Man wounded in shooting at downtown bar - Monday, Sep. 27, 2010

Man wounded in shooting at downtown bar - Monday, Sep. 27, 2010: "man was shot four or five times in an argument late last night outside TJs Sports Bar, 21 Central St., police said.
Capt. Gerald Lessard identified the injured man only as a 30-year-old white male saying he was withholding his identification pending notification of his family. The man was shot in the thigh, arm and shoulder but the wounds are not considered life-threatening, Lessard said.
Detectives continue to investigate the shooting that took place about 11:30 p.m. at the Central Street bar located across from Veteran's Park. No one has been arrested. Lessard said the shooting is not believed to be random and that those involved knew each other.
He said an argument broke out among a group of people gathered on the outdoor patio in the rear of the bar. Someone pulled out a gun and repeatedly fired it, wounding the other man."

CIRA brothers behind brutal gang murders - City News, National News - Herald.ie

CIRA brothers behind brutal gang murders - City News, National News - Herald.ie: "TWO brothers murdered drug dealer Sean Winters after demanding – pay us €50,000 cash or be killed.
The IRA pair, in their late 20s and early 30s, who also targeted convicted drug dealer Eamonn Kelly, are described as the most ruthless to appear in Dublin.
They have demanded money from dealers all over the city. One brother was still in custody today over Winters’ murder.
They are also believed to have ordered the shooting of Eamon Dunne's pallbearer Brian O'Reilly in Co Meath last month. Both men survived.
The brothers, who were thrown out of the Continuity IRA before being recently re-admitted, targeted The Don's pals in the weeks following his murder last April. Close friends of Dunne, including Kelly and O'Reilly and two brothers from west Dublin, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were told to pay up or be attacked."

payback hit being planned to avenge the death of Chaouk family patriarch Macchour.

Police trying to stop new gangland war | Herald Sun: "VICTORIA Police are desperately trying to avert a revenge attack in the new gangland war between two western suburbs families. Detectives are understood to be investigating a payback hit being planned to avenge the death of Chaouk family patriarch Macchour.
Sources claim the attack could be as soon as Grand Final day.
The Santiago taskforce has learned the target of the planned execution is Chaouk enemy Ahmad Haddara, patriarch of that family.
It is believed police are concerned sources within the Hells Angels may have been able to obtain firearms for members of the Chaouk family or their associates.
It is believed detectives have met with senior members of the outlaw motorcycle club to try to quell the violence.
The Chaouks believe rival gangland patriarch Haddara was behind the shooting of Macchour last month."

Cops and rivals hunt gangland boss behind chisel attack as he goes on the run - The Daily Record

Cops and rivals hunt gangland boss behind chisel attack as he goes on the run - The Daily Record: "dealer boss of the brutal mob who led the gangland attacks on the Hanlon twins is on the run, we can reveal.
The 28-year-old fronts the gang who drilled James Hanlon's head two weeks ago.
Seven days later he led the same cocaine-fuelled mob as they mutilated James' brother Bryan's groin with a chisel, leaving him fighting for life.
During the second attack in Maryhill, Glasgow, the wealthy hood - who we can't name for legal reasons - even used his own car, a Range Rover.
Police are desperate to capture the ringleader, who is linked to the Lyons crime clan.
The 26-year-old Hanlon twins were allies of rival Daniel family enforcer Kevin Carroll, who was shot dead in January.
In both attacks the gangster victims were rammed off the road before being beaten."

Two top suspects held in gangland murder inquiry | Irish Examiner

Two top suspects held in gangland murder inquiry | Irish Examiner: "One of the men was arrested along with his girlfriend at their flat in Dublin’s north inner city, while the second man was picked up in Blanchardstown, west Dublin.

They bring to six the number of arrests linked to the investigation. All six suspects are aged in their 20s and all are from the north inner-city.

Gardaí recovered two handguns in yesterday’s operation along with 1kg of cocaine, with an estimated street value of €70,000.

The handguns are undergoing a series of tests to see if they are linked to any shootings. Gardaí will have the results before they will have to release the suspects.

