Police have today arrested 12 outlaw motorcycle gang members on a range of drugs and weapons charges in the second phase of Operation Golf Cyclone.Two women and 10 men were nabbed on a total of 20 charges after police found drugs including cannabis and methylamphetamines, as well as weapons including two batons and a pellet paint gun.
The arrests in the Redcliffe, Caboolture, Sunshine Coast, Maryborough, Gympie and Bundaberg districts bring to 24 the total number of gang members charged during the Operation.A police statement said officers from Task Force Hydra targeted places known to the Hells Angels, Rebels, Bandidos, Black Uhlans, Outcasts and Finks groups.
North Coast regional crime coordinator Superintendent John Maloney said officers would continue to crackdown on organised crime within the region."Through the ongoing commitment of local police to keep their communities safe, operations such as these will continue to be conducted, ensuring those who are involved in criminal activities will be located and prosecuted," Mr Maloney said.The 12 alleged offenders will all face local courts next month

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Daniel "Dango" Dennard, 23, of Antioch was attacked as he was stopped on his motorcycle at a red light on Bayshore Boulevard at Industrial Street, a busy roadway near the intersection of Highway 101 and Interstate 280.
San Francisco homicide Inspector John Cleary said Sunday that Dennard had just finished his shift at a job site two blocks away when he was gunned down at 7:20 p.m. A man got out of a car that apparently had been following Dennard, walked up and fired four times, Cleary said.
Dennard, who grew up in the neighborhood but recently moved to the East Bay with his girlfriend and child, was involved in one of the most high-profile murder cases in San Francisco in recent memory but escaped prosecution when the key witness was slain.In late 2005, he was indicted on charges of slaying 20-year-old Arkeylius Collins and, in the same attack, the attempted murder of basketball standout Terrell Rollins. Rollins survived the attack and agreed to help prosecutors. He said at the time he was helping them because of what happened to him, which left him unable to play basketball, and because of what happened to Collins. When he appeared before a San Francisco grand jury that was investigating the case, Rollins identified Dennard as one of the gunmen in that attack. As the key witness against Dennard Rollins was put under witness protection. Within months of Dennard's indictment, however, Rollins strayed from the witness-protection program, left his hotel in Millbrae and returned to San Francisco. Rollins, who was then 22 years old, was killed on May 4, 2006, while getting his van repaired at an auto shop on Bayshore Boulevard.
Dennard was behind bars when Rollins was killed but was freed after his slaying because of the death of the only witness against him. In an apparent coincidence, Dennard was slain just a few blocks from the auto repair shop where Rollins was killed.As Dennard and his motorcycle fell to the pavement, the gunman returned to his vehicle and continued north on Bayshore, police said. Dennard was pronounced dead at 10:42 p.m. at San Francisco General Hospital. Investigators did not release a description of the suspect or vehicle.While it was not immediately clear why Dennard was targeted, he had survived an attack earlier this year and one in November 2004 in which he was shot in the waist, police say. Police repeatedly arrested him - though charges rarely stuck - and have accused him of being a member of the Oakdale Mob, which has feuded with other San Francisco gangs in Bayview-Hunters Point.Under City Attorney Dennis Herrera's first civil gang injunction, which was approved by a judge in late 2006, Dennard and 21 others were slapped with a curfew and barred from congregating outside the run-down public housing project known as Oakdale.After Dennard was arrested in October in Bayview-Hunters Point on suspicion of armed robbery and carjacking, Deputy Police Chief Morris Tabak referred to him as the city's "worst of the worst." However, charges were later dropped over problems with the credibility of witnesses.Dennard's attorney, who defended him in the Collins homicide and other cases, said Dennard was working as a construction apprentice and moved away from the city to start his family. "It's very sad. Daniel was making something of his life," said Floyd Andrews, a former San Francisco homicide prosecutor. "He was one of my ... success stories. I heard he was going to work, working every day, staying out of San Francisco. He was doing good."
Steve Vender, a private investigator who has helped in Dennard's defense, said the young man had come in for an appointment with his probation officer within the last few weeks. He was wearing his construction clothes and hard hat, Vender said. "The irony was not lost on me," Vender said of the fact that Dennard was killed on the same street as Rollins, coming back to the city he had been told to keep away from. "He (Dennard) was offered an extra shift, working in his trade. He was working. He wasn't hanging out or anything."He was told to stay away from the city," Vender said. "We told him that early on."
When he was killed, Dennard was on probation for a felony charge of leaving the scene of an accident, the only charge that stuck in what was originally a carjacking case filed last year, Andrews said. That case, too, fell apart, because of credibility problems with the alleged victim.Vender said Dennard's criminal record was overblown by police.
"You've got all those arrests and you go back and look at them, they were for minor things, trespassing, having a joint. They were looking to stretch those things," Vender said. "The word got around what a bad guy, what a killer Dennard was. I never believed the stuff. The fact of the matter is: If you are going to charge guys with that, they have to stand up."
Officer Len Broberg, a member of the gang task force, said Sunday that earlier this year, Dennard was the target of an ambush in Daly City, but was not injured. Broberg also said Dennard had long been involved in gang activities.
"He had a reputation in the streets, and I think that reputation may have caught up with him."

