When the body of Dr Maria Santos Gorrostieta was found on a roadside west of Mexico City this month, it bore the marks of torture. Her wounds were a final insult from drug gangs whose only response, from the moment she challenged them, had been barbarity. She ran for and won the mayoralty of the small town of Tiquicheo, knowing it would bring terror and possibly death from the cartels whose war with the state has cost 45,000 lives over six years. [continues 497 words]
CRIMINALS are exploiting the war in Iraq to smuggle drugs to Bahrain and the Gulf, according to a United Nations study.Seizures of illegal substances in Syria and Jordan bound for the region are on the increase, says the International Narcotics Control Board's report for 2008. Almost a third of global seizures of amphetamines happened in Saudi Arabia, which could have worrying implications for its neighbours, it says. "Large quantities of counterfeit Captagon tablets continue to be smuggled into countries in the Arabian Peninsula. [continues 289 words]
Two men jailed for life for drug smuggling have been saved by a change in the law. Their sentences were cut to seven years in jail yesterday, after the High Criminal Court accepted that they should have been dealt with under a new law, which restricted jail terms for drug smuggling. The Bahraini men were convicted in October last year of smuggling hashish into the country and were each sentenced to life in prison with a fine of BD10,000, by the High Criminal Court. [continues 202 words]
A "zero tolerance" warning has gone out to drugs traffickers trying to ply their trade through Bahrain. Police have stepped up vigilance at all the country's ports and traffickers face tough penalties, said Interior Minister Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa. He blamed traffickers and addicts for rising crime and a drain on resources which could be spent creating better lives for decent people. "The spread of drugs is one of the most dangerous phenomena facing humanity, given their destructive effects on societies and individuals," said Shaikh Rashid. [continues 182 words]
MANY drug smugglers are not hardened criminals but victims of poverty and should not face the death sentence in Bahrain, says a senior Shura Council member. Bahrain should scrap the death penalty for drug traffickers, says foreign, defence and national security committee chairman Dr Shaikh Khalid bin Khalifa Al Khalifa. He has called for the 1973 Penal Law to be amended and the death penalty to be replaced with life imprisonment, which he believes is a more suitable punishment. "I am proposing this amendment for a very simple reason, the fact that drug traffickers themselves are often victims of larger organisations," Dr Shaikh Khalid told the GDN yesterday. [continues 355 words]
Bahrain is winning the war on drugs, Interior Mini-ster Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa told MPs yesterday.Bahrain has beefed up its anti-drugs forces, with more manpower, better training and the latest technologies. Drug deaths fell to 41 last year from 55 in 2004, Shaikh Rashid told parliament. Drug arrests last year totalled 848, compared to 847 in 2004, showing that police were keeping traffickers in check. However smart the trafficker, the police are keeping one step ahead, said Shaikh Rashid. [continues 107 words]
POLICE are powerless to stop some drugs already outlawed in the West from entering Bahrain because they are still not listed here as illegal, according to a senior officer yesterday. One of the most common is Shabu - a methamphetamine that originates in the Philippines - - said General Directorate of Criminal Investigation director-general Brigadier Farooq Al Mawada. He revealed that police are powerless to stop the drug, also referred to as "crystal meth" or "ice", from being brought into Bahrain because it is technically legal. [continues 434 words]
GCC drug combating officials agreed at a meeting in Bahrain to set up a joint association to run the campaign. Its creation is one of a list of recommendations to come out of the 19th meeting of GCC directors of drug-combating organisations. The two-day meeting was held at the Diplomat Radisson SAS and ended on Tuesday and the recommendations were announced yesterday. It was chaired by CID acting director Brigadier Farook Al Maawada and also discussed a variety of issues, including further efforts to combat drug trafficking between neighbouring Gulf countries. [continues 145 words]
MANAMA: A new 24-hour drugs hotline is being set up by police for people to report offenders. School staff are also being canvassed to inform police if they think pupils are using drugs, says Criminal Investigation Directorate (CID) director Brigadier Farouk Al Maawada. Rewards are also on offer for people who help the police catch drug smugglers and dealers, he said yesterday. Brig Al Maawada said that 375 drug cases have been dealt with during the past four months. "Most of the drug offences were committed in the Capital Governorate, while the lowest has been found in the Muharraq Governorate," he said. [continues 141 words]
MANAMA - A CAMPAIGN will be launched next week to spread the word against drugs among Bahrain's young people. The long-term aim is to train one group of young people to educate others about the dangers of drug abuse. They in turn will train others and so on, in a snowball effect that will reach nearly 90 per cent of the nation's youth over five years, say organisers. It will kick off with a BD40,000, 10-day campaign which will be launched on Tuesday by the General Organisation for Youth and Sports (Goys). [continues 1088 words]
DENPASAR, Indonesia: An Australian student accused of smuggling a large bag of cannabis into Indonesia's Bali resort island went on trial yesterday on charges for which she could face the death penalty. Schapelle Leigh Corby, 27, was arrested at the island's main airport in Denpasar last October after police said she was found with 4.2kg of the drug concealed inside a surfer's bodyboard bag. Authorities have said it was the largest quantity of cannabis ever seized being taken into Bali. [continues 166 words]
