Latest news with #U.S.DrugEnforcementAgency
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Jamaican national busted in Cleveland with 150 pounds of ecstasy sentenced to prison
CLEVELAND (WJW) — A Jamaican national living in Cleveland who was busted with 150 pounds of a popular party drug intended for distribution is now headed to prison. Tonie Neno Mitchell, 34, previously pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, according to a news release from Carol Skutnik, acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. I-TEAM: New development in unsolved Cleveland Metroparks double murder A federal judge on Thursday, May 29, sentenced Mitchell to 100 months, or a little more than eight years, in prison. U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency investigators raided Mitchell's Cleveland residence in July 2024. It was the result of a money laundering investigation into Mitchell and others through which investigators had already seized more than $350,000 in suspected drug money, according to the release. Mitchell tried to flee when authorities came in, but was arrested. Inside a closet, investigators found about 70 vacuum-sealed bags containing a total of 70 kilograms of methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA. The Schedule I drug, otherwise known as ecstasy or molly, is a popular party drug, since it reduces inhibitions and makes users feel euphoric, according to the DEA. Cat abandoned in Garfield Heights home went weeks without food, water; ate insulation to 'stay alive,' police say Investigators also found a loaded 9-millimeter handgun, ammunition, a ledger for drug purchases, $50,000 in cash and eight cell phones, according to the release. Authorities determined he had been in the country illegally since about August 2023, according to the release. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning' reminds us Ethan Hunt is a Wisconsin native
Among the many, many, many things going on in "Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning," the eighth movie in the billion-dollar movie franchise that opened in theaters May 23, there's a reminder that the death-defying character played by Tom Cruise is, yes, a Badger. During a couple of scenes in "Final Reckoning," viewers get a flash of the dossier of Ethan Hunt, the character Tom Cruise has played in the "Mission: Impossible" movies since the big-screen reboot began in 1996. At the top of the first page visible in Hunt's top-secret file is his place of birth — Madison, Wisconsin. It's not the first time that Hunt's Wisconsin roots have come up in the "Mission: Impossible" movies, although they haven't been brought up all that often. In Cruise's first "Mission: Impossible" movie, released in 1996, Hunt is on the run after most of his team is killed. Eugene Kittridge (Henry Czerny), the head of the IMF, shows him documents from his parents' Wisconsin bank account, showing a huge inflow of money after his father's death and the family farm going into a form of receivership. Kittridge claims the money came from a Czech arms dealer. In the first of many, many, many times, Hunt manages to escape in a showy set-piece scene (this time by shattering a giant aquarium and flooding the restaurant where they're meeting). To smoke Hunt out, Kittridge stages an arrest — shown live on CNN — of his mother and uncle at a farm outside of Madison, who the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency claims were the kingpins behind a massive drug-manufacturing ring. (After things are all resolved — several chases and explosions later — the Justice Department apologizes to mom and uncle and lets them go.) The dossier on Hunt's background returns in 2018's "Mission: Impossible — Fallout." In a rarity for Wisconsin shoutouts in the movies, no cheesehead hats or beer jokes accompany any of these mentions. In its first weekend in theaters, "Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning" took in $77 million in North America and $204 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Is Tom Cruise character in 'Mission: Impossible' a Badger?
