Chinese Crime Networks targeted by raids in Italy

Guardia di Finanza began the investigation into money laundering and then revealed a large netwrok involving Italians as well as Chinese. Money coming from a counterfeit fashion industry using cheap Chinese cloth to produce Italian fashion items for export to eastern Europe. Smurfing one of the techniques used. brothels and sweat shops discovered, using illegal immigrants whose documents were being held by human traffickers.

World Drug Report 2010: drug use is shifting towards new drugs and new markets

There are links from this UNODC page to the full report, which is a .pdf and seems to be very slow to download. The supply of heroin and cocaine is in decline. Amphetamines are up.

United Nations says that Scotland is global hotspot for cocaine use

Not sure quite why headline writers picked on Scotland here. apparently cocaine use is up all over the UK as Colombian traffickers seek new markets. Heroin use up too. Figures from the new UN World Drug Report.

Work to tackle teenage gangs "patchy"

Joint report by Chief Inspector of Prisons, Chief Inspector of Probation Service and Chief Inspector of Constabulary on missed opportunities to rescues teenagers from lives of crime.

Fugitive "drug lord" arrested in Jamaica

"Dudus" picked up by Jamaican police, allegedly on his way to give himself up at the US Embassy.

Beslan's main terrorist finally caught

It is far too long since I spotted a piece by Yulia Latynina. The sting in this one is in the tail. None of the terrorists captured or killed in the Caucasus recently has been a Chechen or fighting for an independent Chechnya. They were fighting for the Caucasus Emirate. She has comments on the Beslan massacre too as well as some scathing things to say about the security agencies. I must see if she has a blog somewhere

Gang's £60 million drug business among biggest in UK

Skunk smugglers near Swindon. End of their trial, subsequent to "Operation Scarlet". odd that they were importing it. I thought most of this stuff now being grown locally. There's a back story here, I suspect.

Merseyside gang jailed for 60 years for £1 million lorry raids

Gang about 12 strong and judge talks about the heirarchy in his summing up. Operated over a large area, stealing goods from lorries and stealing cars and vans to carry away the contents of the lorries.

Worlds biggest drugs "super cartel" smashed by US in Colombia

Allowing for the hyperbole,this is a big hit. Waiting for more details of the organisation to emerge.

Real IRA plot accused entrapped by MI5, rules judge

Bit of a surprise here, and probably with wider implications. Case against one defendant dismissed, but not against the other defendant. One MI5 agent ruled to have misbehaved, the other to have stayed in characted as an arms dealer. Judges final statement will be worth looking at as it will effectively lay down guidelines for sting operations in the UK, assuming it isnt challenged.

Inside Australia's data retention proposal

Sleepwalking into the police state. I'm not really sure how far we have gone down this path in the UK and the EU, but we had all better pray that the new authoritarians dont win the next election...Oh, you say they already did?

Smoke [and mirrors] behind Bangkok fires

Article from Asia Times on why some buildings may have been torched by the Thai redshirts/blackshirts and not others. Terrorism, crime and the rich. Tell the Guardian its journalists have a lot to learn about how to analyse violence..

Mexican President issues drug war appeal

23,000 people killed since late 2006 when the present campaign was launched, saya the Independent.

As Italian firms fall victim to the recession, Mafia fills the void

Story about 'Ndrangheta moving into the area around Milan. Big trial about to open

New agency bags robbery gang

A Colombian robbery gang arrested in Thailand. New agency following up on arrest warrants issued by other countries.

Medvedev seeks war on Afghan drugs, but US is tepid

Your blogger has to admit that he was not aware of how big a problem Russia has with heroin addiction.

Criminals target small businesses

Report from the Small Firms association in Ireland. With figures! Empirical data!

Paul Pike murdered in Waterloo drive-by shooting

Another one of those violent events that seem to characterise Liverpool, my home city. Looks like they were pretty determined to get him, too.

Polly Peck fugitive Asil Nadir wants to return to Britain to clear his name

If he succeeds, he will have a lot to gain from libel suits. SFO not exactly the most successful at prosecuting this kind of crime so far.
I'm not sure that Times articles will be accessible for much longer as the Murdoch Empire begins to charge for access, so this post may disappear in the not too distant future.

West Midlands Police say CCTV evidence "invaluable"

The local rag doesnt seem to know about the earlier post on the CCTV cameras in Muslim areas. Nor can the Birmingham Post do counting...Met report said only one crime per CCTV camera. They then allow the West Mids coppers to get away with three examples of succesful crime solving...and how many cameras, eh? The Lozells bit gives it away. We expect riots and weve now got the cameras in place to nick the lot of you...Just like the Chinese traffic control system in Tien an men square which caught so many of the demonstrators.

men held at New York JFK airport face terror charge

It is alleged that they were off to join al Shabaab in Somalia. the only problem is that all the evidence will be from talking to an undercover NYPD officer...On the other hand, there will be evidence as to their preparatory activity. We shall see.

Afghan Corruption Czar is "dead meat" if he pursues top level graft

If you want to understand why the Taliban havent gone away, here's the backstory. Very depressing. As usual, the source is foreign money.

