41 Mexican prison guards charged in mass jailbreak

41 Mexican prison guards charged in mass jailbreak: "40 prison guards have been charged with helping 153 inmates escape from a prison in a northern Mexican border city.

The federal Attorney General's office says in a statement that 41 guards have been accused of opening the gates of the prison in Nuevo Laredo, across the border from Laredo, Texas. If convicted, the guards face up to 20 years in prison.

Authorities initially said 141 prisoners escaped Dec. 17, but the statement Monday said the number was 153.

The fugitives were being held for trial or had been convicted of crimes ranging from robbery to drug trafficking."

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Petrol bomb attack on Coogee tattoo parlour | Herald Sun

Petrol bomb attack on Coogee tattoo parlour | Herald Sun: "BIKIE gang could be responsible for the petrol bombing of a tattoo parlour in Sydney's eastern suburbs, police say.

Police from Eastern Beaches Local Area Command and NSW Fire Brigades personnel responded to reports a petrol bomb had been thrown into The Coogee Ink Tattoo parlour on Coogee Bay Road about 12.50am today.

Upon arrival at the scene, they found the tattoo parlour well alight.

A police source has confirmed the tattoo parlour had links to the Comanchero bikie gang.

Close to 30 residents were evacuated from a number of surrounding units as fire fighters worked to put out the blaze.

The fire was extinguished a short time later but not before the shop sustained significant damage. No one was injured in the incident."

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Mexico's brutal Zetas drug gang suspects threaten 'war' in Guatemala

Drug gang suspects threaten 'war' in Guatemala: "Men claiming to belong to the Zetas drug gang forced radio stations to broadcast a threat of war in a northern Guatemalan province where the government declared a state of siege last week, authorities said Tuesday.

The men arrived at three radio stations in the northern city of Coban and threatened to burn the premises down and kill journalists and their families if the message was not broadcast, Interior Ministry spokesman Nery Morales said.

The message, which the radio broadcasters read out Monday, threatened violence if Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom does not fulfill unspecified promises. It said 'war will start in this country, in shopping malls, schools and police stations.'

Guatemala declared a monthlong state of siege Dec. 19 in the northern province of Alta Verapaz, a prime corridor for smuggling drugs from Honduras to Mexico and a bastion of Mexico's brutal Zetas drug gang."

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Indo-Canadian Gangster Pleads Guilty To Conspiracy In 1997 Abbotsford Murder | Link Newspaper

Indo-Canadian Gangster Pleads Guilty To Conspiracy In 1997 Abbotsford Murder | Link Newspaper: "Ravinder (Robbie) Soomel, 31, was sentenced to five years in prison for his part in the killing of 20-year-old Jason Herle, who was gunned down by two men hiding in the bushes as he was leaving his parents’ King Road home with his girlfriend in November 1997, reported the Surrey Leader newspaper.
Soomel and co-accused Tajinder (T.J.) Bains were each charged in August 2007 with first-degree murder, but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of conspiracy to commit murder. Bains, 36, entered his plea in December 2008 and was sentenced to three years."

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Top fugitive nabbed in Cyprus

Top fugitive nabbed in Cyprus: "AUTHORITIES have swooped on one of Australia's most wanted men - the alleged drug lord and Comanchero bikie gang financier Hakan Ayik - on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, ending his six months on the run.

The arrest of Ayik in Northern Cyprus paves the way for his possible extradition to Australia to face charges in connection with the nation's biggest, recent, organised crime probe, Operation Hoffman.

Two months ago, Ayik - wanted by New South Wales police and Interpol - narrowly evaded capture at the Greek-Turkish border after officials questioned him about a passport he was using.

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Rumours swept the Melbourne and Sydney underworld that Ayik had fled the border police on a motorbike in a hail of bullets. But criminal sources say it was more likely he bribed border officials to let him go."

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Stella English and the ugly truth about the gangster's moll who won the Apprentice | Mail Online

Stella English and the ugly truth about the gangster's moll who won the Apprentice | Mail Online: "Ray Dewar, 39, her fiancé and the father of her two children, Edward, four, and two-year-old Frank. For Raymond Alexander Dewar is a notorious hard-man with links to one of Britain’s most feared drugs barons.

