Comments on: Official: Drug lords using 'gift cards' to smuggle money

By: yogi

yogi — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 14:12:51 +0000

Just think if all the money from the " Drug War" had been going into a healthcare program since the 80's went into healthcare and education. Where could we have been today ?
MAINE VOTERS VOTE " YES " ON QUESTION 5 !

By: Official: Drug lords Using ‘gift cards’ to Smuggle Money « Mexico Institute

Official: Drug lords Using ‘gift cards’ to Smuggle Money « Mexico Institute — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 13:48:09 +0000

[...] Read more... [...]

By: hoboduke

hoboduke — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 11:59:57 +0000

This is easy! Have American Express the official gift card issuer. They will eat up the money with monthly fees, short expiration date, and restrictions on where it can be cashed! With a little luck we will get all of the illegal money without using any police!

By: Top Posts « WordPress.com

Top Posts « WordPress.com — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:48:31 +0000

[...] Official: Drug lords using 'gift cards' to smuggle money Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard says Mexican drug cartels use gift card technology to smuggle money across the [...] [...]

By: tycraz

tycraz — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 23:32:42 +0000

The little item not addressed: Two people asked about it, one went to the logical conclusion.

First the scenario: The drug organization smuggles drugs into the good old US, sells drugs for cash, has truckloads of small unmarked bills.

Then they need to get the cash back to the home country to buy more drugs to complete the circle. Here in lies the problem...

How do you get the cash to the Cayman Islands to the "dirty" co-operating bank?

Lets think... you smuggle the truckloads of cash out of the US to the Cayman Islands so you can then get Gift Cards issued in the US so you can smuggle them across the border to Mexico? What, are we stupid? Once the cash is on boats, can't you just dock it in Mexico, Columbia, or wherever you want?

My take on this is that it is just more Gov -Co crap to distract us from the real issues. Another excuse to get us to pay them more, more control, more scrutiny, less privacy, less rights, no freedom. My take on this is that the AZ Attorney General is lying.

Please let me know if you can see a way to convert truckloads of cash to gift cards without using a bank in the US. If you are using a bank in the US then there are names and numbers attached to it. Why blame the Cayman Islands, if you can get the cash to the Cayman Islands, you can get it anywhere.

The problem is getting the cash out of the US without using a bank.

By: Dorothy

Dorothy — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:54:00 +0000

This is not about drugs. This is organized crime. If we legalize the drugs then they will turn to other avenues to make money. Think back through the years the different ways organized crime has made money, i.e. copying music/movies, human trading, gambling. These type of organized criminals need to be stopped. Legalizing the drugs will do nothing.

By: dan

dan — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:53:40 +0000

To Mark

Legalizing drugs does not = legalizing rape.

Where do you get such ridiculous ideas? What is wrong with you? If drugs are illegal why would someone kill for a drug they can buy at any convenience store? Do people get mugged or "raped" for alcohol everyday??? Have you thought this out at all??? Clearly you have not. You say there will be "no safe place for our kids to go". Why because every drug user is equal to a murderer? Obviously you are a feeble minded person that has bought all the propaganda that you were taught in grammar school about drugs. You have no mind of your own. Guess what buddy DRUGS ARE EVERYWHERE ALREADY... But you kids are just fine aren't they?!?! Legalizing drugs won't put you or your kids in danger at all. In fact if you live in Arizona, New Mexico or Texas your kids would be SAFER if drugs were legalized!!! You are beyond foolish, you are just part of the problem. You are simply fear mongering so we can never make any progress. People like you will keep us in the stone age forever. Go away.

By: dan

dan — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:39:04 +0000

To "Pep" (who thinks every drug user deserves "life in prison")

You are a fool. The prisons in this country are already over populated. Lots of them are non-violent offenders. We don't need to add more non-violent offenders to this over population problem. Drug users are not a threat. Many of them may need help. However plenty of people who use drugs just do it occasionally for fun. They have their lives well in control. By the way haven't the last 3 presidents all admitted to using drugs? Should Clinton, Bush and Obama all be serving life sentences? Are you serious Pep? Could you possibly have thought of a dumber solution to this problem? I know drug users that are Doctors, lawyers, teachers, and POLICE OFFICERS!!! Yes thats right the ultimate hypocrites. It is time to legalize marijuana and other lesser drugs. Heroin and crack can stay illegal. Those substances can kill quite easily. (but then so can alcohol) But the Cartels are not going to be taking over Mexico with only heroin and crack sales. Marijuana sells all over America... Anyone denying that has had their head in the sand for their entire lifetime. Lets use this money on something productive for a change...

