Canada has joined Colombia as a leading exporter of synthetic or designer drugs, flooding the global market on an almost unprecedented scale

 Canada has joined Colombia as a leading exporter of synthetic or designer drugs, flooding the global market on an almost unprecedented scale, police say. The RCMP have seized tonnes of illicit synthetic drugs that include Ecstasy and methamphetamine being shipped abroad after being “cooked” in make-shift labs in apartments, homes and businesses in the GTA. Police are now seizing more chemicals and synthetic drugs, which they say is favoured by young people, at Canadian border checks rather than the traditional cocaine, heroin or hashish that officers call drugs of “a last generation.” Most of the Ecstasy (methylenedioxymethamphetamine), meth or ketamine, a hallucinogenic used in “drug cocktails,” are smuggled from Canada by trucks, air cargo, human couriers or courier services to...

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Alleged biker hitman dies in cell

 The man police believe killed the gangster who helped set up the now-defunct Halifax Hells Angels is dead.   The body of Jeffrey Albert Lynds was discovered in a Montreal jail cell, where the 43-year-old was on trial for a 2010 double murder in Quebec.   It is believed that the former member of the elite Hells Angels group the Nomads, committed suicide.   Police would not confirm the identity, but Sgt. Claude Denis of the Surete du Quebec told thechronicleherald.ca that a 43-year old man was found dead in his cell at Riviere des Prairies Detention Centre.   "He was found without life inside the (cell). We do not have any violence mark on the victim."   Sources told the Montreal Gazette the deceased is Lynds.   Denis said  police were called to Riviere...

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Expect more gang violence in London

As the news filtered out -- a series of suspicious fires at shops, parlours and clubs connected to biker gangs, along with a shooting outside a suspected Hells Angels clubhouse -- it seemed logical to conclude that London had unwittingly found itself in the middle of a biker war. That seemed upsetting, but understandable. After all, we've seen this kind of stuff before. It seemed familiar and, in some strangely perverse fashion, almost reassuring. But then London police Chief Brad Duncan revealed police believed the violence was the work of street gangs. Street gangs? Taking on the Hells Angels? That's crazy, right? Yes, it is. And that, as one expert warns, is precisely the problem. "It is audacious," says Irvin Waller. "But street gangs tend to be audacious." A founding executive director...

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Mexican Cartels Moving Drugs in Armored Vehicles

 Mexican drug cartels are using improvised armored vehicles known as "monsters" to protect their narcotics shipments from rival gangs, a military officer who spoke on condition of anonymity told Efe. The officer is assigned to the 8th Military Zone based in the northeastern border state of Tamaulipas, where troops have seized around 110 armored cars, including more than 20 monsters that evoke scenes from the 1979 film "Mad Max." Most are heavy trucks that were equipped with armor at clandestine workshops, mostly located in Tamaulipas. Some of the vehicles can carry 12 gunmen, the officer said. Soldiers dismantled one workshop in the Tamaulipas...

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Man charged in shooting death of Inglewood nightclub owner

 An alleged gang member was charged Tuesday with capital murder in the robbery-related shooting death of an Inglewood nightclub owner who was gunned down as he returned home in his Rolls-Royce last May. Dennis Roy "Junebug" Brown, 31, is accused in the slaying of Ester Alonzo, who was killed as he pulled the 2007 luxury car into the driveway of his Baldwin Hills home about 2:45 a.m. May 13. Prosecutors allege the murder occurred during the commission of a robbery, which could make Brown eligible for the death penalty if convicted. The criminal complaint also alleges gang and gun use allegations, along with allegations that Brown was convicted in 1999 of attempted robbery and in 2004 of second-degree robbery. Brown was arrested Thursday by the Los Angeles Police Department's South...

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A parolee and reputed gang member was charged with capital murder Tuesday in the May 2011 slaying of an Inglewood nightclub owner

A parolee and reputed gang member was charged with capital murder Tuesday in the May 2011 slaying of an Inglewood nightclub owner, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.Dennis Roy Brown, 31, was charged with one count of murder with a special circumstance allegation that the killing occurred during a robbery. The criminal complaint also includes gang and gun allegations.Prosecutors said Brown could face the death penalty, but no decision to pursue a capital case has been made.A reputed Rollin 20’s Blood gang member known as “Junebug,” Brown is accused of gunning down Alonzo Ester, 67, a real estate entrepreneur and Inglewood...

