This article is adapted from today’s Morning Wire Afternoon Update. To listen to the podcast version, click <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
<a href="https://www.nbc15.com/2023/06/16/arrests-made-thefts-yogi-berras-world-series-rings-warhol-pollock-art/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Arrests Made Over Theft Of Yogi Berra World Series Rings</a>
Charges against a ring of nine people for thefts of millions of dollars worth of paintings, sports memorabilia, and other valuables have been announced by federal authorities. The thefts took place over more than two decades at 20 museums, institutions, and stores across several states. The stolen goods included an Andy Warhol silkscreen, a Jackson Pollock painting, and nine World Series rings belonging to the late Yankees catcher Yogi Berra.
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/jun/14/synthetic-human-embryos-created-in-groundbreaking-advance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stem-Cell Babies</a>
Scientists in the United Kingdom claim that they have achieved a remarkable scientific feat — creating synthetic human embryos by using stem cells without any eggs or sperm. Professor Magdalena Żernicka-Goetz, of the University of Cambridge and the California Institute of Technology, announced the news on Wednesday at a conference in Boston, but the potential method is still a long way from being used clinically. It also raises serious ethical and legal questions.
<a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=23476" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TCU To Host Class About Drag</a>
Texas Christian University’s course catalog shows the school will offer a course called “The Queer Art of Drag” this coming fall. The course will be taught by Dr. Nino Testa, who also goes by his drag name “Maria von Clapp.” A syllabus for the course indicates that students will use worksheets and vision boards to develop their own drag personas, culminating in a live lip-sync performance.
<a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9768269/drug-bust-canola-oil-jugs-bc-australia-cbsa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Global Meth Ring Busted</a>
After a five-month investigation, law enforcement in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand have busted a massive drug syndicate accused of smuggling six tons of methamphetamine from Canada to Australia and New Zealand. The traffickers were intercepted smuggling the drugs through shipments of maple syrup and canola oil.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ufc-fighter-conor-mcgregor-accused-of-sexual-assault-at-nba-finals-game-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Conor McGregor Accused Of Sexual Assault</a>
UFC superstar Conor McGregor has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman in the bathroom at Kaseya Center, home to the Miami Heat. According to a report from TMZ, the incident allegedly took place at Game 4 of the 2023 NBA Finals between the Heat and Denver Nuggets. McGregor’s representatives have denied the allegations. According to demand letters from attorney Ariel Mitchell, the victim was separated from her friend by Heat and NBA security, where she was forced into a bathroom inside the arena. McGregor then emerged from a stall and forcibly kissed the woman while security guards allegedly guarded the doors.
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<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/why-viewers-of-all-political-stripes-came-to-appreciate-pat-sajaks-all-american-appeal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pat Sajak Resigning</a>
After 41 years at the helm of “Wheel of Fortune,” Pat Sajak has announced that this will be his final season. As Sajak told NBC’s Al Roker, he always put the show first.
Sajak took over for Chuck Woolery in 1983 and now holds the Guinness world record for the longest-serving host of a single game show. Ryan Seacrest, Whoopi Goldberg, and letter spinner Vanna White have all been mentioned as replacements.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/justice-department-probing-pga-tour-liv-golf-merger-over-antitrust-concerns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DOJ Investigating PGA-LIV Merger</a>
The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division has informed the PGA Tour that it will review the organization’s proposed merger with LIV Golf. The announcement of the deal last week immediately triggered antitrust concerns and sent shockwaves through the golf world.
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Friday

Friday Afternoon Update: Arrests Made Over Theft Of Yogi Berra World Series Rings, Stem-Cell Babies, Global Meth Ring Busted

Conor McGregor

General

LIV Golf

Methamphetamine

Morning Wire

New York Yankees

Pat Sajak

Science

U.S.