THIRTY-FIVE prisoners have gone on hunger strike to protest against alleged delays in Bahrain's courts. They are understood to be angry because some have been in custody for over nine months without being dealt with in court, said an Interior Ministry spokesman. "They are refusing to eat in protest against the public prosecution's decision to extend their stay in custody," he said. Cases involving two groups of prisoners arrested earlier this year for drug-related charges, went back to court yesterday after repeated adjournments. [continues 325 words]
Children will be taught about the dangers of drugs in school as part of a national effort to combat rising levels of addiction.Plans are underway to update Bahrain's curriculum with a comprehensive drug awareness programme, according to a senior health official. Under the scheme, parents will also be taught about the dangers of drugs, said Health Ministry school health co-ordinator Dr Mariam Al Mulla Harmas. They will also learn how to spot whether their child is using illegal substances. [continues 250 words]
BAHRAIN is tightening its defences against the global crime of money laundering. GCC states are said to be particularly vulnerable because they sit directly on the drug route between Asia and the West, according to a top Commerce Ministry official. He said steps are now being taken to educate both the government and private sector on how to restrict money laundering. "GCC countries are located in the middle between drug producers in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran and consumers in Europe and the US," said Financial Analysis Section head Hassan Al Ghannami. [continues 534 words]
Extra hospital beds are being set aside to cope with growing numbers of drug addicts, it was revealed yesterday. An additional 20 beds are being provided as part of a major upgrade of the Almoayyed Drug and Alcohol Treatment and Rehabilitation Unit, at the Psychiatric Hospital. The GDN reported exclusively on how a shortage of beds and a surge in the number of new drug addicts is threatening to cripple Bahrain's drug treatment service. The number of new heroin addicts registering at the unit quadrupled last year from 44 in 2002 to 165, while the number of follow-up cases rose from 2,934 to 4,439 - the highest ever. [continues 348 words]
JAKARTA: Indonesia executed yesterday an Indian national sentenced to death in 1995 for drug smuggling, ending a three-year gap in carrying out the death penalty. The execution came despite an appeal from the European Union and sparked criticism from human rights groups. It also follows pledges by President Megawati Sukarnoputri, locked in a tough election battle, to get tough on drugs traffickers. A police firing squad shot convicted heroin smuggler Ayodhya Prasadh Chaubey in the North Sumatra capital of Medan before dawn, national police spokesman Paiman said. [continues 212 words]
A BAHRAINI policeman was among 10 men caught in a drugs sting. Six Bahrainis, three Saudis and two Kuwaitis were caught in the police operation, the Lower Criminal Court heard. They were charged with possessing and using cannabis, which had been smuggled into the country. One Bahraini has pleaded guilty to the charges and an arrest warrant has been issued for a second, 26-year-old Bahraini who has repeatedly failed to turn up at court. Admitted Three of the men were arrested for possession of hashish in July 1999, in an operation by Bahrain's drugs squad. [continues 195 words]
LONDON: Joint action by Jamaica to Britain has cut the number of people smuggling cocaine inside their bodies by more than 90 per cent in the past two years, British Customs officers said yesterday. Concerned by the growing number of people swallowing packets of cocaine to smuggle them into Britain, police and Customs officials in both countries launched Operation Airbridge on June 1, 2002. In the year before the launch of Operation Airbridge, the number of cocaine swallowers detected in Britain had risen to 730, Customs officials said. This number fell to 185 in the operation's first 12 months up to June 2003, and in the last year up to June 2004, the number has been reduced further to 41 - a reduction of more than 90pc since the operation began. In the year to June 2003, there was also a significant increase in the number of cocaine smugglers detected in Jamaica prior to boarding flights for the UK, up from 82 to 216. [end]
A major, major, correction needs to be made to Mr Rob Hemmen's letter (GDN June 29). To accuse the hippies of being immoral, anti-religious and all round disgusting people, is surely a statement issued out of a total ignorance of what the "hippie movement" was all about. How Mr Hemmen can make such a broad, intolerant proclamation is beyond belief. Where you at man? This 'movement' if that is what we should call it, was born (for the sake of this discussion) in the early 60s out of a complete disillusionment with the current affairs of the time, and a realisation of ourselves, our environment and the hypocrisy around us. [continues 209 words]
DRUGS will go on display today at the Jawad Food Garden from 10am to 10pm. The exhibition is being organised by the Northern Governorate in collaboration with Interior Ministry as part of activities to mark the United Nations International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking, which was celebrated around the world last Saturday. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime is celebrating the annual event this year under the theme Let's talk about drugs. Meanwhile, the Central Governorate held an open seminar titled Drugs Destroy You and Kill You at the Gulf Air Club in Salmabad yesterday. [continues 93 words]
