Latest news with #Turkish
Toronto Sun
2 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
Surrey gangster led transnational drug operation with infamous Irish gang
Opinder Singh Sian, who survived two Surrey shootings in 2008 and 2011, was arrested last month in Nevada, according to U.S. court documents The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration undertook a three-year investigation into the crime groups. Photo by JOHANNES EISELE / AFP/Getty Images A Surrey gangster linked to the Brothers Keepers allegedly worked with the notorious Irish Kinahan gang as well as Turkish and American criminals to smuggle methamphetamine and fentanyl precursors around the globe. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Opinder Singh Sian, who survived two Surrey shootings in 2008 and 2011, was arrested last month in Nevada, according to U.S. court documents obtained by Postmedia. He was charged in California with smuggling large shipments of methamphetamine out of the port of Long Beach to Australia in the summer of 2023. At one point during the three-year-long investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Sian allegedly told a confidential source that he worked with 'Irish organized crime, specifically, the Kinahan family, Italian organized crime, and other Canadian organized crime groups.' 'Sian also explained that he obtained drugs through contacts with drug cartels in Mexico and South America. Sian again stated that he worked with a known drug kingpin based out of Turkey,' the 29-page criminal complaint said. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The Kinahan gang started in Dublin in the 1990s, but is now headquartered in Dubai. It has close ties to Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel. The U.S. State Department announced $5-million US rewards for the arrest of leader Christy Kinahan and his sons Daniel and Christopher Jr. in April 2022. All three are also subject to U.S. Treasury sanctions. The investigation that led to Sian's arrest began in June 2022 when the DEA's office in Ankara, Turkey saw an opportunity to 'insert a confidential source (CS-1) playing the role of an international transportation coordinator into an international drug trafficking organization that needed help transporting drugs from Southern California to Australia and other destinations.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. A gang member in Turkey gave the source Sian's phone number, identifying him as the North American leader of the drug trafficking organizations, the court document filed against Sian said. 'Sian and CS-1 subsequently held several in-person meetings and communicated via phone calls and the Threema messaging application in order to coordinate multiple deliveries of methamphetamine from co-conspirators to CS-1 in Southern California for shipment to Australia,' said the complaint, signed by DEA special agent Albert Polito. Sian unwittingly met the confidential source in both Vancouver and California in early 2023, arranging four drop-offs of methamphetamine totalling more than 240 kilograms throughout the summer of 2023. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The complaint said Sian believed that CS-1 was arranging to ship the meth to Australia through his purported cousin who posed as a port worker, but was really an undercover DEA agent. During a February 2023 Vancouver meeting, Sian introduced CS-1 to two male associates. 'They explained that they had about 500 kilograms of cocaine and needed help getting it through Los Angeles ports and then on to Australia. CS-1 claimed that he/she could arrange for the drugs to be offloaded in Los Angeles, repackaged, and put on a container ship to Australia,' the document said. 'CS-1 also claimed that he/she could arrange for someone to offload the drugs in Australia and transfer them to the ultimate buyers.' The following month, Sian went to L.A. to meet the source at a Manhattan Beach restaurant. The undercover DEA agent also attended. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'At the beginning of the meeting, Sian said they could get in trouble just for meeting like this.' CS-1 convinced Sian that the meth was being consolidated into a single load being sent in August 2023. 'When the purported arrival date came, DEA and Australian law enforcement packaged sham methamphetamine and placed a tracking device inside,' the document said. Undercover Australian officers gave the sham drugs to gang members in Sydney who drove to a stash house. 'The Australians then raided the stash house and soon thereafter arrested the receiving couriers.' At the urging of the DEA handlers, CS-1 asked Sian if he could get fentanyl precursor chemicals into the U.S. 