More Decapitated Bodies Found in Acapulco

Dozens of business are closed in Acapulco, Mexico, in protest of escalating drug cartel violence in the Pacific coast city.

Over the weekend, Mexican police found two headless bodies outside of a Sam's Club store in Acapulco. The bodies had been cut into more than 20 pieces, and authorities found the scalps and facial skin of the two people inside a woman's purse. They have not been able to locate the heads.

Relatives react after their arrival at a crime scene where four taxi drivers were shot dead at the Mexican beach resort of Acapulco August 18, 2011. According to local media, unidentified gunmen opened fire on four people in a taxi rank, with three men ending up dead outside their vehicles and one inside his car
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On Saturday, police discovered three other decapitated bodies at a gas station about 650 feet from the Sam's Club. Police said on Monday that they found three severed heads in a duffel bag, but have yet to confirm if the heads belong to the bodies

Just a few days earlier, gunmen on the same street where the three bodies were found, shot and killed five people in broad daylight, including a state police officer.

Acapulco is a prime tourist destination for both Mexicans and Americans, but crime has skyrocketed recently as rival cartels vie for power. The city is in the state of Guerrero, where the La Familia and the Knights Templar gangs are especially active.

Last week, four taxi drivers were killed, just three days after a man was executed on a city bus. Last November, a mass-grave containing the remains of 18 kidnapped tourists was discovered outside the city.



Drug-related violence in Mexico exploded in 2006 when the government and President Felipe Calderon launched an offensive against organized crime. Since then, more than 41,000 people have been killed, including civilians, government officials and soldiers.

Recently, government forces have made a number of high-profile arrests. Earlier this month, police captured Jose Antonio Acosta Hernandez, known as "El Diego," who is thought to be the leader of the La Linea gang, the enforcement arm of the Juarez cartel in the northern state of Chihuahua.

Acosta, who is a former policeman, admitted to ordering the murders of 1,500 people. He is also thought to be involved with the death of three people with ties to the U.S. Consulate, including a consulate employee and her husband, in 2010.

In June, police captured Acosta's second-in-command. Marco Antonio Guzman Zuniga, who is nicknamed "El Brad Pitt," was arrested on charges relating to a car bomb detonated outside a police station last year.

 

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West Side gang member described by investigators as the “worst of the worst

West Side gang member described by investigators as the “worst of the worst” pleaded guilty Wednesday to multiple acts of murder and attempted murder.

Kyle Eagan, a member of the Tenth Street Gang, faces life in prison in connection with his plea to federal murder and racketeering charges.

As part of his plea deal, Eagan, 23, admitted killing a 16-year-old rival gang member in September 2008 and taking part in three attempted murders in 2009.

“This prosecution demonstrates the commitment of this office to protecting our citizens from some of the most egregious acts of violence occurring in our community,” U. S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. said in a statement.

FBI officials said Eagan’s plea will go a long way toward ending a long-standing feud between two violent West Side organizations — the Tenth Street and Seventh Street gangs.

Eagan was one of 35 people from both gangs charged in May with a wide range of criminal charges, including murder, attempted murder, assault and drug dealing.

“We’ve dismantled these two gangs, and that will have a great impact in the community,” said FBI spokeswoman Maureen P. Dempsey.

For years, police have blamed the two gangs for damaging the quality of life on the West Side. Authorities also believe Eagan was behind a lot of the violence there.

Thursday, he admitted that he and other Tenth Street gang members stole a car on Sept. 15, 2008, and that he shot and killed Omar Fraticello-Lugo on Busti Avenue.

Eagan also admitted that two other rival gang members were shot, but not killed, during the murder.

He also admitted to three attempted murders a year later, including a “drive-by” shooting in which he shot a rival gang member multiple times from close range.

The prosecution, led by Assistant U. S. Attorney Joseph M. Tripi, involved the FBI-led Safe Streets Task Force and included investigators from the State Police and Buffalo Police.

Formed in the late 1980s, the Tenth Street Gang dominated the West Side neighborhood bounded by Niagara Street to the west, Richmond Avenue to the east, Auburn Avenue to the north and Carolina Street to the south.

Gang members were known for “tagging” buildings and signs with graffiti to demonstrate their control of the neighborhood. They also were known for wearing plain white T-shirts and tattoos with “MOB” or “10” in the design.

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Authorities arrested 17 people and seized several weapons in a Asian gang crackdown.

The suspects are part of five different Asian street gangs, some of them former rivals, who are "teaming up with the sole purpose of committing lucrative crimes," the Long Beach Police Department said in a statement. 
Evidence seized included handguns, methamphetamine, forged checks, personal profiles for alleged identity theft and Rolex and Movado watches, police said.

The reputed gang members allegedly were involved in home-invasion robberies, burglaries and thefts in the Long Beach area and Orange County. They were charged with felonies including forgery, fraud, drug possession, possession of stolen property and parole violations, the Long Beach Police Department said. Their names were not released.

