Eight people have been arrested in northern Mexico have over the killing of two 10-year-old boys and a woman in what appears to be ritual sacrifices. Prosecutors in Sonora, in the north-west of the country have accused the suspects of belonging to the La Santa Muerte (Holy Death) cult. The victims' blood has been poured round an altar to the idol, which is portrayed as a skeleton holding a scythe and clothed in flowing robes. The cult, which celebrates death, has been growing rapidly in Mexico in the last 20 years, and now has up to two million followers. Jose Larrinaga, spokesman for Sonora state prosecutors, said the most recent killing was earlier this month, while the other two were committed in 2009 and 2010. Their bodies were found at the altar site in the small mining community of Nacozari, 70 miles south of Douglas, Arizona. Investigations were launched after the family of 10-year-old Jesus Octavio Martinez Yanez reported him missing early this month.
Saturday, 31 March 2012
Eight people from 'Holy Death' cult arrested in Mexico over ritual sacrifices of woman and two 10-year-old boys
Gang dispute sparked funeral home shooting that left 2 dead, 12 injured
Dispute among gang members at a North Miami-area funeral home sparked a mass shooting that injured 12 people and killed two men, according to Miami-Dade police and law enforcement. The gunmen, who fired a barrage of bullets at a crowd of mourners Friday night, remained on the loose. Investigators have not released information about the shooters, only that a white car may have been involved. One of the victims, a 43-year-old man, died outside the Funeraria Latina Emanuel funeral home, authorities said. The other, a 27-year-old man, died at the hospital. Witnesses at the funeral home had said one of the two people killed was shot in the chest. Among the wounded was a 5-year-old girl who was shot in the leg. She is hospitalized at Jackson Memorial Hospital and is listed in stable condition. The funeral was for Morvin Andre, 21, of North Miami, who was buried Saturday morning at Southern Memorial Park next to the funeral home. Andre was killed March 16 after he tried to jump 22-and-a-half feet from the fourth floor of the Aventura Mall parking garage to escape pursuit from Bloomingdale’s loss prevention employees. Andre landed on his feet, but then fell back and hit his head, according Aventura Police Major Skip Washa, a spokesman. Washa said Saturday the county medical examiner’s office has ruled Andre’s death a suicide because the Bloomingdale’s employees were one floor below Andre when they told him to stop. Instead, he jumped. Originally, it was reported that Andre, a nursing student at Broward Community College, had been killed in a shooting, according to mourners at the funeral home. A law enforcement official told the Miami Herald that the shooting involved members of several South Florida gangs who were in attendance at his wake Friday night to pay their respects. Andre was not part of a gang himself, the official said. Certain gang members took offense when someone touched Andre’s body in the casket, setting off an argument that spilled out into the street. Members of one gang retrieved an assault rifle and a handgun from a car and opened fire at other gang members in front of the funeral home, a police commander told Miami Herald news partner WFOR-CBS 4. Shooting erupted as more than 100 people were gathered outside the funeral home, in the 14900 block of West Dixie Highway, outside the city limits of North Miami. “I was on my way out of the chapel when I heard the shots,“ said A.D. Lenoir, the pastor who officiated at the service. “I told people to look for cover. It was chaos.” Lenoir, 29, said people were screaming, crying and yelling. Several victims were taken to Jackson, and others to local hospitals. The West Dixie Highway corridor has been the scene of several shootings in recent years. In 2007, the owner of a martial arts studio was fatally gunned down in a drive-by.