Dewar was once associated with a major underworld figure (because he’s connected to a current legal case, he cannot be identified) who was described as so powerful, with corrupt police in his pay, that ‘he could bend justice’.

This individual controlled the drugs trade across a huge swathe of South London and was reputedly involved in gangland murders, bribing police and running an operation based on fear and bloody reprisals against enemy gangsters.

Dewar, 39, who describes himself as a ‘builder and scaffolder’, is alleged to have acted for Mr X when he was in his 20s."

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Jail killing spurs inquiry

Deaths Related to Sex Offenders or Offenses: Jail killing spurs inquiry: "As most Sundays are at the Kenton County jail, March 29 was quiet. Inmates lounged in bed because there were no court hearings or visitations scheduled.

It was sometime during that quiet time that Isaac Jackson, a 40-year-old homeless man, was strangled in bed.

He wasn't found until jail deputies rushed to the cell to fix an overflowing toilet at 12:30 p.m. While authorities have not released an estimated time of death, officials have said they think Jackson was killed that morning.

It is the first killing authorities can recall happening in a Northern Kentucky jail - including Boone, Campbell and Grant counties - in at least two decades, Kenton County Police Chief Ed Butler said.

Cellmate Marion Lawson Parker II, who goes by Timmy, later confessed to the killing, Butler said. Jackson is the second man Parker is charged with strangling to death. The first was the Jan. 31 killing of Shawn Davis, 28, of Covington.

Details of Parker's confession are expected to be made public at the defendant's preliminary hearing, set for Tuesday in Kenton District Court."

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Street gang boss pleads guilty to drug charges

Street gang boss pleads guilty to drug charges: "Details of Zephir's quick ascent from leaving a federal penitentiary in January 2006 to running a drug ring that sold 250 grams of cocaine a week were made public at the Montreal courthouse yesterday as Zephyr, leader of the Syndicate street gang, pleaded guilty to seven charges filed in Project Axe, the Montreal police investigation that led to the arrests of 55 people early in 2009.

Zephyr, 38, had served the prison term for killing a rival gang member in June 1999 during a party at a reception hall in St. Leonard.

The killing is just part of a criminal past that includes an episode in which Zephyr once pushed a man he believed was a police informant out of a moving car.

Zephyr appeared bored yesterday as he pleaded guilty to conspiring to traffic in cocaine, trafficking cocaine, producing crack cocaine, and four related charges"

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Another Prince George arson fire possibly linked to gang activity

BCLocalNews.com - Another Prince George arson fire possibly linked to gang activity: "Police are investigating another suspected arson in the city … the third in less than a month.
And, like the previous two, the third fire is likely linked to organized crime.
Police were called out of a residence in the 2600-block of Quince Street at about 9:30 a.m. Friday for an attempted arson.
Officers attended and confirmed that a window was smashed and an attempt was made to start a fire. Members of the Prince George RCMP are continuing to investigate this crime, including the possibility that this is linked to organized street gang activity.
There is no evidence that anyone was hurt in this incident."

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B.C. bloodshed garners international attention

B.C. bloodshed garners international attention: "Street gangs have sparked a wave of violence that has left dozens of people dead.
Last year, a gang war heated up and resulted in many shootings. In the first six months of 2009 alone 24 people were killed and dozens more were wounded.
The bloodshed garnered international attention. “Once upon a very recent time, Vancouver had a clean, safe image,” said an article in the British newspaper, the Independent. “As it prepares to host the 2010 Winter Olympics, what it's got now is not cuddly, eco-friendly publicity, but blood-spattered streets littered with shell casings and corpses.”
Police attributed the bloodshed to a handful of gangs fighting over a dwindling supply of cocaine from Mexico -- The Mexican government had initiated a crackdown on the cartels that sent cocaine to the U.S. and Canada – and local marijuana, which the gangs use to acquire the cocaine.
The Independent Soldiers and the United Nations gangs fought for control of the drugs with a handful of gangs, including the Red Scorpions, the Buttar Gang, the Sanghera"

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Kosovo's prime minister 'key player in mafia-like gang' - Telegraph

