Former officer Joseph Kelley, who resigned from the force in February, is charged with one count of trafficking in opiate derivatives after police found 200 oxycodone tablets and various other pills and liquids. Police obtained a warrant for Kelley's home as part of an "ongoing OxyContin investigation," they said.
Read more...Community Supervision and Corrections Department employee Thomas Walker, 22, had worked for the county for only two months when he accepted money from an undercover district attorney's office investigator to report a clean urine sample when the investigator didn't provide one at all. He is charged with bribery and tampering with a government document. He has resigned after being told he would be fired. Walker faces up to 20 years in prison for bribery.
Read more...Arthur Shannon Sizer, 31, of Ruther Glen pleaded guilty to three counts of distributing cocaine. He was sentenced Tuesday to 75 years, with all but 10 years suspended.Prosecutor Glen Henkle, who will handle narcotics cases for the county, presented evidence that Sizer had distributed cocaine since March 2004. By 2008, Henkle said, Sizer was moving one kilo a month. Sizer had made 400 cocaine sales in Caroline in 2008, according to Henkle's evidence.Authorities considered Sizer to be a big-time drug dealer in the county and said he was at or near the top of a cocaine distribution ring with sources from New York to Richmond.Next month, Sizer will face a judge in Caroline again on a charge of possession of a firearm by a felon.Kenneth Eugene Crutchfield of Woodford, who was said by authorities to be a lower-level dealer under Sizer, was given two life sentences with all but seven years suspended.
He was convicted of conspiring to distribute cocaine and distributing cocaine--his third offense.Henkle is seeking to have Crutchfield's earlier suspended sentences revoked.
34-year-old Jose Esparza and his 55-year-old mother, Lydia Esparza, pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess cocaine with intent to distribute.The U.S. Attorney's Office says a December search of the woman's Odessa home led to recovery of more than a kilogram of cocaine.The Esparzas acknowledged he was a cocaine dealer and she let him store the drugs at her place.Lydia Esparza faces from five to 40 years in prison, plus a maximum $2 million fine.Jose Esparza, with a previous drug conviction, faces 10 years to life in prison and a possible $4 million fine. Details on the earlier narcotics case were not immediately released.
Read more...Francisco Torres-Felix, 44, entered his plea Monday before U.S. District Judge Ronald Whyte, of San Jose. He's scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 3.He pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute and possessing with intent to distribute 15 kilograms of cocaine; carrying and possessing a firearm in relation to these crimes; being an illegal immigrant in possession of two firearms — a .25-caliber semi-automatic pistol and a .38-caliber semi-automatic pistol; and illegal re-entry following deportation. Torres-Felix had been indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2007, and a superseding indictment was filed in April. He pleaded guilty just as jury selection was to begin for his trial.The maximum penalty on the drug charges is life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years, and a fine of up to $400,000; having a firearm in relation to drug trafficking adds another 5 years to that minimum as well as an additional fine of up to $250,000. Firearm possession by an illegal immigrant is punishable by up to 10 years and $250,000, while illegal re-entry is punishable by up to two years and $250,000; Torres-Felix also is subject to deportation after serving his sentence.Torres-Felix is the second of two defendants to plead guilty after a joint investigation between the Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with help from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Alonso Rodriguez-Castellanos pleaded guilty in January to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine. He hasn't been sentenced yet.The DEA had gotten a tip that Rodriguez-Castellanos was negotiating a big cocaine deal, arranging for Torres-Felix to deliver the drug at a parking lot in Hayward. Federal agents arrested them there with the cocaine, finding one handgun in Torres-Felix's vehicle and another later at his home. Prosecutors at the time estimated the cocaine's street value at about $1 million.
Read more...Anthonia Rouga McWhorter was charged Thursday through Lake County Superior Court with dealing in cocaine, a class B felony, and resisting law enforcement, a class D felony.Lake Station narcotics officers had done surveillance at local truck stops prior to stopping McWhorter at 4:30 p.m. at the Travel Port of America, 1201 Ripley St., McDaniel said.When pulled over, McWhorter attempted to avoid police by putting his car into reverse.Instead of getting away, McWhorter rammed into an unmarked police car causing minor damage, McDaniel said.
