[JustTheNews] More than 40 people accused of running the largest pharmacy burglary stole approximately $12 million worth of controlled substances, according to an indictment.
The bust is the largest in the history of the Drug Enforcement Administration, according to the Department of Justice. Not counting the cartels of course.
U.S. Attorney Jonathan D. Ross for the Eastern District of Arkansas said Thursday the group of 42 people worked together to burglarize over 200 pharmacies across 31 states.
Was this a twisted example of American enterprise, or yet another rob-to-order gang of illegals going where the robbing is easy?
More than 11 of the affected pharmacies were located in Arkansas, according to Ross.
Ross said the group, based in Houston, Texas, targeted independent, non-chain pharmacies in rural locations and would drive rental cars or take flights to get there. Well funded from the start.
Their pattern would be to go to their selected target locations in the early morning, break the glass and crawl on the floor to avoid motion detectors.
Stolen medications included opioids like oxycodone and hydrocodone, along with other prescription drugs like Xanax, Adderall and promethazine, Ross said.
“As a result, hundreds of thousands of pills and gallons of promethazine cough syrup were returned and distributed on the streets of Texas,” said Ross.
The street value of the stolen medications is approximately $12 million, according to federal officials.
“As we know, the opioid epidemic is still with us: 107,543 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2023, of which 81,083 were due to opioids,” Ross said. “Theft and illegal distribution of prescription opioid and other scheduled medications fuels the addiction and overdose crisis throughout the United States and theft and illegal distribution of prescription opioid and other scheduled medications result in millions of dollars in proceeds to pro-criminal organizations perpetuating dangerous criminal activity.”
Previously, Ross’s office announced Phase 1 of Operation #RichoffMeds in December. At that point, 18 suspected members of the crime ring had been indicted for burglaries that took place in Arkansas.
This week’s announcement comes after a superseding indictment was returned by an Arkansas grand jury, which charged 24 additional people in the conspiracy to distribute controlled substances for acts that occurred nationwide, Ross said.
Law enforcement seized 11 firearms, around $79,000 in U.S. currency, and custom jewelry retailing at about $510,000 in Houston, which Ross said were could have been
proceeds from the sale of pharmaceutical drugs.
Most of the defendants appeared in a court in Little Rock Thursday afternoon. The remaining defendants will be in court in September.
#3
Arkansas State Police in 2023 saw a huge rise in illegal drug seizures due to traffic stops compared to previous years. In all, there were 138 significant seizures in 2023. ASP troopers seized more than 11,000 pounds of illegal drugs and $1.4 million from Arkansas highways in total. cocaine seizures showed a huge increase, with 353 pounds confiscated in 2023. The street value of the confiscated cocaine is more than $15 million. Those seizures represent a 146% increase from the 2022 seizure of 143.35 pounds of cocaine by ASP.
The second-highest seizure of illegal marijuana was in December of 2023. Fentanyl seizures were down but still substantial with 65 pounds in 2022 compared to 46 pounds in 2023.
#6
Re #2 the factories aren’t in the US - and frankly it’d be a softer target to hit the shipment between the factory and the shipping export point (vessel or aircraft).
[FoxNews] "Gimme Dat Money!"
A pair of reparations-related bills for the descendants of enslaved Black Americans failed to pass in the California legislature on Saturday after backers said the bills would not move forward.
Authored by Democrat state Sen. Steven Bradford of Inglewood, Senate Bill 1331 would have created a new state fund for reparations, while Senate Bill 1403 would have established a state agency to oversee these efforts and determine who would be eligible.
These measures were considered key components of some lawmakers’ ambitious efforts to pass legislation aimed at atoning for what they said was a legacy of racist policies that drove disparities for Black people, from housing to education to health.
While the Democrat-led California legislature did a pass a spate of other bills aimed at remedying past racial injustices, none of these would provide direct payments to African-Americans.
* California is almost bankrupt and in debt. Where is the $$$$$$ coming from?
* Just because a person is of Darker Skin does not mean their ancestry were 1776-1865 US slaves. Estimates show that the US has admitted just over a MILLION of African immigrants since the Civil war. Most of which had 2+, offsprings each generation for over 150 years (10+/-) generations.
