UK Navy siezes 5.5 tonnes of cocaine off Colombian coastline

The UK's Royal Navy have seized a record amount of cocaine in an anti-smuggling operation.

Operating on intelligence from helicopter surveillance, navy frigate HMS Iron Duke intercepted a fishing boat - the MV Cristal - off the coast of Colombia. After a 24hour search, 212 bales of cocaine, each weighing approximately 26kg, were discovered underneath some concrete ballast in a hidden compartment of the boat.

HMS Iron Duke is ostensibly in the region to provide assistance in the event of a hurricane disaster, but also engages in anti-trafficking operations.

Although boats carrying cocaine are believed to leave the shores of South America many times a day, this is only the 3rd drug seizure in as many months for HMS Iron Duke. Small wonder, then, that the frigate's commander, Andrew Stacey, talks up the success of the operation. Speaking to the press, Stacey said:

"This is the largest seizure of cocaine in Royal Navy history, and is a very significant victory in the continuing fight against illegal drugs"

Despite the notable quantity of the drug seized, it is unlikely that purity or price of cocaine will be affected. World cocaine prices have continued to fall over the last decade, though purity at street level can vary markedly.

Read at BBC News, with some decent commentary on the affair at The Independent, courtesy of Tom Sutcliffe.

Minneapolis shuts down police Narcotics division

The city of Minneapolis has decided to shut down its narcotics division - the unit responsible for tracking down and busting mid to high-level drug dealers and producers - ostensibly under pressure to reduce a budget defecit.

The Minneapolis Police Department apparently has a $5million budget defecit and feels that closing the 14-officer unit is a sensible way to save some cash. The unit apparently investigated around 4000 cases this year and its closure is likely to cause a backlash from concerned citizens.

Lt. Przynski, the officer leading the disbanded unit, said:

"This unit has been highly productive, if not the most productive unit in the Minneapolis Police Department," Przynski said. I'm disappointed, and so are my officers, about this decision."

The city's police chief, Tim Dolan, believes that the force can still combat the illegal narcotics trade effectively without the division, though it is unclear how he reaches this conclusion. Initially, the members of the narcotics unit will be re-assigned to duties such as street patrols.

Hinting at darker issues than budget-balancing, City Council Member Ralph Remington, said:

"The department could save a lot of money if they corrected the bad behavior of a few bad cops [...] I just learned today that the chief was cutting the narcotics unit, so I want to look at the issue more closely."

Minneapolis PD has also cut down their canine, hostage negotiation and SWAT units, though has not disbanded them completely.

Read more at the Star Tribune

Smart Drugs Reviewed

There's an excellent ' smart drugs roundup' at wired.com.

Whether they are Herbal, Chemical or Hybrid solutions, Nootropics or 'smart drugs' will play an increasing role in society as people strive to compete in an evermore crowded marketplace.

The Wired article takes a look at some of the popular products out there which purport to boost brain function such as memory retention or cognitive skills.

Whilst Wired admits that their roundup is subjective and far from a proper scientific study, their reviewer, Alexis Fitts, gives a great insight into her own experience of the products. Alexis found that many of the products did indeed seem to boost brain function.

Vancouver's drug labs

BBC News are carrying an interesting story about drug gangs operating in Vancouver.

Vancouver is a hotspot for organised drug gangs due to the strategic location of the port city and the relatively lax importation restrictions for precursor chemicals. Precursors for a range of drugs including ecstacy, amphetamine and methamphetamine can be obtained and shipped to Canada at pretty low risk. In Vancouver, many clandestine labs ('clan labs') are operating, turning these precursors into ecstasy tablets or crystal meth in short order.

Only the labs which are targeted by intelligence-led operations (around 35-40 per year), or bring themselves to the attention of the authorities (for example by catching fire) are shut down. We can safely assume there are plenty more that go undetected. The BBC article indicates that, whilst the USA is the primary market for the synthetic drugs produced in these labs, BC-produced drugs are now finding routes into the global marketplace.