‘Godfather’ arrested in huge Spain raid | Olive Press Newspaper

‘Godfather’ arrested in huge Spain raid Olive Press Newspaper: "gang is suspected of supplying drugs to Europe as well as firearms to inner-city gangs in the UK.
“We also believe this network has been offering a global investment service, ploughing hundreds of millions of pounds of dirty cash into offshore accounts, companies and property on behalf of criminals.”It is also believed to have organised money laundering scams involving building projects with other criminal groups.
“We also believe this network has been offering a global investment service, ploughing hundreds of millions of pounds of dirty cash into offshore accounts, companies and property on behalf of criminals,” said a statement released by the UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA).
A number of lawyers have also been apprehended in connection with these allegations and there are further searches taking place in Marbella, Estepona and Fuengirola.
“Today’s arrests will have dealt a major blow to an organised criminal business suspected of supplying drugs and guns to gangs in cities across the UK and Europe,” added SOCA.
Some 750 agents from Britain, Spain and Ireland were all involved in the largest ever operation undertaken by SOCA.
Officers also searched property in Belgium, Cyprus and Brazil."

FBI smashes two Bulgarian crime rings in Las Vegas - report - Foreign - The Sofia Echo

FBI smashes two Bulgarian crime rings in Las Vegas - report - Foreign - The Sofia Echo: "FBI in the United States has smashed two Bulgarian crime rings accused of defrauding Las Vegas and Phoenix area car dealers out of $1.6 million, in addition to skimming ATM machines worth more than $700,000, the Las Vegas Review Journal reported on May 25 2010.

According to the report, a total of 11 people from the two rings were arrested and subsequently charged in three separate indictments in federal court following a two-year FBI investigation involving court-approved wiretaps.

In recent years, authorities in New Zealand, Australia, the US and other countries have reported of the scourge of the 'skimming' scheme, particularly from eastern European crime rings, many of which were organised by Bulgarians.

During the federal court hearing on May 24, assistant US attorney Kathleen Bliss insisted that US citizen Dimitar Dimitrov be kept behind bars.

Bliss said FBI wiretaps show that Dimitrov, a convicted felon in Bulgaria and the US, would be a flight risk and a danger to the community if released from federal custody, the report said."

Jamaica news update - police try to capture... | Gather

Jamaica news update - police try to capture... Gather: "Kingston, the capitol of Jamaica, is under a state of emergency. Police have been attacked by armed gangs. The attacks are an effort to prevent the arrest of the drug lord Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke. His gang is called Shower Posse. It is an international drug smuggling ring.
Last week, the Jamaican government agreed that they would finally extradite ‘Dudus’ to the US. However, ‘Dudus’ supporters have placed barricades and are fighting to protect him.
A police station is actually on fire in Kingston. Police have evacuated women and children from the neighborhoods near the unrest. The state of emergency in the area will last at least a month.
‘Dudus’ is a community leader in the area. His supporters see him as somebody who fills a role that the government does not fill. He gives the people money when they are unemployed, which is why he has so much support."

Timeline of Colombia's Modern Paramilitary Movement

Timeline of Colombia's Modern Paramilitary Movement: "1982: In the central Magdalena River valley, landowners, politicians, military officers and drug traffickers form a group that carries out massacres and assassinations, targeting not just suspected guerrillas but also opposition politicians, prosecutors and innocent civilians.
1990: The Union Patriotica party, a political arm of FARC guerrillas, is largely wiped out after years of attacks by paramilitaries, losing hundreds of politicians, including presidential candidates, to hit men."

Man accused of smuggling 15 pounds of cocaine in candy – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs

Man accused of smuggling 15 pounds of cocaine in candy – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs: "for Robert Lopera, who is accused of trying to smuggle in 15 pounds of cocaine concealed in chocolate candies and pistachios - until he was arrested at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on May 11.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped Lopera, a U.S. citizen, as he was trying to enter the country from Medellin, Colombia.
Lopera was selected for a baggage check, whereupon he handed over a suitcase and duffel bag.
According the to the complaint filed in the Eastern District of New York federal court, a customs officer found a gift package in the suitcase containing several boxes of chocolates and bags of pistachios. The bag seemed a little heavy for only candies and nuts.
Instead of their usual fate of being devoured, officials say, the Ferrero Rocher chocolates were poked and prodded until it was determined that they were filled with cocaine, as were the pistachio shells. Had these treats reached the streets, they could have brought close to $500,000.
Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement are continuing to investigate the drugs' intended destination.
Lopera has been charged with illegal importation of cocaine and awaits federal prosecution.
Post by: CNN's Nicole Bilman

WTXF Main: Prison Escape Prompts Smuggling Probe

WTXF Main: Prison Escape Prompts Smuggling Probe: "city grand jury tries to find out how an accused killer escaped from a city prison.

