An Ada woman was arrested Sunday after she allegedly tried to smuggle methamphetamine to an inmate in the Pontotoc County Justice Center.

Deputies arrested 48-year-old Joann Thomas.

Deputy Kenneth Heck responded to the jail after Detention Officer Tim Madden discovered the drugs, according to a report filed by Heck.

“Officer Madden advised that a female subject brought a universal television remote and batteries to the jail for (an inmate),” Heck said in the report. “The female subject reportedly advised Officer Madden that it had been approved by the jail administrator and that he was expecting it.”

Madden checked with the jail administrator, who said he had not approved the device.

“Officer Madden advised that while inspecting the remote, it appeared to him to be tampered with,” Heck said. “Officer Madden stated he could see pry marks on the case, and a white colored substance that appeared to be super glue. Officer Madden stated that he pried the two halves of the remote control open and located two small baggies of a substance that appeared to be methamphetamine.”

Heck said the crystal substance later tested positive for methamphetamine. The lady who left the remote had also left the jail. Jail staffers had the lady return to the jail, saying they needed an instruction manual.

Upon returning, Madden identified Thomas as the person who had left brought the remote.

“I told Joann Thomas that she was under arrest for bringing contraband into the jail,” Heck said. “(Thomas) exclaimed that all she had done was deliver a package.”

Thomas was arrested on suspicion of bringing contraband into a jail facility.

theadanews.com/news/local_news/sheriff-remote-control-used-to-smuggle-meth/article_aaa3b626-3003-51e4-8187-05bf46a27b3d.html

Two Elmira-area women face charges of making meth after police responded this week to reports of a suspicious vehicle.

State troopers from Horseheads and state Department of Environmental Conservation officers responded Tuesday to a complaint of a suspicious vehicle on Greatsinger Road in the Town of Elmira.

Troopers located a Nissan Rogue SUV in the area and discovered the occupants were manufacturing methamphetamine after locating a “one-pot” lab in the vehicle, according to a state police news release. 

The New York State Police Community Narcotics Enforcement Team and Contaminated Crime Scene Emergency Response Team were notified and responded to the scene.

As a result of the investigation, police seized a one-pot lab, 3 ounces of methamphetamine oil, two glass stems and vial containing methamphetamine residue from the vehicle, the release said.

Police charged Christine E. Bailey, 35, of Elmira, and Pamela A. Kreisler, 35, of Southport, with third-degree unlawful manufacture of methamphetamine, a felony.

Kreisler was charged with the same crime in a separate incident in late February after state troopers reportedly found meth-making materials in a vehicle during a traffic stop on Pennsylvania Avenue in Elmira. Robert G. Howe, of Southport, also was charged in connection with that incident.

Kreisler and Bailey were arraigned in Town of Elmira Court and remanded to the Chemung County Jail in lieu of $15,000 cash bail or $30,000 property bond.

All hazardous items were removed from the scene by the Contaminated Crime Scene Emergency Response Team for proper destruction.

stargazette.com/story/news/public-safety/2017/04/06/two-women-charged-making-meth/100130050/

APPLETON – Although heroin gets the lion’s share of the attention, the Fox Valley — and the state — have seen more methamphetamine in recent years, prompting calls to take corrective action.

By the end of January, the Lake Winnebago Area Metropolitan Enforcement Group had seized nearly as much methamphetamine as it had in all of 2016, though most of the 2017-related amount was in a single bust, according to Brad Dunlap, the MEG unit’s project director. The 1,006 grams of the powerful stimulant seized in 2016 resulted from a number of larger drug busts, a sign that larger shipments of meth are starting to come into the area, he said.

“2016 was the first year that we started hearing about 10-pound loads of this stuff coming up in cars or via parcels, which is, I mean, that’s unheard of in this area,” Dunlap said. “That is a lot of meth.”

On the treatment front, local experts said it’s important to view the numbers in context. Yes, meth numbers have risen, but specialists say alcohol remains the most common addiction-related substance they encounter.

“It’s really a very small group of people that are going down this path,” said Jeff Ryan, the owner and therapist at Advanced Counseling and Consulting Services, who has seen an increase in the number of people seeking treatment for meth.