The four-month investigation involved state parole agents and officers from the Long Beach, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove and Westminster police departments. Deputies from the Orange County and Los Angeles County Sheriff's departments also were part of the operation

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If the police can't protect us, we'll protect ourselves VIGILANTES VIOLENCE

POLICE AND businesses in London prepared for a fourth night of unrest last night as widespread violence spread from north, to east, west and south.

Ger Donaghy, originally from Antrim, watched from his home above retail outlets on Ealing High Street in west London, as at least 200 youths, some as young as 16, ransacked businesses and attacked police.

He said rioters smashed and looted properties along the high street and set fire to a local convenience shop under a row of second-storey residential flats.

Mr Donaghy said he saw about five cars ablaze during the two-hour attack on Monday night, and witnessed the looting of two children’s clothes shops, an Oxfam charity shop and numerous cafes and restaurants.

“The rioters were kicking in windows of all the shops along the street and coming out of restaurants with chairs, bottles and whatever they could get their hands on to use as weapons to throw at the police.”

The crowd dispersed to other areas of Ealing at about midnight, and when local residents ventured out to assess the damage they found “children’s clothes littered all along the street” and “glass everywhere”. In Lewisham, a multi-ethnic area in southeast London, youths set fire to cars and bins and had running clashes with police outside a shopping centre, with unrest reported on Monday afternoon.

Looters broke into a jewellery shop and the windows of a local McDonald’s were smashed. The local bar had all its windows broken and was looted.

Rioters smashed their way into the Dirty South bar at about 7pm on Monday evening, tearing out fruit machines and fridges while also grabbing cash and alcohol. Bar manager Laura Warby said she was not on the premises when the looting took place and asked why the police were powerless to prevent the incident from happening.

“I am so shocked. I really have no idea why they would attack our place and why we weren’t protected by the police. This is going to cost thousands of pounds to repair,” she said.

There was a large police presence in Lewisham and in the neighbouring area of Catford yesterday evening, which also experienced some small pockets of copycat violence on Monday.

Further southeast in Bromley, the city’s biggest borough, police cordoned off the high street and train station yesterday afternoon, following sporadic flashes of violence in the area on Monday night.

Tensions were high in the area yesterday with many shops closing and some retailers boarding up amid fears of looting.

Sid Bussey, a local business owner in the nearby area of Downham, said shops were advised by police to close early with rumours that surrounding areas would be targeted by rioters.

“I’m refusing to close up early. Why should I?” he asked. “It’s the job of the police to protect us and our livelihood, and if they can’t protect us then we’ll have to protect ourselves.

“I’ve been here in this shop for the last 42 years and I’ll fight to the death before I let some kid loot it. This is nothing but kids with nothing better to do other than to cause trouble,” he said.

 

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MOB violence' rocks Manchester

Police say they've been faced with extraordinary levels of violence on the streets of Manchester from hundreds of criminals hell-bent on causing destruction.

Fire bombs were thrown at shops and windows were smashed as looters made off with designer clothes, expensive electrical items, jewellery, mobile phones and alcohol as the violence gripping many English communities spread to the northwest city.

Youths - many wearing masks and hooded tops - plundered Manchester city centre and nearby Salford shopping precinct from about 5pm local time on Tuesday (0200 AEST Wednesday).

Some of those running wild looked to be as young as nine or 10.

The chaos ensued for hours and calm was not largely restored in both locations until about 1am as a total of 47 arrests were made with officers from Northumbria, Staffordshire and North Wales assisting Greater Manchester Police (GMP).

Sporadic looting broke out across the city centre with gangs playing cat and mouse with riot police, who took control street by street in a bid to flush out the offenders.

Former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher's recently-opened fashion boutique - Pretty Green - fell victim to the looters, while a women's clothing store was set alight.

At Salford Shopping City, glass from shop windows and bus shelters littered the streets along with house bricks and rubble used to pelt riot police.

Two cars, one believed to be a BBC radio car, lay overturned and burnt out.

Firefighters came under attack from missile-throwing yobs as they attended incidents.

GMP Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan said: 'Criminals have brought shame in particular on the streets of Salford and Manchester.

'We want to make it absolutely clear - they have nothing to protest against. There is nothing in a sense of injustice and there has been no spark that has led to this. This has been senseless violence and senseless criminality of a scale I have never experienced in my career before.

'Over the past few hours, GMP has been faced with extraordinary levels of violence from groups of criminals intent on committing widespread disorder.

'This is nothing more than senseless violence with absolutely no regard for people, their property or livelihoods. These criminals have also attacked some of my officers and other emergency services who are simply trying to do their job to keep the public safe and restore order.'

He said that offenders had been caught on CCTV and his message for them was 'we will be coming for you'

 

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Some armed with swords, some carrying hockey sticks, defiant Sikhs stood guard outside their temples last night.

Some armed with swords, some carrying hockey sticks, defiant Sikhs stood guard outside their temples last night.

More then 700 men, some in their 80s, took to the streets to protect the homes, businesses and places of worship in Southall, West London.

