India Launches ‘Surgical’ Strike On Drug Mafias; Cross-Border Psychochemical Warfare Hit

Apparently, India too has a serious illegal drug problem! Drugs are coming in from the west (e.g. Afghanistan) and the east (e.g. Southeast Asia)!

(222) India Launches ‘Surgical’ Strike On Drug Mafias; Cross-Border Psychochemical Warfare Hit | Vantage - YouTube

The Chinese graduate accused of becoming Mexico's 'fentanyl king'

What a story!

Caveat: I did not read the whole long article.

"... On the outskirts of Sinaloa's state capital city, Culiacán, sitting in a parked car where no-one can overhear him, he explains how ingredients to make the deadly drug fentanyl are shipped thousands of miles from Chinese factories to laboratories in Mexico. Members of his cartel credit Brother Wang with establishing this supply chain.

Known in the criminal world as the "king of fentanyl", Brother Wang is a 39-year-old Chinese national, whose real name is Zhang Zhidong, according to the US Department of Justice. Arrested in Mexico in 2024, Zhang later made a dramatic escape before he was recaptured and extradited to the US in 2025. ...

When Zhang appeared in court in New York in 2025, the Deputy Attorney General at the time, Todd Blanche, described him as one of "the world's most dangerous traffickers".

He also accused him of "running a global enterprise that pumped massive quantities of cocaine, fentanyl, and methamphetamine" into the US and laundering "millions in narcotics proceeds". ...

Zhang graduated from the prestigious Peking University in Beijing with a Spanish degree in 2010, and a year later travelled to Mexico to work for a Chinese-owned company that mined iron ore. He soon secured a senior role. ..."

The Chinese graduate accused of becoming Mexico's 'fentanyl king'

President Trump likes weed by reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug

Good news! Bravo! Finally, this very long overdue correction has been made!

"Yes, since the passage of the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 (enacted in 1971), the U.S. federal government has classified cannabis as a Schedule I drug, placing it in the same category as heroin, LSD, and ecstasy" (Google AI)

"The Trump administration is reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug.

 

The move marks a significant policy shift that could make it easier to buy and sell pot as well as reward cannabis-industry investors.

Weed has been classified the same way as LSD and heroin since 1970. The downgrade makes it possible to obtain the drug for medical reasons with a prescription; recreational use remains illegal under U.S. law. Doctors and researchers say marijuana can pose real risks to people’s health."

Street Journal What's news

President Trump directed the federal government to reclassify cannabis as a less dangerous drug

Good news! Bravo! As a classical liberal I am all for it! President Trump don't stop here.

I have just blogged here about the legalization of psychoactive drugs in Western countries.

"This is a huge shift in U.S. drug policy, but it doesn’t legalize marijuana federally. The move is an effort to expand medical research into cannabis applications, including medical marijuana and CBD, senior administration officials said. Trump’s executive order is expected to eliminate tax burdens that have made profitability difficult for many in the legal pot industry."

The Wall Street Journal What's news

Trump declared fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction

Of course, as expected, lousy and lazy journalists immediately referred to the Iraq War of 2003, where WMD presence was claimed but not found. This obviously a red herring! Trump Derangement Syndrome again?
Unfortunately, the otherwise great Indian journalist Palki Sharma was among them!

An illegal drug that kills over 70,000 Americans per year can be considered a chemical weapon! If it is also confirmed that predominantly Chinese companies produce and deliver the precursors for illicit fentanyl in the US, then you have quite possibly a hybrid warfare situation. This is how serious this matter is!

Trump declared fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction. What that means. - The Washington Post

Colombia seeks to break endless cycle of cocaine production and trafficking

Recommendable! Very tough!

Public Health Vending Machines for naloxone helped to save lifes

Good news!

"In recent years, more and more communities have embraced public health vending machines that dispense free doses of the lifesaving overdose reversal medication and often, a range of other harm reduction products including sharps containers and wound care kits. ...

Promising results: Research shows products in the machines are, indeed, helping to save lives. Since 2021, naloxone dispensed by one machine in Cincinnati has helped reverse 5,000 overdoses, according to University of Cincinnati researchers tracking its use. ..."

Global Health NOW: Dispensing ‘Free Chances at Life’: Public Health Vending Machines Are More Than a Novelty

Source

Trump admin drug task force seizes record-breaking one million pounds of cocaine worth $11 billion during fiscal year 2025

Wow! Good news! 

How to legalize addictive drugs without unacceptable life and health risks is still an open question in many Western societies.

"The Trump administration's multi-agency drug task force on Monday said it has seized a record-breaking one million pounds of cocaine during fiscal year 2025, which experts claimed is more than enough to kill every American. ..."

Trump admin drug task force seizes record-breaking one million pounds of cocaine worth $11 billion | Just The News "The Florida-based task force, which includes United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), has been working to disrupt the flow of illicit drugs through the "transit zone" between Central America, South America and the Caribbean."

New Mexico declares state of emergency in Rio Arriba amid rising crime

More work for Trump?

Mexico Cartel War Intensifies, Decapitated Bodies Found in Sinaloa

Recommendable! Will President Trump and President Sheinbaum together defeat the organized crime in Mexico?

Narco-Terror Web in Canada busted by police: Links to ISI and Pro-Khalistan Cells with Palki Sharma

Recommendable! The new Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney

 is trying to improve relations with India.

1,400 Tonnes of Drugs Intercepted in 62-Country Historic 6-week long Operation with Palki Sharma

Good news on Thanksgiving Holiday! Very recommendable!