Oscar Alvarado walked away from the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility on Thanksgiving Day, touching off a nationwide manhunt.

Fox 29's Dave Schratwieser reported that sources say the grand jury is trying to determine if Alvarado had inside help.

Sources say the grand jury investigating the escape met Thursday and has been meeting for weeks now.

Fox 29 News has also learned that a corrections officer has been fired and 10 others suspended for 20 to 30 days in connection with the escape. And the grand jury is also delving into possible corruption in the prison.

The investigation started when Alvarado managed to walk right out of the Curran-Fromhold prison and make his escape undetected. He was on the run for more than two weeks and considered armed and dangerous before he was captured at a local motel. He had been hiding out in New York. Alvarado's sister and two others were also arrested for aiding in his escape from the law.

No one would comment on the specifics of grand jury investigation Thursday, but here's what Deputy Mayor of Public Safety Everitt Gillison had to say.

'We want to get to the bottom of it. We are working with various investigations to find out how that happened, and whenever we are able to definitively have an answer we will take an action,' Gillison said.

Prison officials immediately transferred eight corrections officers after the escape."

UK withdraws €500 note to curb underground mafia | Newspost Online

UK withdraws €500 note to curb underground mafia Newspost Online: "eight months of rigorous analysis of currency trading in the UK, the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) concluded the €500 note as the reason of underground crime as it’s simpler to transfer. The Agency found out that 1million in €20 weighs about 50kgs whereas on the other hand in €500 notes it’s a little less than 2kgs. The mafia thus loves it.
After much of brainstorming and following faint leads, the Agency found that the note originally printed for tourists was making the mafia flourish."

FBI turns to plastic surgery newsletter in search for Bulger - Local News Updates - MetroDesk - The Boston Globe

FBI turns to plastic surgery newsletter in search for Bulger - Local News Updates - MetroDesk - The Boston Globe: "FBI is hoping that during her 15 years on the run with fugitive gangster James 'Whitey' Bulger, his girlfriend might have felt the need for a little makeover.
The bureau took out a full-page ad in the April-May edition of Plastic Surgery News, a newsletter circulated to more than 6,000 plastic surgeons worldwide, with photos of Bulger's gal pal, Catherine Greig, asking, 'Have you treated this woman?'
Greig, a dental hygienist who turned 59 in April, is apparently a big fan of plastic surgery. According to the FBI, she had breast implants, a face lift, a nose job, liposuction, and eyelid surgery before she went on the run with Bulger, and so it's possible she sought a touch-up while on the lam.
'This is one of many techniques that we are employing currently to locate Mr. Bulger and Miss Greig,'' said Gail Marcinkiewicz, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Boston office."

cocaine is once again the drug of choice

June 2004 After years of declining popularity, cocaine is once again the drug of choice. But what’s the real cost of ‘Colombia’s finest’? Every gram of cocaine produced has been watered with the blood of forty years of civil war. It’s a war that kills hundreds of thousands every year, displaces countless more and causes untold misery. Offering exceptional access to the major players, this is a fresh and moving look at one of the world’s forgotten conflicts.

Ex-minister, MP, Indian probed in $4m money-laundering scam

Ex-minister, MP, Indian probed in $4m money-laundering scam: "Public Prosecution has summoned an unidentified former parliamentarian and minister for interrogation for alleged involvement in $4 million money-laundering scam, reports Al-Seyassah daily.
According to security sources this came to light when the suspect former minister failed to pay a Kuwaiti man his commission and the latter filed a complaint with the police.
The Al-Rai daily added an Indian was arrested upon arrival at the Kuwait International Airport for failing to keep his promise to a Kuwaiti man from whom he had allegedly received a cheque of $1 million in return for help in winning a US Army contract in Iraq.
Interrogations with the Indian revealed he had paid $4.29 million to the former minister and the former MP - the money to be invested in projects in Europe and Iraq.
However, the daily did not give details of the deal."

