Lateline - 27/10/2010: Medich charged with organising McGurk murder

Lateline - 27/10/2010: Medich charged with organising McGurk murder: "More than a year after Sydney businessman Michael McGurk was shot dead, his former business associate Ron Medich has been charged with organising his murder.

The 62-year-old was arrested today and became the fifth person charged in connection with the killing.

The dramatic development came after a lengthy investigation into the brazen shooting.

Late today, the property developer was refused bail."

BBC News - Guns 'easily available' in Sheffield

BBC News - Guns 'easily available' in Sheffield: "Guns are easily available to young people 'in the know' in Sheffield, according to a report into gangs.
The Youth Offending Service report was carried out in June in response to the 2008 murder of Tarek Chaiboub, 17, who was shot by gang members in Burngreave.
It warns there is a 'misconception' that guns are difficult to obtain in Sheffield and states the problems must remain a high priority for agencies.
Police said they worked to keep the city safe but gangs would always exist."

Escondido night spots 14 people were arrested overnight by undercover agents at sports bars and clubs across the city

Some bartenders and bouncers have been dealing drugs in Escondido night spots, and 14 people were arrested overnight by undercover agents at sports bars and clubs across the city, police said today.

The Friday arrests stemmed from six months of investigation by undercover federal agents, the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and the Escondido Police Department, said John Carr, spokesman for the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

During the investigation, undercover state agents made 32 different purchases of drugs, including methamphetamine, cocaine, illegal prescription drugs and high-grade marijuana, Carr said.

The sellers were allegedly bar bouncers, bartenders, waiters and patrons, and the state alcohol board will move to suspend or revoke the liquor licenses of bars where employees were arrested, Carr said.

Drugs were allegedly sold in Pounders Sports Bar at 125 W. Grand Ave., El Rodeo Bar at 425 N. Rose St., Thee Spot at 945 W. Valley Pkwy., Club Anitas at 1320 E. Valley Pkwy., Senor Taquito at 1620 E. Valley Pkwy., Escondido
Sports Pub at 1205 S. Escondido Blvd. and Woodies at 717 N. Escondido Blvd., Carr said.

Among those arrested were Lura Gentry Banks, 48, of Escondido; Jerome Wayne Peter Benvento, 28, of Carlsbad; Albert Juan Ornelas, 38, of Escondido; Alicia Lopez, 25, of Escondido; Mireya Lopez, 28, of Escondido; Yesenia Perez, 19, of Escondido; Elvia Rosario Sanchez-Rios, 23, of Escondido; Shameka Jeannetta Johnson, 30, of Vista; Marcus Boshawn Cotton, 30, of Escondido and Thomas Curtis Lanham, 41, of Escondido.

Read more: http://www.swrnn.com/southwest-riverside/2010-10-23/local-county-news/escondido-night-spots-swept-during-drug-bust-14-arrested#ixzz13E3PQSkX

Gerlandino Messina, 38, was arrested in the Sicilian town of Favara, near Agrigento. He was wanted for several murders and criminal association with the mafia.

Italian police said Saturday they had arrested a top mafia boss who had been on the run since 1999 and was on the list of Italy's 30 most wanted fugitives.

Gerlandino Messina, 38, was arrested in the Sicilian town of Favara, near Agrigento. He was wanted for several murders and criminal association with the mafia.

Some Italian media said he was considered the Sicilian Mafia's number 2, behind the top boss Matteo Messina Denaro, who is still on the run.

The arrest is the latest in a string of high profile arrests of top mobsters by Italian police.

An Italian Interior Ministry statement said 28 of the 30 most dangerous mobsters were now in jail, but Italian media said more names had been added to the list, which is regularly updated by authorities, and 16 top mafia bosses were still wanted.

Europes largest brothel opens its doors in Catalunya

Europes largest brothel opens its doors in Catalunya: "Europe's largest brothel has opened it's doors in Gerona (Catalunya).
With 2,700 square meters of floor space, 80 private rooms and some 160 women available, the owners of the brothel boast that not only is it the largest in Europe, but also a safe and comfortable environment for prostitutes and their clients to relax. The brothel, called Paraiso, is located in the city of La Jonquera.
Gerona is famous for its brothels, as its proximity to France means a large number of French men cross the border to pay for sex, a practise that is illegal in France. It is estimated that almost 2,000 prostitutes work in La Jonquera's brothels, as well as many more in the street.
Brothels are not illegal in Catalunya, as the law considers them to be commercial establishments. A regional law regulates local brothels, establishing minimum working conditions for prostitutes.
However, the owner of Paraiso, José Moreno, has reportedly been arrested twice before in sex trafficking investigations in the region. Women pay around 80€ a day to use a room at the Paraiso and keep the difference.
'These women are all of legal age, who have entered this business knowingly and are legal in Spain' said Sr Moreno. 'They have applied for positions here, and are not employed by me or bound by any contract other than that of good conduct'."

