Latest news with #drugTrafficking
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong driver arrested after 3 vehicles hit during police roadblock escape
Hong Kong police have arrested a motorist who hid in a hotel room for five days after allegedly hitting three vehicles, injuring another driver, while fleeing from a roadblock. The man, 30, was detained in connection with seven offences including furious driving and drug trafficking, Chief Inspector Law Chin-hon said on Saturday. The suspect is alleged to have disobeyed an order on Monday to turn off the engine and get out of his vehicle at a roadblock in Sai Yee Street, Mong Kok, for a police inspection. Law said the man instead drove forwards and backwards quickly to escape. 'His behaviour was so dangerous that Emergency Unit officer had to use a baton to break the right side window of his car, in an attempt to subdue him,' Law said. However, the officer's attempt failed and the man drove in the opposite direction on Soy Street and was last tracked to Yim Po Fong Street.
Free Malaysia Today
05-07-2025
- Free Malaysia Today
2 men killed in shootout with cops in Jitra
The police forensic unit at the scene of the shootout in Jitra, Kedah, this morning. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA : Two men, suspected to be criminals, were killed in a shootout with police in Jitra, Kedah, today. The incident happened on the North-South Expressway (PLUS) entrance road at 8.05am. Kedah police chief Fisol Salleh said policemen patrolling the area approached a four-wheel drive vehicle, with its occupants looking suspicious, and ordered it to stop, Bernama reported. 'The two men opened fire on the police vehicle. In the shootout that ensued, both were killed. 'Police found two firearms – a revolver and semi-automatic pistol – several bullets, a parang, and other tools for carrying out criminal activities in the car,' he told reporters at the scene. He said a background check on one of the men, aged 41, revealed that he had a criminal record for more than 40 offences. The identity of the other suspect was still unknown as he did not have any identification papers on him. 'We believe the two were part of a larger group commiting violent crimes across the country, including drug trafficking, gangsterism, factory break-ins and armed robberies. This gang is believed to have been active since 2020. 'The police forensic unit found three bullet casings at the scene,' he said. The bodies were sent to Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah in Alor Setar for an autopsy. The case is being investigated under Section 307 of the Penal Code for attempted murder. Bukit Aman criminal investigation department acting director Fadil Marsus, who was also present at the scene, said the two men were believed to belong to a criminal gang that had committed serious crimes. 'We are investigating whether they were linked to a criminal group in Klang, Selangor. The group is believed to have more than 30 members,' he said.
BBC News
04-07-2025
- BBC News
Devon and Cornwall county lines crackdown leads to 41 arrests
More than 40 arrests have been made across Devon and Cornwall in a police county lines Scorpion targets gangs who use young people to traffic drugs into the region from major cities, including Manchester and seven-day operation is run by five police forces, including Devon and Cornwall, Avon and Somerset, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, British Transport Police and the South West Regional Organised Crime Hernandez, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, said the crackdown was about taking "street level dealers out of action". Cash and drugs seized Drugs including crack, cocaine, heroin and cannabis were seized along with nearly £60,000 in cash, said police. A number of phones, suspected to have been used to coordinate county lines drug deals, were also seized and 41 arrests were Hernandez said the operations were important in tackling organised crimes gangs who see the south west as a soft touch."We have been doing this for a couple of years now and have got a bit of a battle rhythm going on," Ms Hernandez added."One of the challenges that we face is that we have got a lot of people who are also being exploited, and we need to go and intervene in their lives as well. " As well as carrying out raids across Devon and Cornwall, police also took sniffer dog patrols to Torquay train station to try and intercept suspected county lines traffickers as they Scorpion 12 also involved officers going into neighbourhoods to visit people believed to be vulnerable to being exploited by the drugs gangs.