Vancouver Sun
19-05-2025
- Vancouver Sun
U.S. identifies fentanyl superlabs in Canada as a 'growing concern'
EDMONTON — With fentanyl smuggling cited by U.S. President Donald Trump as a central motivation behind tariffs slapped on Canadian goods, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has listed fentanyl 'super laboratories' in Canada as a 'growing concern' to American authorities. 'These operations have the potential to expand and fill any supply void created by disruptions to Mexico-sourced fentanyl production and trafficking,' the report says. On Thursday, the DEA released its 2025 report detailing threats posed to the United States by illegal drugs and the actions of drug traffickers and cartels. Between October 2023 and October 2024, more than 84,000 Americans died from drug overdoses. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. In addition to noting Canada's production of fentanyl, the report covers the actions of major Mexican drug cartels and China's role in exporting the ingredients needed to manufacture fentanyl in North America. While the report doesn't specify the precise drug bust it was referring to, in late October, the RCMP broke up the 'largest and most sophisticated fentanyl and methamphetamine drug superlab in Canada,' which was in Falkland, B.C., a community between Kamloops and Kelowna, and is otherwise known for hosting one of the largest Canadian flags. The RCMP said the lab could have produced 95 million doses of fentanyl. Investigators seized 54 kilograms of fentanyl, 'massive amounts of precursor chemicals,' and hundreds of kilograms in other drugs, including methamphetamine, cocaine and MDMA, better known as ecstasy. Police also found 89 guns, including 45 handguns, 21 'Ar-15-style rifles' and submachine guns. Nine of the weapons were stolen. The data on drugs flowing from Canada to the United States show that while there are drugs flowing north to south, the overwhelming majority of drugs smuggled into the U.S. come from the southwestern border with Mexico. In 2024, U.S. border officials seized 21,000 kilograms of fentanyl, 158,000 kilograms of methamphetamine and more than 56,000 kilograms of cannabis. By comparison, American authorities seized 43 kilograms of fentanyl and 72 kilograms of heroin flowing from Canada to the United States in 2024, statistics from U.S. Customs and Border Protection show. So far in 2025, 26 kilograms of fentanyl have been seized, as has less than one kilo of heroin. Rates of cannabis smuggling are far higher: nearly 7,000 kilograms were seized last year, and this year more than 2,500 kilograms have been seized. Additionally, more than 2,000 kilograms of cocaine have been seized at the northern border this year. National Post asked the RCMP for comment on the DEA's threat assessment, but the agency was unable to provide comment by press time. Public Safety Canada referred the Post's inquiry to the Privy Council Office, where Canada's new fentanyl czar, Kevin Brosseau, a former Mountie and national security adviser to the Prime Minister's Office, works. The DEA declined to comment on the report, but noted that Canada has been mentioned in previous threat assessments. Canada received no mention in the 2024 report, but in 2020, Canada was identified as a major source of high-quality cannabis. The report also identified Indigenous reserves on both sides of the border as significant routes for drug smuggling. Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. Vice President JD Vance, both in Rome for the Pope's inaugural mass on Sunday, discussed border security, a crackdown on fentanyl and increased investments in defence, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement. Carney said on X he had a 'good conversation' with Vance. 'Canada and the United States share a common goal of saving lives and protecting communities from the devastating impacts of the illegal fentanyl trade,' said Pierre-Alain Bujold, a spokesperson with Canada's Privy Council Office, in an email. 'Canadian law enforcement agencies at all levels — municipal, provincial, and federal — are focused on dismantling organized crime networks and shutting down illegal drug production operations.' I had a good conversation with Vice President JD Vance while in Rome. We spoke about building a new economic and security relationship between Canada and the United States — one that addresses immediate trade pressures, strengthens our defence cooperation, and… In February, Trump declared a state of emergency on his country's northern border, using that to justify the imposition of tariffs on Canadian imports. 'I determined that the failure of Canada to arrest, seize, detain, or otherwise intercept drug trafficking organizations, other drug and human traffickers, criminals at large, and illicit drugs constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat, which has its source in substantial part outside the United States, to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States,' the president said in a press release . In response to Trump's comments on fentanyl made last year before the emergency declaration, Ottawa amped up drug-enforcement along the border. The federal government announced a $1.3-billion border security plan, including appointing Brosseau as fentanyl czar and starting aerial patrols and a special intelligence unit to track down precursor chemicals. The government says that a 56-per-cent increase in the number of RCMP officers and targeted enforcement operations by Canada Border Services Agency officials have increased the number of investigations. A further crackdown on fentanyl trafficking within Canada, the federal government says, has taken 46 kilograms of fentanyl, and 15,765 fentanyl and other opioid pills off Canadian streets . 