Latest news with #AK47s
Scoop
3 days ago
- Scoop
Gangs Are Going Global And So Is The Illegal Gun Trade – NZ Can Do More To Fight It
, University of Waikato According to the Global Organised Crime Index, international criminal activity has increased over the past two years. And the politically fractured post-pandemic world has made this even harder for nations to combat. New Zealand is far from immune. According to official advice in late March to Minister of Customs and Associate Minister of Police Casey Costello: The threat posed by organised crime in New Zealand has increased substantially in the last five years. Even with the best of will, New Zealand is losing the fight. New criminal groups are becoming active here – from Burma via Malaysia, to the Comancheros and Mongols gangs. Each brings new networks, violent tactics and the potential to corrupt institutions in New Zealand and throughout the Pacific. As of October 2024, the national gang list contained 9,460 names. While there is debate about the accuracy of the figures, gang membership has grown considerably. This is fuelled by the global trade in illegal drugs, with local criminal profits conservatively estimated at NZ$500–600 million annually. The one relative bright spot is that New Zealand hasn't yet seen the levels of firearms-related violence driven by organised crime overseas. For example, European research shows the illegal trade in guns and drugs becoming increasingly intertwined. But waiting to catch up with those trends should not be an option. New Zealand already has a lot firearms. In the past six years, police conducting routine patrols have reportedly encountered 17,000 guns, or nearly ten every day, nationwide. In 2022, official figures showed, on average, approximately one firearms offence had been committed daily by gang members since 2019. The risk had become apparent much earlier, in 2016, with the discovery of fourteen military assault-grade AK47s and M16s in an Auckland house being used to manufacture methamphetamine. This year, another firearms cache, including assault rifles and semiautomatics, was found in Auckland. Progress and problems On the legal front, the main avenues New Zealand gangs use to obtain illegal firearms are being closed off. Under the Arms Act, members or close affiliates of a gang or an organised criminal group cannot be considered 'fit and proper' to lawfully possess a firearm. These people may have specific firearms prohibition orders added against them, which allow the police additional powers to ensure firearms don't fall into the wrong hands. The firearms registry is key to this. There are now more than 400,000 firearms fully accounted for, making it harder for so-called ' straw buyers ' to onsell them to gangs. Despite the progress, several challenges remain. In particular, the nature of the gun registry has been politicised, with the ACT and National parties disagreeing over a review of the system's scope. Arguments over the types of firearms covered and which agency looks after the registry risk undermining its central purpose of preventing criminals getting guns. Theft of firearms from lawful owners needs more attention, too. Making it a specific offence – not just illegal possession – would be an added deterrent. Tighter and targeted policy Accounting for all the estimated 1.5 million firearms in New Zealand will be very difficult – especially with the buy-back and amnesty for prohibited firearms after the Christchurch terror attack likely being far from complete. There are also tens of thousands of non-prohibited firearms in the hands of unlicensed but not necessarily criminal owners. Given all firearms must be registered by the end of August 2028, there should be another buy-back (at market rates) of all guns that should be on the register. This might be expensive, but the cost of opening a large pipeline to criminals would be worse. There needs to be greater investment in staff, education and technology within intelligence services and customs. This will help inform evidence-based policy, and support targeted law enforcement. A recent European Union initiative to track gun violence in real time is an example of how data can help in this way. New Zealand is a party to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (and its two protocols on people trafficking and migrant smuggling). But it is not a party to a supplementary protocol covering the illicit manufacturing and trafficking of firearms and ammunition. That should change. Amendments to the Arms Act since 2019 mean New Zealand law and policy fit the protocol perfectly. By joining, New Zealand could strengthen regional cooperation and increase public safety, given the scale of the problem and its potential to get worse.
