Twenty one people, including 14 Victorians and some with alleged mafia links, were arrested after the seizure of 4.4 tonnes of ecstasy,

Twenty one people, including 14 Victorians and some with alleged mafia links, were arrested after the seizure of 4.4 tonnes of ecstasy, it was revealed last Friday.The arrests were the culmination of a 12-month operation across the country, including Melbourne.Those charged included a 37-year-old Werribee woman who was arrested in a Carlton house and charged with trafficking MDMA, money laundering in excess of $1m and aiding and abetting the importation of cocaine. She appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Friday and was remanded to reappear in court in March.
The other Victorians were from Kew, Keilor East, Werribee, West Footscray, Cheltenham, Greenvale, Sydenham, Taylors Lakes, Eltham and Nar Nar Goon. Charges include trafficking MDMA and conspiracy to import MDMA.
The AFP executed 45 search warrants across Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and New South Wales as part of the joint investigation involving Australian Customs, a spokesperson said. AFP Commissioner Mick Keelty said 400 AFP officers were involved in the operation, which included law enforcement agencies in Asia and Europe.
"This is an extraordinary outcome for law enforcement as it continues to work together to detect illicit drugs before they reach Australia," he said.
The investigation began after the identification and examination of a shipping container in Melbourne in June last year containing MDMA tablets in more than 3000 tins with an approximate street value of $440 million, the AFP said.
The AFP and Customs identified another shipping container in Melbourne on July 24, carrying three bags of white powder weighing 150kg. Early testing indicated presence of cocaine. The AFP also uncovered a $9 million money laundering operation allegedly linked to the syndicate.

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Daniel Bailey has been told to pay up £194,370 by a court. If he fails to hand over the money within six months, he will face a three-year jail term.

Daniel Bailey (35) avoided prison when he received a 26-week suspended sentence after pleading guilty to producing cannabis. But following a separate investigation into his finances by police, he has been told to pay up £194,370 by a court. If he fails to hand over the money within six months, he will face a three-year jail term.During a hearing brought by police under the Proceeds of Crime Act, Lincoln Crown Court was told officers swooped on Bailey's home, near Spalding, on August 5, 2005. They searched the property and found 22 cannabis plants growing among the flowers in his back garden.More cannabis seedlings were discovered in a shed, and two small lumps of the drug were seized in the house.Bailey was subsequently convicted of production of cannabis, which triggered the probe into his financial affairs.The further enquiries showed that in the six years before his arrest, Bailey had claimed incapacity benefit and income support to the tune of more than £21,000, to which he was...

Vanessa and Juan Bedoya, Meneses and Rodriguez-Jimenez are being held in DuPage County Jail in lieu of $1 million bond each.

Vanessa Bedoya, 37, and Juan Bedoya, 38, both of the 1400 block of Green Oak Trail, Aurora, were charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.Juan Meneses, 32, and Gonzalo Rodriguez-Jimenez, 38, both of the 800 block of Amli Court, Aurora, were charged with unlawful delivery of a controlled substance, the Kane County state's attorney's office said.According to prosecutors, on March 25, Rodriguez-Jimenez and Meneses delivered more than 900 grams of cocaineto another unnamed person. Later, more than 900 grams of cocaine were recovered from Juan and Vanessa Bedoya, who are married. The cocaine was recovered at the home of Francisco Bedoya, 36, also of the 1400 block of Green Oak Trail, Aurora. In addition, more than 900 grams of cocaine was recovered in the home of Juan and Vanessa Bedoya, prosecutors said. Officers searched three Aurora homes Tuesday and found 15 kilograms of cocaine, worth about $4.5 million, along with $50,000 in cash and two vehicle...

Philip Doo (52), Christopher Wiggins (42) and David Mufford (44) were brought before a special sitting of Clonakilty District Court on Saturday night

Philip Doo (52), Christopher Wiggins (42) and David Mufford (44) were brought before a special sitting of Clonakilty District Court on Saturday night amid tight security. A force of up to 30 gardaí, including detectives armed with Uzi submachine guns, surrounded the courthouse.The three men, all from Britain, were charged that on November 5th, 2008, on the vessel Dances with Waves , a ship not registered in any country or territory, they had possession of cocaine knowing it was intended to be imported illegally.The offence, which is contrary to Section 34 (2) (4) of the Criminal Justice Drugs Trafficking Act 1994, carries a maximum penalty upon conviction at Circuit Court level of a a fine or seven years in jail or both. Det Garda Ronan Cowley of the Garda National Drugs Unit gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution in relation to Mr Doo, of Rocklands House, Higher Manor Road, Brixham, Devon, and told the court that Mr Doo did not wish to reply to the charge after caution.Det Garda ...

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