Darin Bufalino, the reputed New England mobster who spent years in hiding in Ireland and Spain to escape a trial for armed robbery, was finally arrested at his home

Darin Bufalino, the reputed New England mobster who spent years in hiding in Ireland and Spain to escape a trial for armed robbery, was finally arrested at his home on Wednesday night by Massachusetts State Police as part of a major investigation into organized crime.

He allegedly hid in Ireland for several years, working as a male model and also at a pub, before he fled to Spain where he was captured and extradited to theUnited States.

Bufalino, 49, was charged with extortion, conspiracy to commit extortion, and being a habitual offender.

Police told the press that Bufalino's arrest was part of a wider case against 30 people, including the feared New England mob capo Mark Rossetti, jailed since his indictment on heroin trafficking charges in May.

Bufalino, described by law enforcement officials as a "long-term, well-known organized crime figure," fled the country in 1985 to avoid an armed robbery trial.

While he lived abroad Bufalino was charged in the 1984 murder of a Massachusetts drug dealer and he was was named one of the state's most wanted fugitives from justice.

Then in 1999 he was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for a 1993 bank heist and he was eventually released in 2005.

In January of 2009 he was rearrested for allegedly robbing a Massachusetts landscaper of $11,000 and he was currently free on bail, wearing an electronic bracelet, when he was arrested.

GLOBAL mafias are using corrupt nations in west Africa to run their syndicates

GLOBAL mafias are using corrupt nations in west Africa to run their syndicates and the area is now a ''hole in the wall'' in the international fight against organised crime, says the former head of Britain's top police unit.

William Hughes, the former director-general of the Serious and Organised Crime Agency, made the comment in an address to an organised crime conference in Melbourne yesterday, in which he called for more international co-operation in tackling transnational crime.

''Organised crime is already starting to be - and will in future become - the most serious issue for democracies and governments, and their ability to control their states,'' he said.

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Instead of relying on domestic law enforcement to tackle a global problem, countries needed to include organised crime in their national security strategies.

In 2008 the then prime minister, Kevin Rudd, released a national security strategy and included organised crime as one of its concerns.

Eleven more people have been arrested in a large illegal drug ring on the Saint Croix Indian Reservation in northwest Wisconsin.

Eleven more people have been arrested in a large illegal drug ring on the Saint Croix Indian Reservation in northwest Wisconsin.

The state Justice Department joined tribal police and other agencies in arresting the latest suspects Tuesday in Barron and Burnett counties. State and local authorities have been investigating the drug ring for several years.

About two dozen people have been sent to federal prison for selling crack cocaine and meth-amphetamines.

Twenty adults and one youth from Grande Prairie have been charged with more than 40 drug-related offences

Twenty adults and one youth from Grande Prairie have been charged with more than 40 drug-related offences.

The charges follow a month-long joint investigation between the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams and the Grande Prairie RCMP.

Police say some of the charges include trafficking, possession for the purpose of trafficking and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. They also say that the majority of the drug charges relate to crack cocaine.

Police seized various drugs, including 50 grams of cocaine, 19 ecstasy tablets, 20 tablets of methylphenidate, along with $2,000 cash and four vehicles.

The people who were charged range in age between 17 and 37 years-old, with the majority being in their early to mid-20’s.

arrest of nine western New Mexico residents on drug trafficking charges.

 five-month investigation by federal agents has led to the arrest of nine western New Mexico residents on drug trafficking charges.

The U.S. attorney's office in Albuquerque says the investigation began in May at the request of the Navajo Nation. The goal was to combat the growing drug trafficking problem in and around the reservation, which spans parts of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah.

The defendants were identified as Grants residents Jason Jaramillo, Lance Rochlitz, Gilbert Aragon and Matthew Gonzales; Prewitt residents Michael Goodson and Georgia Goodson; Tohatchi residents Dion Chato and Nephi Chato; and Melvin Patton of Crownpoint.

They face counts of trafficking marijuana or methamphetamine, or both.

Carlos Ramon Castro-Rocha, accused of running a major smuggling operation from Mexico. He is being held in Mexico City pending extradition.

 The Drug Enforcement Administration says officers arrested 29 people and seized $1.4 million in Colorado Springs from an operation accused of smuggling drugs from Mexico.

