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Police find cannabis under garden decking after raid at Sheffield home

Police officers discovered cannabis under garden decking at a man’s home following a raid.

Sheffield Magstrates’ Court heard on Thursday, November 28, how Parvaz Hussain, 38, of Constable Road, Gleadless, Sheffield, admitted he had been using the class B drug to ease back pain.

Kirsty Pearson, prosecuting, said: “On October 20, police officers executed a drugs warrant at the defendant’s home and during a search a plastic tub was found under the garden decking with a small amount of cannabis, scales and self-sealed snap bags.”

Hussain admitted to police he had been using the drug for back pain. He stated the cannabis had cost £190 and he had used scales so he did not get ripped off.

Mrs Pearson said it is accepted the drugs had been for personal use.

Hussain pleaded guilty to possessing cannabis. He was fined £80 and must pay £85 costs and a £32 victim surcharge.

https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/crime/police-find-cannabis-under-garden-decking-after-raid-sheffield-home-1327526

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Gwyneth Paltrow is flogging a £129 cannabis joint-roller on her Goop website

Sun

GWYNETH Paltrow is flogging a £129 cannabis joint-roller.

The smoking gizmo has proved so popular it has sold out on her Goop website.

A blurb for the Otto Automatic Joint Roller says: “This might be the coolest contraption we’ve seen in a long time.

“Not only does it grind and weed out (see what we did there?) seeds and stems, it rolls the perfect cone-shaped joint at the push of a simple button.

“Talk about efficiency.”

But Gwyn warns pot heads to steer clear.

The site adds gravely: “This product is intended for use with legal smoking herbs only.

“The buyer is solely responsible for knowing and duly abiding by their local laws in purchasing and using this.”

Iron Man star Gwyn, 47, also previously unveiled a kinky Christmas range including £329 24-carat gold handcuffs.

The site quips: “Exercise restraint just gained a whole new meaning.”

Also on GP’s Lover’s Gift Guide — tagged “gifts that give (and give, and give) is a £50 vibrator shaped like a bike seat, a whip, subscription to a sex stories site and leather blindfold.

The actress, wed to producer Brad Falchuk, also offers a £252 BedJet air-con system so lovers don’t get too hot between the sheets.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10445955/gwyneth-paltrow-joint-roller-goop/

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Europe: The cannabis industry’s eldorado

LONDON, Nov 29 — After North America, the cannabis industry dreams of conquering the European market — Britain in particular — and is banking on changing the image of the psychoactive plant, despite regulatory constraints and ethical debates.

Health, cosmetics, well-being and food were at the heart of a gathering dedicated to the promotion of the marijuana sector, organised in London yesterday by the investment bank Bryan, Garnier & Co.

Currently, the legal cannabis market in Europe — where medicinal use is allowed in most EU countries — is worth around US$1 billion (RM4.17 billon), Nikolaas Faes, a senior research analyst for the bank, told AFP.

In comparison, the US legal market is worth US$12-13 billion.

“It is a very tiny market in Europe because the legal issues are very diverse with very fragmented regulations,” said Faes.

“The politicians are not yet on board completely — but it is coming in.”

He said legalisation could pay off in a big way, since the total market in Europe, including illegal trafficking, is estimated at US$55 billion.

Industry leaders point towards precedent in North America.

Canada legalised cannabis last year, while in the United States, federal law considers it a hard drug, but 11 states and the US capital have legalised its recreational use.

In Britain, the Liberal Democrat opposition party’s manifesto for the December 12 snap general election proposes legalising marijuana.

Almost half the British population (48 per cent) are in favour of legalising recreational marijuana use, according to a YouGov poll in July on behalf of a conservative think-tank.

That said, the debate remains a hot topic and Britain’s state-run National Health Service points out the harmful effects of recreational cannabis use, in particular the increased risk of developing conditions such as schizophrenia.

However, Britain legalised therapeutic use in November 2018 — a decision that followed the story of two British children with epilepsy who were unable to bring their cannabis-based treatment into the country.

Though doctors can now prescribe drugs based on the controversial plant, it remains tough for patients to obtain them due to a lack of available treatments — and questions about their effectiveness.

CBD

“A legal market doesn’t mean an open market. It doesn’t mean market access,” said Stephen Murphy, the co-founder and chief executive of NOBL, a global leader in cannabis data and media.

“We have in the UK legal markets, but we have less than 200 patients.”

Beyond the medical field, myriad companies are trying to jump on the trend for CBD products (cannabidiol), one of the active ingredients of non-psychoactive cannabis, unlike tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

CBD is touted as have relaxing and anti-inflammatory effects, and is sold in the form of extracts or oil. However, the market suffers from a lack of clear regulation.

