DEA: Heroin Haul Largest Ever in Afghanistan, 'if Not the World'

A joint U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, American Special Forces and Afghan counternarcotics operation in October resulted in an eye-popping seizure of 20 tons of drugs, which officials said was the "largest known seizure of heroin in Afghanistan, if not the world."

The operation was kept under wraps until today, when a DEA official confirmed the contents of a field intelligence report obtained by ABC News but did not explain why a successful "superlab" takedown — which agency veterans agreed is an unprecedented narcotics haul — was not officially announced.

"This drug seizure alone prevented not only a massive amount of heroin hitting the streets throughout the world but also denied the Taliban money that would have been used to fund insurgent activities in and around the region," DEA spokesman Steven Bell told ABC News yesterday.

He said a conservative estimated street value was about $60 million for the 12.5 tons of morphine base, 6.4 tons of heroin base, 134 kilograms of opium, 129 kilograms of crystal heroin and 12 kilograms of hashish seized in the Oct. 17 raid, which took place in the western Afghan province of Farah, on the border with Iran.

"If that was Pablo Escobar's stash, that would be considered a lot of frickin' heroin," said one combat veteran of the DEA's 11-year counternarcotics mission to blunt the country's heroin trade, referring to the Medellin, Colombia, narcotics kingpin killed two decades ago. "That's going to make a dent in the European market."

The operation's success is all the more extraordinary, given that the footprint of the U.S. military in Afghanistan is now below 10,000 service members and the DEA's numbers have diminished to a handful in-country, sources said. This downsizing has eliminated the DEA's Foreign-Deployed Advisory Support Teams (FAST) in Afghanistan, which target drug traffickers.

A Green Beret A-team aided the agents in executing a warrant search in the western Afghanistan province. After a brief gunfight with insurgents near the compound outside a remote village, the teams also found tons of chemicals in what one report called a "superlab" used to process the poppy into heroin base.

Obama warns Russia on hacking: ‘We can do stuff to you’

President Obama warned Russia on Friday not to wage cyberwarfare against the United States, saying, “We can do stuff to you” as he defended his handling of Moscow’s alleged hacking of Democrats’ emails to influence the 2016 election.

“Our goal continues to be to send a clear message to Russia or others not to do this to us, because we can do stuff to you,” Obama told reporters at his final press conference of 2016.

His comments came shortly after it was disclosed that the FBI agrees with the CIA’s conclusions that Russia targeted Democrats with the aim of helping President-elect Donald Trump win on Nov. 8.

Obama promised that any U.S. retaliation against Russia would come “in a thoughtful, methodical way” that might be hidden from the U.S. public.

“Some of it we do publicly, some of it we will do in a way that they know but not everybody will,” he said. “The message will be directly received by the Russians and not publicized.”

Obama defended his response to Moscow’s alleged intrusion, saying, “We handled it the way it should have been handled.”

Dumped boyfriend, 20, found dead left heartbreaking last Facebook post telling ex-girlfriend where to find Christmas presents

A young man was found dead just hours after writing a heartbreaking last Facebook post saying "I don't know what to do anymore".

Kieran Lister, from Leeds, told friends and family he had recently split with his girlfriend of two years but stressed 'this isn't her fault'.

The 20-year-old's final message told his ex-partner where to find her Christmas presents and asked his family to sell his belongings and give the money 'to someone else that's in need'.

Kieran also asked Facebook not to remove his message in the hope it will be an "eye opener to the people that are looking for happiness".

Thick fog across the UK causes chaos at UK airports leaving thousands of passengers stranded

Thick fog has sparked chaos at some of the country's busiest airports.

London's Heathrow , London City and Gatwick were all affected after the south east became covered in a thick blanket of heavy fog.

Pilots were forced to land in shockingly poor conditions, with visibility in some areas down to just 100m.

Passengers found themselves stuck on runways or facing hours of delays at airports, as some inbound flights were diverted or cancelled.

London City airport diverted all inbound flights, while 50 flights at Heathrow were cancelled.

DENNIS RODMAN EX-BIZ MANAGER ARRESTED FOR FRAUD

Dennis Rodman's former business manager was busted for allegedly defrauding several pro athletes out of millions of dollars.

According to the Houston prosecutor's office ... Peggy Ann "King" Fulford was taken into custody Friday in New Orleans and charged with 8 criminal counts, including wire fraud, mail fraud, interstate transportation of stolen property and money laundering.

Soldiers revolt against their superiors in Borno state

Aggrieved soldiers at the 21 Brigade of the Nigerian Army are currently on rampage over allegations of mistreatment and insincerity on the part of some of their senior officers.

According to Premium Times, the soldiers this morning began to shoot indiscriminately into the air and even threatened to kill any senior officer who comes out to stop them. A military source in Borno who spoke on condition of anonymity said;

“The brigade is based in Bama but is currently deployed at Bula Bello in Sambisa for Operation Rescue Final. But suddenly soldiers started mutinying at 6AM today, firing in all directions and threatening to pull out of the operation. As some of them fire gunshots, some started preparing vehicles to move out of location. They also warned officers to steer clear or they would be shot dead. They are saying their commanders have been treating them badly and telling them lies. As I speak to you, the firing is still going on, and there is confusion everywhere.”

This is not the first time soldiers are revolting against their superiors. In May 2014, angry soldiers at the newly formed 7th Division of the Nigerian Army in Maiduguri revolted against their boss, Major General Abubakar Mohammed, shooting sporadically.

Expert who has interviewed billionaires reveal their secret to their success and they're very simple

Vikas Shah, a Professor of Entrepreneurship has interviewed the likes of Sir Richard Branson, Sir James Dyson, and Steve Ballmer and here he reveals their simple secrets. Their secret formula is captured in these ten points and unsurprisingly, passion is a vital ingredient. These people set out to pursue something they love doing and make a change without intending to make crazy money in the first place.

1. Find your passion: The vast majority of people who have made their billions didn’t intend to make that money; they found something they were unbelievably passionate about, and made it their life. It just so happened their timing was perfect, and it became a huge wealth generator – but that passion was the starting point.

2. Be resilient: The overwhelming majority of billionaires I’ve met advise me that you have be resilient. You have to be able to get back up after the knocks, you have to be prepared to fail and to embrace that, and you have to be prepared to operate outside the comfort zone of your normal life.

3. Don’t chase wealth: Without exception, every single billionaire I’ve met has told me that starting a business for them was never about the money – it was about making a big change in the world, whether that’s revolutionising technology, solving a problem, improving lives, or creating something. That was the driver.