They are being detained under section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act, which allows for maximum detention of seven days, on application to the courts. The two men are being held on suspicion of murder.

Garda sources said that, while the first people arrested were on the periphery of the murder, yesterday’s arrests involved people at the centre of the murder.

'It’s some time since we had anyone in and, at this stage of the investigation, we’re at it quite a while and it was time to move. This far down the line, we are moving away from the margins,' said a Garda source.

Detectives from the Dublin north central division led the searches of five houses in Dublin’s north inner city, Blanchardstown, west Dublin, and Bettystown, Co Meath."

Detectives have declared war on underworld hoods who drilled a hole in James Hanlon's head and chopped off his brother Bryan's penis

Police vow to track down thugs who attacked twin brothers in gangland hit - The Daily Record: "no hiding place for gangsters who carried out horrific attacks on the Hanlon twins, police vowed last night.
Detectives have declared war on underworld hoods who drilled a hole in James Hanlon's head and chopped off his brother Bryan's penis in a double gangland hit on busy Glasgow streets.
Police have already arrested one man, who is expected to appear in court today. But there are a number of other suspects on the run after armed officers swooped on several homes in the city last week.
One man who fled naked from the back of a house in Caldercruix, near Airdrie, Lanarkshire, during a police swoop on Friday has yet to be caught.
Detective Superintendent Alan Buchanan, of Strathclyde Police's Major Investigation Team, sent a hard-hitting message to the thugs.
He said: 'You can run but you cannot hide. There is no hiding place. We will find you and put you behind bars.
'We will be keeping the pressure on those involved and their associates in both factions until we find them."

Gangster's arms stash seized - TV3

Gangster's arms stash seized - TV3: "seizure of four loaded machine guns is being described by gardai today as a significant blow to the activities of a criminal gang in Dublin.

The firearms along with silencers and a quantity of ammunition were found in a raid on an industrial unit in the Mulhuddart area of north west Dublin yesterday evening.

A man in his mid 30's was arrested and is being detained at Kevin Street garda station - the search was carried out as part of the on-going investigation into feuding criminal gangs in the Crumlin and Drimnagh areas of the city"

Metro Vancouver gangsters export drug war to Prince George

Metro Vancouver gangsters export drug war to Prince George: "Metro Vancouver gangsters moved north to cash in on a growing market for illegal drugs in Prince George, and triggered a bloody gang war.
There have been a several drug-related shootings, murders and mutilations this year in the northern hub.
All this mayhem attracted the attention of the Metro Vancouver-based Gang Task Force, which has visited the city twice in the last two months"

The Game Tight Soldiers and the Independent Soldiers, were both started in Vancouver

Violent Prince George Gangs Have Their Origins in Vancouver - The Real Scoop: "The Game Tight Soldiers and the Independent Soldiers, were both started in Vancouver.
Both are now fighting over the crack shacks of the Prince George neighbhourhood known as the Hood. There have been shootings, murders and mutiliations.
It was interesting riding along with the task force for two nights of their trip - Sept. 17 and Sept. 18 - to see how the Prince George residents and gangsters reacted to their very visible presence.
Interestingly, we ran into the leader of the the largest gang in town, the Game Tight Soldiers. Steven King, who now lives in Penticton, rode up to the Renegade clubhouse on Fir Street on a Harley with Jason Hall, a full-patch member of the Renegades. He was wearing a Renegades vest with a bottom rocker. King and the GTS were first notice in Vancouver's downtown eastside in the fall of 2007. King was sent back to Ontario on Con-Air a few months later."