Now, he said, is the time to start talking about how to counteract it.

Study: Meth a growing problem in Wisconsin

Meth use in the state likely expanded by 250 to 300 percent between 2011 and 2015, according to a study from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Wisconsin Department of Justice. Its use is projected to grow for the next five to 10 years.

“While heroin use continues to remain a focus for Wisconsin’s law enforcement and treatment services, meth has quietly surged to a point where the number of cases, arrests and charges are on par with heroin,” the study states.

Its spread indicates a “rapidly expanding problem that needs to be addressed,” the study states. The areas most affected tend to be in western Wisconsin and rural parts of the state.

In the Fox Valley, according to numbers provided by Dunlap:

Meth is a powerful, addictive stimulant that provides a strong high that can last for extended periods of time.

In the short-term, it can increase attention and wakefulness, cause rapid heart rate and increased blood pressure and, in the case of overdose, cause convulsions, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. In the long term, users risk addiction and developing a tolerance to the drug that leads them to use higher doses or requires users to change how they take the drug to get the desired high. Chronic users might find it more difficult to feel pleasure from anything that isn’t meth, which can fuel further abuse.

Most of the meth in Wisconsin comes from Mexico, primarily via the Twin Cities and secondarily from California or directly from Mexico, according to the FBI-DOJ study.

Treatment providers see uptick

At Nova Counseling Services in Oshkosh, a residential treatment center for drug and alcohol addiction, the number of people seeking treatment related to meth jumped from 1.6 percent of admissions in 2013 to 9.3 percent in 2016.

Dr. Eric Smiltneek, a family physician for ThedaCare Physicians in Oshkosh and medical director at Nova, said there is reason to be worried if current trends continue.

“The concern is if we keep expanding at the current rates, that in three to four years it could be as big as the numbers we’re seeing with heroin,” he said. “But right now (meth) is definitely a smaller piece of the addiction puzzle.”

Usually, more people seeking treatment correlates to an increase in users and use, he said.

He’s also hearing from patients that there’s a significant supply of meth locally, pushing down the prices.

“What we have really seen at Nova is people are not necessarily primarily using methamphetamine but there’s a lot of the heroin addicts who have started for whatever reason to use methamphetamine more,” he said.

It’s not necessarily that heroin is a gateway to methamphetamine use but rather that meth becomes a more significant option for people who like to experiment with different substances, he added.

The FBI-DOJ study hypothesizes that public awareness about the dangers of heroin, including overdose risk, might push users to move to meth because of its “perceived safety and lack of associated overdose deaths.”

In other cases, the study states, people who couldn’t get their preferred drug used meth instead.

Treatment for meth presents challenges

From trauma to leaving behind an irreplaceable high, treating meth addiction presents challenges.

“With methamphetamine, a piece that happens that makes it more complex is there becomes a bigger mental health component to treat because people are really degraded psychologically — they’re not sleeping, they’re not eating, they’re being traumatized a lot, so their systems are really beat up,” Ryan, of Advanced Counseling and Consulting Services, said.

Ryan sees two forces at play in addiction: The first that brings a user to the drug to begin with, which he said is often some kind of trauma or other issues in life. The second is the additional trauma that can accompany the use of meth and opiates.

Users who are willing to do anything to get the drug and avoid withdrawal — which can include depression, anxiety and strong cravings for the drug — sometimes put themselves in risky situations to get it, providers said. Those situations can leave them with trauma that in turn makes it even harder to quit using.

Another big challenge with meth, Smiltneek said, is the euphoria of the high that cannot be recreated through everyday activities. That means people in recovery from meth can have trouble finding things that make them happy, which can be a huge reason to keep using, he said.

Now is the time

With meth seemingly on the upswing, now is the time to start thinking about how to combat it, experts say.

Ryan said he’s hopeful that the treatment community will start talking about treatment methods and how to respond.

“You can’t just provide the same process for everybody because it doesn’t work,” he said. “A person abusing alcohol is way different than a person that is abusing methamphetamine. They have some similarities but they also have some really unique stories and unique needs in the process.”

Jesse Heffernan, director of NAMI Fox Valley’s Iris Place, a peer-run respite center in Appleton, also called for a larger conversation about drug addiction and prevention.