* Isn't the $3.4+/- Trillion in WELFARE and assistance, since the 1960's, to Black families single parent units, a form of Reparations?
* California was admitted as a free state in 1850. So it never had a state or federally allowed slave population.
* Why should California's Non-White (yes that includes Blacks) be taxed to pay for the reparations?
* Not one person being offered Reparations was ever a slave in pre-1865. FACT!
* 96+/-% of the US Citizens NEVER owned a pre-1865 Slave. So why should they be taxed for the sins and errors of the 4+/-%
* It isn't legal to hold a person accountable for the acts of a possible Great Great Great Grand parent? check the suits against gun manufacturers
* Well over 3/4's of the US population ancestry was not in the USA until AFTER 1870. Why should they be taxed to pay for it?
* If 40 AC and Mule is the basis for this political sham for votes. BUT WAIT!!! it was the DEMOCRAT Party that supported Slavery and now wants the Black Vote? So using the same stupid political logic. Since the Democrat Party existed then and is still around. Shouldn't it and those that support the DNC be SOLELY responsible for paying the $$$$? where did the mules come from?
Remember, Republicans were and still are Anti-Slavery.
While the (D's) are moving towards National Socialism, which supports the Government owning the lives of its slaves.
BTW: Still supporting BLM ?
Because some of the biggest tribal based slave owning countries are still in Africa. Historically, Africans have held many times more slaves than the US, even after supplying millions to a dozen other nations?
[FoxNews] 'We want patriots. We want our students flying the American flag,' Oklahoma State School Superintendent Ryan Walters told Fox News
Oklahoma State School Superintendent Ryan Walters told the Fox News Channel that his school district would be enacting new policies to allow students to show their patriotism after an Oklahoma high school student was forced to remove an American flag from his truck by school staff earlier this month.
Walters spoke on "Fox & Friends Weekend" on Saturday to declare that under new state school guidelines, no student will be punished for displaying the flag or showing their patriotism. Rather, they will be encouraged to love their country and better understand its founding.
"We’re not going to tolerate this anti-Americanism," Walters told "Fox & Friends Weekend" co-host Pete Hegseth.
The public school superintendent’s appearance on the channel came several days after Edmond North High School senior Caleb Horst was reportedly instructed by school officials to remove the American flag from the pick-up truck he uses to drive to school.
As Horst told local outlet KOCO, school staff told him it was school protocol to keep flags off campus. Edmond Public Schools denied their stance on flag flying had anything to do with patriotism. They told KOCO the practice was about safety and to avoid becoming a distraction.
The statement added, "To be clear, this is not about the American flag or patriotism. Edmond Public Schools proudly displays the American flag prominently and in the proper, respectful way outside each of our buildings and in our classrooms. Not only do we recite the Pledge of Allegiance every morning as we start our school day, but we also present the colors and play the national anthem at most of our athletic events. All of these things are done in the proper fashion according to flag etiquette."
That does put a different complexion on the thing.
Fox News Channel’s interview with Walters led off with some of the new guidelines the superintendent’s department has enacted to prevent such incidents, among them one that obligates schools to develop a clear policy that ensures flags can be flown and displayed, another that requires students in the state to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at least once a week, and another ensuring that schools file a report to show they are complying with these guidelines.
Walters also said that the state’s schools are "redeveloping our social studies standards to get more of an understanding of the American founding."
"We need more patriotism. We’ve seen our schools become leftist indoctrination mills pushing hatred for country. That’s not going to happen in Oklahoma," he declared.
The superintendent issued a memo to state schools in June directing them to incorporate the Bible and Ten Commandments into their curricula for grades 5-10, primarily for historical context. At the time, Walters stated his directive aligns with educational standards approved in May 2019.
[NY Post] Pretty obviously he knew too much so Vlad had him killed
The Beluga whale made famous for the "Russian spy" harness he was found wearing off the coast of Norway died over the weekend as volunteers said they were close to securing his release to open waters.
The white Beluga whale named "Hvaldimir" was discovered close to the Russian/Norwegian maritime border in 2019 wearing a Russian camera harness, sparking rumors that he was used as a spy, according to Marine Mind, a Norway-based nonprofit founded to protect the whale.
