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Category: Crime

  • MIL-OSI Security: Laurence Taylor and Rachel Williams appointed as Assistant Commissioners

    Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

    The Met has appointed Laurence Taylor and Rachel Williams as Assistant Commissioners.

    Assistant Commissioner Taylor, who has been temporarily occupying the post of Assistant Commissioner for Professionalism, has been permanently appointed as Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations.

    Assistant Commissioner Williams has been serving temporarily as the Assistant Commissioner for Trust and Legitimacy. She has been permanently appointed as Assistant Commissioner for Professionalism.

    Laurence and Rachel will move into their new roles in July.

    Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: “I am very pleased to welcome both Laurence and Rachel into their new permanent Assistant Commissioner positions.

    “They bring a wealth of experience, having served at forces across the country before coming to the Met. Here, they have both been pivotal part of our senior leadership team, with Laurence driving forward changes in frontline policing and Rachel improving our culture so we can increase public trust in the Met.

    “I wish them both the best of luck in their new roles and look forward to working closely with them as they help us deliver a New Met for London.”

    Bios

    AC Taylor joined policing in 1996 as a constable with Sussex Police.

    Working hard to become an inspector in just eight years, his work at the beginning of his career spanned patrolling the neighbourhoods of East Sussex to leading on 24/7 response policing in central Brighton – one the UK’s busiest cities.

    His final position at Sussex Police was Deputy Chief Constable, where he managed Local Policing, Operations and Specialist Crime Command.

    From there, he joined the Met in 2018 as Deputy Assistant Commissioner for Uniformed Operations. In this role AC Taylor was responsible for more than 8,000 officers and staff, delivering specialist policing and pan-London services, including firearms, roads policing and safer transport teams, and taskforce. He was critical in the Met’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as some of the city’s most challenging political moments in modern history.

    Before his most recent post, AC Taylor was Deputy Assistant Commissioner for Frontline Policing – Local Policing from March 2021 to February 2023. Under his leadership, the number of wanted offenders outstanding reduced by 20 per cent and several new initiatives were established, including community mental health projects and town centre teams.

    AC Taylor then served as DAC Specialist Operations from February 2023 until April 2024 when he took over the role of Temporary Assistant Commissioner for Professionalism.

    AC Williams joined policing in February 1998.

    Rachel had an impressive career at Avon and Somerset Police and worked her way up the ranks to T/Assistant Chief Constable Crime and Operations where she led on several areas including crime and investigations, intelligence and covert work.

    She then moved to the Met in 2020 and joined as Commander Intelligence and Covert Policing. Rachel oversaw 2,000 staff and officers leading on covert, sensitive and frontline intelligence work.

    Following this role, Rachel moved on to become Commander Rebuilding Trust / Serious Violence where she focused on improving public confidence in the Met and driving down violence across the city.

    In November 2022 she moved to Gwent Police as Deputy Chief Constable, where she was critical in the protection of some of the most diverse and vulnerable communities in Wales.

    Rejoining the Met in 2024, Rachel returned to occupy the role of Temporary Assistant Commissioner for Trust and Legitimacy, helping deliver high standards and professionalism – a key pillar in the Met’s New Met for London strategy.

    During this time AC Williams was also head of the Met’s Culture, Diversity and Inclusion directorate, chair of the CD&I group and led on the force’s culture programme.

    MIL Security OSI –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Mary-Elizabeth McMunn: Central banks and innovation – delivering our mandate in a digitalising world

    Source: Bank for International Settlements

    Many thanks for the invitation to speak to you today.1

    Speaking about innovation to a room full of innovators is no easy task, but I do think it is important to share the perspectives of a Central Bank and Regulator on innovation in the financial sector, in particular given the increasingly important role technology is playing in financial services.

    And as I have said before, while naturally associated with the private sector, I believe the public sector also has a crucial role to play in innovation – not just by enabling it but also in ensuring its safe adoption.

    Given this important role, as well as our strategic commitment to anticipating and responding proactively to changes in the economy and financial system,2 the Central Bank has put an increasing focus on innovation in the financial sector in recent years.

    As evidenced by your agenda today there is a huge breadth of innovation taking place in financial services.

