Panamanian government building 4 air, sea monitoring stations to fight drug trafficking

October 14th, 2009 KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian airport police detained a Philippine national who is seven months pregnant after she was allegedly caught carrying a cocaine-soaked jacket, news reports said Wednesday. The 24-year-old woman was detained Friday at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport after officers checked her fleece-lined jacket and said they found it was soaked with about 2 kg of liquid cocaine, the Star newspaper said.

October 9th, 2009 Jail for Brazil TV crime host accused in killingsBRASILIA, Brazil — A former TV crime show host and state legislator accused of commissioning killings to boost ratings turned himself in to authorities Friday and was jailed on homicide and drug trafficking charges. Authorities spent four days looking for Wallace Souza in the jungle city of Manaus after a warrant was issued for his arrest on charges of drug trafficking, gang formation and weapons possession.

October 8th, 2009 Venezuela and Britain reaffirm anti-drug effortsCARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chavez's government says it is reaffirming an agreement with Britain to work together to prevent drug trafficking. The state-run Bolivarian News Agency says an official of Britain's Foreign Office signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate with Venezuela on anti-drug operations.

September 30th, 2009 DomRep extradites Colombian cocaine suspect to USSANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — A Dominican official says an alleged Colombian cocaine trafficker arrested in the Dominican Republic has been extradited to the United States. The official says Luis Alberto Santacruz Echeverri, known by the nickname "Lucho," was extradited Monday to New York to face drug trafficking charges.

September 22nd, 2009 PR authorities say major drug dealer arrestedSAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Authorities have captured an alleged dealer they say led a violent drug ring in at least two sprawling housing projects in Puerto Rico and trafficked narcotics to the U.S. mainland. The arrest of Angel Ayala Vazquez, also known as "Angelo Millones," has "dealt a hard blow to drug trafficking in Puerto Rico," Javier F.

September 19th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The central government in close coordination with states has intensified measures against human trafficking and crime against women, Minister of State for Home Ajay Maken said Saturday. The home ministry along with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), would be organising a workshop for training of trainers of all stakeholders against human trafficking by the end of this year, he said in a statement.

September 17th, 2009 Venezuela considers shooting down drug planesCARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chavez said Thursday he's mulling the possibility of allowing Venezuela's air force to shoot down suspected drug planes, but he is not convinced it's a good idea. "We are studying it.

September 10th, 2009 Drug kingpin pleads guilty to traffickingTAMPA, Fla. — A Colombian drug kingpin reputed to be one of the largest cocaine traffickers in the world has pleaded guilty to trafficking charges in three federal cases.

August 30th, 2009 Defense lawyer for Mexican drug kingpin killedTOLUCA, Mexico — A lawyer for a convicted Mexican drug kingpin was found stabbed to death in his home, authorities said Saturday. Americo Delgado was the second Mexican defense attorney for high-profile drug suspects killed in less than a month.

August 21st, 2009 Venezuela helps US seize cocaine-laden shipCARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela says its collaboration with U.S. authorities led to the seizure of about a ton of cocaine aboard a ship in the Caribbean Sea.

August 7th, 2009 LONDON — A pregnant Briton sentenced to life imprisonment in Laos for trafficking heroin has arrived back in Britain to serve the remainder of her sentence. Twenty-year-old Samantha Orobator was met by a prison van as she got off the flight from Laos at London's Heathrow Airport on Friday morning.

July 21st, 2009 Venezuela: US drug report threatens relationsCARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chavez's government criticized a U.S. congressional report on drug trafficking in Venezuela, saying Tuesday that relations cannot be normalized as long as Washington keeps passing judgment on the nation's internal affairs.

June 21st, 2009 Top Italian Mafia fugitive arrested in CaracasROME — Authorities arrested one of Italy's most dangerous Mafia fugitives as he left his apartment in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas, Italian police said Sunday. Salvatore Miceli, suspected of being a key intermediary in the drug trafficking trade, had been under surveillance by Italian and Venezuelan police for three days before he was nabbed late Saturday, Carabinieri from the Sicilian city of Trapani said in a statement.

June 12th, 2009 5 men accused of plotting to murder US drug agentNEW YORK — Five men have been arrested in Panama in a plot to kill a U.S. drug enforcement agent.

May 8th, 2009 Iran hangs 9 people for murder, drug traffickingTEHRAN, Iran — Nine people, including a 30-year-old woman, have been hanged in Iran, state media reported Thursday. The state-run daily newspaper IRAN said four of the nine including the woman were convicted of murder in separate cases and were hanged Wednesday.