Mexican police find at least 14 drug cartel victims’ bodies in mass grave

MEXICO CITY — Police said Wednesday that they have uncovered a mass grave in central Mexico with the remains of 14 or 15 people believed to have been executed by the Zetas drug gang.

US attorney: 2 more face drug conspiracy, other charges in Las Vegas boy abduction case

LAS VEGAS — Two more defendants have been named in a federal cocaine trafficking case stemming from the kidnapping of a 6-year-old boy from his Las Vegas home last October.

Ousted Honduran president accused of drug ties

BOGOTA — The regime that ousted Manuel Zelaya in Honduras claimed Tuesday that the deposed president allowed tons of cocaine to be flown into the Central American country on its way to the United States.

Judge asks if dismissal of big cases shows prosecutors have a pattern of mishandling evidence

WASHINGTON — A judge asked federal prosecutors in a major drug-dealing case Tuesday if they have a pattern of mishandling evidence after a second high-profile prosecution fell apart in his courtroom because of witness problems.

Police find 5 bodies, severed head in drug-plagued Mexican state

MORELIA, Mexico — Mexican police on Tuesday found the remains of six people tortured and shot to death in a western state that is a focus of the government’s war against drug cartels.

Venezuela deports top Mafia suspect to Italy after capture

CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela deported a convicted European drug trafficker dubbed the “Mafia’s foreign minister” to Italy on Tuesday, where he has been wanted on drug smuggling charges since 2001.

Conn. police arrest alleged pot dealer who used McNugget box to package the drug

LITCHFIELD, Conn. — Connecticut police have arrested a teen, accusing him of selling marijuana and packing it in a Chicken McNugget box. Police said the teen and three alleged customers were nabbed after a police officer spotted some suspicious activity over the weekend. Police said the teen grew marijuana in his apartment and packaged the dope in McNugget boxes.

Federal appeals court upholds prison term for drug smuggler shot by border agents

EL PASO, Texas — A federal appeals court has upheld the prison term for an admitted drug smuggler wounded in a controversial shooting by Border Patrol agents.

Mexico releases 3 mayors detained in sweep of officials suspected of ties to drug cartel

MORELIA, Mexico — Federal prosecutors released three of the 10 Mexican mayors arrested last month in an unprecedented sweep of elected officials accused of protecting a drug cartel, authorities said Monday.

Owners of NYC day care center charged with pot possession after police shoot suspect there

NEW YORK — The owners of a New York City day care center where police shot and wounded a robbery suspect have been charged with marijuana possession.

AP source: National Guard to seek volunteers to bolster counter-drug efforts on Mexican border

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is developing plans to seek up to 1,500 National Guard volunteers to step up the military’s counter-drug efforts along the Mexican border, senior administration officials said Monday.

Mexico detains 93 police on suspicion of taking money from gang of hit men for drug cartels

MEXICO CITY — Mexican prosecutors announced Sunday they have put 93 police officers and investigators under house arrest on suspicion of aiding the Zetas, a feared gang of hit men tied to the Gulf drug cartel.

Police: Brooklyn day care center where officers shot robbery suspect was a drug haven

NEW YORK — Police shot and wounded an armed man during a brazen robbery attempt at a day care center that functioned as a drug haven, with a trove of marijuana and more than $100,000 in cash in its basement, authorities said Saturday.

Mexican soldiers capture drug suspect with apparent list of police payoffs in Monterrey area

MONTERREY, Mexico — Mexican soldiers have captured a suspected drug cartel operator with a list of the names of local police officers who apparently received payoffs, the army said Saturday.

Calif. fiscal crisis jeopardizes narcotics team that plays key role in high-profile cases

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California’s budget woes could cut a third of the agents from a little-known unit that has played a key role in high-profile cases like Anna Nicole Smith’s overdose death and the arrest of murderer Scott Peterson.