Federal officials say the arrests are part of a nationwide investigation dubbed "Project Deliverance," which targets U.S.-based cells suspected of smuggling drugs across the Mexican border.
The project has led to 2,266 arrests, including that of Carlos Ramon Castro-Rocha, accused of running a major smuggling operation from Mexico. He is being held in Mexico City pending extradition.
Federal officials announced the Colorado arrests Wednesday. The Colorado Springs Gazette reports that federal agents also seized 30 pounds of methamphetamine, 13 pounds of cocaine and nearly 4 pounds of heroin.

Two men who stowed away on a cargo ship bound for Montreal are to be held in detention another week while the Canada Border Services Agency tries to confirm their identities.

Two men who stowed away on a cargo ship bound for Montreal are to be held in detention another week while the Canada Border Services Agency tries to confirm their identities.

An Immigration and Refugee Board member rendered that decision Tuesday at hearings for Said Abaoud and Rachid M’Sadek.

The two are among nine men arrested Thursday at the Port of Montreal. The pair said they couldn’t find work in Morocco and decided to hide in a container on a ship they thought was sailing to Spain or Italy.

Seven of the detainees are claiming asylum. Abaoud and M’Sadek initially refused asylum and expressed a desire to go back to Morocco, but Tuesday M’Sadek recanted and said he hadn’t understood the concept of asylum because of a bad translation, and now wants to stay in Canada.

Unfortunately, he missed his chance, said Jacqueline Roby, a CBSA spokesperson. “A person must claim refugee status under interrogation by the CBSA. You can’t do it after,” she said.

M’Sadek claims he had tried to leave Morocco before but was always caught, although he didn’t specify by whom.

The nine hid on a container ship that left Casablanca, Morocco, at the end of September. Once out to sea, they were discovered by crew members, who wired the Canada Border Services Agency. The men were arrested when the ship docked in Montreal last week.

When the men were found, they claimed to be from Iraq and gave false testimony about their names. Later, all admitted to being Moroccan.

None of the men has been able to produce valid and legitimate proof – either a current passport or a government-issued identity card – that they are who they say they are.

The seven other stowaways who are seeking asylum were ordered on Friday to be detained for a week.

Tuesday, M’Sadek said through an Arab/French interpreter that he could not find work in Morocco and lived with uncles who beat him, and that he wanted to stay in Canada.

While certain hardships, like persecution, listed in the Geneva Convention can qualify a claimant for asylum, a bad economy and a lack of jobs aren’t among them, said Robert Gervais, of the Immigration and Refugee Board.

If in a week the Border Services Agency is still not satisfied about the identities of the men, they could be detained even longer, he added.

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/stowaways+held+another+week/3664607/story.html#ixzz12uCXy6q2

Edmonton drug arrests reveal roots of new gang

Edmonton drug arrests reveal roots of new gang: "EDMONTON — Five people — including two currently incarcerated at the Edmonton Max — are facing charges of conspiracy to traffic in cocaine after a lengthy investigation by the Edmonton police service’s drug and gang enforcement unit.
The accused also face charges of committing an indictable offence for a criminal organization, which essentially means they intended to establish a new gang in the city aimed at trafficking drugs, according to a police spokesman.
“These arrests in all likelihood prevented a potentially dangerous gang from establishing in our city,” said Insp. Greg Preston in a news release."

Mexican Assassins and Hit Men are Low on the Salary Scale

Mexican Assassins and Hit Men are Low on the Salary Scale: "“The good ones are expensive, but you can always find someone who would do the work for €75 or €150 euros” [€1.00=US$1.40]. For €150 euros, an inexpert gang member can get a low profile target killed; for €15,000, an expert can kill the chief of police in Mexico City, or at least that is what the hit man who killed Mr. Robles Liceaga, the chief of police in Mexico City until 2002, said he was paid.
The cost of an assassination in Mexico is unusually low. Indeed, hired assassins in other regions of the world get much more. A study by the National Institute of Criminology in South Australia showed that the median salary of a hit man in Australia is €9,800 euros — although it can reach €60,000 per task. Hit men’s salaries in Spain are also high. According to government statistics, there are about 40 assassinations done by hit men a year, each one at a price of between €20 and €50,000 euros.
Indeed, developed countries tend to offer better salaries in all professions — not just to hit men. Yet, even when accounting for income differences, Mexican hit men are underpaid. In other Latin American countries such as Argentina, where the GDP per capita and income inequality levels are similar to those in Mexico, hit men are paid between €2,700 and €4,000 euros per event. Under any standard, assassination in Mexico is a bargain"

cocaine and heroin traffickers are earning almost 280 million dollars every day, almost 12 million dollars every hour, and almost 200,000 dollar every minuteOrganized crime generates $120 billion annually: UNOD

