A single-engine plane crashed landed in a field of sugar cane in Brazil over the weekend, according to local news media Alagoas 24 Horas, killing the pilot and leaving behind 180 kilograms — or almost 400 pounds — of cocaine. So far, it just sounds like a tale of drug smuggling gone awry. Except that the coke, stacked together in neat bricks and wrapped in plastic, as shown in a video from local police obtained by Alagoas, sported a distinctive label: the official SpaceX logo, in blue and white, giving the story a bizarre space-age twist. The plane crash occurred in the coastal city of Coruripe on the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday afternoon, according to Alagoas. The deceased pilot was later identified as 46-year-old Timothy James Clark, an Australian businessman from Melbourne who seemed to have worked in the country's mining industry and as a pilot. Photos from police show the crumpled plane with a blue-colored tail lying upside down in a field of shattered sugarcane.  The craft was registered to the African nation of Zambia. The case remains under investigation, local law enforcement told Alagoas. The street value of the detained coke is unknown, but according to one recent estimate, the stuff goes for around $1,500 per kilo in Latin America, meaning the plane could have easily been carrying a quarter million dollars in illicit cargo. There's little to indicate where the pilot was headed and why were the drugs branded with the SpaceX logo, but this isn't the first time that a brand affiliated with Elon Musk, the SpaceX CEO, has been slapped on some illegal drugs. A 2017 Forbes article highlighted how drug sellers were using tech company names, such as TripAdvisor and Skype, to brand illicit drugs to users. Musk's electrical vehicle company Tesla was a prominent example, with pills of MDMA often being pressed into the shape of its logo. "The appeal of high tech companies, who have already paid millions for the best graphic design available, as the image they want to be associated with their product is a natural fit," Johnboy Davidson, a representative from ecstasy pill testing database Pill Reports, told Forbes at the time. "You may not be able to afford an actual Tesla but hey why not have the pill with that logo and you’ll feel just as good?" We can imagine that the drug manufacturer for the marooned cocaine in Brazil wanted potential buyers to associate their product with SpaceX's image (not to mention Musk's reportedly worrisome drug use): bold, risk taking, and ready to send you into orbit like a SpaceX Dragon capsule.   https://futurism.com/spacex-cocaine-plane-crash-brazil?_bhlid=f6c5b5a00d9332e8ed8306e5fae0d2bc2e2b98d1

SINGAPORE – Three people have been arrested for their suspected involvement in fake bulk order scams involving impersonation of army personnel from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). The trio, aged between 16 and 31, were arrested during raids by officers from the Commercial Affairs Department’s Anti-scam Command and Central Police Division on Sept 15 and Sept 16. The raids were conducted in the vicinity of Middle Road, Woodlands Street 81 and Cantonment Road, the police said in a statement on Sept 16.   Preliminary investigations revealed that the trio had allegedly acted on the instructions of a scam syndicate. The 16-year-old male teenager and 22-year-old woman had allegedly relinquished their bank accounts to the scam syndicate for monetary gains. Another 31-year-old man had assisted unknown individuals to subscribe to phone lines, some of which were found to be linked to these bulk order scams.   At least five cases of such scams have been reported since Sept 4, with losses totalling at least $32,000, the police said.   The woman is expected to be charged in court on Sept 17 for relinquishing her bank account. If found guilty, she faces a jail term of up to two years, a fine, or both.   Police investigations into the involvement of the man and the teenager are ongoing. “Members of the public should always reject requests by others to use your bank accounts or mobile lines, as you will be held accountable if these are linked to crimes,” the police said. This arrest follows a recent spate of businesses getting bulk orders, often from customers claiming to be from legitimate organisations. The orders, worth more than $1,000, were not paid for and were left uncollected.   In a Facebook post on Sept 14, the Ministry of Defence warned the public about fraudulent bulk orders made by individuals impersonating SAF personnel. It said it was aware of seven such cases, none of which involved actual SAF personnel, and that police reports had been lodged.   In a statement on July 28, the police also warned that scammers may pose as staff from local schools and pretend to make reservations or place bulk orders. The scammers would also request additional items, or specific brands that the targeted businesses do not carry, or quantities that the businesses are unable to fulfil on short notice.Lawyers The Straits Times spoke to said  such actions can constitute cheating, which is an offence under the law.