Times
04-07-2025
- Times
Inside dawn raid with police as they target county lines gang boss
Six unmarked police cars weave through London at dawn, racing to a luxury penthouse in Canary Wharf. Thirty minutes earlier, I had joined officers from the Metropolitan Police's Operation Orochi task force as they were briefed on their mission: to arrest the suspected leader of a county lines gang that had been trafficking cocaine and cannabis in and out of Portsmouth for the past four years. As I sat in the police van at the back of the convoy, I was joined by Detective Superintendent Dan Mitchell, the head of the National County Lines Coordination Centre. He tells me gangs are updating their techniques to evade detection and drug lines are increasingly using encrypted messaging apps such as WhatsApp to build their customer base. 'We used to smash through people's front doors and they would rush to the bathroom to try and flush the drugs down the toilet as that's how we proved they were a drug dealer,' Mitchell said as we approach the flashy entrance of one of the tallest residential buildings in Europe. 'Now, they will try to smash their phone and damage their Sim card. That is the first thing they reach for as they know we are looking for digital devices — that's how we prove they are a drug dealer.' The raid on the suspected drug leader's penthouse last Thursday was part of a wider Metropolitan Police crackdown on organised crime. In the last week of June, officers shut down more than 100 county lines and arrested 301 people — 111 have been charged. County lines is the name given to drug dealing when gangs coerce carriers — often children and vulnerable people — to transport illegal drugs across police and local authority boundaries. Historically, the lines have mainly emanated from London, Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester. Children's homes are used by gangs in a practice known as 'cuckooing'. As about 15 police officers squeeze into the lifts, Mitchell explains that county lines gangs are the most violent model of drug supply and they are often highly exploitative of children. 'This operation is based in Canary Wharf but at the point of sale in Portsmouth, children as young as 16 will be the ones holding the weapons and being put in a risky position,' he said. 'We pursue the line holders further up the chain but it is a constant battle as the reason criminal gangs tie up children in debt bondage is because it makes the business more profitable. Someone offers a child a free PlayStation or new trainers and then, before they know it, they are trying to sell cannabis and have become entangled in debt bondage.' Creeping up to the door of the penthouse suite, as simultaneous raids began in Portsmouth, the green light was given to smash through — revealing a panoramic view of the O2 Arena and the London docklands from the balcony. The suspect was arrested and class A and B drugs, two Mercedes-Benz car keys, more than £5,000 worth of cash and several designer watches were found in the bedroom. Co-ordinated raids led to the arrest of two more suspects in Portsmouth and one at Gatwick airport. Wider raids across London led to the seizure of 12 firearms, 78 dangerous weapons, such as zombie knives and samurai swords, nearly 70kg of class A drugs and more than £600,000 in cash. As Mitchell finished taking in the view from the balcony, he reiterated that phones were among the most valuable seizures. In the past, gangs relied on burner phones to send marketing messages and arrange deals but there had been a shift from that means of communication, he said. • One gram of ketamine and its 4,000-mile journey to the UK 'You no longer have throwaway phones sending out old-fashioned messages as gangs are using encrypted apps and social media,' he said. 'We want to get hold of the device, interrogate it and see if we can gather evidence. You might have an encrypted app but if you are caught with it we can build the case against you.' The use of encrypted apps to sell drugs was a response from the gangs to their changing customer base, he added. With the Taliban limiting how much heroin comes out of Afghanistan, gangs were increasingly selling synthetic opioids and prescription medicines such as pregabalin and ketamine. 'If you are buying ketamine, you are more likely to have a smartphone and buy through an app,' he said. 'Whereas if you are a hardened drug user addicted to crack cocaine and heroin, you are more likely to steal, commit burglary and theft to make a bit of money to live.' In the nine months to March, the county lines task forces — which primarily operate within the Metropolitan, Merseyside, West Midlands and Greater Manchester forces — closed 1,225 lines and charged 808 line holders. The swish penthouses and expensive phones behind the UK's county lines are firmly in police crosshairs.
New York Times
27-06-2025
- New York Times
Canadian Citizen Dies at ICE Detention Center in Florida
The authorities are investigating the death of a Canadian citizen who died Monday in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency said in a statement. The man, Johnny Noviello, 49, was found unresponsive on Monday at around 1 p.m. at the Bureau of Prisons Federal Detention Center in Miami, according to the statement, which was released on Wednesday. Medical staff administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation, automated external defibrillator shock and called 911, ICE said. Mr. Noviello was pronounced dead by the Miami Fire Rescue Department at 1:36 p.m., the agency said. ICE said that it had notified the Canadian consulate of Mr. Noviello's death. The Canadian consulate did not immediately return phone and email requests for comment on Thursday. Mr. Noviello entered the United States in 1988 with a legal visa status and became a lawful permanent resident in 1991, the agency said. In October 2023, he was convicted of charges of racketeering and drug trafficking in Volusia County, Fla., and was sentenced to 12 months in prison. Court records show that Mr. Noviello and his father were arrested and charged in 2017 with selling drugs, including hydrocodone and oxycodone, at an auto sales shop in Daytona Beach, Fla. ICE agents arrested Mr. Noviello on May 15 at the Florida Department of Corrections probation office, and he was being detained pending removal proceedings because he had violated U.S. drug laws, according to the agency. His death came as ICE agents have made sweeping arrests across the United States as part of President Trump's crackdown on immigration. Mr. Trump has issued several executive orders this year aimed at deporting millions of undocumented immigrants, and ICE arrests in courts, restaurants, hotels and factories have prompted widespread protests. Mr. Noviello is the 10th person to die in ICE custody this year and the fourth person to die in custody in Florida, according to the agency's website. Rylee Kirk contributed research.