18-year-old man shot and killed outside his home over the weekend was likely the victim of a gang-related ambush

18-year-old man shot and killed outside his home over the weekend was likely the victim of a gang-related ambush, police said today.
Adrian Gonzales was one of three men shot about 11:30 p.m. Saturday in the 800 block of Santa Susana Way. Gonzales died at the scene. Two other men, including a housemate, were treated for injuries and released from the hospital early Sunday morning.
A group of men with whom Gonzales had a mutual friend showed up at a gathering at Gonzales' home, investigators said. At some point during the get-together, an argument broke out between Gonzales' friends and the group over its affiliation with a San Francisco gang said Lt. Brian Addington.
Addington said Gonzales was a known gang member, and that his friends had similar backgrounds.
"All three victims have gang affiliations," he said.
The argument ended when the outside group left; it was not clear whether they were told to leave or did so on their own.
Later that night, Gonzales and two friends were leaving the house when a group of waiting men opened fire. Addington said the gunmen were associated with the group that left the house earlier, but that whether they were the same men is under investigation.
Neighbors said they did not hear a party at the house. Dozens of shell casings were found in the road after the shooting, they said. A bullet hole was found in an SUV that was parked on the street.

Arrested. Lew Erskine, 47, an Iron Horsemen from Bethel, had two pistols on him as he sat at the bar with his friends

Arrested. Lew Erskine, 47, an Iron Horsemen from Bethel, had two pistols on him as he sat at the bar with his friends. He has a concealed-carry permit, though firearms are not permitted in bars. He has no local record. He was released from jail over the weekend without having to post bond.

In court Monday, he declined comment after the judge allowed him to continue to remain free without bond. After walking out of the Hamilton County Justice Center, he and friend stopped at a hot-dog vendor and picked up two Mountain Dews before making their way down the street.

For the better part of a year police have been keeping an eye on the Iron Horsemen as it appears at least some members in the group have been moving outside of the normal hangouts - across the river in Covington or in California, Ohio, and Clermont County - and hanging out in the city's West Side neighborhoods, Lt. Col. Vince Demasi said.

All the while another group, based in Detroit, has also been pushing this way, Demasi said.

The groups don't like one another, they tend to have physical confrontations and police are rarely called when that happens, Demasi said.

Demasi said an officer noticed a number of motorcycles outside the bar in the 2400 block of Spring Grove Avenue on Saturday evening and that is when police decided to go in. He would not answer a number of questions: why were so many police officers dispatched to the long-standing bar here in Camp Washington when it is not known as a biker hangout or troublesome bar, who are the injured officers, and who was the man they killed.

An attorney for the motorcycle group, Mike Schulkens of Newport, said he thinks the lookout man may have thought the masked police officers, who were holding out guns, were members of the Detroit Highwaymen.

"It just happened to be a collision of a number of bad circumstances that sadly resulted in a number of officers being inured and a Horsemen being killed," Schulkens said.

BBC News - Police drop Network Private Hire objections

BBC News - Police drop Network Private Hire objections: "Strathclyde Police has confirmed that it is dropping its licensing objections against a taxi firm it had previously claimed was linked to gangland crime.
Network Private Hire is now almost certain to be granted its operators licence by Glasgow City Council.
It was rejected in April on the grounds that a convicted criminal was benefitting from the firm.
Network, which has won several high-profile public sector taxi contracts, is understood to have severed all ties with the person."

Man wanted in shootout arrested | The Post and Courier, Charleston SC - News, Sports, Entertainment

Man wanted in shootout arrested | The Post and Courier, Charleston SC - News, Sports, Entertainment: "Montre Desean Brown, 19, of Alabama Drive, is charged with attempted murder, Dorchester County sheriff's Capt. James Nettles said. Brown was being held in the Dorchester County Detention Center pending a bond hearing. Brown was arrested Tuesday night by North Charleston police, who found him at an apartment complex off Rivers Avenue, Nettles said.
To offer tips
Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 554-1111. All tips are confidential.Brown is accused of being one of three men involved in a mid-afternoon shootout July 30 on Ladson Road near Hamlet Street. The men were firing handguns at the driver of a minivan, which had stopped in the median. The driver returned fire with a handgun, then drove off."

Galicia Ortega is part of a list of 54 subjects belonging to the dangerous Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas released 3 months ago by the U.S. government

El Blog del Narco: "A gunman identified by the Department of the Treasury of the United States as a key element of the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas infiltrated the escort of the Governor of Tamaulipas , Eugenio Hernández, confirmed to U.S. and Mexican officials .

The character , named Marino Ortega Ismael Galicia, who was born on May 31, 1974 , is considered one of the most dangerous drug cartels , according to official records of the Treasury of that country.