Society sets up dueling norms: On one hand, it glorifies substance use but on the other creates social taboos around addiction and being in recovery.

“How do we make recovery cool is the thing,” Heffernan said.

postcrescent.com/story/news/crime/2017/04/08/meth-emerges-while-heroin-draws-spotlight/100070390/

WOODVILLE, Fla. (WTXL) – The small, 3,000 person town of Woodville, Florida is known for being pretty quiet, but lately, it’s known even more for an increasing problem: meth.

“You see what it does to people. It’s a horrible drug, very addictive. Destroys people,” said Woodville resident Steve Lousberg.

Although he couldn’t give us any hard numbers, Lieutenant Grady Jordan of the Leon County Sheriffs Office says there has been a recent increase in meth busts in more rural areas like Woodville.

Lt. Jordan says that’s partly because meth is having a little bit of a resurgence right now, and partly because his deputies are getting better at spotting those who make and buy it.

“We’ve got a lot of deputies that are becoming a little bit more in tune to their areas that they’re working,” said Lt. Jordan. “So they’re seeing a lot of the same things, a lot of the same traffic so they understand what’s different and what’s changing in that area. More of a community policing type effect. We’re also looking at the data, and that data that’s coming back, we’re seeing different hotspots.”

Meth labs in rural areas are known to be small, but police tell us they’re still highly toxic and the effects go beyond  the person making the drug.

“What’s very, very unfortunate is we run across these labs and a lot of times, there’s children in these houses where they’re making this stuff,” said Lt. Jordan.

“There’s no demographic to addiction,” said Dr. Ron Burks, a psychotherapist at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital.

Dr. Burks says he sees a decent amount of people from smaller communities being treated for meth addiction because they may not have access to drugs like heroin or cocaine, but meth is easy to make.

The problem: anybody can get hooked on it quickly, and it doesn’t take long for the drug to wreck havoc on your body.

“We have patients that we’re working with in addictions counseling that are on their second heart valve transplant and they’re under 30,” said Dr. Burks. “The deterioration that occurs in the person physically is visible and it doesn’t take that many years for it to become a problem. Other drugs seem to take longer, but this one can result in problems after the first use. This is the danger that meth proposes.”

If you or someone you know needs help treating a meth addiction, you can find resources here.

wtxl.com/news/drug-dilemma-fighting-back-against-meth-in-rural-communities/article_311e1878-1e55-11e7-9e90-2fee99e4fc6f.html

Acting U.S. Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that a Logansport man pleaded guilty on April 6 to distributing methamphetamine in Many, Louisiana, and kidnapping a victim in east Texas, according to a statement from the United States Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Louisiana.

Christopher L. Douglas, 36, of Logansport, Louisiana, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote to one count of distribution of methamphetamine and one count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping. According to the guilty pleas, law enforcement agents recorded Douglas selling two ounces of methamphetamine on April 26, 2016 for $2,000 in Many.

In addition, he pleaded guilty to a kidnapping conspiracy charge from the Eastern District of Texas, in which he participated with others to kidnap the victim, demand ransom, and ultimately attempted to kill the victim, all arising out of related drug trafficking.

Douglas faces five to 40 years in prison for the drug charge and up to life in prison for the kidnapping charge. He also faces not less than four years of supervised release and up to a $5 million fine. The court set a sentencing date of August 25, 2017.

The FBI, ATF-Tyler Texas, Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office, DeSoto Parish Sheriff’s Office, Carthage Police Department and Longview Police Department conducted the investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney James G. Cowles Jr. is prosecuting the case for the Western District of Louisiana, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Hable is prosecuting the case for the Eastern District of Texas.

theexaminer.com/stories/news/logansport-man-pleads-guilty-selling-methamphetamine-kidnapping-conspiracy

Two Modesto residents were arrested Wednesday morning in Jamestown after a search of their vehicle, clothes and belongings revealed narcotics and drug paraphernalia.

At around 2 a.m., Tuolumne County Sheriff’s deputies stopped a 2001 white Saturn for suspended registration on the 18000 block of Highway 108.

A records check was conducted on the four occupants of the vehicle and it was revealed that the driver’s license was suspended, and he was on probation in Stanislaus County.

