Britons are snorting 30 tonnes of cocaine a year and consider the drug to be a socially acceptable part of a night out

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"></span><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqHleIQwlsOaJdK3hqG4ROYve0Wy_49DHBblWgJ1ng745bWPmnGiSP2RH5Bmw1jcW-rwgyLWamPMg2iMcA7iI3VmFkavEjduWjXRLDhRJX-OfMb_DYOFfx85h89vGEkBW9MDjrC91fW_E/s1600-h/cocaine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqHleIQwlsOaJdK3hqG4ROYve0Wy_49DHBblWgJ1ng745bWPmnGiSP2RH5Bmw1jcW-rwgyLWamPMg2iMcA7iI3VmFkavEjduWjXRLDhRJX-OfMb_DYOFfx85h89vGEkBW9MDjrC91fW_E/s640/cocaine.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Britons are snorting 30 tonnes of cocaine a year and consider the drug to be a socially acceptable part of a night out, a House of Commons report lamented last week. The Home Affairs Select Committee accused law enforcement agencies of intercepting too few shipments and of arresting too few people, allowing the price of the class A drug to fall to as little as £2 a line.But there is a part of the world which is not getting away with cocaine and is not inclined to consider it glamorous, socially acceptable or normal. It is called Latin America, where the coca leaf is grown, turned into paste and powder, and trafficked. And here is where narco-related violence and corruption is exacting a terrible price.Last week brought fresh horrors. In Mexico, authorities found the dismembered body of a journalist, Rodolfo Rincon Taracena, who disappeared in 2007. His articles on the drug trade had prompted his brutal murder. More than 16,000 people have died in Mexico since President Felipe Calderón declared war on drug cartels in December 2006.</div><div style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">In Guatemala, the national police chief, Baltazar Gonzalez, and anti-drug czar, Nelly Bonilla, were detained in a case of stolen cocaine that led to the deaths of five police agents. In a tale too bloody for <em style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-collapse: collapse; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The Wire</em>, it seems that the agents were killed while trying to steal a stash from members of the Zetas, a group of hit men linked to Mexico's powerful Gulf cartel.</div><div style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">There was more grim news from the US International Narcotics Control strategy report, which said that traffickers were annually sending $8bn to $25bn from the United States, expanding production in Bolivia and finding new routes through Venezuela.</div><div style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Peru's Shining Path insurgency, once almost extinct, has revived in recent months: the guerrillas have learned from Colombia's Farc how to use cocaine revenue to perpetuate a conflict.</div><div style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Calls for decriminalisation are growing; former presidents from Brazil, Colombia and Mexico have swelled the chorus. Latin America can only hope that Europe and the US, the main markets, will one day figure out a way to curb demand.</div>

Britons are snorting 30 tonnes of cocaine a year and consider the drug to be a socially acceptable part of a night out

Britons are snorting 30 tonnes of cocaine a year and consider the drug to be a socially acceptable part of a night out, a House of Commons ...

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37-year-old councillor was interviewed by officers from an elite drug and organised crime squad last year, in a private meeting in his office at the City Chambers.

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> 37-year-old councillor was interviewed by officers from an elite drug and organised crime squad last year, in a private meeting in his office at the City Chambers.It is understood officers from the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) were concerned that he could be in a position where his influence as the head of the country's biggest local authority might be exploited. The latest dramatic revelations about the case came as Purcell quit the country yesterday, with some sources saying he may be away from the country for a year. He is understood to have flown to Australia, for a period of "rest and recuperation."Purcell unexpectedly quit as council leader last Tuesday and it subsequently emerged that the council had prepared a statement linking his decision to a "chemical dependency".<br /> Last night, there were calls for reassurances from the council that crucial decisions made by Purcell over the last few months had not been affected.On 12 May last year, Purcell held a "private meeting" in his office in City Chambers with SCDEA officers. The unit was set up specifically to probe cases of organised crime and major drug dealing. It is understood that Purcell's own activities were not the focus of the police enquiries. Rather they were concerned that, as the head of the council, he should not leave himself exposed to criminal gangs in the city.<br /> Shortly after the interview, Purcell moved flat, leaving the district of Yoker, where he had lived for most of his life, as part of a symbolic attempt to "start afresh".<br /> The fresh details come after Purcell mysteriously announced his resignation as leader of the council last week.It then emerged he had been admitted to the Castle Craig clinic in the Borders, which specialises in the treatment of drug and drink problems.Scotland on Sunday's sister paper, The Scotsman, then revealed that, under an initial plan laid out by council chiefs, it was to have been announced that Purcell had been suffering from a "chemical dependency".</span><br /> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Scotland on Sunday can reveal that lawyers for Purcell asked Glasgow City Council to make a statement declaring that there had never been a draft statement with the words "chemical dependency". However, the council refused to do so.<br /> A spokesman for the council said last night: "He (Purcell's lawyer] asked us to make a statement confirming these things and we got back to him saying we would not make such a statement."Purcell has now quit politics altogether, bringing to an end a 15-year career at the local authority.<br /> A spokesman for the former leader said last night: "Mr Purcell has departed the politics of Glasgow. He is now resting and recovering. He doesn't wish to comment further at this stage."<br /> Yesterday, union chiefs said that there were now question marks over the decisions that the former leader had taken.<br /> Martin Doran, leader of the council's GMB branch, and a personal friend of Purcell's, said: "There are now deep concerns and anxiety that he was making decisions impacting upon thousands of employees."SNP group leader Billy McAllister added: "I think we should go back and look at the decisions that he made. It is very important that we find out if there are any lessons to be learned."However, council officials insist that Purcell's problems had never impacted on the smooth running of the council.<br /> </span>

37-year-old councillor was interviewed by officers from an elite drug and organised crime squad last year, in a private meeting in his office at the City Chambers.

 37-year-old councillor was interviewed by officers from an elite drug and organised crime squad last year, in a private meeting in his offi...

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