Kansas man struck by lightning hours after buying lottery tickets
A Kansas man was struck by lightning hours after buying three Mega Millions lottery tickets on Thursday, proving in real life the old saying that a gambler is more likely to be struck down from the sky than win the jackpot. Bill Isles, 48, bought three tickets in the record $656 million lottery Thursday at a Wichita, Kansas grocery store. On the way to his car, Isles said he commented to a friend: "I've got a better chance of getting struck by lightning" than winning the lottery. Later at about 9:30 p.m., Isles was standing in the back yard of his Wichita duplex, when he saw a flash and heard a boom -- lightning. "It threw me to the ground quivering," Isles said in a telephone interview on Saturday. "It kind of scrambled my brain and gave me an irregular heartbeat." Isles, a volunteer weather spotter for the National Weather Service, had his portable ham radio with him because he was checking the skies for storm activity. He crawled on the ground to get the radio, which had been thrown from his hand. Isles had been talking to other spotters on the radio and called in about the lightning strike. One of the spotters, a local television station intern, called 911. Isles was taken by ambulance to a hospital and kept overnight for observation. Isles said doctors wanted to make sure his heartbeat was back to normal. He suffered no burns or other physical effects from the strike, which he said could have been worse because his yard has a power line pole and wires overhead. "But for the grace of God, I would have been dead," Isles said. "It was not a direct strike." Isles said he had someone buy him ten more tickets to the Mega Millions lottery on Friday night. While one of the three winning tickets was sold in Kansas, Isles was not a winner. Officials of the Mega Millions lottery, which had the largest prize in U.S. history, said that the odds of winning lottery were about 176 million to one. Americans have a much higher chance of being struck by lightning, at 775,000 to one over the course of a year, depending on the part of the country and the season, according to the National Weather Service. Isles, who is out of work after being laid off last June by a furniture store, said he did once win $2,000 in the lottery and will keep playing. "The next time I will use the radio while sitting in the car," he said
Friday, 30 March 2012
Kevin 'Gerbil' Carroll murder trial
PHOTOGRAPHS of the spot where gangland figure Kevin “Gerbil” Carroll was shot dead were shown to a murder trial jury yesterday. The pictures – shown on day one of the trial – included an image of an Audi with smashed windows. The court was told the car was “subject to a significant degree of examination”. Carroll, 29, was shot in the car park of Asda in Robroyston, Glasgow, in January 2010. Ross Monaghan, 30, has been accused of Carroll’s murder. It is alleged that, while masked and acting with others, Monaghan repeatedly discharged loaded handguns at him, shooting him on the head and body. Monaghan is accused of – while acting with others – attempting to defeat the ends of justice by disposing of a revolver, pistol and ammunition in undergrowth in Coatbridge and Airdrie. It is also claimed a car bearing false number plates was set on fire. Monaghan also faces a number of firearms charges. He denies all the charges against him at the High Court in Glasgow and has incriminated Mr X, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and seven others. The trial, before Lord Brailsford, continues.
popular Caribbean dancing style used by adults, known as 'daggering', is sexualising the dance floors of a much younger generation.
Teenagers as young as 11 are modelling sex acts and rape, in the form of daggering, on the dance floor with their peers. Deputy Children's Commissioner Sue Berelowitz said: "there's not a lot separating that kind of behaviour from actual violent, coercive sex." Footage seen by Channel 4 News [see above] shows an under-18s club night in East London. As with all 'under-18s' club nights, everyone is between 11 and 16. Some of the children look much younger. The club is packed. The music: Caribbean dancehall. The dancing style: daggering. It is a style of dancing that any carnival regular will be used to. Aficionados will no doubt, have a more technical description of the style but it mainly involves women bending over and rubbing their backsides up against the men's crotches. During that August weekend in Notting Hill every adult gives it a go. But what's different about this night club is that every child is giving it a go. Spurred on by the DJ, the 'daggering' becomes more enthusiastic, some of it verging on violent. Boys and girls end up on top of each other on the floor simulating sex. Throughout the night someone employed by the club promoter (presumably an adult) is filming it all and uploading it on the club's website via YouTube.
