Smokers could one day be immunised against nicotine so they gain no pleasure from the habit, according to researchers in the US.

They have devised a vaccine that floods the body with an antibody to assault nicotine entering the body.A study in mice, published in Science Translational Medicine, showed levels of the chemical in the brain were reduced by 85% after vaccination.Years of research are still needed before it could be tested on people.However, lead researcher Prof Ronald Crystal is convinced there will be benefits."As...

Coke and Pepsi contain tiny traces of alcohol, reveals French research

Coca-Cola and Pepsi contain minute traces of alcohol, scientific research published in France has revealed. The revelation will cause concern among those who chose the carbonated soft drink for religious, health or safety reasons. According to tests carried out by the Paris-based National Institute of Consumption (INC) more than half of leading colas contain the traces of alcohol. Can't beat the...

FBI SAYS DRUG TRAFFICKERS WITH TIES TO CARTEL IN CALIFORNIA Were using cedar shingle mill in Grays Harbor County as a cover for drug operation

A Drug Enforcement Administration-led task force executed six federal search warrants in Grays Harbor County on the morning of June 13 as part of the culmination of a lengthy investigation of methamphetamine trafficking in Southwest Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan in a statement. Federal agents arrested seven people. The alleged leader of the drug smuggling organization, Jose...

Nine years’ jail for trafficker attempting to smuggle cocaine to Derbyshire

A KEY player in a major drug smuggling gang has been jailed for nine years for attempting to smuggle £2 million worth of cocaine into the UK destined for Derbyshire and London. Richard Wright, aged 51, formerly of Elmstead Avenue, Chislehurst, Kent, was extradited from the Netherlands after he fled Britain in 2004. He was sentenced for conspiring to import Class A drugs after 29kg of cocaine were...

Cocaine Incorporated

One afternoon last August, at a hospital on the outskirts of Los Angeles, a former beauty queen named Emma Coronel gave birth to a pair of heiresses. The twins, who were delivered at 3:50 and 3:51, respectively, stand to inherit some share of a fortune that Forbes estimates is worth a billion dollars....

Flat-pack furniture drug traffickers jailed

THREE members of a drug trafficking ring which smuggled drugs into Britain hidden in flat-pack furniture and secret compartments in vans have been jailed for 44 years. The gang was smashed after an extensive surveillance operation by Met police officers which saw them recover cocaine and cannabis with an estimated street value of £12m and £2.1m in cash. Ringleader Charles Flatman has been given...

Jamaican authorities have seized 24 pounds of cocaine concealed inside the shell of an X-Box.

 The Jamaica Customs Department says that the cocaine was discovered at Kingston's airport shortly after a Guyanese traveler cleared customs with a laptop and a suitcase. The man returned to the baggage area, claiming he left a third item. Officials say customs officers scanned and searched the Xbox in his bag and found the cocaine. The Department said Tuesday the man acknowledged he was paid...

shooting a cop dead is now legal in the state of Indiana.

Governor Mitch Daniels, a Republican, has authorized changes to a 2006 legislation that legalizes the use of deadly force on a public servant — including an officer of the law — in cases of “unlawful intrusion.” Proponents of both the Second and Fourth Amendments — those that allow for the ownership of firearms and the security against unlawful searches, respectively — are celebrating the update by...

ON CLOUD NINE: BATH SALTS BY ANOTHER NAME... WITH STRONG COMPULSIONS TO REDOSE

After the recent stream of disturbing news reports of people eating others' flesh, Hornaday Manufacturing has released bullets that promise to ‘make dead permanent.’The ammunition, branded as Zombie Max offers Proven Z-Max bullets, is live ammunition, but is actually only intended for use on targets...

A mind-altering drug banned in Britain two years ago is being blamed for the spate of cannibal attacks in America.

Narcotic Cloud Nine was blamed for the attack when Rudy Eugene ate 75% of homeless man Ronald Poppo’s face in Miami last month.Horrific images surfaced of the attack that only ended once police shot and killed 31-year-old Eugene.Mr Poppo is still recovering from his injuries in hospital.Police...

California faces threat at sea from drug smugglers

On a starry night in the hills overlooking the Pacific Ocean north of Los Angeles, a two-man California National Guard special forces surveillance team sets up a sophisticated night scope. Their mission is to search the horizon and the waters below for an increasing number of Mexican drug traffickers offloading multi-ton loads of marijuana, and sometimes illegal immigrants, on remote U.S. beaches....

5 bodies found in Ariz may be latest drug violence

In the desert within 35 miles of one of the nation's largest cities and about 70 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border, Arizona authorities found a car ablaze with five bodies burned beyond recognition inside. The location of the smoldering car in a known smuggling corridor and the nature of the crime itself have Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu saying that he's all but certain a violent cartel is...

Italy's shadowy 'Ndrangheta mafia is known for carrying out its business in Calabrian villages and Milan boardrooms, but a police investigation has revealed that mobsters have taken a keen interest in sailing

During a drugs probe leading to 30 arrests officers found that an 'Ndrangheta gang seeking a way to import cocaine turned to Bulgarian drug traffickers who used a fleet of sail boats, motor yachts and catamarans to bring in €50m (£40m) in shipments from South America. Boats fitted with false floors and crewed by Greeks, Bulgarians and Italians set off from ports in the Canaries and Balearic islands...