Iran accused of money laundering, drug trafficking

Iran accused of money laundering, drug trafficking: "Yury Charniauski, who owns the TM Services company in Minsk. He was arrested on Dec 24, 2009 at the Bahrain International Airport for attempting to smuggle 500 grams of cocaine. He allegedly arrived from India and was on his way to Saudi Arabia.

During interrogation with the Bahraini police, the Belarusian admitted to the drug smuggling charge but later recanted his confession in front of the Public Prosecution, allegedly upon instructions from the Iranian authorities which were reportedly passed on to him through his family.
He is still in the custody of Bahrain police and a verdict is expected on May 12, 2010. If he is found guilty, he faces a minimum of 10 years imprisonment. The maximum penalty for smuggling drugs is death or life imprisonment.

The sources indicated since the arrest of Charniauski the Revolutionary Guard have been exerting all efforts behind the scene to seek his release before he admits to the charge of money laundering and carrying out drug smuggling operations for the interest of the Revolutionary Guard over the years."

Nevsky is first to trial in drug-smuggling case | Other Sports | Sports | Toronto Sun

Nevsky is first to trial in drug-smuggling case Other Sports Sports Toronto Sun: "Andrey Nevsky was an undefeated professional boxer and mixed-martial arts combatant from Boston when his lawyer says he took a job as a bodyguard for a guy who was supposed to be a high-stakes poker player at the Mohawks' Akwesasne reservation that straddles northern New York and Canada.
Now the 26-year-old middleweight is fighting charges that he was part of an international crime ring, which federal and Canadian authorities said they broke up after arresting 45 people and seizing more than $5 million, 25 kilograms of cocaine and 18-hundred kilograms of marijuana.
Nevsky is the first to head to the courts, starting with a pre-trial hearing in Albany on Monday. His trial is scheduled to start May 10."

The Associated Press: Gunshot starts stampede at Mexico fair; 5 killed

Gunshot starts stampede at Mexico fair; 5 killed: "Five people were trampled to death early Sunday when a gunshot fired at a cattle fair sent a panic-stricken crowd rushing for the exits in a northern Mexico town already on edge from rampant drug violence.
At least 17 other people were injured at the fair in Guadalupe, outside the industrial city of Monterrey, said Adrian de la Garza, head of the Nuevo Leon State Investigative Agency."

Is that a candle – or a consignment of smuggled cocaine? - Crime, UK - The Independent

Is that a candle – or a consignment of smuggled cocaine? - Crime, UK - The Independent: "From home-made submarines to swallowable pellets made out of condoms, cocaine barons have long resorted to unusual methods to smuggle their merchandise into Europe. But even the most suspicious customs officer would be unlikely to cast a second glance at plastic buckets, beeswax candles or bird faeces as likely drug hiding places."

Mexican streets bloodied in drug gang wars

Mexican streets bloodied in drug gang wars: "Twenty five people were fatally shot in the northern state of Chihuahua bordering the United States.Other slayings included four people who were fatally shot in a bar in the town of Camargo, near the state capital Chihuahua City.Other deaths occurred in the violence-plagued Ciudad Juarez, Mexico's murder capital.So far this year, more than 850 people have been killed in Ciudad Juarez."

Gangster rests in gold coffin | The Sun |News

Gangster rests in gold coffin The Sun News: "At his funeral in Melbourne his family paid tribute to him as a 'family man' as mourners carried his body in the gleaming £18,000 gold casket.
The service passed off peacefully under the watchful gaze of 12 police guards.
Photographs of Williams — known as the 'smiling assassin' — were shown to more than 100 friends and family to the sound of Tina Turner's Simply the Best."

Mexican traffickers get help from US prison gangs

Mexican traffickers get help from US prison gangs: "Mexican drug traffickers need someone killed or kidnapped, or drugs distributed in the United States, they increasingly call on American subcontractors — U.S.-based prison gangs that run criminal enterprises from behind bars, sometimes even from solitary confinement.
Prison gangs have long controlled armies of street toughs on the outside. But in interviews with The Associated Press, authorities say the gangs' activity has expanded beyond street-level drug sales to establish a business alliance with Mexican cartels."