'Sian informed CS-1 that he could get the chemicals directly from China. He then asked CS-1 if they could receive a shipping container in the Port of Long Beach containing those chemicals,' the complaint said, adding that Sian sent sample chemicals through the mail to the source. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. CS-1 visited Vancouver again in August 2023 for a meeting with Sian and an associate named Peter Peng Zhou. Zhou said 'he would be getting the precursors from China in Vancouver and send them to Los Angeles, via his trucking company.' So far, other B.C. suspects named in the U.S. case have not been charged. A Nevada judge ordered Sian, 37, held in custody pending his transfer to California. She said in her June 30 decision that Sian's criminal gang 'is alleged to have ties to international hitmen.' Sian has been on police radar in B.C. since at least 2008. He was wounded in a shooting in August 2008 that left his friend Gurpreet Sidhu dead. He was targeted again in May 2011, but survived. He was convicted in July 2017 of careless use of a firearm and sentenced to 18 months probation. kbolan@ . Bluesky: @ Read More Columnists Golf NFL NHL Canada
Business Recorder
2 hours ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Consensus on Discos' sell-off: Working group formed for FA-stakeholder coordination
ISLAMABAD: The government has constituted a working group intended to coordinate with relevant stakeholders and the Financial Advisors to achieve consensus on the privatisation process of power Distribution Companies (Discos), well informed sources told Business Recorder. In the first phase, the government is fast-tracking efforts to privatise three Discos— Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO), Gujranwala Electric Power Company (GEPCO), and Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (FESCO) — with the goal of completing the process by the end of calendar year 2025. Financial Advisors, Alvarez & Marsal Middle East, has given the sectoral due diligence report. The Working Group comprised of Abdul Basit Abbasi, Consultant, Privatisation Commission – (Convener), Sajid Akram, Director General, NEPRA, Umer Haroon, Independent System and Market Operator (ISMO), Umair, Senior Manager, CPPA-G, Salman Rehman, Director, NEPRA, Abdul Moiz Khawaja, Additional Joint Director SECP, Consultant, Power Division, nominee, Power Planning and Monitoring Company, nominee, CPPA-G, nominee, NEPRA DISCO's team and nominees, Financial Advisor. Discos' sell off: 'Turkish model' under consideration The Working Group will hold its first meeting on July 26, 2025 in the Ministry of Privatisation. According to the Terms of Reference (ToRs), Working Group in furtherance of section 5(f), 5(g), and 5(t) of the Privatisation Commission Ordinance, 2000, the Chairman of the Privatisation Commission, is pleased to constitute a Working Group (WG) to address and resolve key issues identified in the Financial Advisor's Sector Due Diligence (DD) report concerning government-owned Power Distribution Companies whereby the regulatory framework in which privatization will proceed will be studied to form the basis of policy, regulatory and/or administrative decisions required to be taken by the Federal Government before privatization. The Working Group will coordinate with relevant stakeholders and the Financial Advisor to achieve consensus and provide recommendations on the following matters:(i) Bifurcation of Retail and Wire Business - recommendations with respect to bifurcation of retail and wire business and ancillary regulatory matters, such as licensing, dispatch and settlement processes, optimum tariff and subsidy regimes etc; (b) examination of legal and technical issues concerning housing societies and industrial zones, and their corresponding impact on the valuation and operations of DISCOs; (c) NEPRA's deliberation to unbundle Distribution and Supply businesses; and (d) any other relevant and related matter. Uniform Tariff and Industrial Cross-Subsidy Framework: Evaluation of the impact of the uniform tariff and existing cross-subsidies on DISCO valuation and recommendations for way forward. Review of the Multi-Year Tariff (MYT) Framework will include (a) assessment of whether the current MYT and associated indexation mechanisms require revision, based on Financial Adviser's feedback; and (b) MYT revision window at the time of the transaction. Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) Licencing: (a) analysis of the merits and demerits of issuing competitive supplier licenses to the SOLR from the perspective of potential investors; and (b) CTBCM status and future evolvement plans, possible future business combinations and changes to DISCOs business perimeter over time (Distribution/SOLR/CS). Review of transition from current wholesale market to retail market trading: total quantum of power to be allocated to the wholesale market over the next five years and a clear roadmap for transition, review the details w.r.t. annual allocation and mechanism of award, including criteria, bidding processes (if any), and regulatory approvals. Mechanism to ensure investment and efficiency improvement post privatisation: (a) determine commitments to be required from prospective investors - particularly investment in infrastructure and efficiency enhancement; to align with and support the Government's privatization objectives and proposed transition in power market structures ; and (b) propose a mechanism to ensure that post-privatization, the required investments, efficiency gains, and service delivery improvements are effectively achieved. This should include considerations for enforceability, regulatory oversight, investor confidence, and balanced risk allocation. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Ex-Warrior Nemanja Bjelica's playing days are over, but not his basketball journey
LAS VEGAS – Nemanja Bjelica was jetlagged Thursday morning as he fraternized with the Golden State Warriors at their setup for NBA summer league at the Las Vegas Basketball Center. Fourteen-hour flights tend to foster fatigue. 'I'm still tired,' the former Warriors forward said smirkingly, dressed for the city's dry desert heat. 'But it's worth it. I always like to come here for a few days to meet with my people, my coaches, my friends.' The California Classic at Chase Center and NBA summer league in Las Vegas have reconnected Bjelica and the Warriors, with whom he finished his seven-year NBA career in 2021-22, a champion. Now 37 and two years retired after finishing play in Serbia, Bjelica oversees basketball operations for Bahçeşehir Koleji Spor Kulübü (SK) of Turkey's Basketball Super League (TBSL) and the BKT EuroCup. Charged with roster construction and management, Bjelica flew to San Francisco last week – traveling again to summer league to scout and mingle with former coaches, executives and friends. 'Great opportunity to work in a front office,' said the 6-foot-10-inch Serbian, formerly of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Sacramento Kings and Miami Heat. 'I don't see myself as a coach still, but I like what I'm doing. Trying to do my best to learn.' Bjelica starred for TBSL's Fenerbahçe before debuting in the NBA, winning EuroLeague MVP honors in 2015 and first playing for the Timberwolves in 2015-16. He said he has 'a huge love for Turkish mentality, people,' noting his role was 'a great opportunity' once his playing career concluded. He thought he'd coach in the NBA, focusing on player development 'because I like to be on the court, to work with the players, to mentor them, to give them some advice.' But six months after his retirement, Bahçeşehir Koleji called. Said Bahçeşehir Koleji head coach Marko Barać, hired this year by Bjelica, after a lengthy Thursday conversation with Warriors assistant coach Ron Adams: 'It's really, really amazing – the level of work that he's putting (in) and trying to help making the team, creating the roster, doing all the tough job communicating with the agents, with the ownership, helping me as a coach – he's done a really, really amazing job.' Though he isn't coaching, Bjelica said he likes to remain 'close to the court' to nurture relationships with his players and function as a resource. Noticed when playing for Golden State was the chemistry between head coach Steve Kerr and former general manager Bob Myers. 'They were a team, on the same page,' Bjelica said. 'That's what I'm trying to do with our head coach … We've got to be honest here.' Bjelica for Golden State averaged 6.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists while shooting 36.2% from 3-point range in 71 games. As a power forward and small-ball center, he played 10.1 minutes in 15 playoff games, explaining 'everything changed in my mind, the way how I look at life' after winning the 2021-22 championship with the Warriors. As a result, his reverence for them and friendships with them persist from afar – and in Las Vegas for a couple days before his departure. 'It was great to be a part of the Golden State Warriors. I was lucky,' he said.
Business Recorder
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Business Recorder
The end of PKK's armed struggle?
