Gardai warn of upsurge in gang extortion crime

Gardai have received reports that eight extortion attempts were made on Dublin businesses in the past three months by splinter republican groups. Those targeted included car dealers and publicans, as well as dubious businesses suspected of laundering money for criminals. Garda sources say the figures represent the tip of the iceberg in a recent "upsurge" in criminal racketeering by dissident republican groups, the Real IRA and the INLA. "There has been an upsurge in complaints in the last two to three months," said a senior garda source. "These groups are 'taxing' crime and legitimate businesses."

Four businesses in the south Dublin suburbs of Tallaght and Crumlin were approached for money by dissident republicans in the past three months. The other four extortion attempts occurred in the north and south inner city. In one case, a businessman reported that his children were being watched at school after he refused to pay a cut of his profits to two men claiming to represent the Real IRA. The modus operandi is similar in most cases. In the south Dublin cases, the businesspeople involved were approached directly at their business premises by two brothers, who claimed to represent the Real IRA. They were accompanied by two or three burly minders, but of the reports made to detectives so far, the threats were not explicit. In one case, the dissident republicans asked for 25 per cent of the profits of a business in return for protection.

Read more...

Mexican mafia type extortion crosses the border into USA

According to a DEA operative in the L.A. area who insists on remaining anonymous told the U.S. Border Fire Report that businesses along the dangerous U.S. Mexican border from Texas to California have been the victims of extortion attempts and threats. He further indicated that he believes that a good number of minority owned businesses in the Los Angeles area are also victims of extortion and that Mexican Drug Cartels and L.A. gangs and others are responsible. "He said that many of the victims especially those without papers are fearful of reporting the crime to authorities as they fear retaliation".

Recently in the Los Angeles area grand jury indictments have come down charging hundreds of gang members of notorious L. A. street gangs with wide ranging criminal charges including extortion and 88 of those have been named in a wide-ranging federal RICO racketeering indictment.

According to a 222-page indictment returned by a federal grand jury recently, members and associates of the Avenues street gang are part of a criminal enterprise that engaged in a host of criminal acts, including murders, attempted murders, narcotics trafficking, robberies, extortions, money laundering and witness intimidation.

"No matter how many times gangs like the Mexican Mafia and the Avenues seek to reassert control through intimidation, we will do what it takes to combat that intimidation, and ensure that residents need not live their lives in fear," said Acting United States Attorney George S. Cardona.

Read more...

Has Piracy Spread to Europe's Waters? Update 6: Questions Remain

On Wednesday, Russian state news agencies quoted a Defense Ministry official as saying that eight hijackers who were detained on Monday had threatened to blow up the ship and its crew if a ransom of $1.5 million wasn't paid. He said the hijackers, who appear to have taken control of the ship shortly after it left Finland, and the crew continue to be questioned.

Russia says it has four Estonians, two Latvians, and two Russians in custody. They were arrested "during the operation to liberate the Arctic Sea," which was carried out by a Russian warship. The ships 15-man crew are all Russian nationals.

"Extortion and hijacking – that's where we are concentrating our investigation ... and that's the only thing we have factual evidence for," says Jan-Olof Nyholm, a detective superintendent for Finland's National Bureau of Investigation. But doubts about this version of events continue to swirl.

Political analysts and maritime security experts remain skeptical that the hijackers were merely interested in the crew or the ship's cargo – a load of lumber bound for Algeria.

"Russia says Arctic Sea hijackers demanded ransom, threatened to blow up ship", Christian Science Monitor, 8/19/09.

Read more...