New York Post
21-07-2025
- New York Post
Violent drug kingpin extradited to NYC after his prison break sparked riots, chaos in Ecuador
An Ecuadorean gang leader who twice escaped from Central American prisons is now locked up in the US and facing a federal drug and gun trafficking indictment, prosecutors said Monday. Jose Adolfo 'Fito' Macias Villamar, 45, the notorious leader of the violent 'Los Choneros' gang, held so much clout in his native country that the Ecuadorean government had to declare a state of emergency last year after his most recent escape sparked nationwide riots and violence. But Macias Villamar was recaptured and extradited to the US over the weekend and is now awaiting on a seven-count indictment in the Eastern District of New York, prosecutors said. Advertisement 3 Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar, known as 'Frito,' is facing a US indictment for running the 'Los Choneros' gang. via REUTERS 'José 'Fito' Macias thought he could traffic poison into our country, smuggle American weapons back to his killers, and further his criminal enterprise using chaos and bloodshed,' Robert Murphy, acting administrator for the Drug Enforcement Administration said in a statement. 'He was wrong. 'Today, the kingpin of Los Choneros faces justice on U.S. soil for his crimes,' Murphy said. Advertisement Los Choneros is 'the most violent and powerful transnational criminal organization in Ecuador,' the US Attorneys Office said in a press release. The gang was behind the assassinations of at lease one prominent political leader in Ecuador in 2023, and was part of a rival gang war behind bars that saw more than 115 people killed in 2021. 3 Federal prosecutors in New York said Jose Adolfo 'Fito' Macias Villamar ran the dangerous 'Los Choneros' gang. REUTERS Macias Villamar oversaw the gang's operations from Central America, including from inside Ecuadorean prison cells, according to the indictment. Advertisement Under his watch, Los Choneros operatives stocked up on weapons in the US — including AK 47s, assault rifles and hand grenades — between 2020 and 2025, sneaking the weapons into Ecuador, where they helped gangbangers control the gun and international drug trade. In 2011, Macias Villamar was jailed in Ecuador, but managed to escape — and did so again in January 2024, when his prison break sparked nationwide unrest and violence. Recaptured by Ecuadorean authorities, he was extradited over the weekend and is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment later on Monday, prosecutors said. 3 'Los Choneros' gang boss Jose Adolfo 'Fito' Macias Villamar twice escaped from prisons in Ecuador. SNAI/AFP via Getty Images Advertisement 'The defendant and his co-conspirators flooded the United States and other countries with drugs and used extreme measures of violence in their quest for power and control,' Eastern District US Attorney Joseph Nocella said in a statement. 'This case demonstrates our Office's commitment to identifying and targeting the leadership of such organizations, wherever they may be located, and bringing them to face justice here in the United States,' Nocella added.
NDTV
14-07-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
"Mumbai Blasts Could've Been Averted If...": Ujjwal Nikam On Sanjay Dutt
New Delhi: The government's key lawyer Ujjwal Nikam, who is now stepping into politics with a seat in Rajya Sabha after a recommendation from the President of India Droupadi Murmu, took a relook at his career in law today in an exclusive interview with NDTV. Going over the milestones, he revealed one "secret" that he said he had had never told the media - his whispered conversation with Sanjay Dutt when the actor was convicted under the Arms Act during the hearing of the 1993 bomb blasts case in Mumbai in which 257 people had died. Mr Dutt's conversation with the Public Prosecutor was noted and much commented on at the time. BUt it was not known what was said. Sanjay Dutt, Mr Nikam said today, had lost control once the sentence was announced. "I saw his body language change. I felt that he was in shock. He could not tolerate the verdict and he looked shaken," Mr Nikam told NDTV. "He was in the witness box and I was nearby and I spoke to him. You'd remember he became silent and then he left," he added. Asked what it was that he told the actor, Mr Nikam said he was revealing the "secret" for the first time. "I told Sanjay, 'Sanjay don't do this. The media is watching you. You are an actor. If you appear scared by the sentence, people would consider you guilty. You have a chance to appeal'. He said 'Yes sir, yes sir'. Sanjay Dutt, back then, was innocent and had kept the weapon because he was attracted to guns, Mr Nikam said. "Yes he did commit an offence in the eyes of the law. But he is straight forward guy. And I considered him innocent. I have only one thing to say. The blast took place on March 12, days before that a van came his (Sanjay Dutt's) house. It was full of weapons-- hand grenades, AK 47s. Abu Salem (henchman of gangster Dawood Ibrahim) had brought it. Sanjay picked some hand grenades and guns. Then he returned it all and kept just one AK 47. Had he informed the police at the time, the police would have investigated and the Mumbai lasts would never have happened," Mr Nikam said. He said he had told Mr Dutt's lawyer about this as well -- the AK 47 was never fired and its possession - that of banned weapon -- was "one thing". But his not informing the police was what had led to the blasts that had killed so many people. The court had acquitted Mr Dutt from the acuusation of being a terrorist under the TADA law but had convicted him under the Arms Act. Later, the Supreme Court reduced his six-year sentence to five years. Mr Dutt had completed this sentence in Pune's Yerwada jail. Mr Nikam was also the prosecutor for the 26/11 Mumbai attack for which Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab was hanged. Asked about his statement that Ajmal Kasab was having biriyani in jail, he said the terrorist had indeed demanded biriyani. But that comment was taken up by political leaders and politicised.
