1 tonne of opium landed in Vancouver

The criminal investigation is ongoing and no arrests have been made.

RCMP and border guards busted one of the largest opium seizures in Canadian history last month. 1,000 kilograms of opium was lassoed in a pair of shipping containers that had arrived in Vancouver. Dogs helped sniff out the opium, which has an estimated value of $10m.

Yannick Bandaogo

Yannick Bandaogo, 28, has been charged with second-degree murder in a horrific random stabbing attack outside the Lynn Valley library in North Vancouver. There are no connections between the accused and the 7 victims. Bandaogo refused to leave his cell to participate in a scheduled court appearance by telephone.

Bandaogo was arrested at the scene as he stabbed himself. The victim was a woman in her late 20s. Six other people were seriously hurt in the attack. Records show Bandaogo has a criminal record in Quebec.

20 years since operation 'Spring 2001'

From left: Michel Rose, Luc Bordeleau, David Carrol, Denis Houle, Donald Stockford, Gilles Mathieu, René Charlebois, Wolodumir Stadnik, Maurice “Mom” Boucher and Normand Robitaille.

On March 28, 2001, more than 2,000 cops were deployed to arrest 142 people. The main targets were members and associates of the Hells Angels. The bust eliminated Maurice “Mom” Boucher's Quebec Nomads. $8.6m and US $2.7m was seized.

The front page of the Journal du Montréal the day after the police raid screamed the headline "The party is over!" Twenty years later, the resurgence of the Hells Angels in Quebec is well known. Their control over the drug trade in the Province has never been stronger.

The trials produced a huge arsenal of restricted weapons.

Cop tailgater busted with 65 pounds of cocaine

An Oregon trooper pulled over Gerardo Avila Soriano, 52, in a 2021 Ford Explorer for following too close on I-5. The alert cop noticed something suspicious and searched Soriano’s car. He discovered 65 pounds of cocaine in “natural voids” of the rear doors.

Killing Escobar

A Scottish mercenary and ex-SAS operative was hired by a Colombian drug cartel to assassinate the world’s biggest drug baron, Pablo Escobar. He failed. Escobar was shot in the head as he attempted to flee across a rooftop on December 2, 1993.

See ----->Remembering Pablo Escobar, the Narco King

Jean François Eap - Sky Global

Notwithstanding the spewing of the busted Mr. Jean François Eap, Sky Global has been shuttered for good. "To date, the authorities have not informed us of any of the procedures reported by the media. As I followed the media reports over the last week, it is with great sadness that I see a blanket scope of what can only be described as an erosion of the right to privacy."

Jean-François Eap in 2017.

A federal grand jury returned indictments against Jean Francois Eap, the head of Sky Global, and Thomas Herdman. Warrants have been issued for their arrest. The indictment says they installed sophisticated encryption software in cellphones that allowed drug dealers to communicate with each other in a closed network through encrypted servers in Canada and France. The men are charged with RICO conspiracy and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. HERE

Eap says the allegations against him are "unfounded" and "entirely false." "The indictment against me personally in the United States is an example of the police and the government trying to vilify anyone who takes a stance against unwarranted surveillance."

The phones, Sky ECC, were sold for between €900 and €2,000. Sky Global modified phones to remove GPS, camera, internet and voice. Subscriptions cost between $1,200 and $2,000 for six months. Sky ECC has strong parallels to the EncroChat encrypted phone network, which was shuttered in June 2020.

Agencies obtained a billion messages sent between Sky users.

The indictment is only the second time the DOJ has filed RICO charges against an encrypted phone company. Phantom Secure of Vince Ramos was the first. He pulled 9 years. The US arrest warrants follow raids by Belgian and Dutch police on drug traffickers following a joint operation with French cops. Police in Europe have arrested 80. Some 70,000 Sky Global devices were in use around the world.

