Geneva and Lausanne (GenevaLunch) – Authorities are concerned that heroin being passed as cocaine is being sold on the streets. This, authorities say, can be potentially deadly for drug users.
According to authorities, snorting heroin can induce a cardio-respiratory failure. A man died in Geneva this week after snorting heroin which he believed was cocaine. The drug dealer who sold the man the fatal dose was arrested, however, authorities believe there is still more heroin on the streets being passed as cocaine.
Heroin seized by the Canton Vaud Police - Courtesy PCV
In other related news, the Canton Vaud Police announced it had dismantled a network responsible for importing 42 kilos of heroine to Switzerland within a five month period.
Fifteen people were arrested in Lausanne, Zurich and Neuchatel during the o
ne-year operation. Thirteen out of 15 people arrested were from Kosovo, where the authorities say, the drug was coming from.
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - French tennis player Richard Gasquet was exonerated by the Court of Arbitration for Sport Thursday 17 December from any fault or negligence over cocaine in his system, which he says was from kissing in a nightclub. The CAS agreed his assertion is the most likely explanation for the minute amount of the drug found in his system 28 March during the ATP tournament in Miami, Florida, USA.
The amount was so small that it did not reflect social use of the drug, but rather incidental contamination, the court says. “It was also established that the player was clearly not a regular cocaine user, even in very small amounts.”
Chateau de Bethusy, Court of Arbitration for Sport, Lausanne
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - French tennis player Richard Gasquet took part in a seven-hour review of his suspension by the Court of Arbitration for Sport Tuesday 10 November. The review follows demands by Wada (World Anti-Doping Agency) and the International Tennis Federation for his penalty to be increased to a one-year ban.
The review came on the day when Wada celebrated its tenth birthday, with director general David Howman saying “All over the world, awareness is much higher today than it was ten years ago . . . Global anti-doping efforts in general have become smarter and much more sophisticated with experience.”
Europe’s rising demand for cocaine and other illegal drugs has opened up new territories on Africa’s west coast to Latin American drugs cartels, which see higher margins in Europe and an easier time with the law in West African countries. The US Drugs Enforcement Agency (DEA) reports that it is seeing the same gangs it fights in Mexico and Colombia appearing in countries like Guinea-Bissau, dubbed Africa’s first “narco-state.” Rising demand from Europe and a strong Euro have fueled the supply, according to a report from George Mason University in Virginia, USA. West African countries are a trans-shipment area of choice to Europe because of its proximity and because poverty, years of war, and endemic corruption have weakened institutions that could combat drugs crime. BBC, CNN
Vaud, Switzerland (20 minutes, Fre) - Confirmed cocaine users will risk losing their driver’s licenses in the canton of Vaud whether they are behind the wheel or not at the time of use. Jean-Christophe Sauterel, spokesperson for the Vaud cantonal police, says that consumption of cocaine impairs a person’s ability to drive and merits the suspension of driving privileges. Vaud follows in the footsteps of both Geneva and Valais which have toughened their positions on cocaine use, according to Sauterel in an interview with 20 Minutes.
Singer Natalie Cole, daughter of legendary singer Nat King Cole, appeared on a CNN talk show Tuesday 31 March to discuss her long battle with drug abuse and hepatitis C. Intensive chemotherapy caused both of Cole’s kidneys to fail and she is now on dialysis three times a week. On airing the show, CNN studios received a flood of emails from people offering to donate a kidney should they turn out to be a match. CNN
Lausanne, Switzerland (24 Heures, Fre) – Police have arrested 35 people in connection with cocaine sales, mainly in the Lausanne area, from 2005 to 2008. Twenty-one have been turned over to a judge in connection with money laundering or trafficking the drug and the other 14 are being charged with possession.
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Police in Lausanne have dismantled a cocaine ring, arresting five Africans, the ringleader of whom is based in The Netherlands, after several months of investigation. They seized 33 kilos of the drug, with a street value of CHF3.3 million.