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/los-angeles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Los Angeles</a> nonprofit workers passed out boxes of government-funded crystal meth pipes to the homeless population living on Skid Row, allegedly assuming it helps prevent fatal drug overdoses.
Bodycam footage reported by local media shows workers from the Homeless Health Care Los Angeles nonprofit organization distributing the drug paraphernalia while driving around the neighborhood in a golf cart, which witnesses said only enables addicts.
&#8220;If you walk down Skid Row and see the people that are on methamphetamine … and got sores all over their body, their teeth falling out, bumps all over their face, running down the street butt naked, that&#8217;s no safety,&#8221; Tony Anthony, resident, told <a href="https://www.foxla.com/news/meth-pipe-giveaway-los-angeles-skid-row" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox 11 Los Angeles</a>. &#8220;They don&#8217;t need to be coming down here passing out these glass pipes.&#8221;
The news outlet reported that the nonprofit&#8217;s executive director turned down an interview and has yet to issue a statement.
However, in a phone interview, the director allegedly said, &#8220;free meth pipes is a safety issue and part of a harm-reduction program similar to handing out clean needles.&#8221;
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority estimated 69,144 homeless people lived in Los Angeles County in 2022. Skid Row&#8217;s homeless population recently increased by 13%, according to a study conducted by the RAND Corp., which  was reported earlier this year by <a href="https://abc7.com/homeless-skid-row-hollywood-venice/12738498/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ABC7 Los Angeles</a>.
Andy Bales, President and CEO of Union Rescue Mission, discredited the nonprofit&#8217;s method to the outlet, saying that enabling people to stay in addiction could lead to death.
&#8220;Their philosophy is that people are free to do whatever they want, and that it&#8217;s a system in doing it in a safe way,&#8221; Bales said. &#8220;Well, there is no safe way to use a deadly substance. There is no safe supply of deadly fentanyl when even a little spec of it can cause you to have an overdose death.&#8221;
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Public tax records reported by Fox News show that the nonprofit received $5.7 million in government funding in 2016. Three years later, the organization&#8217;s budget increased to $11.9 million. The nonprofit reported a total revenue of $12.4 million that same year, of which $7.2 million went toward the organization&#8217;s salaries and benefits.
The Epoch Times <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/homeless-industrial-complex-is-alive-and-well-former-la-sheriff_5096380.html?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_campaign=digitalsub" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> earlier this year that officials spent $6.5 billion trying to solve the county&#8217;s homelessness crisis as the population increased by nearly 70,000 from its 2011 total of 39,000.
Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva told the outlet that nonprofit organizations receive county funding toward solving the crisis without clear guidelines on how officials can spend the money — describing what many have called the Homeless Industrial Complex.
At the same time, county officials have created policies — like open drug use without consequences — that invite people nationwide to live on the streets of Los Angeles.
&#8220;There&#8217;s a perception in the entire nation—that if you&#8217;re homeless, and you&#8217;d like to use drugs, go to L.A.,&#8221; he said. &#8220;You&#8217;re enabling the dependency and normalizing the deviancy. That is a very poor predictor for the future of L.A.&#8221;
Methamphetamine overdose deaths between 2015 to 2019 for people ages 18 to 64 nearly tripled in the U.S., per a study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse reported by the news outlet.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health recorded last year that approximately 36% of some 2,000 transient deaths were caused by drug overdoses between April 2020 and March 2021.

Supervised consumption sites in the DTES give addicts who use fentanyl, opioids, crystal methamphetamine and other drugs a place to use

Healthcare Non-Profit Supplies L.A. Homeless With Government-Funded Meth Pipes: Report

Drugs

Fentanyl

Homelessness

Los Angeles

The producers of Sci-Fi cult favorite &#8220;Sharknado&#8221; have a new creature feature in the works — featuring a drug-addled alligator: &#8220;Attack of the Meth-Gator.&#8221;
The low-budget production company behind the project, The Asylum, specializes in what they refer to as &#8220;mock-busters&#8221; — movies that mock the larger-budget blockbusters in both title and plot. For example, 2009&#8217;s &#8220;Transmorphers: The Fall of Man&#8221; was a callback to &#8220;Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen&#8221;; and the company released &#8220;Titanic II&#8221; in 2010.
The new project, scheduled for release over the summer of 2023, gives a convenient recall to the recent hit film &#8220;Cocaine Bear&#8221; — but the production company says they already had &#8220;Meth-Gator&#8221; in the works prior to its release.
&#8220;Hold our bear &#8230; I mean, beer,&#8221; The Asylum tweeted on Friday. &#8220;Coming for your life this summer.&#8221;
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Hold our bear… I mean, beer. 
Coming for your life this summer. 
🧪🐊🌨️🧸 <a href="https://t.co/8V0WlPq8GY">pic.twitter.com/8V0WlPq8GY</a>
&mdash; The Asylum (@theasylumcc) <a href="https://twitter.com/theasylumcc/status/1629195412036014080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
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The promotional imagery showed a large alligator with razor-sharp teeth and wild, glowing red eyes. Behind the monster stood several tall buildings and a few palm trees. The movie apparently centers around an alligator that was exposed to the drug through the fresh water supply.
&#8220;Please tell me this is real and not a joke,&#8221; an entertainment blogger begged, prompting a response from The Asylum confirming that the project was, in fact, real.
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&#8220;This is real! We’re pumping the meth into Floridas fresh water reserves as we speak!&#8221; they said.
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This is real! We’re pumping the meth into Floridas fresh water reserves as we speak! 😍
&mdash; The Asylum (@theasylumcc) <a href="https://twitter.com/theasylumcc/status/1629197292766126082?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Responding to a comment from a fan, Asylum CEO David Michael Latt said that a sequel would be titled &#8220;Crackodile.&#8221;
&#8220;For everyone peeing in their panties over Crackodile. Dad said yes,&#8221; Asylum tweeted back. &#8220;And @DaivdMLatt NEVER breaks a promise.&#8221;
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For everyone peeing in their panties over Crackodile. Dad said yes 🥹🥳😍 
And <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidMLatt?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DavidMLatt</a> NEVER breaks a promise <a href="https://t.co/DeS6eszd14">https://t.co/DeS6eszd14</a>
&mdash; The Asylum (@theasylumcc) <a href="https://twitter.com/theasylumcc/status/1629371969039929345?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 25, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Asylum offered one more teaser tweet on Saturday, showing some of the cast members complaining about one of their fellow actors being a difficult. &#8220;There&#8217;s that one drugged out diva on set that&#8217;s always late, ate half the crew, and leaving teeth all over the place.&#8221;
&#8220;We’ll give you no guesses to figure out who the cast of #MethGator is complaining about,&#8221; the tweet read. &#8220;Last day on set of Attack Of The Meth Gator! Our star will be entering rehab immediately after we wrap. We appreciate all your thoughts &amp; prayers for his full recovery.&#8221;
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We’ll give you no guesses to figure out who the cast of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MethGator?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MethGator</a> is complaining about 👀🧪🐊💅🏼
Last day on set of Attack Of The Meth Gator! Our star will be entering rehab immediately after we wrap. We appreciate all your thoughts &amp; prayers for his full recovery 🥹🙏🏼🧪🐊🚑🏥 <a href="https://t.co/xdCPEniXs1">pic.twitter.com/xdCPEniXs1</a>
&mdash; The Asylum (@theasylumcc) <a href="https://twitter.com/theasylumcc/status/1629663535826599936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 26, 2023</a></blockquote>
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The Honda Classic – Round Three