Kosovo's prime minister 'key player in mafia-like gang' - Telegraph: "The report states that Mr Thaci exerted 'violent control' over the heroin trade. Dick Marty, the European Union investigator, will present the report to European diplomats from all member states in Paris on Thursday.
Kosovo's government on Tuesday described the report as 'baseless' and 'defamatory'.
'The government of Kosovo and Prime Minister Hashim Thaci will undertake all the necessary steps and actions to dismiss the slanders of Dick Marty, including legal and political means,' the government said in a statement.
Meanwhile, legal proceedings began in a Pristina district court on Tuesday over an alleged organ trafficking gang discovered by police. An EU prosecutor told the court a gang of Kosovan organ traffickers operated an elaborate international network that traded in the organs of people living in extreme poverty.
The men, including a former senior Kosovan Health Ministry official, promised poor people from Moldova, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkey up to €14,500 (£12,300) for their organs.
Those who received the organs – including patients from Canada, Germany, Poland and Israel – paid between €80,000 and €100,000 for them, Ratel said. The victims, however, were never paid, EU prosecutor Jonathan Ratel told the court.
The seven men have pleaded not guilty to charges ranging from trafficking in persons to unlawful practices of medicine and abuse of power. Two other suspects, a Turkish and an Israeli national, remain at large."

Mexican Army Captures High-Level Sinaloa Cartel Member | United States Border Narcotics Intelligence

Mexican Army Captures High-Level Sinaloa Cartel Member United States Border Narcotics Intelligence: "Enrique Lopez Acosta was arrested Sunday in Ciudad Delicias after a shootout that left his brother, Ever Horacio Lopez Acosta, dead, the secretariat said.
The drug trafficker’s arrest was made possible by “intelligence activities,” the Defense Secretariat said.
Lopez Acosta is accused of being behind the March 15 massacre of seven people in Creel, a town in Chihuahua, and had several arrest warrants outstanding.
The suspect was turned over to federal prosecutors, the secretariat said."

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Arturo Gallegos Castrellon, known as 'El Farmero,' was the leader of the Aztecas gangJuarez gang leader admits killings - CNN

Juarez gang leader admits killings - CNN: "alleged gang member who police say was behind 80 percent of the killings in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, over the past 16 months was arrested over the weekend, officials said.
Police believe that Arturo Gallegos Castrellon, known as 'El Farmero,' was the leader of the Aztecas gang, a group closely linked with the Juarez cartel and its enforcement arm, La Linea.
Gallegos confessed to authorities that he ordered the killings of three people linked to the U.S. consulate in Juarez in March, as well as the attack on a party of young people that killed 14, federal police said."

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Tensions brewing in local gangs, police say - CTV News

CTV British Columbia - Tensions brewing in local gangs, police say - CTV News: "Facing dozens of firearms charges collectively are Derek Stephen, Christopher Reddy, Pedram Shirazi, Christopher Iser, Robert Achadinha and Glen Sheck. All the men are in their 20s.
Investigators added that because of the suppression efforts by the anti-gang squad, at least five high-profile members of the gang world have either left the country or the province. As work continues, they say more arrests are expected.
Gang tensions last soared just under two years ago when gangs warring over the drug trade made increasingly public attacks on each other.
The wave of killings on Vancouver streets and in surrounding cities left two dozen people dead in the first six months of 2009."

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Kings Cross turf war exposed

Kings Cross turf war exposed: "EVERY weekend, young revellers looking for a good time spill out of clubs and fill the streets of Kings Cross into the early hours.
Lured by the neon lights and pumping music, the crowds are as large as the morning peak of city office workers in Martin Place.
While the seediness of the Cross is part of its appeal, many revellers are oblivious to the violent turf war raging beneath the gloss and glamour of its fashionable drinking holes.
Advertisement: Story continues below The Sun-Herald learnt of the extent of bikie-related violence in the Cross when a pile of documents was mailed to the wrong address in October.
The documents, contained on paper and compact disc, form a road map of police intelligence, some extremely sensitive, of the battle to regain control of the streets of the Cross from rival organised crime gangs and outlaw bikie groups
A risk report from Kings Cross Police Local Area Command crime intelligence unit to the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing details 41 alleged violent bikie-related incidents at 16 hotels, nightclubs and bars between November 2006 and August last year, said to have been committed by the Hells Angels, Comanchero, Nomads, Rebels, Bandidos, Gypsy Jokers and Notorious gangs."