Farzad Moshfeghi, the chief-executive of Winchester MD, a British firm selling CBD products, said: “That vagueness is actually causing more issues because people don’t know what’s legal and what’s not.”

Furthermore, in the absence of harmonised regulation, start-ups in Europe are struggling to find financing, while some North American companies are already listed on the stock exchanges, with varying fortunes.

Despite these obstacles, industry professionals are convinced about the European market’s potential.

“It is a sure thing that Europe will become the largest market in the world within a decade,” said Murphy.

“The demand is there.” — AFP-Relaxnews

https://www.malaymail.com/news/life/2019/11/29/europe-the-cannabis-industrys-eldorado/1814358

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Large weed farm found on Leeds street after residents made complaints

A male suspect has been arrested after police found a large cannabis grow at a building in Leeds.

Officers of the Leeds West Neighborhood Policing Team executed a search warrant at an address in Bramley on Thursday evening.

Residents nearby had reported concerns about the property and officers attended to search the address.

A large cannabis farm was uncovered and a male suspect, who was at the address, has been arrested and held in custody.

https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/crime/large-weed-farm-found-leeds-street-after-residents-made-complaints-1327528

Photos on Link

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Cannabis Decriminalisation Bill Proposed in Trinidad & Tobago

At last week’s meeting at Trinidad and Tobago’s House of Representatives, a bill was proposed which could trigger Cannabis decriminalisation in the country. The Dangerous Drugs Amendment Bill and Cannabis Control Bill would aim to reduce prosecution for possession. 

Introduced by Attorney General Faris Al Rawi, the new bill proposes multiple changes to current Cannabis legislation in the country. Namely, possession of Cannabis up to the amount of 30g, and 5g of Cannabis resin would not be prosecuted. Amounts exceeding 60g or 10g of resin would be punishable by a $739 fine. As a result, fines of this kind would replace arrest and incarceration of Cannabis possession.

The Cannabis decriminalisation bill would also allow the beginning of a semi-legal Cannabis sector across the country’s islands. It would allow the government to grant licenses for cultivation, processing, and distribution of Cannabis. These processes would be overseen by a newly introduced national Cannabis Authority.

According to Attorney General Al Rawi, the Cannabis Control Bill could save the country $100million in prosecution costs. It is currently estimated that the country spends $2,217.25 to $2,956.34 per person per month on the incarceration of individuals for Cannabis-related offenses. Between 2010 and 2018, there were 3,429 such cases.

Despite support for the bill across the country, it has also drawn some criticism and calls for changes. This is due to the bill’s stance on citizen Cannabis cultivation. Under the Cannabis Control Bill, citizens would be permitted to grow up to four Cannabis plants per home. However, the legislation would only allow for the cultivation of male Cannabis plants.

Male and Female Cannabis Plants

Male Cannabis plants are known to produce no THC, the psychoactive element that gets users ‘high’ when smoked or consumed. It is the female plant which produces this compound.

Critics of the bill have called for this section to be amended, and in some cases for outright Cannabis legalisation in Trinidad and Tobago. Nevertheless, the bill is expected to pass a vote in the House of Representatives, which is held by a majority by the People’s National Movement party.

https://canex.co.uk/cannabis-decriminalisation-bill-proposed-in-trinidad-tobago/

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European warrant for man accused of growing cannabis in Telford

A European Arrest Warrant has been authorised to track a man accused of growing cannabis in Telford four years ago.

Valentin Toader, 31, denied producing a class B drug in 2015 and was due to appear in court later that year but has not attended since.

Now prosecutors say they have successfully applied to UK authorities for a European Arrest Warrant so that he can be detained overseas and brought back to Shrewsbury Crown Court for his trial.

Toader’s trial was scheduled to begin on Wednesday morning and a jury was prepared.

When it became apparent Toader was not present, there was a possibility it could have proceeded with jurors hearing evidence in his absence, until the lawyers involved explained to Judge Anthony Lowe that a European Arrest Warrant for his arrest is now active.

Kevin Jones, for Toader, said the warrant had recently been authorised but not yet “actioned or executed”.

Prosecutor Richard Oates agreed with Mr Jones and told the judge: “The interests of justice would be better served if it was adjourned until we know the fate of the warrant.”

He said that there was “always a certain distaste” for trying defendants without them being present.

He also said that there had been two earlier attempts to file for a European Arrest Warrant for Toader, but that those applications had been rejected for “technical reasons”.

After hearing from both lawyers the judge acquiesced and said he would adjourn the matter for three months. It will be listed on January 27 for the judge to hear any updates.