    And while there is so much we are focused on that I could cover in my remarks, from Ireland’s growing and international Payments sector, to the increasing importance of operational and cyber resilience to the rapid evolution of Artificial Intelligence and its use in the financial sector, I would like to discuss two important aspects today.

    Firstly I would like set out how the Central Bank of Ireland thinks about and approaches innovation in financial services; and secondly I would like to focus in more detail on our role in one of the big potential technological shifts underway in the sector – namely digital assets, including tokenisation.

    Central Banks and Innovation

    Central Banks and Regulators are sometimes cast as anti-risk and indeed anti-innovation. But this couldn’t be further from the truth.

    While obviously our jobs are to ensure risks in the financial sector are being well managed – so that the system is stable, firms are safe and sound, consumers and investors’ interest are protected and the integrity of the system is upheld – we do not do this by eliminating all risk. One of the core functions of the financial system is to manage and take risk – and so if Regulators do not accept risk and make risk-based decisions ourselves, then the system doesn’t work.

    Similarly while it is our responsibility to ensure the risks from new entities, products or ways of serving customers are being well managed, we do not do this by unduly stifling innovation.

    Rather the Central Bank of Ireland supports innovation in the financial sector, as we recognise the benefits it can bring. But, to state the obvious, to deliver these benefits such innovation must be done well, which includes properly managing the risks that could arise to consumers and the system.

    In this regard contrary to being anti-innovation, in line with peer Central Banks we have been adapting our approach to better support and anticipate it.

    And as with all of our work, our approach to innovation is guided by our mission and mandate, serving the public interest by maintaining monetary and financial stability while ensuring that the financial system operates in the best interests of consumers and the wider economy.

    In terms of Regulation and Supervision specifically, there are many ways by which we seek to ensure innovation in the financial sector is operating in the best interests of the whole.

    This includes:

    Regulation – which not only enables innovation, but through appropriate guardrails helps establish trust, essential for innovation to be widely adopted, particularly in the area of financial services. PSD2, MICAR and DORA are all positive examples of this – enabling and enhancing digital finance and safe financial innovation in Europe.

    Authorisation – which plays a pivotal role in ensuring entities, products and individuals meet the high standard to be trusted with the public’s money. While authorisation is just the start of the supervisory relationship it is also about setting firms up for success, which is both in the firms’ own interest as well as in their customers’.3

    Supervision in turn provides a mechanism for maintaining trust through the cycle, by ensuring innovative firms are well run, products are appropriately designed, and neither introduce undue risks for their consumers or the system.

    This includes supervisory engagement ensuring regulated entities are being sufficiently innovative in adapting their business models and managing their operational resilience, where technology can be both part of the problem and part of the solution.

    In addition to these I would also add that the Central Bank also plays role in encouraging and fostering good innovation in the financial sector, in line with our public policy objectives.

    This includes our catalyst role for payments, and the convening power of a Central Bank, where we seek to drive and influence positive change at a system level to improve market efficiency, integration and security.

    And finally it includes our broader engagement with the innovative ecosystem, something we have been deepening and enhancing in recent years and which I would like to touch on now briefly.

    Engaging with innovation – Hub and Sandbox

    You will all be aware of the work of our Innovation Hub, which was established in 2018 and has gone from strength to strength. The Hub is open to all innovators in financial services, no matter the size or whether they are new entrants or established entities. And it has proven a valuable form of engagement both for us and the sector.

    For us, alongside other engagement and initiatives, it has helped us deepen our understanding of innovation in the financial sector, amidst a period of rapid digitalisation. And for the sector, you have reported the benefit of early engagement in terms of better understanding of our regulatory expectations and, for new entrants, what being a regulated entity entails.

    Last year, following public consultation, we began implementing proposals to evolve our approach by:

    1. Enhancing our Innovation Hub to deliver deeper, clearer and more informed engagement with the innovation ecosystem; and
    2. Establishing an Innovation Sandbox Programme.

    In terms of the first point, we have found the changes made are leading to deeper more productive engagements, making better use of our collective resources. In addition to the 8% year on year increase in Innovation Hub Engagements last year, this represents a substantial uplift in terms of the quantity and quality of our engagements with the ecosystem.   