‘Sharknado’ Producers Will Bring Drug-Addled Killer Reptile To Life In New Summer Flick

'Sharknado' Producers Will Bring Drug-Addled Killer Reptile To Life In New Summer Flick

Entertainment

Horror Movies

Sharks

A Buddhist temple in Thailand has been left without any monks after they tested positive for drugs and were defrocked, according to AFP.
The four monks serving at a temple in the central Thai province of Phetchabun tested positive for methamphetamine on Monday, district official Boonlert Thintapthai told the outlet.
&#8220;The temple is now empty of monks and nearby villagers are concerned they cannot do any merit-making,&#8221; he <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20221129-bad-abbot-thai-temple-left-empty-after-monks-fail-drug-tests" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
Merit-making is the Buddhist practice of followers donating food to monks as a good deed, the report noted.
The disgraced monks have been sent to drug rehabilitation, the report added. New monks will be sent to the temple to continue its operation in the days ahead, Boonlert said.
Another Thai monk named Phra Annipalo, 34, was <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/11/29/thai-monks-in-rehab-after-testing-positive-for-meth/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arrested</a> earlier this month on drug charges after allegedly carjacking two vehicles and fleeing from police.
Last month, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/10/thai-pm-announces-crackdown-on-drugs-in-wake-of-nursery-attack">spoke out</a> regarding drug use in the country after a former police officer who was dismissed over methamphetamine possession killed 37 people during a shooting at a nursery.
At least 23 children were among those killed in the rampage. Some victims were as young as two. The former officer later took his own life.
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&#8220;After inspecting the crime scene, we found that the perpetrator tried to break in and he mainly used a knife to commit the crime by killing a number of small children,&#8221; said Police Chief Damrongsak Kittiprapat, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-63155169" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to</a> the BBC.
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The prime minister &#8220;ordered provincial governors to strengthen drug prevention plans to tackle problems in their areas,” a government spokesperson <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/10/thai-pm-announces-crackdown-on-drugs-in-wake-of-nursery-attack">said</a> in a statement after the attack.
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Thailand is a major crossroads for methamphetamine trafficking from the Golden Triangle, which encompasses Myanmar, Laos, and northern Thailand, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
“Criminal organizations have adapted and innovated, and it is impossible for countries to address transnational crime alone.” UNODC Regional Representative Jeremy Douglas <a href="https://www.unodc.org/roseap/2022/05/thailand-high-level-national-border-management-dialogue/story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in May.
“In the last two years, methamphetamine seizures in Southeast Asia have increased from 140 tons to close to 170 tons, and this trend is continuing &#8212; instability in the Golden Triangle and Shan State are contributing, and Thailand and Lao PDR need support for border control,&#8221; he added.
More than one billion methamphetamine tablets were <a href="https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/2022/June/unodc-report_-over-one-billion-methamphetamine-tablets-seized-in-east-and-southeast-asia-in-2021-as-the-regional-drug-trade-continues-to-expand.html">seized</a> in East and Southeast Asia in 2021, according to the agency, totaling 172 tons of the addictive substance.
&#8220;The total is seven times higher than it was 10 years ago, when just more than 143 million tablets were seized, and over thirty-five times higher than it was close to 20 years ago,&#8221; UNODC stated in a June report.

monks

Thai Temple Left Without Monks After They All Test Positive For Meth

Thai Buddhist Temple Left Without Monks After They All Test Positive For Meth

Religion

Thailand

World

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Field Operations agents confiscated pumpkins filled with over $400,000 of liquid <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/methamphetamine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">methamphetamine</a> stashed inside more than 100 condoms Tuesday at the Eagle Pass Port of Entry in Texas.
said the pumpkins were among Halloween decorations that were not what they seemed upon discovering the narcotics.
“Our frontline CBP officers have seen just about everything and this Tuesday was no exception as they encountered liquid methamphetamine hidden within pumpkins,” Acting Port Director Elizabeth Garduno <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/cbp-officers-seize-402k-liquid-methamphetamine-eagle-pass-port-entry" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “They utilized their training, experience, interviewing skills and uncovered a rather novel narcotics smuggling method in the process.”
Border officers encountered a 2012 Ford Escape arriving from Mexico at the Camino Real International Bridge when authorities referred the driver and passenger for a secondary inspection.
The inspection led to officers finding nearly 44 pounds of alleged liquid methamphetamine — estimated at $402,196 — concealed within 136 condoms inside four pumpkins within the vehicle.
Following the narcotics seizure, authorities turned the driver and passenger over to the custody of Maverick County Sheriff’s Office deputies for further investigation.
ABC News <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/400k-meth-found-pumpkins-border-crossing-inspection-agents/story?id=91463448">reports</a> that in the fiscal year 2022, border patrol authorities seized 161,000 pounds of methamphetamine. In the previous fiscal year, the agency seized 192,000 pounds of meth.
Transporting narcotics inside Halloween decorations wasn’t the only creative way smugglers have attempted to bring the drugs over the border.
On Wednesday, Arizona border agents said in a <a href="https://twitter.com/CBPPortDirNOG/status/1580604612024754178" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweet</a> that they found 2,100 fentanyl pills hidden inside tamales in an ice chest at the Nogales Port Of Entry.
“Each tamale contained a baggie of blue pills hidden inside,” Port Director Michael W. Humphries <a href="https://twitter.com/CBPPortDirNOG/status/1580604612024754178">said</a>. “Excellent work by officers and K9 teams maintaining a high level of vigilance.”