"A massive international operation, with 62 countries, has intercepted 1,400 tonnes of drugs worth $8.5 billion. Operation Orion has made history as biggest drug bust and uncovered a new trafficking route from Colombia to Australia. How did the operation play out? Why does it matter?"

With semi-submersible vessels from Colombia to Australia

Landlord unwittingly rented a house in London to criminals who turned it into a cannabis farm

Bad news! The landlord and his family went to work abroad for an extended period so they thought to rent out their home.

Just imagine these criminals had paid rent on time instead of no payments!

"... 3ft of soil in my bedroom ... The criminals, posing as tenants, had dumped 10 tonnes of soil in the property, causing extensive damage and leaving the family devastated. ... According to experts, rental scams linked to cannabis farms are on the rise, with criminals seemingly exploiting the lengthy eviction process to complete illegal grow operations before disappearing. ...

However, the "tenants" turned out to be scammers who never paid rent and instead used the property for criminal activities. It was later discovered that the estate agent was operating a fake site, and the tenants were bogus. ...
Metropolitan Police figures show more than 1,000 cannabis farms have been discovered in London in the past few years, with a total of 1,056 found between the 2018-19 and 2022-23 financial years. However, experts believe these figures represent only a tiny proportion of the cannabis farms currently in operation. ..."

'Cannabis crooks dumped tonnes of soil in my bedroom'

How Europe became addicted to cocaine

Recommendable!

So cocaine is much more expensive in Europe than in the U.S. Therefore, shipments of cocaine are preferably directed towards Europe from South America?

Is China and India fueling the US fentanyl crisis in the U.S.?

Recommendable!

Oregon Decriminalized Hard Drugs. Now It’s Reversing Course

If it only was that simple! Decriminalization has been tried and failed before in other countries as well. Greater freedom ought to come with greater responsibility and culpability!

Unfortunately, the tyranny of a minority becomes the detriment of the majority!

As a classical liberal I am all for decriminalization, but only if e.g. individual responsibility and culpability is clearly increased when taking or under the influence  of drugs and minors have to be protected. Unfortunately, decriminalization is too often tried without the increased individual responsibility and culpability! E.g. driving under the influence and causing in an accident should automatically be punished double!

"Oregon’s political leaders are on the cusp of ending a three-year experiment as the first and only state in the nation to allow people to freely use drugs. Backers of the 2020 ballot measure, which passed with 58% support, successfully convinced their fellow residents that decriminalization would mean fewer nonviolent drug addicts in prison and more in treatment. But while the first part of the prediction proved true, the second didn’t. Instead, public drug use has become rampant, as people can now smoke fentanyl and use other drugs on sidewalks with no consequences."

"As a firefighter-paramedic in suburban Portland, Dacia Grayber has seen the ravages of Oregon’s drug epidemic: fentanyl addicts stumbling around like zombies or collapsed in fetal positions. Last year she watched a young addict pass away with his 2-year-old daughter curled up on his chest. ..."

Oregon Decriminalized Hard Drugs. Now It’s Reversing Course. - WSJ State legislature passes bill restoring criminal penalties following widespread anger over public drug use

China is running an operation to get Americans hooked on illegal drugs, former DEA boss warns

This has been known for many years! Why is the U.S. doing so little about it. The role of Mexico also needs to be investigated and countered more.

Supposedly, the former Soviet Union was also involved in similar activities.

Not very long ago, such efforts of subversion would have been considered a casus belli (cause for war).

Make no mistake: China is not the only reason for widespread drug addiction in the U.S.

China is running an operation to get Americans hooked on illegal drugs, former DEA boss warns | Just The News From a thriving fentanyl business with Mexican cartels, to connections in illegal marijuana busts across the nation, alarms are being raised about Beijing's fingerprints being found on the US drug addiction crisis.

US Coast Guard busts narco submarine smuggling 17,000 lbs of cocaine

This was a very dangerous operation! Coast Guard officers jumping on the submarine while it is traveling at the water surface. Daring! Dangerous!

Large number of counterfeit pills now found in pharmacies across Mexico some laced with fentanyl or methamphetamine

Is the President of Mexico AMLO (Andrés Manuel López Obrador, in office since December 2018) doing anything about it! This article does not mention much about it.

It appears this severe issue has been well known at least since 2019.

Caveat: I did not read the entire, long article!

It seems it is not quite clear whether this article or other news reports before carefully distinguish between pharmacies or stores serving the local population or foreign tourists.

It seems also not quite clear to what extent these counterfeit pills are rather harmless, but not effective or to what extent they are copycats of actual, effective drugs etc.

Counterfeit pills now found in pharmacies across Mexico - Los Angeles Times

Mr. President and former head of government of Mexico City what is going on?

Taliban’s very successful Opium Crackdown Piles Pressure on Spiraling Afghan Economy

You can say a lot about the Taliban, but this one is impressive, but achieved with draconian measures!

I very recently blogged here about a BBC report on the extensive efforts to fight  opium growing by the Taliban.

Are the Taliban doing this only for religious reasons or e.g. is another country influencing or paying them to do it (perhaps even the U.S.)?

"The slash in poppy cultivation of [99%] in Afghanistan’s Helmand province—which normally accounts for half the country’s opium output—from 2022 to 2023, according to satellite-data analysis firm Alcis. Afghan poppy is used to produce the majority of the world’s heroin. The decrease shows the Taliban’s willingness to enforce a ban on a cash crop during a debilitating national economic crisis, as it seeks recognition as the country’s legitimate government. ..."

Taliban’s Opium Crackdown Piles Pressure on Spiraling Afghan Economy - WSJ Ban on poppy farming risks pushing more Afghans into poverty