    On the second proposal, as you will be aware our Innovation Sandbox Programme aims to inform the early stage development of selected innovative initiatives that promote better outcomes for consumers and the financial system.

    Our first programme launched late last year; and consistent with our aim of fostering innovation to support outcomes consistent with our public policy objectives, the theme was Combatting Financial Crime.4

    While the programme is still ongoing, both from our perspective and from feedback received from the 7 participants, the first programme has been a very positive experience. The final module will take place in June, alongside a showcase of the participants’ innovative solutions at an event in the Central Bank.

    In line with our wider commitment to continuous improvement, we will adopt an iterative approach to our Innovation Sandbox Programme, learning and improving from each one. We are also committed to sharing our key learnings, and will publish a report on outcomes and findings from our first programme later this year.

    Central Bank approach to Crypto

    I would like to turn now to digital assets, a wide-ranging and growing topic.

    Given its breadth, I will just touch on two specific areas: firstly crypto-assets, and in particular our approach to this sector and the implementation of MiCAR, before turning to the potential next wave of innovation, in terms of the tokenisation of the financial system.

    Firstly, we are often asked about the Central Bank’s approach to crypto-assets.

    I will begin by saying that as with all innovation in financial services we seek to ensure it is done well, and is delivering benefits to consumers and the system while appropriately managing any risks.

    It should go without saying that there are inherent risks in crypto-assets, and some forms of crypto-assets have higher risks than others.

    It is for this reason that we have issued warnings to consumers concerning crypto, and have expressed scepticism about business models which are driven by the heavy marketing, offering and distributing of unbacked crypto-assets to retail customers for speculative purposes.

    MiCAR will not provide the same levels of protection that exists for traditional financial investment products, nor of course will it enable all the significant risks linked to crypto-assets to be mitigated.  However, it is a welcome step forward.

    Nevertheless, it is important for consumers to be aware, that MiCAR will not cover all crypto-assets, with some of the most well-known crypto-assets, such as Bitcoin and Ether, not within scope of the regulation given they have no identifiable issuer.

    But while it is true speculative and highly volatile forms of crypto-assets remain a concern for the Central Bank, in particular from a consumer protection point of view, it is equally true that we recognise the important innovations distributed ledger and crypto technology could potentially lead to for financial services – and indeed we have recognised this for some time.

    It is important to note, however, as with all aspects of financial services this potential will only be realised if the technology and the providers can be trusted, to be resilient, to provide benefits to consumers and to help uphold, rather than jeopardise, the integrity of the financial system.

    It is these outcomes that inform our regulatory approach to crypto-assets. And indeed are informing our approach to the implementation of MiCAR, both in our engagement with regulatory peers, as well as our authorisation of applicant firms under the new framework.

    In that regard we have put in place a well-resourced and expert team to deal with the CASP authorisation process – ensuring it is both efficient as well as sufficiently robust.

    The team have been engaging extensively with the sector and applicants, and we have held a number of industry events dedicated to MiCAR.5 This is part of our ongoing commitment to transparency, clarity and openness, in particular in our authorisation processes but also in our engagement with innovation.

    But while we are committed to a timely and quality authorisation process, the role and approach of applicant firms is also key in this regard.  Our assessments of MiCAR authorisation applications will be guided through many perspectives including the use case and utility, suitability, and the risks associated with a crypto product or service. 

    The importance of good culture and conduct risk management in delivering on new obligations under MiCAR cannot be overstated. The stronger their risk management, the better position firms are in to understand, calculate and mitigate risks, in turn strengthening their business model, and their relationship with their customers. 

    Regardless of the services, the target customer base, or whether the business is retail focused or aimed at institutional clients, safeguarding of client assets and governance are critical considerations for the Central Bank – given the fundamental role they play in protecting people’s money.

    And as I said earlier, authorisation is only the beginning of the supervisory relationship and so firms should demonstrate at the Gate that they will be well-run once they are through it.

    Tokenisation – private and public roles 

    Finally I would like to turn more broadly to the topic of tokenisation, which as we all know is the digital representation of traditional assets on a programmable platform6 and the potentially transformative potential of distributed ledger technology.