Intelligence sources said the United States and Mexico, hit man working in the group of escorts president 's inner circle of Tamaulipas .

Galicia Ortega appears in a photograph as part of the security fence Hernandez. The graph corresponds to the start of the operation Week, Joint Prevention Campaign , which also involved the governor of Nuevo León, Rodrigo Medina.

The photo was taken last March 27 in federal guardarraya road at kilometer 31 of the Reynosa -Monterrey highway , just at the point that divides the two entities.

Galicia Ortega is part of a list of 54 subjects belonging to the dangerous Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas released 3 months ago by the U.S. government . Offered $ 5 million reward for those who provide data for your location and capture.

The list was revised during a high-level meeting between officials from Mexico and the United States held in Mexico City on March 20 , that is, a week before the event that the suspected gunman involved guarding the Governor of Tamaulipas .

Three days after that high-level meeting , the U.S. Treasury Department issued a communication in which he pointed to the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas as ' criminal groups responsible for much of the bloodshed is happening today in Mexico ' ."

El Blog del Narco Edgar Valdez Villarreal, 'La Barbie '

El Blog del Narco: "Edgar Valdez Villarreal, 'La Barbie ', who was the operator of Arturo Beltran Leyva 'El Barbas ' , was arrested Monday in the limits of the State of Mexico and Morelos.

The Public Security Secretariat (SSP ) officially confirmed the capture of drug trafficker Edgar Valdez Villarreal, 'La Barbie 'during an operation by the Federal Police .

So far the agency has offered no further details on the arrest of alleged drug trafficker .

In dependence indicated that in the next few hours will abound in the information.

The Attorney General's Office also confirmed the fact.

For several weeks , the armed forces remained in Morelos , Guerrero , Mexico State and Federal District range of operations in at least nine towns in search of safe houses and cars suspected armed persons linked with Villarreal Valdés .

In July , sailors and soldiers shook operational coordination in Guerrero and Morelos , mainly in the corridor of Cuernavaca and Acapulco."

war between FOB and a rival gang, the FOB Killers

Calgary gangster to finish sentence behind bars for daylight shootout: "FOB member Truong Minh Nguyen will remain behind bars until January 2011 for shooting at rival gangsters outside Calgary's Pacific Place mall in July 2006.
Nguyen, 27, has consistently denied belonging to the FOB gang, but the parole board said he remains a threat to the public if released.
'Your case management team reported that there is no information you have severed your ties with the (FOB) gang,' the parole board wrote in a ruling dated Sept. 9.
A war between FOB and a rival gang, the FOB Killers, has been responsible for at least 25 homicides in Calgary since 2002."

Mexico's war compared to insurgency

Mexico's war compared to insurgency: "Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday that the surging drug violence in Mexico now resembles that of war-torn Colombia a generation ago, with criminal cartels looking like 'insurgencies' battling for control of territory.
'It's looking more and more like Colombia looked 20 years ago, where the narco-traffickers controlled certain parts of the country,' Clinton said at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington.
Mexico quickly responded. In an afternoon news conference, Mexican President Felipe Calderon's national security adviser, Alejandro Poire said, 'We do not share these findings, as there is a big difference between what Colombia faced and what Mexico is facing today.'
Twenty years ago, Colombia was battling two revolutionary guerrilla movements, which at their peak controlled about a third of the country, as well as powerful drug lords such as Pablo Escobar and his Medillin cartel. Thousands of judges, journalists, politicians and business leaders, as well as police and soldiers, were killed in the Colombian conflict."

New armed drug-trafficking groups menace Colombia - Democratic Underground

New armed drug-trafficking groups menace Colombia - Democratic Underground: "New armed drug-trafficking groups menace Colombia

Armed groups of drug-traffickers have overtaken left-wing rebels as Colombia's main source of violence, local think tank Indepaz says.

The groups have emerged since the demobilisation of the illegal United Self Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC) paramilitaries.

The think tank says they are present in 29 of Colombia's 32 provinces.

It based its findings on its own field work as well as data from government agencies and the media.