Thursday, 29 March 2012
Baggage handlers to strike at Easter
Baggage handlers at Stansted Airport are to strike over Easter in a row over pay, the GMB union announced today. The move follows an overwhelming vote in favour of industrial action by 150 GMB members employed by Swissport after the union claimed that shift changes would lead to wage cuts of up to £1,000. The GMB said strikes will be held on Good Friday, Easter Saturday and Easter Monday, threatening disruption to passengers flying on holiday for the holiday break. GMB official Gary Pearce said: "GMB members have voted overwhelmingly for strike action and for action short of a strike. "Up to now the company has been intent on imposing these changes without agreement and this is completely unacceptable, as this vote shows. "GMB has offered several alternative shift patterns and working arrangements but the company refuses to listen so far. "I have notified Swissport of the ballot result and I have asked them for more talks to try to avert action over these pay cuts. "GMB members consider that Swissport is attempting to make savings at their expense and they are not willing to agree to this. "Unless there is urgent talks and a settlement, this vote for action this will result in disruption over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend. "The travelling public need to be aware that it has been this aggressive move by Swissport to cut our members pay at a time of high inflation that has led to this strike vote. "If the strike goes ahead, Swissport is entirely to blame for the disruption."
Wednesday, 28 March 2012
Shawn Tyson guilty of murdering two Britons in Florida
An American teenager has been found guilty of the first degree murder of two British tourists in Florida. James Cooper, 25, from Warwickshire, and James Kouzaris, 24, from Northampton, were shot dead on a public housing estate in Newtown, Sarasota. The pair, who met at Sheffield University, were killed after drunkenly wandering into the estate in the early hours of 16 April 2011. The court heard Shawn Tyson, 17, killed them after trying to rob them. Tyson, who was tried as an adult despite being 16 at the time of the shooting, faces life in prison with no chance of parole. 'Shattered soul' The families of Mr Cooper and Mr Kouzaris were not in court but said in a statement they were satisfied with the verdict. They added: "It is a fact that we were given a life sentence when our sons were so brutally and needlessly taken from us. "Ours is a life sentence, with no chance of parole from a broken heart, and a shattered soul." Mr Kouzaris and Mr Cooper had been out drinking in downtown Sarasota before they were shot The families also criticised the Sarasota court system that freed Tyson after a judge warned he was a danger to the public. Hours before he shot the two Britons, Tyson was arrested for a separate shooting incident in which no-one was hurt. In the statement the families said: "The evil of the killer is one thing, but the fact is, he would not have been on the streets had instructions to keep him incarcerated been passed from one judge to another." Killer's boast When the mistake came to light the Mayor of Sarasota, Kelly Kirschener, vowed the city's prosecutors would never let anything similar happen again. During the trial jurors heard how Mr Kouzaris and Mr Cooper had been out drinking in downtown Sarasota before getting lost and wandering into the Newtown area in the early hours. The prosecution said they were confronted by Tyson who tried to rob them and then shot them when he realised they had very little money. The court heard Tyson had boasted to his friend Latrece Washington, who testified against him, that one of the men had begged for his life but he shot him anyway.
Tuesday, 27 March 2012
Cat-Sized Rats Invade Florida
Cat-sized rats are causing trouble in the Florida keys. A pack of Gambian giant pouched rats have been breeding in the keys despite officials’ efforts to eradicate them. NBC Miami reports that Officials are worried about the vermin making it over to the mainland, saying that the hungry species could wipe out crops and upset the delicate ecological balance in Florida. Scort Hardin, the exotic species coordinator for Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said: “We thought we had them whipped as of 2009…. In the early part of 2011, a resident e-mailed me and said he saw one of the rats. We were skeptical but went back and talked to people and [saw] there were rats that we missed.” Hardin believes that there are less than two dozen giant rats roaming Grassy Key where they were trapped during multiple efforts last year. The Wildlife Conservation Commission will set out once again this July in an attempt to trap the Gambian giant pouched rats. Hardin told Keys Net: “I would not imagine there’s more than another couple of dozen at most. We’ve caught them all within a half-mile of each other… We think they have not moved far but they clearly reproduced.” MSNBC reports that the cat-sized rats were introduced to the island by a local rat breeder more than a decade ago. The rats have moved into the wild where they are now breeding and wreaking havoc on the ecosystem.