Thirty fighters of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) burned their weapons at the mouth of a cave in northern Iraq on July 11, 2025 rather than surrender them to Turkish authorities in a symbolic step towards ending a decades-long insurgency. Half the fighters were women, including their commander Bese Hozat, who read out a statement declaring the group's decision to disarm. The PKK ranks are a reflection of the its success in mobilising women for the armed struggle and giving them command responsibilities. Further handovers (burning?) of weapons is expected, but there is no confirmation when and where so far. After the burning ceremony, the fighters were to return to the mountains. The symbolic surrender process was expected to unfold throughout the summer. The PKK, on its incarcerated and kept in solitary confinement since 1999 leader Abdullah Ocalan's call, decided in May 2025 to dissolve itself and switch to open parliamentary politics. Thus seems to have come to a close the PKK's armed struggle since 1978 for, at a minimum, Kurdish linguistic, cultural and political rights (autonomy) within Turkiye, and at a maximum, secession and an independent Kurdish state. The conflict cost over 40,000 lives, burdened the economy and engendered deep social and political divisions. PKK's ideology was originally a fusion of revolutionary socialism, Marxism-Leninism and Kurdish nationalism. Turkiye over the years has consistently carried out military suppression campaigns, banned PKK in 1984, abducted Abdullah Ocalan from abroad in 1999 and kept him in solitary confinement since in an island prison in the Sea of Marmara. Of late, indirect negotiations between the Turkish authorities and Ocalan finally yielded the disarmament/dissolution decision by PKK. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan welcomed the development, hoping it would lead to peace and security in the country. Despite his optimism, the road ahead appears uncertain, since there is little or no news about what the PKK has been offered in return for its decision to disarm/dissolve. PKK's demands include the release of Abdullah Ocalan. The portents are not good if the statement of Turkish officials engaged in the negotiations are taken note of. They display no intention to offer any concessions on even the minimum Kurdish demands such as linguistic, cultural and political rights. What then, it may be asked, will the Kurds get in exchange for disarming? It seems obvious that the (long standing) failure to offer even autonomy carries the seeds of renewed conflict. For as long as the Turkish post-Kemalist state has been in existence, the Kurds were denied use of their own language, culture, identity and autonomy in the name of the supposed advantages of a unified, centralised state. (The Kurds were disparagingly referred to as 'Mountain Turks'.) Erdogan's long stint in power yielded some cultural concessions, but these proved insufficient to quell Kurdish alienation. Military campaigns against the Kurds in southeastern Turkey led to PKK fighters seeking and obtaining safe havens in northern Iraq, a semi-autonomous Kurd region within that country. PKK controls hundreds of villages in Iraqi Kurdistan. Turkey's forays across the border to attack the PKK safe havens intensified in recent years with Ankara establishing outposts across the border and frequently attacking PKK positions. This produced tensions between Iraqi Kurds and the PKK, blamed for bringing the war to the doorstep of the former. It was after the shift in Iraq's posture in April 2024, when it banned the PKK following high level security meetings between Iraqi and Turkish officials that the PKK's safe havens were rendered no longer safe. The combination of military difficulties in this situation and the indirect negotiations between the Turkish authorities and Ocalan finally produced the current turnaround. With the PKK weakened and the Kurdish people exhausted, and no end in sight to the seemingly endless war, Ocalan's PKK finally swallowed the bitter pill. This was reflected in the crowds attending the surrendered arms burning, with both cheering and weeping in evidence. The Kurds, divided between four countries, Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran, have suffered an unfortunate history. Mullah Mustafa Barzani's armed struggle for autonomy or independence for Iraqi Kurdistan in the 1960s was eventually defeated and he sought sanctuary in the Soviet Union. (His son currently heads the Iraqi Kurdistan semi-autonomous region.) Iran's Kurds' uprising after the 1979 Iranian revolution was brutally crushed. The Syrian Kurds joined hands with the US to combat Islamic State and other extremist religious groups in the country's civil war. Now the Turkish Kurds, having given up the armed struggle without any evident reward in return, contemplate an uncertain future, given Turkey's past record and current disposition. The lesson to be learnt is that in any multi-ethnic, multi-national state not prepared to concede autonomy reflected in linguistic, cultural, economic and political rights to its minority nationalities, more often than not ends up with long and seemingly unending avoidable conflict to its own cost. Such conflicts, as they drag on, radically escalate from the demand for autonomy to breakaway independence, successful in this endeavour or not. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
The Province
5 hours ago
- The Province
Surrey gangster led transnational drug operation with infamous Irish gang
