Alex "Reds" Rivera, a suspected drug kingpin who once kept a petting zoo of farm animals in his Kensington neighborhood, has been convicted of heading a narcotics network

 Alex "Reds" Rivera, a suspected drug kingpin who once kept a petting zoo of farm animals in his Kensington neighborhood, has been convicted of heading a narcotics network that for years distributed heroin and cocaine along North Lawrence Street and West Indiana Avenue. A federal jury handed up its verdict Monday night, capping a two-week trial that included testimony from several of Rivera's top associates, dozens of secretly recorded conversations, and surveillance and law enforcement reports of controlled drug buys from Rivera and others. In his closing argument to the jury, Assistant U.S. Attorney David L. Axelrod, one of the prosecutors in the case, described the businesslike nature of the Rivera operation, which he said was selling about $18,000 worth of crack cocaine a week for...

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Danilo "Triste" Velasquez and two fellow MS-13 gang members blocked the way of a car carrying four people near the Daly City BART station before opening fire with semi-automatic handguns

 The leader of a street gang was convicted by a federal jury Tuesday in connection with the shooting death of a college student, who the killers mistakenly believed was a rival, officials said. Danilo "Triste" Velasquez and two fellow MS-13 gang members blocked the way of a car carrying four people near the Daly City BART station before opening fire with semi-automatic handguns, officials said. When the shooting ended on Feb. 19, 2009, Moises Frias, 21, was dead and two others were wounded. Velasquez was convicted of three counts of conspiracy and a gun charge in San Francisco federal court, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag. When he is sentenced Feb. 14, Velasquez faces a mandatory term of 10 years behind bars. Velasquez and his associates targeted the car because...

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Watchdog warns over shooting probe

 An investigation into the death of Mark Duggan, whose fatal shooting by police triggered riots across the country, has still to establish the sequence of events concerning a handgun found at the scene, the police watchdog said. The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said that was a key element in its probe. But it said that the sequence of events was not yet known, despite a report in Saturday's Guardian that the investigation had found no forensic evidence that he was carrying a non-police-issue gun. The newspaper, in a story headlined "Revealed: man whose shooting triggered riots was not armed", said a gun collected by Mr Duggan earlier in the day was recovered 10ft-14ft (3m-4.25m) away, on the other side of a low fence from his body, and that he was killed outside the...

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Drug Smuggling Accused Border Guard Baljinder Kandola At Loss For Words At Trial

 While one former Indo-Canadian border guard got five years for his part in a drug smuggling ring – another is currently on trial for his part in a different operation that brought millions of illicit drugs into Canada. Baljinder Kandola, a former Canadian border guard who was charged with being part of a cocaine-smuggling ring, was at a loss for words during much of his testimony on Tuesday to explain why he risked so much to help a millionaire auto-parts importer for nothing in return. Under cross-examination by Crown counsel James Torrance, Kandola said he agreed to wave his co-accused Shminder Singh Johal and associates in his three automotive companies through the border, helping them avoid inspection, reported the Province newspaper. Kandola — who worked at the Pacific Highway crossing...

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ARRESTED 60-year-old, who is originally from Blackpool, but has been living in the Marbella area of Spain

Armed Naval and Gardai personnel with cocaine which was seized from a yacht off the west coast of Ireland A BLACKPOOL man has been arrested for allegedly being part of a £250m international cocaine smuggling racket. Police, acting under orders from the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) – dubbed Britain’s FBI –swooped in the town to capture John Alan Brooks.The 60-year-old, who is originally from Blackpool, but has been living in the Marbella area of Spain, was found at an address in Marton.His arrest comes as part of a major investigation which was launched in 2008 when a 1.5 tonnes shipment of cocaine was seized off the coast of Ireland.The luxury yacht Dances With Waves was carrying drugs with an estimated value of 300m euros...

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Deadly shooting probe spreads to Vancouver suburb

 The investigation into the slaying of a man gunned down Sunday morning in Vancouver has spread to the suburban community of Port Moody, CBC News has learned. Axel Curtis, 29, was hit when at least six shots were fired in broad daylight, about 9 a.m. Sunday at the corner of Ash and 7th Avenue West as he walked his dog. Police said Curtis was known to them and had past gang affiliations. There were no other injuries, and witnesses said the assailant, a man in a black hoodie, left the area on foot. Neighbours of a Port Moody apartment also frequented by Curtis say there was a sudden spike in police activity around the building Saturday night, hours before the shooting. On Monday, police searched the seventh-floor apartment, owned by Curtis’s father. Police would not comment on the...

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Hells Angel sues Livermore, seeks $1 million in damages

 member of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club has sued Livermore for $1 million, claiming police violated his civil rights by falsely accusing him of carrying a handgun. Joel Silva filed suit against the city in U.S. District Court in San Francisco on Friday. The Sonoma County resident claims the false handgun claim stemmed from a Sept. 5, 2008, incident when another club member was involved in an altercation with an off-duty air marshal. Livermore has not yet responded to the claim. According to court records, the incident occurred after Silva and a group of 11 other riders on Interstate 580 exited onto First Street to stop for gas. While filling up, member Michael Fenton got into an altercation with Shawn Futrell, an off-duty air marshal, who accused Fenton of trying to force him off...

