Tag: drugs

• Thursday, July 18th 2024 - 10:55 UTC

  Operation Sweetness, check your sugar when having coffee or tea

  

  The discovery of cocaine and other hard drugs shipments to Europe from South American Atlantic ports is not new and despite all efforts, the network of contacts coupled with ingenious methods to adapt to circumstances and obviously a notorious degree of corruption, keeps information flowing.

• Friday, January 12th 2024 - 11:21 UTC

  Drug trafficking scandal: How cocaine made it from Uruguay to Belgium undetected?

  

  A shipment of 22,320 units of Portezuelo brand budines and alfajores (La Plata river sweets), along with 1,122 bottles of vermouth, originating from Uruguay and bound for Belgium, was found to contain 2.16 tons of cocaine. The discovery was made by Belgian Customs on December 28, sparking an investigation into the oversight during its transit through the Uruguayan port.

• Monday, October 30th 2023 - 08:32 UTC

  Brazilian researchers developing vaccine against cocaine consumption

  

  A Brazilian-developed vaccine against cocaine addiction is almost ready for public distribution. The drug, named Calixcoca, “would block the effects on the brain,” according to the researchers behind the project.

• Saturday, July 8th 2023 - 14:00 UTC

  US invites countries to combat synthetic drugs, but China, main producer of fentanyl declines

  

  The United States on Friday called on dozens of countries to work together to combat synthetic drugs, but China declined an invitation to attend.

• Saturday, April 29th 2023 - 10:39 UTC

  Drug trafficking gangs labeled as “terrorists” by Ecuador's gov't

  

  Ecuadorian gangs linked to drug trafficking have been likened to “terrorists” by the administration of President Guillermo Lasso in a move to curb the escalating violence, it was reported. The decision was taken after a State and Public Security Council (Cosepe) meeting.

• Saturday, March 4th 2023 - 08:10 UTC

  Drug gangs off limits for Argentine armed forces, despite opposition's claims

  

  After a mafia-style attack on Thursday against a supermarket in Rosario owned by relatives of Lionel Messi's wife, many opposition leaders in Argentina suggested the Armed Forces be deployed against the drug-trafficking gangs operating in the country's third-largest city.

• Saturday, March 4th 2023 - 07:47 UTC

  Argentine Customs create Uruguay River task force to tackle cocaine trafficking

  

  Argentina's Customs General Directorate created a department within its structure to monitor drug trafficking through the Uruguay River, it was announced Friday. The new task force will increase controls on regional transshipments where various containers featuring cocaine have been detected recently.

• Wednesday, November 9th 2022 - 10:16 UTC

  Brazil and Uruguay manage significant seizures of cocaine bound for Europe

  

  Brazil and Uruguay have been quite active in their combat against the drug trade. In Brazil in the northeast of the country, the state of Pará, Federal Police seized 2,75 tons of pure cocaine bound for Europe, which has been considered one of the largest drug seizures in a port.

• Tuesday, July 19th 2022 - 09:15 UTC

  Pepe Mujica favors legalizing drugs to hurt traffickers

  

  Former Uruguayan President José “Pepe” Mujica has retired from active politics but his witty statements keep making headlines, even at a time when his wife is about to undergo surgery following a domestic accident.

• Tuesday, June 28th 2022 - 09:20 UTC

  Drug consumption on the rise worldwide, UN report shows

  

  According to a United Nations report released in Vienna, the number of people who have tried a narcotic substance in their lives has increased by 26% in the last decade. In 2020, 13.6% of users suffered from drug-related disorders to the point of being dependent or requiring treatment.