Hvaldimir was a regular sight in Norwegian waters and actively sought human presence, spending a lot of his time at fish farm facilities. According to Marine Mind, he has suffered propeller strikes and other injuries during his interactions with humans.
On Saturday, locals reported Hvaldimir was floating dead in the water. Norwegian news outlet NRK reports his body was found in the waters in Rogaland and taken to Risavika harbor.
OneWhale founder Regina Haug posted an update to Instagram saying that Hvaldimir’s cause of death was unknown, but Norwegian officials would perform a necropsy. "He loved sushi. That might've been his downfall given FSB tactics"
"We don’t know the manner of death yet but he was in heavily trafficked waters just outside of Stavanger, Norway, so we expect it was not a natural death," Haug said. "We have asked the Norwegian authorities to provide a necropsy and they have stepped up to do this. We are heartbroken. We are angry, too, as we have had to fight so hard, for so long to help him out of danger. And he was finally so close to having a better life."
OneWhale, another organization founded to help Hvaldimir, said it received permits from different government agencies in Norway to move Hvaldimir to a location near a wild Beluga pod in open waters. Belugas live in large groups of pods in the wild, and marine experts say living a solitary life put Hvaldimir at risk.
The organization said it was working to move Hvaldimir to his new home by September, which would have allowed him to live potentially another 50 years.
Hvaldimir ’s presence was well-known in Norway’s waters, and marine nonprofits used his story to promote marine conservation.
"Over the past five years, he touched the lives of tens of thousands, bringing people together in awe of the wonders of nature. His presence taught us about the importance of ocean conservation, and in doing so, he also taught us more about ourselves," Marine Mind wrote. "I like sardines a lot more now"
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/02/2024 10:03 ||
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So they whale fell out of a high window?
Posted by: ed in texas ||
09/02/2024 17:19 Comments ||
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#2
Done in by a Russian "tourist" with a sharp umbrella tip.
[Washington Examiner] The FBI improved its handling of child sex abuse cases in the wake of its failings regarding disgraced doctor Larry Nassar, but the bureau is still falling short in some areas, according to an inspector general report published Thursday.
Some cases require sensitive diplomatic coordination to ensure national security concerns are met.
[NY Post] Uh Oh
A NASA astronaut at the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday reported hearing a "strange noise" coming from the Boeing Starliner spacecraft just days before it is set to leave the station and return to Earth on autopilot.
The astronaut, Butch Wilmore, radioed Mission Control at Johnson Space Center in Houston to inquire about the noise.
On an audio recording of the exchange, Wilmore holds up a phone to the speakers so that Mission Control could hear the noise he was referring to.
A pulsating sound emanating at steady intervals can be heard through Wilmore’s device.
"Butch, that one came through," Mission Control says after not hearing it the first time. "It was kind of like a pulsating noise, almost like a sonar ping."
"I’ll do it one more time and let you all scratch your heads and see if you can figure out what’s going on," Wilmore tells Mission Control, playing the sound one more time.
Mission Control tells Wilmore the recording will be passed along and that they’ll let him know what they find.
Wilmore clarifies that the sound is emanating from the speaker inside the Starliner.
The bizarre sound was first reported by Ars Technica, which cited a recording first captured and shared by Michigan-based meteorologist Rob Dale.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Mission Control and Boeing to inquire if the source of the sound has been identified.
Starliner is slated to undock from the ISS, empty, and attempt to return on autopilot with a touchdown in the New Mexico desert.
NASA decided it was too risky to bring back Wilmore and Suni Williams until February.
The astronauts were originally slated for a weeklong trip in early June, but the mission has been mired in problems after thruster failures and helium leaks.
Boeing had counted on Starliner’s first crew trip to revive the troubled spacecraft program after years of delays and ballooning costs. The company had insisted Starliner was safe based on all the recent thruster tests in both space and on the ground.
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/02/2024 05:02 ||
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#10
Cue beeps. Like an echo a screech,
Then another, ensures after each.
Three ppremature specters?
Nope. Awkward detector
Tucked somewhere the crew can't quite reach.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[NY Post] 
[Washington Examiner] The FBI improved its handling of child sex abuse cases in the wake of its failings regarding disgraced doctor Larry Nassar, but the bureau is still falling short in some areas, according to an inspector general report published Thursday.