Officers say they found two baggies of methamphetamine, a hypodermic needle, and 10 plastic bags. A female passenger said she had a glass pipe in her bra and a bag of methamphetamine in her back pocket, according to the Sheriff’s Office report.

Christopher Weber, 34, was booked on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance for sale, possession of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance paraphernalia, and driving with a suspended license following the arrest.

His bail was set at $20,000.

Danielle Swift was booked on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance paraphernalia following the arrest.

Her bail is set at $7,500.

uniondemocrat.com/localnews/5211991-151/modesto-residents-arrested-in-Jamestown

host.madison.com/news/local/courts/mauston-woman-arrested-again-on-meth-charges/article_80a05995-35dd-57c8-9e78-7ab85cc5cc5f.html

PINE GROVE, Pa. — Police say a toddler girl has been hospitalized after consuming methamphetamine in her Pennsylvania home, and her parents are facing child endangerment charges.

Police say the 22-month-old girl got into a bag of the drug and consumed some Sunday morning at her home in Wayne Township in Schuylkill County.

She was flown to a hospital. Her condition hasn’t been released.

Troopers say a 26-year-old man and his 24-year-old girlfriend are responsible for endangering the girl. Online court records Monday show charges haven’t yet been filed.

Methamphetamine is highly addictive. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a methamphetamine overdose can lead to a stroke, heart attack or organ problems that can result in death.

wtae.com/article/toddler-hospitalized-after-consuming-methamphetamine/9254527

BENTONVILLE — Officials with the Benton County sheriff’s office do not believe foul play was involved in deaths of a Siloam Springs woman and her 22-month-old daughter.

Sgt. Shannon Jenkins, the spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office said at Friday news conference that there was no evidence of any crime in the two deaths.

Jenkins said the results of the investigation show that Carol Davidson’s death was accidental due to methamphetamine intoxication with contributing environmental hypothermia. The cause of the 22-month-old child’s death was left undetermined, but was most likely due to starvation or environmental hypothermia, Jenkins said.

Davidson, 35, and her daughter, RoseMarry, were reported missing from Siloam Springs on Nov. 12, 2016.

The bodies were found in February near Lookout Tower Road, roughly 12 miles southeast of Siloam Springs. The bodies were taken to Arkansas Crime Laboratory. The area is a mile and half from where searchers found Davidson’s vehicle in November, Benton County Chief Deputy Meyer Gilbert previously said.

arkansasonline.com/news/2017/apr/07/officials-arkansas-womans-death-due-meth-daughter-/?news-Arkansas

BENTON COUNTY (KFSM) — Benton County police have identified two bodies found in Siloam Springs over the weekend as the Siloam Springs woman and toddler who went missing in November, according to a press release.

The report states one set of human remains sent to them by the office are those of Carol Elaine Davidson. The second set of remains was postively identified as Rosemarry Davidson on Thursday (Feb. 23).

Carol and RoseMarry Davidson went missing on Nov. 12, 2016, prompting a weeks-long search.

On Saturday (Feb. 18), a deer hunter found a body in the woods off of Lookout Tower Road. Another body was found on Sunday (Feb. 19).

The bodies were found on the same road as Davidson’s vehicle, which officers discovered a few days after her disappearance.

Since the bodies were found in Benton County, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation. The sheriff’s office will be looking at the information from the Siloam Springs Police Department’s investigation into the pair’s disappearance.

Motsinger said they are currently working the case as a death investigation, although it could potentially turn into a homicide investigation. While investigators have an idea about the Davidsons’ cause of death, more tests have to be done on the bodies before they are certain.

A family friend has started a fund through Arvest Bank to collect donations for the Davidson’s family. If you would like to donate, visit an Arvest Bank and set up a donation to the Carol and Baby Rosemarry Funeral Fund.

5newsonline.com/2017/02/21/benton-county-sheriff-identifies-bodies-found-in-woods-as-missing-siloam-springs-woman-and-toddler/

SILOAM SPRINGS (KFSM) — The sister of a missing Siloam Springs woman who has not been seen since Saturday (Nov. 12) along with her baby daughter pleaded for information Thursday (Nov. 17) during a police media conference.

