Latest news with #crackcocaine
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
50-year-old arrested in Priceville for DUI, having crack cocaine during traffic stop
PRICEVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — A Decatur man was arrested in Priceville Friday for a DUI after officers initially stopped his vehicle for an expired tag. The Priceville Police Department said around 4:30 p.m., officers stopped a vehicle in the 3200 block of Point Mallard Parkway for an expired tag. The department said the tag read 4/23. When officers approached the vehicle, the driver, identified as 50-year-old Michael Andrew Froman of Decatur, was subjected to a DUI field investigation. As a result of the investigation, Froman was arrested for driving under the influence. Upon further investigation, a quantity of crack cocaine was discovered in Froman's possession. Froman was taken to the Morgan County Jail where he was charged with DUI and unlawful possession of a controlled substance. He was also issued citations for an expired tag and no insurance. Due to Froman currently being out on bond for a previous drug charge, Morgan County Circuit Judge Jennifer Howell set his bond at $30,000 with a hold for bond revocation pending a review of the prior case. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Sun
27-05-2025
- Health
- The Sun
Welcome to Crackland – the stinking junkie town where crowds of zombified addicts light up as brutal clampdown launched
A BRUTAL police crackdown is underway in Brazil's notorious Crackland - the sprawling district dubbed the world's largest open-air drug den. Crowds of crack cocaine users, once a constant presence in the area, have vanished almost overnight following an aggressive push by São Paulo authorities to shut the zone down for good. 7 7 7 In total, more than 500 officers took part in a major late-May raid targeting the drug-infested zone officially known as Cracolândia. Led by Governor Tarcisio de Freitas and Mayor Ricardo Nunes, the latest operation has seen military police step up stop-and-search patrols, close down hostels used by users, raid dumpsters where dealers gather, and begin tearing down a nearby shantytown believed to be sheltering drug suppliers. Residents say the change has been immediate — and striking. 'I walked around for 10 minutes finding no trace of them,' bar owner Marcelo Colaicovo told AP after passing through the area on a recent May afternoon. 'Even the stench was gone.' Zombified streets For years, Crackland has been a symbol of Brazil's drug crisis. A grim city-within-a-city, its addict residents openly smoke crack in broad daylight, sometimes just metres away from college campuses and the city's main train station. By day, the streets were lined with men and women wrapped in filthy blankets. Some were as young as 13. Others were former professionals who fell into addiction. Inside 'Crackland' - a festering drug den plagued by murders and zombie addicts as model influencers peddle coke and meth 7 Many scavenged through bins for recyclables, trying to make a few coins to buy their next rock. Police long patrolled the edges of the zone, not to stop the drug use, but to try and contain the violence and robbery it often sparked. Addicts and traffickers moved freely between broken shacks, makeshift camps and budget hostels used as crack houses. A single hit could cost as little as a few cents, making crack dangerously accessible. Photos from the latest crackdown reveal a changed - but still unsettling - picture. In one image, an addict hunches over a crack pipe, flames flickering in the afternoon light. 7 7 In another, a homeless man lies sprawled across a pavement, unmobing. Uniformed officers stand watch nearby, frisking users and checking ID documents. Health workers in fluorescent vests approach addicts with clipboards, trying to offer help and an escape from the drug hell. Municipal crews in gloves and masks dismantle shanty homes at Princesa Isabel square, long seen as the epicentre of the crisis. The current clampdown also includes targeting the supply chain - a new tactic that sees police dismantling makeshift camps believed to house drug dealers just outside the main Crackland zone. Cycle of failure But critics warn the operation could follow the same failed pattern as previous efforts: a short-lived clean-up, followed by a slow return of users. In 2017, then-Mayor João Doria sent in 900 police officers with tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades to break up Crackland. He declared it over — only for the "fluxo", the local term for the mass of addicts and dealers, to re-form a few blocks away within months. Felipa Drumont, a trans woman who has lived on the streets of Crackland, told The Guardian at the time: 'The police turned up throwing bombs at everyone. You don't eat. You don't sleep. Any money you can get goes on crack.' Francisco Inácio Bastos, a leading drug expert who conducted Brazil's national crack survey, said: 'What we see is a change of project every administration, without any continuation. 'It's all political. Without long-term planning, [Cracolândia] will continue as it is.' A national emergency Brazil has the highest number of crack cocaine users in the world — an estimated 370,000 in major cities. São Paulo's location at the heart of the country's economy, and close to cocaine-producing neighbours Colombia, Peru and Bolivia, has made it a key trafficking hub for decades. Crackland reflects the deep ties between poverty, inequality and addiction in Brazil. The state has tried social programmes, like 2014's 'Open Arms' initiative — backed by Prince Harry during a visit — which offered shelter and cash for small jobs in exchange for treatment. But the scheme was scrapped after criticism and lack of funding. Since then, 'mini-Cracklands' have emerged on the city's outskirts, with users scattering across multiple zones after each police operation — rather than disappearing. Still in the spotlight Crackland is not hidden. It sits in one of São Paulo's busiest districts, just blocks from concert halls, shopping centres, and the offices of South America's biggest newspaper. Office workers and college students rush past addicts lighting up in the street. The contrast has made the area a constant source of embarrassment for city officials — and a visible sign of failed drug policy. Despite the visible clean-up, few believe this latest effort will succeed where others failed. Without major investment in long-term treatment, housing, and employment programmes, experts warn the crackdown will only scatter the problem — not solve it. For now, São Paulo's most infamous junkie town lies quiet. But history suggests it won't stay that way for long.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Yahoo
Police chase in Costa Rica ends with seizure of cocaine, marijuana, knives and capybaras
Costa Rican police seized crack cocaine, marijuana and five capybaras after chasing down a fleeing vehicle on a highway along the Central American country's Pacific coast on Thursday.
