drug dealer

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After Her Son's Fatal Overdose She Wanted Someone Punished

A grieving parent searches for justice after fentanyl kills her 25-year-old

(Newser) - Serena Fallon's son Connor died of a fentanyl overdose in her Brooklyn basement in April 2022. Police and a medical examiner came to the home, and six hours later, Connor was wheeled out in a body bag. As Serena put it, "My son and the baby in...

Unlikely Drug Kingpin Is Fine With His Demise
Unlikely Drug Kingpin
Is Fine With His Downfall
longform
Jun 8, 2025 9:31 AM CDT

Unlikely Drug Kingpin Is Fine With His Downfall

Wired profiles Texan 'Akasha Song,' who ran a big operation selling the hallucinogen DMT

(Newser) - He's not your typical drug kingpin. A story at Wired unpacks the remarkable tale of Joseph Clements, who goes by Akasha Song. As Andy Greenberg writes, the Texan's fascination with psychedelics led him to the powerful hallucinogen DMT, but not just as a user. Clements mastered the extraction...

Cancun Gunmen on Jet Skis Kill a 12-Year-Old Boy

Child was hit in crossfire between rival drug dealers

(Newser) - Gunmen riding jet skis opened fire at a rival drug dealer on a beach in the resort town of Cancun, killing a 12-year-old boy before fleeing, Mexican authorities said. Prosecutors said in a statement late Sunday that the boy suffered gunshot wounds and was taken to a hospital where he...

A Notorious Cocaine Dealer Ended Up in Maine, Then Dead

Alberto Martinez reportedly just couldn't quit Harlem

(Newser) - An affable man living in the town of Lewiston, Maine, was shot dead on Halloween in Harlem—where people came out in the street to drink a champagne toast to his demise. How do the two jibe? Writing for the New York Times , Ali Watkins explains that Abraham Rodriguez, as...

This Piece of Cheese Helped Bring Down a Drug Dealer

Carl Stewart's photo of him holding a block of Stilton allowed UK police to lift his prints

(Newser) - If evading police was the goal, Carl Stewart seemed to be doing everything right. The UK drug dealer used an encrypted phone system called EncroChat—one favored by organized crime in Europe—to carry out his surreptitious communications, and he adopted the handle "Toffeeforce" to do business, selling heroin...

Coke Dealer Who Inspired Johnny Depp Movie Dies
'Ambassador of the
Outlaws' Dies at 78
OBITUARY
May 6, 2021 10:40 AM CDT

'Ambassador of the Outlaws' Dies at 78

Coke dealer George Jung inspired Johnny Depp movie

(Newser) - "Boston George," the cocaine smuggler who inspired the 2001 Johnny Depp movie Blow, has died seven years after getting out of prison . George Jung's death Wednesday at age 78 was confirmed by posts on his official social media accounts, Fox reports. Jung started out smuggling cannabis in...

Army Suspects Foul Play in Fort Bragg Killings

An official says it may have been a drug deal gone wrong

(Newser) - The Army suspects that a drug deal gone wrong led to the killings earlier this week of a master sergeant and an Army veteran, an official tells CBS News . The bodies of Master Sgt. William J. Lavigne II, 37, and Timothy Dumas, 44, were found Wednesday in a training area...

Drug Dealer Learns Big Lesson on Where Not to Hide Bitcoin Codes

$60M now can't be accessed after Clifton Collins stashed codes in fishing rod case that's vanished

(Newser) - He should've stuck to his praise-winning honey. An Irish former beekeeper-turned-drug dealer is ruing the day he came up with the bright idea to stash the codes to accounts harboring close to $60 million in bitcoin in the aluminum cap of a fishing rod case—which, per the Guardian...

Why You Don't Hide Drugs in Bag Labeled 'Bag Full of Drugs'

'Our K-9’s can read,' Florida cops chortle

(Newser) - Two men charged with drug trafficking could have done a better job hiding their wares than using a package labeled "Bag Full of Drugs," Florida authorities say. Ian Simmons and Joshua Reinhardt, both 34, were pulled over in Santa Rosa County on Saturday after a trooper clocked them...

