Drug dealer filmed four people in throes of overdose, one fatal

	Drug dealer Jackson Freeman Suter, 24, is accused of filming four people in the throes of an overdose — one woman died — while mimicking the voice of “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin. Michelle Maleski, 23, died from an overdose and the three others suffered injuries. Hours elapsed from the first indication that the people were in danger until Suter called 911.

Cocaine, rubber land on Florida beaches

A beachgoer in Boca Raton last month discovered a 70-pound package of cocaine that washed ashore. Wayward bales of drugs show up with regularity on Florida’s Atlantic coast. 24 wrapped bricks of cocaine washed up on a beach at Cape Canaveral in June. In the Florida Keys, 23 bricks of cocaine washed ashore in May, and more cocaine washed up last month in Key West. Beachgoers have been spotting blocks of rubber that have washed ashore. They each weigh hundreds of pounds and are composed of sheets of rubber that have been folded on themselves. Three of the mysterious bales materialized on Palm Beach last summer.

A study linked the rubber bales to the cargo of the SS Rio Grande, a German blockade-running ship that was sunk by the U.S. Navy in January of 1944 in the waters off the coast of Brazil. The World War II-vintage rubber cargo remained submerged for more than 70 years, but now may be breaking free due to corrosion of the shipwreck or unauthorized salvaging of the ship’s cargo, which also included tin, copper and cobalt. The bales began washing up on Brazil’s shores a few years ago.

VPD Brandon Blue, 2 other VPD charged with assault after 2017 arrest

VPD Brandon Blue is charged with assault causing bodily harm. Cops Beau Spencer and Gregory Jackson have been charged with assault. Oinkers decided it would be fun to stop a man for riding a bike with no helmet, lights, or reflectors. The man suffered serious injuries during his arrest. The incident happened in May 2017.

Mexican Navy special forces UNOPES free cartel boss

Gunmen in Mexican special forces uniforms freed the cartel boss just miles from the U.S. border. At least four gunmen wearing bulletproof vests with the logo of the Mexican Navy special forces were filmed. (UNOPES for its Spanish acronym)

José Alfredo Hernández Campos, alias El Calamardo or Metro 27, was busted out of the Attorney General's Office in Reynosa, Tamaulipas on July 13. He is a high-ranking member of the Metros faction of the Gulf Cartel.

Members of the Gulf Cartel set up blockades throughout the city to stop police from recapturing Hernández Campos, leading to clashes with gunmen throughout Reynosa. One gunman was arrested wearing camouflage, along with Defense Department identification. There have been conflicting reports on whether he is an active member of the Mexican armed forces. U.S. cops working in Mexico claim that the raid was conducted by a mixture of current and former members of the Mexican armed forces. They say Hernández Campos claimed during his initial arrest the day prior that he was paying protection fees to Mexican armed forces.

New York gangster executed on video

Jermaine Dixon, a former member of the “Patio Crew” in Brooklyn, had been out of federal prison for less than a year when the gunman struck. Dixon had rolled with the “Patio Crew,” a name referring to a Flatbush restaurant where the gang hung out. Dixon served 19 years for drug charges and the 1992 murder of Alphonso Gooden.

Planeadora fantasma (Ghost Glider)

Planeadora fantasma (Ghost Glider) is a term used for high speed narco boats in Spain. Planeadora can mean speedboat. The 'Ghost Glider' found on 27 August 2020 was the 3rd found in Spain and unique.

The craft sits between the go-fast vessel (GFV) category and low profile vessel (LPVs). It takes a power boat hull, adds a hard RIB collar and then a built-up covered superstructure. It is about 39 ft (12 meters) long and could possibly carry a few tons of cocaine.

All three craft have been discovered in Galicia in the North of Spain.

Piero Arena whacked

Piero Arena, 63, was found lifeless, lying among cars in the basement of the building where he lived. He had been shot twice in the head. Arena was linked to the cocaine trade and was close to the Cotroni clan, the Calabrian family who reigned supreme until the end of the 1980s when they were dethroned by Rizutto. Arena was busted in 2013 for a plot to smuggle 275kg of cocaine into the country. Just before that Arena was out on statutory release for the same crime. Its said Arena was the person targeted on July 22 during a shooting that took place at Café Sorrento in Saint-Léonard in Montreal, not far from his residence.

