1.   Already, he said, the authorities have cracked several food stamp trafficking rings in Texas.

2.   National security laws stretching back to the Cold War prohibit the export of software with strong encryption so that law enforcement authorities can crack the code.

3.   Authorities have cracked a West African crime ring that allegedly bilked businesses around the globe of millions of dollars, a federal agent said Friday.

4.   Authorities cracked the case after the sister of one of his rape victims called police.

5.   He refused to name the villages for fear authorities would crack down even harder if local residents were found giving information to foreign journalists.

6.   Egyptian authorities have cracked a gang which was arranging marriages between young girls and rich, elderly Gulf Arabs, the daily Al-Ahram reported Saturday.

7.   The authorities cracked the whip after the doctors refused to end the strike called to demand the reinstatement of a colleague who was sacked in January for alleged incompetence.