1.   A police officer who asked not to be named said MR was a member of an international drug trafficking syndicate and had frequently smuggled drugs using the same technique.

2.   The official attributed the sharp increase to a bust of a major drug trafficking syndicate more than two years ago in a nearby province.

3.   Chinese authorities in southern China have smashed an armed drug trafficking syndicate with the arrest of five suspects, it was reported Friday.

4.   Two members of a major Barcelona-based tobacco trafficking syndicate were arrested soon after the seizures, carried out on Friday, the spokesmen added.

5.   The arrest came after police received a tip that a drug trafficking syndicate, run by Chinese nationals, was operating in the country.