London: British Troops In Afghanistan Face Probe Into Heroin Smuggling

British military police are investigating claims that the country’s servicemen may have trafficked heroin out of Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence in London said Sunday.

British military officers go through last details before 40 trucks leave Camp Bastion …

An inquiry has been launched into what officials termed "unsubstantiated" allegations that service personnel had bought the drug and used military aircraft to transport it out of the war-torn country.

British troops at airports in Camp Bastion and Kandahar are under investigation and security has been tightened with additional sniffer dogs brought in as part of the crackdown.

"We are aware of these allegations," said a ministry spokeswoman.

"Although they are unsubstantiated, we take any such reports very seriously and we have already tightened our existing procedures both in Afghanistan and in the UK, including through increasing the use of trained sniffer dogs."

She added that if any British troops were found to have smuggled illegal narcotics they would "feel the full weight of the law".

Afghanistan is the world’s largest heroin producer with annual exports worth up to three billion dollars helping fuel a nearly nine-year Taliban insurgency.

Northern Ireland’s Prisons Shame Exposed By New Report

Inspectors have lambasted poor hygiene standards at a Northern Ireland prison.

Report reveals NI prison shame:

 

Some inmates at Magilligan jail still face "slopping-out" – emptying buckets of human waste – because of the failure of an electronic system, while the general environment has too many oppressive fences and badly planned buildings, the Criminal Justice Inspectorate (CJI) said.

But the report also noted that much progress had been at the Co Londonderry prison. It praised the opening of new residential and healthcare units, adding that the number of violent incidents had fallen and safety had been improved.

Most of the interior residential areas were very clean and prisoners had good access to showers and laundries, the CJI said.

The inspectors also welcomed the satisfactory quality of education, skills and work opportunities for prisoners.

Despite this, the report added: "The external environment remained poor. There was some good standard new accommodation, but house blocks were still unsatisfactory, with unacceptable sanitation arrangements."

"The poor design hampered movement and the lack of cover for getting around a large site in bad weather was a particular problem.

"The general environment of the prison was marred by too many oppressive fences and wire, as well as old and badly planned buildings, including Nissen huts."

Chief Inspector of Criminal Justice Michael Maguire said: "Inspectors are supportive of the changes which have been introduced at Magilligan Prison to date.

"This progress is welcome and inspectors would pay tribute to the prison governor for his evident determination to deliver change."’

British Red Cross Alarmed At Levels Of Children Involved In Alcohol Emergencies: UPDATED

Children as young as 11 have been forced to deal with emergencies involving drunken friends, research found.:

Alarm at child alcohol emergencies:

 

One in three young adults ‘drink to get drunk’

Binning The Booze: Brits Are Drinking Less

Some have had to cope with friends being heavily sick, getting injured or lying unconscious, according to a poll of 2,500 youngsters for the British Red Cross.

One in seven (14%) children aged 11 to 16 have seen an emergency caused by drunkenness, while one in 10 has dealt with alcohol-related sickness, injury or unconsciousness.

Of those who have been in an emergency, only 10% called 999, while 47% called their parents for help.

Almost a quarter (23%) of youngsters surveyed have been drunk themselves, on average three times in the past six months.

More than one in three (36%) 14 to 16-year-olds said they got drunk most weekends, consuming an average of 11 units of alcohol – equivalent to almost a bottle of wine.

Almost 90% (89%) of those interviewed have coped with some sort of health crisis. Some 27% have witnessed an asthma attack, 33% have dealt with a head injury, 18% with somebody choking and 9% with somebody having an epileptic fit.

Asked how they responded to these incidents, 44% said they panicked, while 46% did not know what to do.

The poll was released to mark the new British Red Cross campaign, Life. Live it, which encourages young people to learn first aid.

Joe Mulligan, first aid expert at the British Red Cross, said: "Our aim is that all young people and children in the UK have the opportunity to learn first aid skills and gain the confidence to save lives."

————–

The British Red Cross launched a campaign today to teach 11-16 year-olds how to handle medical emergencies which arise from excessive drinking.

"Life. Live it," is a British Red Cross campaign to help young people learn life-saving skills so they can cope better in an emergency, the medical aid organisation said in a statement today.

It said it launched the campaign in response to statistics which showed that one in seven 11-16 year-old Britons has been in an emergency situation as a result of a friend drinking too much alcohol.

The Red Cross found in a new study that in the past 12 months 12 per cent of 11-16 year olds have been left to cope with a drunken friend who was sick, injured or unconscious.

Half of these had to deal with someone who had passed out and a quarter had to cope with an injured friend who had been drunk and in a fight.