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Ten days since they hit the notoriety list by allegedly gunning down three youths in a matter of minutes in south Delhi, the Bunty ‘killer-biker’ gang has now become a huge headache, and the most-wanted gang, for Delhi Police.
The gang’s kingpin — Bunty, alias Om Prakash — has been declared the most-wanted criminal in the Capital. The police had last week declared a reward of Rs 50,000 per head for information leading to the arrest of the five-member gang. This takes the total reward amount to Rs 2.5 lakhs for the gang — the most reward on information on any gang in recent times. The police crackdown has, in recent times, successfully negated gangs such as those led by Kishan Pehalwan and Vijay Bodha among others. But then arrived Bunty and his gang, and reportedly shot dead five people within a few weeks, prompting police to come up with a new most-wanted list.
Police officials said all units of Delhi Police — Special Operation Squad of Crime Branch, Special Cell, Special Staff of all the districts — are now on the lookout for this gang. A senior police official (name withheld on request) said: “Most of the wanted criminals in Delhi Police’s records are those who are either involved in individual cases or are absconding for a long time. Bunty and his gang suddenly arrived on the scene and, within a matter of two weeks, he is topping our most-wanted list of criminals.” The gang is suspected to have shot dead two youths — Arshneet, 28, and Hardeep, 26 — in south Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar area on July 11 evening. Within barely 15 minutes, the gang allegedly shot another man — Sanjeev, 32 — under the Andrews Ganj flyover. The gang members were on two bikes, one of them taken from the first two deceased, the police had said.
Within 24 hours, another shootout was reported from Madangir — again in south Delhi — where the gang allegedly shot at two people, Naresh and Pawan. According to the police official, other criminals in Delhi Police’s most-wanted list are all “desperate criminals”, like Ravinder Kumar, wanted in several cases. Kumar was convicted to life sentence but managed to escape while in police custody. He also has a reward of Rs 50,000 for information leading to his arrest.

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Arrested by ICE agents earlier this week was Valentin Sierra-Martinez, a 20-year-old "Norteño-14" gang member. Arrested July 14 in Elgin, Ill., Sierra-Martinez is an illegal alien from Mexico with prior criminal convictions for residential burglary, domestic battery, possessing drug paraphernalia, and knowingly damaging property. He remains in ICE custody pending deportation to Mexico.
ICE agents also arrested 23-year-old Mauricio Vega-Cruz July 14 in West Chicago. Vega-Cruz, a self-admitted member of the 18th Street gang, was twice deported to Mexico in 2007 and illegally re-entered the U.S. He has criminal convictions in Arizona for misconduct involving weapons and drug paraphernalia, as well as arrests for drugs, aggravated assault, and discharging a firearm in city limits. Vega-Cruz remains in ICE custody pending removal to Mexico.
Of the 49 men arrested, 42 had criminal histories; some of their convictions and arrests include: drunken driving, drug possession, aggravated battery, burglary, theft, and domestic battery.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents here, in close partnership with local law enforcement officers, made 49 arrests in a four-day operation targeting illegal aliens with ties to violent street gangs in Chicago's northern and northwest suburbs this week. This is the latest joint local action of an ongoing national ICE effort to target foreign-born gang members.These arrests were made under an ongoing national ICE initiative called "Operation Community Shield," in which ICE partners with other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to address the significant public safety threat posed by transnational street gangs. Partnerships with local law enforcement agencies are essential to the success of the initiative, and they help further ensure officer safety during the operations.
The multi-agency operation, which began Sunday night and ended Wednesday night, targeted foreign-born gang members and associates in the northern and northwest suburbs. Of the 49 arrested, 48 are Mexican nationals; one is from Guatemala. All are illegal aliens with the exception of one U.S. permanent resident whose criminal convictions make him eligible for deportation.Forty seven of those arrested are members or associates of the following gangs: Brown Pride, Imperial Gangsters, Insane Deuces, Latin Kings, Norteños-14, Sureños-13, and the 18th Street Gang. Two of those arrested had no known gang affiliations but are deportable because they are in the U.S. illegally.Nine of those arrested had been previously deported. It is a felony to re-enter the United States after being formally deported punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison."Street gangs pose a growing public safety threat to communities throughout this area," said Gary Hartwig, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Chicago. "We will not tolerate violent gang activity in our communities, and will use all of our law enforcement tools to thwart criminal efforts of street gangs. Operation Community Shield shows how ICE works with our law enforcement partners to dismantle these criminal organizations and help protect our communities."ICE was assisted in the operation by the following local agencies: the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); the sheriffs' departments of Cook, Boone, DuPage and Winnebago Counties; and the police departments of Addison, Belvidere, Bensenville, Elgin, Franklin Park, Harvard, Mt. Prospect, West Chicago, Wheeling and Woodstock.Since ICE began Operation Community Shield in February 2005, more than 8,900 gang members belonging to more than 700 different gangs have been arrested nationwide. More information on Operation Community Shield is available at: http://www.ice.gov .