Drone doubts strike CIA ranks

Another warning that Obama is confusing the media impact in the US of drone strikes with successful counter-insurgency policy. Tthe drones are recruiting for al Qaeda and the taliban, not discouraging potential recruits, th author of the article argues.

Unmasked: Thailand's "Men in Black"

Article from Asian Times on the paramilitaries within the Redshirt movement. "Paramilitary provocateurs" the journalists call them. There will be more trouble in Thailand.

Crime Handbook provokes fears of increased left-wing violence

Der Speigel the source. Handbook called Prisma. Full of tips. I'd take it more seriously if they had also found the right wing handbook for provoking conflict.

EU's Kosovo mission struggles for credibility after smuggling incident

Romanian gendarmes dismissed from mission after allegedly being caught smuggling alcohol and cigarettes...and in Brussels, theyre surprised?

Heist School

Odd little piece about blogs on stolen art. You may want to visit Turbo Paul after reading it. Lots on the work of Dick Ellis who appears here from time to time as the expert on art theft in the UK. Also lots on how the police appear to frustrate this work too....

Mexican pirates attack Texan fishermen

"Los Zetas" diversify onto the International Falcon reservoir. Marijuana smuggling and extortion. Texas anglers retreat!

US "secret war" expands globally as Special operations forces take larger role.

Back to the 60s and 70s eh? Deployed in 75 countries. totally deniable. Budget of $6.3 billion for 2011...13,000 deployed overseas...Did Obama really replace Bush??? Like, what's the difference, dude?

Affluent Afghans make their homes in opulent "poppy Palaces"

Article from Washington Post. Love the word: "narco-tecture"! Article more grumpy about the break with Afghan tradition than the role of organised crime. Ah me! Everyone's an art critic...

Three jailed for bribes on £1.3 million of education quango contracts

Telegraph story about corruption in Shropshire.

Court uncovers $21 million Pinochet fortune

Rather short article in the Independent. It's all in the title.

English Defence League: Inside the Violent World of Britain's new Far Right

This is the English version of the earlier post from Rome. Provocation and conflict are the agenda for the Summer. Demonstrations planned in high-profile Muslim communities. It will be a bad night when England get knocked out of the World Cup in many UK cities. Stay home!

Surveillance cameras in Birmingham track Muslims' every move

150 Automatic Numberplate Recognition Cameras installed in Washwood Heath and Sparkbrook, 40 of them "covert". Paid for by Terrorism and Allied Matters fund. Your blogger probably needs to look at the local Brummie press to see what locals are saying.

Far-right thugs menace Rome's tourist spots in wave of violence

There are signs that it will be right-wing groups that respond to "the cuts" across Europe more quickly than left-wing groups. In Italy, the link with the mafias has long been strong. The police tend not to respond, because they sympathise with attacks on gays and foreigners. A heady brew bubbling up for Summer 2010. The Summer of Hate?

Terrorist attacks decrease in Europe

Figures from Europol
Only one attack by an Islamic group. The majority of the 294 were by separatist groups in Spain and France. Left wing extremist attacks were also up again to 40.
But a word of caution. The figures dont include the UK, because of different recording methods. A further 124 attacks by dissident republican groups occured in Northern Ireland.

Another ETS fraud raid reveals piles of cash, firearms

This is a carousel fraud with a difference. Trade in carbon credits and VAT evasion.

Warning over mass marketing scams

Mass marketing frauds worth over £3 billion per year says SOCA. So...Theyre having an international day of action. How about nicking a few people, SOCA?! It must be possible to trace these scams to their source, surely? Didnt we once have a Fraud Squad, tasked to deal with this?

Jamaican Dons like Christopher "Dudus" Coke are considered role models

Same old story. If you live in the area, organised crime keeps petty crime under control. Guardian gives the political background and arguse that the tide is turning. Bless it's fluffy social worker head.

Dudus about turn

Piece about the legal process in the Dudus extradition case

Dudus criminals in Kingston turned slum into "fortress festooned with booby traps"

So easy to turn the country of your choice into another Afghanistan or Iraq...Not so easy to rebuild the state and civil society afterwards. So what do we do when organised crime substitutes itself for both state and civil society? This is increasingly an important question that needs answers.

Jamaica clashes claim more than 70 lives

500 arrested too. Wonder if US Justice Department carried out a cost-benefit analysis...No cost to them. High costs to Jamaica. Benefits?? None for anyone as yet. Bit like Mexico really...The police end up illegitimate and the Army has to come in. So what do we do? Cut demand in the US maybe? Nah. Export your problems. Always the best way

Profile: Christopher "Dudus" Coke

BBC produce a rather thin profile of the man wanted by the US

"Dudus" backlash: US blasts Jamaica over extradition delay

Report from Jamaica at begionning of March that US putting pressure on for Jamaica to extradite "Dudus", who contols Tivoli gardens, an area of Kingston. Subsequent events show that the government had good reason to think twice about going in to arrest him.

Monkey Business by porcelain gangs leaves stately homes counting cost

Report drawing together robberies at stately homes and pleading for a national response

Cocaine Traffickers using Submarines in attempt to supply Europe

Weve heard of the submarines going from South to North America before. Now apparentl;y they are crossing to West Africa. this couldnt possibly be part of special pleading not to cut the Royal Navy, could it?