Testing It Up

With the security in airports becoming increasingly tighter with each passing day, it is hard to imagine that anyone would still try to sneak illegal substances into their luggage. Apparently, though, this fact still does not deter some people.

If allegations are to be believed, an entire crew of South African Airlines tried to sneak in 50 kg of cannabis and 4 kg of cocaine into London last Tuesday. The substances were found in the luggage tagged as crew luggage of that flight, although it is reported that none of the accused crew members – which included five women and ten men from both the flight and cabin crew – admitted to owning the bags.

They were detained by British authorities after the substances were seized, but were released shortly thereafter without charges pressed against them. They will all be allowed to go home but will be called back to the United Kingdom. They have been instructed to report to the Heathrow police on March 23.

Officials of South African Airlines are very concerned about the incident and are launching a full internal investigation, presumably on how the illegal drugs made it onto their flight. More importantly, they will most probably be figuring out how crew members were implicated in this fiasco.

SAA is also closely working with Johannesburg authorities on how security measures at the Tambo International Airport were breached.

Cannabis is a flowering plant with three species, the most familiar among them being Cannabis sativa. While it has industrial and medicinal uses, its association with marijuana and drug abuse has placed it in a bad light. It is for this reason that cultivating and possessing cannabis is considered illegal in most countries.

This is not a new case for SAA, however. In 2006, a former air hostess for the SAA was caught trying to smuggle the same two illegal substances into the UK. Prior to that incident, it is reported that there have been seven similar cases brought against SAA crew since the year 2000.

The home of Kevin Wayne Tanner in the town of Bridgewater in Nova Scotia, Canada, is not your average suburban residence. It turns out that the house on Elm Street also serves as an underground laboratory producing oral and injectable anabolic steroids that Tanner sells online through his company Illusions Laboratories.

When Tanner’s home was raided, law enforcers were able to seize more than $300,000 worth of anabolic steroids. He is in trial for his offenses which include smuggling of controlled substances, evasion of import duties, possession, production and selling of anabolic steroids, and selling fake Cialis, Viagra and Nolva, in violation of the Food and Drugs Act. Tanner had market shares in 31 states.

Photographs from the raid were incriminating. They displayed evidence of an underground lab, with raw chemicals, packaging and labeling material. Equipment to make injectable steroids in liquid form as well as oral steroids in pill form was also found on the premises.

These violations have potentially life-threatening consequences, which is why they are considered grave offenses. Making steroids in a home lab, with unreliable raw materials imported from China, present dangers. These imported chemicals are prone to mislabeling or mix-ups, and may even contain heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, tin and mercury. There is also no assurance that the production process was performed in a sterile environment.

In the case of Kevin Tanner, while he did try to take steps to ensure the quality of his home-made drugs, such as using bacteria-killing products and filtering impurities, these are not enough to ensure the safety of the drugs.

Tanner sold the drugs through contracts to other labs as well as directly to consumers over the internet. His internet operation uses an encrypted mail service, which means that he may have unknowingly sold his products to minors.

Just when we think we have heard it all in the world of drug dealing, something else happens that makes our jaws drop. This one is certainly an eye-opener.

In the war against drugs being smuggled into the United States from Mexico, a Mexican woman was caught smuggling 15kgs of cocaine strapped to the legs of her children into England. Her attempt was thwarted at Heathrow airport after arriving from Mexico City.

The woman, Elisa Vazquez Sanchez, was arrested when the drugs were found and they were valued at £675,000. Sanchez will be remanded on March 18, 2008 to Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court. As for the children, aged 13 and 11, they have been placed with protective services. The 13-year-old boy has been released on bail for one month and the 11-year-old girl was released with no charge.

Which that does bring up the question of whether or not the boy could have disobeyed his mother without consequence, which has caused controversy over whether or not he should receive any kind of blame despite his age.