New Black Panther leader arrested as group sets bounty in Florida shooting
high-ranking member of the New Black Panther Party was arrested for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office said Monday. DeKalb County Sheriff's Office Hashim Nzinga, 49, was arrested for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. More Atlanta area news » Immigration-related complaint may become ‘moot' 'Chicken Man' house explodes Trayvon Martin rally at Capitol draws many Gang member guilty of 2011 killing Hashim Nzinga, 49, recently announced on CNN that his group was offering a $10,000 reward for the capture of George Zimmerman, the man who fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla. CNN identified Nzinga as the chief of staff of the New Black Panther Party. According to a DeKalb arrest warrant, Nzinga was in possession of an FN Herstal 5.7 x 28 handgun, which investigators said he pawned at a shop on Rockbridge Road. That alleged transaction would be illegal due to Nzinga’s convictions last month for felony deposit account fraud in Gwinnett County, the DeKalb Sheriff's Office said. Nzinga was arrested by members of the fugitive squad at a probation office in Lawrenceville and transported to DeKalb County Jail. The New Black Panther Party is offering a $10,000 bounty for the capture of Zimmerman, the Florida neighborhood watch captain who shot and killed Martin, an unarmed teenager, last month. "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," Black Panther leader Mikhail Muhammad said Saturday at a rally in Sanford, where Martin was killed Feb. 26, according to Fox News. Zimmerman has claimed he shot Martin in self-defense, but the New Black Panthers are calling for mobilization of 10,000 black men to capture Zimmerman, who has gone into hiding, the Orlando Sentinel reported. "He should be fearful for his life," Muhammad said. "You can't keep killing black children." According to the website of the Southern Poverty Law Center, the New Black Panthers "is a virulently racist and anti-Semitic organization whose leaders have encouraged violence against whites, Jews and law enforcement officers." The group was founded in Dallas in 1989 and believes black Americans should have their own nation, according to the SPLC. Zimmerman shot Martin as he returned to his father's house from a store where he had bought candy. Zimmerman told a 911 dispatcher that Martin was acting suspicious and told police that he was attacked by Martin. Sanford police say they were advised by prosecutors that they did not have enough evidence to charge Zimmerman.
Facebook App Lets You Add Enemies Online
Forget friending. A new Facebook app allows users of the social network to identify and share people, places and things as “enemies” for all to see. The app, called EnemyGraph, lets you list anything with a Facebook presence — ranging from “friends,” to foods, to products, movies or books — as an enemy. Since the app launched March 15, it’s seemed to appeal especially to users with a liberal bent. Some of its most-selected nemeses so far include Rick Santorum, Westboro Baptist Church and Fox News. The app was developed by a professor and two students at the University of Texas at Dallas. Dean Terry, who directs the school’s emerging media program, helped conceptualize the project, while graduate student Bradley Griffith and undergraduate Harrison Massey built the app. Griffith said EnemyGraph has so far accumulated some 400 users. But more importantly, its creators say, press coverage has helped meet the team’s goal of sparking a larger conversation about the nature of social media and Facebook in particular. “One thing that has always struck me is the enforced niceness culture,” Terry told Mashable. “We wanted to give people a chance to express dissonance as well. We’re using the word enemy about as accurately as Facebook uses the word friend.” But the app has utility beyond simply sparking a philosophical debate, Terry adds. Researchers and marketers have long gathered information on social media users based on what they support, but at the expense of possibly overlooking another valuable data source. “You can actually learn a lot about people by what they’re upset about and what they don’t like,” Terry says. “And the second thing is that if you and I both don’t like something, that actually creates a social bond that hasn’t been explored in social media at all, except with Kony and some big examples like that.” Terry and Griffith teamed up last year to create Undetweetable, a service allowing Twitter users’ deleted tweets to be uncovered posthumously. That project gained some attention as well but Twitter quickly forced it to shut down. Terry wouldn’t be surprised if EnemyGraph meets a similar fate from Facebook. “My guess is it goes against their social philosophy and purpose,” he says. “It is a critique of their social philosophy for sure.” Do you like the EnemyGraph idea? Let us know in the comments.