Read more...Thirty-two-year-old Joseph Griffin of Waterbury pleaded guilty Thursday to the charges in New Haven federal court. Prosecutors say that in January and February of this year, Griffin sold crack cocaine to someone who was working with police. A search of Griffin's home turned up more of the drug. Griffin is being sentenced in August and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and could be fined up to $2 million.
Read more...Ricky Beavers, 54, pleaded guilty on May 6 to three counts of delivery of cocaine. In exchange for his plea, King County prosecutors agreed to recommend he serve a prison term at the low end of the sentencing range.During Friday's sentencing hearing, Beavers apologized. His lawyer, David Gehrke, said that when Beavers was arrested he was using crack cocaine and selling the drug to support his habit.
"I have repented to the Lord and have turned my life around," Beavers said before Superior Court Judge Steven Gonzalez sentenced him.Beavers' wife and his pastor were in court Friday to support him. Gehrke said Beavers, who has no prior criminal history, kicked his drug habit through religion.The length of the sentence means Beavers will serve his time in state prison rather than county jail.Beavers was arrested by King County sheriff's deputies and Metro Transit Police on Feb. 11 while he was driving Route 42 near South Leo Street and Beacon Avenue South.The arrest came after an investigation lasting several weeks in which transit police made several undercover drug buys from Beavers, according to charging papers.
Some, but not all, of the buys were made aboard Metro buses, police said.The sales, which ranged from $60 to $120 for 0.7 to 1.5 grams of cocaine, also took place at Beavers' house in South Seattle and in Tukwila, according to charging papers.
Though it is clear Beavers dealt crack while on his route, "we have no indication that he was selling to passengers," sheriff's spokesman Sgt. John Urquhart said. Rather, customers who knew the driver would meet him along his route and make their purchases, police said.Police said the investigation was triggered by a tip from another Metro employee. Beavers has since resigned from Metro.
"This is the first time I can recall a situation of this nature, and we employ 2,200 operators," Metro spokeswoman Rochelle Ogershok said shortly after Beavers' arrest.
The Pender County Sheriff Narcotics Unit arrested a man Thursday for allegedly trafficking crack cocaine.During a two month investigation, officers were able to seize multiple ounces of crack cocaine from Timothy Ballard of northeast Leland.
The Pender County Sheriff's Department said Ballard has a history of drug convictions. He is being held in the Pender County Jail on a million dollar-plus bond.
Newburgh woman has been jailed on charges of selling drugs outside a New Paltz adult entertainment club.Police say they caught Tamara M. Dunlap, 21, just after 5 p.m. Wednesday selling cocaine to someone in the parking lot outside the club on Route 299.Members of the Ulster Regional Gang Enforcement Narcotics Team, a multi-agency detail, were acting on a complaint about drug sales outside the premises.
Dunlap was charged with two counts each of third-degree criminal sale and criminal possession of a controlled substance, felonies. She was arraigned and sent to Ulster County Jail.
Forty-eight-year-old Horacio Uffre pleaded guilty in October and was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Portland.Sentence 12 years and six months in prison for cocaine and heroin trafficking in the Saco area.
Uffre's arrest capped a 2007 investigation by the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency that led to the seizure of heroin and crack cocaine with a street value of $140,000. A money counting machine, digital scales and a handgun were also recovered.
Timothy Alan Hann of 12429 Creagerstown Road in Thurmont, Md., who was charged with one count each of possession of cocaine and possession of CDS paraphernalia.
Read more...Rodney V. Wolfe of 13217 Independence Road in Clear Spring, who was charged with one count each of distribution of cocaine, conspiracy to distribute cocaine, possession of cocaine and possession of CDS paraphernalia
Read more...Tory Renee Wantz of 5640 Fort Ritchie Road in Sabillasville, Md., who was charged with one count each of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and common nuisance.
Read more...Leon Cornell Russell of 823 Concord St. in Hagerstown, who was charged with one count each of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession of cocaine, possession of MDMA and possession of CDS paraphernalia.
Read more...Kimberly G. Snead of 6530 Wayne Highway in Waynesboro, who was charged with one count each of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, possession of marijuana and possession of CDS paraphernalia.
Read more...Samuel Robert Snead of 6530 Wayne Highway in Waynesboro, Pa., who was charged with two counts of possession of CDS paraphernalia and one count each of distribution of cocaine, conspiracy to distribute cocaine, possession of cocaine, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of marijuana,
Read more...Damien Randall Williams of 25216 Elhuff Court in Cascade, who was charged with two counts each of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possession of CDS paraphernalia, and one count each of distribution of cocaine, possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana, possession of MDMA and common nuisance.