'The DEA report reinforces what we already know — the fight against fentanyl must be relentless, coordinated, and evidence-based. Canada will continue working closely with our U.S. counterparts to secure our shared borders and safeguard our communities,' said Bujold. National Post, with additional reporting by The Canadian Press Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Yahoo
SC men indicted in $30M money laundering scheme tied to Mexican drug traffickers
Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina Brook Andrews, left, along with Mike Tooley, an assistant special agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, right, announced the indictment of three men on Thursday, April 24, 2025, in Columbia, related to a $30 million money laundering operation with ties to Mexican drug cartels. (Photo by Jessica Holdman/SC Daily Gazette) COLUMBIA — Three men are facing criminal charges related to one of the largest international, drug-related money laundering operations South Carolina has ever seen, according to federal prosecutors. A federal grand jury indicted Nasir Ullah, 28, and Naim Ullah, 32, both of Sumter, as well as Puquan Huang, 49, of Burford, Georgia, acting U.S. Attorney Brook Andrews announced Thursday. Each faces a charge of conspiracy to launder money, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Lawyers for the men did not respond to messages from the SC Daily Gazette. The men stand accused of laundering more than $30 million in illegal drug proceeds, taking cash from known drug sales associated with two major Mexican cartels and using it to purchase and ship electronics to Hong Kong, China and the United Arab Emirates to be sold for a profit. 'Money laundering is the backbone of criminal enterprise,' Andrews said. 'It enables drug trafficking organizations to purchase and distribute fentanyl and other drugs to devastating effect. When we target those who launder drug money, we strike at the very heart of these operations.' Law enforcement alleges the men collected money from various locations in York, Richland, Sumter and Charleston counties, as well as from other states across the Southeast. They stored the cash at a pair of business properties in Sumter. Police and federal agents raided those businesses in late January, as well as two homes, arresting Nasir Ullah, Naim Ullah and one other man in Sumter, multiple television news stations reported. They seized an estimated $230,000 in cash, three vehicles, 11 guns and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of jewelry in the raids. Court documents also reference hundreds of millions of dollars seized during multiple traffic stops in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and South Carolina between July 2021 and November 2024. Police traced the money to the sale of fentanyl, cocaine, marijuana and heroin. Two milligrams of fentanyl, which is roughly the size of the tip of a sharpened pencil, is a lethal dose, said Mike Tooley, an assistant special agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. By comparison, just one of the seizures involving $177,000 of cash would be enough to purchase seven kilograms of powdered fentanyl. That amount of fentanyl could kill 3.5 million people, or more than half the population of South Carolina. 'We are using every authority and resource available to keep these dangerous networks, these criminals and the poison they distribute off of our streets, out of our community and out of our country,' Tooley said.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Yahoo
‘Operation Dirty Vaquero' rounds up multiple drug, gun arrests in Robeson County
ROBESON COUNTY, N.C. (WBTW) — A major law enforcement sweep in Robeson County on Wednesday led to the arrest of multiple people along with gun and drug seizures, Sheriff Burnis Wilkins said. Codenamed 'Operation Dirty Vaquero' and carried out in cooperation with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Eastern District of North Carolina United States Attorney's Office, Wilkins said 'multiple kilos' of fentanyl and cocaine were taken. 'The long-term investigation was a collaborative effort between multiple local, state and federal agencies that has led to taking down some of our largest drug dealers,' Wilkins said in a news release. Authorities said more information would be released. Officials didn't immediately say how many people were arrested or provide an inventory of what was collected. Wilkins said the 'sunrise surprise' brought drug and gun possession charges as well as conspiracy for working with previously deported undocumented immigrants. 'The message should be clear: The people of Robeson County are tired of drug dealers and the destruction they have caused,' Wilkins said. * * * Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12. See more of his work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