Monday, 26 March 2012
socially disruptive narcissists More Facebook Friends You Have, the More Unhappy You Are
A study has discovered a direct link between the number of friends you have on Facebook and how much of a “socially disruptive narcissist” you are—giving us one more reason to tone down our Facebook addictions. Researchers at Western Illinois studied 294 college students and found that those with more friends on Facebook tended to score higher on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory questionnaire. They tended to respond more aggressively to comments, change their profile pictures more often, and updated their news feeds more regularly than others. This may not be all that surprising, but it does provide a bit of motivation to re-evaluate what Facebook does for you, if you fit into one of these categories (and if not, at least you can stop feeling bad about not having very many Facebook friends—it’s probably a good thing). None of this is to say Facebook is inherently bad, of course. It’s still a great way to keep in touch with family and friends, especially after you’ve fixed all of its annoyances—you might just want to dial back on all the photo tagging. While you’re at it, you can also move some of those friends to your Acquaintances list using Facebook’s new tool, which will hide them from your news feed more often.
Sunday, 25 March 2012
Whitney Houston full autopsy report to offer more details
Whitney Houston’s full autopsy report may offer more clues about whether the singer suffered a heart attack before her drowning death, officials said Friday. The full report, which is expected to be released in a few weeks, may include test results and physical descriptions of the singer’s heart that will show whether she suffered a heart attack, Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter said. The report is being compiled and Winter said he did not have access to its findings, which might show whether there were any obvious signs such as discoloration of her heart that would suggest Houston had a heart attack before slipping underwater in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Feb. 11. Houston’s death has been ruled an accidental drowning, with heart disease and cocaine use listed as contributing factors. The report also will include detailed toxicology results that will show how much cocaine and its byproducts were in Houston’s system when she died. Coroner’s officials said Thursday that the results showed the singer used cocaine shortly before her death, and there were indications of chronic use. Beverly Hills police detectives will use the full coroner’s report to complete their investigative file, which is not expected to be publicly released. The department has said there were no signs of foul play in connection with Houston’s death. Houston’s death on the eve of the Grammy Awards stunned the music industry and fans worldwide. The singer had battled addiction for years, but friends and family have said she appeared committed to making a comeback in the months before her death.
two Australians had taken precautions, emptying their wallets of anything that could give away their official status and, after they stepped off the ferry from Hong Kong, talking only in places that could not be bugged.
The two Australians had taken precautions, emptying their wallets of anything that could give away their official status and, after they stepped off the ferry from Hong Kong, talking only in places that could not be bugged. But in a casino, someone is always watching. The smaller of the two men began to shadow his hulking friend. From this distance, he could see if anyone was tailing his colleague as he weaved through groups of suited Chinese men and European tourists, past the dolled-up Russian prostitutes and towards the high-roller suites.
The pair were in Macau to assess the chances of expanding one of Australia's most secret and ambitious law enforcement probes into the world's greatest melting pot of clean and dirty money. If they got the go-ahead from Canberra, the pair and their colleagues would soon be running an undercover money laundering operation in a Macau casino - offering a service to camouflage and move narco dollars from a venue favoured by organised crime - hopefully bringing them even closer to the global crime bosses reaping a fortune from Australia's illicit drug market.
The story of the men's mission to Macau in 2008 is becoming public only now, as a result of research carried out by this article's author for a book on organised crime, The Sting. But those broadly familiar with Operation Dayu, which encompassed the Macau scouting trip which finished last year, argue that its findings should be known to the Australian public because of what they reveal about the nation's place within international organised crime networks.