CBS News
20-05-2025
- CBS News
Monroe driver arrested after her vehicle struck mailboxes, construction sign
A large orange construction sign was found lodged into the side of a car when officers in Monroe, Michigan, checked on a motorist who was driving erratically in the city. The call to Monroe County Central Dispatch was made about 9:35 a.m. Saturday on the report of a light blue vehicle driving erratically in the area of North Macomb Street and Cole Road, on the north side of the city. The Monroe Police Department said while its officers were en route, another caller reported that a vehicle with a similar description had just damaged multiple mailboxes. When police arrived, they found two damaged mailboxes in the 1200 block of North Macomb Street. They then found the vehicle parked about three blocks away, in the 1500 block, with flattened tires and "significant damage, including a large orange construction sign lodged in the passenger side," the report said. The driver was a 40-year-old woman who lived in the Monroe area. "Upon speaking with her, officers noted that she could not recall the events leading up to the incident," the report said. After a field sobriety evaluation, the driver was arrested on a charge that she was intoxicated. Police also found crack cocaine, powder cocaine, unknown pills, and narcotics paraphernalia in the vehicle. "Driving under the influence is never worth the risk. Incidents like this are a reminder of how quickly things can go wrong. We're grateful to the alert witnesses who stepped up and contacted authorities," the report said.
BBC News
13-05-2025
- BBC News
Northumberland drug dealers spared jail due to four-year delay
Three drug dealers have been spared jail after their case took four years to pass through the court Wilkinson, 39, and her partner John Hunstone, 46, ran a crack cocaine gang in Northumberland with their friend Ashleigh Weatherstone, 35, and her ex-partner in late 2020 and early 2021, Newcastle Crown Court barristers said the trio had turned their lives around in the intervening years and had endured significant anxiety as they waited four years to learn their sentence three were given suspended prison sentences after admitting drug-dealing offences. The gang were caught when police found the two women with cash and drugs in an Audi at a petrol station near Bedlington on 12 January 2020, judge Carolyn Scott was later discovered with a large quantity of heroin and crack cocaine which was being repackaged into smaller packets at his subsequently took two years for their case to reach court, with all three admitting their offences in May 2023, the court was then another two-year delay - in part due to Weatherstone disputing aspects of the prosecution case, which required a separate hearing- before they were finally sentenced on court heard there were "various reasons" for the delays, ranging from reports not being prepared as requested and the unavailability of court space and barristers. 'Turned life around' All three had been addicted to drugs in 2020, and sold crack cocaine to fund their own habit - with the two women having a "significant role" in the dealing operation, according to prosecutor Peter Walker, representing Wilkinson, said a "lot of water [had] passed under the bridge" in the intervening years, and stipulated the delays were not her had been "blighted" by a Class A-drug addiction that, for many years, was a "lifelong struggle" from which "very few people are able to emerge unscathed", Mr Walker she had "completely" turned her life around, to the point where she had successfully concluded programmes with addiction recovery services, and had since had a child with Hunstone, the court Walker said she had found the uncertainty of her future, caused by the court delays, "extremely difficult", but it had "allowed her to show to everyone else she is capable of turning her life around"."She couldn't have done very much more in her case to show all of this is well and truly behind her," Mr Walker said. Mental health issues Kate Barnes, representing Hunstone, said he had been left with severe post-traumatic stress disorder and other serious mental health conditions following his service in the army, and had been preyed upon by other drug dealers for his pension, which was now almost totally over the past four years, he made "significant progress" to address both his mental health and drug use and was now routinely returning clean samples, Ms Barnes too was not responsible for the court delays, the court heard. Prospect of rehabilitation Part of the delay was caused by Weatherstone submitting a basis of plea - namely that she was being coerced into drug dealing by her ex-partner - which had required a separate session, known as a trial of issue or Newton hearing, the court barrister, Liam O'Brien, said she was not at fault for much of the "extraordinary" delay, and said not knowing if, or when, she might go to prison had taken a "toll" on her mental said Weatherstone, who had a traumatic history as well as various serious mental health conditions, had demonstrated "remorse" and had made "significant steps" to address her problems and drug addiction."She is, and always be, a drug addict, but [she] is no longer using any of the drugs she was using at the time she committed these offences," Mr O'Brien stressed Weatherstone had made "extraordinary progress in turning her life around during the period of delay".Judge Scott said, although Weatherstone had been subjected to domestic violence, she found Weatherstone had taken part in the drug dealing of her own "volition".The judge said drug dealers should "ordinarily" be jailed as "punishment", and all three might have faced potential jail terms of between three and seven she acknowledged the efforts they had made, the impacts of the delays, and said there was a "realistic" prospect of rehabilitation for each of them. Wilkinson, of Millbank Terrace in Bedlington, and Weatherstone, of Sampson Close in Morpeth, both admitted being concerned in the supply of Class A was jailed for 21 months, suspended for 18 months, while Weatherstone was jailed for two years, suspended for a year and a half, along with 100 hours unpaid of the same address as Wilkinson, admitted two counts of possessing Class A drugs with intent and was jailed for 19 months, suspended for 18 three were ordered to carry out activities with the probation service, while Weatherstone was also ordered to pay a £100 fine for missing an earlier court date which her barrister claimed had been caused by her "confusion". Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Send your story ideas here.
