#contraband

#contraband

Triad Nexus has reinstated its global fraud engine, shifting its focus toward emerging markets while maintaining a persistent threat to Western enterprise assets.

Andrew Pritchard initially smuggled cocaine for the UK club scene using hard-sided suitcases packed with concealed drugs and decoy luggage to evade airport security.

The Donald Trump administration has insisted their actions are lawful and in compliance with the Law of Armed Conflict, with justification centred around "the United States' inherent right of self-defence as a matter of international law." The occupants targeted in the operation have been designated as "narco-terrorists" or members of "designated terrorist organizations," as a justification for blowing them out of the water-except, to date, no evidence or intelligence to back up those claims has been presented by the US to the public.

The drugs were stored inside a pair of backpacks at Palma's apartment, prosecutors said. One was hidden in a laundry hamper in Palma's bedroom closet. It contained more than 400 grams of methamphetamine, 200-plus grams of a mixture containing fentanyl, other controlled substances and digital scales. A loaded gun was found in the same pack.

These semi-submersible boats have been used for years by drug gangs to smuggle cocaine from South and Central America. In more recent months as the price of cocaine has plummeted, gangs have changed tactics: instead of letting the boats sink on delivery, they have started to reuse the vessels, setting up a refuelling platform at sea and sending the boats back so they can make as many journeys as possible.

The cartel said it was seizing the store, which would only be allowed to sell online outside the state. That was in early 2022, when vapes were still legal in Mexico, a market worth $1.5 billion. But earlier this month, the country banned the sale - although not the use - of electronic cigarettes. Experts believe organized crime will now consolidate its control over the sale of the devices.

More than 100 law enforcement agents conducted high-risk search warrants across three locations. The first was an active methamphetamine lab in the 8000 block of Center Drive in Valley Springs. A second site was located in the 2000 block of Golf Road in Turlock, which contained all the equipment necessary to operate as a lab but was shut down before production began. The third site, located in the 900 block of Reno Avenue in Modesto, was used by the drug trafficking organization to store and distribute illicit narcotics.

Investigators discovered the gangs were brazenly offering to transport migrants from Calais to Dover in the back of trucks and touting it as a "taxi service". In one promotional video, three migrants are seen reclining on a mound of soft white packages inside a truck. One of the young men gives a thumbs-up to the camera. "By truck, Safe reach London UK in 2 hours," reads the caption.

The ability of criminal groups to exercise this type of power and exercise this type of violence is closely linked to firearms trafficking, said Cecilia Farfan-Mendez, an expert on Mexican organised crime. If we want to see less violence in Mexico, this is a very important conversation.

Mexico has sent another 37 alleged members of Mexican criminal organisations to the United States, the country's security minister said, amid US President Donald Trump's threat of ground attacks against drug cartels in the region. The handover of alleged drug cartel members on Tuesday is the third major transfer to the US in the past year and brings the total number of suspects transferred to 92.

The US military on Thursday said it killed two people in a strike on a boat suspected of carrying illegal drugs in the eastern Pacific. "Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations," the US Southern Command posted on X. It added that "no US military forces were harmed" in the operation. The statement did not offer any evidence that the boat pictured was actually carrying narcotics before it was blown up in the attack.

Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations, the Southern Command said in a statement. The command included a video of the strike with its announcement, which shows a boat traveling through the water as it explodes into flames after being hit with what looks like a missile. The Southern Command and the Pentagon did not immediately return requests for additional information.

In separate operations across three statesSinaloa, Sonora, and Guerreroauthorities reported the seizure of more than 41,000 liters and 12 tons of chemicals to be used in drug production. The announcement includes the dismantling of a clandestine laboratory in Guerrero and 11 other methamphetamine production sites in Sonora. In Sonora, between the towns of Culiacan and Mexicali, a vehicle containing 212 kilograms of methamphetamine was seized by the Army and the National Guard.

At the direction of the commander of U.S. Southern Command, Marine Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted three lethal kinetic strikes on three vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations, Southern Command said in the statement, which as has become customary was accompanied by a video showing the boats exploding after being hit by a missile. Intelligence confirmed the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes and were engaged in narco-trafficking operations, it added.

On Tuesday, during an extended Cabinet meeting, Colombian President Gustavo Petro denounced two plots that initially drew little attention but would have halted the political agenda in almost any other country. As if downplaying it, Petro claimed that earlier this week someone tried to kill him while he was traveling by helicopter. According to his account, the aircraft had to change course and fly over the ocean for four hours before it could land.