September 9, 2011
Top Stories from the DEA, August 27 to September 9, 2011
______________________________________________________________________
DEA Moves to Emergency Control Synthetic Stimulants
On September 7 DEA filed a notice of intent to use its emergency scheduling authority to temporarily control three synthetic stimulants (Mephedrone, 3, 4 methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) and Methylone). This action was necessary to protect the public from the imminent hazard posed by these dangerous chemicals. In 30 days or more, DEA intends to publish in the Federal Register a Final Order to temporarily control these chemicals for at least 12 months, with the possibility of a six-month extension. The final order will be published in the Federal Register and will designate these chemicals as Schedule I substances, the most restrictive category, which is reserved for unsafe, highly abused substances with no currently accepted medical use in the United States.
“This imminent action by DEA demonstrates that there is no tolerance for those who manufacture, distribute, or sell these drugs anywhere in the country, and that those who do will be shut down, arrested, and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart. “DEA has made it clear we will not hesitate to use our emergency scheduling authority to control these dangerous chemicals that pose a significant and growing threat to our nation.”
http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/pressrel/pr090711.html" target="_blank">Click Here to Read the DEA Press Release
Jamaican Drug Lord Pleads Guilty
On August 31 it was announced that Christopher Michael Coke, the leader of the Jamaica-based international criminal organization known as the "Shower Posse," who is also a Department of Justice Consolidated Priority Organization Target (CPOT) pled guilty today to racketeering conspiracy and conspiracy to commit assault with a dangerous weapon. Coke was arrested by Jamaican authorities on June 22, 2010 and arrived in New York on June 24, 2010. Coke is scheduled to be sentenced on December 8, 2011.
According to the information filed today: Since 1994, members of the criminal organization Mr. Coke led have been involved in drug trafficking in locations throughout the world including New York City, Miami, and Kingston, Jamaica. Members distributed narcotics, including marijuana, cocaine and crack cocaine, and also supplied Coke with firearms obtained in the United States.
http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/states/newsrel/2011/nyc083111a.html" target="_blank">Click Here to Read the DEA Press Release
Colombian Traffickers Charged in Operations Seven Trumpets and Under the Sea
On September 6 the indictment of more than 50 Colombians for their involvement in drug trafficking from South America to Central America, Mexico and the United States using aircraft and submarines was announced. These illicit maritime and aviation transportation organizations were directly tied to Colombian Criminal Bands (BACRIMs) which are filling the organized criminal drug trafficking void left by the dismantlement of the Norte Valle Cartel (NVC), and the dissolution of the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC). If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of up to 60 years in prison.
This operation began on February 11, 2011 when the creation of the BACRIM prosecution unit in the Southern District of Florida was announced, and since then more than 100 BACRIM leaders and associates have been indicted. In Operation Seven Trumpets, 34 defendants have been charged in five separate indictments for their participation in a drug trafficking organization that used airplanes to transport thousands of kilograms of cocaine from clandestine airstrips located in South America, to clandestine airstrips in Central America, with the United States being the ultimate destination for the cocaine. In Operation Under the Sea, 22 defendants have been charged for their alleged participation in a drug trafficking organization that built and used submarines to transport cocaine from Colombia to Central America, with the ultimate destination also being the United States.
http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/pressrel/pr090611.html" target="_blank">Click Here to Read the DEA Press Release
____________________________________________________________________________________
DID YOU KNOW?
As we approach the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on Washington and New York, it is important to remember that a major source of financing for many terrorist organizations that threaten our country is drug trafficking. Attacking narco-terrorist organizations and their leaders is among DEA’s highest priorities, and we have been successful in identifying, dismantling, and destroying them in the years before and since the 9/11 attacks. For information on some of DEA’s major operations since 1994, including those targeting narco-terrorists, click http://www.justice.gov/dea/major/major.htm" target="_blank">here.
You are subscribed to Dateline DEA for U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. This information has recently been updated, and is now available.