Opinder Singh Sian, who survived two Surrey shootings in 2008 and 2011, was arrested last month in Nevada, according to U.S. court documents The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration undertook a three-year investigation into the crime groups. Photo by JOHANNES EISELE / AFP/Getty Images A Surrey gangster linked to the Brothers Keepers allegedly worked with the notorious Irish Kinahan gang as well as Turkish and American criminals to smuggle methamphetamine and fentanyl precursors around the globe. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Opinder Singh Sian, who survived two Surrey shootings in 2008 and 2011, was arrested last month in Nevada, according to U.S. court documents obtained by Postmedia. He was charged in California with smuggling large shipments of methamphetamine out of the port of Long Beach to Australia in the summer of 2023. At one point during the three-year-long investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Sian allegedly told a confidential source that he worked with 'Irish organized crime, specifically, the Kinahan family, Italian organized crime, and other Canadian organized crime groups.' 'Sian also explained that he obtained drugs through contacts with drug cartels in Mexico and South America. Sian again stated that he worked with a known drug kingpin based out of Turkey,' the 29-page criminal complaint said. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The Kinahan gang started in Dublin in the 1990s, but is now headquartered in Dubai. It has close ties to Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel. The U.S. State Department announced $5-million US rewards for the arrest of leader Christy Kinahan and his sons Daniel and Christopher Jr. in April 2022. All three are also subject to U.S. Treasury sanctions. The investigation that led to Sian's arrest began in June 2022 when the DEA's office in Ankara, Turkey saw an opportunity to 'insert a confidential source (CS-1) playing the role of an international transportation coordinator into an international drug trafficking organization that needed help transporting drugs from Southern California to Australia and other destinations.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. A gang member in Turkey gave the source Sian's phone number, identifying him as the North American leader of the drug trafficking organizations, the court document filed against Sian said. 'Sian and CS-1 subsequently held several in-person meetings and communicated via phone calls and the Threema messaging application in order to coordinate multiple deliveries of methamphetamine from co-conspirators to CS-1 in Southern California for shipment to Australia,' said the complaint, signed by DEA special agent Albert Polito. Sian unwittingly met the confidential source in both Vancouver and California in early 2023, arranging four drop-offs of methamphetamine totalling more than 240 kilograms throughout the summer of 2023. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The complaint said Sian believed that CS-1 was arranging to ship the meth to Australia through his purported cousin who posed as a port worker, but was really an undercover DEA agent. During a February 2023 Vancouver meeting, Sian introduced CS-1 to two male associates. 'They explained that they had about 500 kilograms of cocaine and needed help getting it through Los Angeles ports and then on to Australia. CS-1 claimed that he/she could arrange for the drugs to be offloaded in Los Angeles, repackaged, and put on a container ship to Australia,' the document said. 'CS-1 also claimed that he/she could arrange for someone to offload the drugs in Australia and transfer them to the ultimate buyers.' The following month, Sian went to L.A. to meet the source at a Manhattan Beach restaurant. The undercover DEA agent also attended. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'At the beginning of the meeting, Sian said they could get in trouble just for meeting like this.' CS-1 convinced Sian that the meth was being consolidated into a single load being sent in August 2023. 'When the purported arrival date came, DEA and Australian law enforcement packaged sham methamphetamine and placed a tracking device inside,' the document said. Undercover Australian officers gave the sham drugs to gang members in Sydney who drove to a stash house. 'The Australians then raided the stash house and soon thereafter arrested the receiving couriers.' At the urging of the DEA handlers, CS-1 asked Sian if he could get fentanyl precursor chemicals into the U.S. 'Sian informed CS-1 that he could get the chemicals directly from China. He then asked CS-1 if they could receive a shipping container in the Port of Long Beach containing those chemicals,' the complaint said, adding that Sian sent sample chemicals through the mail to the source. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. CS-1 visited Vancouver again in August 2023 for a meeting with Sian and an associate named Peter Peng Zhou. Zhou said 'he would be getting the precursors from China in Vancouver and send them to Los Angeles, via his trucking company.' So far, other B.C. suspects named in the U.S. case have not been charged. A Nevada judge ordered Sian, 37, held in custody pending his transfer to California. She said in her June 30 decision that Sian's criminal gang 'is alleged to have ties to international hitmen.' Sian has been on police radar in B.C. since at least 2008. He was wounded in a shooting in August 2008 that left his friend Gurpreet Sidhu dead. He was targeted again in May 2011, but survived. He was convicted in July 2017 of careless use of a firearm and sentenced to 18 months probation. kbolan@ . Bluesky: @ Read More Vancouver Canucks News NHL Sports Betting Local News
