U.S. News - barcelona

Aug

2012

3:06pm, EDT

Cocaine shipment through Newark leads to 3 arrests in Spain, officials say

By Jim Gold, NBC News

A cocaine shipment spotted by customs officers in Newark, N.J., helped lead to the arrest of three people in Barcelona, Spain, U.S. officials said Friday.

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Special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), along with the Spanish Guardia Civil, said they arrested Oleksii Stepanets, a Ukrainian national; Eduard Medvedev, a Russian national; and Edgar Palma Bofill, a Spanish national.

Customs and Border Patrol officers at Newark Liberty International Airport intercepted a shipment of pulleys containing approximately 2.23 kilograms of cocaine on Aug. 21, ICE officials said. The shipment originated in Costa Rica and arrived in Newark on a commercial aircraft, they said. The shipment’s manifest said it was auto parts destined for an auto shop in Barcelona.

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HSI Newark agents coordinated with agents in Madrid to assist the Spanish Guardia Civil in the arrests, officials said.

Besides the arrests, police seized a total of 2.99 kilograms of cocaine and “precursor chemicals” used to process the drug, officials said.

The arrests were linked to a previous seizure of 10 kilograms of cocaine at the Newark airport, officials said.

The total wholesale value of the cocaine is over $500,000, they said.

"This cooperation with foreign governments represents HSI's broad footprint that extends beyond our border," said Andrew McLees, special agent in charge of HSI Newark.

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The investigation was the latest in a series of drug-smuggling interceptions reported by ICE. Among others, which yielded larger drug seizures:

Two U.S. citizens were arrested and 1,048 kilograms of cocaine with a street value of $72 million were seized Aug. 6 from a boat towing a vessel off the southern coast of Puerto Rico.
Two U.S. citizens were arrested and 450 kilograms of cocaine with a street value of $10 million were seized July 31 from a suspicious 30-foot fiberglass boat with two outboard engines sinking off the eastern coast of Puerto Rico.
Six Dominican Republic nationals aboard a 25-foot unmarked fiberglass boat heading toward Puerto Rico were arrested and 330 kilograms and 1 kilogram of heroin with an estimated street value of $8 million were seized in early June.

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Jan

2012

12:09pm, EST

Dartmouth student dies studying abroad in Spain

By msnbc.com staff and news services

HANOVER, N.H. – A Dartmouth College student, who was on the Big Green’s men’s rugby team, has died while studying abroad in Barcelona, Spain, according to Dartmouth College.

Crispin Scott, a member of the class of 2013, was found dead in an apartment on Saturday, police said. The cause of his death is unknown and police are investigating.

Scott, of Mercer Island, Wash., was studying abroad on the Academy of Liberal and Beaux-Arts program run by Portland State University. He was seen at a gathering of at least 40 students in the program Friday night at a hotel, which broke up into smaller groups.

Program director Charles Grant told The Dartmouth newspaper that Scott did not return to his apartment and did not show up for an orientation session on Saturday.

“Barcelona police are investigating as they do for all untimely deaths, and like everyone else, we are waiting for more information,” Johnson told The Dartmouth.

Police officials said “there did not appear to have been any physical violence.”

'Heavy hearts'
Sadness over Scott’s death surfaced on social network sites on Monday.

“With heavy hearts, the DRFC mourns the untimely loss of one of our own. Our thoughts are with Crispin Scott's family and friends during this difficult time,” the Rugby Football Club posted on its Facebook page.

“Rip to one of the most intelligent human beings I have ever known u will be missed Crispin Scott,” tweeted @NeakDaSneak206.

“Crispin Scott from Tokyo and Seattle, a son of our friend, passed away in Barcelona. With deep sadness we miss him and pray for his family,” tweeted @tomoikenaga.

“Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Crispin Scott '13, such a tragedy - you'll be missed #RIP,” Darmouth11 posted on its Twitter's feed.

The Associated Press and msnb.com's Sevil Omer contributed to this report.

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