Honduras: Latin America's Murder Capital | War Is A Crime .org

Honduras: Latin America's Murder Capital | War Is A Crime .org: "world's murder capital. The UN Development Program (UNDP) reported 4,473 2008 murders (61.3 per 100,000) in a country with about 7.3 million people, the equivalent of over 190,000 annual US killings, over 10 times the actual rate.
For 2009, anthropologist Adrienne Pine estimated a 9% increase, saying in June 2010:
'As someone who has been closely following the human rights and political stability situation in Honduras for over a dozen years; who has written a book and numerous articles on the topic; who has served as an expert witness in over a dozen asylum cases; and who has been living and conducting research in Honduras during the past month, I can say with absolute confidence that I have never seen worse security conditions in this country.'
'And while in the previous decade, the victims of extrajudicial assassinations and other forms of state violence were disproportionately young men identified (often incorrectly) as gang members, today a large percentage of the victims fall into two primary categories: people who are involved in or are openly critical of drug trafficking, and individuals who are seen as being critical of the June 28, 2009 coup.'
'The latter category has included 9 journalists killed in targeted assassinations, and the disappearance, torture, and murder of numerous local and national leaders of the non-violent resistance movements and their daughters, sons, brothers and sisters....all since the beginning' of the current Pepe Lobo regime, controlled by two forces: the military, and a small group of powerful business elites, united in their opposition against anyone opposing the coup."

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Nine Trey Headbustas 2 plead guilty to roles in NJ gang killing - BostonHerald.com

2 plead guilty to roles in NJ gang killing - BostonHerald.com: "Two New Jersey men have pleaded guilty to racketeering for their roles in a gang-related murder in New Brunswick.
The state Attorney General’s Office announced Thursday that 38-year-old Syree Hakins of West Orange and 34-year-old Tyrane Mathis of Newark entered their pleas Wednesday in state Superior Court.
Both are members of the Nine Trey Headbustas set of the Bloods street gang.
Hakins admitted that he ordered the murder of fellow gang member Devin Thompson. The 19-year-old Thompson was shot on a New Brunswick street"

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Latin Kings and MS-13 Gang war heats up in Trenton | NJ.com

Gang war heats up in Trenton | NJ.com: "Police in New Jersey's capital say they're trying to quell a brewing feud between two rival gangs.
Trenton police say officers observed problems between two rival gangs, the Latin Kings and MS-13.
Reputed MS-13 member Robert Rivera was arrested and charged on Thursday with firing shots at a woman's car.
Police said he's also a suspect in the firebombing of another car on Tuesday.
Officers are they're trying to figure out if the shooting of a third vehicle on Tuesday is related."

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MS-13 Street Gang Leader Sentenced to 35 Years’ Imprisonment for Murder

MS-13 Street Gang Leader Sentenced to 35 Years’ Imprisonment for Murder: "MS-13 Street Gang Leader Sentenced to 35 Years’ Imprisonment for Murder
Earlier today, Wilver R. Lopez, also known as “Conde,” a leader in the La Mara Salvatrucha (“MS-13”) street gang on Long Island, was sentenced to 35 years’ imprisonment for the September 17, 2004, murder of 24-year-old fellow MS-13 member Genaro Venegas in Bethpage, New York. The sentence was imposed pursuant to Lopez’s August 10, 2010 guilty plea. The proceeding was held before Senior United States District Judge Leonard D. Wexler at the United States Courthouse in Central Islip, New York.
According to Lopez’s plea allocution and documents previously filed in the case, after learning that Venegas had provided state law enforcement authorities with information relating to an April 2004, murder carried out by an MS-13 member in Suffolk County, Lopez and three other Long Island MS-13 members lured Venegas to a wooded area where they repeatedly shot and stabbed him. At the time of the Venegas murder, Lopez was the leader of the MS-13’s Long Island Leeward Clique. Lopez’s co-conspirators in the Venegas homicide have all pleaded guilty to murder charges and are awaiting sentencing.
“Eliminating gang violence in our communities is one of our highest priorities, and we will continue to utilize all necessary resources in this effort,” stated United States Attorney Loretta E. Lynch. Ms. Lynch praised the work of the FBI Long Island Gang Task Force, which investigated the case."

