With federal agents armed with automatic weapons standing guard on the courthouse roof, four drug lords who had been serving time in Mexican prisons were brought Q1. into an American courtroom Monday to face drug and Q2. charges.

Among them was Osiel Cardenas-Guillen, believed to be one of the Q3. most responsible for violence along the Texas-Mexico border in recent years, said Karen Tandy, chief of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

The Mexican government was willing to Q4. Cardenas-Guillen and the other suspected drug lords because they had been able to continue their drug operations from within prison in Mexico, not because of U.S. pressure, officials said. They were flown into Houston late Friday and early Saturday.

The men face charges that include drug importing and distribution, threatening a federal agent and money Q5. .

Passage 2
Journalists have long beenQ6. for accepting junkets, freebies and gifts offered by various companies as a swap for a bit of Q7. free publicity. Well, apparently they’re not alone. Looks like there’s also been a cosy nexus existing between pharmaceutical firms and the medical Q8. for a while now.

In exchange for overseas shopping Q9. entertainment expenses and contributions in cash or kind, drug majors tacitly expect practitioners to promote their brand of medicines or equipment while writing prescriptions.

According to insider information, this has reached such a point in some tier I and II cities that doctors on the take there have Q10. out whole colonies for themselves where one brand or the other enjoys monopoly status. However, the Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) may finally have done something about it, though a little late in the day by drawing up a self-regulatory code of conduct based on internationally accepted norms.