The demobilisation of the AUC in 2006 was one of the main successes of former President Alvaro Uribe, who left office in August.

But Indepaz said a dozen or so new narco-paramilitary groups had quickly replaced the AUC in much of Colombia.

Extreme violence

With names like the Black Eagles and Rastrojos, they combine control of cocaine production and smuggling with extreme violence, though with less of a political agenda."

KTAR.com - AZ indicts 16 alleged members of Mexican drug cartel

KTAR.com - AZ indicts 16 alleged members of Mexican drug cartel: "Sixteen people believed to be members of a Mexican drug cartel have been indicted on charges of smuggling drugs through Arizona to Illinois, North Carolina and other states.
Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard announced the state grand jury indictment Monday.
Goddard said the defendants were responsible for smuggling significant amounts of cocaine, marijuana and heroin across the Mexico-Arizona border into the Valley. They are charged with conspiracy, illegally conducting an enterprise and other crimes related to their involvement.
The defendants include Roque Aceves-Beltran, 45; Rey Cuen-Villareal, 38, and Teresa Cuen-Leon, 33, of Phoenix; Evodeio Cruz-Beltrain, 39, of Los Angeles, and Jose Munoz-Alcaraz, 49, of Mexico. Names of the other defendants were withheld until they are served with the indictment"

Colombia’s Facebook Hit List: Drug Gangs 2.0 | The New World Human Security Observatory

Colombia’s Facebook Hit List: Drug Gangs 2.0 | The New World Human Security Observatory: "The messages, spread via e-mail and Facebook, warned dozens of youths in the southern Colombian town of Puerto Asis to clear out within three days — or die. At first, residents thought it was a joke. But on Aug. 15, two of the blacklisted teenagers were gunned down while riding a motorcycle; a third was shot dead on Friday. Meanwhile, the number of people on the death list, believed to have been compiled by one of a new crop of drug trafficking gangs, expanded to 69.
Fear and paranoia are spreading through the town of 70,000. Several families have pulled their children out of school, put their houses up for sale, and fled, according to Andrés Verdugo, the No. 2 official in Puerto Asis, located in the remote jungle state of Putumayo on the Ecuadorian border. “These criminal groups want to sow panic and take advantage of the chaos,” Verdugo told TIME. “And that’s what they’ve achieved.”
They are also turning into a major headache for Colombia’s new president, Juan Manuel Santos, who was elected in June on a platform that included continuing the hard-line security policies of his predecessor, Álvaro Uribe. Uribe’s war strategy reduced kidnappings and severely weakened the Marxist guerrilla group known as the FARC. But amid the single-minded focus on crushing the rebels, a new set of bad guys has taken root.
Well, not exactly new.
With names like Black Eagles, Cobras and Los Rastrojos — the group that authorities believe is responsible for the deaths in Puerto Asis —"

New Police Commissioner in Gangster’s Paradise | The Budapest Report

New Police Commissioner in Gangster’s Paradise | The Budapest Report: "corrupt police service of South Africa’s most crime infested Gauteng Province (also dubbed Gangster’s Paradise) has received a new police commissioner, who vows to be more stringent with even the smallest crimes.
Police Commissioner Mzwandile Petros said at an anti-crime summit (packed with delegates from community policing forums, NGOs and members of public) that under his command the South African Police Service (SAPS) will have to go back to the basics. He promised an increased police presence, but did not say how the cash strapped service would be compensated for overtime.
He also called for residents to play a more active role in helping police to crack down on criminals. Statistics claim that at least 50% of all crime in South Africa occurs in Gangster’s Paradise."

