WELLINGTON
Authentic Jose Juan Barea Jersey , March 7 (Xinhua) -- The Authorities in New Zealand and Thailand said Monday they had arrested a major international drugs supplier after a joint investigation.
The supplier, who had been sending methamphetamine from Thailand to New Zealand, was arrested at the end of last month, according to a statement from New Zealand Customs and New Zealand Police.
The two agencies and liaison officers based in Bangkok had worked closely with Thailand's Office of the Narcotic Control Board, the Police Narcotic Suppression Bureau, and the Thailand Customs Department to identify the supplier.
Last year, New Zealand Customs and police conducted two joint investigations involving multiple seizures of methamphetamine couriered from Thailand, which led to the arrest of five New Zealanders.
The drugs had been concealed using a range of methods, including in clutch purses, a flower vase, and car shock absorbers.
The Thai authorities had also stopped a number of packages containing methamphetamine in Bangkok that were destined for Auckland.
"This is the result of focused efforts behind the scenes over a long period of time. We worked together from the outset, with the shared goal of cracking down on the entire supply chain to halt the trade," New Zealand Customs investigations manager Maurice O'Brien said in the statement.
DAMASCUS, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The death toll in the triple bombings that rocked a Shiite district in Damascus on Sunday has risen to 83, state news agency SANA said.
As many as 178 others were injured in the three bombings that rocked the predominantly-Shiite district of Sayyidah Zaynab, south of Damascus, SANA said.
The first explosion was a car bomb, which was followed by two other suicide bombings, SANA added.
The blasts took place close to the al-Sader Hospital in Teen Street in that sprawling district.
The Sayyidah Zaynab district houses a key Shiite shrine that contains the tomb of Zaynab, Islam's Prophet Muhammad's granddaughter.
The Sayyidah Zaynab tomb is a center of religious studies for adherents of the Shiite sect of Islam, and is also a mass pilgrimage destination for Shiite Muslims from across the world.
The bombings are the latest in a series that targeted the district which is guarded by fighters of Lebanon's Hezbollah group.
Last month, at least 45 people died and 100 others were wounded in two explosions in the same Shiite district.
Sunday's bombings in Sayyidah Zaynab occurred just a few hours after a series of twin bombings which killed 57 people in the pro-government district of Zahra' in downtown Homs.
TOKYO, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Japan's Defense Ministry said on Monday that it had received a final report from the U.S. military concluding that pilot error was to blame for the crash of one of its Osprey aircraft in waters off Okinawa last December.
Despite the tilt-rotor planes' checkered safety history, the U.S. military said that there were no technical malfunctions involved in the aircraft itself that contributed to the crash that injured two of the five crew members aboard.
The final report compiled by the U.S. military, said that the Osprey made an emergency landing in shallow waters off Nago City during a nighttime, midair refueling training exercise.
The incident marked the first major accident involving one of the controversial Osprey planes in Japan.
"There were no indications that a mechanical malfunction or maintenance malpractice were contributing factors to this mishap," the report said.
"The MV-22 Osprey made an intentional water landing under controlled, powered flight," it also stated.
The report on the crash came at a time when safety concerns over the plane, that can take off and land like a helicopter and cruise like a regular plane, have risen of late following an Osprey making an emergency landing at a commercial airport in southwestern Japan while flying to a U.S. base in Okinawa.
Concerns were raised further in August, when an Osprey crashed off Australia, resulting in the death of three U.S. Marines.
According to local media reports, Okinawa Deputy Governor Moritake Tomikawa visited Camp Foster on Monday to hear the outcome of the report from Lt. Gen. Lawrence Nicholson, the top commander of U.S. forces in Okinawa.
The Osprey has been a particular sour point for citizens of Okinawa, which hosts the bulk of U.S. forces in Japan, due to incidents of noise and ongoing safety concerns.
Tomikawa told a press briefing after meeting with Nicholson that he had urged the U.S. commander to ensure that a convincing, quantifiable explanation was given to the people of Okinawa on the planes' safety.
The report said that during the nighttime refueling drill the Osprey's propeller hit a refueling hose being extended from an Air Force MC-130 refueling plane, due to the pilot increasing the engine output too much.
Despite throttling back the report said the pilot found it difficult "to maintain balanced flight due to high vibrations."
The plane subsequently followed the coastline of Okinawa "in order to avoid flying over people and property," and finding it hard to maintain altitude and continue to fly the plane safely, the pilot executed an emergency landing.
The aircraft broke apart as it landed in shallow waters off the coast of Nago on Okinawa's main island. Two of the five crew members were injured and all had to be airlifted to safety.
The report said the training exercise was held in rough weather with winds of between 36 and 54 km per hour.
The U.S. military has more than 20 of the MV-22 Osprey's deployed at the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa.
Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force is planning to acquire 17 Ospreys to be deployed at Saga airport in southwestern Japan and allocations have been made in the latest defense budget for m.
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