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Half-baked Vancouver-Sydney drug smuggle ends in arrests

 Five Australian men have been arrested after trying to smuggle $8 million worth of drugs Down Under from Vancouver International Airport. On Dec. 30, 2011, Canadian border officers found the drugs - six kilograms of cocaine, 12 kg of MDMA (ecstasy) and nearly two kilograms of meth – after they examined a commercial oven and range destined for Australia Service Agency. The shipment was tracked to Sydney airport on Jan. 7, and on Thursday to locations in two suburbs north of Sydney, where eight search warrants were issued and the five men arrested. The Australian Federal Police also seized small stashes of drugs, $17,900 in cash and a large number of weapons including throwing knives and a Taser. The men – who range in age from 24 years old to 54 – were scheduled to appear in Sydney-area...

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Fatal shooting spree 'settling of beefs' between Bacon and Dhak-Duhre gangs,

 With one man shot dead and another still clinging to life, police say Surrey’s latest homicide Thursday night was likely part of the ongoing settling accounts between rival gangs following the murder of Gurmit Singh Dhak in October of 2010. “I think it is fair to say that it is a settling of beefs related to the murder of Gurmit Dhak last year,” said Sgt. Bill Whalen spokesman for B.C.’s Combined Special Forces Enforcement Unit, which targets organized crime in the province. “[The] Dhak-Duhre group is in conflict with the Bacon brothers . . . and this is just another iteration of that,” Whalen said. In this latest gang-related shooting, two men in their late 20s were fired on while outside a residence in Surrey in the 13900-block 56th Ave. just after 11 p.m., in Panorama Ridge. One...

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Moving to synthetic drugs

 The creation of clandestine laboratories for the development and transfer of synthetic drugs has shifted to the cultivation of marijuana and poppy from the drug cartels, mainly the Sinaloa, according to data from the Ministry of National Defense (SEDENA). The federal agency estimated that the creation of these laboratories has grown 200 percent in a thousand. Only so far the current federal government, and the Mexican army has dismantled 645 clandestine laboratories, while the previous administration closed only 60. Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco and Michoacan are the states where such facilities have been found. Cartels move to the synthetic drug The Ministry of National Defense (Sedena) states that the cartels, mainly the Sinaloa, have ceased to grow marijuana and opium poppy for...

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Nigerian sect kills over 100 in deadliest strike yet

 100 people were killed in bomb attacks and gunbattles in the Nigerian city Kano late on Friday, a local government security source said, in the deadliest strike claimed by Islamist sect Boko Haram to date. "Definitely more than 100 have been killed," the senior source, who could not be named, told Reuters. "There were bombs and then gunmen were attacking police and police came back with attacks." Hospital staff said there were still bodies arriving at morgues in Kano. Boko Haram claimed responsibility on Saturday for the wave of strikes. The sect has killed hundreds in the north of Africa's most populous nation in the last year. The attacks late on Friday prompted the government to announce a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the city of more than 10 million people, the country's second biggest....

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'Kings of Dust' Gang Suspected of Murders and Shootings, Police Say

 Members of the "Kings of Dust" drug gang that terrorized a Harlem public housing complex are suspected of carrying out several murders and half-a-dozen shootings while controlling their $1 million-a-year PCP and narcotics empire, police sources said. Prosecutors on Wednesday released a 268-count indictment against the 35-member drug gang, which investigators said put an 8-year-old boy to work keeping watch for cops as older members peddled massive quantities of PCP and other drugs. The indictment charged gang members with conspiracy and drug sales, but police sources said Thursday the gang resorted to murder on several occasions. Tenants at the New York City Housing Authority's Milbank Frawley Houses at 1780 Madison Avenue said Thursday they lived in fear for months as the alleged...

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The G-Shyne Bloods are a Richmond-area subset of the Bloods national street gang.

 Henrico County jury found a gang enforcer guilty on all counts for ordering a robbery that resulted in a murder, and recommended a sentence of life in prison plus 23 years. After deliberating about four hours Friday, the jury of six men and six women found Merwin Raheem Herbert "Poncho" White, 21, guilty of first-degree murder, robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery and two related firearm charges. Authorities say White ordered two other members of the G-Shyne Bloods to rob drug dealer Quondell Pringle because Pringle had been holding himself up falsely as a member of the gang. Authorities say that during the robbery, James B. Pryor shot and killed Pringle, 22. The G-Shyne Bloods are a Richmond-area subset of the Bloods national street gang. White stared impassively at the jury's...

