United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty, II announced that U.S. District Court Judge George Z. Singal, sitting in Portland, sentenced Derek Jackson, 38, to two years in federal prison for robbing the Hannaford pharmacy.
Court records reveal that on March 23, 2013, at approximately 2:11 p.m., Jackson approached the pharmacy counter of the Hannaford in Windham, Maine and demanded a large amount of Dilaudid, a scheduled narcotic opioid pain medication commonly known in generic form as hydromorphone. At the time of the robbery, Jackson had a knife tucked in the waistband of his pants which he displayed to pharmacy employees in the course of the robbery. Jackson left the pharmacy with 250 hydromorphone pills and swallowed them within an hour of committing the robbery.
In imposing the sentence, the judge stated that he took into account the fact that Jackson suffers from a chronic disease and was attempting to end his life by ingesting the drugs that he stole from the pharmacy. Following his incarceration, Jackson will be on federal supervised release for three years.
The investigation was conducted by the Windham Police Department, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Nicholas Alexander Sentenced to More Than Two Years in Prison for Conspiring to Commit Pharmacy Robbery
United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty, II announced that Nicholas Alexander, 23, of Dresden, Maine, was sentenced in United States District Court by Judge George Z. Singal to 28 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiring to rob a Walgreens pharmacy in Bath. Alexander pleaded guilty to the charge on September 24, 2013.
According to court records, Alexander and other individuals participated in the June 14, 2013 robbery of the Bath Walgreens. Alexander handed a note to a pharmacist that read, "You have 20 seconds to give me all your Oxycodone 15mg tablets and 30s or I will blow your [expletive] brains out." As a result, Alexander was given a bag containing 11 bottles of Oxycodone tablets. Alexander was later found at a motel in Wiscasset, where investigators found almost 600 Oxycodone tablets. In a subsequent interview, Alexander admitted robbing the store, using some of the stolen tablets, and selling others.
The investigation was conducted by the Bath Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. United States Attorney Delahanty praised the cooperative actions of the local, county, state, and federal agencies. "The United States Attorney’s Office has put a special emphasis on the investigation and prosecution of pharmacy robberies in the state of Maine. I am pleased that the cooperative effort of law enforcement at all levels resulted in the successful conclusion of this case."
According to court records, Alexander and other individuals participated in the June 14, 2013 robbery of the Bath Walgreens. Alexander handed a note to a pharmacist that read, "You have 20 seconds to give me all your Oxycodone 15mg tablets and 30s or I will blow your [expletive] brains out." As a result, Alexander was given a bag containing 11 bottles of Oxycodone tablets. Alexander was later found at a motel in Wiscasset, where investigators found almost 600 Oxycodone tablets. In a subsequent interview, Alexander admitted robbing the store, using some of the stolen tablets, and selling others.
The investigation was conducted by the Bath Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. United States Attorney Delahanty praised the cooperative actions of the local, county, state, and federal agencies. "The United States Attorney’s Office has put a special emphasis on the investigation and prosecution of pharmacy robberies in the state of Maine. I am pleased that the cooperative effort of law enforcement at all levels resulted in the successful conclusion of this case."
Crime Syndicate Human Trafficking: A Fast Growing Industry
Human trafficking is a lucrative industry that is controlled by crime syndicates who are in cahoots with corrupt politicians and law enforcement authorities.
In fact, it is the world's fastest growing organized crime that has remained unsolved for many generations now. As a result, this criminal act has destroyed the lives of millions of innocent victims, including children, who were either duped, forced or sold, by reason of poverty, to work as prostitutes in brothels, child laborers or slaves in big farms.
Statistics shows that at least 20.9 million people are trafficked each year. Sexual abuses account 22 percent of this total. In America alone, an estimated 100,000 innocent girls, aged 12 to 14, have become victims of human trafficking. This illegal trade has generated about US$22 million in online sex transactions annually. This figure doesn't include the revenues that could have been earned from street sex solicitation, using these young girls.
Second only to drug trafficking as the most profitable illegal industry in the world, the total annual revenue for trafficking in persons were estimated to be between USD$5 billion and $9 billion in 2004, a Wikipedia report said. But the International Labor Organization (ILO) estimated the annual global profits of trafficking to have reached $31.6 billion in 2005. But some critics said the figures were grossly inflated for the purpose of international advocacy.
