The head of a Balkan cocaine and crime syndicate is hiding out in South Africa under the protection of local gang bosses, underworld sources reveal. Fugitive Darko Savic – one of the world’s most wanted drug smugglers – is living under a different alias here, right under the noses of the authorities. And local crime bosses are helping him avoid detection by using their network of corrupt cop contacts. The revelation comes after the Daily Voice last week revealed how Serbian hitman Dobrosav Gavric lived in the Mother City for three years under the protection of slain crime boss Cyril Beeka. Beeka’s murder lifted the lid on the shadowy links between international crime syndicates and local mobsters. Today in an exclusive interview with the Daily Voice, a veteran former gangster turned whistle-blower confirms long-suspected links between SA crime gangs and Serbian drug lords. And he provides a chilling insight into a series of high-profile murders – including Beeka’s killing in March last year. In an interview with the Daily Voice, the terrified ex-dik ding reveals how: n He is now on the run and fears for his life after his mob bosses turned against him; n Someone “very near” to Cyril Beeka would have murdered him if the other attempt on his life failed; n Hitmen use their cop contacts to confirm the identities of targets before having them whacked; n International fugitive Darko Savic is hiding out in Gauteng with the help of local crime bosses. Savic has been linked to Czech criminal Radovan Krejcir, 42, a convicted fraudster who is also being investigated for Beeka’s murder. Krejcir was friends with both Beeka and Gavric, but it is understood he fell out with Beeka over a business deal. When the Hawks raided Krejcir’s Gauteng home after Beeka’s assassination in March last year, they found a “hit list” with Beeka’s name on it. At one stage Gavric – who was seriously injured in the shooting – was rumoured to also be a suspect in the hit. But in a sworn affidavit obtained by the Daily Voice, Gavric insists he was close friends with Beeka and that he is prepared to act as a future witness for the State. The hitman is wanted in Serbia where he was convicted for the murders of notorious warlord Zeljko “Arkan” Raznatovic and two others. Gavric will on Monday find out if his bail application is successful when he appears before Cape Town Magistrates’ Court. In an interview with the Daily Voice from his hideaway in George, Eastern Cape, the whistle-blower who identifies himself only as “Uncle Sam”, says Gavric is not the only wanted Serbian using this country to escape justice. “Serbian drug lord Darko Savic is hiding in Gauteng and protected by [local] underworld bosses,” he says. Uncle Sam, 65, also gave a detailed insider’s account of Beeka’s execution: “If the assassination had failed to eliminate Beeka, then someone else very near to him would have carried out the murder on that very same day.” He was also able to provide exact details about the cold-blooded murder of Yuri “The Russian” Ulianitski who was gunned down outside a restaurant in May 2007. “A half-hour before Yuri left the restaurant, a prominent businessman linked to the mob called the hitmen and told them that Yuri will be approaching the intersection of Otto du Plessis Drive and Loxton Road just before 10.30pm,” Uncle Sam says. Ulianitski was indirectly linked with Jerome Booysen, the alleged leader of the Sexy Boys who was last week named in court as a suspect in Beeka’s murder. “The Russian” had dealings with Beeka, but they too later had a fall-out – both were killed in similar shootings. Uncle Sam is himself currently on the run after he fell foul of his mob bosses who were indirectly linked to the Beeka killing and the Serbian fugitives hiding out here. He also counts convicted drug trafficker Glenn Agliotti as a contact. During our interview, he gave our reporter a phone number which he said was that of Agliotti. When we rang the number, a male voice confirmed he was Agliotti before asking to be handed back to Uncle Sam. The whistle-blower admits he ran a car fraud scheme that turned sour when the syndicate chiefs failed to pay his R790 000 fee for buying 30 luxury cars in his name. But he has kept a detailed diary of his criminal activities and those of his former mob colleagues. And he has threatened to use the 116-page hand-written diary to put them behind bars if they come after him. “I’ve got nothing to lose,” he says. “I need to warn the public that the mafia is running the country with the help of cops and top politicians and that they have ruthless killers who will take out anyone who threatens them.”

Two men have been arrested after a man was stabbed eight times in Sydney's north-west overnight. Police say the 25-year-old man was attacked by a group of up to 10 men after being dropped off at shops in Telopea about 11:00pm (AEDT). His attackers ran off when the victim's two friends returned in their car. Emergency services were called and police arrested two men, aged 23 and 25, nearby. Detective Inspector Ken Hardy says the man was stabbed in the neck and body. "He's currently in Westmead Hospital undergoing surgery," he said. "Police have set up a crime scene. They're also talking to two males at Parramatta Police Station, who are assisting police with their inquiries at this stage." Meanwhile police have charged a man over one of two Sydney stabbings on Sunday night. A 43-year-old man was stabbed several times in the stomach outside a house in the city's west at Merrylands. A 28-year-old Yagoona man was arrested yesterday and charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent to murder. He is being held in custody to face Fairfield Local Court today.

