Sunday, February 22, 2009

Middle Village pot bust makes history

From the Daily News:

The walls of a nondescript home in Middle Village, Queens, hid a massive drug operation that moved millions of dollars worth of marijuana from Canada to New York, the feds revealed Saturday.

Federal drug agents have seized 50,000 pounds of pot and arrested 10 people in the scheme, which used hidden compartments in cars to smuggle weed across the border.

"This will go down in history as one of the biggest pot busts ever," one federal official familiar with the case told the Daily News.

"These guys were doing it very big. The street value of what we seized is $150 million."

The official said the ring brought millions of pounds of pot from Canada over a six-year period and that the feds have been on the case for two years.

The source said the case was cracked open when one of the alleged drug runners, Mersim (Merv) Kolenovic, was stopped by cops in Queens on the way to a sale.

"His sloppiness led to this bust," the official said. "He was driving with a suspended license while carrying 9 pounds of pot."

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

CAN'T WE ALL JUST GET A BONG?

Anonymous said...

How will we ever get a handle on pot as an illegal drug when this plant can grow wild in empty lots?

We will probably get less crime and violence if we legalize this drug. Unfortunately pot does nothing for your health, but neither does booze, cigarettes or junk food and they are all legal.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said:
"Unfortunately pot does nothing for your health, but neither does booze, cigarettes or junk food and they are all legal."

Anybody can smoke a cigarette or eat junk food and safely drive a car. Also, use of neither of these contributes to violence or crime.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for booze. So, ban booze once again.

Anonymous said...

Warning! The Surgeon General warns
Cigarette smoking is dangerous, dangerous
Hazard to your health
Does that mean anything to you?

We got to legalize marijuana
Right here in New York City
I'm say it cure glaucoma
I man a de Bush Doctor

So there'll be
No more smokin and feelin tense
When I see them a come
I don't have to jump no fence

Legalize marijuana
Rightn here in New York City
Only cure for asthma
I man a de Minister (of the Herb)

So there'll be no more
Police brutality
No more disrespect
For humanity

Legalize marijuana
Down here in New York City
It can build up your failing economy
Eliminate the slavish mentality

There'll be no more
Illegal humiliation
And no more police
Interrogation

Legalize marijuana
Down here in sweet Jamaica
Only cure for glaucoma
I man a de Bush Doctor

So there be
No more need to smoke and hide
When you know you're takin
a legal ride

Legalize marijuana
Down here in Jamaica
It the only cure for glaucoma
I man a de Minister

Anonymous said...

We'll know politicians are serious about "change" when this insane policy of marijuana prohibition ends.

It's a good gauge of how brave they really are.

Hemp is a wonder crop, and we can make billions from a thriving marijuana industry. Meanwhile, we can slash billions by banishing the DEA and our local drug cops.

But you guys knew all that already.

Anonymous said...

Get serious, folks. This is crime and it is organized crime. It leads to other crimes and we suffer. I wonder, really, how much of our economy, local or national, is boosted or hurt by this underground criminal economy.Try to live honest lives, and if we all, do our country will be better off. Follow the money!

Anonymous said...

send him back to Kosovo.

Anonymous said...

If people really were smart about this, we would end this ridiculous criminalization of marijuana. All it does is make lowlife dealers rich and costs major tax dollars to try to enforce the dumb laws against it. Decriminalize it, allow private industry to distribute it, regulate it and tax it. That would be better for everyone.

Anonymous said...

I do not use marijuana and do not believe using it is a good idea for healthy people (it may be useful for glaucoma and to reduce the ill effects of chemotherapy on appetite.) But if the only effect is to reduce availability, not eliminate use, then logically this makes it more lucrative and more alluring to organized crime, just as the prohibition spawned Al Capone.

Marijuana is not an exotic import. It will grow unattended in empty lots. George Washington himself was a farmer of this crop since it can also be used to make rope and clothing fabric. So its been around forever.

When marijuana enforcement was actually laxer in the 60's and 70's there was far violence associated with the marijuana business than today. What are we getting for all this money? Law enforcement just seems to make the criminals nastier and richer in this particular instance.

Anonymous said...

"Unfortunately pot does nothing for your health"

Actually, marijuana has anti-tumor properties. So, regular marijuana use can indeed help prevent cancer. It has also been shown to delay onset of Alzheimer's and dementia.

And to the extent that it generally helps one sleep better, and sleep is so vital to overall well-being, it is good for you in that respect too.

And let's not forget the correlation between lower stress levels and better health. As marijuana relaxes people, tends to induce laughter, and relieves stress, it certainly can be deemed healthful in that regard as well.

Anonymous said...

I used to smoke pot, I used to take Ecstasy, I used to on a rare occasion drop acid.

For a long time I did not think that marijuana should be legalized. As a former recreational drug user I felt that marijuana was truly a gateway drug and definatly kills motivation to a debilitating extent BUT as I have become older (and I hope wiser) I think it would be better for the country if we legalized marijuana.

It would change the war on drugs (for the better - positive). It would put some criminals out of work (positive). It is also the gateway drug to the life of drug dealing. It is very hard to start out selling any other drug other then marijuana (positive). If young people abused marijuana it could significantly change their path in life for the worse (extreme negative). If properly regulated it would employ thousands and creat a huge economic tax break (positive.)

Lets give it a shot. We look back now at the prohibition of alcohol and say "what were they thinking?"

Anonymous said...

Does anyone know the address in Middle Village where they found the pot?

Anonymous said...

My Guess is it was by Juniper Park.

Anonymous said...

80-04 Penelope Avenue

Anonymous said...

50,000 pounds.. if the goverment had a cut of the money he'd be fine with it. but uncle sam want more then his cut of the share. so people dont believe the hype, merv is the sweetest kid out there, and lets point the fact weed is only a plant, unlike crack and cocaine. then we could shake our head and say wow! but weed does do the body good.so for everyone thats hating on merv, I LOVE YOU KUZ!! WEED IS WEED............

Anonymous said...

Don't kid yourself that all plants are safe. Deadly nightshade is a source of atropine, a medical drug and a deadly poison. Other common plants that can kill you include: Foxglove, Hellebores, Jimson Weed, all stone fruits...