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Ronnell Leeper, 31, of Columbus, faces charges of trafficking drugs - cocaine, and possession of drugs - crack cocaine. Both are third-degree felonies.Sherika Banks, 25, of Columbus, is charged with permitting drug abuse, a fifth-degree felony.After a three-month investigation, Fairfield-Hocking Major Crimes Unit had the Lancaster Police conduct a traffic stop on Leeper - who was driving in the 100 block of East Sixth Avenue.Banks was a passenger in Leeper's car.Major Crimes Unit Cmdr. Eric Brown said Leeper, the target of the investigation, was arrested with 18.5 grams of crack cocaine, which has a street value of 100 to 150 a gram."We consider (Leeper) to be a mid- to upper-level dealer," said Brown. "He was more than the street corner drug dealer. He was bringing crack cocaine to the this community on a regular basis."
Brown said Leeper, known on the street as "Duke," was going out into the rural parts of the county to sell drugs as well as the city."We are very familiar with his (criminal) history," Brown said. "He was known to deal (drugs) in Fairfield County and in the City of Lancaster."Lancaster Police arrested Leeper in June 2007 on charges of drug trafficking and possession of drugs.His disposition for those charges was unknown at the time of publication. Brown said the drug bust was a joint operation between the Major Crimes Unit, Lancaster Police Department and the Fairfield County Sheriff's Office.Leeper is being detained at the Fairfield County Jail on a $500,000 cash surety bond.Banks is being detained at the Fairfield County Jail on a $50,000 cash surety bond.
Jeffrey Lawrence Galland, the former engineering director of JCI, a Las Vegas-based company, pleaded guilty to using a firearm during a violent crime, and conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana, according to court records, the newspaper reported.
Records detailed Galland, 42, as a part of a group that smuggled drugs from Washington state to Montana, the newspaper report said. Galland and an accomplice once used a shotgun and semiautomatic rifle in an attempt at collecting a drug debt, according to the paper. “ It does not affect my ability to deliver the services they require. However, it is not something I am proud of. ” He was sentenced to 4½ years in prison and four years of probation. He was released from federal prison in 2000.
Court records show he also was arrested in 1994 and charged with burglary and assault after he broke into a home and pointed a gun at a woman in Great Falls, Mont., police there said, according to the newspaper. He was convicted of burglary and received probation in 1995.Galland acknowledged his troubled background, and his lack of an engineering license, to The Morning News but said it "had no bearing on his ability to help clients." The collapse of the Cowboys' facility in heavy winds three weeks ago left 12 people injured, including a 33-year-old team staff member who is paralyzed from the waist down. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has opened an investigation into the incident.Galland also falsified educational credentials he provided The Morning News, the paper said. Galland showed a résumé that said he received a bachelor's degree in physics from Eastern Washington University. The school, however, told the newspaper he completed coursework toward that degree but never graduated. The résumé also says he has taken classes for a master's degree in structural engineering at UNLV, the report said. Records show he never attended the school, UNLV officials told the newspaper.
JCI and Canada-based Summit Structures, which built the Cowboys' practice facility in 2003 and supervised last year's upgrades, have worked in tandem extensively in recent years, the report said. Galland's work for the Cowboys was done under the supervision of JCI president Scott Jacobs, a licensed engineer, according to the report. Jacobs did not respond to interview requests from the newspaper.
The Cowboys declined to comment to the Dallas newspaper. Summit Structures said privacy laws in Canada precluded discussing employees involved in the work.
"It is Summit's belief that all employees who worked on this project were qualified to perform the task he or she performed" and were properly licensed, company president Nathan Stobbe said in a written statement to The Morning News on Saturday.
"We remain confident in the soundness, strength and durability of Summit Structures' permanent, steel-framed, engineered fabric buildings -- of which more than 30,000 similar buildings are in use worldwide. We intend to thoroughly research every aspect of this event as a part of the diligence that we put into everything we do."
Galland's plan for the facility included adding "a significant amount of steel" to roof arches and wall framing, the report said. Galland said he sought to to improve "its ability to withstand pressure from wind, rain and other forces." Summit Structures mostly followed the plan, Galland told the paper. "There were some things that weren't done that we hoped would be done," he said, declining to elaborate.
