... ... Mass breakout from detox ... ...

We've all done a runner from detox and we've all been able to think of really good reasons why we did one, but this takes the biscuit. More than 600 convicted junkies attempted a mass breakout from a detox centre they were confined to in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, recently. According to the officials, the breakout was a response to "overcrowding". A likely tale!

... ... FBI raids Coffee County Sheriff's Office ... ...

FBI and Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents raided the office of the Coffee County Sheriff's Office last month, looking for evidence to support charges of marijuana growing against 3 high ranking Deputy Sherriffs. The County Sheriff, who is standing for re-election in July said the investigation would not necessarily help him keep his job. "When your top people get arrested, it looks bad on you", he admitted.

Source: Florida Times - Union 2000

... Drug war warrior's wife gets FIVE years for mailing FIVE pounds of heroin ... ...

Colonel James Hiett, commander of the US military's anti-drug operation in Bogota, Colombia has pleaded guilty to money laundering charges. But his wife has been sentenced to 5 years imprisonment for mailing 5 pounds of heroin to herself from Bogota, where her husband was stationed. The sentence exposes the hypocrisy of the operation of America's drug laws. Mrs Hiett gets caught with $70 000 worth of heroin but gets a measly 5 years. Other poor Americans, most from ethnic minorities, are serving five years for a first offence of possession of a few grams of crack, and there are people who've lost their homes and cars as well as their liberty for possession of marijuana. One law for the rich, one for the poor.

Source: Chico-Enterprise Record c. 2000 The Media News Group

... ... Cops squirrel drugs, guns and money in station ceilings and walls ... ...

Another Australian police station story caught our eye. The St Kilda Police Station in Melbourne is one of the busiest (and wackiest) in Australia. It's detectives sport a special St Kilda tie, with an insignia showing the scales of justice with on one side a black crow with a syringe in its mouth and the other a stick figure with a halo above its head. The crow represents the sex workers in the area, the sainted figure is a detective - and in his left hand he carries a sledge hammer. Well, that halo has slipped a little after a raid on the station by investigators who found heroin, cannabis, illegal guns and money at the HQ of the Criminal Intelligence Unit. Items were found in the ceilings and locker rooms of the station. St Kilda has a long reputation for shady stuff. In 1998 contractors cleaning the ceilings at the station found a total of nine unregistered guns hidden there. A few years before that the station was rebuilt and contractors demolished the adjoining police garage - known as "the Batcave". On the roof they found three sticks of gelignite and when they knocked the station down a number of unexplained "court exhibits" were found hidden in the wall cavities. These aren't coppers, they're squirrels

Source: The Age c. 2000 David Syme & Co Ltd.

... ... Preacher hid cannabis in Bible ... ...

A Kenyan street preacher has been jailed for two years for hiding cannabis in his bible. Smoking cannabis (bhang) is common but illegal in Kenya. However the magistrate said the offence was a serious one because of its blasphemous nature.

Source: Daily Telegraph c. Telegraph group 1999

... ... Blue loo from the boys in blue ... ...

Police in Brisbane, Australia have installed blue lights in the public toilet of their HQ after a syringe and other drug paraphernalia were found there. The lights are intended to make it hard for IV drug users to find a vein and have been installed in the male, female and disabled toilets. Nothing is too much trouble or expense when it comes to fighting the ravages of drug abuse. Even if it's only one works that's been found

Source: The (Australia) Courier Mail c. 2000 News

All newspaper articles summarised here are taken from the excellent and informative Website: Media Awareness Project

www.mapinc.org/drugnews