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RCMP say they've arrested a member of the Hells Angels biker gang in northern B.C. to face extradition to the United States.Brian Lee Hall was to appear before a Supreme Court judge Tuesday, after being arrested by RCMP late last week at a motorcycle drag race in Fort St. John, B.C.Hall has been indicted in the U.S. on charges including conspiracy to import and distribute marijuana and conspiracy to launder money.Police say Hall, a member of the biker gang's Mission City chapter, was arrested under an extradition warrant obtained by the RCMP drug section.He was the subject of a two-year, cross-border investigation involving U.S. and Canadian authorities.

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Steven Halamboulis, 43, of Reservoir, has been charged with two counts of rape and one of false imprisonment of the 19-year-old girl, who says she was raped at the motel by members of the Black Uhlans.Halamboulis was charged after he and four other gang members provided DNA samples. The alleged rape occurred after the woman met the gang members at a Lakes Entrance pub. She told police she had her drink spiked and was then lured to the motel where, feeling intimidated, she got into the the motel's pool with some of the men.She says she was then attacked by six men, some of whom held her down while she was being raped. She was then taken to a room and repeatedly raped again by several men.Eventually, the woman was able to use her mobile phone to call a friend, who came to the motel with several other people and demanded that the woman be released.Local police arrived around the same time and negotiated for the woman to be released. She has told police that as she left the motel bikies formed a line and whispered threats to her.When Sexual Crimes Squad members arrived the next day, three of the bikies denied that a sexual assault had taken place, while two declined to talk to police.However, after negotiations with the high-ranking gang member, police were given five names, of whom two were full club members and three were associates of the club. The men at first refused to be DNA tested, then consented.A Wodonga man, 43, a Geelong man and Hoppers Crossing man, both 34, and a Sunshine man, 36, were also interviewed by detectives.

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president and sergeant of arms of the Oakland Hells Angels chapter were arrested this morning after 58 marijuana plants, guns and cash were seized at two sites in Oakland and Alameda, authorities said.
Another man and three women were also arrested during the raids.The raids began about 7 a.m. at a trailer in the 1100 block of Fifth Avenue in Oakland and at a home in the 2200 block of San Antonio Avenue in Alameda.
Five of the arrests happened at the Oakland site, including 66-year-old Elliott "Cisco" Valderrama, who authorities said is the president of the Oakland Hells Angels chapter. Authorities said Valderrama lived at the site.
Arrested at the Alameda residence was Gavin Malone, who authorities said is the chapter's sergeant at arms.The names of the others arrested were not immediately available.The investigation that led to the raids and arrests was started more than a month ago by Alameda County sheriff's deputies who are assigned to the Peralta Community College District police force.Sheriff's Sgt. Marty Neideffer said deputies detected the strong odor of marijuana coming from the area of the trailer, which is just a few blocks from Laney College.The investigation was eventually turned over to the Alameda County Narcotics Task Force which developed enough evidence that led to the raids. Assisting in the raids were the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, sheriff's deputies and the Alameda and Oakland police


departments.
Authorities said the majority of the plants were found at the Oakland location as was a large amount of cash. Several guns were found at the two locations as well, authorities said.