As part of his crusade, prior to the forthcoming elections, President Barack Obama has committed to issue a policy that will strengthen the government's resolve to end human trafficking across the globe.
In 2000, the United Nations adopted in Palermo, Italy, the Trafficking Protocol, otherwise known as the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children. It is the first global, legally binding instrument on trafficking in over half a century and the only one that sets out an agreed definition of trafficking in persons, that is attached to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.
Under its provisions, the Protocol defines human trafficking as the "recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.
Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs."
Despite the strict issuance of protocols in agreement with other countries, many people are asking as to why the illegal trafficking of humans is still proliferating? Of course, there are no immediate solutions to this societal malady. it has been around for many decades, and the traffickers are always advanced in creating strategies that will outwit effective plans of government operatives. And apprehending the criminals was even made more difficult in situations where the human traffickers had established rapport with government authorities, in exchange for huge bribes.
Thanks to Randolph Altarejos.
In fact, it is the world's fastest growing organized crime that has remained unsolved for many generations now. As a result, this criminal act has destroyed the lives of millions of innocent victims, including children, who were either duped, forced or sold, by reason of poverty, to work as prostitutes in brothels, child laborers or slaves in big farms.
Statistics shows that at least 20.9 million people are trafficked each year. Sexual abuses account 22 percent of this total. In America alone, an estimated 100,000 innocent girls, aged 12 to 14, have become victims of human trafficking. This illegal trade has generated about US$22 million in online sex transactions annually. This figure doesn't include the revenues that could have been earned from street sex solicitation, using these young girls.
Second only to drug trafficking as the most profitable illegal industry in the world, the total annual revenue for trafficking in persons were estimated to be between USD$5 billion and $9 billion in 2004, a Wikipedia report said. But the International Labor Organization (ILO) estimated the annual global profits of trafficking to have reached $31.6 billion in 2005. But some critics said the figures were grossly inflated for the purpose of international advocacy.
As part of his crusade, prior to the forthcoming elections, President Barack Obama has committed to issue a policy that will strengthen the government's resolve to end human trafficking across the globe.
In 2000, the United Nations adopted in Palermo, Italy, the Trafficking Protocol, otherwise known as the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children. It is the first global, legally binding instrument on trafficking in over half a century and the only one that sets out an agreed definition of trafficking in persons, that is attached to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.
Under its provisions, the Protocol defines human trafficking as the "recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.
Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs."
Despite the strict issuance of protocols in agreement with other countries, many people are asking as to why the illegal trafficking of humans is still proliferating? Of course, there are no immediate solutions to this societal malady. it has been around for many decades, and the traffickers are always advanced in creating strategies that will outwit effective plans of government operatives. And apprehending the criminals was even made more difficult in situations where the human traffickers had established rapport with government authorities, in exchange for huge bribes.
Thanks to Randolph Altarejos.
Top 10 Most Dangerous Jobs in America
New UN Campaign Raises Awareness between #OrganizedCrime and Counterfeit Business
A new global campaign by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) was launched yesterday to raise awareness among consumers of the $250 billion a year illicit trafficking of counterfeit goods. The campaign – ‘Counterfeit: Don’t buy into organized crime’ – informs consumers that buying counterfeit goods could be funding organized criminal groups, puts consumer health and safety at risk and contributes to other ethical and environmental concerns.
The campaign is centered around a new Public Service Announcement which launched on the NASDAQ screen in New York’s Times Square on January 14th and aired on several international television stations from January. The campaign urges consumers to ‘look behind’ counterfeit goods to boost understanding of the serious repercussions of this illicit trade.
The illicit trafficking and sale of counterfeit goods provides criminals with a significant source of income and facilitates the laundering of other illicit proceeds. Additionally, monies received from the sale of counterfeit products can be channelled towards the further production of fake goods or other illicit activities.
As a crime which touches virtually everyone in one way or another, counterfeit goods pose a serious risk to consumer health and safety. With no legal regulation and very little recourse, consumers are at risk from unsafe and ineffective products and faulty counterfeit goods can lead to injury and, in some cases, death. Tyres, brake pads and airbags, aeroplane parts, electrical consumer goods, baby formula and children’s toys are just some of the many different items which have been counterfeited.
