06.11.23 – Trailer filled with waste and dumped in Walsall suspected to be linked to ‘broader organised crime incident.’An investigation has been launched after a 40ft trailer filled with transfer station waste was found abandoned in Walsall. Walsall Council is now investigating what is has called a ‘major fly-tipping incident’. It is suspected to be linked to a broader organised crime incident affecting various areas in the Black Country, including several tips in Dudley.
10.11.23 – Breaking the back of organised crime. Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola revealed that from April to August 2023, 329 people were convicted of offences related to illegal mining; eight were acquitted. The Justice, Crime Prevention and Security cluster hosted a media briefing at the GCIS Ronnie Mamoepa Media Centre on Friday to provide an update on progress made in combating organised crime.
10.11.23 – £1.59bn drugs ring: Organised Crime Group jailed for a combined total of 58 years. Six members of an organised crime group have been jailed for smuggling into the UK 15 tonnes of cocaine worth £1.59bn in boxes of frozen chicken. Stephen Rayner, 31, Cherie-Anne Rayner, 30, Liam Harrington, 39, Megan Budden, 23, Steven Gibson, 41, and Darren Hunter, 30, have been sentenced today for a combined total of 58 years for their roles in a criminal network which imported high-purity cocaine from the Mexican cartel ‘Nueva Generacion’ and then distributed it around the UK. In what is thought to be the largest drugs operation in England and Wales, the group worked for a drugs kingpin under the alias ‘Fendi’ and operated by smuggling the drugs in boxes of frozen chicken, before being repackaged and sold to dealers.
10.11.23 – Operation Shanela Strikes Hard: Over 200,000 arrests in six months as fight against organised crime ramps up. In a bold response to the escalating crime wave across South Africa, the ministers of the Justice Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) Cluster have unveiled the achievements of Operation Shanela. Since its inception in May 2023, this nationwide initiative has led to the arrest of 213,059 suspects involved in a range of crimes — from cash-in-transit heists to drug trafficking — marking a significant stride in the government’s commitment to dismantle criminal syndicates and restore public safety.
12.11.23 – International mafia bust shows US-Italy crime links still strong. But when an indictment dropped on Wednesday, Joseph “Joe Brooklyn” Lanni, Angelo “Fifi” Gradilone, and Francesco “Uncle Ciccio” Vicar were instead the faces of the justice department’s latest attack on the notorious Gambino crime family in New York. Charging documents filed by prosecutors used wiretaps, secret recordings and surveillance footage to lay out evidence against the men, accusing them of conspiracy to use violence and extortion to commit fraud and retaliate against witnesses.
