Singapore to end death penalty for drug couriers who help authorities or are mentally disabled

Singapore says it plans to change the law so that convicted drug couriers no longer receive a mandatory death sentence. Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said in parliament Monday that the government will seek to give judges the discretion to give life sentences to drug couriers if they cooperate with authorities in a substantive way or are mentally disabled. 0 Comments Weigh InCorrections? Personal Post Teo said Singapore would keep the mandatory death penalty by hanging for drug kingpins or distributors. International rights groups have criticized Singapore’s mandatory death penalty for drug couriers as too harsh. Singapore has argued tough penalties are a necessary deterrent to keep crime rates low. The changes to the law must be approved by parliament, where the ruling People’s Action Party controls 81 of 87 seats.

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Three people were arrested and more than 4 ounces of cocaine was seized after a suspected drug deal in the South Shore Plaza parking lot Friday, police said

Arrested were Omi Montanez, 35, and his sister Leslie N. Montanez, 31, both of New Bedford, and Naomi L. Quansah, 38, of Abington.

All three were charged with trafficking in cocaine, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, and conspiracy to violate the Controlled Substances Act.

Omi Montanez was also charged with resisting arrest and with a drug-free school zone violation.

The two women were released on bail and Omi Montanez was held without bail pending their arraignments today in Quincy District Court.

Braintree Deputy Police Chief Russell Jenkins said police officers Matthew Heslam and James Peters were patrolling the mall’s parking lots when they saw someone, later identified as Omi Montanez, acting suspiciously.

Jenkins said the officers kept Montanez under surveillance, and police officer Mark Sherrick and Detective Joseph Molloy were called in to assist.

“Officer Sherrick monitored Montanez’s Nissan Maxima from surveillance cameras inside Lord and Taylor and observed him remove a black, zippered bag from the trunk,” Jenkins said.

Montanez drove from parking lot to parking lot, Jenkins said. An Infiniti pulled into the parking lot where Montanez eventually parked, Jenkins said.

“Upon the arrival of the Infiniti, Montanez exited his vehicle, entered the back seat of the Infiniti and then exited the Infiniti less than a minute later,” Jenkins said.

Suspecting some type of drug transaction had taken place, Jenkins said officers detained all three people as they walked away from the two vehicles.

“Montanez’s vehicle was searched, but nothing was found,” Jenkins said. “The Infiniti was searched and officers discovered a black zippered bag in the back seat containing 125 grams of cocaine.”

When told of the discovery, Montanez fled from the officers, but was apprehended after a brief foot chase, he said.

An additional 3.5 grams of cocaine was found on Leslie Montanez when she was searched at the police station, he said.

Jenkins said that trafficking in 125 grams of cocaine carries a mandatory sentence of 10 years in state prison.

 

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Shooting of drug suspect by DEA agents in Honduras sparks fears of escalating violence

(Fernando Antonio/ Associated Press ) - Honduras national policemen unload packages of cocaine that were brought to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Tuesday July 3, 2012. The cocaine was seized from a small airplane that crashed after it was being chased by military planes and helicopters of the Honduras army near the town of Los Lirios, about 217 miles (350 km) east of Tegucigalpa. One of the pilots died and the other was injured. About 1322 lbs. (600 kg.) of cocaine were seized.

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• Honduras’ top human rights official said Monday he worries that the second fatal shooting by U.S. agents in Honduras is part of a widening confrontation between drug traffickers and U.S.-backed police and troops.

The Honduran government defended its work with the U.S., saying that the Americans have helped to dramatically increase drug seizures in the country.But human rights ombudsman Ramon Custodio said Monday that “sooner or later air and sea operations won’t be enough and we’ll see military and police operations on land.”

A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration spokeswoman said Sunday that the pilot of a suspected drug flight was shot dead by two DEA agents this month after he refused to surrender and made a threatening gesture.

At the time, Honduran police said the twin-engine plane arriving from Colombia with a load of cocaine crashed on July 3 while being chased by government aircraft. Honduran officials said that one pilot died and a second was badly injured, but didn’t say how the death occurred.

On Sunday DEA spokeswoman Dawn Dearden said that police arriving at the crash scene in eastern Honduras found the plane’s two pilots and arrested the injured one. She said the second pilot was shot by the DEA agents after he ignored orders to surrender and made a threatening gesture.

She called the operation, which involved Honduran police and embedded DEA advisers, a success that resulted in the seizure of 900 kilograms (almost a ton) of cocaine.