The Mexican armed forces and prosecutors have suffered at least 28 gunfire attacks on helicopters in the five years since the government launched an offensive against drug cartels, according to official documents made public Monday. The attacks show the increasing ferocity of Mexico’s drug gangs, and also suggest support for what the Mexican government has said in the past: that 2010 may have been the worst year for the upward spiral in violence. 0 Comments Weigh InCorrections? inShare In the first two years of the drug war, reporting government agencies such as the air force, navy and Attorney General’s Office reported no chopper attacks. But in 2008, four helicopters were hit by gunfire, wounding at least one officer aboard. In 2009, bullets struck six government helicopters in the rotors, side doors or motor compartments. All the craft were apparently able to land safely. 2010 was the worst year for helicopter attacks, with 14 hit and one crew member wounded. Some craft had as many as seven bullet holes in them when they landed, with rounds going through windshields, fuselages, rotors and even landing gear. In 2011, only three helicopters were hit by gunfire, but the number is almost certainly higher. The federal police refused to release data on attacks on its craft, but publicly acknowledged that on May 24, suspected cartel gunmen opened fire on a federal police chopper, hitting two officers and forcing the craft to land, though officials insisted it had not been shot down. Federal police said the pilot in that incident landed “to avoid any accident.” The Russian-made Mi-17 touched down about 3.5 miles (6 kilometers) from the shooting scene in the western state of Michoacan. Two officers aboard suffered non-life-threatening wounds. Mexico has long used helicopters in anti-drug operations. While security forces have updated their helicopter fleet in recent years, they has also retired some older craft, so the total number of choppers would not account for the variation in attacks. The newspaper Milenio originally requested the attack reports through a freedom of information request, and the reports were independently accessed by The Associated Press. Mexican drug gangs have long strung steel cables around opium and marijuana plantations to try to bring down police and military helicopters. In 2003, in what prosecutors said was the first fatal attack of its kind by drug traffickers in Mexico, gunmen guarding an opium-poppy plantation shot down two police helicopters, killing all five agents aboard. But those attacks were infrequent compared to what’s occurred since 2008. Overall Drug-related killings rose 11 percent in the first nine months of 2011, when 12,903 people were killed, compared to 11,583 in the same period of 2010, the office said. But the Attorney General’s Office found one small consolation: “It’s the first year (since 2006) that the homicide rate increase has been lower compared to the previous years.” Drug-related killings jumped by 70 percent for the same nine-month period of 2010 compared to January to September 2009, when 6,815 deaths were recorded. The carnage continued Monday, when seven gunmen were killed in a pre-dawn shootout with police on a highway in the city of Cuernavaca, south of Mexico City. A federal police officer was recovering from a gunshot wound to the foot following the confrontation. The prosecutors office in the central Mexican state of Morelos says the gunmen belonged to an organized crime gang, but did not say which one. “Organized crime” in Mexico generally refers to drug cartels, and remnants of the Beltran Leyva cartel have been fighting for control of Cuernavaca. Prosecutors said the gunmen were traveling in three stolen vehicles when police confronted them early Monday.

