28.02.23 – Cops Just Seized Nearly 9 Tons of Cocaine Hidden in Bananas. Almost nine tons of cocaine hidden in a single shipping container was seized by police in Ecuador. Concealed in a shipment of bananas, the drugs were headed for Belgium from the port terminal of Guayaquil – a major transit hub for the cocaine trade.
01.03.23 – Peace Leaders in Putumayo, Colombia Bet Their Lives on Coca Crop Substitution. Community leaders in Colombia’s Putumayo department have historically supported coca substitution programs as part of peace processes aimed at resolving the country’s long-running civil conflict. But they put their lives at risk by betting on change and seeking new opportunities for the department, where ex-FARC mafia factions earn huge profits from drug trafficking.
03.03.23 – Sister of Sicilian mafia’s ‘last godfather’ arrested over secret notes. The sister of Italy’s recently jailed top mobster, described as “the last godfather of the Sicilian mafia”, has been arrested after police searching her house found pizzini – slips of paper that the boss used to deliver his hand-typed instructions.
03.03.23 – Gunmen open fire at supermarket owned by Lionel Messi’s in-laws. wo gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire at a supermarket owned by the in-laws of Argentina captain and Paris Saint-Germain striker Lionel Messi in Rosario, Argentina, on Thursday, according to police. The incident occurred during the early hours of Thursday morning, leaving 14 bullet holes at a market owned by the parents of Antonela Roccuzzo, Messi’s wife, Rosario police said. The police and Pablo Javkin, the mayor of Rosario, confirmed that gunmen had left a “handwritten note” with threats against the 35-year-old Messi. The gunmen left a note which said: “Messi, we are waiting for you.”
04.03.23 – International drug bust nets $677 million of cocaine bound for Australia. A joint U.S. and Australian law enforcement operation busted an international drug ring after intercepting 2.4 tonnes of cocaine aboard a vessel off the coast of South America that had been bound for Australia. The cocaine, linked to a Mexican drug cartel, had a street value of around A$1 billion ($677 million), and was equivalent to half of Australia’s estimated annual consumption, making the seizure one of the biggest that Australian police have been involved in.