Galland said the upgrade was warranty work and Summit Structures didn't want to pay for some of the suggested improvements. Galland said in an e-mail to The Morning News on Saturday that many of his clients know of his criminal history. "It does not affect my ability to deliver the services they require," he said. "However, it is not something I am proud of."
Convicted Marcus Posey, 23, of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance for having 30 rocks of crack cocaine in Urbana on Jan. 20. Assistant State's Attorney Sarah Carlson said an Urbana police officer spotted Posey in a suspected drug deal at a business parking lot on North Cunningham Avenue. The car he got in drove off with the officer, in a mini-van, following. He lost sight of the car but found a bag containing the cocaine in the road where the car had just been.
The officer took the cocaine and the next day went back to the area where he found it. Posey was there with a bucket and told the officer he was looking for "something," Carlson said.Judge John Kennedy set sentencing for June 29.
Cynthia Thomas McWilliams, a fourth-grade teacher at Fessenden Elementary School, was charged with possession of crack cocaine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia and tampering with evidence.Bond for 53-year-old McWilliams, who made her first appearance in front of a judge Saturday morning at the Marion County Jail, was set at $5,000.McWilliams, according to her school's Web site, is one of four fourth-grade teachers at Fessenden Elementary. McWilliams denied an interview request from the Star-Banner.Officials from Fessenden could not be reached for comment.At approximately 7:15 p.m. Friday, Deputy Damon Baxley stopped a gray Buick Lesabre on West Anthony Road, just north of State Road 326, because the car did not have its lights on in the rain, the deputy said.Thinking she may have shoved something under the seat, Baxley said he called for a K-9 handler to assist with the stop.K-9 deputy Jared Shealy arrived on scene and while walking around the vehicle, the dog detected the presence of drugs at or near the driver's side door, deputies said.McWilliams was asked to exit the car, and the K-9 deputy asked if she had anything illegal on her, deputies said. While turning her pockets inside out, deputies say a metal crack pipe fell from her right front pocket.Authorities say McWilliams changed her standing position so she could stand over the crack pipe in an effort to conceal it. Inside the crack pipe was a burnt steel-wool pad, deputies said.Also found in her right front pants pocket was a clear plastic sandwich bag that contained nine grams of marijuana, deputies said.Searching the car, officers say they found two pieces of crack cocaine - weighing less than a gram - between the driver's door and the seat.Deputies said McWilliams told them the drugs belong to her, but denied dropping or trying to conceal the crack pipe.Asked when was the last time she had used crack cocaine, deputies said McWilliams said, "Gosh, it's been a long time," the report noted.Deputies said that McWilliams said she and her husband are the only people who use the car, and the drugs do not belong to her husband.She then refused to talk further about the incident. McWilliams was then taken to the jail for processing.
Read more...Susan Byrne drug addict who hid €600 worth of heroin in her underwear while her partner brandished a large sword at gardaí has been given an 18-month suspended sentence by Judge Katherine Delahunt.Susan Byrne (aged 26) Shanganagh Wood, Shankill, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to being in possession of the drugs for sale or supply and obstructing a garda during the course of a drug search at Rathsallagh Drive, also Shankill, on April 16, 2005.Garda Mark Russell told Mr Remy Farrell BL, prosecuting, that gardaí forced their way into the house shouting that they were gardaí and had a search warrant while running up the stairs.
Byrne's partner and co-accused then came out of a bedroom carrying a large sword forcing the gardaí to step back. The accused then came out of the room and gardaí saw her trying to put something into her underwear.Gda Russell said that the "standoff" ended when Byrne's boyfriend put down the sword and gardaí were able to overpower and arrest him. A female garda had to be called in order to retrieve the 28 deals of heroin from Byrne's underwear.Byrne later took full responsibility for the drugs and told gardaí she was a drug user. She had no previous convictions.
Judge Delahunt accepted that Byrne had taken considerable steps to deal with her drug addiction and described her efforts as "impressive". She also took into account the fact that she had not come to garda attention since.She suspended the entire sentence for a period of three years with conditions.