Cocaine laced with fentanyl on the rise

Kate Quigley, Fuquan Johnson

Drug dealers are increasingly selling cocaine that is laced with fentanyl and the results are deadly. Comedian Fuquan Johnson and two others died after overdosing on cocaine laced with fentanyl. Model Kate Quigley was in critical condition. In Suffolk County there were 6 fatal overdoses in 3 days. These weren't hardened addicts, but mostly recreational cocaine users.

In 2020 over 93,000 died from an overdose in the United States, the highest number ever recorded and a 30% percent increase over the previous year.

Katie's Revenge

Child molesters are well hated in prison. Anthony Ray Stockelman is a convicted child killer who will likely spend the rest of his life in solitary. The reason? He has the name of his victim on his forehead for all other inmates to see. Stockelman was sunk by his DNA on a cigarette butt near the crime scene. The DNA was an ironclad case against him and he plead guilty in exchange for having the death penalty taken off the table.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment plus 30 years, but his problems were just beginning.

Stockelman’s time was going to be harder because someone related to his victim was also imprisoned at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility. Katie’s cousin, 22-year-old Jared Harris had gone to prison in 2000 for burglary and was in the same wing as Anthony Stockelman.

Harris and another inmate gave Stockelman a choice. He could either be stabbed to death or have a tattoo on his forehead. He choose the later. Anthony Ray Stockelman has remained in a private cell. He eats alone, has recreation alone, and keeps to himself when possible. A medical practitioner has since agreed to remove the tattoo free of charge. Some might consider that a shame.

Katie Collman

Mexican cartels shaking up the cocaine trade

Mexican cartels are taking a new approach to the cocaine trade, shipping coca base out of Colombia and processing it in Mexico. Coca base is cheaper but just as risky to smuggle. Why the change? Colombia restricted access to precursor chemicals needed to produce cocaine five years ago.

Those efforts have succeeded. Precursors are now easier to obtain and cheaper in Mexico.

Cops in a drug lab in Sinaloa.

Mexico's Pacific coast ports are entry points for precursors from China, and fighting among criminal groups for control of those ports has increased. Cartels produce their own meth and fentanyl, and processing cocaine base is less technically difficult. Converting coca base to refined cocaine yields similar amounts, so there's no less bulk if smugglers ship powder cocaine or coca base. Some Mexican cartels are sourcing cocaine base from 'campesinos', or peasant farmers, cutting out Colombian middlemen.

Shifting processing to Mexico is a way to lower costs and increase profit margins ... the same behavior expected of any business.

Hunt for mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro - Diabolik

It has been a good year for the capture of Italy’s most wanted criminals. Raffaele Imperiale, a Mafia drugs baron was scooped up in Dubai. Francesco Pelle, the boss of a leading crime family, was arrested in March in Lisbon. Rocco Morabito, the one-time “cocaine king of Milan” was nailed in Brazil two months later, while a host of other top Italian mafia figures have also been arrested. Number one on the list is Matteo Messina Denaro - Diabolik.

Rare photo of Matteo Messina Denaro

In 2019, 200 cops searched farmhouses and warehouses belonging to around 30 suspected gangsters in and around Castelvetrano, the mafia boss’ Sicilian hometown. Diabolik was not found. While his location is unknown, Italian authorities believe the 59-year-old is hiding in Sicily.

Diabolik

Denaro, who once bragged he could “fill a cemetery” with his victims, has been on the run since 1993 and is believed to come and go regularly from the Italian island. He is also on Europol’s list of the most wanted fugitives. Despite this, he is thought to have succeeded the late Totò Riina as boss of the Casa Nostra. He is wanted for a string of crimes including dozens of murders. A trial got underway in the Sicilian town of Caltanissetta earlier this year in which Denaro is also accused of being among those who ordered the murders of anti-mafia judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino in 1992.

