BC-Odds and Ends,0727

Odds and Ends

By The Associated Press

SASABE, Ariz. (AP) – It’s green, leafy and in a can. But it’s not spinach.

Federal authorities seized 34 pounds of marijuana that had been stuffed inside cans of jalapenos and tomatoes bound for America from Mexico.

Customs and Border Protection officers said they decided to open one of the cans because it looked and felt unusual. They found a package of marijuana inside and began to open the other cans.

“For a while, that can is going to take the cake,” said Brian Levin, an agency spokesman. “This was one of the more elaborate attempts – it required creativity.”

The 18-year-old driver of the haul was arrested.

Smugglers have come up with many tricks to hide their drugs over the years, Levin said. Officers have found marijuana mixed in with cucumbers, drugs hidden in baby diapers and hidden in car tires, gas tanks or inside dashboards.

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BALTIMORE (AP) – An elementary school worksheet that tells the story of four people who get away with robbing a house has drawn criticism from a mother who sees it as promoting criminal activity.

The worksheet, called “The Four Robbers,” is part of a booklet designed to prepare children for Maryland’s standardized tests in March. It is intended to teach fourth-graders about sequence of events.

Kenyona J. Moore’s 9-year-old son, Musthapha Muhammad, told her: “I don’t wanna rob a house, Mommy.” Moore said the underlying message of the worksheet to inner-city children is, “This is all you’ll be able to do anyway.”

The lesson on the robbers makes no mention of race, but Moore said that it could have a damaging effect on the self-esteem of children in majority-black city schools.

On Monday, Jeffery N. Grotsky, Area Academic Officer, told principals at 27 elementary schools he oversees to stop using the worksheet about the robbers, a Baltimore schools spokeswoman said.

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MOSCOW (AP) – This is one Russian traffic cop who will never issue a ticket or take a bribe: he’s made of plastic.

A life-size mock-up of a traffic police officer is prompting more drivers to obey the speed limit on a highway in western Russia, real-life officers say.

The fake human figure comes complete with a nearly two-dimensional patrol car, a speed gun and a black-and-white baton – held up to signal travelers to be cautious.

But Alexei Zakharov, the officer who served as the model for the mock-up, said that the sight of his plastic double prompts some drivers to do more than slow down.

“Some drivers stop and come up to him to show their documents, others sit in their cars and wait for the inspector to approach them. They sit there for five minutes and they drive away,” he said.

The fakes are being used on a stretch of busy highway in the Belgorod region near the Ukrainian border. Regional authorities plan to use more of the mock-ups if the experiment proves successful.

Dart helps track suspects

LOS ANGELES (AP) – The car chase capital of the world is going high-tech to end dangerous pursuits across Southern California.

Police Chief William J. Bratton has unveiled a strange new weapon in the police department’s strategy to halt high-speed pursuits – adhesive darts with a global positioning system that are fired at fleeing cars by police.

Once fired from a patrol car, the GPS dart is designed to stick to a fleeing car, allowing squad cars to back off the chase.

“Instead of us pushing them doing 70 or 80 miles an hour,” Bratton said, “this device allows us not to have to pursue after the car.”

U.S. Department of Justice officials suggested testing the StarChase system in Los Angeles. A small number of patrol cars will be equipped with the compressed air launchers, which fire the miniature GPS receivers in a sticky compound resembling a golf ball.

There were more than 600 pursuits in Los Angeles and more than 100,000 nationwide last year. Critics have long questioned the wisdom of police pursuits because they can endanger bystanders and officers.

Bratton, who often calls the city the car chase capital of the world, was asked why there are so many pursuits in Los Angeles: “There are a lot of nuts here,” he said.