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Man shot in Surrey was the half-brother of previously slain gang-associate

 One of two men gunned down in Surrey late Thursday was the half-brother of a Dhak associate shot to death there in October, The Vancouver Sun has learned. And police are bracing for more violence as the death toll rises in a bloody ongoing conflict between two rival groups of gangsters. Sgt. Bill Whelan, of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, said heads of organized crime and homicide teams met Friday to strategize about what to do in the aftermath of a string of gang murders, including the execution at the Sheraton Wall Centre Tuesday of high-profile gangster Sandip (Dip) Duhre. “They are obviously concerned about the public shootings,” Whalen said. “Certainly in the last 24 hours, enforcement has been stepped up. There will be a significant increase in covert units tasked...

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Bikie dispute leads to car park shooting

 dispute between Comanchero motorcycle gang members led to a shooting in Adelaide's west on Monday night, police believe. Two shots were fired in the car park of the Findon Hotel about 10:00pm (ACDT). Detective Inspector Paul Yeomans says two men were arguing in the car park before one of them fired the shots at a dark-coloured sedan. "We don't think this is a random attack," he said. "We think that the two males are known to each other. We do think, even though it's early in the investigation, we do think it is linked to outlaw motorcycle gangs, in particular the Comanchero outlaw motorcycle gang." The cars sped-off after the shooting and police have not said why they suspect Comanchero members. The shooting is the latest instance of bikie-related violence in the past two months....

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Two reputed Rock Machine biker gang associates were nabbed by police

 Two reputed Rock Machine biker gang associates were nabbed by police just prior to a search of a St. Andrews home that netted drugs, ammunition and gang paraphernalia. Police said at about 3 p.m. Friday, Shane Allen Fischer, 31, and Nicole Joy Nykorak, 26, were arrested during a traffic stop at Highway 8 and Grassmere Road. The stop came about two hours prior to police executing two search warrants at the same alleged drug house on Lockport Road as part of a ongoing street crime investigation, police said Sunday. Police seized nearly $10,000 worth of cocaine and hash, along with coke-cutting agent, drug paraphernalia, ammunition, a bullet-proof vest and gang attire, Const. Jason Michalyshen said. The seizure of the armoured vest is significant, as it may prove to become the first...

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volunteered to be "jumped in," or beaten, by other gang members as an initiation into the Deuce Boyz/Soldiers

 When Jonathan Rivera testified in his own defense in his murder trial Thursday, he was a soft-spoken former honor student who had found himself, through no fault of his own, living in a tough Salem neighborhood. Rivera, 23, addressed the prosecutor as "ma'am" and even told jurors his first thought after stabbing Shaundell Turner, 30, outside a Salem park nearly two years ago was "Oh, my goodness" as the reputed gang member with the street name "Tyson" kept coming at him on April 7, 2010. Yesterday, jurors got to learn about another side of Rivera, after he was confronted with evidence that he too was a member of a violent street gang — that he even volunteered to be "jumped in," or beaten, by other gang members as an initiation into the Deuce Boyz/Soldiers — and that he also sold drugs....

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A Lone Wolf's golden farewell

 A WAILING mother speaks to her dead son. ''Stand up and say hello to your guests,'' she urges him, apparently unwilling to accept he is dead. But he is the man in the coffin - the $42,000 gold-plated coffin, paid for in cash by his bikie mates. This was the funeral yesterday for the Lone Wolf member Neal Todorovski, who was shot in the head on January 4 during a shoot-out in Sans Souci, southern Sydney, the first death from a succession of gun attacks across Sydney. Mr Todorovski, 37, had been armed with a gun that day. And the congregation at St Nikola Macedonian Orthodox Church in Cabramatta, south-western Sydney, yesterday included many men associated with outlaw bike gangs. But police fear innocent bystanders will be the next victims of the spike in shootings. They worry more...

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2nd Try to Extradite Mexican Accused Narco Denied

 A Mexican federal judge on Thursday rejected a second attempt to extradite an alleged drug trafficker to the U.S., nearly exhausting yearslong efforts by both nations to convict a woman known as the "Queen of the Pacific." Judge Jesus Chavez ruled that Sandra Avila Beltran would face the same charges in Florida on which she was acquitted in Mexico. Chavez said the core of a 2004 indictment against Avila in the Southern District of Florida is the seizure of more than nine tons of U.S.-bound cocaine on Mexico's west coast. A Mexican judge acquitted Avila in December 2010 of charges stemming from the same confiscation of drugs off a vessel...

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Street gangs with outside muscle, targeting the Hells Angels

- Street gangs with outside muscle, targeting the Hells Angels, have sparked the outburst of violence that's left five adult businesses in flames and two people shot, London police said Wednesday.Police vowed to end the violence, even as organized-crime analysts and criminal sources disputed if the Hells had the clout in London to battle back.Late Wednesday, three of the men police arrested -- two from London, one from Brampton -- appeared in court by video to answer early charges related to the shooting. All three men are black, giving credence to the police theory biker gangs -- which don't usually allow black members -- aren't responsible for the recent violence.Whoever is responsible for the fires and shootings, they'll have to answer for it, Chief Brad Duncan vowed at a news conference."You...

