Steve Neavling

The good news: The crackdown on methamphetamine in the U.S. is working.

The bad news: Mexican drug cartels are fulfilling the demand by pumping out cheap, potent meth from so-called “superlabs,” the Associated Press reports.

“These are sophisticated, high-tech operations in Mexico that are operating with extreme precision,” said Jim Shroba, a DEA agent in St. Louis. “They’re moving it out the door as fast as they can manufacture it.”

Meth coming from Mexico now accounts for 80% of the drug being sold in the U.S., according to the DEA.

And it’s more enticing then ever – purer, faster, strong and longer-lasting.

Michele Leonhart

With the meth problem growing, DEA’s top boss Michele M. Leonhart announced Thursday the signing of a new memorandum of cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico “to aggressively address the continuing problem” of production.

In a press release, the DEA said the U.S. and Mexican officials enjoy a strong cooperative relationship that includes information and intelligence exchange, joint chemical control efforts, and training and resources for methamphetamine lab dismantling.

“With the majority of methamphetamine in the U.S. being produced by Mexican drug organizations operating on both sides of the border, it is essential for our two countries to target the problem together,” Leonhart said. “This  (agreement) enhances our intelligence sharing and joint training efforts, and is only possible due to the strong partnership with the Government of Mexico in attacking the meth scourge both countries unfortunately face.”

Mexico’s Attorney General Marisela Morales said, “Mexico and the United States are linked not only by economic, political and social bonds, but also by security and law enforcement issues.”

The DEA said Mexico has experienced a dramatic increase in clandestine methamphetamines lab and precursor chemical seizures.

ATF discusses Napalm found in meth bust: fox10tv.com

By Danny Fenster

According to an AP survey of the nation’s leading states in meth production, lab seizures by law enforcement agencies rose nationally, the AP reports.

In 2011 Missouri was the leading producer, with 2,096 seizures. Missouri was followed by Tennessee, Indiana, Kentucky and then Oklahoma.

Across the nation the rise in meth lab seizures rose by about 8.3 percent from 2010 to 2011. The addictiveness of the drug and an increasingly popular and very quick method of producing it both contributed to the rise, experts say, according to AP. That method, know as “shake-and-bake,” quickly produces the drug using a soda bottle which, experts say, has created smaller labs but much more of them.

To read more click here.

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Gun seized in Las Vegas as part of operation/dea photo

The DEA on Thursday announced the arrests of 1,985 persons as part of a 20-month crackdown on the La Familia Michoacana Mexican drug cartel’s operations in the U.S.

DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart said authorities said the crackdown, known as “Project Delirium”, also seized $62 million in U.S. currency, plus approximately 2,773 pounds of methamphetamine, 2,722 kilograms of cocaine, 1,005 pounds of heroin, 14,818 pounds of marijuana and $3.8 million in other assets.

She said over 70 of the arrests took place yesterday and today, and over 200 have been arrested since June 1. Arrests were made all around the U.S.

“Project Delirium is the second successful, strategic and surgical strike to disrupt and destroy one of the most violent Mexican cartels, La Familia,” Leonhart said.

“Through their violent drug trafficking activities, including their hallmark of supplying most of the methamphetamine imported into the United States, La Familia is responsible for recklessly and violently destroying countless lives on both sides of the border. The strong joint efforts with our Mexican and U.S. law enforcement partners are crippling this brutal organization by capturing its leaders, strangling its distribution networks, and relentlessly pursuing its members and those who facilitate them.”

It’s heartening to see that people can rise above such impediments. But if given the U.S. Attorney job, people are certainly going to be watching how he treats drug cases.

Nicholas Klinefeldt/law firm photo

By Andrew Ramonas
Main Justice
WASHINGTON – The Midwest has been hit hard by meth. Law enforcement devotes significant resources to combatting the illegal drug.

All of which puts Des Moines lawyer Nick Klinefeldt, who is Sen. Tom Harkin’s choice for Iowa Southern District U.S. Attorney, in an unusual position.

Klinefeldt’s father, Michael Arthur Klinefeldt, is serving a 10-year sentence on a methamphetamine conviction, according to court records. Nick Klinefeldt declined to comment. A spokesman for Harkin said the candidate’s father’s conviction isn’t an issue.

For Full Story

Michael Douglas

By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com
Actor Michael Douglas’ son Cameron, who was busted last month by the DEA on charges of drug trafficking, has messed up again.

The New York Post, attributing reports to law enforcement sources, said that Cameron Douglas, 30, who was under house arrest, was taken on Wednesday “from his posh pad that belongs to his mom, Diandra Douglas, and brought to the Metropolitan Correctional Center” in New York after his girlfriend was busted for bringing him an electric toothbrush stuffed with 19 tiny bags of heroin in the battery compartment.

Wire service reports said that the DEA arrrested the girlfriend Kelly Sott and found heroin, crystal meth and marijuana in her room.

A federal magistrate ordered that she be held without bail and get treatment for heroin addiction.

The New York Post reported that Michael Douglas issued a statement saying “the family is devastated and very disappointed.”

Court records show his criminal complaint remains under seal.

This may not be the bust of the century, but when you’re the son of Michael Douglas, it’s a bust that won’t go unnoticed. Sometimes it just sucks to be famous — or related to someone who is.

The son of Academy Award winner Michael Douglas has been arrested once again — this time in the Big Apple for getting in the middle of a deal to sell an eye-popping pile of crystal meth, law-enforcement sources said yesterday.

The 30-year-old sometime-actor/sometime-DJ was busted on July 28 at the Gansevoort Hotel in the Meatpacking District by a DEA task force, the sources said.

For Full Story