Italy and Spain Arrest 78 in Major Crackdown on Cannabis Trafficking Gang
Italian and Spanish law enforcement collaborated to dismantle a cannabis trafficking network, resulting in the arrest of 78 individuals, as announced by Europol on Thursday.
Italian and Spanish law enforcement collaborated to dismantle a cannabis trafficking network, resulting in the arrest of 78 individuals, as announced by Europol on Thursday.
Following the ambush and massacre of 13 police officers on Monday, the Mexican Government has deployed approximately 300 soldiers to the state of Guerrero in southwestern Mexico, where criminal gangs have been vying for dominance for years.
The Dominican Republic's Public Prosecutor's Office remanded in custody four executives of a financial institution located in the country's capital for their participation in a fraud scheme that embezzled more than US$40 million. Another three were put under house arrest.
Law enforcement officials in New York have apprehended three individuals suspected of being associated with a drug trafficking organization that was operating from a pizzeria in the Bronx. During their operation, they seized various drugs estimated to be worth around US$4 million.
Spanish law enforcement has detained five individuals suspected of being part of a criminal network engaged in the illegal trade of Ukrainian historical artifacts. Several of these artifacts were successfully recovered, including eleven gold pieces with an estimated value exceeding 60 million euros (US$63.44 million).
The European Commission fined for the first time a pharmaceutical cartel, making the members pay a total of 13.4 million euros (US$15.26 million) for coordinating and fixing the minimum sales price of an active medicinal component and distributing quotas.
Among the released individuals is Roland Carreño, a Venezuelan journalist known for his critical stance against President Nicolás Maduro's government. Carreño was arrested in Caracas in October 2020 by the Bolivarian National Police (PNB) on charges of alleged money laundering, financing terrorism, criminal conspiracy, and illegal trafficking of war weapons.
Spanish police detained nine suspected members of an international criminal organization believed to have trafficked drugs, laundered money through shell companies and seemingly legitimate enterprises in the U.K. and Belgium, and sold stolen cars.
The U.S. imposed sanctions on the children of Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik and four companies under their management, highlighting concerns that the Bosnian Serb region, known as Republika Srpska (RS), is increasingly resembling a Dodik family enterprise rather than a political entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
Russian authorities have detained a Russian-American journalist who works for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and accused her of failing to declare herself as a foreign agent, a crime that carries a penalty of up to five years in prison in Russia.