Pence's Trip to New Hampshire Axed Over Alleged Drug Dealer

The VP would have encountered Jeff Hatch, Politico explains

(Newser) - There were nothing but question marks after Mike Pence suddenly canceled a planned appearance in New Hampshire on July 2 just before Air Force Two was set to depart. His office referenced an unspecified security concern, reports the Washington Post . President Trump offered something more intriguing: "You'll know...

Guy Who Spent $540 on Girl Scout Cookies Arrested by DEA

SC man had been under surveillance for months

(Newser) - So much for that feel-good story: The Drug Enforcement Administration says it has arrested Detric Lee McGowan, the South Carolina man who spent $540 on cookies to get a group of Girl Scouts out of the cold. Investigators say the 46-year-old could afford to be generous: He was allegedly involved...

WhatsApp Photo Secures 'Groundbreaking' Conviction

British cops sent it to fingerprint lab

(Newser) - Fingerprinting is an "old-fashioned technique," says Dave Thomas of the South Wales police. Convicting a drug dealer on the basis of a partial fingerprint from a photo in a WhatsApp message, however, is groundbreaking stuff. The image of a hand holding ecstasy pills was the key evidence in...

Trump Touts Plan for Drug Dealers: Kill Them All

(Newser) - On Saturday, President Trump again supported the idea of killing off America's drug dealers. Speaking at a rally in Moon Township, Penn., he said the presidents of China and Singapore inspired him with their policies, USA Today reports. "You kill 5,000 people with drugs because you're...

Prosecutors Scramble to Sell Seized Bitcoin

Utah suspect's cache has exploded in value

(Newser) - US attorneys in Utah prosecuting a multimillion-dollar opioid drug ring are moving quickly to sell seized bitcoin that has exploded in value to about $8.5 million since the alleged ringleader's arrest a year ago. The US Attorney's Office for Utah cites the digital currency's volatility in...

Self-Described Drug Dealer Calls 911, Reports Stolen Drugs

David Blackmon is charged with possession of cocaine

(Newser) - Calling 911 to report a stolen bag of cocaine probably wasn't the best idea for a self-described Florida drug dealer. But Okaloosa Sheriff's officials wrote on Facebook that 32-year-old David Blackmon did just that on Sunday morning. The post says Blackmon called 911 to report a robbery in...

Judge Orders Heroin Dealers to Pay for Antidotes

But they'll serve years in prison first

(Newser) - Fatal drug overdoses have jumped about 40% in Pittsburgh and the surrounding area in recent years, a trend one judge hopes an unusual punishment will help reverse. In two cases this week, Judge Anthony Mariani ordered drug dealers to pay $50 to local EMS for each brick of heroin they...

He Sold $80 of Pot, Turned Informant, Ended Up Dead

Now Andrew Sadek's family is suing

(Newser) - Six weeks after Andrew Sadek was last seen leaving his North Dakota State College of Science dorm in May 2014, his body turned up in the Red River. He'd been shot in the head. The 20-year-old was attending college on an electrician's scholarship and was just weeks shy...

Philippines' 'Punisher' Tells Public to Kill Drug Dealers

'I will kill you, don't take this as a joke,' says president-elect Rodrigo Duterte

(Newser) - The Philippine president-elect has encouraged the public to help him in his war against crime, urging citizens with guns to shoot and kill drug dealers who resist arrest and fight back in their neighborhoods, reports the AP . In a televised speech Saturday, Rodrigo Duterte told a huge crowd that Filipinos...

Did Our Justice System Fail a Sick Psychiatrist?

CSM digs into case of convicted drug dealer Joel Dreyer

(Newser) - Back in the 1980s, Joel Dreyer was a devoted family man and a respected psychiatrist who testified as an expert witness in criminal trials. Today, he's serving 10 years for his stint as one of the biggest prescription drug dealers in California's Riverside County. How did it all...

Major Detroit Drug Dealer Getting New Sentence, 3 Decades Later

He was once described by a judge as "worse than a mass murderer"

(Newser) - A major Detroit-area drug trafficker known as "White Boy Rick" who has spent nearly 30 years in prison could soon be released after a judge ordered a resentencing today. Richard Wershe Jr., 46, deserves a new sentence because he was sentenced at the age of 18 under old law...

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