Authorities did not release what charges the six were arrested on

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Nikica Jelavic was arrested yesterday in Slovenia for deceit in a court proceeding in Germany. According to Interpol, he is also wanted for theft and an illegal stay. Now Jelavic has turned to construction work. According to Globus, he has the main word as far as the construction of the new neighbourhood in Laniste is concerned, which is located next to the Zagreb’s future Arena (sports hall). He is also into a management job by controlling the career of his nephew and former player for the Hajduk football club, Nikica Jelavic.However, now the uncrowned king of Zagreb’s underground will delay his business plans in Croatia, because he will probably face a two month stay in a Slovenian prison, after which he will move to the interior of Germany’s justice system. Published: July 11, 2008 02:46h
Jelavic (38) called Boxer, was born in Gabela near Capljine. He finished high school and served his compulsory military service in Sarajevo. After serving in the army, Jelavic was a boxer for a while in the club “Metalac”, and this is why he gained the nickname “Boxer”. During the eighties, he mainly worked as a bouncer at various discos, and during the nineties he started to trade money. Today, he lives with his wife and three children in a villa worth a few million kuna in Zagreb’s Cmrok.After the death of Zlatko Bagaric, Jelavic was called upon as the suspected successor to Bagaric’s criminal organization, and it is no secret that both of them were godfathers, and that they have always been very close. Shortly after Lazar Rodic killed the “big boss” of Zagreb’s underground in front of a café bar in the suburb of Dubrava, it is considered that Jelavic took over his business.On the other hand, meaning opposition to Jelavic, is Vjeko Slisko, a man that the media said was the only person that could stand up to Bagaric’s clan.Slisko slowly built his business with games machines, and started gathering an increasing number of supporters. Allegedly, Slisko started endangering the business that Jelavic was a successor to, and people from Bagaric’s clan were convinced that Slisko order the murder of Damir Dzebe. It was Jelavic who was a suspect for the attempted murder of Slisko at the start of 1995. At the time, unknown perpetrators fired automatic weapons at Vjeko Slisko and Juraj Dodic on Maksimir Street. Slisko was seriously injured in the shooting, and the first suspect to be arrested was Nikica Jelavic. However, due to a lack of evidence, he was soon freed of charges.Jelavic was in a similar position after another attempted murder on Vjeko lisko in 1999, after which followed the spectacular arrest of the criminal organization, the infamous “boys from Knezija”.He was accused of firing a handheld rocket (zolja) towards Slisko’s bullet-proof jeep in front of the cultural-information centre in Preradoviceva Street in the centre of Zagreb. The projectile, probably because of the close distance it was fired from, bounced off the car and hit the passer by Zoran Dominij in the stomach. Domini died instantly.Jelavic was put on trial, a detailed reconstruction of the event was carried out, but he was released again.
After the death of an innocent passer by, the Croatian police embarked on the largest arrest mission on Zagreb’s underground. The morning after the rocket attack in the centre of Zagreb, the following people were arrested: Nikica Jelavic (37), Rajko Momcilovic Riba (31), Velibor Momcilovic Lola (26), Davor Zecevic Zec (32), Djordje Vuletic Djoko (37), Tvrtko Tomicic Tvrdi (38), Radovan Stetic (40) and Miroslav Vukovic Olio (40). They were all considered to be members of Bagaric’s clan. Jelavic was freed of all charges just like many from the “criminal organization”, and he even filed a law suit against Croatia for the time he spent in confinement.It is interesting to mention that after the boys from Knezija were arrested, Slisko told the press on one occasion that he does not know anybody from that group of people, and that he has absolutely nothing against them, and that he would not recognize Nikica Jelavic if they met on the street. In an attempt to explain to the police why there have been four attempted murders on him, Slisko said that it does not have anything to do with crime. Slikso gave the inspector an counter question “They shot at the Pope, does that mean that he is a criminal?”.
Jelavic has also been charged with other things besides running a criminal organization, for which 20 criminal acts are tied. He has been charged with the extortion of four million kuna from Vladimir Hartek and 20 million kuna from the company Kombial, which is owned by Ivan Majher, as well as hundreds of thousands of kuna from the doctor Boris Ljahnicky, which he carried out with his alleged partners Blaz Petrovic and Zoran Pripuz. Jelavic held the company “Palma” with Pripuz, which works with funeral services. Certain sources have given information that says that Franjo Tudjman’s coffin was ordered from Jelavic’s company.

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Underworld figure Dominic "Mick" Gatto was among more than 400 mourners to today farewell alleged mafia boss Rosario "Ross" Gangemi.
Gangemi, 86, died on June 28 in John Fawkner Hospital after being diagnosed with leukaemia a month before.The great-grandfather was reportedly named as one of the top 10 mafia figures in the state in a confidential 1991 Victoria Police report, and was also alleged to have been linked with a murder at Queen Victoria Market in 1963.
Gangemi's son Nicholas today paid tribute to his father, a former prisoner of war, during a funeral service at St Monica's Catholic Church in Moonee Ponds.
He described his father as a leader who touched thousands of lives."He was a gentleman among gentlemen, a friend among friends and a leader among leaders," he said."He was a man with real values and real morals."Born in Calabria, Italy in 1922, Gangemi was the eldest of three sons, and was left the head of the family at the age of 15 when his father died.At 19, he joined the national service, serving in World War II for four years, two of those as a prisoner of war in Germany.
In 1951 he emigrated to Australia, but later returned to Italy to have one of his kidneys removed. He came back to Australia in 1959.Nicholas Gangemi said that despite several tragedies - including the death of his first wife, and his daughter Maria, who he had with his second wife - Gangemi worked harder than ever, often 100 hours a week."He was a man who touched thousands of people," his son said.
"He was a selfless person who always put others before him."Granddaughter Amanda said Gangemi was "a hero in our eyes, a man like no other".
"He was just like a willow tree; resilient and strong."After a requiem mass at St Monica's, Gangemi's large family left the church in three black, stretch limosines to head to the Keilor Mausoleum.He leaves behind his wife, Pasqualina, sons Sam, Nicholas and Joe, and his extended family.
Asked about Gangemi's criminal history, a Victoria Police spokeswoman said: "He did associate with figures who were known to police".