Spain - The Policía Nacional arrest two hitmen wanted for more than 200 contract killings, kidnappings and crimes of torture in Colombia

Spain - The Policía Nacional arrest two hitmen wanted for more than 200 contract killings, kidnappings and crimes of torture in Colombia: "Information was received in June through the Colombian Police Liaison Officer in Spain, alerting of the possible presence in Spain of two Colombian criminals (also known as 'Ronco' and 'Pollo', respectively) related to the cartels of Norte del Valle and Envigado.The first of the two men, Mauricio Alberto González Sepúlveda, aka 'Ronco', aged 44, appears on the list of most-wanted individuals from the Envigado cartel. He was one of the leaders of the 'Bloque Héroes de Granada' of the 'United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia'. Following the agreements leading to the demobilisation of said group, 'Ronco' failed to comply with the process for the application of the law of Justice and Peace and continued to act as leader of 'La Unión' collection racket"

Veteran gangster survives botched assassination bid outside his home - National News, Frontpage - Independent.ie

Veteran gangster survives botched assassination bid outside his home - National News, Frontpage - Independent.ie: "gangster denies he was targeted by a gunman who tried to shoot him in the head.
The attempted murder failed when the would-be assassin's gun jammed and he fled the scene on foot.
The lone gunman was subsequently chased by his intended target but he managed to flee the scene.
Gardai are now investigating the incident, which occurred on Furry Park Road, Killester, on Dublin's northside at around 10.30am on Saturday.
The 63-year-old target was a former mentor to crime boss Eamonn Dunne, who was murdered earlier this year.
However, he is denying there was any attempt on his life at the weekend.
The intended target left his red-brick house mid-morning and the gunman, who had been lying in wait in bushes opposite the house, jumped out as the man walked outside. It is believed the would-be killer had kept his intended victim under surveillance for some time and was unmasked when he confronted him.
The gunman pointed the weapon at the man and tried a number of times to pull the trigger. However, his assassination attempt failed when his gun jammed each time.
The gunman fled on foot and it is understood the intended victim chased him in the direction of the Howth Road."

Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman, head of the Sinaloa cartel, broke the pact, setting off a war among the cartels

arrest of drug lord Edgar "La Barbie" Valdez Villarreal in Mexico last week illustrates the good, the bad and the conundrum of President Felipe Calderon's war on cartels. Valdez was the third kingpin taken out of commission in less than a year and the first to be captured alive, offering an opportunity for intelligence-gathering on the multibillion-dollar drug smuggling business. Generally speaking, getting rid of crime bosses is good. It wreaks havoc on organizations that otherwise would be wholly focused on consolidating their formidable power; Valdez was nabbed in the midst of a bloody battle to succeed Arturo Beltran Leyva, who was killed by Mexican troops in December. Yet removing leaders also can be an endless game of whack-a-mole. It doesn't put the cartels out of business, and the ensuing turf violence can undermine public support for the drug war.

Calderon has been unable to forge a national consensus around the drug war. Mexicans tell pollsters they are unhappy with the security situation in their country, but they are not optimistic that the assault on traffickers will succeed. Soldiers, police, prosecutors, politicians and journalists routinely are killed by traffickers, yet Mexico's political classes do not seem to regard this as a strategic threat to the Mexican state.

Calderon tried to bolster public support for the drug war with a national "dialogue" last month, to no avail. Critics said he was selling his strategy, not listening or consulting; opposition parties largely boycotted it, more preoccupied with partisan politics than with forging a unified response to a national crisis. The media, meanwhile, have accused Calderon of manipulating Valdez's arrest to bolster his own popularity, timing the announcement to coincide with his annual state-of-the nation address.

Mexican authorities have trotted out Valdez, handcuffed and smiling, to the media, prompting speculation that he would be handed over to the United States, where he is a citizen and might be allowed to cut a deal for informing on others.

Valdez already has told investigators that leaders of the major cartels met in 2007 to divide up distribution routes, but that Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman, head of the Sinaloa cartel, broke the pact, setting off a war among the cartels that has claimed many of the 28,000 lives lost to drug violence in the last four years.

In video of an interrogation in police custody, Valdez speaks of having received trailers full of cash from north of the border. Which gets to one of the weaknesses of the drug war: In his annual address, Calderon said authorities had confiscated $72 million in U.S. banknotes and $9 million in Mexican pesos in the previous year - a drop in the bucket in a business that by some estimates earns $39 billion a year. Besides nabbing crime bosses, U.S. and Mexican officials need to find the money. And Calderon must unify his country around a long-term strategy for fighting drug trafficking.