Soldier, wife face federal drug charges after delivery intercepted in Gulfport
This guy seems to have been a vendor of some sort. Probably operating on the clearnet, I'm guessing.
Posted: Tuesday, June 9, 2015 2:03 PM EDT Updated: Tuesday, June 9, 2015 5:25 PM EDT By Michelle Lady
GULFPORT, MS (WLOX) - An Army National Guard member and his wife were in federal court this week after agents say packages containing methamphetamine were being shipped to their Gulfport home from other countries.
David and Regina Cooper are charged with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute Schedule I and IV controlled substances. Both were arrested on state charges last year for the drugs, but are now facing federal charges.
"Any behavior like this is unacceptable and not in line with Army values," Army National Guard Lt. Col. Tim Powell said. "Our soldiers are very dedicated and professional and every soldier is expected to abide by the standards of the Army National Guard."
Lt. Col. Powell said the Army National Guard has flagged Cooper's files, which means no favorable personnel actions, like a promotion or any awards, can be given to him. Cooper's security clearance has also been suspended pending adjudication of the charges, so he is not allowed to have access to any sensitive information. If Cooper is convicted of any of the drug charges, Powell said he will be discharged from the military immediately.
"These charges related to the solider occurred while he was off duty, so he is facing charges in the civil process," Lt. Col. Powell said. "We are closely monitoring the civil process."
The Department of Homeland Security United States Customs and Border Protection at JFK International Airport seized a suspicious package containing a white substance on May 25, 2014. The package was being shipped from India to David Cooper in Gulfport. After being tested, the substance was found to be 97.4 grams of methamphetamine.
Four days after the package was intercepted, Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics agents conducted a controlled delivery at the Gulfport home. David Cooper accepted the package and MBN agents went in and searched the home. Cooper's wife, Regina Cooper, was also home at the time of the search.
MBN agents found found several drugs at the Coopers' home including Alprazolam (Xanax), Methylone and Dimethhylone, MEC, MDMA (ecstasy), pentedrone with methcathinone, MDA, pentedrone and etizolam. A mixture of some of the drugs are used to make molly. All the drugs MBN agents estimate have a street value of more than $170,000.
Also seized were prepaid cards with David and Regina Cooper's names on them, which agents say were used to help facilitate the purchasing and selling of illegal narcotics. Label makers, a heat sealer, pill press, digital scales, empty shipping boxes, empty capsules, shipping labels, postal tracking receipts and documents related to buying and selling illegal narcotics were also found.
On June 3, 2014 another package was intercepted by the US Postal Inspection Service this one was shipped from China. The package contained 95.6 grams of methamphetamine.
A federal judge set a $25,000 bond for Regina Cooper, but one of the conditions of bond is she's not allowed to have any contact with her husband.
David Cooper was denied bond. A federal judge said there is no condition that would assure Cooper would appear in court and that would ensure the defendant is not a risk to the community. Cooper was out on bond for another charge when he was arrested.
The judge noted that while Cooper was out on bond he continued communicating with suspected drug traffickers about illegal narcotic activity and he has contacts outside the United States. Cooper is also an active military member and could be deployed overseas.
Charges broaden in postal meth case
"Case indicates wider conspiracy" ...can't get the article without javascript.
Cannabis worth €1m found hidden in soap
Gardaí 11 Jun 2015
Three men have been arrested in Dublin after 50 kg's of herbal cannabis worth an estimated €1 million was discovered in a soap shipment from Spain on Thursday.
Story by Anita McSorley @Anita_UTV, Dublin
The discovery was made in the North inner city area of Dublin following an intelligence led operation by Revenue's Customs Service and the Gardaí.
More than 50 kg's of the drug were found concealed in a batch of soap which arrived in Dublin from a shipment from Spain.
Three men, aged between 24 and 34, have been arrested in connection with the investigation.
They are currently detained at Mountjoy and Store Street Garda Stations under the provisions of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act 1996.
In a statement Gardaí said: "These operations use advanced analytical and intelligence methods to disrupt criminals and dismantle their networks.