Full Frame Shot Of White Condoms

Border Patrol Seizes Pumpkins Filled With $400,000 Of Liquid Meth Stashed Inside Condoms

Border Crisis

Southern Border

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Federal agents in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/rhode-island" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rhode Island</a> seized hundreds of thousands of methamphetamine pills in a record-breaking bust.
In an announcement Monday, the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/department-of-justice" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Department of Justice</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dea-issues-warning-over-emerging-trend-of-rainbow-fentanyl-across-u-s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)</a> said that agents seized more than 660,000 counterfeit Adderall pills laced with methamphetamine, the largest such seizure on record. The pills, which weighed more than 660 pounds, had an estimated street value of $4.6 million, officials said. The bust was originally conducted in March.
&#8220;We believe this to be the single largest seizure of fake Adderall pills in the United States, as well as among the largest seizures of methamphetamine in DEA New England Field Division history,&#8221; <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-ri/press-release/file/1535766/download" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Zachary A. Cunha</a>, U.S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island, said in remarks Monday. &#8220;The quantity of methamphetamine represented by this seizure – methamphetamine that was packaged, prepped, and ready to flow out onto the street, to devastating effect in our communities – is staggering.&#8221;
According to Cunha, the bust was part of an ongoing investigation. <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/09/19/metro/dea-agents-ri-seize-largest-single-bust-counterfeit-adderall-pills/?event=event25" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Boston Globe</a> added, citing a plea agreement filed in federal court Monday, that the investigation involved a confidential source who provided information to the DEA that the suspect was supplying counterfeit pills laced with methamphetamine. The source reportedly informed the DEA that the suspect produced and sold &#8220;thousands&#8221; of counterfeit pills, and often gave them without charge for a promise to pay later. The source then worked with the agency to purchase the pills from the suspect, which led to agents executing search warrants at two locations in Cumberland, Rhode Island.
Along with the pills, agents seized two motorized pill presses; DEA New England Field Division Special Agent in Charge Brian Boyle said, via the Boston Globe, that the presses could produce approximately 10,000 pills per hour. Agents also seized a bucket containing about 40 pounds of methamphetamine mixture ready to be pressed into pill form. They also seized:
<ul>
<li>1500 pills laced with fentanyl</li>
<li>11 kilograms of methamphetamine powder</li>
<li>250 grams of crack cocaine</li>
<li>$15,000 cash, and</li>
<li>Seven handguns, including two so-called &#8220;ghost guns,&#8221; and two more guns with destroyed serial numbers</li>
</ul>
Boyle said that the methamphetamine likely came from Mexican drug cartels, and that the suspect was likely a low-level dealer. “The Mexican cartels are producing meth at record rates,” he said. The suspect does not have any previous federal charges, but was charged with burglary for an armed home invasion when he was 18.
The suspect was charged with possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. The charge carries a minimum sentence of ten years in prison; under the terms of the plea agreement, the suspect will serve at least the minimum sentence, Cunha said.
Cunha also said that Rhode Island, and New England more broadly, are experiencing a worsening trend of meth and other drugs. Opioids like fentanyl killed 435 people in Rhode Island alone last year. Across the country, more than <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/record-number-of-americans-died-from-drug-overdoses-in-2021-cdc-data-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">100,000 people</a> died from drug overdoses in 2021, a record number, The Daily Wire reported in May. Of those deaths, 64% came from opioids, while another 28% came from stimulants like methamphetamine, Cunha said.
The U.S. attorney closed his remarks with a warning about counterfeit pills. &#8220;Pills that contain these drugs &#8230; don’t come stamped with the label &#8216;fentanyl&#8217; or &#8216;meth,’” said Cunha. &#8220;They are &#8230; deliberately made to look like something else- whether its Adderall®, or Percocet®, or some other drug that the buyer may think is safe and what it appears to be.&#8221;
&#8220;If you, or a loved one, are buying or taking pills &#8230; from anywhere that is not a pharmacy or a physician, the odds are that it’s not what you think,&#8221; he added. &#8220;And if whatever you get is laced with fentanyl, that pill may be the last thing you take- that’s not hyperbole- it’s a grim truth.&#8221;

‘Staggering’: Feds Seize Hundreds Of Thousands Of Meth-Laced Fake Pills In Record-Setting Drug Bust

Feds In Rhode Island Seize Hundreds Of Thousands Of Meth-Laced Fake Adderall Pills In Record-Setting Drug Bust

