International

Female executive director of Bay Area police union charged with importing fentanyl, opioids to U.S. over six years

Published

6 months ago

April 4, 2023

Head of the San Francisco Bay Area police union is facing federal charges for her involvement in not only smuggling thousands of synthetic opioids including fentanyl into the United States, but also intent to distribute them as well to our citizens.

64-year-old Joanne Marian Segovia, Executive Director of the San Jose Police Officers Association, “has been charged with attempt to unlawfully import a controlled substance — specifically valeryl fentanyl, a fentanyl analog — according to a complaint filed in federal court earlier this week” reports ABC News.

Documents show that between 2015 and 2023, Segovia received 61 shipments labeled with unsuspecting terms such as “Wedding Party Favors,” “Shirts Tops,” “Gift Makeup,” “Chocolate and Sweets,” “Food Supplement,” “Health Product” and “Supplement.”

The illicit drugs were shipped to Segovia from countries including Hong Kong, Hungary, India and Singapore, according to the complaint.

ABC News reports:

Between July 2019 and January 2023, as part of an ongoing Homeland Security investigation into controlled substances being shipped into the San Francisco Bay Area from India, authorities intercepted and opened five such shipments and found that they contained thousands of pills, including the synthetic opioids Tramadol and Tapentadol, prosecutors said.

In a voluntary interview with Homeland Security agents in February, Segovia reportedly claimed to have only ordered “supplements” and “nothing out of the ordinary,” according to the complaint. She reportedly denied ordering or receiving prescription medications through the mail and said that she would never do so, adding, “I wouldn’t even know where to start,” according to the complaint.

In a second interview earlier this month, Segovia allegedly told investigators “that she had nothing to do with the orders sent to her” and blamed them on a woman she identified as a “family friend and housekeeper,” according to the complaint.

Segovia continued to order controlled substances even after the February interview with Homeland Security, prosecutors allege. On March 13, federal agents in Kentucky seized a parcel purportedly containing a clock that originated from China that was addressed to Segovia and allegedly contained valeryl fentanyl, the complaint said.

Amid the investigation, agents also found emails and WhatsApp chat messages on Segovia’s phone allegedly talking about shipments of drugs.

Related Topics:drug crisis Featured Fentanyl Joanne Marian segovia

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International

Mental health crisis spikes among Afghan women after Taliban regained control two years ago

Published

5 days ago

September 21, 2023

Sara Carter Staff

The women of Afghanistan are suffering a mental health crisis since the Taliban regained power two years ago. According to a joint report from three U.N. agencies released Tuesday, approximately 70% of women experience feelings of anxiety, isolation and depression.

The numbers continue to rise, as there has already been a significant jump between April and June of this year alone, with an increase from 57% the preceding quarter.

The report, conducted by U.N. Women, the International Organization for Migration and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, interviewed women online, in-person and in group consultations as well as individual telesurveys.

592 Afghan women in 22 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces took part in the study. The Associated Press reports:

They have barred women from most areas of public life and work and banned girls from going to school beyond the sixth grade. They have prohibited Afghan women from working at local and non-governmental organizations. The ban was extended to employees of the United Nations in April.

Opportunities to study continued to shrink as community-based education by international organizations was banned and home-based schooling initiatives were regularly shut down by the de facto authorities — a term use by the U.N. for the Taliban government.

Afghanistan is the only country in the world with restrictions on female education and the rights of Afghan women and children are on the agenda of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The report also served as a vessel for Afghan women to send a message to the rest of the world: do not validate the Taliban government. Forty-six percent of women said international recognition of the Taliban government should not happen under any circumstances, while 50% warned that recognition should only occur under specific conditions contingent on improving women’s rights.

The report notes that the women expressed concern that recognition would only encourage the Taliban government to continue becoming stricter in their policies and practices against women and girls.

Afghan women had specific ideas and suggestions: they “urged the international community to continue political and economic sanctions against the Taliban, including by not granting exemptions to a travel ban. They urged an increase in engagement with the Taliban on gender equality and women’s rights, including by engaging community and religious leaders in awareness and advocacy efforts” writes the Associated Press.