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‘Dublin now resembles Chicago in the Roaring Twenties, when the gangsters were out of control,’ he said. ‘There is no joined-up strategy to fight these gangs, either at a national or international level. All of our drugs are imported, mostly by sea along Ireland’s coastline, yet we have no proper network with our fellow Europeans to patrol the seaboard. We don’t have enough boats, planes or helicopters to intercept the smuggling networks,’ he said.Gangland wars have turned Dublin into the Chicago of the 21st century, a TD and chairman of a drugs task force in the Irish capital said last night.Labour TD Joe Costello also revealed that a preliminary study by the Inner City Drugs Task Force has found that a majority of drug dealers arrested on serious offences were out on bail.Costello made his remarks following two more gangland-related murders in north Dublin this weekend. Gardai have launched a murder investigation following the fatal shooting of a 33-year-old man in Finglas early yesterday. The victim was named as Trevor Walsh, from Valley Park Road in Finglas. He had been serving a three-year prison sentence for possession of firearms, but was let out on temporary release on Thursday.The attack, which happened at about 12.20am outside a house on the Kippure Park estate, was the second fatal shooting in the capital in 24 hours.
A gunman approached the victim outside a house in the estate and shot him in the neck and chest, before fleeing the scene on a bicycle. It is understood that the killer used an automatic pistol. Walsh was taken to Blanchardstown Hospital, but was pronounced dead at 1am.The victim was associated with the late John Daly, a Dublin criminal who was shot dead last October. Walsh had been a member of a gang which specialised in importing drugs and armed robberies in the city.
It is not clear whether yesterday morning’s attack was connected to the shooting of a man in Coolock, north Dublin, on Friday afternoon. The man, named locally as 34-year-old Anthony Foster, was killed with a shotgun as he left a top-floor apartment at Cromcastle Court. Commenting on the latest gang-related shooting, Costello, who represents inner-city Dublin in the Dail, said there was no coherent plan to counter the rising number of killings.
Over the last three years there have been more than a dozen killings in north Dublin alone related to rival drugs gangs. Costello added that, while the Irish government talks tough in regard to Ireland’s gangland wars, the system remained loaded in the criminals’ favour. ‘We have found that the overwhelming majority of people arrested on serious drug offences almost all get bail and are back on the streets. The turf wars over who controls drug supplies in certain parts of Dublin have been fuelled by the easy availability of firearms and now explosives.’
Costello said the expertise of retired republican paramilitaries had been harnessed to arm and train the city’s criminal gangs.

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Young men and women bid farewell yesterday to slain gang member Roger Chin.
And as they gathered at the Chapel of the Bells, they were closely watched by both police and other criminal characters in a black SUV with tinted windows.
The 23-year-old Chin became Calgary's latest casualty of gang violence on July 5, when a hail of bullets hit his SUV. All the attention surrounding Chin's private farewell appeared to be unwelcome. But Organized Crime Operation Centre Det. Gord Eiriksson said police had to attend the funeral to protect public safety.
"We have had events where gang members have come to funerals with handguns," he said.

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murder of Trevor Walsh only two days after he was released from prison, and just 11 hours after another gangland murder in Dublin, is being linked to a feud between a former gang of Finglas robbers and drug dealers which broke up three years ago.
Feuding in Finglas had died down since last October's murder of the infamous Liveline prison cell caller, John Daly, who gardai said was an associate of Trevor Walsh, who was shot dead at 12.20am yesterday in Kippure Avenue.
A gunman, who gardai believe had been stalking Walsh since his release from prison on Thursday, shot him in the head with what gardai believe was an automatic handgun. He shot him in the head a second time as he lay on the ground.
Walsh (33) had just served over two years of a three-year sentence for possession of a firearm in Finglas in 2004. He had a lengthy criminal record, with more than 50 convictions. Local people said he was a heavy cocaine user.His murder came just 11 hours after the murder of Anthony Foster, 34, in Coolock. He was killed by a single shotgun blast to his head as he left his flat in Cromcastle Court with his partner to pick up his two young children from a creche. His partner was uninjured.
The killer escaped on a waiting motorcycle which gardai believe was stolen a short while earlier from a motorcycle shop on the Malahide Road. The owner was threatened with a shotgun and tied up during the robbery.Gardai said that they were uncertain why Foster, who was sentenced to six years' imprisonment in 2001 for possession of a large quantity of cannabis, was murdered, but it was possible he had been involved in a dispute with another local drug dealer. It is the second serious shooting in the area within a fortnight. Two weeks ago, Anthony Ayodeji, 21, was shot in the neck as he sat in a car in Darndale. A baby in the back seat of the car was unhurt, but was covered in blood and glass. Garda sources yesterday said there appeared to be no connection between the murder of Anthony Foster, in Coolock, and Trevor Walsh, in Finglas. Walsh was a close associate of John Daly, the 27-year-old robber and drug dealer who was shot dead last October as he sat in the front passenger seat of a taxi. Daly created a furore when he phoned into RTE's Liveline show from his cell in Portlaoise Prison. Subsequently more than 2,000 mobile phones were found in prison searches and much stricter regimes were enforced to disrupt the drugs trade into jails. Gardai believe that leading gangs figures angered by the clampdown caused by Daly ordered his murder.Another associate of Walsh's was Declan Curran, who died from a drugs overdose while serving a prison term in November 2004. After Curran's death the gang disintegrated and former associates started killing each other. At one point the rate of murders in Finglas surpassed that of Limerick and even the Crumlin and Drimnagh district, which wamurder of Trevor Walsh was at the centre of another feud that has claimed 11 lives. The Crumlin and Drimnagh area, however, has resumed its reputation for bloodletting, with eight murders since last October.