Crime

Rhode Island

Two Southern California men allegedly tied to the Mexican Cartels were arrested last week in New York City after authorities busted them with approximately $1.2 million of crystal meth but were later released under the state’s bail laws.
“This seizure is a calculated treachery by Mexican Cartels to flood the United States with their poison and expand their customer base while driving addiction and increasing profit margins,” Frank A. Tarentino III, special agent in charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) New York Division, said in a <a href="https://www.snpnyc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/PressRelease_20220711_compressed.pdf">statement</a>.
Authorities announced Monday that Luis Estrada and Carlos Santos allegedly drove a rented vehicle from California to New York with about 165 pounds of crystal meth that they believe originated from Mexico.
Estrada allegedly carried over 40 pounds of meth in a black suitcase outside a Marriot hotel near the South Street Seaport in Lower Manhattan when authorities caught him on July 5.
Three days later, authorities caught Santos allegedly near a white van with more than 100 pounds of the same drug inside two air compressor canisters he had begun cutting open in the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan.
However, both suspects were released on supervision one day after allegedly getting caught red-handed since both men — under the state’s 2019 bail-reform measure — were only charged with second-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance rather than a narcotic. State law classifies methamphetamine as a controlled substance, regardless of the amount.
“This is a serious problem,” Bridget Brennan, New York City Special Narcotics Prosecutor, <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/07/11/feds-release-cartel-smugglers-with-1-2m-meth-due-to-bail-laws/?utm_medium=SocialFlow&amp;utm_campaign=SocialFlow&amp;utm_source=NYPTwitter">told</a> the New York Post. “The failure to include methamphetamine crimes among bail-eligible offenses was probably an oversight.”
Brennan said when state officials changed the bail laws, New York City was not considered a distribution hub for the highly-addictive drug. But since the change, authorities lost the ability to ask for bail despite arresting someone without ties to the city and “a load worth of millions of dollars.”
“I hope that when legislators are better informed they will make a change,” she added.
Brennan signaled the influx of methamphetamine into New York City shows the latest example of how synthetic drugs produced outside the U.S. flood the streets, saturate the market and increase the death toll from such substances.
The New York State Department of Health <a href="https://www.health.ny.gov/statistics/opioid/data/pdf/nysdoh_op_dta5.pdf">reported</a> that 184 methamphetamine-involved overdose deaths happened in 2020, with the majority laced with fentanyl.
Authorities said they have seen methamphetamine seizures in New York increase 1300 percent since 2021. With the massive surge running rampant in the city and around the country leading to addiction, overdoses, and poisonings, they called New York a bullseye for traffickers.
Health officials said illicit methamphetamine use among those aged 12 and older increased from 1.5 million in 2016-2017 to 1.9 million people in 2018-2019.
Authorities charged Estrada with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the second and third degrees and charged Santos with the same in the second, third, and seventh degrees.
Both men have been presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Crack cocaine in man’s hand with crack pipe stem

Mexican Cartel Drug Traffickers Released On Bail-Reform Laws After Feds Arrest Them In New York City With $1.2 Million Of Meth 

drug

Drug Cartels

New York City

A record number of Americans died from drug overdoses last year, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Data from the CDC&#8217;s <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/drug-overdose-data.htm">National Vital Statistics System</a> for the year 2021 predicted that 107,622 Americans have died from drug overdoses. The data is not final, and could be under-reported because the data is not complete, but it would mark the largest number of Americans who have died from drug overdoses on record in a single year, and an increase of about 15% from 2020, when 93,655 people died from overdoses. Overdose deaths have also increased by about 50% since 2019 when around 72,000 people died of drug overdoses.
California led the nation in total overdose deaths, with 11,704 predicted deaths for the year 2021. Florida came in second, with 8,171 predicted deaths. Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Texas all suffered more than 5,000 predicted deaths. North Carolina had over 4,000. Five states suffered more than 3,000 overdose deaths, 12 states had more than 2,000 deaths, and nine states had more than 1,000 deaths last year.
California also led the nation in year-over-year increases, with about 2,100 more deaths in 2021 than in 2020. In terms of largest year-over-year percentage change, Alaska led the nation with a 75% increase over 2020. Nearly every state saw an increase in overdose deaths, except Wyoming, which saw no change, and Hawaii, which saw a net decrease of 1.8%.
One drug policy experts cited the COVID-19 pandemic as a major reason behind the spike in overdose deaths.
“The pandemic really upended so many people’s lives, especially people already living at the margins,” Maritza Perez, director of national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance, told <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/11/drug-overdose-deaths-2021-record-00031709">Politico</a> Wednesday. “People lost their jobs, they were isolated. These are all factors that increase problematic drug use.”
Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), called the CDC&#8217;s numbers a “devastating milestone” and &#8220;truly staggering.&#8221;
Deaths involving synthetic opioids, like fentanyl, were responsible for a large share of the deaths, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/11/us/politics/overdose-deaths-fentanyl-meth.html">The New York Times</a> reported. The number of deaths involving synthetic opioids rose from 58,000 to 71,000, while deaths associated with stimulants like methamphetamine rose from 25,000 to 33,000.
The New York Times notes that fentanyl, which comes as a white powder, is becoming more prevalent because it can be mixed with other drugs, including other opioids like heroin, and pressed into counterfeit pills for other drugs.
A <a href="https://nida.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/2022/03/law-enforcement-seizures-of-pills-containing-fentanyl-increased-dramatically-between-2018-2021">study</a> of illicit pills seized by law enforcement agencies, conducted by the NIDA, found that the number of illicit pills containing fentanyl saw a nearly fifty-fold increase between 2018 and 2021. The study found that about 290,000 pills were seized in 2018. That number increased to over 9,500,000 pills in 2021.
“The net effect is that we have many more people, including those who use drugs occasionally and even adolescents, exposed to these potent substances that can cause someone to overdose even with a relatively small exposure,” Volkow told the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/overdose-deaths-opioids-fentanyl-8cb302a70ddbb6a435f9e8fbb19f153b">Associated Press</a>.
“Compounding the tragedy, we have underused treatments that could help many people,&#8221; Volkow added, according to Politico. &#8220;We must meet people where they are to prevent overdoses, reduce harm, and connect people to proven treatments to reduce drug use.”