"Drug seizures play a critical role in targeting the livelihood of criminals and reducing their ability to carry out illegal activities.
"Drug seizures also help protect communities from the devastating impact of drugs and the associated criminality."
Investigations are ongoing.
Three men arrested following seizure of cannabis worth €1m
The drugs were concealed in a consignment of soap originating in Spain
Three men have been arrested after customs officers seized €1 million worth of herbal cannabis in Dublin.
They were uncovered as part of an intelligence-led operation between Revenue and gardaí.
50kg of the drug - concealed in a consignment of soap originating in Spain - were discovered during a controlled delivery in the city.
The three Irish men are being detained at Mountjoy Garda station.
*Fall River police intercept package of cocaine from Puerto Rico
An alleged scheme to ship narcotics from Puerto Rico to Fall River using the U.S. Postal Service ended in two men arrested on trafficking charges and a kilogram of cocaine seized.
FALL RIVER -- An alleged scheme to ship narcotics from Puerto Rico to Fall River using the U.S. Postal Service ended in two men arrested on trafficking charges and a kilogram of cocaine seized.
Authorities say using fictitious names or addresses on postal parcels is a common tactic by drug distributors in Puerto Rico to ship controlled substances to New England. Investigators became suspicious when a package arrived last Friday at the post office at Government Center with destination and sender addresses that did not match the names of people associated with those addresses in public records.
A controlled delivery by an undercover investigator posing as a mail carrier and a subsequent investigation led to the arrests of Angel Hernandez, 19, of 495 Globe St., and Randy Rosa, 25, of 166 Filmore St., New Bedford. Both are charged with trafficking in cocaine over 1,000 grams and conspiracy to violate the drug laws. Hernandez, who was on probation for a separate criminal case and has prior convictions, was also charged with possession to distribute a Class A drug.
Last Friday, Inspector Jay Stern of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service contacted Massachusetts State Police Trooper Mark Burke and Fall River Police Detective Luis Duarte, a member of the police department's Vice and Intelligence Unit, about the suspicious package that had arrived and was scheduled to be delivered to an address on Mount Hope Avenue later that day. Stern said he had looked up the addresses on the package, and found that while they were real, neither the named sender in San Juan, Puerto Rico -- "ITM Sales Fulfillment" -- nor the receiver -- "Justin Robinson" -- were associated with either address, according to court documents.
Duarte also tried finding information about a company in Puerto Rico named ITM Sales Fulfillment, but could not locate any information, leading him to believe that it was a fake company. In addition, database searches found no records of someone named Justin Robinson living in Fall River, according to court documents.
Based on those circumstances, investigators planned a controlled delivery to the Mount Hope Bay residence, but a woman there told Stern that nobody named Justin Robinson lived at that address, and that nobody there was expecting a package. Stern brought the package to the North Dartmouth Post Office, where it was held while the investigation continued.
Later that same day, police say Hernandez, identifying himself as Justin Robinson, went to the post office on South Main Street to inquire about the package. He provided a cell phone number to a post office employee, left, and returned later in the afternoon to the same post office to ask about the package. Police say Hernandez also asked a letter carrier the next day, Saturday, about the package. The carrier told police he saw Hernandez enter into a gray Chrysler Sebring that police later learned was the same vehicle that Hernandez was arrested in last month for allegedly driving without a license, according to court documents.
U.S. postal workers sort packages on Dec. 18, 2014, in San Francisco. The number of intercepted marijuana-stuffed packages declined in fiscal year 2014.
By Steven Nelson May 29, 2015 | 4:53 p.m. EDT + More
The amount of marijuana detected in the national mail system surprisingly declined in 2014 as the world's first licensed recreational marijuana stores opened in two Western states, appearing to dash at least some predictions of chaos as other jurisdictions move to legalize the drug.
Data provided to U.S. News by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service show the number of marijuana parcels seized by inspectors fell more than 12 percent in fiscal 2014, with a coinciding decrease in the collective weight of contraband cannabis.