By: dagny taggart

dagny taggart — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:14:20 +0000

It's not just about the drugs. It's about shielding income offshore. If not the Caymans, maybe Costa Rica, Panama. With the specter of higher taxes and litigation there will be a greater demand for cash.
Capital flight, just what the drones voted for!

By: JayWun

JayWun — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:00:10 +0000

Our government should push for more regulation not only of offshore or foreign banks but domestic banks as well. We are so quick to point the finger at other countries when the corruption and greed is going undetected right under our noses.

By: BakedatBofA

BakedatBofA — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 18:51:35 +0000

It's not illegal in Portugal.
Please Read:
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1893946,00.html

By: David Rogers

David Rogers — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 18:41:01 +0000

America does not need to police the word. And saying that legalization won't work is flat out stupid. No one is going to shoot anyone over something that is for sale at any type of retailer. When was the last time there was a big issue over alcohol? Actually the tides have turned on alcohol again and is a far worse substance than most organic mind altering substances.

I say organic because they do not require human processing or interaction, it just grows like that. Legalizing will solve a majority of this world's problems. One reason being that America would no longer have to be in everyone's business about the #1 Cash crop in the world, cannabis (opium in other parts but that's geological I'm speaking on the world as a whole)

You won't have drug lords if you don't have illicit drugs. Then they can't sell drugs in mass quantities. They will have to resort to child smuggling, people smuggling across borders, prostitution rings, gun trafficking. There are so many more issues that need to be attacked with my tax payer dollars.

I'd rather have my tax dollars go into busting a meth lab in the boondocks than a medical marijuana dispensary in California. It's a simple decision legalize. Clearly drugs would be labeled for adults above a certain age. It's not like children would have access to it. Alcohol isn't even perfectly regulated, there are people out there manufacturing moonshine out in their backyards.

What is the big deal about this whole legalization issue? Just do it.

By: Davio

Davio — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 18:35:03 +0000

You must be kidding me with these suggestions of increasing penalties for those who use drugs. Dont you get it, the war on drugs is bs like a few have stated drugs fuel much more than just the drug dealers. Its an economy within its self, law enforcement, the legal system would have very little to do if it didnt need to deal with drug related crimes. The US government makes millions if not billions in the drug trade, the government keeps it illegal so the profit margins remain what they are. The US is the largest drug dealer and gun dealer in the world, the us sells more drugs and guns than the cartels u can be sure of that

By: Rae

Rae — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 18:27:54 +0000

I think we need to legalize drugs, and that's it, period. At least that way we can spend money on regulating it, and get tax dollars from it also. Let's face it, the drug lords have won this war, and if we keep going into battle, then we will lose millions, maybe billions, and the drug lords will still win.
Simple solution: Legalize drugs, tax them, regulate them and then we are closer to being out of the national debt. We wouldn't have to pay people to figure out new ways to bust these people. We wouldn't have to spend our hard earned dollar in the courts prosecuting these people. We wouldn't have to spend our hard earned doller keeping these people in our prisons while we pay more money for every appeal!
People are going to do drugs whether it's legal or not. I don't think by legalizing drugs we would have to worry about a million more people smoking weed because it's now legal. People are going to do what they want to do, it's the human way!
Maybe people would be more relaxed if we did legalize marijuana, instead of getting a prescription for an anti-depressant, they can get a bag of weed, and go home and smoke it!

By: Mark

Mark — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 18:23:21 +0000

Legalize drugs? You all Dummies or what? By legalizing Drugs you just legalize Rape, stick ups and manslaughter as well! Imagine your self walkin in a place where drugs has been legalize! There will be no safe place for your kids to go! US gov is using their millions on battling terrorism and by invading other countries with internal problems such as Iraq and Afghanistan! Why dont they just center this millions to fight drug trafficking instead! Its worth it! they have special forces fighting overseas when the real battle is taking place inland! US gov has the power to fight this stuff and everyone in the world knows it! Unless of course theres people in the US govt taking advantage of earning millions with drug money!