Cortez Kwon Jefferson is contemplating the possibility of spending 10 years in prison after Des Moines County prosecutors formally charged him with possession of cocaine with intent to deliver.Jefferson, 20, who was arrested earlier this month with Antwan Devon Manley, 16, after a near accidental encounter with law enforcement, is jailed on $65,000 bail.The status on Manley's case was not immediately known.Earlier this month, police officers patrolling Division Street saw a Chevrolet Blazer stopped in the traveled portion of the road, authorities said.
As officers slowed to see what the problem was, authorities saw the passenger door of the SUV open and someone reach down to the road.When authorities pulled the vehicle over, officers said they smelled a strong odor of marijuana emanating from the Blazer.Manley, a back-seat passenger, reportedly told officers he had marijuana on him, which police said they found inside his pocket. Some money, in small bills, also was found with the teen, authorities added.Police said in court papers that as they were searching Jefferson, he made a "slight move to his left." Simultaneously, a large plastic baggie that police said contained smaller baggies filled with suspected cocaine, fell from his shorts.Jefferson reportedly told officers the substance belonged to the other occupants of the SUV.Police also found two more baggies of marijuana in the vehicle inside a black sweatshirt they say belonged to Manley.
A 33-year-old Canadian woman was denied bail when she appeared in the Arima Magistrates’ Court charged with possession on $1 million worth of cocaine.
Susan Brown stood before Senior Magistrate Debra Quintyne in the First Court.
Brown is accused of having two kilograms of cocaine in her possession on Friday. Police claimed they seized the cocaine in a suitcase. Brown was about to board a flight en route to Ontario. The matter was adjourned to June 6.
Tamar Peebles of Brooklyn pleaded guilty to one count of attempted criminal sale of a controlled substance and one count of bribe receiving in Bronx Supreme Court.
She admitted accepting $1,500 from an undercover investigator and delivered "simulated" heroin and marijuana to the prison in January 2008.
Peebles and six other city correction officers were busted in a 16-month sting operation, which found officers willing to deliver money, cigarettes and drugs to inmates. Peebles, who faced the most severe charges of the group, picked up the cash and drugs at a Queens McDonald's while on her way to work. Cases for the others are still pending.
Chris Lewis has been jailed for 13 years after being found guilty of smuggling cocaine worth £140,000 into Britain.The former fast bowler, who took 93 wickets for England, hid the drug in fruit and vegetable juice tins stashed in his kit bag.The court was told drug barons used Lewis, 41, as a high-profile “mule”, believing his fame would guarantee his safe passage through customs.The jury at Croydon Crown Court heard how Lewis, who played in 32 Tests for England between 1990 and 1996, hid the drug in liquid form in the tins.He was stopped by customs officers at Gatwick Airport, following what he claimed was an innocent holiday visiting friends and family on the Caribbean island of St Lucia.When opened, the tins were found to contain 100% cocaine.Ex-London Towers basketball player Chad Kirnon, 27, who was co-accused of drug smuggling with Lewis, was also jailed for 13 years.The court heard the pair were stopped independently at the airport just after 5am on December 8 last year.They claimed to be travelling separately, but a Puma cricket bag Lewis was carrying was labelled with Kirnon’s name.Tom Wilkins, prosecuting, insisted the pair had been “acting together” to import the “very valuable consignment” in a “joint enterprise”.The jury was told that Lewis and Kirnon had known each other for two years and bumped into each other in north London last November.The trip was planned over a game of pool and they set out for Gatwick in the same taxi, the jury heard.But they fell out and during the trial they each blamed the other for setting them up.Lewis said: “When the officer said: ‘This isn’t juice, it’s cocaine,’ I thought it must be a mistake.“I’ve never even tried cocaine, I’ve never smuggled cocaine, or any other drug.”Peter Avery, assistant director of criminal investigations for the customs service, said after the case: “We have got the Olympic games coming up in 2012.“And clearly sportsmen and women will be targeted by organised criminal gangs from all over the world with a view to facilitating the importation of drugs into the UK"
