruneian man. The drug, the biggest seized so far this year, was found in plastic bags inside the man’s bedroom and living room of the house. The suspect, who is believed to be involved in drug trafficking activities, has been remanded by the bureau for further investigations. Also confiscated was cash amounting to B$2,900 as well as modified items used for the purpose of consuming drugs. Should he be found guilty, the man is liable to be prosecuted and sentenced under the Misuse of Drugs Act, Cap 27, Section 3A as well as Section 6(a) for possessing controlled drugs, 6(b) for consumption of controlled drugs and Section 7 for possessing instruments for the consumption of controlled drugs. The bureau said it continues to welcome information from the public on any drug activities on their hotline 8777444 or 2448877 (after office hours). — Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin