Latest news with #smuggling
The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
Watch: Woman ‘hauling mattresses' arrested after police find 25 migrants hiding in truck
This is the moment Texas police discovered over two dozen undocumented migrants 'crammed' into a truck during a crash investigation. After being stopped over a minor crash, Silvia Patricia Santamaria, told Department of Public Safety troopers she was driving to Houston after picking up two mattresses in Alton. Body cam shows the trooper relaying the information to another officer, appearing to be suspicious of her story. The officers then find 25 illegal immigrants they described as being 'crammed inside a small corner of the box truck', hiding behind mattresses: 12 males, 12 females, and one 11-year-old child. All were given a medical evaluation before being referred to US Border Patrol. Santamaria was arrested and charged with 25 counts of smuggling.
National Post
5 hours ago
- National Post
Dutch soccer star extradited from Dubai to face prison in cocaine smuggling case
Dutch soccer player Quincy Promes was being extradited Friday from Dubai to the Netherlands, where he faces a prison sentence for involvement in cocaine smuggling, the prosecutor's office told The Associated Press. Article content The Dutch public prosecution service confirmed to the AP that Promes was en route to the Netherlands, in Dutch custody. Article content Article content Promes, who scored seven goals in 50 international matches for the Netherlands before legal issues derailed his international career, was convicted last year of complicity in cocaine smuggling and sentenced in his absence to six years in prison. Article content Amsterdam District Court ruled that Promes was involved in the import and export of hundreds of kilograms (pounds) of cocaine in 2020. His lawyers told judges he denied the allegations. Article content In 2023, Promes was found guilty of stabbing his cousin in the leg and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Article content Both of Promes' convictions are currently under appeal.
The Independent
7 hours ago
- The Independent
Dutch soccer player Quincy Promes extradited from Dubai to face prison in cocaine smuggling case
Dutch soccer player Quincy Promes was being extradited Friday from Dubai to the Netherlands, where he faces a prison sentence for involvement in cocaine smuggling, the prosecutor's office told The Associated Press. The Dutch public prosecution service confirmed to the AP that Promes was en route to the Netherlands, in Dutch custody. Promes, who scored seven goals in 50 international matches for the Netherlands before legal issues derailed his international career, was convicted last year of complicity in cocaine smuggling and sentenced in his absence to six years in prison. Amsterdam District Court ruled that Promes was involved in the import and export of hundreds of kilograms (pounds) of cocaine in 2020. His lawyers told judges he denied the allegations. In 2023, Promes was found guilty of stabbing his cousin in the leg and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Both of Promes' convictions are currently under appeal. Promes, a 33-year-old former player for Ajax and Sevilla, had been playing for Spartak Moscow and living in Russia from 2021 until last year, when he was reportedly arrested in Dubai around the time that Spartak was there for friendly games. More recently, he had been playing with United FC, a second-tier club in Dubai. ___
Associated Press
10 hours ago
- Associated Press
Greek coast guard says over 600 migrants rescued from 2 fishing boats
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — More than 600 migrants were rescued overnight and early Friday from two wooden fishing boats found sailing miles (kilometers) from the southernmost part of Greece, the country's coast guard said. The first fishing boat, carrying 352 people, was spotted overnight about 30 nautical miles (35 miles, 55 kilometers) south of the tiny island of Gavdos, the coast guard said. Passengers were rescued by a ship from the European border patrol agency FRONTEX, aided by a coast guard patrol boat and four other vessels. The second was found 50 nautical miles (about 60 miles, 90 kilometers) south of the island of Crete with 278 people on board. The passengers were picked up by a passing Portuguese-flagged cargo ship. In both cases, the migrants were transported to Crete. There was no immediate information on the nationalities of those on board the two fishing boats. Another two boats carrying migrants were located in the same area on Thursday, the coast guard said. One, carrying 73 men, was found south of Gavdos and another with 26 people, including one woman and three minors, was found near the coast of southern Crete. The coast guard said those on the smaller boat told authorities they had set sail the previous evening from Tobruk in Libya, and had each paid smugglers either 4,000 euros ($5,500) for their passage to Greece. Two Sudanese teenagers, one aged 16 and the other 19, were arrested on suspicion of migrant smuggling after other passengers identified them as having been operating the boat. Greece has been on one of the preferred routes into the European Union for people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia for decades. Arrivals from neighboring Turkey to the east and the Libyan coast to the south spiked last year, with Greece recording more than 60,000 people arriving — the vast majority by sea — in 2024, compared to just over 48,000 the previous year, according to figures from the U.N. refugee agency. As of June 15 this year, a total of 16,290 arrivals were recorded, with more than 14,600 of those by sea. With authorities closely patrolling the eastern sea border with Turkey to prevent migrant boats reaching nearby Greek islands, smugglers appear to be increasingly opting for the much longer and riskier Mediterranean Sea crossing from the north African coast to the southern tip of Greece, using larger boats into which they can cram more people. ___ Follow AP's coverage of migration issues at
The National
10 hours ago
- The National
UAE foils major drug trafficking attempt linked to international network
The UAE's Ministry of Interior has arrested two men accused of smuggling thousands of narcotic pills into the country. Police were monitoring the two suspects before raiding two key locations during the operation. The first raid caught the accused at a site used to store narcotic pills while they were unloading and preparing for distribution within the country. Mechanical construction equipment including an excavator machine, in which another quantity was hidden, was seized at a second site. 'The two Arab nationals have connections to an international drug trafficking network,' the ministry said in a statement on Friday. 'The suspects were caught in one location that was used to store the narcotic pills. The pills were extracted from the excavator and they were packing them to be distributed inside the UAE.' A global network During interrogation, the suspects admitted to having other partners who prepared and smuggled the shipment from Hamburg, Germany, to one of the UAE's ports. 'One of the suspects had entered the country on a visit visa to oversee the operation.' The ministry didn't disclose details of the suspects or the type of narcotics. According to the ministry, the suspects confessed that the ringleader resides outside the UAE and is responsible for financing and coordinating the entire operation. A senior official at the ministry emphasised the importance of international co-operation in the fight against drug trafficking, to stop overseas criminal networks. While the investigation is still continuing, the ministry said that it will chase the other suspects who are outside the country in collaboration with international agencies through the appropriate legal channels. Earlier this week, Sharjah Police announced that an attempt to distribute 3.5 million Captagon pills had been successfully thwarted. The illegal stimulant pills, totalling about 585 kilograms, were believed to have a street value of Dh19 million. Their seizure came at the culmination of an operation known as Bottom of Darkness, the anti-narcotics department at Sharjah Police General Command said.
