I watched a program on TV about two girls from Ireland who were drug mules. They were busted at an airport in Peru but later on when in prison they began to understand that these high-profile drug busts for reasonably small quantities of cocaine normally take place at exactly the same time that someone is quietly loading a ton or so of the stuff into an aircraft elsewhere in the airport. Just like that recent bust they had where that lady was arrested as two suitcases tagged to her contained cocaine. One wonders what else was happening that day when everyone's attention was distracted by those events.
- Thread starter Dolores
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Chartered jet retained at PUJ after suspected shipment found on board
I watched a program on TV about two girls from Ireland who were drug mules. They were busted at an airport in Peru but later on when in prison they began to understand that these high-profile drug busts for reasonably small quantities of cocaine normally take place at exactly the same time that someone is quietly loading a ton or so of the stuff into an aircraft elsewhere in the airport. Just like that recent bust they had where that lady was arrested as two suitcases tagged to her contained cocaine. One wonders what else was happening that day when everyone's attention was distracted by those events.
Like you've mentioned several times, everyone knows that the DR is a major transshipment point for drugs coming from South America and going to the US, Canada, and Europe, but you never hear of any large busts of drugs going out of the DR. Strange.
It was pretty simple = by hooking up with the guy who was running the local office for PLAN down in Pedernales - I took the bus down and then hitched a ride with him back to Baharona. He pointed out to me the various Hotels and houses of the biggest dealers. Then on subsequent trips I had only to watch the cars going in and out. I was friends with the Peace Corps workers there who pointed out that there was a LOT of traffic into the cement plant but no actual cement trucks. And a LOT of Columbians living there and working at the "cement' company.
I developed quite a nose for the dealers and networks - both on the South and around LT. LT wasn't that hard - there it was the "DomYorks" coming in with the stuff - gold chains, totally NY.
It was pretty sad-- I know that INTERPOL was really working hard to clean up LT and I hope that they were successful. And perhaps they will start caring about Pedernales as well - now that there are plans to develop it.
The entire island would really benefit financially from legalizing marijuana. Haiti grows some very fine weed. And it would STOP the marijuana traffic from Colombia which comes in in bricks - and is VERY STRONG - almost to the point of being hallucenagenic.
(Yes, I inhale. Have been inhaling for years. I only did cocaine once and thought it was The Most Wonderful thing I had ever experienced so vowed to never do it again. And certainly - yes -= most of the hallungenigens.. Old Hippie here)
I did an article on the women's prison and there were several Europeans there. Really long sentences.. And you are certainly right that the bulk of the drugs that come through the DR do not travel that way - the bulk most likely travel in containers - just as they do into the USA.
Thank you. I am so naive. But I have to say I live opposite a restaurant and bar which is quite secluded and you very frequently see very very flashy cars go in, when the restaurant is closed, maybe 1am on a Tuesday morning, they go into the car park and about 10 minutes later come back out. And there are always lots of expensive cars there but hardly any customers in the place. I wouldn't be surprised if something dodgy is going on there.
Cocaine is used very liberally by the younger affluent class of Capitalenos... - And that would be what I would suspect who the customer are for your restaurant/ It is not really that dangerous a drug - in that only about 20% become addicted to it -
https://www.michiganpsychologicalas...-only-one-in-five-become-addicted-to-cocaine-
However CRACK is a very different form of the drug, being cheaper and users report being much more addictive.
Inside the recovery community in the DR - cocaine, crack and weed are all treated the same - which confuses some visitors from the US who rarely consider pot to be an addictive drug - as there is no evidence that it is.
Anecdotally, those who consume pot do not mix it with either cocaine or alcohol.
Crack (which was first developed by a Dominican https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santiago_Luis_Polanco_Rodríguez) can destroy a small tourist community. I remember seeing my first crack addict in LT and having to go to the local mayor's office to give a bit of a mini-seminar on the difference between the drugs. A good friend of mine - a real activist in the AA community - also had a long talk with some community leaders - telling them that he had never seen any sort of success with crack addicts (although there MUST be some - perhaps just not with AA)....
The huge difference in the safety in SD and the country as a whole occurred, I believe, with the arrival of many Colombians under Leonel. Prior to that, the Dominicans in charge of the import/export/distribution did not open the "product" on the island but rather paid whatever runners they had in cash. Colombians had no such restraints. (that is simply hearsay -I have done no reeaarch on it ) https://theworld.org/stories/2011-08-22/drug-addiction-surges-dominican-republic
The Cdn prisoners have been released....back in Canada now
Exclusive surveillance footage shows duffel bags being loaded onto Pivot Airlines jet
CTV's W5 has been shown never-before-seen surveillance footage of Punta Cana International Airport from the night before a Canadian airline crew was detained after discovering duffel bags stuffed with 210 kilograms of cocaine in their plane's avionics bay.