Organized crime generates $120 billion annually: UNOD: "Organized crime generates revenues of more than 120 billion dollars globally every year, with drug smuggling by far the most lucrative activity, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime said Monday.
'Organized crime has ballooned to global proportions,' UNODC chief Yury Fedotov told a meeting here marking 10 years since the adoption of the so-called Palermo Convention on transnational organized crime.
Amid fears that globalisation was 'extending the reach of crime in unprecedented ways,' the convention was a 'powerful but underutilized tool', Fedotov said at the start of the meeting.
Some 157 states had ratified the convention, which forms the global basis for extradition and mutual legal assistance, but Fedotov said more awareness was needed of how states could make more effective use of it, by co-ordinating efforts by law enforcement agencies.
UNODC calculated that heroin and cocaine smuggling generated annual revenues of 105 billion dollars worldwide, which was being invested in criminal businesses and fuelling terrorism.
'To put it another way: cocaine and heroin traffickers are earning almost 280 million dollars every day, almost 12 million dollars every hour, and almost 200,000 dollar every minute,' it said."

More Latin Kings Rounded Up on Federal Charges | Long Island Press

More Latin Kings Rounded Up on Federal Charges Long Island Press: "Eight additional reputed members of the Latin Kings street gang have been rounded up on federal charges of conspiracy to commit murder and trafficking in drugs and guns.
A grand jury also indicted new charges against five of the eight alleged Latin Kings from Huntington Station arrested in March. The 13 suspects—some of whom are allegedly from the Brentwood division of the gang—were scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in Central Islip federal court."

American Airlines baggage handler Victor Bourne and former American Airlines dispatching crew chief Miguel Bozza with drug trafficking and related charges

 "U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York announced charges against two airline employees for the their role in a drug smuggling scheme. The charges stem from an investigation led by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ) Office of Homeland Security Investigations ( HSI ).

A superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Brooklyn was unsealed today charging former American Airlines baggage handler Victor Bourne and former American Airlines dispatching crew chief Miguel Bozza with drug trafficking and related charges. The superseding indictment also charges Maria Alleyne, the mother of Victor Bourne, with structuring the purchase of money orders to avoid financial reporting requirements.

The charges were announced by U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Loretta E. Lynch and James T. Hayes, Jr., special agent in charge of ICE HSI in New York.

Assistance for the investigation was provided by the Internal Revenue Service, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

According to the indictment and other court filings, between 2000 and 2009, Victor Bourne, a Barbadian national, was the leader of a drug trafficking organization ( the 'Bourne Organization' ) that relied on corrupt employees of commercial airlines, including American Airlines, at domestic and international ports of entry to smuggle drugs into the United States and throughout the Caribbean. As part of its criminal activity, the Bourne Organization allegedly arranged for cocaine to be stowed aboard American Airlines flights leaving the Caribbean for John F. Kennedy International Airport."

Three more in court over super city scam - National - NZ Herald News

Three more in court over super city scam - National - NZ Herald News: "Three more men arrested in connection with an alleged Auckland super city election voting scam appeared in court today.
Davinder Singh, 45, Harmesh Singh, 51, and Paramjit Singh, 48, appeared in Manukau District Court facing charges of fraud after change of address forms involving hundreds of voters in south Auckland were allegedly forged.
Their arrests followed charges laid by police against prominent Papatoetoe ward candidate Daljit Singh and another man, whose name remains suppressed."

Two men were arrested in Britain on Wednesday after Australian, British and Spanish police carried out coordinated swoops over alleged corruption involving the banknote-manufacturing firm, Securency International Pty Ltd.

AFP: Malaysia arrests trio linked to banknote case: "Malaysian's anti-corruption agency said it has arrested three individuals over an Australian banknote supply contract scandal, as an international probe into the case deepened.
Two men were arrested in Britain on Wednesday after Australian, British and Spanish police carried out coordinated swoops over alleged corruption involving the banknote-manufacturing firm, Securency International Pty Ltd.
The firm is part owned by Australia's central bank.
Malaysia's Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said the trio were arrested last month after claims emerged that the Melbourne-based Securency International offered bribes to officials in Malaysia.
'I can only confirm that the MACC has arrested three persons to assist in the investigation. We arrested them about a month ago,' MACC investigation director Mustafar Ali told AFP. The arrests were not reported previously.
Mustafar said the three were released after being held for questioning and none of them has been charged in court yet. He declined to elaborate on their alleged role in the scandal.
He also declined to confirm whether the trio included a businessman who according to reports paid 11.3 million ringgit (3.65 million dollars) to lobby Malaysia's central bank and government officials to use the polymer banknotes."