 Darlington man Paul Brett was at the head of a well organised empire that tried to flood the area with more than £1m of cocaine. The gang was disrupted after an 18-month undercover operation – the biggest in Durham Police history – culminated in raids last year. Brett, 25, was jailed along with five others from Darlington, Teesside and Merseyside. Detective Chief Superintendent Jane Spraggon said afterwards: “This operation proves no one is untouchable.” Brett’s right-hand man, Mark Dee, 25, was jailed for seven years, while fellow Darlington organiser David Pierce, 41, was jailed for five years. Teesside Crown Court heard that they fixed up deals in Liverpool and arranged for couriers to travel across the Pennines and bring back drugs. In Ronald Bennett’s house in Liverpool, police found an industrial blender, cocaine and a 20-tonne hydraulic press. Market trader Bennett, 57, was the “packager” who Judge Tony Briggs said was crucial to the success of the gang. He was jailed for eight years. Lance Kennedy, 24, from Birkenhead, and Craig Costello, 29, from Middlesbrough, were each jailed for 15 months for money laundering. The pair were caught with nearly £20,000 after police watched Brett hand over a holdall at a McDonald’s car park in Darlington. Brett, a one-time fitness instructor who had never worked during the surveillance and had no bank accounts in the UK, made regular trips abroad. He was pictured in a newspaper flanked by two glamour girls at the opening of a Dubai nightclub and stayed at £800-a-night hotels in Thailand. Dee, a joiner, was said to have been paid only £1,500 for arranging deals. Bennett’s barrister said his client was the one who got his hands the dirtiest. Lawyers for charity fundraiser Kennedy and offshore worker Costello said they were unaware the money was from drug-dealing. Brett, of Yiewsley Drive, Darlington, admitted a fraud charge and converting criminal property and conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. Richard Littler, in mitigation, said he deserved credit for being the first to plead guilty, forcing the others to do so. Bennett, of Fairfax Road, Liverpool, and Dee, of Honeywood Gardens, Darlington, also pleaded guilty to being part of the conspiracy. Pierce, a former amateur boxer and shop-fitter, of Kilmarnock Road, Darlington, was found guilty of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. Tom Mitchell, in mitigation, said: “He falls to the bottom of whatever he finds himself involved with.” Kennedy, of Livingstone Street, Birkenhead, and father-of-three Costello, of St Cuthbert Avenue, Marton, Middlesbrough, admitted conspiracy to transfer criminal property.

Bacon or sausage? You might want to rethink that decision. Consuming processed meat regularly may increase a person’s risk of developing pancreatic cancer, though the risk is still low, says a new study. A meta-analysis of 11 studies involving 6,643 people with pancreatic cancer suggests an elevated risk of the disease when consuming processed meat such as bacon, cold cuts and sausages. In the study, men who ate red meat also showed an elevated risk of the disease, while women did not. The authors believe this is because men generally consume more red meat than women. For every 50 grams a person adds of processed meat to their diet, the risk of pancreatic cancer increased by 19 per cent, according to the study. "When results from all studies were combined, an increase of 50 grams per day of processed meat consumption was associated with a statistically significant 19 per cent increased risk of pancreatic cancer," the authors wrote. For the study, 120 grams was deemed a serving of red meat per day, while 50 grams represented a serving of processed meat. A typical hot dog is about 45 grams. "Processed meats are usually preserved with nitrite and may also contain N-nitroso compounds," write the authors. They say these compounds can also be formed in the stomach from nitrites and from compounds found in animal products and are potent carcinogens that have been shown to induce pancreatic cancer in animals. The study was conducted by Swedish researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and published Thursday online in the British Journal of Cancer.

Stock markets and the single currency fell sharply as Standard and Poor’s cut France’s AAA rating. The rating agency’s move triggered a backlash from European politicians and led to calls for Britain to be downgraded too. As many as eight other eurozone countries, led by Italy, were also facing downgrades that will make it more expensive for them to borrow. The move represents a further loss of confidence in the single currency and the European Union’s ability to rescue indebted eurozone members. The Treasury believes that the collapse of the euro could seriously damage the British economy and banking system, pushing the UK back into a deep recession. The agency’s move also threatens to torpedo the main European bail-out fund set up to support struggling countries such as Greece and Portugal. There are growing fears that Greece is edging closer to defaulting on its debts and being forced out of the single currency, with potentially devastating consequences. Talks between Greece and its creditors were put on hold on Friday.

Fears are rising that the credit ratings of several eurozone countries could soon be downgraded - prompting global markets to fall and the euro falling to a 16-month low. Analysts today said that ratings agency Standards & Poor was finally going to deliver the downgrades it had threatened for much of the 17-nation eurozone just over a month ago. It comes because of concerns of Europe's inability to get a grip on a debt crisis that has raged for around two years. And it is on the same day that Greece was revealed to once again be teetering on the edge of a catastrophic bankruptcy - as negotiations on a bond swap to slash its public debt by 100 billion euros stalled.