Toader, whose last UK address was given as Longford Drive in Ilford, east London, was referred to as Romanian in official documents from Telford Magistrates Court.

https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/crime/2019/11/29/european-warrant-for-man-accused-of-growing-cannabis-in-telford/

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Learner driver drove his new car home along A303 while high on cannabis

He travelled by train to buy his new car and chanced driving it back home

A learner driver who took a chance and drove his new car home after smoking cannabis has been given an 18 month ban after he was caught drug driving near Ilminster.

Byrron Deacon was offered the car for a good price on Facebook so took a train up to Somerset from his home in Bideford and drove the car back.

However police were on duty on the A303 near Ilminster when they spotted the defendant speeding while overtaking other vehicles and swerving across the road.

When they pulled him over he gave a negative breath test but when he was drug tested he gave a positive reading for cannabis and was arrested.

Deacon, 20, of Barton Tors, Bideford, appeared in the dock before Somerset Magistrates at Yeovil.

He pleaded guilty to driving a vehicle at Ilminster on June 26 when the proportion of a controlled drug, namely cannabis, exceeded the specified limit. He also admitted allegations of using a vehicle without insurance or a licence.

Lindsey Baker, prosecuting, said that the police were on duty on the A303 in the early hours of the morning when they were overtaken by a silver Polo which was speeding and swerving across the road.

“The officers stopped it and identified the driver as Deacon and when they carried out checks discovered the car was registered and insured to somebody else and he only held a provisional licence,” she said.

“He said he had only just swapped his vehicle for the new one and they noticed his eyes were bloodshot and dilated and he smelt of cannabis.

“He gave a negative breath test so was asked to take a drugs swipe which gave a positive reading for cannabis.”

Once in custody a blood test was conducted which revealed a reading of 7mlg of cannabis in his blood exceeded the specified limit of 2mlg.

Probation officer Joe Harper said that Deacon had bought the car via Facebook after being told by the seller he could have it that day for a good price.

“He didn’t want it to be sold to someone else”

“Earlier that day he had smoked some cannabis because he didn’t expect to be doing any driving,” he said.

“He was very keen to get the vehicle and knew he only had a provisional driving licence and was not insured to drive but despite contacting various family members to take him he could not find anyone available.

 “He then caught a train up to Somerset from Devon and took the decision to drive the car home as he didn’t want it to be sold to someone else.

“However he now regrets his behaviour and never thought to consider the impact of driving under the influence of any form of drug or think about the risks involved.”

Magistrates verdict
Mr Harper said that Deacon was diagnosed with ADHD as a child and was prescribed Ritalin but stopped taking it when he was 16.

Ever since he had used cannabis on an ad-hoc basis to help him sleep and keep him calm.

For drug driving the magistrates disqualified the defendant from driving for 18 months and sentenced him to a 12 month community order with a 15 day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement and 80 hours unpaid work.

He was also fined £120 for having no insurance with £85 costs and an £85 victim surcharge but no separate penalty was made for the licence offence.

Got a story? Get in touch by emailing ellie.kendall@reachplc.com

https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/learner-driver-drove-new-car-3588350

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UPS workers ran massive drug shipment operation for a decade, police say

Employees moved ‘thousands of pounds of cannabis and narcotics each week’ 

Independent

A group of United Parcel Service (UPS) employees allegedly helped import and traffic massive amounts of drugs and counterfeit vaping oils from Mexico during the past decade, as part of a scheme that exploited a vulnerability in the company’s distribution system, according to police.

The lucrative operation at times involved moving thousands of pounds of cannabis and narcotics each week from drug traffickers into the United States to destinations across the country, using standard cardboard boxes that were carefully routed through the private carrier’s trucking and delivery systems, authorities said.

The cash the operation generated was used to buy opulent homes, vacations, properties and luxury vehicles, detectives said.

Four UPS employees have been charged with drug trafficking in state court, and court records show that at least 11 people – including two UPS supervisors and drivers – have been arrested in the past two weeks on a slew of state charges stemming from the decade-long investigation by a task force of local, state and federal law enforcement.

Investigators from the Counter Narcotics Alliance said accused ringleader Mario Barcelo – a UPS employee for 20-years – used a simple method to obscure the origin and destination of drug shipments, a tactic they worry could be replicated by other UPS employees and other drug-trafficking organisations.

Authorities said Mr Barcelo used his position as a supervisor in the Tucson distribution facility to ensure known drug shipments were loaded onto the correct trucks and were delivered on time to their destinations without any interference or drug interdiction, bypassing security measures the employees knew well.

Attempts to reach Mr Barcelo were unsuccessful, and it is unclear whether he has a lawyer, as none was listed on publicly available court records in the case.

Tucson-area law enforcement had been tracking Mr Barcelo since at least 2009, but Sergeant William Kaderly said detectives were frustrated for years that the company did not work more “proactively” with them to intercept and prevent the suspected criminal behaviour.

