The New Yorker has published an article on the history of police surveillance, documenting how hi-tech techniques are being used alongside old-fashioned detective work. Ed Caesar, who authored the piece, details activities ranging from the police following suspected hitmen and dressing up as abattoir workers next to illegal gambling dens to dropping stories in the media to gather information from phone-savvy criminals. Caesar notes electronic surveillance is increasingly being used, with the Australian Federal Police and international colleagues downloading 27 million messages from crooks who believed they were using highly secure messaging app An0m. The Australian Federal Police then dropped a series of stories to help fuel the underground chatter and, over time, had a complete view of the dark web underworld. In addition to electronic surveillance, snitches were used, with criminals offered deals to become informers. The ultimate version of covert work is spying, and there are numerous cases whereby undercover officers have infiltrated and helped smash gangs, from undercover cop Nick Cecil, who exposed SP bookmakers in the 1950s, to the two officers who lived among bikies for 13 months.
‘Pierre Poilievre has decided to pander … leaving those of us disgusted by Justin Trudeau without a clear option.’ Conservative contrarians, plus other letters to the editor for May 19
The Globe and Mail
23-05-19 08:00
Canadians must seek to protect their country from the violence and division that has become rife in America, according to a letter in the Globe and Mail. The missive’s writer, expat Don Gayton, wrote that Canada should attempt to understand the causes of the problems in the US so that the twin issues of violence and division do not come north over the border. In related comments, other respondents noted the gun laws which enable violence south of the border but are not in place in Canada, a division of political opinion which has no bearing on geography and a surge in anger in the right-wing conservative movement.
Police in Western Australia arrested two men and seized £14m ($18m) of methamphetamine from a property in Ballajura. Although delivery driver Christopher Mark Mitchell was arrested along with ex-bikie Mohammed Charif Oueida, police claimed the latter was the ringleader of the suspected drug trafficking ring they were investigating. Ballajura was the first location searched. The subsequent raids also found cash and other drugs. Assistant Police Commissioner Tony Longhorn announced investigations were continuing to discover what further links may exist and who is sending drugs to the western state.
Over the past five years, more than 540 fentanyl disappearances were reported by Canadian veterinary clinics, health centres, and hospitals, according to data obtained by The Toronto Star via freedom of information requests. Around 483 reports label such medicine disappearances “unexplained,” with the others designated “pilferage” (theft by authorized personnel), “theft,” and “break and enter and theft.” Such incidents put public and patient safety at risk, the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists has warned, stating that hospital pharmacies aim “to make sure patients receive the medications they need at the right time and in the right combination.” Ontario saw 374 fentanyl losses reported from 2018 until March 2023.
The FDA has approved blood cancer therapy, Epcoritamab, for adult patients who have received at least two prior lines of treatment. The drug marks the first approved of its kind, made by AbbVie and Genmab, who developed the drug to target a type of advanced large B-cell lymphoma. The drug belongs to the bispecific antibody class of drugs, which uses therapeutic proteins to latch onto the body's immune cells and attack cancer cells. An alternative drug, glofitamab from Roche, is currently under review by the FDA. The FDA is expected to make a decision about the treatment on July 1, 2021.
A panel of advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration has recommended holding off on an accelerated approval for Intercept Pharmaceuticals’ obeticholic acid (OCA), an oral drug for a type of fatty liver disease known as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and fibrosis. The panel of outside advisers voted 15 to one against approval after reviewing surrogate biomarker data. The American Liver Foundation reports that NASH affects around 5% of American adults. A decision by the FDA is expected by 22 June.
Novo Nordisk's newly launched obesity drug, marketed as Wegovy, may help to decrease the risk of heart disease, according to research by the Mayo Clinic, which found that the risk of conditions including strokes and heart attacks could decrease to 6.3% from 7.6% after a year of taking the drug. The study was conducted among 93 patients and the results will form part of Novo's five-year SELECT study, which will examine the broader health impact of the drug, including heart disease.
Inner-city residents of Melbourne are calling for a second safe-injecting room to be built after witnessing the city’s heroin-related overdoses cost lives. The Yes In My Back Yard campaign (YIMBY) is gaining support from residents who believe that their community feels frustrated with the lack of action from the business groups and others who oppose plans for a safe-injecting room in the central business district (CBD). Former police commissioner Ken Lay is reviewing locations for a safe-injecting room in the CBD despite fears from some residents who feel the government should be focusing on rehabilitation facilities for drug users rather than another safe-injecting room. The City of Melbourne has the highest number of heroin deaths of any Victorian local government area.
Retired Ontario Court of Justice judge Mary Hogan believes that affordable housing, access to more supports, and education for judges are required to improve public safety. Hogan highlights how social problems like substance abuse and mental health issues disproportionately affect people who end up in the criminal justice system. The lack of payment or resources for necessary care programs doesn't guarantee that people will be saved from ending up in jail and serving time. This reality ultimately makes society unsafe. Hogan says that if "people get the necessary help now and get some housing, the public is probably safer than if they go to jail, do some time, and have no assistance." Hogan is urging the provincial court to review cases and diverts serious cases outside of traditional criminal justice systems so that individuals get the help and support they need instead of jail time. According to Hogan, the system needs to provide additional support as people who receive help and access to housing feel a greater sense of direction and purpose and are less likely to re-enter the justice system.
Three men have been killed in a shooting in the southern French city of Marseille. Police have discovered a link between the crime and drug trade, bringing the number of drug-related killings in the city to 21 this year. French police have seized weapons and arrested five people following the shooting. Marseille has been described as a "power keg" for crime given the high rates of drug-dealing in the area. Last month regional prefect Frederique Camilleri warned the drug wars in Marseille were "turning into a vendetta".
A narcotic substance, Captagon, has increasingly become a central issue in the Middle East's relationship with Syria. As the largest producer of Captagon, which has a street value of over $1bn, observers claim President Bashar al-Assad has turned Syria into a narco-state, with the trade worth several times that of the entirety of operations run by the infamous cartels in Mexico. However, Syria's re-entry into the Arab fold this year has led to discussions about tackling drug smuggling across Syria's borders with neighbouring countries, although foreign ministers in charge of the initiative deny Captagon sparked the Saudi-led normalisation with Syria.
Drug driving is more prevalent than drink driving, says the National Police Chiefs’ Council. Some 70% of more than 3,000 drivers tested now implicate drugs. Delays in obtaining blood test results mean that many potential drug drivers avoid prosecution, staffing shortages in laboratories being among the contributing factors. Blunders by National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service staff were these led by the discovery that alcohol breathalyser machines used in police stations across England and Wales are unreliable in cold weather. The machines measure levels of alcohol from samples of breath.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration has warned about the rising use of xylazine, a powerful veterinary sedative, in illegal fentanyl supplies in America. A lab system run by the agency discovered xylazine in 23% of fentanyl powder and 7% of fentanyl pills it had seized in 2022. Xylazine is cheap and longer-lasting than fentanyl, making it an attractive additive for drug distributors. Illicit drug supplies in the US are increasingly being adulterated with multiple substances, which could hamper attempts to curb the nation’s opioid addiction crisis. Xylazine also complicates treatment for those struggling to overcome addiction.
Pharma Healthcare, an Indian company that sold eye drops that were contaminated with a drug-resistant bacteria, has caused four deaths, 14 instances of blindness, and four instances in which people required eye removal surgery, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. The contaminated eye drops were shipped to 18 US states before the products were recalled in February. More than 80 individuals have developed symptoms so far.
