Every week numerous stories about cocaine abuse, cocaine trafficking, and bizarre behavior to get the drug come up in the news. This will be a new weekly round-up of cocaine stories. They are reminders of the powerful hold this addictive drug has on people.

Lilo’s Suspicious Breath Mint

In the Lindsey Lohan case it turns out the reason the cocaine didn’t present a big problem for her was because the police officer her arrested her thought it was a crushed breath mint and threw it in the trash. The 2007 DUI arrest report says he found it in a Clinique suncare card. He tossed it in the jail trash, then thought twice about it, and retrieved it. This would likely not be an appealing case for the DA, because her defense attorneys could argue that the evidence was tainted.

A Teen for Crack

A South Carolina woman was arrested this week and charged with child neglect because she allegedly offered s 15-year-old girl in exchange for crack cocaine. The woman gave the girl wine, and the girl fell asleep. She claims the woman later woke her up and punched her.

Do the Crime, Do Some Time

In Columbus, Indiana, a man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for dealing cocaine. He sold the drug to undercover officers and informants and was charged with three Class A felonies. He pled down to a Class B felony and the judge gave the state’s advised sentence for the crime. Garcia, aged 31, is an illegal immigrant so Homeland Security will be notified to begin deportation proceedings.

Who Needs Food When You Have Cocaine?

A father left his girlfriend’s sons alone with no food, but plenty of crack cocaine, in Orlando, Florida. Bobby Sims was arrested this week with his girlfriend. The police were led to the couple when a neighbor called the police after a 6-year-old boy showed up at her door saying he was hungry. He told her he was alone with his 6-month-old brother. It is not clear if Simms is the father of one or both boys.

What Not to Carry over the Border

A 37-year-old Mexican national was arrested at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint after officers found 36 pounds of cocaine in his vehicle. The Border Patrol noticed that the roof of the car had been modified and sent the man for secondary inspection.

A K-9 alerted officers to the presence of drugs in the car.
The cocaine was estimated to be worth $368,000 on the street.

Cocaine or Your Life

A Madison Country, Wisconsin man has been sentenced to life in prison for repeatedly getting arrested for selling drugs. The sentence was for 120 years, harsher than usual because he sold drugs within fifteen hundred feet of a church and was an habitual offender.

Europe Catching up with the US, Not in a Good Way

Cocaine was once the belle of the ball in the United States. Now Europe is taking the title according to a report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Although total production of cocaine has fallen, more cocaine is making its way into the European market, and they may soon overtook North America as the world’s biggest consumer of cocaine. The cocaine market is estimated to be worth $88 billion a year.

Mutilated Fingerprints Don’t Help Cocaine Dealer Evade Arrest

Wednesday Eduard Ortiz was arrested in Randolph, Massachusetts during a drug investigation. The detectives were shocked to see he had disfigured his fingertips, allegedly to make it more difficult to add his prints to the FBI database.

However, police examined his fingertips for several hours and determined there were enough remaining landmarks to enter his prints into the database. The prints matched three suspects – all the same person, wanted for cocaine offenses.

He will also be charged with identity fraud.

Fall from Grace for Three Police Officers

Three police officers were arraigned in Providence, RI, on multiple drug charges. The three were caught in an undercover sting operation named Operation Deception. The police officers were charged with counts relating to delivering cocaine, marijuana, and harboring an alleged drug dealer. They are being held without bail.