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Justin Walker, a murderer convicted of killing a sheriff and known gang member of Aryan brotherhood

Street Gang Life The New Authority in Gang Activity: "Justin Walker, a murderer convicted of killing a sheriff and known gang member of Aryan brotherhood, has been hitting up his Facebook profile with pictures of him living the good life behind bars– sporting marijuana joints, alcohol, and weapons. There were also photos posted of his daughter posing with various guns. He has been posting pictures since November. Oklahoma residents are concerned– as are prison guards, since having a cell phone in prison is a felony. Some of those polled seemed to also express a bit of jealousy at the fact that Walker’s photos depict such a pleasant life in prison, “just chillin’.”"

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Police net drugs, few arrests in Rio slum raids

Police net drugs, few arrests in Rio slum raids: "Brazilian police showed off piles of drugs and weapons seized during an aggressive takeover of two of this city's most dangerous slums, even as the search continued Tuesday in homes and even sewers for their real target: the drug gang leaders themselves.
Police conceded that many of the up to 600 drug gang members believed to have been hiding in Vila Cruzeiro and the neighboring Alemao complex of slums may have escaped. The hunt for those that got away extended Tuesday into Rio's maze of storm sewers.
The tally for a week of gang attacks and police raids included 124 arrested, 148 detained and 51 dead, authorities said in a statement released Tuesday."

Brazil Rio slum military: Brazil troops to stay in Rio slum after backing anti-gang assault - latimes.com

Brazil Rio slum military: Brazil troops to stay in Rio slum after backing anti-gang assault - latimes.com: "Reporting from Rio de Janeiro and Bogota, Colombia — After a two-pronged, weeklong assault on entrenched drug gangs in Rio de Janeiro slums, Brazilian army troops will remain in the city's worst shantytown for at least six months to maintain order, the government announced Tuesday.

In a military-style invasion Sunday, 800 troops supported 1,800 riot police using armored cars and helicopters in a two-hour operation to pacify the Complexo do Alemao slum, a sanctuary for many of the city's hardened traffickers. The operation left 50 dead, including three police officers. Authorities made 123 arrests. Significant caches of drugs and weapons were seized.

The Defense Ministry's decision to keep the troops stationed in the slum came despite complaints from civic activists that the soldiers weren't fit for a policing role and might only anger residents. Rio de Janeiro state Gov. Sergio Cabral, who made the request, argued that many of the troops have performed peacekeeping duty in Haiti."

Outlaws Gang Trial: jury selection begins in Outlaw gang trial in Richmond - wtvr

Outlaws Gang Trial: jury selection begins in Outlaw gang trial in Richmond - wtvr: "Attorneys have begun the process of choosing jurors in the federal trial of Outlaws motorcycle gang members. Outlaws president Jack Rosga of Milwaukee and four others will face racketeering charges before U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson in Richmond after a jury of twelve and two alternates are chosen from a 105-person pool.

In June, 27 members of the Outlaws and another motorcycle gang, the Pagans were indicted and a slight majority chose to plead guilty. Last month, jurors could not reach a verdict on Rosga while they acquitted a pair of co-defendants and convicting another."

4 arrested in Yuma gang-related assault

4 arrested in Yuma gang-related assault: "Yuma police say two men and two teenagers are in custody in connection with a gang-related assault.
Police say a teenage male from a rival gang was beaten, stabbed and robbed of his backpack on Tuesday afternoon.
The unidentified victim was transported to Yuma Regional Medical Center with non life-threatening injuries.
Police say 18-year-old Richard Martinez and 18-year-old Michael Anthony Ruiz were jailed on suspicion of aggravated assault, armed robbery, participating in a criminal street gang and making gang threats. Their bonds were set Wednesday at $400,000 apiece."