One of the territory's popular casinos, The Venetian. Photo: AP
Dayu proved that Australian police now face a monumental struggle against global, multibillion-dollar crime behemoths. These highly organised networks have tentacles in police forces and governments across Asia, the ability to call on disparate crime groups, including outlaw bikie gangs, to lend muscle and distribution power, and an ability to shrug off most major seizures and arrests as if they never happened.
The seed for Operation Dayu was sown in late 2006, after the nation's peak criminal intelligence agency had pulled off the biggest money laundering operation in the southern hemisphere, charging more than 70 people in connection with almost $100 million of drug funds laundered in Melbourne and Sydney and sent offshore. But the celebrations were barely over when the Australian Crime Commission discovered the nation's largest-ever shipment of liquid ecstasy in Sydney. Intelligence suggested the $500 million haul was linked to the same shadowy offshore network that had received the bulk of the laundered drug funds the agency had tracked leaving Australia in the previous few years.
The bust confirmed to the ACC that, despite getting big results, its work was failing to dent the flow of narco dollars overseas - or the corresponding flow of illicit drugs into Australia.
The most innovative investigators tend to share an aversion to bosses who tell them something can't be done. This well describes the dozen or so ACC officials who decided to shake things up. Some can now be named because they have left the commission.
In 2007, the ACC's Sydney operations manager was Michael Purchas, a tall, intense figure who had spent almost four decades in policing. Purchas was the agency's quintessential "unreasonable man", surviving on results and results alone. His boss was Gregory James (not his real name), a former undercover agent for a European security agency who, as an ACC senior manager, had the reach and diplomatic nous to win support from his fellow executives. Purchas's ACC offsider in Melbourne was Bruce Bullock, an Asian organised crime specialist with a unique flair for running complex operations, who, with James, would later be assigned to stake out the Macau casino. The last of the four was Swedish-born Patrick Vikingsson, a brilliant and obsessive intelligence specialist who had spent two decades as one of the NSW Crime Commission's top analysts before joining the ACC.
By early 2007, Vikingsson was already developing a way of analysing money flows out of Australia in order to identify suspicious transfers. Known as the High Risk Funds Program, the project's aim was to enable police to identify unknown criminals by analysing money flows while simultaneously understanding the nation's criminal economy.
In late 2008 , the ACC boss, Alastair Milroy, outlined his agency's ultimate aim at about the time Purchas, James, Bullock and Vikingsson were pushing the ACC to try something new. "When you look at the amounts of [drug] money being sent overseas, you can't imagine that all that money is being used to resupply the Australian drug market," Milroy said. "Someone has to be the ultimate beneficiary of all that wealth."
To reach that end point, the ACC's ''unreasonable'' men proposed setting up an agency-controlled ''money laundry'', offering a service that could move money out of Australia without attracting law enforcement attention. In reality, it would be staffed by undercover operatives and monitored with surveillance technology. The theory was that suspected criminals would be drawn to the ''laundry'' - "like bees to a honeypot", says one insider - and then identified and marked for further investigation. At the same time, the ACC's oversight of money it was moving overseas, along with the broad analysis done by the High Risk Funds Program, could lead it closer to the international network thought to control a large chunk of Australia's drug importations.
The Herald has confirmed that, in late 2007, after intense internal lobbying, planning and legal advice, the ACC finally obtained formal approval to run an undercover money laundry.
About the same time, someone at the commission (sources say it was Vikingsson) began searching for an operational name. Post-it notes describing the legend of the ancient Chinese king Da-Yu, who studied his country's waterways to find ways to stop great floods, were soon being passed around the office. By the end of 2007, Operation Dayu was born.
The exact details surrounding Dayu are secret. But its broad workings have been pieced together during research for The Sting.