Mr Barcelo was arrested on 13 November.

“He’s been able to provide this service to drug traffickers without being detected both internally and externally by law enforcement for years,” said Mr Kaderly. “They’ve been doing it for so long that they were truly comfortable that they were never going to get caught.”

UPS said in a statement that the company is cooperating with law enforcement officials but that the company is “not at liberty to discuss the details of the arrests as this is an ongoing investigation”.

The Arizona attorney general’s office, which is prosecuting the case, declined to comment. Some of the defendants were arraigned this week, but prosecutors have withheld specific details of the investigation from public court record because more arrests are expected soon.

Some of the indictments have been sealed, police said.

Mr Barcelo and his alleged associates expanded the operation over time, transitioning from delivering cannabis to dealing in more valuable drugs and vaping pens.

Similar black market vaping pens and oils have been linked to the deadly outbreak of lung disease that has sickened nearly 2,300 people and killed 47 nationwide.

The drug-ring operators, who allegedly learned how to bypass all security systems, were shipping several thousand pounds of drugs a week at the peak of operation, increasing profits the farther east the packages were delivered, Mr Kaderly said.

“Their sales pitch was that because of who Mr Barcelo was at UPS, he could make sure your package will make it out without anyone finding it,” he said. “He had face time with traffickers.”

In one instance in 2017, investigators said they learned of a shipment but were prevented from entering a UPS distribution facility to investigate and intercept it. UPS spokesman Matthew O’Connor declined to provide details about the case, referring questions back to “law enforcement personnel”.

The company also declined to answer questions about the suspected “vulnerability,” as police described it, in its internal delivery system that the alleged conspirators used to carry out their enterprise.

Charging documents obtained by The Washington Post show that progress in the case did not come until 2017, when detectives identified some of the UPS drivers who were allegedly involved in the scheme and got investigators inside UPS’s fraud and security divisions to help.

Undercover officers posing as drug traffickers contacted Mr Barcelo’s associates to ship parcels containing sham cocaine and cash over several months in 2018 and 2019.

Investigators also placed GPS trackers inside the boxes, documenting the packages’ movement from the homes of the individuals charged in the conspiracy to the UPS hub and out for delivery.

Police also tapped the phones of UPS employees and collected video footage of the group as they coordinated using the WhatsApp messaging app for the loading, handling, shipping and retrieval of cash and boxes from undercover agents, authorities said.

Along with Mr Barcelo, UPS supervisor Gary Love, and drivers Michael Castro and Thomas Mendoza face charges of money laundering, drug possession and drug distribution. Seven others are facing charges related to the shipping of the drugs and operating stash houses for the illicit materials.

One defendant, a 26-year-old, is suspected of being a member of a larger drug-trafficking organisation in Mexico; he and an associate charged undercover agents $2,000 (£1500) to accept a fake drug shipment and deliver it into the US.

Surveillance of Mr Barcelo, including wiretapping and undercover work, led police to Raul Garcia Cordova  who was arrested 21 November on more than a dozen charges. Police raided his mansion and seized a boat, a Chevrolet Corvette, and a Range Rover. Investigators found 50,000 counterfeit vaping pens in a storage locker, officials said.

Local television stations captured footage of the Swat operations at Garcia Cordova’s home last week as police hauled away the vehicles along with ledgers, cash and cannabis found hidden under a hot tub. Police say the man financed the operation.

“It was purely greed-driven,” Mr Kaderly said. The UPS employees “make nearly six figures with benefits, but at some point, greed just took over.”

The Washington Post

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/ups-drug-trafficking-operation-tucon-arizona-cannabis-vape-pens-a9222101.html

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Cannabis factory discovered in Sheffield after man is spotted climbing through window

Hundreds of cannabis plants were found in a house in Sheffield after a man was spotted climbing through a window.

A concerned member of the public who spotted the man dialled 999 and when officers arrived at the property in Club Garden Walk, Sharrow, they found a cannabis factory.

There were more than 200 plants in the house but the man seen climbing through the window had vanished and remains on the run.

https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/crime/cannabis-factory-discovered-sheffield-after-man-spotted-climbing-through-window-1326796

Vid and photo

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Driver arrested for drug offences after police find cannabis in bin bag

The driver was pulled over in Stoke-on-Trent after making an illegal turn

Police stopped a driver for performing an illegal turn – and discovered a bin bag of drugs in the back of the car.

The motorist was stopped in the north of the city for the traffic offence before smelling cannabis.

A Staffordshire Police spokesman said:  “A car was stopped due to making an illegal turn, officers could smell cannabis & this bin bag was discovered, driver arrested for possession with intent to supply.

“House was searched, the cannabis will be destroyed & he awaits a day in court.”

https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/bin-bag-cannabis-3586356

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