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founder of Saskatoon's notorious Terror Squad street gang is out of prison and back on the streets

 founder of Saskatoon's notorious Terror Squad street gang is out of prison and back on the streets of his hometown. Darren Harper was set free Dec. 19 on statutory release, having served twothirds of a six-year federal sentence for cocaine trafficking, according to documents obtained by The StarPhoenix from the Parole Board of Canada (PBC). The 40-year-old, who has a long history of violent and drug-related crimes dating to the early 1990s, will remain under supervision by the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) until his sentence expires in December 2013. "This form of conditional release does not result from an assessment and decision by the PBC but rather is essentially automatic as provided for by law," PBC spokesperson Amy Wood said in a letter accompanying the documents. However,...

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Goodwin Sentenced to 25 Years for Child's Rape

 A member of the Bandidos biker gang is headed to prison for 25 years following his conviction on multiple counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child. Wednesday jurors started considering the punishment for Ira Goodwin, 67, who was wheelchair bound and hooked up to an oxygen tank in court. Goodwin faced up to 99 years in prison for raping a runaway 12-year-old girl who was staying at his home. The jury heard testimony from the victim and Goodwin's wife about the girl being given methamphetamine and alcohol before the assaults. Marcia Goodwin is serving a 10-year sentence for her role in the sexual assaults Ira Goodwin is no stranger to prison with multiple convictions in his past, including a 30-year sentence for voluntary manslaughter back in 19...

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'Brutal' Illinois gangster had 10,000 'soldiers'

 A Chicago gang leader who prosecutors say oversaw a sophisticated and brutal organization with at least 10,000 "soldiers" in Illinois that beat, shot and extorted money from rivals -even while he was in prison -was sentenced Wednesday to 60 years in federal prison. Fifty-one-year-old Augustin Zambrano did not speak during the hearing and displayed no emotion when U.S. District Judge Charles Norgle imposed the maximum sentence that, because federal guidelines require he serve at least 51 years, means he will most certainly die behind bars. Calling Zambrano "a leader of this barbarian organization," Norgle said that in court filings the unimposing man with short, graying hair had shown no remorse and had not accepted any responsibility for his role in the Chicago-based street gang. ...

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Undercover agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, working with their Mexican counterparts, helped transfer millions of dollars in drug cash and even escorted a shipment of cocaine via Dallas to Spain

 The covert activities were undertaken as part of an operation to infiltrate and prosecute a major Colombian-Mexican narco-trafficking organization moving cocaine from Colombia to Mexico and the United States. The undercover operation, detailed in Mexican government documents obtained by the New York Times, first came to light via a Monday dispatch by Times reporter Ginger Thompson. The documents "describe American counternarcotics agents, Mexican law enforcement officials and a Colombian informant working undercover together over several months in 2007," Thompson reported. "Together, they conducted numerous wire transfers of tens of thousands of dollars at a time, smuggled millions of dollars in bulk cash—and escorted at least one large shipment of cocaine from Ecuador to Dallas to Madrid."...

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Alleged Imperial Gangster pleads not guilty to gun charge

 reputed member of the Imperial Gangsters pleaded not guilty Monday to a gun charge linked to a shooting last month. Armando Jose Velasquez, 24, of East Chicago, is charged in federal court with being a felon in possession of a firearm. At Velasquez's detention hearing, U.S. Attorney David Nozick said the government plans to include Velasquez in the racketeering indictment that swept a dozen alleged Imperial Gangsters off the streets last fall. The 20-count federal indictment in the fall included five charges for murder in the aid of racketeering. During the alleged incident Dec. 3, witnesses said Velasquez approached the victim, Terrance Rios, who was driving a green 1998 Nissan, after Rios stopped at the intersection of 150th Street and Baring Avenue in East Chicago. Rios' two passengers...

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A one-time member of the Portsmouth Bounty Hunter Bloods street gang was sentenced Monday to life in prison

 A one-time member of the Portsmouth Bounty Hunter Bloods street gang was sentenced Monday to life in prison for gunning down two brothers in a Cradock home invasion robbery. Jamyia Rashad Brothers, 24, and his lawyers pleaded for a sentence of 35 years in prison, but U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson, calling the killings "one of the most heinous crimes a man can commit in American society," gave him life. Brothers and another Blood went to the home of Ronnie Trollinger on Gillis Road one night in December 2007 with the intention of robbing him. Upon entering, Brothers almost immediately began shooting. Trollinger, 51, was shot in the chest and died. His brother, John Trollinger, 49, was shot in the chest and head and died. A third man was shot in the abdomen and survived. Brothers...