The Australian Federal Police, NSW police, NSW Crime Commission, Western Australia police and Austrac all provided critical input. Between 2007 and last year, Operation Dayu moved $10.6 million offshore and helped seized $780 million worth of drugs, including four shipments from Canada totalling 500 kilograms in 2008. Dayu also discovered the overseas entity it was targeting was using local outlaw motorcycle gangs to handle distribution, giving bikie groups such as the Comancheros a sudden influx of wealth and power. A Dayu sub-operation, codenamed Hoffman and targeting bikies, led to multiple seizures throughout 2009 and 2010 and the arrest of senior bikie and Asian figures. (One such figure, Hakan Ayik, remains on the run overseas in connection with the detection of a 220-kilogram heroin importation in mid-2010).
Yet the aim of Dayu extended well beyond seizures and arrests. Dayu estimated that between $4 billion and $12 billion in drug funds was marching offshore annually (compared with the Australian Institute of Criminology figure of about $390 million a year). An incredible $1.2 billion was linked to just one overseas syndicate, a finding outlined in an ACC briefing for overseas law enforcement officials that has been seen by the Herald.
The briefing says that about a decade ago, Chinese triad groups began to "co-operate" across the globe, exchanging "their weapons for business suits and computers". From this triad conglomerate emerged a "multinational drug syndicate" called the "grandfather syndicate" which has "tentacles stretching the world". Run much like a multinational business, the syndicate has about two dozen "seats", or operating hubs, which shift according to drug demand and supply. Money from drug ventures is laundered out of Australia and poured into a range of concerns, including "high-profile internet gambling facilities across south-east Asia, Asian hotel chains and resorts, commercial construction companies, property companies in Hong Kong and Vietnam", as well as casinos.
One of this syndicate's prime assets is its "infiltration" of governments and police forces across Asia. According to the ACC briefing, "the pooling of resources of the main triad groups has allowed them to merge their contacts, assets and holdings, creating a well-established network of contacts across many governments as well as legitimate business and company structures, that enables them to mask and support their criminal activities."
Dayu's findings prompt an obvious question: if a syndicate has achieved "high level infiltration of government in both law enforcement agencies and political circles" across much of Asia, how can Australian investigators fight it?
By 2010, some within the ACC were pushing for a plan to run an international taskforce underpinned by Dayu's strategy. Two ACC officials had already scoped out the Macau casino as a base from which to run an undercover laundry and authorities in Hong Kong seemed willing to help. But before Dayu could go global or the Macau plan become operational, the team driving it began to run into hurdles.
By mid-2010, whispers inside the ACC and other agencies suggested that Dayu was under review and nearing its end. The ACC itself was well into a process of reform under a new and more cautious boss, the diligent former career AFP deputy commissioner John Lawler.
Different sources offer different explanations as to why Dayu began to peter out, from resourcing issues and inter-agency squabbling, to concerns held by senior ACC staff about the potential risks with pushing the operation forward. Others say the "unreasonable men" driving Dayu had stepped on too many toes.
Over a period of six or so months, the operation was divided up into its respective parts, put under the control of new managers and, in the case of the undercover laundry, shut down. Purchas was the first to leave the ACC in mid-2010, replaced by a younger manager the commission believed had better people skills. Next to go was Vikingsson, followed by Gregory and, last year, Bullock.
The end of Operation Dayu coincided with a major shift in organised crime fighting in Australia, with the ACC moving away from long-term inquiries to focus more on intelligence work and inter-agency co-operation. Filling the void was the AFP, which for the past 18 months has ramped up its focus on organised crime, doubling its seizures and arrests related to organised crime.
Pakistani Taliban training Frenchmen
Pakistani intelligence officials say dozens of French Muslims have been training with the Taliban in northwest Pakistan. The officials said on Saturday they were investigating whether Mohamed Merah, a Frenchman of Algerian descent suspected of killing seven people in southern France, had been part of this group. Merah traveled to Pakistan in 2011 and said he trained with al-Qaida in Waziristan. He was killed in a gunfight with police Thursday in the French city of Toulouse. The officials said 85 Frenchmen have been training with the Pakistani Taliban in the North Waziristan tribal area for the past three years. Most have dual nationality with France and North African countries. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