Record Number Of Americans Died From Drug Overdoses in 2021, CDC Data Show

Death

A Florida sheriff known for his tough stance on illegal drugs arrested his own daughter on Monday in connection with a meth bust. 
Sheriff A.J. &#8220;Tony&#8221; Smith, of Franklin County, Florida, was alerted to his adult daughter Kristen Kent’s alleged involvement in illegal drugs after a meth-trafficking suspect name-dropped her during a line of questioning. And when authorities set up a “controlled buy” to purportedly catch her in the act, the 38-year-old sheriff&#8217;s daughter allegedly showed up with drugs. 
“It’s heartbreaking,” Smith told local news station WMBB. “The last person you ever want to arrest is one of your family members, especially your child. I mean, it’s like you can’t even put it into words. I don’t think it’s anything you wish on your worst enemy to do something like this.”
Kent has been charged with trafficking amphetamines, possession of drug equipment, and possession of cocaine. Another woman, Bailey Adaire Lee, 25, was arrested in the same investigation with two counts of amphetamine trafficking. 
Meth, a highly addictive stimulant that floods a user’s brain with dopamine, has been called the “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/13/us/meth-crystal-drug.html">forgotten killer</a>” due to the increased attention given in recent years to the opioid crisis. But in 2018, the sheriff started calling attention to the drug with a “Don’t Meth Around Campaign,” which involves posting the photos of the “Faces of Meth” on Facebook. 
“Methamphetamine does not discriminate &amp; neither do we. It does not matter who you are — no one is immune or exempt,” Smith <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Franklinsheriff01/posts/311898181083313">wrote</a> in a Facebook post following the arrest of his daughter. “Our hearts break over the grief meth causes all — whether you use it, sell it or love someone who is involved with it. If you want to break free from this lifestyle, we want to help you.”
His daughter&#8217;s face, like the faces of other meth suspects arrested, was included in the post.
Hundreds of people have commented on the sheriff’s post, with many sharing messages of support for the sheriff and hope for the women who were arrested. 
“Prayers for both the ladies and their families. AJ Smith and all law enforcement has a tough job. Sometimes it comes down to arresting family members with the hope and prayers they will get the help they need,” said one user. 
“Praying for these young women &amp; their families. Nothing is ever too hard for God. He will heal the broken-hearted &amp; restore them. Thankful that help is available,” said another.