Two men killed and buried on a remote farm in Cornwall were working for an IRA gang involved in Liverpool's drugs trade, a court has heard. Boxer Brett Flournoy, from Merseyside, and David Griffiths, of Berkshire, were found dead buried in a van at Ross Stone's farm near St Austell in 2011. Murder accused Thomas Haigh, 26, told Truro Crown Court the pair worked for Irish republicans who "ran Liverpool". Mr Haigh and Mr Stone deny murder. The trial continues. 'Self-interest took over' Mr Stone, 28, who admits burying the bodies on his Sunny Corner farm at Trenance Downs, told police he had arrived back at the farm on 16 June to find the bodies of the two men lying on the ground, the jury heard. A badly beaten Mr Haigh was nearby, he said in an interview, and although Mr Haigh did not admit killing them, he told Mr Stone "Dave [Griffiths] wouldn't die". Jurors also heard that both defendants blamed the other for killing the two men, to whom the alleged killers both owed money, in Stone's case £40,000. The dead men were buried with their van on the farm near St Austell Mr Haigh - who went to hide in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, after the killings - told police that Mr Griffiths had beaten him up over a girl he had taken back to the farm. He said he had run off and that the men had still been alive when he did. Prosecuting, Paul Dunkels QC told the jury on the second day of the trial that both men's claims were lies. He said: "When arrested by the police, the alliance between these two men broke down and self-interest took over. "The murders were the result of the joint efforts of these two defendants." The burned bodies of Mr Griffiths, a father-of-three originally from Plymouth, Devon, but living in Bracknell, Berkshire; and Mr Flournoy, a father-of-two from Bebington, in Wirral, Merseyside, were found dumped in the back of a van buried on the farm in July 2011. Mr Haigh, 26, formerly of Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, and Mr Stone, both deny two counts of murder.

Police have declared war on the gangs responsible for four Sydney shootings in as many days. And any would-be vigilantes and copycats have also been warned to butt out. Sydney's western suburbs came under siege again on Thursday about 12.30am (AEDT) when shots rang out in Bankstown Witnesses told police they saw a man wielding a rifle in a neighbourhood where a bullet hit a bedroom window in a home. A woman and her four children, aged between two months and 10, were in the room but no one was injured. Acting Commissioner Nick Kaldas labelled as cowards the people responsible for a string of shootings since Monday. "A lot of the conflicts that occur between these criminal groups is drug-related, unfortunately," Mr Kaldas told reporters on Thursday. "It's a combination of many ethnic-based groups as well as criminal types." Police launched Operation Spartan on Thursday and will deploy extra resources to the affected suburbs from the Public Order and Riot Squad, Dog Squad, Gangs Squad and the Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad. Gangs Squad head Arthur Katsogiannis said the nature of the crimes was keeping vital information from getting to police. "Our frustration as investigators and police officers on the front line is the lack of assistance we're getting from both the victims and the witnesses," Superintendent Katsogiannis said at the same media conference. Police also warned would-be vigilantes and others to stay away. "One thing I hope that doesn't occur is any sort of copycat attraction," Mr Kaldas said. "Others may feel they want to take the law into their own hands. And my advice to those people is all you'll simply do is turn yourself from a victim into an offender." Mr Kaldas denied suggestions that gun crime was on the increase and said the incidents since Monday were a "spike" in shooting crimes. Around 2am (AEDT) on Wednesday the occupants of two cars were involved in a gun battle in Greenfield Park, in western Sydney. On Monday night, two drive-by attacks occurred in Auburn and Arncliffe, in Sydney's west and south respectively. Around 25 people were inside the two homes when the properties were sprayed with up to 35 bullets. Police are confident they will make arrests over some of the shootings. Asked if the shootings were all related, Mr Kaldas replied, "I have to say the bulk of them are not." NSW opposition emergency spokesman Nathan Rees said tweaking tough anti-bikie laws would be one way to help put an end to "gang warfare". As premier in the former Labor government, Mr Rees gave the Supreme Court powers to outlaw bikie gangs and prevent members from contacting each other. But the Crimes (Criminal Organisation Control) Act was struck out in June 2011 after Sydney Hells Angel Derek Wainohu challenged it in the High Court. The National Coalition for Gun Control has called on NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell and the government to strengthen gun control laws. Police seized 6155 guns in the 2010/11 financial year and have seized 3663 guns in the first half of the current financial year. Most guns used in crimes are stolen from legitimate sources.

