Port of Rotterdam - 'Cocaine Extractors'

The port of Rotterdam is the primary entry point for cocaine into Europe. This year authorities arrested over 450 so-called “drug extractors” at the port – young men hired to remove cocaine from containers. This was up from 280 extraction incidents reported in 2020. The extractors are smuggled into the port inside “hotel containers,” which are declared empty but contain basic living amenities. The extractors are usually young men, and are usually not hardened criminals with records. They are paid around 2,000 euros per kilo of cocaine collected. Until recently penalties were light, with small fines the norm.

That changed after a two-week period in September, where 110 were caught, several multiple times. A new law, that came into force on January 1, 2022, means any person found at the port without reason can face up to a year in jail. Authorities are also seeking to crack down on corruption inside the port that allows extractors to access the site. A CEO of a company operating at the port said his staff had been threatened to cooperate with drug extractors and some had even quit as a result. The problem is not unique to Rotterdam. Last year 13 people were busted at Belgium’s Antwerp port removing cocaine from a container.

See ----->4,178 kilos of cocaine landed in the Port of Rotterdam
See ----->Record year for cocaine at port of Rotterdam

TO cops land 80kg of cocaine - fully auto glock

Toronto cops landed 80 kg of cocaine, 2 kg of fentanyl, 5 kg of meth and 500 grams of heroin. Also seized was a Kel-Tec subcompact handgun with a laser sight, a Glock 26, and a Glock 19 modified for automatic fire.

Shaan Tareen was charged with 24 offences including possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of a prohibited firearm and conspiracy to traffic a controlled substance. Rizwan Gharda was charged with 25 similar offences. A Toronto woman, 27, was charged with three offences related to drugs and proceeds of crime.

U.K. man goes away for cocaine cutting agent business

James Beeby, 51, was jailed for six-and-a-half years for running an operation supplying materials to dilute cocaine. Beeby, of West Sussex, was sentenced after being convicted in November. 320 kilos of the cutting agent were recovered by cops. More than 1,370 kilos passed through his hands. Beeby tried to portray himself as a legitimate businessman selling the chemicals for legal uses. He supplied cutting agents to clients in the UK, the US and Canada. Substances used to cut cocaine are adulterants or substitutes. Adulterants like baking soda and laundry detergent are used to get more doses.

Substitutes, such as lidocaine and procaine, produce effects similar to cocaine at lower cost.

Niger seizes record 200kg of cocaine from mayor's car

A local mayor and his driver have been arrested in a desert in northern Niger with more than 200kg (440lbs) of cocaine in their vehicle. The two suspects were said to be transporting the drug to Libya after it had been smuggled into the country from Mali. It is the largest quantity of cocaine ever seized in the West African country. 199 bricks of cocaine weighing a total of 214kg was found in a vehicle belonging to the mayor's office in Fachi. Drug smuggling and police seizures are becoming more common in the region.

The vehicle had left Fachi and was heading towards Libya and the town of Dirkou when it was stopped. Fachi is an oasis in the Tenere desert about 400km (250 miles) north of the town of Agadez. It is known as a trading centre for salt and dates.

The region is used as a route for multiple types of trafficking, including illegal migrants.

Irish 'cardboard gangster' whacked over $50k drug debt - Revisited

Zach Parker, 23, found his calling by trafficking cocaine. He quit his job as a barber and peddled drugs. He was rising drug dealer on Dublin's northside and an associate of the notorious ‘Mr Flashy.’ He was targeted by a hitman and blasted with 5 shots as he sat in his BMW in 2019.

Parker was enjoying the high life as a drug dealer and had just returned from a trip to Dubai, home to the Kinahans. Parker was the next victim of a gangland machine that sucks in the naïve and spits them out: jailed, addicted or dead. A relatively small quantity of drugs bought on credit but then lost to cops creates a debt. If a debt cannot be repaid, that debtor may be killed simply as an example to others. Police say Parker's murder was connected to a $50k drug debt.

The Kinahan-Hutch feud rocked Dublin's underworld, with 23 murders.

HA that piss together - Dwayne Patrick Smith - Update

HA Dwayne Patrick Smith was arrested and charged in April 2021 following an organized crime investigation. He was arrested along with 27 others in a huge bust in the RCMP's 'Project Kakia'. He was charged with trafficking in stolen property. His case is before the courts.

