When I Was Young

June 17, 2009 -- Updated 2349 GMT (0749 HKT)

Story Highlights

• 870 packages of cocaine weighing almost a ton found inside sharks, navy says
  
• Discovery made at southeastern port of Progreso in the Yucatan state
  
• Inspectors detected anomaly in two shipping containers during a routine X-ray
  

The cargo, which was aboard the freight ship Dover Strait, had been loaded in Costa Rica, Mexican navy says.

(CNN) -- The Mexican navy smelled something fishy and their intuition paid off. They found nearly a ton of cocaine hidden inside a shipment of frozen sharks.

Navy inspectors at the southeastern port of Progreso, in Yucatan state, on Tuesday detected an anomaly in two shipping containers during a routine X-ray, according to a navy news release.

The inspectors zeroed in on a shipment of sharks. Upon slitting one of the frozen fish open, they found black bags containing rectangular packets filled with cocaine.

In all, authorities recovered 870 packages of cocaine, weighing 894 kilograms (about 1,967 pounds), the navy reported Wednesday.

In recent years, Mexico and the United States have stepped up drug enforcement efforts, pushing more of the drug trade to sea routes and forcing drug smugglers to find more creative ways to hide their contraband.

The cargo was aboard the freight ship Dover Strait and had been loaded in Costa Rica, the navy said.

From CNN.com; see the source article here.

Anything for drugs? And crooks operating on crooks. In the noise and confusion of the ongoing arrest, someone stole the pig?

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06/06/2009 | 10:18 PM

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – It was a simpler sort of drug trade.

Syracuse police say a 45-year-old man offered a slaughtered pig as partial payment for a bag of crack cocaine.

They say two men were spotted making the deal on a street corner just before 8 p.m. Thursday.

Angelo Colon of Fulton was arrested on a misdemeanor drug possession charge and 42-year-old Omar Veliz faces a felony drug sale charge.

Police say Colon paid half a pig and $10 for a $50 bag of crack. Veliz told police the pig was for a celebration for a relative being released from jail.

While officers were arresting the suspects, someone took the pig.

Police don't know if the men have lawyers. - AP

From GMANews.tv; see the source article here.

Crime, crime, crime… will it ever end? Or is it just waiting for the next form to take its shape – yet again?

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KUALA LUMPUR — Human trafficking and drug smuggling have replaced pirate attacks as the leading crime threat off Malaysia's long coastline, a top maritime official said yesterday.

"Piracy has been gradually reduced. But the main challenges (now) are smuggling of humans and there is also the smuggling of drugs," said Admiral Mohamad Amdan Kurish of the Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency.

"That needs to be checked. Last year we scored a major drug bust, there was an attempt to bring in 200kg of ganja (marijuana) from the Golden Triangle," he said.

The Golden Triangle, second to Afghanistan as Asia's top drug-producing region, straddles the borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand.

Adm Mohamad Amdan attributed the problems to Malaysia's long coastline and extensive mangrove swamps which hamper security patrols and provide smugglers with hideouts to launch their operations.

More than 30 per cent of world trade and half the world's oil shipments pass through the Malacca Strait. AFP

From TODAYOnline.com; see the source article here.