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10-month investigation into illegal gang activity in Lowell culminated in 10 arrests Friday, as well as the seizure of several bags of marijuana and nearly $70,000 in cash, according to the Boston Globe.The raid also netted more than a dozen firearms, including semiautomatic handguns, a MAC-11 machine pistol, and a rifle with a bayonet attached, police say.City, state and federal police officers took part in the investigation, which targeted the Tiny Rascal Gang, a group from California whose members are largely of Southeast Asian descent. Police Superintendent Kenneth Lavallee said the gang now has roughly 100 members in the Lowell area, following an increase in the city’s Cambodian population. "We're talking a violent criminal enterprise that was very significant in the city of Lowell," Lavallee said. "We've made a major move here.”The Tiny Rascals have allegedly been involved in a series of violent crimes over the last 10 years, including 5 homicides and over 20 assaults.
Mayor Edward C. Caulfield was shocked at the extent of the gang's firepower, which allegedly also included a range of rare knives. "Believe me, I've never seen anything like these things in my life," Caulfield said. "It's almost like a James Bond movie."Among the alleged gang members arrested yesterday, four were charged in federal indictments, police Lieutenant William Busby said.
Shane Carney, 32, was charged with being a felon in possession of ammunition. Eden Hok, 22, was charged with dealing guns without a license. Vila Malakham, 24, was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Saravy Sok, 19, was charged with possessing an unregistered firearm.Four people were arrested on state indictments, Busby said.Savong Moun, 22, was charged with three counts of distributing the drug ecstasy. Eric O'Brien, 23, was charged with three counts of distributing benzylpiperazine and three counts of distributing a counterfeit drug. Jonathan Sheehan, 27, and Sophandara Sok, 18, were charged with possession of gun ammunition without proper identification, selling a gun and ammunition without a license, and unlawful possession without a license.Two other men, Ricardo Plaza and Francisco Mejias, were arrested on federal warrants for selling more than 100 grams of heroin, Busby said.Lowell police, State Police, US Attorney Michael Sullivan's office, the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the FBI contributed to the investigation, officials said.Additional charges will likely be filed against the defendants, according to Busby. He described the initial arrests as an effort to get the suspects behind bars while more information is uncovered.

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Police in Toronto's west end encountered a gruesome murder scene this morning. As of this writing there is still no official announcement of the cause of the deaths from Toronto police, but media reports confirm three young men were killed by gunshots.
The police found three people shot dead in a vehicle located at Valermo and Lunness roads at 3:40 a.m. They haven't released the genders or ages of the victims, or even how they died. Police said all three suffered "from trauma" and that all three had been pronounced dead. But Toronto radio stations reported that sources with Emergency Medical Services in the city said the three died from gunshot wounds.
It's almost a sure bet these deaths are drug and gang related -- as are almost all the gun killings in major urban centres in Canada.

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Officers believe the suppliers were linked more recently with the dissident republican group, the Continuity IRA, but were also heavily involved in criminal activities. Gardai have smashed a guns-for-sale racket in which suspected former members of the Provisional IRA supplied firearms to a drug trafficking gang in north Dublin.They think the gang, based in Co Louth, was selling guns to a drugs gang operating in the Coolock area on the northside of the capital.
The breakthrough in the garda investigation came on Thursday night when armed gardai stopped two cars in Castlebellingham and Haggardstown, outside Dundalk.
This followed a surveillance operation on several targeted figures. Detectives recovered an old Webley revolver, which was loaded, as well as ammunition and some cash. Two men from Dundalk were arrested and taken to the local garda station. A man and a woman from Coolock were brought to Carrickmacross station but were released without charge last night. The two held in custody were questioned under section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act and can be held for a maximum of three days without charge. The garda operation involved detectives from the Louth division and members of the Emergency Response Unit and the National Surveillance Unit.
Senior garda officers said last night they did not regard the Louth gang as major suppliers of firearms to Dublin-based drug dealers.
But they described the seizure and arrests as significant, as the incident meant that the gardai had severed a vital pipeline for weapons. The operation is part of on-going garda inquiries involving the national bureau of criminal investigation, the Special Branch and the crime and intelligence section at garda headquarters into the supply of weapons to crime gangs and their connections with members of former or active paramilitary groups. Inquiries are also being carried out to establish the initial source of the guns. Some of the weapons seized by gardai from crime gangs in the past couple of years are known to have been smuggled into the country as "sweeteners" with drug shipments. But other firearms have been sourced overseas by the renegade republican groups, who have been trying to build up their own arsenals since the Provisional IRA declared a ceasefire, and have developed contacts in central and eastern European states. The Real IRA and the Continuity IRA managed to purchase a sizeable haul of explosives and weaponry in the Balkans in 1999. But a large portion of this shipment was recovered by gardai in a disused wine cellar on land at Herbertstown, near Stamullen, on the Dublin-Meath border. The following year a joint security operation involving gardai and international agencies led to a big arms and explosives shipment seizure in the Croatian town of Dobranje, near the Adriatic resort of Split.