The fiscal year began on Oct. 1, 2013, three months before pot stores opened in Colorado, and ended on Sept. 30, 2014, three months after stores opened in Washington state.
Fiscal Year 2012 Fiscal Year 2013 Fiscal Year 2014
Marijuana parcel intercepts 7,600 9,100 (+19.7 percent) 7,990 (-12.2 percent)
Pounds of marijuana seized 42,000 45,000 (+7.1 percent) 39,301 (-12.7 percent)
Non-pot drug-related parcel seizures 3,722 4,289 (+15.2 percent) 4,588 (+7 percent)
The Postal Inspection Service is a law enforcement agency that investigates crimes affecting the U.S. Postal Service. Though states can legalize marijuana possession under local law, possession for any reason outside limited research remains a federal crime, as does shipping the drug through the mail.
Postal Inspector Lori McCallister, the service's national spokeswoman, tells U.S. News that's true even if people use USPS to ship pot among themselves in Denver.
McCallister says "we investigate any and all suspicious packages that contain illegal narcotics" and that inspectors vigilantly enforce federal law regardless of state policies.
The inspectors service does not keep records on state-specific drug shipments, she says.
Marijuana legalization supporters see the national decline in intercepted pot shipments as confirmation that regulation works, but opponents dismiss the slump as possibly inconsequential.
"It's a slight drop; I don't think it's particularly meaningful especially since it's an increase since 2012," says Kevin Sabet, president of the anti-legalization group Smart Approaches to Marijuana. "We don't know what reasons would produce a one-year drop."
Diane Goldstein, an executive board member with the group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, however, says the decline is a "very positive" sign for reformers.
"Most of the shipping that's being done is by people in the illicit market, and those are the people we're trying to get out of business," says Goldstein, who retired as a lieutenant from California's Redondo Beach Police Department after a 21-year career in law enforcement.
Even the Drug Enforcement Administration, she says, saw a drop in seized marijuana as pot stores opened. In calendar year 2014, the DEA seized 74,225 kilograms of marijuana, down from 270,823 kilograms in 2013 and a peak of 725,862 kilograms in 2010. It was the DEA's smallest haul in 29 years of data on the agency's website.
Mason Tvert, a Colorado-based spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, says many marijuana users realize shipping the drug isn't worth the risk of harsh federal charges.
"Perhaps people are becoming more reluctant to do it because there is now a sense of order surrounding the product," he says. "Marijuana prohibition is basically marijuana anarchy, and when there's anarchy, it feels like nobody's watching and you can get away with anything. Now that marijuana is being regulated, it feels like it is under control and you will likely get caught if you break the law."
A law enforcement task force called the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area released statistics earlier this year purporting to show a multiyear uptick in pot-packed packages shipped from Colorado, crediting the information to the inspection service. But, McCallister says, "that is not our statistical information"
Task forces, she says, generally "have to show they are being functional and show they are doing work to continue to receive funding."
Thomas Gorman, director of Rocky Mountain HIDTA, says he stands by the Colorado-specific data. "The citation on there is totally accurate," he retorts, saying the data came from a nonpublic postal inspector database.
More than 2,200 people were arrested by postal inspectors for mailing controlled substances in fiscal 2014, according to the annual nationwide statistics, which were provided in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. In addition to state-level legalization of marijuana, since the 2011 founding of now-defunct Silk Road there have been a wide range of illegal substances a click away from most Americans with Internet access via the "deep Web" markets.
The U.S. Postal Service is the preferred carrier for many drug-shippers because inspectors must acquire a search warrant based on probable cause before inspecting first-class mail and parcels. FedEx and UPS both specify in their terms of service that they reserve the right to open and inspect any package at their own discretion, though California's Supreme Court extended in 2013 warrant protection to a FedEx package that reeked of marijuana.
Alaska, Oregon and District of Columbia residents voted in November - after the most recent fiscal year data - to legalize marijuana. State officials are working to set up regulated markets in Alaska and Oregon, and several other states are likely to see well-funded legalization ballot campaigns in 2016. About half of states allow marijuana for medical use.
This make anyone else feel better? I figured it was much more.