Honduran Minister of Public Safety Ivan Mejia said the operation was part of a “permanent, frontal, professional, radical and transparent offensive against organized crime.”

“In these types of operations, those committing crimes must understand that if they resist it could lead to confrontations that could lead to loss of life. They shouldn’t break the law, or, they should surrender,” Mejia said.

U.S. officials say that in late June an agent shot a suspected drug trafficker as he reached for his gun in a holster during a raid in a remote northern part of Honduras. That operation resulted in the seizure of 792 pounds (360 kilograms) of cocaine, the officials said.

A similar raid on May 11 killed four people, whom locals claimed were innocent civilians traveling a river in Honduras at night. Honduran police said the victims were in a boat that fired on authorities. The DEA said none of its agents fired their guns in that incident.

The deaths come amid an aggressive new enforcement strategy that has sharply increased the interception of illegal drug flights in Honduras, which has become a major transshipment point for U.S.-bound drugs. The country’s remote Mosquitia region is dotted with clandestine airstrips and a vast network of rivers for carrying drugs to the coast.

The strategy involves a special team of DEA agents who work with Honduran police to move quickly and pursue suspicious flights, a U.S. official has said. Honduran and U.S. drug agents follow flights they detect of unknown origin and work with non-U.S. contract pilots.

International crackdowns in Mexico and the Caribbean have pushed drug trafficking to Central America, which is now the crossing point for 84 percent of all U.S.-bound cocaine, according to Joint Task Force-Bravo, a U.S. military installation in Comayagua, Honduras.

The Honduran navy said it had seized two tons of cocaine on Saturday in an operation using information provided by U.S. forces in Honduras.

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From behind bars, Juan Guzman ran a multimillion-dollar drug ring with the help of his sister, a state employee, providing cocaine from Mexico to the streets of Boston

(Tamir Kalifa for The Boston Globe)Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley announced arrests Monday connected to an alleged multimillion dollar drug-trafficking ring operating in Boston.

From behind bars, Juan Guzman ran a multimillion-dollar drug ring with the help of his sister, a state employee, providing cocaine from Mexico to the streets of Boston, according to authorities. On Monday, their enterprise was brought to an end by the largest drug ­investigation in the city in at least a decade.Fourteen people were arrested just after dawn by about 100 Boston police officers and FBI agents in 12 locations across Boston, Milton, and Canton, dismantling an illegal operation that authorities likened to the television show “The Wire.”

Through the morning and early afternoon, authorities seized about $500,000 from 12 residences, four vehicles, nine bank accounts, and a safety ­deposit box allegedly used by the drug ring. The amount of cocaine seized was still being tallied Monday night.

“Today’s arrest and seizures amounted to a corporate takedown,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, who announced the arrests at a press conference. “The managing partners are behind bars, and their product is out of circulation.”

Authorities described the so-called Guzman Trafficking ­Organization as highly organized and violent, with close ties to the Boylston Street gang, which they said has been respon­sible for violence in ­Jamaica Plain, including a triple homicide in 2010.

“If you imagine a pyramid with narcotics manufacturers at the very top and street-level users at the very bottom,” ­Conley said, “the Guzman Drug Trafficking Organization — with its wholesalers, distributors, and financial managers — would be within the top third.”

Guzman, 33, directed operations while serving a 2½-year sentence at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at ­Concord after a 2011 conviction on gun and drug charges, Conley said. Authorities said they monitored “dozens and dozens” of Guzman’s conversations while he was behind bars.

“Those of you who watched the TV show ‘The Wire’ will ­recall the Barksdale Crew, whose leader was incarcerated throughout the second season, and you wouldn’t be far from the mark,” Conley said. ­Guzman, he said, was “aided and enabled by an inner circle of top-level distributors and confidantes.”

Guzman’s sister — Maria ­Guzman, 28 — worked as a secretary at the Dorchester Juvenile Court, and is accused of maintaining bank accounts and a safety deposit box containing drug proceeds, authorities said. The deposit box and her accounts were seized, as were the accounts of Martha Tejeda, 54, the mother of Guzman’s fiancee, and Tomas Soto, 34. Guzman, ­Tejeda, and Soto were arrested Tuesday.

Three additional accounts and a Mercedes sport utility ­vehicle were seized from ­Melissa Mejia, 28, described as Guzman’s fiancee. Mejia, who was also arrested, managed Guzman’s personal finances during his incarceration, accord­ing to authorities.

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