Ex-Mexican cartel leader’s body found wrapped in plastic on park bench

The tightly wrapped corpse found in a Jalisco park last week is that of Carlos “El Cholo” Enrique Sanchez, an ex-member of the Jalisco New General Cartel before splitting off to form his own gang in 2017. The body was found in Jardin Hidalgo with two signs pinned to it with knives, including one that read, “The traitor El Cholo” The Nuevo Plaza Cartel is competiting in the meth trafficking trade in Guadalajara and elsewhere.

Danny Greene - The Irishman - update

Hartmut 'Hans' Graewe was known as 'the Surgeon' for his propensity to dismember his murder victims. He died in a federal prison in Texas at the age of 78. The cold blooded killer murdered at least 8. In April 1983 mob enforcers Kevin McTaggart and Hartmut Graewe along with boss Angelo "Big Ange" Lonardo and Joseph Gallo were handed life in prison without parole, plus more than 100 years. Lonardo turned rat and died in 2006. Joseph Gallo died in jail in 2013.

Daniel John Patrick "Danny" Greene was an Irish American mobster and associate of Cleveland mobster John Nardi during a gang war during the 1970s. Competing gangsters set off dozens of bombs, many successful. Greene gained power first in a local chapter of the Longshoremen's Association, where he was elected president in the early 1960s. Greene pushed into Cleveland rackets and began competing with the Mafia for control of the city. He set up his own outfit called the Celtic Club. After being forced from the teamsters he began acting as an enforcer for Alex "Shondor" Birns, a Jewish mobster.

John Nardi

He became viewed as a threat by other crime figures, including Birns. The relationship between Greene and Birns began to sour. Birns put out a contract on Greene, but despite many attempts could not kill him. Greene retaliated. On March 29, 1975, Birns was blown up by a car bomb. On May 12, an explosion destroyed Greene's building, but he was unhurt. A second, more powerful, bomb failed to explode. So began the war between Licavoli crime family and Greene's Celtic Club.

Alex "Shondor" Birns death car

In 1976, 36 bombs exploded around the Cleveland area. It is said Greene killed at least eight of the Mafia hit men sent to assassinate him. Greene played up the stories of the Mafia's failed assassination attempts. His bravado and flamboyant behavior added to his aura of invincibility. On May 17, 1977, Greene's longtime ally John Nardi was killed by a bomb. On October 6, 1977, Greene left an office building and approached his car. The automobile parked next to his exploded, killing Greene instantly.

Hitman Ray Ferritto flipped and 22 convictions were made in relation to his death. It decimated the mob in Cleveland. 'Kill the Irishman' is a 2011 film starring Ray Stevenson, Vincent D'Onofrio, Christopher Walken, and Val Kilmer.

Danny Greene's murder started a crime crackdown.

Mephedrone - meow meow

Mephedrone, 4-methyl methcathinone or 4-methyl ephedrone, is a synthetic stimulant drug of the amphetamine and cathinone classes. Slang names include drone, M-CAT, White Magic, and meow meow. The drug is a designer amphetamine that produces effects similar to MDMA and cocaine. Like other designer drugs it was created to avoid pre-existing bans on Schedule 1 drugs.

Effects include poor concentration, teeth grinding, problems focusing visually, poor short-term memory, hallucinations, delusions, and erratic behaviour. Most prevailent in the UK, the US classified mephedrone as a Schedule I drug in July 2012.

HAMC and RICO

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) was signed into law by President Richard Nixon in 1970. Before RICO a person could be absolved from prosecution if they did not personally commit the crime. After RICO, bosses could be tried for crimes that they ordered or assisted in.

In 1979 prosecutors tried to slap Sonny Barger with RICO charges by attempting to prove a pattern of racketeering involving guns and drugs. Barger was acquitted on the RICO charges due to a hung jury.

Sonoma HA boss Johnathon 'Jon Jon' Nelson and 10 others were indicted in 2017 as part of a large RICO investigation. They were charged with racketeering and violent crimes, including murder. Nelson is accused of luring former sergeant-at-arms Joel Silva to his execution. Silva was at the Fresno clubhouse when he was shot in the head.