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The Goodfellas gangsters may live again at AMC

 "Goodfellas" might be becoming a made man again. AMC is developing a series adapted from the acclaimed 1990's film's source material, Nicholas Pileggi's nonfiction book "Wiseguy," about the rise and fall of a mid-20th century gangster.  Pileggi wrote the 1990 film adaptation, which was directed by Martin Scorsese ("Taxi Driver," "Hugo"), and has signed on to co-write the TV series adaptation along with "Homicide: Life On The Street" vet Jorge Zamacona.  The film version's producer Irwin Winkler, with son David, will act as co-executive producers, according to Deadline.com. 1990' s "Goodfellas" chronicles the violent, rags-to-riches tale of gangster Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) as he gets deeper into a world of crime over a period of thirty years, along with...

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Goon squad gang tied to several shootings in past four years

 The Goon Squad — a gang that Waterford Township police say is connected with the Dec. 23 Rolladium shootings — has been associated with shootings around the Pontiac area in recent years. The Rolladium roller rink situation involves three armed men spraying gunfire inside the rink, striking five patrons at 1:44 a.m. Waterford police found that the shooting stemmed from issues involving rivalry between two Pontiac gangs, the “Goon Squad” and “1st Enfantry.” On Saturday, police released the name of a second suspect, Pontiac resident Cheyenne Benjamin Ingram, 17. The first suspect is Robert Lee German, 18, from Pontiac. A third man, whose name has not been released, has been shown only in a surveillance photo. The three suspects, all in their late teens to early 20s, are considered armed...

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Apache Junction man arrested in I-10 road rage incident

 Tempe police have arrested a man involved in Saturday's road rage incident in which a driver was shot, but they are still investigating who is responsible for shooting the victim. The investigation revealed that a group of motorcycles and a champagne/tan-colored SUV were traveling westbound on Interstate 10 from Wild Horse Pass Boulevard. Witnesses reported that a gray Jeep was attempting to collide with the motorcycles. The motorcycles began to chase the Jeep. As they reached the area of I-10 and Elliot Road, the SUV rammed the Jeep, causing the driver to lose control and crash. One of the motorcycle riders, Andre Jordan, 35, of Apache Junction, was seen pointing a handgun at the victim according to Sgt. Steve Carbajal. Witnesses reported that several of the individuals involved...

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Members of the Mad Cowz and Manitoba Warriors have been at odds for several weeks as they battle for turf and the lucrative profits

 Members of the Mad Cowz and Manitoba Warriors have been at odds for several weeks as they battle for turf and the lucrative profits that come from selling drugs, sources told the Free Press. Enlarge Image Police investigate after a Victor Street house was shot up and set afire Wednesday.  Mohamed Ali Omar The two groups are believed responsible for several shootings this week that have residents of the West End and North End on edge. Police have beefed up their resources in the neighbourhoods as they struggle to predict and prevent the next attack. Between Sunday morning and Thursday morning, there were five reported shootings and/or firebombings of homes on Aberdeen Avenue, Victor Street and Simcoe Street. Sources say the residences all have ties to gang activity and were deliberately...

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Among the funeral attendees were members of several Northwest Washington gangs

 Marcellus E. Jackson, 23, and Kier M. Johnson, 21, were arrested Monday in connection with the 2010 slaying of Jamal Coates, D.C. police announced. Investigators count Coates’s killing as among crimes by rival gang members in the U Street NW neighborhood. Coates was shot to death on Sept. 28, 2010, after he attended a funeral for a young woman who was killed earlier that month and whose boyfriend was charged in her death, police said. Among the funeral attendees were members of several Northwest Washington gangs, authorities sa...

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Man sentenced to 12 years for gang-related shootings

 21-year-old Winnipeg man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for two gang-related shootings in the city's West End, including one that unintentionally injured a 10-year-old girl. Paramedics take the girl, who was 10 years old at the time, to hospital following the May 26, 2010, shooting on Victor Street. (CBC) The man pleaded guilty on Monday to two counts of discharging a firearm in connection with the May 2010 incidents, including the May 26 shooting of a house on Victor Street. Court heard that the man, who was then a 19-year-old member of the Indian Posse street gang, fired three shots at the home as an act of retaliation for a drive-by shooting that killed a fellow gang member the day before. Inside the house was the girl, who was hit in the knee by a bullet that went through...

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