A young man has been jailed in South America for attempting to traffic drugs just three weeks after sneaking out of his Thornton Heath home without telling his mother. Former Stanley Technical School pupil, Nishit Patel, 21, left his home in Attlee Close, in secret on Christmas Day before flying 4,500 miles to Guyana. The next time his mum, part-time Tesco worker Amita, heard from him was on January 3 phoning from a Guyanese jail after being caught boarding a plane with 29 pellets of cocaine worth more than £20,000 inside him. On Monday, January 9, he was sentenced to four years in jail after he admitted drug trafficking. He was also fined $30,000 Guyanese dollars, about £95. Mrs Patel, 46, said she last saw her son, who changed his name to Nikesh after being teased at school, after lunch on Christmas Day. She said: “I came home and he had bags packed. I asked if he was leaving and he said no. I never know where he is going, he tells me nothing. “I didn’t even know where Guyana was. I asked why did you do it, and he said for the money.” On December 31 Guyana’s Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) at Cheddi Jagan International Airport saw Patel acting suspiciously and arrested him. Dennis Mahase a senior supervisor with CANU said Patel, who has spent his whole life in Croydon, missed his earlier flight home and was picked up by officials while he waited. He said: “When the officials began questioning him he complained about feeling unwell. After further question he admitted swallowing the pellets.” Taken to Woodlands Hospital in Georgetown, the country’s capital, Patel, was x-rayed and the pellets, containing 352 grams of the drug with a street value of around £20,000, were found. Mr Mahase added: “He admitted to us he had done this before in November and got away with it.” Mrs Patel said Nishit went off the rails after his grandparents and father died in quick succession four years ago. She said: “He was such a good boy. Very caring. It changed him. A son listens to his father but to his mother, not so much. It was very hard.” The family will now fight to have him extradited to the UK. She said: “I want to be able to see him. I know he has done wrong but he is my son. I have no idea what a jail out there is like.” A foreign office spokesman said: “We can confirm the arrest of a British national on December 31 in Guyana. “We are providing consular assistance.”

. Arellano Felix, 58, was the head of the feared Tijuana cartel run by his brothers and operated on the Mexico-U.S. border near San Diego until his capture in Mexico in early 2002. He was extradited to the United States last April, and prosecutors said his guilty plea marked the demise of the violent cartel that dominated smuggling on the California-Mexico border in the 1980s and 1990s. "Arellano Felix led the most violent criminal organization in this part of the world for two decades. Today's guilty plea marks the end of his reign of murder, mayhem and corruption," U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy said. "His historic admission of guilt sends a clear message to the Mexican cartel leaders operating today: The United States will spare no effort to investigate, extradite and prosecute you for your criminal activities," she added. As part of a 17-page plea agreement, Arellano Felix admitted smuggling tons of cocaine and marijuana into California and conspiring to launder hundreds of millions of dollars. He also agreed to forfeit $100 million in profits under the plea deal, which is expected to land him 25 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on April 2. "It was a favorable deal to my client who faced a minimum of 40 years and a maximum of 140 years under the extradition agreement," defense attorney Anthony Colombo Jr. said. CARTEL A SHADOW OF FORMER SELF President Barack Obama's administration has worked closely with Mexican President Felipe Calderon in his army-led battle to crush warring drug gangs in a conflict that has claimed more than 46,000 lives since late 2006. At the height of his power in the 1990s, Arellano Felix smuggled hundreds of millions of dollars in narcotics through a 100-mile wide corridor stretching from Tijuana, south of San Diego, to Mexicali, south of Calexico. But after the death and capture of many of its leaders over the past decade, including three of Benjamin Arellano Felix's brothers, the Tijuana cartel, also known as the Arellano Felix Organization, is a shadow of its former self. Arellano Felix's brother Ramon, the cartel's flamboyant enforcer, died in a shoot-out in 2002. Francisco Javier is serving a life sentence in U.S. federal prison after being captured on a fishing boat in 2006, and Eduardo is in jail in Mexico awaiting extradition. With the downfall of the Arellano Felix brothers, the rival Sinaloa cartel run by Mexico's most-wanted man, Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, has largely taken over the cartel's valuable turf in Tijuana. Appearing before U.S. District Judge Larry Burns at the hearing, Arellano Felix was neatly groomed and dressed in an orange jumpsuit. He said he took medication for migraine headaches, but when asked by the judge if it affected his decision to plead, he replied, "no." Among the former kingpins serving time in U.S. jails is former Gulf cartel leader Osiel Cardenas, who was extradited to the United States by Mexico in 2007 and is serving a 25-year sentence in Texas without chance of parole.

Customs at the airport foiled an attempt by one Egyptian expatriate arriving from Cairo to smuggle 1,000 narcotic pills into the country. The concerned officers said the suspect had kept the contraband hidden in his shoes when they discovered it. He has since been handed over to Drug Prosecution. In a statement following discovery of the illicit drug, the Director General of Customs Ibrahim Al-Ghanim commended efforts exerted by customs men to uncover complicated smuggling cases.