An Italian court sentenced Matteo Messina Denaro to life imprisonment over his role in a bombing campaign which claimed the lives of Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, as well as many others. Denaro, 58, went into hiding in 1993 and is considered the most high-profile fugitive of the Sicilian Mafia. Denaro was already overdue to serve several life sentences for murder. Authorities have tried to close the net on him for years and arrested dozens of his relatives and aides. Diabolik remains an enigma. Few would recognize Matteo Messina Denaro, but he is one of the most sought after fugitives in the world.

Salvatore “Toto” Riina died in 2018

Denaro was born into mafia greatness. His father was a high-ranking mafioso and his son quickly became favored by boss Salvatore 'Toto' Riina. Denaro established himself as a reliable foot soldier with a talent for murder. “Riina loved him.” Denaro has overwhelming influence and protection from the Provenzano and Graviano clans. Bernardo Provenzano was a Sicilian "boss of bosses" who was head of the Corleonesi, a crime organization based in Corleone, Sicily; the inspiration for The Godfather movie franchise. With a feared reputation for brutality none will betray Denaro.

Haney HA boss Michael “Spike” Hadden memorial

Representative Hells Angels from every chapter across Canada arrived at a church in Langley to pay last respects to Hadden, who died of cancer last month. Cops estimated 1500 were in attendance. Hadden was a founding member of the Haney chapter when it started in 1987.

Bada Bing Whacked

The strip club from The Sopranos was sent to sleep with the fishes in 2017. Satin Dolls, the New Jersey club known as the Bada Bing from HBO’s Sopranos, ceased operations because of its real-life Mafia ties.

Anthony Cardinalle, a gangster connected to the Genovese crime family defied an order from the Division of Alcohol Beverage Control that barred the family from running the Satin Dolls and another lounge, A.J.’s Gentleman’s Club. The owners of the clubs, who were mobsters, also “failed to account for large amounts of cash flowing in and out of the businesses.” The feds indicted Cardinalle 'Tony' in January 2013 for his part in a conspiracy related to the waste-disposal industry in New Jersey and New York.

Cardinalle pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and conspiracy to commit extortion.

Western Block Alfonso Cano lose another big cocaine shipment

The Colombian Navy seized a semi-submersible carrying 1.8 tonnes of cocaine. It belonged to FARC splinter group the Western Block Alfonso Cano. FARC officially laid down arms in a peace deal in 2016, but dissident factions continue to operate in the country's rural southwest and east, key cocaine producing and smuggling areas. The semisubmersible's crew abandoned ship and swam to shore, escaping into the jungle. Colombian marines found 90 sacks of one-kilo bricks. The total haul was 1,870 kilos, with an estimated wholesale value over $60m.

The Colombian Navy has seized 5.8 tonnes of cocaine of the Alfonso Cano group over the past month.

Huge cartel grow op busted in Oregon

Cops confiscated a massive amount of marijuana and a handful of weapons from a 30-acre property in Alfalfa, east of Bend, Oregon. Cops found over 9,000 marijuana plants in 49 greenhouses, 2,800 pounds of processed pot, an AR-15 rifle and two pistols. Police say most of the laborers at the site were Mexican nationals who were illegally trafficked into the United States to work at the grow op. Greenhouses contained thousands of plants at various growth stages, and over 1,400 kilos of processed pot. The grows divert or steal significant water, a valuable commodity in the arid central Oregon high desert.

Mounties grab 552 kg cocaine from burning sailboat

RCMP have seized 552 kg of cocaine from a sailboat off the coast of Nova Scotia. As the Canadian Coast Guard and cops moved to intercept a suspicious boat, it burst into flames.

Karin Marley Simons, 32, and Aleck Villeneuve, 28, face charges of conspiracy to import narcotics. Simons is wanted. He gave dopey cops the slip in hospital. Villenuve made headlines in 2018 when his rental home drug lab in Kelowna blew up.

Eduardo Arellano Felix freedom short lived

One of the notorious Felix brothers has been arrested on his arrival in his homeland. Eduardo Arellano Felix was deported to Mexico from the US after serving most of a 15-year prison sentence. He now faces organized crime and drug trafficking charges.

Famous for its brutal control of the drug trade in the border city of Tijuana in the 1990s, the cartel is a shadow of its former self. The family slowly lost its grip along California’s border with Mexico over the past decade as the 7 brothers were picked off, one by one.