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fugitive Hells Angel wanted on murder charges stemming from a 2002 biker gang melee has surrendered to federal authorities.
Prosecutors say Frederick Donahue of Rodeo, Calif. turned himself in earlier this month. He appeared Friday in a Las Vegas courtroom where his trial was schedule for Sept. 8. The 43-year-old motorcycle gang member vanished after indictments were handed down in the 2002 deadly brawl inside Harrah's hotel-casino in Laughlin, Nev.
Two members of the Hells Angels and one member of the rival Mongol gang were killed in the battle. Prosecutors say Donahue played a key role in the shooting.

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Pattaya is plagued by massive gangs of armed motorbike racers, hundreds strong, intent on causing mayhem. They regularly challenge each other to Mad Max-like races, almost always ending up with one or more being shot dead or seriously injured. Yet, again, on the night of July 13, 2008, there was an shooting incident with 1 death and 5 injuries. Police suspect that, apart from the armed gangs, there are also irate individuals, heartily tired of this motorbike racing menace, who also arm themselves, lie in wait and take the opportunity to blow away members of these gangs. At 01.30 am, on July 13, Pol.Lt.Col.Jakarin Tou-suparb, Banglamung Investigator, was notified that a six motorbike teenage gang members had been shot and injured. The gunshot victims had already been taken to Banglamung Hospital for treatment. The Chief-of-Police was informed and police team went to investigate.
At the hospital Emergency Room, police found the 6 injured teens: Mr.Sakda Namloon (16) shot in his left leg; Mr. Surasak Gnao-sri (18) shot in his left arm, right leg and in the head; Mr. Nattapol Ronruengsak (18) shot in the stomach; Mr. Wongwan Maliges (18) shot in his right arm; and Mr. Narin Keao-gaew (16) shot in the body. Most of these teenagers had sustained minor injuries; however, Mr. Twin Tengwises (21), who had sustained a serious stomach wound, had later died from his injuries.
Apparently, most of the injured teens were friends who live in Pattaya area and the periphery. They had come out on motorbikes to watch a motorbike race by other racing gangs that is usually set up on Road No. 331, every weekend, near the Pattaya International School under Banglamung police jurisdiction. After the race was over, the friends and others were riding home in groups. Suddenly, around the Pong sub-district Bridge and Krating-rai Road, a number of armed motorcyclists and a blue pick-up truck started chasing them, took a number of shots and then escaped. Many of motorbike teens were injured and some managed to reach hospital. Police know well that most Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and days off, groups of boys and girls in teen gangs congregate and then engage in motorbike races. Each group has at least 20 to 50 people on motorbikes and they generally cause a hazard and nuisance to locals and car drivers on the road. Each time that police try to arrest them, but they spread the alarm among themselves and manage to evade capture. Usually, they parade their motorbikes, modified for road-racing, on Road No. 331 and, very often, they get into fights or start shooting each other. There have been many deaths and injuries in the past among these gangs. But this time, they were shot by a number of mysterious gunmen who were on motorbikes and a pick-up truck. Police assume that these gunmen are people who have reached the end of their tether as regards the mad antics of the teenagers and acted as vigilantes, mostly shooting to scare, rather than kill. A police spokesman said they aim to crack down on these motorcycle gangs to avoid a repetition of the shootings; they already have numerous individuals on record. Police will continue to search for the perpetrators of the July 13 shootings, who will be prosecuted if caught.

