Now one year since the Wakashio ran aground in Mauritius, the International Transport Workers’ Federation is calling for the immediate release and repatriation of its crew members who are still…
drug smuggling
CBP finds meth stashed inside peanut shells
Hundreds of grams of methamphetamine were found stuffed inside peanut shells at an express consignment hub in Memphis, Tennessee, officials said Monday.
On June 29, CBP officers using an X-ray device said they spotted “suspicious anomalies” within a shipment labeled as “regional bread roasted peanuts regional dust sweet made of corn.”
CBP officers reportedly cracked open the peanuts and found a white crystal substance – later determined to be methamphetamine – concealed inside the shells.
The...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/cbp-finds-meth-stashed-inside-peanut-shells
Trucker charged after $11M cocaine bust at Canadian border
A truck driver was arrested and charged after border officers seized over $11 million worth of cocaine after it entered Canada from the U.S. via Buffalo, New York, authorities said Thursday.
Pardeep Singh, 24, of LaSalle, Quebec, was arrested on June 15 after a secondary inspection on the Canadian side of the Peace Bridge, which links Fort Erie, Ontario, and Buffalo.
Canada Border Services Agency officers discovered five duffel bags containing almost 250 pounds of cocaine, according to a joint...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/trucker-charged-after-11m-cocaine-bust-at-canadian-border
Smugglers outfitted trucks to haul ‘staggering’ amount of drugs to Canada, police say
A suspected drug-smuggling ring allegedly used tractor-trailers with secret compartments to truck millions of dollars of cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana from Mexico and California to Canada before authorities took it down, police said Tuesday.
Police seized $50 million worth of drugs and arrested 20 people after a six-month investigation dubbed Project Brisa led by the Toronto Police Service. Five tractor-trailers also were seized as part of the case, which involved multiple Canadian and...
20 tons of coke = 40+ years in prison for MSC container-ship crew
Bosko Markovic began working for ocean carrier Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC) in 2008. Over the next 11 years, the Montenegrin worked his way up to the position of chief mate, second in command behind the master, with an annual salary of $108,000.
That wasn’t enough money for him, according to prosecutors from the U.S Department of Justice.
“Motivated by profit and greed,” they said, Markovic attempted to use his management role aboard the container ship MSC Gayane to help pull off one of the...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/20-tons-of-coke-40-years-in-prison-for-msc-container-ship-crew
Small Fleet Summit: What happens when your truck is carrying drugs at border
FIRESIDE CHAT TOPIC: What small fleets and owner-operators need to know when trucks get caught with drugs at the U.S. borders.
DETAILS: Drug seizures from commercial trucks have surged at the U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico since 2020, when restrictions for nonessential travel took effect in response to COVID-19. The drivers themselves can face arrest and prosecution, while tractors and trailers can be seized for extended periods of time. But in some cases, the drivers are unaware of their...
Mexican drug traffickers turned to trucks during pandemic — Long Haul Crime Log
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in Laredo, Texas, saw drug traffickers switch to fewer but larger shipments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Commercial trucks became their vehicle of choice.
The latest episode of FreightWaves’ true-crime podcast, Long-Haul Crime Log, examines drug supply chains and what happens when there’s a capacity crunch for narcotics traffickers.
Agents said with the border being closed for nonessential travel since spring 2020, there were a lot less passenger cars...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/mexican-drug-traffickers-turned-to-trucks-during-pandemic
Customs agents seize meth, chicken lollipops at Texas ports
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers recently seized methamphetamine and illegal pet treats in separate enforcement actions in Texas.
On April 14, agents working at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport intercepted a shipment of 93 prohibited chicken lollipop pet treats, authorities said.
The shipment was manifested as men’s sweaters and was destined for Highlands, Texas, near Houston.
“Consumers are unaware that some international goods and products are prohibited or restricted...
https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/customs-agents-seize-meth-chicken-lollipops
Shipping’s billion-dollar coke bust: 8 plead guilty, sentencing begins
Prosecutors called it “the largest cocaine seizure in the 230-year history of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.” Twenty tons of cocaine worth $1 billion was found in seven containers aboard the MSC Gayane at the Philadelphia port on June 17, 2019. On Tuesday, the first of the conspirators — former MSC crewmember Vladimir Penda — was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison for his crime.
Fresh details on who was involved in the conspiracy and how they did it have been revealed in new...
https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/shippings-billion-dollar-coke-bust-8-plead-guilty-sentencing-begins
Skeptical judge acquits trucker caught with heroin at Canadian border
An off-duty truck driver caught at the U.S.-Canada border with 13 bricks of heroin in a car was found not guilty on two drug charges by a Canadian judge who determined that his version of events was “plausible.” The driver maintained that someone must have placed the drugs in the trunk while he helped fix another trucker’s rig at a rest stop.
Dump truck driver Gurpreet Mand was found not guilty on April 1, more than three-and-a-half years after his arrest in August 2017. Mand was attempting to...