A California man who specialized in building secret compartments in vehicles used to smuggle drugs received a 24-year sentence in what prosecutors said was one of the first cases against a specialist who worked for drug dealers but didn’t directly handle the drugs. Alfred Anaya, 40, a native of San Fernando, CA, was sentenced to 292 months in federal prison and forfeiture of $3.2 million. Anaya, said a Jan. 6 statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Kansas, operated in the state. “Evidence showed the defendant installed sophisticated hidden compartments in dozens of vehicles,” said U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom. “He knew he was working for drug traffickers.” Anaya was convicted on one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, as well as methamphetamine and marijuana, and two counts of attempting to intimidate a witness, said the statement. Convicted in the case along with Anaya were James Clark, 29, of Overland Park, KS, who was given a sentence identical to Anaya’s on the same charges. Curtis Crow, 30, of Leawood, KS, was sentenced to 147 months on conspiracy and drug distribution charges. Anaya and Clark were convicted in Feb. 2011 and Crow pleaded guilty, said the statement. Prosecutors showed the men were members of a California-based drug trafficking organization that operated a drug distribution center in Kansas between 2008 and 2009 that distributed cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana in Kansas and Missouri. Prosecutors also presented evidence that Anaya installed secret compartments including a 20-kilogram compartment in a Ford F-150, a 10-kilogram compartment in a Honda Ridgeline, a 3-kilogram compartment in a Toyota Camry and a 10-kilogram compartment in a Toyota Sequoia.

Raúl Régulo Garza Quirino, a reporter for the weekly La Última Palabra in Cadereyta, in the northeastern state of Nuevo León, became the first Mexican journalist to be killed in 2012 when he was gunned down after a car chase on 6 January. Garza was also a Cadereyta municipal employee. “We hope the number of Mexican journalists killed in the space of a decade does not reach the grim total of 100 in 2012, an election year,” Reporters Without Borders said. “Mexico could prevent this from happening by taking measures to combat impunity for those responsible for violent crime against journalists. “That was the message that we and the Centre for Journalism and Public Ethics (CEPET) tried to transmit when we gave the families of slain and disappeared journalists a platform in the capital on 10 December. “The current show of good intentions by the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Crimes against Freedom of Expression (FEADLE) and its head, Gustavo Salas Chávez, must be rapidly translated into reinforcement of its personnel and clarification of its jurisdiction. If the senate approves the bill that the lower house adopted on 11 November making attacks on freedom of information a federal crime, the FEADLE must have enough resources to handle all these cases.” Garza was driving his car near his home when he found himself being pursued by gunmen in another car. He was gunned down when he tried to seek refuge in a garage owned by relatives. Sixteen impacts from 16 mm bullets were found at the scene. Investigators have so far not suggested any motive for the murder. Located 37 km from Monterrey, the state capital, Cadereyta is home to one of northern Mexico’s biggest oil refineries and is rife with contraband in stolen petroleum products as well as drug trafficking. It is a stronghold of Los Zetas, a paramilitary group that worked for the Gulf Cartel before becoming an independent criminal organization. A total of 38 employees of the state oil company PEMEX have been reported missing in the region in recent months. It was in this area that radio journalist Marco Aurelio Martínez Tirejina was kidnapped and killed in July 2010 in a still unsolved murder. According to the Reporters Without Borders tally, 80 journalists have been killed in the past decade and 14 others have disappeared. Most of these killings have gone unpunished.