So what is HA Dwayne Patrick Smith DOING betwix Josh Hill and HA Joel Rollin? Dude is taking a piss on that truck. I wouldna want biker piss on me or my new truck. Nor, for that matter, some dude whipping out his prick beside me to take a piss.Josh Hill, HA Dwayne Patrick Smith

See ----->HA associate Josh Hill - HEXO and Redecan

Arrest in Eric-Francis De Souza murder

Cops from the National Organized Crime Squad arrested Joshua Sarroino, 27, of Laval in connection with the murder of Éric Francis De Souza. Sarroino is known to play a large role in a “grandparents” type fraud scheme. Sarroino was already detained in Bordeaux prison on a gun charge. He is now charged with first degree murder, 32 months after the murder of De Souza. Eric-Francis De Souza was linked to OMG bikers and the drug trade. He was sitting with friends when a gunman burst into Pizzeria Sofia on May 10, 2019 and shot him in the head.

See ----->Bodies dropping like flies in Quebec

Drug ring making £400k a day pull long time in U.K.

21 gang members have received sentences totaling 167 years for their roles in importing cocaine into the U.K. Led by Paldip Mahngar, the ring used an encrypted EncroChat phone to order multiple kilos of the drug from contacts in Dubai. Mahngar was sentenced to 18 years and three months. Cops said the gang made an estimated £25m between March 16 and April 30, 2020.

Police raided an apartment used by Nimrat Bahia and found him in the middle of counting £678k in cash.

Michael Deabaitua-Schulde murder trial over - Update III

Three of four men accused of assassinating HA Michael Deabaitua-Schulde have been found guilty of first degree murder. Marckens Vilme, Brandon Reyes and Joseph Pallotta have been convicted. Marc Issa El-Khoury was found not guilty in the killing. A first degree murder conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment, with no chance of parole for 25 years.

On Dec 19, 2019 the OPP charged 3 HAMC. Robert Barletta, Craig 'Truck' McIlquham, and Eugenio 'Gino' Reda were nailed for running a gambling ring. The network was pulling in revenues of more than $131m over five years and included scores of betting sites; Ultimate SB, Titan SB, PlaytoWin WB, Privada SB and Players SB. The operation was linked to the Figliomeni crime family. On Jan. 27, 2021 prosecutors stayed charges against the mafia, including boss Angelo Figliomeni. The cop investigation was tainted by "unlawful and illegal conduct."

See ----->Toronto Mafia case collapses - Project Sindacato
See ----->Robert Barletta bail hearing Monday

Deabaitua-Schulde was shot six times at close range.

The 4 men out to whack Deabaitua-Schulde were unaware he was under cop surveillance as part of an illegal gambling operation. Deabaitua-Schulde was observed collecting and delivering packages to many people during 'Project Hobart'. Cops followed the biker to Huf Gym in Mississauga, and saw him running toward the gym after being shot. The two primary shooters were Marckens Vilme and Brandon Reyes, with Joseph Pallotta and Marc Issa El-Khoury serving as getaway drivers. A tracking device had been placed on Deabaitua-Schulde’s Jeep, which logged it's location. The device was checked 140 times from Feb. 26 until the morning of Deabaitua-Schulde’s murder two weeks later.

HA Michael “Diaz” Deabaitua-Schulde, 32, was gunned down around 11:20 a.m. March 11, 2019 in a parking lot near Dundas St. and Cawthra Rd. after working out at HUF Boxing Gym. Two Montreal men were arrested two days after the shooting. Marckens Vilme, 28, was charged with first-degree murder, and Brandon Reyes, 24, was charged with accessory after the fact to murder. Vilme and Reyes have extensive criminal histories and have ties to a Montreal street gang known to work for the Hells Angels.

Brandon Reyes

Joseph Pallotta, 38, and finally Marc Issa El-Khoury, 26, was arrested while trying to cross the border. Pallotta and El-Khoury are each facing a charge of first-degree murder. Reyes’ charge of accessory after the fact was upgraded to first-degree murder. Marckens Vilme has a long criminal record with ties to a Montreal street gang called the Ruffriders, associated with a larger Montreal street faction les bleus, who in turn are close to the Quebec Hells Angels for work. Deabaitua-Schulde was said to be involved in sports betting and went to Montreal from time to time on business.

Joseph Pallotta

See ----->HA Michael 'Diaz' Deabaitua-Schulde shot dead
See ----->OPP take down Hells Angels illegal gambling ring: 28 charged
See ----->Hammer falls on Robert Barletta again - $24m in assets seized

Sydney gangster Ghassan Amoun put to ground

A funeral was held for Sydney gangster Ghassan Amoun, 35, after he was shot dead last week. Mourners gathered to farewell Amoun, brother of crime boss Bassam Hamzy. He was whacked a week after release from jail. A Brothers 4 Life member, Amoun was warned by cops that his life was in danger.

Amoun is the latest victim of an ongoing underworld war with the Alameddine crime network.