Siloam Springs police said Carol Elaine Davidson’s, 35, family has not heard from her since Friday, but there were reports of her last being seen between noon and 3 p.m. Saturday at the Green Tree RV Park in Siloam Springs. Eighteen-month-old Rosemary Davidson is also missing.

“More than anything, we want to bring baby Rosemary and Carol home safe,” Davidson’s sister Terri Russo said. “Rosemary and Carol are incredibly loved and we miss them. If there is anything you know about Rosemary or Carol please call the Siloam Springs Police Department.”

Authorities have been searching for the pair since Monday. This week they brought in a helicopter and K-9 units to aid in the search. So far, crews have been focusing their search on the Ozark National Forest in the area of Lookout Tower Road. Police said a hunter found Davidson’s 1999 Dodge Caravan on the side of that road Tuesday, but Davidson and her baby were nowhere to be found.

Police said they are concerned the child does not have enough supplies, since most of the baby’s things were found in the van. Investigators also said baby Rosemary was running a fever Saturday, the last day Davidson was seen.

Authorities have searched the van. They have also searched an fifth wheel RV Davidson and Rosemary had been staying in at National Falls State Park in Oklahoma for a week and a half before Veterans Day.

“Carol, if you see this, if you can hear this, please call us,” Russo said. “Rest assured we will not stop until we find you. We don’t give up on you or Rosemary.”Russo said she spoke with her sister everyday, so this kind of behavior is very unusual for Davidson.

Police have also asked residents and businesses with surveillance cameras along Highway 412 and Lookout Tower Road to review their footage for any clues. They have also asked hunters to check their game cameras.

Rosemary Davidson, who may also go by the name Rosemary Reed, is described as 2’6″ with blonde hair and hazel eyes, and she weighs about 40 pounds, according to a release. Carol is 5’8″and weighs about 130 pounds, and she has blonde hair and brown eyes. She also has a very distinct tattoo.

Siloam Springs police is being assisted by the FBI, Arkansas State Police, U.S. Marshals Service, Benton County Sheriff’s Office, Washington County Sheriff’s Office and both the Benton and Washington County Departments of Emergency Management.

Officials are also asking people who come across search crews to avoid the area if possible.

5newsonline.com/2016/11/15/incredibly-loved-and-missed-sister-of-missing-siloam-springs-woman-baby-pleads-for-information/

PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland Police say a 20-year-old man is facing rape and sodomy charges after sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl.

katu.com/news/local/man-accused-of-raping-13-year-old-girl-giving-her-meth

A nine-month-old baby in Texas appears to have been injected with methamphetamine.

According to an arrest affidavit obtained from the Lamesa, Texas, police department, an infant girl brought to the hospital last Thursday with methamphetamine in her system was injected with the drug by a needle. 

At around 10 p.m., when Destiny Lozano picked up her baby girl Mia from her mom’s house, Destiny told police she was behaving normally. She started to fall asleep on the car ride home, but things changed a little while later.

Destiny reportedly left the baby in the living room with her husband, Ricky Lozano, and his father, Ricardo Hernandez. She was gone for about 20 minutes, in another part of the home.

She told police that when she returned, the baby “was acting just very weird, like very hyper, and that’s not how she acts, she’s a normal baby.”

Destiny tried all the normal things to calm her, like giving her a bath, a bottle and some children’s Tylenol, but nothing worked so she took her to the Medical Arts Hospital Emergency Room. After examining her, the staff couldn’t find anything wrong and released the baby.

By 4 a.m., Destiny was back at the hospital because the baby was still acting “strange” and wouldn’t stop crying. A blood test was ordered and the nurse who placed a tourniquet on the baby’s arm noticed the intended vein started bleeding, suggesting someone had recently given the baby an injection — likely within a few hours before. A subsequent blood test was positive for methamphetamine.

Destiny and Ricky Lozano and Ricardo Hernandez were all arrested and charged with injury to a child, though the baby’s father appears to be the primary person of interest. Destiny reportedly told police that he sells drugs and that she had seen him at home carrying bags of what appeared to be illegal drugs.

Ricky’s family members defended him, and suggested that something might have happened to the baby before her mother picked her up.