Young people do not have to deal with just alcohol-related injuries. Nearly nine in 10 have also had to cope in a crisis. Twenty seven per cent dealt with someone having an asthma attack, 33 per cent had to cope with a head injury victim, 18 per cent helped someone choking and nine percent deal with someone having an epileptic fit.

When asked what actions they took in response to these situations, 44 per cent said they panicked and 46 per cent said they didn’t know what to do.

"In recent years, the issue of young people drinking to excess has been a regular feature in the media but their vital role in saving lives when they and their friends find themselves in vulnerable situations generally has not been mentioned," Red Cross first aid expert Joe Mulligan said in a statement.

One in five 11-16 year olds have been drunk – and have been drunk on average three times in the past six months. One in three of those aged 14-16 drink most weekends, with this group drinking on average 11 units – the equivalent of seven and a half alcopops or four large cans of beer/cider.

Official figures show 7,475 youngsters under-15 years in England were admitted to hospital with conditions specifically linked to alcohol between 2006-2009.

Many more injuries will have been dealt with by young people themselves. Only one in 10 young people rang emergency and less than half contacted their parents when faced with coping with an injured, sick or unconscious friend.

A large number of young people who stepped in to help were left distressed as they were unsure whether they had done the correct thing.

Close to half were worried their friend would choke on their own vomit or wouldn’t wake up and 82 per cent said that they would feel safer if they had some first aid knowledge.

"We need to ensure that every young person – irrespective of whether they’re drinking – has the ability and confidence to cope in a crisis," Mr Mulligan said.

The British Red Cross is calling on parents to encourage their schools to use the Life.Liveit resources to teach first aid and to encourage young people to go online and learn vital life-saving skills. Information is available on www.redcross.org.uk/lifeliveitnow.

 

Reuters

Kentucky: ‘Hostile’ Man Kills Five Over How His Wife Cooked His Breakfast Eggs: UPDATED

AP – The door remains open after neighbors say Stanley Neace kicked …

 

By ROGER ALFORD and CHRIS TALBOTT, Associated Press Writers Roger Alford And Chris Talbott, Associated Press Writers :

 

JACKSON, Ky. – For months, Stanley Neace had shown increasing hostility to his neighbors in rural eastern Kentucky, to the point his landlord started eviction proceedings. On Saturday, Neace snapped over how his wife cooked his eggs, and killed her and four others with a shotgun before shooting himself.

Neighbors in the roadside mobile home park said Neace stormed across several lawns in his pajamas and fired dozens of shots from a 12-gauge pump shotgun. When the rampage ended, Neace and his wife lay dead, along with the gunman’s stepdaughter and three neighbors.

Trooper Jody Sims of the Kentucky State Police said Neace, 47, killed the five people in two mobile homes around 11:30 a.m., then went to his home and turned the gun on himself.

Neighbor Steve Smith saw the rampage from the window of his mobile home. When he walked outside, Smith said Neace took a shot at him but missed.

"He chased his wife around that Jeep shooting at her," Smith said, pointing to a SUV parked outside his mobile home. "I heard her screaming and running."

Sims said that when state police arrived about an hour after the gunfire began, they heard a single gunshot and found Neace’s body on the porch in the unincorporated community of Mount Carmel in Breathitt County, which is home to about 16,000 people.

Sherri Anne Robinson, a relative of two of the victims, said witnesses to the shootings told her that Neace became enraged when his wife did not cook his breakfast to his liking.

"She tried to run to tell my family and he shot them too because they found out about it," she said.

The victims were identified as the gunman’s wife, Sandra Neace, 54; her daughter Sandra R. Strong, 28; and neighbors Dennis Turner, 31; Teresa Fugate, 30; and Tammy Kilborn, 40.

The names of the victims were provided by Kentucky State Police, while Robinson described their relationships. Fugate is Robinson’s sister, Turner is her cousin and Kilborn was a witness who happened to step onto the porch of another mobile home when she heard the commotion.

Robinson said Fugate was shot in front of her 7-year-old daughter.

"Her daughter said, ‘Please, please don’t shoot me,’ and he said, ‘All right, you can leave,’ and she ran out," said Robinson, who spoke to her niece after the shootings. "She went and told her neighbors, and the neighbors called the law."

Robinson said Neace had never appeared threatening to her, but that he was known to have a violent history. Sims could not confirm that Neace had a criminal record.

County prosecutor Brendon Miller said his dealings with Neace came on nonviolent issues involving child support and he was in Miller’s office a month ago regarding a traffic ticket.

Sims said when police arrived at the mobile home park about 90 miles southeast of Lexington, they heard a single gunshot, then found Neace’s body on his porch.

They found victims in two other mobile homes. Other neighbors fled the trailer park in fear for their lives during the shootings.