The covert activities were undertaken as part of an operation to infiltrate and prosecute a major Colombian-Mexican narco-trafficking organization moving cocaine from Colombia to Mexico and the United States. The undercover operation, detailed in Mexican government documents obtained by the New York Times, first came to light via a Monday dispatch by Times reporter Ginger Thompson. The documents "describe American counternarcotics agents, Mexican law enforcement officials and a Colombian informant working undercover together over several months in 2007," Thompson reported. "Together, they conducted numerous wire transfers of tens of thousands of dollars at a time, smuggled millions of dollars in bulk cash—and escorted at least one large shipment of cocaine from Ecuador to Dallas to Madrid." The documents "show that in 2007 the authorities infiltrated" the operations of an accused major Colombian cocaine trafficker, named Harold Mauricio Poveda-Ortega, Thompson wrote. Poveda-Ortega, also known as the Rabbit, "was considered the principal cocaine supplier to the Mexican drug cartel leader Arturo Beltran Leyva." Leyva was killed in 2008 in a shootout with Mexican naval forces. Poveda-Ortega was arrested in Mexico City in November 2010. The Mexican government documents include testimony from a DEA special agent "who oversaw a covert money laundering investigation" into Poveda-Ortega, Thompson reported. The documents form part of the file supporting a Mexican Foreign Ministry extradition order for Poveda-Ortega from last May 2011. The United States, however, has declined to indicate whether Poveda-Ortega was extradited to the United States, Thompson writes. A Justice Department spokeswoman Laura Sweeney similarly told Yahoo News Monday that the department is "not in a position to comment on the specific matter." The Drug Enforcement Administration defended the undercover operation in a written statement given to Thompson. "Transnational organized groups can be defeated only by transnational law enforcement cooperation," the agency wrote. "Such cooperation requires that law enforcement agencies — often from multiple countries — coordinate their activities, while at the same time always acting within their respective laws and authorities." Former DEA agent Robert Mazur, who posed as a money launderer in a similar undercover DEA investigation targeting the banks supporting the Medellin drug cartel, said such undercover operations are necessary and legitimate. Covert drug stings are critical, he says, in lining up evidence to successfully prosecute the top command and control figures of organized crime cartels. "This is a law enforcement technique that has been used for decades," Mazur told Yahoo News in a telephone interview Monday. "If we were to embrace the concept that these undercover money laundering operations shouldn't be conducted because in a small way, they for a brief period of time create a short term benefit for the criminal, we would be doing criminal organizations around the world the greatest favor they could get. We would be closing door to one of the most effective methods available to attack what law enforcement calls the command and control of these global organizations." The organizations targeted in these intricate DEA stings "are not people selling dime bags of crack on the street, but people trying to create terrorists states around the world," continued Mazur (Mazur, who retired from the DEA in 1998, has recounted his experience infiltrating the BCCI bank accused of money laundering for the Colombian drug cartel, in a book, The Infiltrator.) Mazur also disputed any comparison between the undercover DEA case exposed by the Times Monday and the recent controversy over "Fast and Furious," the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) program that allegedly put guns in the hands of Mexican drug gangs. "I would never agree in any circumstances it's worthwhile to put 2,000 weapons in the hands of criminals," he said. "Each of these operations needs to be professionally managed and individually scrutinized. This one, from what I read, is very common place, and I don't see anything in there that disturbs me in the least." Recent DEA undercover operations have led to the apprehension and successful prosecution of two major global arms traffickers, including the Russian-born, so-called "merchant of death" Viktor Bout, who was convicted in November on four counts of plotting to sell anti-aircraft guns and other weapons to Colombia's FARC rebels; and the Syrian-born "Prince of Marbella," Monzer al-Kassar, who was sentenced by a New York court in 2009 to 30 years in prison.

reputed member of the Imperial Gangsters pleaded not guilty Monday to a gun charge linked to a shooting last month. Armando Jose Velasquez, 24, of East Chicago, is charged in federal court with being a felon in possession of a firearm. At Velasquez's detention hearing, U.S. Attorney David Nozick said the government plans to include Velasquez in the racketeering indictment that swept a dozen alleged Imperial Gangsters off the streets last fall. The 20-count federal indictment in the fall included five charges for murder in the aid of racketeering. During the alleged incident Dec. 3, witnesses said Velasquez approached the victim, Terrance Rios, who was driving a green 1998 Nissan, after Rios stopped at the intersection of 150th Street and Baring Avenue in East Chicago. Rios' two passengers said Velasquez pulled a chrome gun from his waistband and fired nine rounds. According to court records, Velasquez shot Rios twice in the head and once in the back. Rios survived, but Velasquez had a prior conviction for voluntary manslaughter. A teenager at the time in 2005, Velasquez was sentenced to 12 years for the crime, and he was on parole at the time of the December shooting. Velasquez, who has a tattoo on the right side of his neck and said he dropped out of school after sixth grade, waved hello to his family with shackled hands before the hearing. After entering his not guilty plea, he was taken back into custody, where he will remain pending a March trial before Chief Judge Philip P. Simon. His attorney, Sheldon Nagelberg, declined to comment.