“Ricky from the get go said, you can go check my house, my car, give me a polygraph test, give me a drug test,” Ricky’s aunt Maria Garza told the news station. “Obviously if he was dirty, or did anything wrong, he would’ve never said that.”

All three remain in custody on $150,000 bond each. CBS7 spoke with the baby’s grandma who says the baby is in the care of CPS.

The public is asked to contact the Lamesa Police Department if they have any information on this or any other crime at 806/872-TIPS ext. 8477.

crimeonline.com/2017/04/08/9-month-old-baby-girl-found-high-on-meth-was-injected-with-the-drug-police/

LAMESA — CBS 7 News has obtained new details in the case of a Lamesa baby who tested positive for methamphetamine.

The arrest affidavits ultimately point the finger at the nine-month-old’s father Ricky Hernandez, however we spoke with his family Friday who say he would never hurt his daughter.

“He would not do such a thing to his daughter at all, he loves his daughter with all of his heart, that’s his pride and joy,” said Ricky’s sister Miranda Hernandez.

But court documents paint a slightly different picture.

Last Thursday at around 10p.m., Ricky and Destiny Lozano picked up their baby girl Mia from Destiny’s mom’s house.

At that time Destiny told police Mia was acting normal and playful and had started to fall asleep on their drive home.

However, Mia’s behavior drastically changed just 30 minutes after they got home.

“She was acting just very weird, like very hyper, and that’s not how she acts, she’s a normal baby,” Miranda explained.

Destiny claims to have left Mia in the living room with Ricky and his father, Ricardo Hernandez, for about 20 minutes while she used the restroom and attempted to take a nap.

Before she could fall asleep, she told police Ricky brought Mia into their bedroom and said she would not stop crying.

After giving the baby a bath, children’s Tylenol, and a bottle to calm her down, Destiny ended up taking Mia to the Medical Arts Hospital Emergency Room.

During the first visit, Destiny said the staff couldn’t find anything wrong and released Mia.

But Mia was still acting “strange” and would not stop crying, so Destiny took her back to the hospital at 4:09 a.m.

This time one of the nurses placed a tourniquet on Mia’s left arm, wiped down softly over her skin twice with an alcohol swab and then noticed her vein started bleeding as if she’d been recently injected with a needle.

Sure enough, blood results showed Mia tested positive for methamphetamine.

Later that morning, Destiny admitted to police that Ricky sold drugs and that she had seen him one time walk through their living room with a small baggie that had “white stuff in it.”

Allegations that his family says are not true.

“Ricky from the get go said, you can go check my house, my car, give me a polygraph test, give me a drug test,” said Ricky’s aunt Maria Garza. “Obviously if he was dirty, or did anything wrong, he would’ve never said that.”

Both Garza and Miranda say they are 100 percent behind Ricky and his dad, Ricardo Hernandez.

“I want them to investigate where they picked up my niece from, they have the wrong people in jail,” said Miranda.

When questioned by police Ricardo said he had gone over to Ricky and Destiny’s house to help his son unload some appliances.

He too said Mia was acting normal when she first got home that Thursday night. He then told police he fell asleep on the couch between 11:00 p.m. and midnight.

The documents show that Lieutenant Darrel Williams stated the nurse told him when a vein collapses that easily it is a sign it has been previously injected.

The nurse also indicated that it usually takes four hours for an injection wound to heal to the point it would not bleed when a tourniquet was applied.

With Destiny, Ricky and Ricardo being the only ones inside their home with Mia, all three were arrested and charged with injury to a child.

Although they didn’t wish to go on camera, CBS 7 spoke with Mia’s grandma who says the baby is in the care of CPS and is recovering just fine.

Now the Lamesa Police Department is waiting for lab tests to come back and will be handing the case to the District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.

All three suspects remain in jail on $150,000 bonds each.

Anyone having information on this or any other crime is asked to contact the Lamesa Police Department or crime line at 806/872-TIPS/8477.

cbs7.com/content/news/Arrest-affidavits-state-Lamesa-baby–418720683.html

MURRIETA – A Mexican national allegedly caught smuggling 60 pounds of methamphetamine and heroin as he headed into Riverside County via Interstate 215 was being held today in lieu of $500,000 bail.