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Police commissioner Y S Dadwal has announced a reward of Rs 50,000 for information about the biker gang led by criminal Omprakash alias Bunty. The recent shooting spree in the Capital is being seen as the handiwork of the gang. The reward is for information on each of the gang members — Omprakash, Rajesh Sharma, Mohammad Nazir, Mohammad Israil and Shiv Om. All had been arrested last year while planning to rob a petrol pump in Vasant Kunj, and were released on bail in February this year.
Police suspect the members are hiding somewhere along the Capital's border. Security in the area has been beefed up with police barricades and round the clock patrolling. Police have described Omprakash as a "bad character" from Sangam Vihar. He has been an active criminal since 1999 and is involved in as many as 25 cases of robbery, murder and attempt to murder. The modus operandi in the recent cases and his release from jail along with his accomplices makes him the prime suspect.
"The gang was involved in the murder of a property dealer in Sangam Vihar on July 4. It is suspected that after this murder, they hid for some time and then went on a killing spree in south Delhi," said a police officer.
Meanwhile, Bunty's family members claimed they have not heard from him for the last few months. "We lodged a missing complaint about Bunty in March this year. Most of the male members of our family have now been detained by the police," said a family member.

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Tarek Chaiboub, 17, from Wincobank, was gunned down in a barber’s shop on Spital Street in Burgreave on Friday.His father Rashid Chaiboub said: “I did not realise that his destiny was shaping outside of my hands.”
Police said Tarek, who died from gun shot wounds to his back, was probably carrying a gun when he was killed. At a police news conference Mr Chaiboub urged other parents to have a close relationship with their children to prevent similar deaths.
He added: “Our son Tarek was growing up as a self-confident shining boy with an independent personality which I was proud of.My message to parents is do not rely much on the independence of your kids Rashid Chaiboub, father of Tarek
“But he was not sharing much of his thoughts and feelings with us as a family.
“My message to parents is do not rely much on the independence of your kids. Get closer to them. Kids remain kids.”
The teenager who was known locally as GT had two sisters and a brother.
Police said they were pursuing some positive information from members of the public about the shooting, which could be gang-related.
Ch Supt Paul Broadbent said: “In my opinion there may well be a gang element involved in this particular crime.”
The senior officer said he could not yet confirm reports that the victim had been released from hospital a week earlier after a knife attack on him.
Mr Broadbent admitted Tarek was known to police before his death and said the investigation was looking at whether it was a gang-related attack.
The officer added: “This is a tragic, awful, loss of life. This was someone’s son, brother.”

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Elliott "Taco" Castaneda of Abbotsford and Ahmet Kaawach, who used to live in Metro Vancouver, died in the hail of bullets, the source said.
Two members of the Fraser Valley-based United Nations Gang were gunned down in a restaurant in Mexico during an ongoing wave of "drug-cartel-related violence," a police source told The Province yesterday."The two of them were in Mexico at a restaurant when a man came in with a machine gun and opened fire," said the police source. At least 21 people, including a 12-year-old girl, have been killed by warring drug gangs and police since last Thursday in the western state of Sinaloa, which includes the popular tourist resort of Mazatlan, in one of the worst outbreaks of violence in memory.Elliott Castaneda of Abbotsford was one of two members of the Fraser Valley-based United Nations gang killed in drug-related violence in the Mazatlan area.Castaneda worked as a real-estate agent for about two years with Homelife Glenayre Realty in Abbotsford but resigned last month, said company manager Walter Brown."It's very sad," said Brown of Castaneda's death. "I would describe him as a very quiet guy."I really don't know much about his personal life," said Brown."He actually quit our company last month. He gave notice last month and I think his licence got hung up in the first week of July. He quit the business."
Brown said his former employee "had very little to do with the office. He worked out of his house and he came in and resigned last month. And that's about it."
Castaneda, who was about 28 years old, attended Abbotsford junior and senior secondary schools, graduating in 1997.Kaawach was convicted and later deported from Canada to Lebanon after an arrest for weapons in Vancouver, said the police source. He was "very close friends" with Clayton Roueche, the alleged leader of the UN gang, the source also said.Roueche is currently being held in a Washington State jail on drug charges after being recently arrested in Texas when his plane landed from Cancun, Mexico. Roueche, who was travelling to Cancun for a friend's wedding, was denied entry to Mexico and despite his protests was put on a plane that made a stopover in Texas -- where he was arrested by U.S. authorities -- en route to Vancouver."Roueche travelled to Lebanon and met with Kaawach as the gang's Mexican drug connection, someone who could procure cocaine and other drugs, presumably to be smuggled to B.C," said the police source.Sgt. Shinder Kirk of the Integrated Gang Task Force said he is not aware of any UN gang involvement in the drug trade in Mexico."We certainly have heard that members of that group do travel to Mexico," said Kirk. "We do know of individuals involved in particular crime groups that do go down to Mexico. Now whether that's for vacation or business, there's no way to tell."
Meanwhile, the Mexican government said yesterday it was nearly tripling the police presence in Sinaloa state after the close to two dozen deaths and hostage-taking incidents by criminal gangs over the last week.More than 300 people have died in drug-related violence so far this year in Sinaloa -- about a fifth of the 1,700 people killed in cartel battles across Mexico -- as rival gangs fight each other amid an army-led government crackdown.

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