337 kg cocaine seized in Dominican Republic

Two Dominicans and a Venezuelan are under arrest after the Navy and DNCD agents intercepted a go fast vessel south of the coast of the municipality of Enriquillo. They confiscated 13 bales containing 329 packages of cocaine. The Dominican Republic is identified by the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as one of the main Caribbean transit routes for cocaine.

Oz cops put brakes on $24m cocaine 'tyre' import - update Khalils

Brendon Khalil, 53, and his son Simon, 25, have been charged with importing 66 kg of cocaine discovered in car tires in Perth. The duo have links to the notorious Hamzy and Alameddine crime families in Sydney. In 2021 they were busted for renting out stolen and modified luxury cars to gangsters. Nine stolen luxury cars were seized. Police alleged many were used in violent crimes.

Four West Australians are busted after 66 kg of cocaine – worth about $23.7m AUD at street level, was seized in Perth. Cops found the cocaine hidden in four Mercedes-Benz performance wheels imported from Switzerland. ABF officers at the Perth cargo facility detected anomalies when they x-rayed the air cargo consignment. The drugs were replaced with a harmless substance before the tyres were released for collection. The maximum penalty for the offence is life imprisonment.

Stéphane Dupuis whacked in Laval - update

Montreal cops searched 3 residences last week. It is related to the murder of Stéphane Dupuis, 51, on April 12. Dupuis was an alpha level cocaine dealer with connections to mafioso Francesco Del Balso. One of these residences is that of Patrick Robert, 48, a man considered by cops to be part of HA Mario Brouillette's group. Although he no longer officially wears Hells Angels colors, Mario Brouillette is the most significant player of organized crime in Montreal according to the SQ.

Stéphane Dupuis was a close associate of HA Mario Brouillette, a man considered a top actor in organized crime in Quebec. Dupuis was shot 8 times while waiting to enter a car wash. During the 2000s, Dupuis was arrested as part of operation Ziplock, along with René Charbonneau. He also dealt with Francesco Del Balso, then a lieutenant in the Montreal Mafia. Dupuis was sentenced to 35 months for cocaine trafficking and gangsterism in 2008.

Stéphane Dupuis was the target of a hit man in October 2020 but survived his gunshot wounds.

See ----->LA Presse - Montreal Mafia: Flourishing in 'free trade'

Chicago mob boss Mike 'Fat Boy' Sarno denied release

Chicago mob boss Mike "Fat Boy" Sarno will be given a deal he can't refuse: he will remain in prison. Sarno's attorney said his client fell victim to a justice system that views the Chicago mob as Hollywood. "I think he's another Italian American that's a victim of the RICO Act". Sarno was sentenced to 25 years in 2012 for racketeering. Undercover tapes that federal investigators had made referred to "the Large Guy"—a reference to Sarno's large size. In his younger days, Sarno was being groomed for big things in the Chicago Outfit. Sarno was a powerful mobster in the Chicago Outfit, along with Joseph Andriacchi, Al Tornabene, Frank "Toots" Caruso, Marco D'Amico and John DiFronzo.

In the early 90s, he went away for racketeering, gambling and extortion. When he got out, his influence grew with a partnership with the Outlaws.

See ----->Outfit's Sarno deathly fear of Covid-19 - rejected for release

NZ meth cook William McKinley sentenced to 10 years

William McKinley, 52, was busted as the kingpin of a drug ring. McKinley was jailed for 10 years. The judge was unimpressed by McKinley's arsenal of military hardware. "Why anyone in New Zealand has a .50 calibre machine gun is beyond me."

"Why a drug dealer has it, that's obvious but about as serious as it gets."

Raphaël Huppé sliced in Playa del Carmen - update

Fannie Lorrain

Fannie Lorrain's mother, Linda Bédard, explained to Quebec press that her daughter was not involved with Raphaël Huppé or his business. She went to his apartment because he was ill. Press reports suggesting she was a criminal like Raphaël Huppé are dead wrong. Fannie Lorrain worked in customer service at a local dietary supplement and protein company. She was scheduled to return to Quebec in weeks. Fannie Lorrain was innocent, in the wrong place at the wrong time, and she paid with her life.

He and Fannie Lorrain were both found with their throats cut.

Raphaël Huppé, 44, was one two Canadians found dead at a resort in Mexico's Playa del Carmen. Huppé was wanted on many criminal cases for fraud.

Dutch king pardons cocaine smuggler

Questions have been raised by MPs and legal experts about the decision to grant a pardon to former Dutch television presenter and convicted cocaine smuggler Frank Masmeijer. He was released from a jail in Nieuwegein where he was spending the last 18 months of his 9 year sentence. The pardon was signed by king Willem-Alexander and legal protection minister Franc Weerwind.

Masmeijer initially denied all, but later admitted to having had a role in the smuggling of hundreds of kilos of cocaine through the port of Antwerp. The king is the only person able to grant pardons, but decisions are based on recommendation of the justice minister. The justice ministry has refused to answer questions about the pardon.

Colombo mob boss won't collect jailhouse ping pong winnings

Mob life is dangerous. So, apparently, is ping pong for Thomas 'Tommy Shots' Gioeli. The wiseguy launched and won a lawsuit for compensation after a jailhouse ping pong fall.

Thomas 'Tommy Shots' Gioeli

Gioeli argued in court filings that the federal government was trying to “claw back” the settlement money so it could be “rewarded for the fruits of its own bad behavior.” A federal judge ruled that Thomas “Tommy Shots” Gioeli will have to use his portion of the lawsuit cash, more than $182,000, to pay restitution to his victims. “What the defendant really wants to do is stiff the Government on his forfeiture obligation and spend the money on something he would prefer. But the law doesn’t permit that.” Thomas Salvatore Gioeli, 'Tommy Shots' (born 1952), is a high-ranking member of the Colombo crime family. Gioeli is incarcerated in North Carolina on racketeering and murder charges. His projected release date is September 9, 2024.

Oz cocaine kingpin Owen Hanson - O-Dog

Mark Wahlberg is in the early development of a documentary about USC player turned drug lord Owen Hanson.

Owen Hanson grew up in Redondo Beach, and his physical prowess scored him a place on the USC football team. A San Diego court heard how greed led Hanson to grow from a low-level drug dealer selling cocaine and steroids to teammates to the head of a criminal enterprise that shipped huge quantities of cocaine to Australia for massive profits. Hanson, 35, showed no emotion when a judge sentenced him to 21 years in jail in 2017. Prosecutors said a kilo of cocaine in southern California costs about $US25k. while in Australia it costs about $US250k.

His days as a crime boss running the violent international drug ring came to an end in 2015 when a US-Australian law enforcement operation led to his arrest in San Diego. Hanson trafficked "hundreds of kilograms of cocaine" from California to Australia. Hanson had red paint splattered on the gravestone of the mother of a debtor and then sent DVDs showing beheadings of people - one with a chainsaw. Hanson agreed to forfeit $5m in cash and assets, including properties in Costa Rica, Mexico and Peru, and luxury cars.

Francisco Torres - 'El Duranguillo'

The U.S. is warning citizens to stay away from several areas of Mexico near the U.S. border. The Department of State upgraded the travel advisory for Baja California to level 3, which urges U.S. citizens to reconsider their travel plans due to the possibility of kidnapping or other violent crimes. Folks best avoid the cities of Tijuana and Rosarito in Baja California. The arrest of 'El Duranguillo' led to a tense standoff between Torres' men and soldiers. An hour long gunfight broke out between the two factions.

The U.S. Consulate in Tijuana says “criminal organization assassinations and territorial disputes can result in bystanders being injured or killed.”