Metro
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Metro
Houthi rebels celebrate sinking ship laden with explosive materials in Red Sea
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Houthi militants hold their AK47s in the air and shout 'Allahu Akhbar, death to America' after storming a merchant ship laden with explosive materials in the Red Sea. In a Hollywood-style trailer released by the terror group's media centre, the militants fire rockets at the Liberian-flagged Magic Seas from small boats. After launching rocket propelled grenades at the vessel carrying 17,000 metric tons of 'highly hazardous' ammonium nitrate, the Houthi rebels hijack the huge red trawler. In intercepted radio transmissions, the captain of the Magic Seas tells the Houthis 'not to impede his safe passage'. But they demand him to 'stop the ship immediately for the safety of your crew'. The captain ignores them and makes a desperate mayday call saying he is being attacked by Houthis. Shortly after the crew abandon the Greek-owned bulk carrier and ditch into the sea where they are safely rescued by a passing UAE freighter. The fighters pull themselves aboard and sprint past the broken windows of the bridge. They calmly walk to the observation deck where they hold their rifles aloft and launch into a vile tirade against Israel and the United States in shocking drone footage. Moments later, drone footage shows them blow up the ship which sinks in the major global shipping route. Moammar Al-Eryani, serving as the Minister of Information for Yemen, said on X: 'The tanker was carrying approximately 17,000 metric tons of highly hazardous ammonium nitrate, resulting in its sinking and threatening the marine environment and international shipping lanes. 'A message to the international community: This is the militia we have repeatedly warned against, and this is the terrorism you have long ignored. 'Inaction towards these terrorist acts threatens to close Bab al-Mandab Strait, disrupting energy security and global trade, all at the behest of the Iranian regime. If this Houthi cancer is not eradicated now, the world will pay a heavy and costly price.' The video was released after another attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels on a Greek-owned Eternity C cargo ship killed three mariners and wounded two others on Tuesday. The two attacks are the first Houthi assaults on shipping since late 2024 on the waterway that had begun to see more ships pass through in recent weeks. Since November 2023, the Houthis have disrupted commerce by launching hundreds of drones and missiles at vessels in the Red Sea, saying they were targeting ships linked to Israel. While the Houthis reached a ceasefire with the United States in May, the militia has reiterated that they will keep attacking ships it says are connected with Israel. 'After several months of calm, the resumption of deplorable attacks in the Red Sea constitutes a renewed violation of international law and freedom of navigation,' IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said on Tuesday. 'Innocent seafarers and local populations are the main victims of these attacks and the pollution they cause.' MORE: Netanyahu surprises Trump with letter nominating him for Nobel Peace Prize MORE: Melania Trump joins Donald in welcoming Gaza hostage who was 'very important' to her MORE: Trump says Israel agreed to 60-day Gaza ceasefire and threatens Hamas to accept
The Hindu
18-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Death of Uday, Aruna deepens leadership crisis among Maoists in AOB region
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, the Greyhounds personnel, during a combing operation in the area near Akooru in Maredumilli forest of Alluri Sitharama Raju district, spotted a group of around 16 armed members of the banned CPI (Maoist). What followed was a fierce gun battle for about an hour, in which three Maoists were killed. Among the deceased were Gajarla Ravi alias Uday, a Central Committee member and the secretary of the Andhra Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC), and Ravi Venka Chaitanya alias Aruna, a zonal committee member and secretary of the East Division, which controls the AOB region. The police recovered three AK 47s. The death of Uday and Aruna is certainly a big blow to the Maoists, as the security forces presume it to be the endgame of the Left Wing extremists in the AOB region. After the death of two top Maoist leaders Kudumula Ravi and Bakuri Venkataramana alias Ganesh, there was a leadership void in this region. Both were considered fierce tribal leaders. While Kudumula died of illness in 2016, Bakkuri was among the 30 Maoists killed in the Ramaguda exchange of fire in 2016. It was after their death that Uday, Aruna and Chalapathi took charge of the AOB region. There was a rumour that Uday was also killed in the Ramaguda encounter, but he survived and led the Maoists in the AOBSZC. Hailing from Velishala in Telangana, Gajarla Ravi (58) alias Ganesh alias Anand alias Uday, joined the movement in 1990. He had completed his Intermediate and ITI and was an active member of RSU (Radical Student Union). After going underground, he was posted to AOB region to revive the movement. Trained by Nambala Keshava Rao alias Basavaraju, who was killed in May this year and Akkiraju Haragopal alias RK, who died of illness in 2021, Uday was supposed to be military strategist and also a leader who could recruit more tribal people. Both his brothers—Gajarla Saraiah and Gajarla Ashok— were associated with the movement. Saraiah, a member of the Central Military Commission and Central Committee, was shot dead in Kanthalapally forest in Warangal in April 2008 while Ashok surrendered in 2015. Considered a hardcore ideologist, Uday was said to be the trusted man of the senior leadership. After a series of major encounters such as in Ramaguda in 2016 and Teegalametta in 2021, in which many leaders were killed, a string of surrenders and arrests of mid-level leaders that followed, the movement had died down by 2022. Uday and Aruna, who were heading the operations, had moved to safer havens in Chhattisgarh. It was only in May 2024, after facing the heat in Chhattisgarh and with the idea of reviving the movement in the AOB, Aruna, Uday and Kakuri Pandana alias Jagan moved in with about 30 cadres. Considered an educated and fierce fighter, Aruna was the wife of former Central Committee member Chalapathi, who was killed earlier this year. She hailed from Pendurthi area of Visakhapatnam. Apart from her involvement in many cases, it is said that she had led the squad that killed former Araku MLA Kidari Sarveswar Rao and former MLA Siveri Soma, in September 2018, in Dumbriguda area of now ASR district. On May 7, Pandana, the last of the tribal leaders from the AOB, was killed in an encounter. With the deaths of Uday and Aruna, there is hardly anyone to lead the movement, say security personnel associated with anti-Maoist operations.
