Scientists find cocaine in shrimps in Suffolk rivers

Scientists found cocaine in freshwater shrimps when testing rivers for chemicals, a study said.

Researchers at King's College London, in collaboration with the University of Suffolk, tested 15 different locations across Suffolk.

Their report said cocaine was found in all samples tested. Other illicit drugs, such as ketamine, were also widespread in the shrimp.

The researchers said it was a "surprising" finding.

Professor Nic Bury, from the University of Suffolk, said: "Whether the presence of cocaine in aquatic animals is an issue for Suffolk, or more widespread an occurrence in the UK and abroad, awaits further research.

"Environmental health has attracted much attention from the public due to challenges associated with climate change and microplastic pollution.

"However, the impact of 'invisible' chemical pollution (such as drugs) on wildlife health needs more focus in the UK."

The study, published in Environment International, looked at the exposure of wildlife, such as the freshwater shrimp Gammarus pulex, to different micropollutants.

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Cocaine in rivers harming endangered eels, study finds

Tests show drug causes eels to become hyperactive and damages their muscles, possibly hindering their ability to migrate

Patrick Barkham

Thu 21 Jun 2018 16.54 BSTLast modified on Thu 21 Jun 2018 19.30 BST

Tiny amounts of cocaine flushed into rivers cause eels to become not only hyperactive but to suffer from muscle wastage, impaired gills and hormonal changes, a study has found.

The impact of traces of cocaine on the physiology of European eels could be hindering their epic migrations through the oceans to reproduce, according to researchers who examined the impact of the drug.

The tiny concentrations of cocaine in the laboratory tests are equivalent to the trace levels found in rivers and water systems from illegal drug use, particularly near major cities.

Eels were exposed to 20 billionths of a gram of cocaine per litre (20ng/l) of water for 50 days. The cocaine-exposed eels appeared “hyperactive” and their skeletal muscle showed evidence of serious injury, including muscle breakdown and swelling.

Even after going into “rehab” – clean waters – for 10 days the eels were still found to have damaged muscles and increased cortisol levels. This stress hormone can cause fat wastage, and endangered European eels require fat reserves to make a successful migration to the Sargasso Sea in the west Atlantic, where they breed.

“All the tissues affected by cocaine play a key role in the fish survival,” said Anna Capaldo of the University of Naples Federico II and the lead author of the study, published in Science of the Total Environment.

 “It is likely that the eels exposed to cocaine have a reduced performance. For example, impaired gills could reduce the breathing ability of the eels; a damaged muscle could reduce their swimming ability.”

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Nigeria uncovers cocaine-stuffed roasted chicken

LAGOS, Nigeria -- The roasted chickens had an unusual stuffing - $150,000 worth of cocaine, according to Nigerian police.

A Nigerian mechanic who struggled in Brazil for more than six years had hoped the drugs would buy him a life of luxury in his native land, Nigerian authorities said Monday.

"This was like a retirement plan for him," said Mitchell Ofoyeju, spokesman for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.

The accused was arrested over the weekend at the airport in Lagos after he came in from Sao Paulo with 2.6 kilograms (5.7 pounds) of cocaine, Ofoyeju said. Photos from the agency showed egg-shaped packages wrapped in gold aluminum foil and tucked into the browned chickens.

The suspect, Vincent Chegini Chinweuwa, could not immediately be reached for comment as he remained in custody Monday.

Nigeria is a major transit point for drugs coming from Latin America and going to Europe or the United States but recent security improvements are cutting into that dubious distinction.

After a Nigerian man allegedly attempted to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner in 2009, Nigeria started installing airport scanners and sought training for its agents. Ofoyeju says the scanners helped authorities identify more than 100 drug carriers last year, leading to the seizure of about 410 kilograms (904 pounds) of cocaine, among other illicit drugs.

Authorities have found drugs sandwiched inside the fabric of suitcases, sewn into wigs worn by female passengers, tucked into underwear or hidden in phone chargers and even in a stethoscope, Ofoyeju said.

"The list is endless," he said.

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Cocaine haul hidden in sharks

Mexico's navy has seized more than a tonne of cocaine stuffed inside frozen sharks.

Officers cut open more than 20 shark carcasses filled with slabs of the drug after checking a container ship in the southern Mexican state of Yucatan.

Drug gangs are coming up with increasingly creative ways of getting drugs into the United States - in sealed beer cans, religious statues and furniture - as Mexico's military cracks down on the cartels moving South American narcotics north.

President Felipe Calderon has sent 45,000 troops and federal police across Mexico to try to crush powerful smuggling cartels.

But traffickers armed with arsenals of grenades and automatic weapons are far from defeated, and violence has spilled over into US states like Arizona.

Some 2,750 people have died in drug violence in Mexico this year, a pace similar to that of 2008, when 6,300 were killed.

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