Marcos Raul Aviles Contreras, 53, was arrested on suspicion of possession of drugs for sale, transportation of heroin for sale and transportation of meth for sale.

He was apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol on northbound I-215, near Murrieta Hot Springs Road, about 1:30 p.m. Friday.

According to Customs & Border Protection Agent Mark Endicott, Contreras was stopped in his Dodge Journey after agents became suspicious that he might be involved in illegal activity.

The suspect was questioned, culminating in a search of his SUV by a drug-sniffing canine, which alerted to the presence of narcotics, Endicott said.

Agents uncovered a hidden compartment carved into the vehicle’s firewall, where “57 bundles of meth and two bundles of heroin” – weighing 54 pounds and 6 pounds, respectively, were seized, he alleged.

The total street value of the haul was estimated to be $196,830, Endicott said.

The vehicle was impounded, and Contreras was booked into the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta.

His arrest came a day after Border Patrol agents snared another Mexican national in the same area for allegedly transporting 35 pounds of meth in an SUV.

myvalleynews.com/local/man-allegedly-caught-transporting-major-cache-methamphetamine/

A jungle python addicted to methamphetamine is one of hundreds of animals being rehabilitated at an Australian prison by staff and inmates.

The reptile, which the New South Wales Justice department did not name “due to legal reasons”, was discovered during a police raid of a methamphetamine lab and required six weeks of detoxification while housed at the corrective services NSW wildlife care centre in Windsor, west of Sydney.

Ian Mitchell, a senior overseer at the John Morony correctional complex, said the python had absorbed the drug through its skin and as a result of its addiction it was more aggressive, confused and erratic and than normal.

“It just takes time for the drug to leave the snake’s system but through our assistance, we managed to calm it down after several months and bring it back to its routine feeding patterns,” Mr Mitchell said.

The rehab program takes care of other animals that have been seized during police raids, including bearded dragons and blue tongue lizards, as well as venomous snakes that might have been found in backyards or by the side of the road, Mr Mitchell said.

telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/04/12/meth-addicted-python-among-dozens-reptiles-australian-prison/

A woman came to the Santa Fe County jail to turn herself in on a warrant for a traffic violation and was found to be carrying illegal drugs, medications, tobacco and cosmetic and personal items that she’d hidden inside her body as she was being booked in about 9:30 p.m. Thursday.

Salina Green, 36, was arrested and charged with a felony count of bringing contraband into the jail, felony possession of crystal methamphetamine and a misdemeanor count of possession of Suboxone, used to treat opioid addiction.

A sheriff’s office report says that when Green was checked with a body scanner as part of the booking, an “abnormal anomaly” showed up.

In a condom in her vaginal cavity were found two baggies containing tobacco, rolling papers, eyeliner, tweezers, a lighter, three bobby-pins, perfume, a small mirror, Midol pills, Benadryl pills,  anti-depressants, an aspirin, decongestant pills, a broken razor, face make-up and a unopened package of Suboxone. Another small baggie had what turned out to be crystal meth, based on a field test.

Court records show a warrant had been issued against Green in January, for failure to appear for a trial on the traffic charge of following too closely. She was given the traffic ticket in August, didn’t pay the ticket or come to court was arrested in December and released, then failed to appear on another trial date, on Jan. 9.

She’s faced about a dozen other charges, mostly traffic or minor alcohol violations, since 2002.

abqjournal.com/985798/woman-uses-body-cavity-to-try-to-smuggle-meth-cosmetics-bobby-pins-into-jail.html

BONNEAU, S.C. (WCIV) — The smell of burnt meth led to the arrest of a man and woman by Bonneau police officers. What officials say was found inside the woman led to additional charges.

Bonneau Police Department Chief of Police Franco Fuda said a 2000 BMW was stopped on North Highway 52 early Monday morning and a man and woman in the vehicle were taken into custody after a search turned up a revolver and meth pipe. Fuda said the woman in the car also had 1.6 grams of meth in her bra.

In addition to the smell of burnt meth, officers said there was an open container visible in the vehicle that led to the search.

When Allen Craig Davis and Gina Eileen Taylor were being booked, a bigger discovery was made, Chief Fuda said.

