Police: Beached drug smugglers 'didn't read surf report'

 

At least 250 pounds of marijuana, 250 gallons of gasoline and a demolished boat were found Thursday along the beach near Point Mugu State Park in another apparent smuggling incident around the Ventura-Los Angeles County line. Investigators responded about 7:45 a.m. to reports of gasoline containers on the water and beach near the Pacific Coast Highway and Deer Creek Road. In addition to more than a dozen large containers filled with gasoline, they found bricks of marijuana and clothing items along the beach, sheriff's officials said. A boat was later found grounded on some rocks near Deer Creek, authorities said. None of the suspected smugglers were found or arrested. Assistant Sheriff Gary Pentis said it appeared they had a vehicle waiting for them to accept a delivery after they came ashore. Given all the gasoline on the boat, which had two motors, they were probably planning on making a round trip before they apparently crashed into the rocks, officials said. "They didn't read the weather or surf report," Pentis said, referring to Thursday's strong waves. The incident was at least the seventh suspected smuggling case reported in or near Ventura County in recent months, including several between Point Mugu and Malibu. And Santa Barbara County authorities reported finding a suspected drug-smuggling boat off the Gaviota coast just Wednesday. Authorities say smugglers have been pushing farther north from Mexico into Ventura County and other areas to avoid border security. Pentis said the trend actually has been occurring since the 1980s. "Smugglers are seeing heavy pressure in San Diego and Los Angeles, so they look for more remote beaches such as this," he said. Capt. Scott Dettorre of the Ventura County Fire Department said emergency personnel initially treated Thursday's incident as a water rescue. They found a panga-style vessel — a type of small, open boat often used by smugglers — grounded on the rocks and heavily damaged. That type of boat typically holds three or four people, officials said. Crews searched the ocean over a one-mile radius, did not find anyone and then began a land search, Dettorre said. Searchers included Ventura County and Los Angeles County firefighters, sheriff's deputies, state park officials, lifeguards, the Coast Guard and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Sheriff's Capt. Mike Aranda said at least 250 pounds of marijuana and up to 250 gallons of gasoline were recovered from the apparent drug-smuggling operation. The pot was mostly found on the beach near a stairway leading up to the highway. Also Thursday, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department said an abandoned panga boat found off the Gaviota coast Wednesday was empty, but evidence showed it was being used for drug trafficking. The department asked the public to be on the lookout for suspected Mexican smuggling boats spotted recently off the Santa Barbara coast. Panga boats typically are 19 to 28 feet long, but the one recovered Wednesday was 30 feet, authorities said. Ten people were detained only last Friday after a boat possibly involved in human smuggling washed ashore north of Malibu. No drugs were found then. Another possible human smuggling case occurred in late July after an abandoned boat was found near Surfers Point in Ventura. A few weeks earlier, 15 suspected undocumented immigrants were discovered on Santa Cruz Island, where they were reportedly abandoned by a smuggler. In late June, a group of suspected undocumented immigrants was found near Malibu. In March, suspected smugglers and more than a ton of marijuana were found on Santa Rosa Island after their boat reportedly ran out of gas. Aranda said authorities do not know if any of the smuggling incidents are connected. "This has become a common occurrence," he said Thursday.

The arrest of Santosh Shetty - a leading underworld figure in Mumbai wanted for contract killings and drug-trafficking - has received widespread coverage in the Indian media but has not warranted a mention in the Thai press.

 

Different versions of how he was arrested have been put forward by diplomatic sources, Indian police and local law enforcement officers, but one thing for certain is that he was not "extradited" or officially "deported" from Thailand.

 

Santosh Shetty

Shetty was flown to Mumbai on Aug 12 and arrested by local Crime Branch police. Since being in the custody of Indian police he has opened up about his extensive criminal network in Southeast Asia and the Middle East and the activities of other major underworld figures.

 

His self-styled SS (Santosh Shetty) Syndicate - modelled along corporate lines - was allegedly involved in drug and human-trafficking, extortion, murder, counterfeit currency and fake documents.

More troubling for Thailand is that Shetty had been running his criminal operations out of the Kingdom since at least 2000, say Indian intelligence sources, and his association could stretch back to the mid-1990s when he fled Mumbai.

Shetty was constantly on the move, hopping between his hideouts in Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Teheran and Bangkok, according to Indian media reports.

He is a suspect in at least two killings in India; lawyer Shahid Azmi in February 2009 and crime gang henchman Farid Tanasha in late 2010.

Disturbingly, he has allegedly told Mumbai police he was involved in the murder of a fellow Indian gangster Bharat Nepali in Pattaya, also in late 2010, after a dispute over how to divide proceeds from criminal activities.

Shetty's case raises some serious questions for Thailand about foreign criminals operating here, the ease with which they enter and exit the country and what to do with them if they are detected but have not committed a criminal offence here. The policing of foreign criminals is further complicated by the lack of extradition treaties with some countries, the status of Interpol Red Notices (which alert countries to wanted criminals) and human rights concerns.

Using Shetty as a case study, Spectrum spoke to several diplomatic, law enforcement, intelligence and immigration officials to ascertain how Thailand deals with foreign criminals who abuse the Kingdom's easygoing visa and entry requirements.

Drug smuggle gang locked up

 

gang including one of the West Midlands’ most wanted men was behind bars today for a multi-million pound drugs smuggling racket. Tens of thousands of pounds of heroin and crack cocaine were smuggled from Wolverhampton to Aberdeen on an almost weekly basis. The slick operation saw drugs hidden in coffee jars soaked in vinegar, to hide the smell from sniffer dogs. One of the ringleaders, 38-year-old Derek Jones, went on the run in February 2009 for 19 months in a bid to avoid justice. But he and five others found themselves in the dock yesterday. Jones, of Leicester Street, Whitmore Reans, was jailed at Birmingham Crown Court for eight years for his part in the schemes. He featured on Crimewatch and was finally arrested in Winson Green last November. At its peak police officers believe the smuggling, which is believed to have been operating since 2002, saw between two and three kilograms of heroin transported to Scotland weekly. The gang would purchase a kilogram of drugs in Wolverhampton for around £16,000 and sell it on the streets of Aberdeen for around £32,000. The suspected head of the gang, Karl Wilson, from Tettenhall, is still at large. Also jailed yesterday was Daniel Sterling, aged 29, of Malcolm Court, Chapel Ash, who got six years. Trevor Anderson, 30, of Russell Street, Graiseley and Lee Bott, 2 of Buxton Road, Telford were jailed for five years and three years respectively. Andrew Morgan, 46, of Guy Avenue, Wolverhampton, was jailed for four years. Drug addict Kate McTurk, from Ayr, in Scotland was jailed for two years. Detective Inspector Martin Brennan said today: “They clearly had a hierarchy and we have gone from top to bottom.”