US attorney calls for reform after latest in long line of Oklahoma sheriff scandals

OKLAHOMA CITY — A small-town sheriff and his top deputy kept close watch over a lonely stretch of interstate in eastern Oklahoma, looking for drug couriers to fleece. But one motorist carrying $30,000 in cash turned out to be an undercover federal agent.

Jackson’s body released by LA county coroner; no funeral service plans announced

LOS ANGELES — The body of Michael Jackson, who died Thursday, has been released by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.

Man using drive-through at bank deposits $200 and small bag with pot and cocaine, police say

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Authorities said a man using the drive-through at a Tallahassee bank deposited $200 and a small bag containing marijuana and cocaine. Police said an employee at the Wachovia Bank called police Wednesday after the unusual deposit. An officer arrested a 38-year-old man and found the remnants of three marijuana cigarettes inside his vehicle.

G8 foreign ministers lament corruption in Afghanistan, call for regional cooperation

TRIESTE, Italy — Foreign ministers from the Group of Eight countries meeting in Italy lamented corruption and the lack of basic services such as health and water in Afghanistan, saying Friday that better cooperation among countries in the region was needed to promote stability.

Arkansas man accused of using casket minus a cadaver to smuggle marijuana in Dallas

DALLAS — A casket minus a cadaver yielded nearly 100 pounds of marijuana after a traffic stop in Dallas.

Investigators find marijuana, cash in wreckage of plane that crashed in Arizona, killing 4

AUSTIN, Texas — Authorities say a private plane that crashed in Arizona this week, killing four people, carried more than 12 pounds of marijuana and a large amount of cash in a suitcase.

Drug dealer in ‘Alpha Dog’ case says he fled US because he thought police would kill him

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — An admitted marijuana supplier accused of kidnapping a 15-year-old boy over a drug debt and ordering his death testified at his murder trial that he fled the country for nearly five years because he thought police would kill him on sight.

Supreme Court sides with defendants in dispute over use of crime lab reports at trial

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court said Thursday that criminal defendants have a constitutional right to cross-examine the forensic analysts who prepare laboratory reports on illegal drugs and other evidence used at trial.

Afghan brought to the US to face drug conspiracy, distribution charges

WASHINGTON — An Afghan citizen was flown to the United States on Wednesday and arraigned on drug charges.

Attorney general calls for review of gap in sentencing laws for crack and powder cocaine

WASHINGTON — Attorney General Eric Holder sought support Wednesday for erasing the gap in prison sentences for crack and powder cocaine crimes, a disparity that hits black defendants the hardest.

Ontario man sentenced in Detroit to 7 1/2 years in prison on federal Ecstasy-smuggling charges

DETROIT — A Canadian man who tried to drive nearly 200 pounds of the drug Ecstasy, worth an estimated $6.5 million, into the United States has been sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison.

Man implicated in assisted suicide of Ore. woman pleads innocent to drug smuggling charges

McALLEN, Texas — A man suspected of aiding in a woman’s suicide in a Mexican hotel last month has pleaded not guilty to U.S. drug smuggling charges.

Venezuela to deport Italian Mafia’s ‘foreign minister’ captured in Caracas

CARACAS, Venezuela — A convicted European drug trafficker dubbed the “Mafia’s foreign minister” will be deported to Italy after his capture in Caracas in a joint operation by Venezuelan and Italian police, authorities said Tuesday.

Miami authorities bust suspected Medicare fraud ring they say spanned 5 states, 8 charged

MIAMI — It may be the center for Medicare fraud, but even Miami officials said Tuesday they were surprised by the breadth of a ring they say spanned five states, used 29 fake storefronts and attempted to steal $100 million from Medicare and Medicare Advantage.

Mass. man arrested after allegedly placing an ad on Craigslist selling marijuana

QUINCY, Mass. — A man has been arrested after he allegedly placed an advertisement on Craigslist selling marijuana. Police said undercover detectives responded to the advertisement and bought a small bag of pot from 30-year-old Christopher Gray for $45.