AFP: Colombia arrests 34 traffickers in major drug bust

AFP: Colombia arrests 34 traffickers in major drug bust: "Police in Colombia have arrested 34 members of a major drug trafficking network that smuggled tons of cocaine a month into the United States through Venezuela, officials here said Thursday.
Officials said the coordinated drug bust extended to 10 of Colombia's 31 states, called departments, and also involved traffickers in neighboring Venezuela.
'It was an international organization dedicated to drug trafficking along the Colombia-Venezuela-US corridor,' Defense Minister Rodrigo Rivera told members of the media here.
One of the hubs of the operation was in the central Colombian department of Meta, infamous for its thriving drug trade, Rivera said.
He said the arrests were made with the help from the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).
The drug trafficking ring was led by two brothers who inherited the network from Daniel Rendon Herrera, alias 'Don Mario,' who until his capture last year was considered Colombia's most powerful drug trafficker since Pablo Escobar, killed in 1993.
'Don Mario,' who rose through the ranks of right wing death squads, assumed control of drug trafficking routes relinquished by the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) paramilitary when they demobilized in 2006.
His brother, Freddy Rendon -- alias 'the German' -- commanded an AUC unit, but 'Don Mario' was believed to have derived his strength from ties he forged with Mexican drug lords."

Parkville detention centre guards accused of running fight club | Herald Sun

Parkville detention centre guards accused of running fight club Herald Sun: "FIGHT clubs organised by guards have been run in one of Victoria's toughest youth detention centres, according to an ombudsman's report. Whistleblowers claimed corrupt guards also helped offenders smuggle contraband into the jails, stole goods, assaulted detainees, falsified records and slept on night shift.
In a scathing report, Ombudsman George Brouwer found that the Parkville centre in Melbourne, which houses offenders aged 10-21, was unfit for habitation and should be closed.
The report found conditions were in breach of government health regulations, prison standards and contravened UN rules for the protection of juveniles."

Organized Crime Arrests: County, Federal Authorities Arrest Five People In Organized Crime Ring In Madison, Jefferson & Etowah Counties - WHNT

Organized Crime Arrests: County, Federal Authorities Arrest Five People In Organized Crime Ring In Madison, Jefferson & Etowah Counties - WHNT: "following men have been arrested in the case:

Antwain Lashon Harvey, 31 years old, 417 Old Farm Dr., Birmingham, was charged with one count of trafficking in marijuana
Vincent 'Vinnie' Harrell, 38 years old, 100 Horse Tree Pl., Madison, was charged with one count of trafficking in cocaine, one count of trafficking in crack cocaine, one count of a felon in possession of a firearm and a felony probation violation
Anthony Harvey, 56 years old, 114 Park St., Gadsden, was charged with one count of trafficking in marijuana and one count of trafficking in crack cocaine
Eroma McCurdy, 48 years old, 116 Park St., Gadsden, was charged with one count of trafficking in crack cocaine
Eugene Harrell, 73 years old, 711 Henry St., Gadsden, was charged with one count of trafficking in cocaine

'This was a lengthy and thorough investigation by a myriad of local, state, and federal agencies that has had a significant impact on the narcotics dealing in Etowah County, as well as other parts of the state,' states District Attorney Jimmie Harp. 'These defendants face very lengthy prison sentences and should send a message to those who are dealing in illegal drugs in Etowah County that you will be caught, prosecuted and sent to prison.'

Agents seized 16 firearms, including assault weapons, handguns and a short barreled shotgun. They also confiscated one pound of crack and powdered cocaine.

'In less than three minutes, five search warrants were successfully executed, over 120 miles apart, with no injuries,' said Commanded Rob Savage, of the joint effort on Tuesday morning."

Agents arrest two dozen dealers connected heroin trafficking

Agents arrest two dozen dealers connected heroin trafficking: "Narcotics agents from the state attorney general's office on Tuesday arrested two dozen people they say are 'street to mid-level' drug dealers responsible for trafficking large amounts of heroin in the region.
The dealers obtained the drugs on the North Side; they are believed to have been supplied by street gangs and repackaged into smaller amounts for sale to Beaver and Butler county communities, the office said.
Agents identified the suspects through undercover drug buys, controlled purchases and search warrants. They started their investigation in Beaver and Butler counties, which led them to Pittsburgh's North Side.
Agents so far have seized 2,500 stamp bags of heroin, 11?2 ounces of crack cocaine and four handguns. The office said more arrests are likely."