Read more...Sisters Elizabeth Grube, 70, and Elaine Volkert, 65, don't fit the traditional image of heroin dealers.After all, how many drug dealers are grandmothers?Accused elderly sisters going to court on heroin charges Yet, Grube and Volkert are charged with selling heroin out of their homes on Ehler Street off Route 611 just outside Stroudsburg in Stroud Township. Police allege the sisters were selling for Julio Checo, 28, of Allentown, who delivered the drugs to them."They got caught up in something that just kept rolling along," Grube's attorney, Jason LaBar, said at Wednesday's district court appearance for both sisters.Attorney Chandra Bleice is representing Volkert.Grube and Volkert waived their rights to a preliminary hearing before Stroud Township Magisterial District Judge Thomas Shiffer and will appear at future dates in Monroe County Court, where both have the option of pleading guilty.Both remain free on their own recognizance. The sisters made no comment to reporters when entering and leaving district court.First Assistant District Attorney Michael Mancuso said the sisters are cooperating with authorities, who have recorded conversations between the sisters and Checo."It's fairly atypical to have defendants that age charged with distributing heroin," Mancuso said.The sisters are charged with possession with intent to deliver heroin and criminal conspiracy.For each, a guilty plea to the possession charge would mean probation, time in Monroe County Correctional Facility or a brief state prison sentence, attorneys said. Their age, health and prior criminal records are factors that would be considered when sentences are imposed.Mancuso said both have no significant prior records or, as far as he knows, health issues.Checo's preliminary hearing before Shiffer initially was scheduled for Wednesday, but has been continued to a future date. As of Wednesday, he was in county jail in lieu of a $75,000 bond.According to court papers, tips from the public led to a weeklong investigation by Stroud Area Regional Police and the Monroe County Drug Task Force and state Attorney General's Office. That investigation resulted in April 14 search warrants executed on Volkert's home, where 1,000 bags of heroin were found, and Grube's home, where 400 bags of heroin were found.Then, with the cooperation of the two women, police recorded conversations between the sisters and Checo and had the sisters arrange for him to come to the area and deliver drugs. Checo arrived and was arrested.
Read more...Mohamed D'Ali Carvalho Santos was also enraged that 17-year-old Cara Marie Burke threatened to tell his parents about his heavy drug use, officials said as Santos' trial began.Brazilian who has confessed to killing and dismembering a British teenager was angry because she refused to marry him so he could apply for British residency, court officials revealed Thursday.Santos, 21, alternately listened attentively and yawned as witnesses described how he killed Burke and stuffed her torso in a suitcase on July 25.He was expected to be sentenced by Thursday night.The prosecutor is asking for the maximum penalty of 30 years. Santos' defense lawyer will argue for a reduced sentence based partly on his client's heavy drug use and a court report that shows he has mental problems.Santos' aunt, Jeane Lucia de Sousa, testified that his nephew is normal when not using drugs but is addicted to cocaine and resorted to sniffing cooking gas to get high when he had no money to buy drugs.
"He's a calm person when he's not on drugs, but when he uses drugs he turns aggressive," the aunt said.
Gang of drug runners has been jailed for trying to smuggle millions of pounds worth of cocaine through Portsmouth.The five-strong crew picked up the drugs in Spain and then ferried them in to the UK through the city's ferry port.They successfully brought in five loads of cocaine worth several millions of pounds over two years.
But on December 11, 2006, customs at Portsmouth stopped the gang's car and found 10kg of cocaine hidden in its fuel tank.Yesterday all five received jail sentences between them totalling 72 years.
Judge Harvey Clark QC said: 'Almost every day I see the consequences of cocaine and heroin addiction.'Such addiction wrecks and destroys people's lives.'It causes moral disintegration and untold misery to those involved.'So it is small wonder that the courts show no mercy to those being involved in the importation of these pernicious drugs.'Jeff Hajebrahim, 44, and Alan Austin, 55, were the brains behind the operation.They lived a life of luxury in Brazil while arranging for huge quantities of cocaine to be shipped in to Madrid from South America.The pair – along with Hajebrahim's cousin Poria Abraham, 24, and Ali Tavakolinia, 39 – would then arrange for them to be picked up.They would hide the drugs in the fuel tanks of Vauxhall Corsas and then either drive them up through Europe and in to the UK themselves, or enlist couriers.One courier was Louise Brindle, 33, who was stopped by customs officers as she arrived in Portsmouth.The drugs which were found were examined and had Hajebrahim's fingerprints on them.Further investigations led police to the other three conspirators.Hajebrahim was extradited from Brazil and went on trial with his co-defendants at the start of the year.All five were convicted at Bournemouth Crown Court of conspiracy to import class A drugs.Detective Superintendent Russ Middleton, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said: 'It was a complex investigation culminating in a lengthy trial and I would like to thank everyone involved for their hard work and dedication in securing these convictions.'
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