01.04.24 – Violent Chinese organised crime gang operating in Ireland linked to cannabis grow-houses. A violent Chinese organised crime gang operating in Ireland ran a series of cannabis grow-houses and abducted fellow nationals. Details of the underworld network emerged as the Criminal Assets Bureau took a case against Yan Yan Fan and her ex-boyfriend Guang Yin Wang. Officers gave evidence of separate grow-house operations that were discovered around the country linked to the pair. The biggest seizure was at Henrietta Place in Dublin in November 2012 where 1,490 plants worth €1.1 million were found.
03.04.24 – Jurors to begin deliberating in case against former DEA agent accused of taking bribes from Mafia. even weeks of testimony that featured more than 70 witnesses left no doubt that a former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent accepted cash bribes to shield childhood friends and suspects with ties to organized crime from law enforcement, a prosecutor told jurors Tuesday, wrapping up a case that could send the ex-agent to prison for life. Jurors are scheduled to begin deliberations Wednesday in the corruption trial of Joseph Bongiovanni, 59. The former agent is charged with taking more than $250,000 in bribes from the Buffalo Mafia to derail drug investigations and to protect a strip club owned by a childhood friend that was described by prosecutors as a haven for drug use and sex trafficking.
04.04.24 – ‘Rule with absolute fear’ – organised crime kingpins target witnesses, detectives to deter investigations. Lizette Lancaster, crime hub manager at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), says many people are afraid to make police statements or testify in court about crimes committed by organised criminal groups out of fear of violent retaliation. Lancaster’s comments come in the wake of a mass shooting in Imizamo Yethu, Hout Bay, on 27 March. Seven people were killed. Imizamo residents, including the local Community Policing Forum, are reluctant to comment on speculation that a taxi boss, who is in Pollsmoor Prison, ordered the killing of the seven people. Police say the motive for the mass killing has not been determined.
04.04.24 – European police seize Lamborghinis and Rolexes over alleged $650M Covid-19 fraud. Police have arrested 22 people and seized assets worth more than €600 million ($650 million) in connection with alleged fraud linked to the European Union’s post-pandemic recovery fund. After an investigation by the EU prosecutor, eight people were detained, 14 were placed under house arrest and two others were barred from practicing their profession. The arrests took place in Italy, Austria, Romania and Slovakia. The Italian financial police on Thursday said it had seized Lamborghinis, Porsches, Rolexes, Cartier jewelry, cryptocurrencies, luxury villas and other items during dozens of raids on homes and offices.
05.04.24 – Corrupt border officer aided organised crime group. A corrupt border officer who was arrested by the National Crime Agency has been convicted of misconduct in a public office for assisting a London-based crime group. Details can only now be revealed as the final member of the crime group was found guilty of drug importation charges on 3 April following a five-week trial. Kevin Smith, 38, was detained by officers from the NCA’s Anti-Corruption Unit at work in Portsmouth on 26 August 2023, as part of a joint operation with the Metropolitan Police Service and Border Force.