A one-time member of the Portsmouth Bounty Hunter Bloods street gang was sentenced Monday to life in prison for gunning down two brothers in a Cradock home invasion robbery. Jamyia Rashad Brothers, 24, and his lawyers pleaded for a sentence of 35 years in prison, but U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson, calling the killings "one of the most heinous crimes a man can commit in American society," gave him life. Brothers and another Blood went to the home of Ronnie Trollinger on Gillis Road one night in December 2007 with the intention of robbing him. Upon entering, Brothers almost immediately began shooting. Trollinger, 51, was shot in the chest and died. His brother, John Trollinger, 49, was shot in the chest and head and died. A third man was shot in the abdomen and survived. Brothers read a rambling letter to the court stating that the crimes have led him to find Christ. He apologized to the Trollinger family, the court and to Jesus. He said he wished he "could have listened to the voice of my dear grandmother." Brothers was raised by his grandparents but was expelled from high school and had numerous arrests before this case. John Trollinger's widow testified that she continues to suffer physically and emotionally. "I live with fear, loneliness and emptiness," she said. The high school sweethearts were married for 31 years and had two children and two grandchildren. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Muhr said Brothers fired his gun for no good reason. "It was just cold-blooded murder," he said. "They did nothing to him." He said the Bloods gang terrorized Cradock and other neighborhoods in Portsmouth, Suffolk and Chesapeake. "They are a scourge on society," he said. In calling for a life prison term, Muhr cited Brothers' arrest record, which includes convictions for assault, drug dealing near a school, escape, firearm possession and drunken driving. Portsmouth Commonwealth's Attorney Earle C. Mobley, who sat through the sentencing, said the case never could have been prosecuted without the joint federal-state effort. The initial case in state court fell apart because of witness problems. James Theuer, one of Brothers' attorneys, argued for a 35-year prison term, telling the judge his client "is a different man today." "Where was that individual," Judge Jackson wondered aloud, "when you walked in that house?" Jackson also denied a request that Brothers be housed in a prison close to his family. "It's unfortunate," the judge said. "It's a tragedy on all sides."

"Goodfellas" might be becoming a made man again. AMC is developing a series adapted from the acclaimed 1990's film's source material, Nicholas Pileggi's nonfiction book "Wiseguy," about the rise and fall of a mid-20th century gangster.  Pileggi wrote the 1990 film adaptation, which was directed by Martin Scorsese ("Taxi Driver," "Hugo"), and has signed on to co-write the TV series adaptation along with "Homicide: Life On The Street" vet Jorge Zamacona.  The film version's producer Irwin Winkler, with son David, will act as co-executive producers, according to Deadline.com. 1990' s "Goodfellas" chronicles the violent, rags-to-riches tale of gangster Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) as he gets deeper into a world of crime over a period of thirty years, along with his friends and fellow wiseguys, played by Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Paul Sorvino. It was nominated for several Oscars, including best picture and director. Pesci won in the supporting actor category. Pileggi also has "Ralph Lamb" in development at CBS with director James Mangold. AMC is home to such acclaimed dramas as "Mad Men," "Breaking Bad" and "The Walking Dead."

The Goon Squad — a gang that Waterford Township police say is connected with the Dec. 23 Rolladium shootings — has been associated with shootings around the Pontiac area in recent years. The Rolladium roller rink situation involves three armed men spraying gunfire inside the rink, striking five patrons at 1:44 a.m. Waterford police found that the shooting stemmed from issues involving rivalry between two Pontiac gangs, the “Goon Squad” and “1st Enfantry.” On Saturday, police released the name of a second suspect, Pontiac resident Cheyenne Benjamin Ingram, 17. The first suspect is Robert Lee German, 18, from Pontiac. A third man, whose name has not been released, has been shown only in a surveillance photo. The three suspects, all in their late teens to early 20s, are considered armed and dangerous. According to police, one of the five victims shot was an intended target and considered a rival. The victim was previously shot by members of the gang in a similar incident at a Pontiac night club in December 2010. Willis and Roberson James Cecil Willis III, 18 — accused of being among members of the Goon Squad — was charged in 2008 with shooting 14-year-old Alabama resident Dawan Allan France Roberson in the face after a June 14, 2008, party at the Life Worship and Training Center on Auburn Avenue in Pontiac. The Goon Squad gang, police said, crashed a party at the center and were involved in physical altercations with party attendees. People were thrown out of the party but came back in, and the party was eventually shut down. Roberson was believed to be a bystander and not involved in the fight. The teen was in Pontiac visiting family, police said

Tempe police have arrested a man involved in Saturday's road rage incident in which a driver was shot, but they are still investigating who is responsible for shooting the victim. The investigation revealed that a group of motorcycles and a champagne/tan-colored SUV were traveling westbound on Interstate 10 from Wild Horse Pass Boulevard. Witnesses reported that a gray Jeep was attempting to collide with the motorcycles. The motorcycles began to chase the Jeep. As they reached the area of I-10 and Elliot Road, the SUV rammed the Jeep, causing the driver to lose control and crash. One of the motorcycle riders, Andre Jordan, 35, of Apache Junction, was seen pointing a handgun at the victim according to Sgt. Steve Carbajal. Witnesses reported that several of the individuals involved had guns. After a physical altercation, shots were fired and the driver of the Jeep received a gunshot wound to the cheek.  Investigation into the person responsible for shooting the victim is ongoing. Tempe police detectives have identified two of the individuals involved as members of two separate criminal street gangs. Jordan was booked into Tempe City Jail on one count of aggravated assault, threat by gang member assisting a criminal street gang and endangerment.