Fraudulent medicines also present a serious health risk to consumers. . Criminal activity in this area is big business: the sale of fraudulent medicines from East Asia and the Pacific to South-east Asia and Africa alone amounts to $5 Billion per year. At the very least, fraudulent medicines have been found to contain no active ingredients, while at their worst they can contain unknown and potentially harmful chemicals. The list of fraudulent medicines is extensive, and can range from ordinary painkillers and antihistamines, to ‘lifestyle’ medicines, such as those taken for weight loss and sexual dysfunction, to life-saving medicines including those for the treatment of cancer and heart disease.
A wide range of ethical issues can also be overlooked when considering the impact of counterfeiting. Labour exploitation is also an aspect of producing counterfeit goods, with low paid workers facing safety and security concerns with little or no benefits and unregulated conditions. The problem of migrant smuggling is also further exacerbated by the counterfeit business, with reports that a number of those smuggled are coerced into selling counterfeit goods to pay off smuggling debts.
From an environmental standpoint counterfeiting poses a significant challenge: with no regulations in place, there is a real chance that harmful toxic dyes, chemicals, and unknown components used in counterfeit electrical goods are not disposed of properly, leading to serious environmental pollution.
As UNODC’s Executive Director Yury Fedotov notes, “In comparison to other crimes such as drug trafficking, the production and distribution of counterfeit goods present a low-risk/high profit opportunity for criminals. Counterfeiting feeds money laundering activities and encourages corruption. There is also evidence of some involvement or overlap with drug trafficking and other serious crimes.”
Criminal groups use similar routes and modi operandi to move counterfeit goods as they do to smuggle illicit drugs, firearms and people. In 2013, the joint UNODC / World Customs Organization Container Control Programme (CCP) detected counterfeit goods in more than one-third of the seized containers, despite being set up initially to intercept drugs.
The campaign is centered around a new Public Service Announcement which launched on the NASDAQ screen in New York’s Times Square on January 14th and aired on several international television stations from January. The campaign urges consumers to ‘look behind’ counterfeit goods to boost understanding of the serious repercussions of this illicit trade.
The illicit trafficking and sale of counterfeit goods provides criminals with a significant source of income and facilitates the laundering of other illicit proceeds. Additionally, monies received from the sale of counterfeit products can be channelled towards the further production of fake goods or other illicit activities.
As a crime which touches virtually everyone in one way or another, counterfeit goods pose a serious risk to consumer health and safety. With no legal regulation and very little recourse, consumers are at risk from unsafe and ineffective products and faulty counterfeit goods can lead to injury and, in some cases, death. Tyres, brake pads and airbags, aeroplane parts, electrical consumer goods, baby formula and children’s toys are just some of the many different items which have been counterfeited.
Fraudulent medicines also present a serious health risk to consumers. . Criminal activity in this area is big business: the sale of fraudulent medicines from East Asia and the Pacific to South-east Asia and Africa alone amounts to $5 Billion per year. At the very least, fraudulent medicines have been found to contain no active ingredients, while at their worst they can contain unknown and potentially harmful chemicals. The list of fraudulent medicines is extensive, and can range from ordinary painkillers and antihistamines, to ‘lifestyle’ medicines, such as those taken for weight loss and sexual dysfunction, to life-saving medicines including those for the treatment of cancer and heart disease.
A wide range of ethical issues can also be overlooked when considering the impact of counterfeiting. Labour exploitation is also an aspect of producing counterfeit goods, with low paid workers facing safety and security concerns with little or no benefits and unregulated conditions. The problem of migrant smuggling is also further exacerbated by the counterfeit business, with reports that a number of those smuggled are coerced into selling counterfeit goods to pay off smuggling debts.
From an environmental standpoint counterfeiting poses a significant challenge: with no regulations in place, there is a real chance that harmful toxic dyes, chemicals, and unknown components used in counterfeit electrical goods are not disposed of properly, leading to serious environmental pollution.
As UNODC’s Executive Director Yury Fedotov notes, “In comparison to other crimes such as drug trafficking, the production and distribution of counterfeit goods present a low-risk/high profit opportunity for criminals. Counterfeiting feeds money laundering activities and encourages corruption. There is also evidence of some involvement or overlap with drug trafficking and other serious crimes.”
Criminal groups use similar routes and modi operandi to move counterfeit goods as they do to smuggle illicit drugs, firearms and people. In 2013, the joint UNODC / World Customs Organization Container Control Programme (CCP) detected counterfeit goods in more than one-third of the seized containers, despite being set up initially to intercept drugs.
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