Drugs & Vice

AT&T paid for access to 4 billion call records a day for federal, local drug investigations

"US law enforcement officers working on anti-drugs operations have had access to a vast database of call records dating back to 1987, supplied by the phone company AT&T. The project, known as Hemisphere, gives federal and local officers working on drug cases access to a database of phone metadata populated by more than four billion new call records each day. Unlike the controversial call record accesses obtained by the NSA, the data is stored by AT&T, not the government, but officials can access individual’s phone records within an hour of an administrative subpoena. AT&T receives payment from the government in order to sit its employees alongside drug units to aid with access to the data." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAT&T paid for access to 4 billion call records a day for federal, local drug investigations

New Orleans Police Officer Jailed for 2012 Drug War Killing

"A New Orleans police officer who gunned down an unarmed 20-year-old man during a 2012 drug raid pleaded guilty to manslaughter last Friday and was led off to begin serving a four-year prison sentence. Joshua Colclough, 29, who resigned from the force the previous day, apologized to the family of his victim, Wendell Allen, before he was led away. Colclough was part of a police team that raided a Gentilly home in March 2012 as part of a marijuana investigation. A shirtless, unarmed Allen appeared at the top of the stairs as Colclough searched the house, and Colclough shot and killed him. Defense attorney Claude Kelly said Colclough made a split-second decision." Continue reading →

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DEA Must Pay $3 Million in 2010 Killing of LA Teen

"A federal judge Tuesday awarded $3 million to the family of an 18-year-old Los Angeles honors student who was gunned down by undercover DEA agents in a parking garage in 2010. But the judge also ruled the officers were not negligent in their actions. Officers claimed that Champommier's vehicle struck a deputy as he attempted to leave the scene. Officers opened fire, killing the 18-year-old honor student and 'band geek.' Both the DEA and the LA County Sheriff's Department said the shooting was justifiable because Champommier had tried to run down an officer." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDEA Must Pay $3 Million in 2010 Killing of LA Teen

Mexican Cartels Not in “Over 1,000 US Cities,” Report Finds

"The refrain that Mexican drug cartels 'now maintain a presence in over 1,000 cities' has been widely heard ever since the claim was first made in a 2011 report by the now defunct National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC). But the Washington Post reported Sunday that it isn't true. The figure is 'misleading at best,' law enforcement sources and drug policy analysts told the Post. The number was arrived by asking law enforcement agencies to self-report and not based on documented criminal cases involving Mexico's drug trafficking organizations, the so-called cartels." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMexican Cartels Not in “Over 1,000 US Cities,” Report Finds

Spain fights to lose status as drug gateway to Europe

"The make-up of drug rings sending cocaine to Spain has changed as well. The Colombian groups which dominated the trade in the 1980s have given way bit by bit to Mexican cartels. Drug traffickers’ interest in Europe has increased because demand from the continent for cocaine is growing. Over the past decade the number of cocaine consumers in Europe has doubled while demand for the drug has plunged by 33 percent in the United States. In response European nations have reinforced regional cooperation as well as their cooperation with police forces in Latin America to stop the flow of cocaine. Hiding cocaine in banana shipments remains one of the favourite tactics used by traffickers." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSpain fights to lose status as drug gateway to Europe

Peru dethrones Colombia as cocaine king

"With Peru already vying with Colombia in 2011 — it actually was growing 400 hectares of coca more than its neighbor then, although it is thought to have produced less drugs — that means this country is now almost certainly the world’s top source of coca for the manufacture of illegal narcotics. Ricardo Soberon, now a trenchant critic of the government’s counter-narcotics policies, is not holding his breath. 'These figures are a clear indication the government is making incorrect decisions,' said Soberon, who was squeezed out of his job, apparently under pressure from Washington, in 2011, for allegedly being sympathetic to the impoverished, small farmers who grow most of Peru’s coca." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPeru dethrones Colombia as cocaine king

Britain hits offshore gambling industry with 300 million pounds in taxes

"Under rules published on Friday, Britain will tax gambling according to where customers are based rather than where the online operator is registered, meaning that offshore operators pay the same 15% tax rate as domestic companies. The tax will be levied on companies' gross profit in the 2 billion pound remote-gambling market. 'It is unacceptable that gambling companies can avoid UK taxes by moving offshore, and the government is taking decisive action to ensure this can no longer happen,' Economic Secretary to the Treasury Sajid Javid said. 'These reforms will ensure that remote-gambling operators who have UK customers make a fair contribution to the public finances.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBritain hits offshore gambling industry with 300 million pounds in taxes

Why bitcoin has a firm foothold in the online gambling world

"What’s interesting in bitcoin-based gambling sites is how many of them are possibly more transparent than traditional casinos or other online sites. That’s because with the block chain being a public ledger, all that an inquisitive gambler would need to do is follow the transactions from a site’s bitcoin address. It’s no wonder, then, that sites like SatoshiDice show the latest plays being transacted on the site and claim to be 'provably trustworthy'. In addition, some sites even publish how they implement their random number generator. BitSaloon, for example, defines itself as a 'provably fair casino' meaning that the site operators cannot modify the outcome of any particular game." Continue reading →

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Official wants E-cigarettes covered in school rules

"The Citrus County School District wants to crack down on anything that even looks like cigarette smoking. According to the Citrus County Chronicle, Planning and Growth Management Director Chuck Dixon has proposed adding language that would include electronic cigarettes to the school's no smoking policy. Dixon said the Florida Department of Health recommended language for e-cigarettes be inserted into the district’s policy. Since the Food and Drug Administration doesn't have a minimum age for who can purchase E-cigarettes, the district wants to make sure the students don't have them." Continue reading →

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France announces e-cigarette ban, then French study finds e-cigarettes harmful

"French Health Minister Marisol Touraine announced in May that the ban on smoking in public places would be extended to cover electronic cigarettes, and that they would be subject to the same controls as tobacco. The move has sparked outrage among sellers and users of the battery-powered devices which contain liquid nicotine that is turned into a vapor when inhaled. Ms Touraine said: 'The e-cigarette is not an ordinary product. We need to apply the same measures as there are for tobacco. That means making sure it cannot be smoked in public places, that its sale is restricted to over 18s and that firms are not allowed to advertise the products.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrance announces e-cigarette ban, then French study finds e-cigarettes harmful