The locals rallied to keep the rioters at bay following reports of a planned attack on the area. It is just a few miles from Ealing, which was targeted on Monday night.

Each of the Sikh temples was guarded by around 200 men.

Resistance: Dozens of Sikhs stage a display of defiance against the rioters outside London's largest temple in Southall yesterday

Amarjit Singh Klair from nearby Hounslow, who helped rally the men, said: ‘We are working along side the police, they’re doing what they can but they are stretched. 

‘Why shouldn’t we defend our homes, businesses and places of worship? This is our area. There’s lots of talk about it kicking off here. But we’re ready for them.’

Hooded youths could be seen scouting the area but appear to be have frightened off. Only a handful of police could be seen patrolling the area.

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Police operation against triad and street gangs activities

Police yesterday (July 27) arrested 53 males and eleven women in an operation codenamed "Deepocean", which aimed at combating triad activities involving teenagers as well as street gangs activities.

Crime Unit of Kowloon East Region initiated the intelligence-led operation since January this year. An undercover police officer was deployed to gather crime information on several active triad societies in Kowloon East, involving cases in which teenagers were asked to take part in illegal activities.

The operation turned overt yesterday evening after in-depth investigation. Police raided various locations such as restaurants, cyber cafes and residences, resulting in the smashing of two gambling establishments and the seizure of small quantities of suspected cocaine and ketamine as well as some offensive weapons including beef knives, water pipes and extended batons.

In the operation, eleven women aged between 29 and 65 were arrested for illegal gambling related offences.

The remaining male arrestees, aged between 13 and 44 and including suspected core members of triad societies, were arrested for various offences including managing a triad society, claiming to be a member of a triad society, acting as a member of a triad society, robbery, wounding, criminal damage, trafficking in dangerous drugs and illegal gambling.

The operation is still under way. It is believed that the operation succeeded in combating triad and street gangs activities in the region. Police will continue to take enforcement action and step up patrols at venues frequented by teenagers, particularly during the summer vacation.

 

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One of Israel's top organized crime figures has been gunned down in a drive-by shooting.

Police say two men on a motorcycle opened fire on Francois Abutbul early Sunday as he stopped to fill up at a gas station north of the coastal city of Netanya.

Police say the Abutbuls are one of the most powerful families in Israeli organized crime. Abutbul ran the family business along with his brother Assi, who serving jail time for extortion, arson and unlawful imprisonment.

The family patriarch, Felix, was assassinated in 2002 at a Prague casino.

Gang violence has been rising in recent years, with incidents of rocket attacks, bombings and shootings in public places.

Police say one of Abutbul's bodyguards was lightly wounded in the shooting. No suspects have been arrested.

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Drug gang leader says he ordered 1,500 killings

suspected leader of the Juarez drug cartel told authorities he had ordered the deaths of about 1,500 people, a Mexican federal police official said Sunday.
Federal police detailed accusations against Jose Antonio Acosta Hernandez, known as "El Diego," a day after authorities announced his capture. He was one of the country's most wanted criminals, with officials offering a reward of 15 million pesos ($1.3 million) for his arrest.
Collaboration with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration led to Acosta's detention, said Eduardo Pequeno, head of the Mexican federal police anti-drug unit.
Acosta is accused of being a leader of the drug gang known as La Linea, the enforcement arm of the Juarez cartel, Mexican authorities have said.
Pequeno told reporters that Acosta "said he ordered the killings of about 1,500 people, mostly in Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua's capital."
An investigation points to Acosta as the mastermind behind the March 2010 killing of three people connected with the U.S. Consulate in Juarez, Pequeno said.
More recently, Acosta ordered operatives to hang banners with threatening messages directed at the DEA and other U.S. authorities, Pequeno said.
Juarez, Mexico's most violent city, shares a border with El Paso, Texas.
Pequeno also accused Acosta of having connections with some of the border city's most notorious violence over the past two years, including the 2010 killing of a state prosecutor, a car bombing outside a police station and a massacre at a house party that killed 15 people -- most of them students with no ties to organized crime.
Acosta told authorities the targets of his criminal organization included police, government officials, rival drug gangs and civilians, Pequeno told reporters.
Earlier this month, the U.S. consulate in Juarez issued a statement warning "American citizens to remain vigilant" based on information it had received that cartels may target the consulate or entry points on the U.S.-Mexico border.
The northwestern Mexican state of Chihuahua, which contains the namesake capital city as well as Juarez, has been a hotbed for drug-related violence.
The federal government has been targeting cartels' operations, and especially its leaders, in an ongoing battle.
Mexican authorities have arrested several others they accuse of being connected to the slayings of three people connected with the consulate last year.
The shootings occurred March 13, 2010, when consulate employee Lesley Enriquez and her husband, Arthur Redelfs, were gunned down as they left a birthday party in their white SUV.
Jorge Alberto Salcido Ceniceros, the husband of another consulate employee, was killed in a separate vehicle.

 

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