"Over eggs?" Robinson said. "I thought that was crazy. Really. I mean just because his eggs weren’t hot?"

Landlord Ray Rastegar said Neace received monthly disability checks from the Social Security Administration, though he didn’t know what his disability was. Rastegar said he had begun the process of evicting Neace, who had lived in the trailer park for about seven years, because he had become more hostile toward neighbors in recent months.

"He was unpredictable," Rastegar said. "Little things would set him off."

Smith said Neace ended up mumbling to himself on the porch of his trailer, pointed the shotgun at his head and pulled the trigger.

"He’s been trouble ever since he’s been here," Smith said. "He’s always been trouble."

___

Talbott reported from Nashville, Tenn. AP writer Janet Blake in Louisville, Ky., contributed to this report.

Ciudad Juarez, Mexico: Police Neutralize Car Bomb In Border City

 

 

AP – A crime scene investigator points his flashlight at a body in front of a home in the northern border …

 

www.blogdelnarco.com

 

 Slideshow:Mexico Drug War

 

By E. EDUARDO CASTILLO, Associated Press Writer E. Eduardo Castillo, Associated Press Writer :

 

MEXICO CITY – Mexican police carried out the controlled detonation of a car bomb Saturday in the troubled border city of Ciudad Juarez, across from Texas.

A phone tip around midnight led authorities to a dead body in a car in a shopping center parking lot, the federal Public Safety Department said in a statement. In a second car, police found the bomb.

Agents deactivated the device and removed most of the explosive material to analyze it before safely detonating the vehicle, the department said. There were no injuries.

Juarez is the same city where drug traffickers staged the first successful car bombing in Mexico, killing three people in July.

There have been three other vehicle explosions in recent weeks in Ciudad Victoria, capital of the border state of Tamaulipas.

Ciudad, across from El Paso, Texas, has been one of the cities most affected by Mexico’s drug violence. More than 2,100 people have been murdered there so far this year — putting it on pace to surpass its previous high of 2,700, set last year.

Across the country, more than 28,000 people have been killed since December 2006, when President Felipe Calderon launched a military offensive against the cartels soon after taking office.

In the central state of Morelos, police discovered nine bodies in clandestine graves Saturday in the same area where four more were recently found.

The Public Safety Department said in a separate statement that all 13 victims were believed to have been killed on the orders of U.S.-born Edgar "La Barbie" Valdez Villarreal, one of the alleged kingpins fighting for control of Morelos.

Valdez was captured Aug. 30 by federal police.

Late Saturday, federal authorities announced they had arrested two Colombian brothers who they alleged have ties to Valdez and belong to a group responsible for buying cocaine in Colombia and smuggling it to the United States.

The men were identified as Dario Emilio Valencia and Victor Espinosa Valencia. The latter was said to own the ranch on the outskirts of Mexico City where Valdez allegedly hid out before his arrest.

The Public Safety Department said both men are named in a U.S. warrant issued in 2004 in Florida.

Colombia: President Santos Unveils Major New Offensive Against Guerrillas

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said Saturday he would "redouble" the military’s offensive against leftist guerillas after attack killed 40 police and military officers.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has rejected a rebel offer of peace talks:

 

Colombia’s rebel groups have launched a string of deadly attacks in recent weeks following the inauguration of Santos, a former defense minister who has promised to keep pressure on the insurgents.

"We have decided to intensify the offensive… so that these criminals do not have time to plan their operations," Santos said in Monteria, in Cordoba department.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) — Latin America’s oldest and most powerful insurgency — and the National Liberation Army (ELN) traditionally carry out more violent attacks during government transitions. Santos took power on August 7.

Eight police officers were killed in clashes with leftist rebels Friday in southwestern Colombia near the border with Ecuador in a shootout with members of the Marxist FARC who tried to take over San Miguel town in Putumayo province.

Santos has rejected a rebel offer of peace talks, calling for them to first free hostages and stop recruiting minors.

Banbridge, County Down: PSNI Seize Drugs Worth Over £200,000 During Raid On Cannabis Growing Factory

Two men have been arrested in separate police operations that uncovered drugs with a street value of more than £200,000, detectives revealed.

Two men arrested after drugs found:

 

Officers from the Tactical Crime Unit in Banbridge, Co Down,on Friday night seized herbal cannabis and uncovered a cannabis factory containing 400 plants.

A 28-year-old man and a 31-year-old man are being questioned by police.

Herbal cannabis worth £35,000 was found during the search of a vehicle on the Castlewellan Road and the search of a property in Keady, Co Armagh.

Police also found 66 cannabis plants, a sum of cash and an air rifle.

A 28-year-old man was arrested for possession of a class B drug.

In a separate incident, police uncovered what they described as a cannabis factory at a building on the Carnpark Road in Katesbridge, Co Down.