During a search, the chief said a bag containing 44.4 grams of crystal meth and 1.5 grams of marijuana was pulled from Taylor’s “body cavity.”

Taylor and Davis each face several weapons and drugs charges.

abcnews4.com/news/crime-news/police-crystal-meth-marijuana-found-in-womans-body-cavity-after-arrest

In the stillness of the moments right before daybreak, in Sinaloa, before the golden dawn, as the overwhelming sun casts across the ranchos of El Dorado, they heard the soft whirring of a small plane overhead. 

The bodies fall silently, each about 175 pounds, picking up speed, as they rush through the beauty of morning clouds, and sweeping sunrise.  They hit the concrete with enough force to shatter every bone in their bodies.  Did they die upon impact, or before they were thrown? Did they scream helplessly into the nothingness of the clouds?  Did they pray for redemption, for safety, before they were pushed out?  

Calling it a “meth epidemic,” law enforcement officials say it’s time to connect users of the drug with treatment.

Captain Jason Gearman of the Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Department agrees.

“That’s the final solution – get them off the streets, off meth and into some treatment and get them some help. By letting them go out there on their own is obviously not working right now. Something needs to change.”

Aside from treatment, Captain Gearman says keeping meth users behind bars for a longer period of time could be one answer.

“As a community we need to explore more options such as dumping more money into treatment. However, I also think that you have to weigh the options of keeping people away from the drug longer. Sometimes, we may need to keep them locked up for a longer period of time.”

Captain Gearman says a number of crimes, including robberies, burglaries, shootings, stabbings, and aggravated assaults, have a connection to meth.

ksoo.com/beating-meth-addiction-law-enforcement-official-speaks-out/

POLK COUNTY, TX (KTRE) – Deputies with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office have arrested a 46-year-old woman on felony child endangerment charges after the two young grandchildren that live with her tested positive for meth.

Ritha Gay Arredondo, of Livingston, was booked into the Polk County Jail on two state-jail felony endangering a child charges. She was no longer being held in the jail as of 10 a.m. Wednesday morning.

According to the arrest affidavits that East Texas news obtained Tuesday, Arredondo endangered her two grandchildren on or about Jan. 27. Both children, a boy and a girl, are under the age of 5.

Child Protective Services opened an investigation into the case earlier this year. A CPS investigator went to the house in the 100 block of Branch Street where Arredondo lived with her grandchildren and found that Arredondo “provided an environment where the children could be exposed to methamphetamine.”

“Affiant shall show adults overdose and die on methamphetamine daily, adults get hurt while under the influence of methamphetamine, and methamphetamine causes long lasting effects to adults’ ability to complete daily activities and some abilities are forever changed,” the affidavit stated. “Affiant shall show that the effects in adults using methamphetamine have caused serious, long lasting health problems, and this is a child younger than the age of five years.”

Hair follicle tests done on both children resulted in them testing positive for meth, the affidavits stated.

ktre.com/story/35132531/affidavit-livingston-woman-exposed-her-2-grandchildren-to-meth

WAVERLY (KWWL) – The director of a Waverly daycare has been arrested on a number of drug charges.

Waverly Police say they went to 401 24th Street NW last week to investigate the smell of marijuana coming from an apartment.

Police searched an apartment and arrested Kelly Hampton for possession of meth, marijuana, prescription drugs and drug paraphernalia.

She was later released on a $1,000 bond.

Police say Hampton’s booking information lists her as the director of Little Learners Daycare in Waverly.

The owner of Little Learners says he is shocked by the news, saying Hampton has been a great manager for 17 years. When asked if Hampton was fired, he said “she will no longer have any contact with the children there.”

He says employees are given background checks before being hired but said he “wasn’t sure” about drug tests.

We went to Hampton’s apartment but she did not want to speak with KWWL.

Officers say the investigation is not over. They say they’re looking for another person who might be involved.

kwwl.com/story/35132485/2017/04/Wednesday/daycare-director-arrested-on-meth-charges

SCAPPOOSE, Ore. — A 17-year-old Salem girl who has been missing for two years was found with a sex offender during a traffic stop last weekend.

katu.com/news/local/salem-teen-missing-for-two-years-found-with-sex-offender-in-Scappoose