The Horn of Plenty: How piracy became a $413m business

Sorry readers. Your blogger has been researching shiftas in Ethiopia. back now and here's a cracking World bank Report into the financing of piracy.

Greek Internal Affairs division releases report following crackdown on police brutality and neo-nazi ties

Source in Greek:
http://www.vimaonline.gr/default.asp?pid=20&ct=1&artid=12459

Cigarette companies accused of supplying black market in Britain

Nice graphic. Article a bit of a tease.

Terrorist financing: A "Forbes List" of the world's wealthiest terrorist groups

A tongue in cheek attempt to present a top 5 of the world's wealthiest terrorist networks. I promise to follow it up with some more serious thoughts on methodology.

How I bought drugs from 'dark net' – it's just like Amazon run by cartels

Account of journalists use of Tor and the Silk Road. The amount of academics and journalists studying the site makes me suspect that there will be another system already created. Interesting libertarian justification of illegality thrown in!

£1bn a month: the spiralling cost of oil theft in Nigeria

Well, it had to be going on, given that duty is so high that duty evasion has become very profitable. This article accuses all the players of being involved: the military, the oil companies, the refineries. Didn't Europol suggest that oil refineries were being bought by organised crime in last year's report? It seemed odd at the time, but no there are allegations of supply for such refineries. Similar things happening in Syria, probably Libya too. Get that solar power technology moving!

Dodgy deals: One in 10 Italian contracts is corrupt, says EU anti-fraud office report

It would be worth finding the full report. I will check the OLAF website

FBI arrests Silk Road drugs site suspect

Ross William Ulbricht arrested in San Francisco, Silk Road site closed down and many bitcoins seized.

Gangs from eastern Europe use budget airlines to commit crimes across the continent , says Europol chief

Times has a go at Bulgarians, Romanians and cheap air travel. I suppose the Murdoch press will be supporting UKIP in the next election?

Wainwright interviewed and appears to be alleging that Easyjet facilitates Romanian and Bulgarian card skimmers flying in in the morning and off home in the evening. Hmmmm....wonder if he's ever flown budget airline? Easyjet should be consulting their lawyers!

Somali militants mixing business and terror

Piece from New York Times on shifting funding mechanisms for al-Shabab