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Your right to die in a bikie war shootout

 AT A guess you could probably assume that none of the High Court judges live in Merrylands, where the Nomads and Hells Angels are engaged in what the police reassuringly describe not as a bikie gang war but merely "tit for tat violence". It is also unlikely that any of these eminent jurists live in Northmead, where an innocent woman had her house strafed with bullets while she was sleeping last week in a zany address mix-up by a bikie who was having trouble reading his UBD. Presumably, none of the judges live in Adelaide's north-western suburb of Semaphore where an 11-year-old boy, the son of a former member of the Finks, was shot in the leg while he slept during a home invasion last month. When the ambulance arrived and the media turned up, bricks were hurled from the home. None...

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United Nations gangster killed in a hail of bullets in Vancouver

 29-year-old man linked to the United Nations gang was gunned down in a brazen morning shooting in a busy Vancouver residential neighbourhood Sunday. The Vancouver Sun has learned the shooting victim is Axel Curtis, who has several convictions for drug trafficking, fraud and possession of a firearm. Curtis is considered a low-level member of the UN gang. He was shot dead at about 9:30 a.m. while walking his French bulldog at the corner of Ash Street and Seventh Avenue, near his eight-storey apartment building. The shooting took place as people were walking and cycling nearby, and was witnessed by residents in the building where Curtis lived. Vancouver police spokeswoman Const. Jana McGuinness said Curtis was shot multiple times. “We are comfortable in saying this was a targeted...

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Gangster dead in Vancouver daytime shooting

 brazen gangland slaying in a busy area one block from a Vancouver police station has left witnesses to the Sunday morning shooting extremely shaken. A man dressed in black clothing approached the victim as he walked his dog and shot him six times in the chest from close range, according to witness accounts. A witness, who asked to be identified only as Sylvia, said she heard six gunshots. “It sounded like fireworks,” said Sylvia, who was enjoying a cappuccino at a nearby cafe just before 10 a.m. “We looked out the window and saw a hooded man — a man in a black hoodie and black pants. He just ran up the road.” She then noticed someone lying on the ground on the northeast corner of the intersection. “I ran over to see if he needed help,” said Sylvia. Two other passersby were already...

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‘Notorious gangster’ shot dead

 man, who police described as a “notorious gangster and shooter,” was shot dead on Tuesday night. David “Pickles” Thomas, 39, was shot once in the face by a gunman at Wharton Street, Laventille. His death pushed the murder toll to 303 for the year compared with 400 for the same period last year. Thomas was the 33th person to be murdered since the state of emergency was declared on August 21. A report said Thomas was liming near a dirt track  around 9 pm when a man accosted him and shot him in the face. Officers of the Homicide Bureau, Port-of-Spain, and Besson Street Police Station responded. He was rushed to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Police said Thomas was killed at the same location where gang leader, Anthony “Thirteen” de Vignes,...

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Police raided the Magog Motorcycle gang's New Plymouth headquarters yesterday

 Police raided the Magog Motorcycle gang's New Plymouth headquarters yesterday as part of an operation targeting the Hells Angels. The Centennial Dr gang pad was one of two addresses searched locally while simultaneous warrants were carried out at Auckland properties, including the headquarters of the Hells Angels and other properties linked with the gang, by police and the Organised and Financial Crime Agency New Zealand (Ofcanz). A 56-year-old New Plymouth man, believed to be a member of the Magogs, was arrested and charged with conspiring to defeat the course of justice. He appeared in the New Plymouth District Court yesterday and was remanded on bail to reappear in the Manukau District Court on November 24. Nine men, five members of the Hells Angels and four associates were arrested...

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Dead Man Inc.: 22 charged in indictment of white prison gang

 Nearly two dozen alleged members of a homegrown prison gang that started in Maryland and spread across the country have been indicted on federal racketeering charges, including accusations of murder for hire, armed robbery and drug running, officials announced Wednesday. The members of Dead Man Inc., who refer to themselves as "dawgs" and espouse an anti-government philosophy, used contraband cellphones to direct activities and spread gang membership into South Baltimore, eastern Baltimore County, northern Anne Arundel County and several other states, authorities said. The 27-count indictment alleges that members shot and killed four people and conspired to kill others. Among those charged are the alleged co-founders, Perry Roark and James Sweeney. Roark, a 42-year-old Dundalk native...

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Vietnamese-based organization known as the Catacutan Drug Crew.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES Enlarge ImageAn SUV is towed away from Arthur Street and McDermot Avenue Saturday afternoon after a shooting left one person dead.Winnipeg police believe a spate of weekend shootings that killed two young men -- and left a teen fighting for survival -- are all linked to the city's drug and gang subculture.However, sources told the Free Press Monday there appears to be no common thread between the three incidents, which all happened in a 24-hour period and pushed the city to an all-time homicide record.The 33rd homicide victim of 2011 was 20-year-old Oudy Phrakonekham, shot while riding in a car through the Exchange District at 2:30 a.m. Saturday. Sources say he was gunned down at...

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Report: Nevada Top 10 in Gang Members

 Street gangs are a growing problem in southern Nevada. The FBI ranks Clark County as the 10th worst area in the nation for the number of gang members. More than 15,000 roam the streets, and those are just the ones authorities know about. The report shows the trends authorities are seeing in gangs. Biker gangs are getting more and more members. Hispanic-based gangs are expanding faster than other gangs. Twenty states, including Nevada, are seeing these same trends. Rachal Richardson used to have gang ties. Lights and sirens were something she was used to. Her ties to gang life are over, but not before being exposed to plenty of violence. The mother of four traded in violence and crimes scenes for a better life 10 years ago. She's not surprised Clark County is in the top 10 counties...

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