Wiltshire and London drugs raids lead to 45 arrests

Dozens of people have been arrested by police during drugs raids at 70 properties in Wiltshire and London. Thirty-nine arrests were made in the Swindon area, by officers investigating the supply of class A drugs in Wiltshire, and six arrests in London. A large amount of drugs have been seized along with weapons, cash, illegal tobacco and electrical goods. Wiltshire Police said more than 400 staff and 50 vehicles were involved in its "biggest single day of action". The force made a smaller number of arrests in Wiltshire in November, also as part of Operation Harness, when 17 properties were raided. drug arrests

High-speed sea chase nets $37m cocaine haul

A huge cocaine haul worth an estimated US $37m has been seized from a go-fast boat in the Caribbean, US authorities announced on Tuesday. A US Coast Guard helicopter was launched from the UK's Royal Fleet Auxiliary Wave Knight to intercept the suspected drug smugglers on 22 January, south of the Dominican Republic. Lieutenant Commander Gabe Somma, Coast Guard Public Affairs Officer, said that four suspects were arrested during the operation. cocaine haul

Nigella Lawson: No action to be taken by the police over drug allegations

Police will take no further action against Nigella Lawson after she admitted taking drugs, Scotland Yard has said. The TV cook made the confession during the trial of her two former assistants - Elisabetta and Francesca Grillo - on fraud charges. They were alleged to have used company credit cards to buy items for themselves, including designer shoes and clothes, but were found not guilty of fraud. The 53-year-old revealed she took the Class A drug cocaine with her late husband John Diamond when he discovered he had terminal cancer, and in July 2010 when she claimed she was the subject of "intimate terrorism" by former husband Charles Saatchi. She also admitted she started using cannabis during the final year of her marriage to Mr Saatchi, which ended last year. drug allegations link

Australia Raid On Drugs Linked To Terror

Australian authorities have seized more than Aus $580m (£300m) worth of drugs and assets as part of an investigation into money laundering that could be linked to terrorist activities. The haul included $26m (£13.5m) in cash. The Australian Crime Commission (ACC), which has tracked a global network of criminals in more than 20 countries for a year through special covert taskforce Eligo, says funds were syphoned off to groups such as Hizbollah. Paul Jevtovic, acting chief executive of the ACC, said: "This money, we need to be very clear, was destined to facilitate further criminal activity such as drug importations and drug trafficking which affects our nation both in a harm context of our citizens and of course, our economy. "The reality is - and it's well-recorded - that terrorist groups have relied on these exchange houses located all over the world and are involved with them. "What our operation has indicated to date is that the monies that we have been following do go to these very same exchange houses." Raid on drugs link here

Indonesia drug smuggler Andrea Waldeck jailed for 14 years

A British woman who smuggled 1.4kg (3lb) of crystal methamphetamine into Indonesia has been sentenced to 14 years in prison. Former PCSO Andrea Waldeck, 43, from Gloucestershire, was found guilty of smuggling and also fined £100,000. Her lawyer previously told the court she was "a victim" of a drugs gang. Waldeck, who is originally from Talgarth in Powys, had faced a possible death sentence after being arrested at a hotel in East Java in April 2013. Last year, she told a court in Surabaya city that she had been coerced into carrying the drugs from China. click here

India's Shashi Tharoor wife 'overdosed on drugs'

The death of the wife of Indian minister Shashi Tharoor may have been caused by an overdose of drugs, doctors who carried out the autopsy say. Sunanda Pushkar was found in a hotel room in the Indian capital, Delhi, on Friday. The couple became embroiled in a row on Wednesday after Twitter messages suggested he was having an affair. The autopsy also found "injury marks" on Ms Pushkar's body, but did not say if they were linked to her death. Dr Amit Gupta, spokesperson of Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences, where the autopsy was conducted, told BBC Hindi that the "preliminary report shows there was drug overdose". The autopsy report has been submitted to a magistrate, media reports say. A public row broke out on Wednesday when seemingly private messages between Mr Tharoor and Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar were published on his Twitter feed. Link here