All articles tagged with #cocaine
Plastic-wrapped cocaine bricks, locally nicknamed 'square grouper,' are frequently washing up in the Florida Keys. While some locals report finds to authorities, others exploit the situation for profit. Federal prosecutors recently sentenced a ring of individuals for distributing these recovered drugs, highlighting a persistent smuggling issue in the region.
Ali Albokhari, a Finnish-Syrian chief mate, has been imprisoned in Turkey for three years after 137kg of cocaine was found on the cargo ship Phoenician M. Despite no forensic evidence linking him to the drugs, he was convicted under 'command responsibility' and sentenced to 33 years. His wife, Elena, is lobbying for his release while his captain, Marko Bekavac, was released via a prisoner swap. The case highlights the vulnerability of seafarers to organized crime and inadequate legal protections.
Fiji police confirmed that nearly 40 kilograms of cocaine held as evidence in the trial of Joshua Aziz Rahman has been replaced with flour. The drugs, valued at approximately $13.3 million to $31 million, were stored at the Suva High Court since 2021. Forensic tests revealed all 39 bars were tampered with, prompting an investigation into six judiciary staff with vault access. This incident follows a similar theft in March and highlights ongoing security failures in Fiji’s judicial system amid a regional drug crisis.
Missouri Republican candidate Thomas Ross was arrested and charged with conspiring to distribute a controlled substance after prosecutors say he tried to frame rival Louise Secker by having cocaine and Adderall planted in her purse or car, coordinating with a former campaign manager and using an FBI-recorded conversation as evidence. The allegations emerged as Ross had just won the 161st district GOP primary by 33 votes; Missouri GOP chair Peter Kinder urged him to withdraw pending the facts in the case.
Nick Kyrgios has been cleared to return to professional tennis after accepting a one-month ban for testing positive for cocaine from a Mallorca Open sample. He admitted using cocaine at a Magaluf nightclub in June, and after consulting an independent expert the ITIA reduced the potential three-month ban to one month once he entered a treatment program. The ban ends on September 3, and he forfeits €6,570 in prize money. The controversy comes amid years of injuries and off-court incidents, with his ranking having fallen to 918.
Witnesses testified that a Penn State–linked cocaine operation ran through campus fraternities, growing from 100-gram purchases to kilogram loads; Agostino Abbatiello is described as the alleged ringleader, with pledges helping package and deliver drugs as prosecutors outline a network spanning Philadelphia and New York into State College. Fourteen people are charged and Abbatiello has been granted bail as the hearings proceed.
Agostino Abbatiello, a 24-year-old Penn State student and Sigma Chi member from Long Island, allegedly led a campus cocaine operation that expanded from afterparties to selling to students, earning him the nickname “The Godfather.” Testimony describes him buying large quantities, spending on clothes and a $5,000 bong, and hosting gatherings where free coke was shared. By junior year he reportedly moved to bigger trafficking and a sprawling network involving other frat brothers; prosecutors say 13 fraternity members were busted in connection with the ring, which allegedly sourced cocaine from New York and Philadelphia. Abbatiello was released on $250,000 bond after a week in jail following a preliminary hearing in Centre County Court, with charges tied to the cocaine distribution at Penn State fraternities Sigma Chi and Delta Upsilon.
The Penn State cocaine-trafficking case advances as Agostino Abbatiello, a 24-year-old accused ringleader, fights to be released on bail even as prosecutors seek to consolidate charges against 14 defendants tied to frat-linked drug deals supplying cocaine to Penn State students; Abbatiello is the only defendant reportedly denied bail, and the hearing will proceed with co-defendants and Abbatiello’s father as the cases are unified.
The alleged Penn State cocaine trafficking network, led by 24-year-old Agostino Abbatiello, was brought before a Centre County court for a preliminary hearing as prosecutors described a scheme linking Penn State fraternities Sigma Chi and Delta Upsilon to cocaine suppliers in New York and Philadelphia. Deals ranged from small to large quantities and were arranged via Snapchat and Venmo, with pledges allegedly bagging drugs for sale to students. In total, about 5.6 pounds of cocaine valued around $120,000 were involved in transactions dating back to fall 2023, and 14 students have been charged in the case; Abbatiello sought a continuance which the court denied, allowing the hearing to proceed.
Doja Cat revealed in a series of TikTok videos that she struggled with cocaine about eight years ago and has had alcohol-related issues; she says she’s moved past both, linking the challenges to undiagnosed mental illness and social media, and notes she’s been in therapy for years and was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder earlier this year.
Stefanos Tsitsipas said he wasn’t surprised by Nick Kyrgios’ cocaine suspension and refused to cover for him, noting such talk had circulated on tour; Kyrgios tested positive after Mallorca and received a provisional ban, while Tsitsipas spoke after beating Arthur Fils at the US Open amid their long-running feud.
Federal authorities arrested 13 Penn State students from Sigma Chi and Delta Upsilon for running a cocaine- and MDMA-fueled campus drug ring, trafficking from 'drug rooms' at frat parties, coercing freshmen to package drugs, and enforcing brutal hazing. The investigation spans 2023–2024 with trafficking traced to 2026; investigators say MDMA-heavy 'paint parties' were common, payments often through Venmo, and the fallout includes 14 fraternities being banned or suspended as the university grapples with hazing reforms sparked by the 2017 Timothy Piazza death.
Pennsylvania prosecutors detail a 14-person cocaine operation tied to Penn State, spanning suppliers to packaging and delivery with members from Delta Upsilon and Sigma Chi; the alleged hierarchy includes a top leader and several distributors and packaging crews, and charges range from felonies to misdemeanors as investigators relied on confidential informants; all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Fourteen people, including current and former Penn State students from Sigma Chi and Delta Upsilon, were charged in an off-campus cocaine distribution operation that used Snapchat and cash apps to move drugs to students. Authorities describe a clear hierarchy from suppliers to distributors and delivery, with Agostino Abbatiello allegedly leading the scheme. Others named include Thomas Robinson, Mohammed Huraibi, Lars Zeepvat, Robert Zanolla, Kaden Howe, Connor Hurleigh, Seth Beardsley, Daniel Price, Kyle Ridpath, Liam Smith, and Charlie Weisman. An informant helped expose the operation, which allegedly involved packaging and distributing cocaine from fraternity houses to Penn State students. The case is being pursued by the Pennsylvania Attorney General.
The New York Post reports that the father-and-son duo at the center of a Penn State Delta Upsilon frat house cocaine operation had prior run-ins with the law, including the son’s 2024 vandalism and drug-dealing allegations and the father’s 2024 DUI; the elder is now charged with felony tampering and hindering and concealing evidence in the cocaine investigation, highlighting a broader pattern of legal troubles surrounding the case.