Cropped Image Of Hand Holding Methamphetamine Against Black Background

Tough-On-Drugs Sheriff Arrests Daughter In ‘Heartbreaking’ Meth Case

Florida

Opioid Crisis

The fentanyl and opioid crises have dominated the news cycle around drugs in the U.S., but there is another, slightly older drug coming back to the streets — meth.
In just the last week, local news stories about crystal methamphetamine possession arrests and charges have cropped up in more than two dozen states, including North Carolina, New York, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Arizona, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Nevada.
A North Carolina woman was <a href="https://www.wbtw.com/news/nc-woman-arrested-10-times-since-2019-for-meth-possession-deputies-say/">arrested</a> last week for the 10th time since September 2019 on drug possession charges after local authorities found two pounds of methamphetamine during a search. In Arkansas, an Arizona man was <a href="https://www.kait8.com/2022/01/29/1-million-meth-bust-leads-arrest/">arrested</a> on Friday after police found more than $1 million of meth, about 25 pounds, during a traffic stop.
In one of last week&#8217;s stranger stories, an Alabama man <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/alabama-mans-trial-keeping-meth-fueled-attack-squirrel-delayed-rcna13654">faces</a> new charges for allegedly keeping a meth-fueled &#8220;attack squirrel&#8221; in his apartment.
The larger picture across the country is less peculiar.
The meth epidemic and its interplay with the opioid epidemic have contributed to a mental illness and homelessness crisis in recent years that has grown worse since the early 2000s, when meth exploded in the U.S. as a street drug. In 2008, as the drug crisis worsened, &#8220;Breaking Bad&#8221; seared the meth trafficking phenomenon into the American psyche.
Now, cheap, potent meth is coming up from Mexico and flooding the U.S. drug market.
Meanwhile, changes in the chemical process of cooking meth have <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/11/the-new-meth/620174/">caused</a> additional concerns as drug dealers learn how to create more dangerous versions of the drug.
In Washington state, meth overdoses have been steadily <a href="https://adai.washington.edu/WAdata/methamphetamine.htm">increasing</a> since 2010, jumping to 10.5 deaths per 100,000 state residents in 2020. During the pandemic, Mexican cartels dealing meth <a href="https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/tonight-530-mexican-cartels-funneling-meth-washington-state-during-pandemic/CYSVKK2ZKZADBPXTXU5YTNWP5U/">became</a> a lucrative business in Seattle, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said. Some semi-recovered users did not have access to psychiatrists during lockdowns, so they turned back to meth.
Cops in Washington state can <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/its-now-almost-impossible-to-get-arrested-for-drugs-in-washington-state">no longer</a> arrest someone for possession of drugs like meth, heroin, or cocaine until the third time they catch them, something that has proven extremely difficult to track as drug overdoses tick up across the state.
Spokane Police Chief Craig Meidl told The Daily Wire back in September that Washington state&#8217;s permissive drug laws often do not stop the addiction cycle, contrary to what lawmakers and others who push for leniency seem to expect.
&#8220;In their mind they&#8217;re thinking I would never want to be addicted to meth or heroin or oxycontin or cocaine,&#8221; Meidl said. &#8220;That&#8217;s your lens. Because you don&#8217;t have the addiction, you don&#8217;t have trauma from childhood. You don&#8217;t have the mental health issues.&#8221;
Oregon, a state that is no stranger to the ravages of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/videos/shut-in?hsa_ver=3&amp;hsa_cam=16161226941&amp;utm_medium=paid&amp;utm_medium=ppc&amp;hsa_ad=581755446645&amp;hsa_acc=6411461344&amp;hsa_src=g&amp;hsa_tgt=kwd-3038520024&amp;hsa_grp=131152819577&amp;hsa_kw=shut%20in&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQiA0p2QBhDvARIsAACSOOOs-kji2onlMl5SgdaTfcJWJvArrJ4EXHGtimMP7tp1udc7jkFjJ1oaAjx6EALw_wcB&amp;utm_content=lp0392&amp;utm_term=shut%20in&amp;hsa_mt=p&amp;hsa_net=adwords&amp;utm_source=googlesearch&amp;utm_source=adwords&amp;utm_campaign=shutin&amp;utm_campaign=dailywire_conversions_subscriptions_shutin_na_na_na_na_SEARCH">meth addiction</a>, has seen the drug make a resurgence in recent years to the point where meth is now the leading cause of overdose deaths in the state. Meth overdose deaths in Oregon have spiked from 43 in 2010 to 289 in 2019, <a href="https://www.mhaoforegon.org/blog/2019/2/15/meth-the-leading-cause-of-drug-related-deaths-in-oregon">according</a> to the Mental Health Addiction Association of Oregon.
Last October, federal authorities <a href="https://www.kgw.com/article/news/crime/biggest-meth-bust-oregon-history/283-5f5579eb-2660-4b3b-b445-0c9f26daae39">announced</a> the biggest meth drug bust in Oregon&#8217;s history, seizing more than $1 million worth of meth, about 384 pounds, and arresting the leader of a drug trafficking cell.

A progressive series of mug shots show t

Don’t Forget About The Other Drug Crisis

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents confiscated hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine that had been stashed in a teenager’s car.
The discovery was made on Christmas Eve at the Calexico West port of entry. A 16-year-old was driving through the port of entry in a 2012 Ford Focus. A K-9 team was working the port of entry and one of the dogs alerted officers to the vehicle.
When officers searched the vehicle, they discovered 220 pounds of meth hidden in the car’s “doors, back seat, quarter panels, rocker panels and spare tire,” WTHR <a href="https://www.wthr.com/article/border-protection-officers-find-220-pounds-meth-stashed-inside-teens-car-christmas-eve">reported</a>. More from the outlet:
Officers removed 205 wrapped packages of methamphetamine weighing 220 pounds. The narcotics carry an estimated street value of $264,444.
The teen was arrested for the alleged narcotic smuggling attempt and turned over to the custody of Homeland Security Investigation agents for further processing.
The teen was transported to the Imperial County Juvenile Detention Center.
CBP seized the narcotics and vehicle.
The incident is the latest in a string of drug busts.
On November 18, a tractor-trailer driven by a 47-year-old Mexican citizen had a manifest claiming the vehicle was carrying “plastic garment hangers.” When the truck drove through the Otay Mesa Cargo port of entry, CBP officers performed an X-ray on the trailer and discovered an “anomaly.” They searched the vehicles with dogs and found <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/truck-supposed-to-be-carrying-plastic-garment-hangers-actually-hauled-10-tons-of-marijuana">10 tons of marijuana</a>, which carried an estimated street value of about $8.4 million.
“The ability of CBP officers to interdict contraband at the port of entry is a perfect example of CBP’s efforts to secure our border,” said Joseph Misenhelter, Officer in Charge at the Otay Mesa port of entry, at the time of the bust.  “CBP officers prevented over 10 tons of marijuana from entering our community.”
A week before the tractor-trailer incident, agents at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport found 24 bottles of shampoo inside a man’s suitcase that were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/truck-supposed-to-be-carrying-plastic-garment-hangers-actually-hauled-10-tons-of-marijuana">filled with liquid cocaine</a>, for a total of 35 pounds of the drug. The estimated street value was around $400,000.
As The Daily Wire previously reported:
<blockquote>In mid-June, federal law enforcement officials in Philadelphia seized 16.5 tons of cocaine, the largest drug bust in the history of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
In September, Virginia police arrested more than 30 people suspected of possessing a massive quantity of fentanyl, enough to kill 14 million people. It was the largest drug bust in Virginia in the past 15 years, with authorities seizing more than 30 kilograms each of fentanyl and heroine, another five kilograms of cocaine, and more than $700,000.
“This opioid crisis is not an issue that is happening someplace else, or to someone else. It’s happening right here in Norfolk,” U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, G. Zachary Terwilliger, said during a press conference at the time of the arrests.
“We’re not talking about $500 and $600 deals, we’re talking hundreds of thousands of dollars,” he added. “You know, $20,000 in the trunk of somebody’s car in a gym bag, you know, behind a local restaurant.”
In late October, police in North Carolina arrested four people in connection with a drug trafficking scheme, seizing 6,800 pounds of marijuana, 39 pounds of cocaine, and $200,000.</blockquote>