Detectives discovered drug-making equipment, plus 400 cannabis plants, with a street value of £200,000.

A 31-year-old man was arrested in connection with drug cultivation.

Both men are in police custody.

Manchester: Former Boxer Ricky Hatton ‘Filmed Taking Cocaine’: REPORT

Boxer Ricky Hatton’s family have told Sky News they will "stand by and support him" after he was caught on film apparently taking cocaine.

Former Champ Hatton ‘Filmed Taking Cocaine’:

 

The News of the World claims the former light welterweight champion went on a 10-hour drink and drugs binge two weeks ago in a Manchester hotel room.

The 31-year-old snorted seven lines of cocaine in three separate drug sessions that night, while drinking 11 pints of Guinness, four vodkas, two glasses of wine and several Sambucas, the Sunday tabloid said.

The paper quoted a friend who witnessed the scene as saying: "If he carries on he’ll kill himself. I’m really, really worried for him."

The footage allegedly shows Hatton – nicknamed The Hitman – taking out a wrap of the drug he has hidden in his shoe.

He pours the white powder on to a table before sniffing it up his nose through a rolled up £20 note.

Hatton has hung up his gloves after a career that earned him an estimated £50m and an MBE.

His last fight was in May 2009, when he was knocked out in two rounds by Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas.

A source close to his family told Sky News: "Ricky Hatton’s family will stand by and support him following the cocaine allegations in the News Of The World."

Dublin: Underworld Godfather Eamonn Kelly Escapes Assassination Bid

 

An attempt to shoot a convicted drug dealer at his Dublin home is being investigated by gardaí.

A gunman approached the 63-year-old outside his home in Killester at around 11am today (Saturday), but his weapon jammed and the gunman fled the scene.

The victim has served 14 years in jail for drug dealing.

He has refused to make a statement to gardaí and is denying the attack took place.

However, detectives are satisfied there was an attempt on his life.

Gardaí say they want to trace a man who was seen leaving the area on foot in the direction of the Howth Road.

He is described as being 5ft11" and of heavy build. He was wearing navy tracksuit bottoms and a navy hooded top.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Raheny Garda Station on 01 6664300 or the Garda confidential line on 1800 666 111.

Cork: Irish Society ‘In Denial’ Over How Badly Families Are Affected By Addictions

IRISH SOCIETY ‘IN DENIAL’ ON HOW BADLY FAMILIES ARE AFFECTED BY ADDICTIONS:

SOCIETY is in denial about the impact of addiction on families who regularly struggle to cope while the addict obtains professional help, an expert in addiction has warned.

Stephen Rowan, former director of the Rutland Centre, said the "neglected majority" of people impacted by addiction were the addict’s family, and that while the family might be "in bits," the overwhelming support was for the person either still addicted or sober or in treatment.

"One of my points is, we need to shift the balance. We still have a society-wide attitude that if the addict is "fixed", the family will be grand. You hear people saying "He’s a great guy, he’s off the drink." The perception is once the drinking stops, everything is fine, but the reality is the spouse or the small child is often more damaged than the addict," Mr Rowan said.

Mr Rowan, who is head of the Department of Addiction Studies at the Addiction Training Institute in Athlone IT, said family members often switched into "rescue mode" protecting the addict from the natural consequences of their own condition.

"Sometimes, with absolute love and good intentions, families actually enable things to go on and get worse instead of minding their own feelings and becoming aware of what’s happening to them. If they focus on minding themselves, the addict is more likely to hit rock bottom and the family will be freer to talk about their experience," Mr Rowan said.

He said addiction was a "devastating illness" and that society needed to find ways to spike the notion that it was an individual issue.

Mick Devine, administrator for Tabor Lodge Addiction and Housing Services Ltd, a voluntary residential rehabilitation centre for alcohol, drug, gambling and food addiction, said treating the addict’s family was an integral part of the service they provide.

He said in the last five years, funding had been made available for dedicated family counsellors, of which they have two, helping families in Cork. He said in some cases, families engaged with the service "even though the addict never darkens our door".

Mr Devine said it was difficult to help the family when the addict wouldn’t come in, but that there was a 12 step programme for families to help them to get on with their lives.

Last year more than 1,200 families engaged in the service’s four-week Wednesday afternoon programme under the umbrella of its Family Support Network in Cork City and County.

Tabor Lodge celebrates its 21st anniversary this year and to mark the occasion a public seminar on the theme of Change and Well-Being for the Whole Family in Recovery, will take place in the Carrigaline Court Hotel today, at 9.30am.

It is geared towards people who work with or care for families affected by substance misuse, be that drugs, alcohol, food, sex or gambling addiction.