Italy ‘Ndrangheta group: Biggest mafia trial in decades opens
Italy’s biggest organised crime trial in decades will see 355 alleged mobsters and corrupt officials tried. These 355 people were charged after investigation into the ‘Ndrangheta group. 900 or more witnesses are expected to give evidence. The charge list includes murder, drug trafficking, extortion and money laundering. The trial begins
New NYPD intelligence unit to tackle far-right extremist threats
The New York Police Department (NYPD) announced Wednesday that it has launched a new unit that will focus entirely on combating far-right extremists and neo-nazis named the Racially and Ethnically Motivated Extremism (R.E.M.E.). R.E.M.E. opened earlier this month and has since begun dozens of investigations into white supremacist groups and
19 Dead In Mexican Cartel Shootout Near U.S. Border
As tensions rise between the US and Mexico, 19 people were killed in a gunfight between alleged members of the Cartel and Mexican government employees on Saturday. The attack occurred in the small city of Villa Union, just an hour from the US border. Mexican authorities stated that they took
Bellingcat OSINT Investigation: An Analysis of Nicaragua’s “Volunteer Police” Paramilitary Arsenal
Open-Source Intelligence Forum Bellingcat has published a report on Nicaragua’s use of paramilitary organizations to quell the country’s protests in 2018, prompting renewed criticism against the uses by NGOs. These open-source data points support widespread reporting from sources formerly within the country’s law enforcement agencies that the paramilitary groups were
Phone scams remain lucrative, but risks exist: Ex-director of FBI, CIA takes on a phone scammer—and wins
Showcasing some of the common elements of basic phone scams and their surprising successes, a recent case saw a Jamaica-based phone scammer attempt to scam William H. Webster, ex-director of both the FBI and CIA and the only person to have headed both agencies. The case started in 2014 when
EU adds Saudi Arabia, Panama to dirty-money blacklist: 23 countries now included
The European Commission maintains a list of countries that do not meet minimum thresholds for oversight against terrorism financing and money laundering. This list and its accompanying policies require European Banks to carry out additional checks on transactions that involve countries from the list. Being a member of the list
U.S. cargo plane ensnared in weapons scheme to Venezuela
The Venezuelan government has accused the U.S. of financing arms deliveries to “terrorist” groups in the country, after showcasing a crate delivered by a U.S.-owned air freight company that allegedly contained 19 assault weapons, ammunition, military-grade radio antennas, and other items. “This material was destined for criminal groups and terrorist
Australia and US seize largest ever meth shipment
In a “historic seizure”, US authorities have confiscated a record amount of about 1.7 tons of methamphetamine in California last month. Smaller amounts of cocaine and heroin were also seized. The US cooperated with Australian police to stop the shipment of Australia-bound drugs, which was worth $911 million. As part of the
Coast Guard seizes 17 tons of cocaine in eastern Pacific over 3 months
The U.S. Coast Guard seized around 35,000 pounds of cocaine during operations in the eastern Pacific Ocean over a three month period. The drugs, confiscated from 21 different fishing and speed boats off the coasts of South America, Central America, and Mexico, originated mostly in Colombia and were destined for
Experts: Capturing Cartel Leaders Increases Violence, Does Not Reduce Flow of Drugs
Since the 1990s, U.S. strategy in the war on drugs has included massive sting operations focused on the top leaders of cartels. The unintended consequences of these takedowns, argues some working in the sector, is that cartels fragment into smaller groups who then war with each other, perpetuating and even