Meth

Border Patrol Finds 220 Pounds Of Meth Hidden In Teenager’s Car

South Dakota has a new campaign to keep its residents off methamphetamine, but it may not be delivering the message the state government hoped.
<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/18/us/south-dakota-meth-campaign-trnd/index.html">CNN reports</a> that South Dakota&#8217;s new unofficial state motto appears to be: &#8220;Meth. I&#8217;m on it.&#8221;
<div class="el__leafmedia el__leafmedia--sourced-paragraph">
&#8220;South Dakota launched a new campaign Monday to battle the meth crisis that Gov. Kristi Noem says is &#8216;growing at an alarming rate.&#8217; The tagline for the campaign: &#8216;I&#8217;m on meth.'&#8221;
Noem, a Republican, announced the new campaign in a Facebook video titled &#8220;On Meth,&#8221; which directs interested parties to a website, &#8220;OnMeth.com.&#8221;
The campaign is meant to draw attention to the pervasiveness of the drug. The people featured in the ads look like average South Dakotans, and the idea is that meth addiction knows no racial, age, or socio-economic status. Average South Dakota farmers are just as likely to suffer from addiction, it purports, as high schoolers, oil workers, and mothers, and average South Dakotans are responsible for policing their neighborhoods for drugs and caring for their communities.
&#8220;What it&#8217;s talking about is that each one of us, no matter who we are, that we&#8217;re on the case of meth,&#8221; Noem says in the Facebook video. &#8220;That we&#8217;re protecting our family, we&#8217;re protecting our friends, we&#8217;re protecting our communities from this epidemic that we see.&#8221;
&#8220;This campaign is going to be about solutions and hope and how every single one of us in South Dakota can partner to be on meth,&#8221; Noem adds.
&#8220;This is our problem, and together, we need to get on it,&#8221; Noem says. &#8220;It is filling our jails and prisons, clogging our court systems, and stretching our drug treatment capacity while destroying people and their families.&#8221;
The state&#8217;s social services director echoed Noem&#8217;s sentiments. &#8220;It&#8217;s evident there&#8217;s a need for an aggressive approach to reduce use of the devastating drug,&#8221; she said. &#8220;This is a movement to educate South Dakotans on the signs of addiction, the treatment resources that are available, and how to implement prevention techniques in their homes and among their communities.&#8221;
&#8220;The campaign&#8217;s launch included a PSA from Noem on YouTube and a website. In the future, Noem said there will be commercials, billboards, Facebook ads and state agencies working with nonprofits to bring relief to people who are dealing with addiction and the meth epidemic,&#8221; CNN reports.
The problem is, the images associated with the campaign don&#8217;t exactly convey the campaign&#8217;s intended meaning.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I’m unclear on the motives of South Dakota’s new campaign&#8230; Meth. We’re on it.
I’m sure there wasn’t any better idea. <a href="https://t.co/ZSWePQc62X">pic.twitter.com/ZSWePQc62X</a>
&mdash; Cole McDougall (@colemcdougall) <a href="https://twitter.com/colemcdougall/status/1196574165387472899?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The only way to explain South Dakota’s new anti-Meth ads is that everyone involved in their creation is on meth. <a href="https://t.co/rXuCagOFhi">pic.twitter.com/rXuCagOFhi</a>
&mdash; Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) <a href="https://twitter.com/robbystarbuck/status/1196556969328467974?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In the words of one Twitter user, “Surprising anti-meth campaign in South Dakota. With the theme ‘Meth. I&#8217;m on it,’ what could go wrong?”
The campaign cost taxpayers $450,000, per the state&#8217;s financial services website, accessed by the Argus Leader. The sum seems a bit like a bargain given the attention the campaign is now getting on social media.
&#8220;&#8216;The tagline is: I&#8217;m on meth,&#8217; says the governor of South Dakota, ON VIDEO,&#8221; another Twitter user, The New York Times&#8217; Mike Baker, pointed out. &#8220;Well, the campaign is sure to achieve the state&#8217;s goal of getting people talking about an important issue.&#8221;
&nbsp;
</div>

Speaker Ryan And Members Of Congress Hold Enrollment Ceremony To Mark Passage Of Tax Reform Bill

‘Meth. I’m On It.’ South Dakota Spends Hundreds Of Thousands On Bizarre Anti-Drug Campaign

South Dakota

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