    I say potentially transformative, as some visions of a tokenised financial system, such as the  ‘finternet’ or ‘financial internet’7 put forward by the BIS, would truly be so, promising huge efficiency and disintermediation gains, reducing costs and complexity and empowering businesses and consumers.

    While this is on the further end of the tokenisation spectrum, there are a number of areas of the financial system where the potential benefits of tokenisation are being explored.

    This includes tokenisation of real assets, as well as financial assets such as money, securities, collateral, bank deposits, and funds. The potential benefits in terms of peer to peer transactions, smart contracts, and settlement and clearing are clear, leading to lower costs and indeed less risks. For time is money and time is risk as they say.8

    While there is a large amount of work ongoing by both the private and public sector, I wanted to touch on what I see as the Central Bank’s role in this regard.

    Firstly from a regulatory point of view, there is an onus on us to ensure there are no unintended regulatory impediments to tokenisation of traditional assets; as well as to engage in dialogue with the sector to see if enabling regulation is required.

    Secondly in line with our desire to foster innovation that delivers good outcomes for consumers, we can seek to drive and influence change at a system level. There is also a need for central banks to deepen our knowledge and engagement with this innovation, as well as to enhance our thinking and capabilities, given the far reaching changes implied should this wave of innovation materialise.

    These are all things we and peer Central Banks are doing, and indeed will further focus on in future – and something the BIS and other Central Banks have been leading on, with Project Agora, which is testing a multi-currency wholesale cross border payments using DLT, and Project Guardian, which seeks to enhance liquidity and efficiency of financial markets through asset tokenisation, both important examples.

    Given Central Banks’ fundamental role in the monetary system, it is important that public innovation keeps pace with private innovation, particularly in payments and settlements systems.

    In order to maintain the crucial role of public money in a tokenised world, future proofing our monetary system, facilitating innovation and increasing the resilience of the payments system, the Eurosystem is stepping up its efforts to support and foster innovation in market infrastructures. For example, in February the ECB announced its decision to expand its initiative to settle transactions recorded on DLT in central bank money.9

    In addition, the work the Eurosystem is doing around the Digital Euro is key, both in terms of a retail Digital Euro as the representation of public money in a digital world, but also importantly in terms of wholesale central bank digital currency, as a tokenised central bank asset to operate in a tokenised system.10

    Conclusion

    Before I conclude I would like to touch briefly on the rapidly changing external environment we are all operating in.

    In a future focused speech, it would be remiss of me not to mention the potential great structural changes underway in terms of geo-political developments and geo-economic fragmentation.

    The challenges facing our economy are clear; but amongst these challenges are opportunities.

    Innovation is often borne out of times of challenge, turning risks into opportunities.

    But also as we deal with short run risks, it is too easy to take our eyes off these longer term opportunities.

    I am sure this room full of innovators will heed the call to focus on continuing to deliver innovation in the interest of consumers and the wider economy. We as a Central Bank will also continue to anticipate, engage with and respond to innovation in the system.

    But I would also call on firms and investors to not lose sight of the need to continue to innovate and invest in technology. While economic cycles come and go, the digital transition rolls on, and we cannot be left behind.

    Thank you.

    MIL OSI Economics –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New offence of forcing people to hide objects in their bodies

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    News story

    New offence of forcing people to hide objects in their bodies

    Children and vulnerable people being criminally exploited by gangs will be better protected under new measures, as part of the government’s Plan for Change.

    A new criminal offence of ‘coerced internal concealment’, to be introduced as an amendment to the landmark Crime and Policing Bill, will crack down on anyone, including gang leaders who force people to hide items inside their bodies to avoid detection.    

    This practice, also known by the street names ‘plugging’, ‘stuffing’ and ‘banking’, is typically used by organised gangs to transport items like drugs, money and SIM cards from one location to another.   

    It relies on forcing or deceiving children and vulnerable adults into ingesting or hiding items inside their bodily cavities and is often linked to county lines drug running.   

    Internal concealment is an extremely dangerous practice. It can be fatal if drug packages break open inside the body and can cause significant physical and psychological harm to those forced to do it.   

    Where senior gang figures are found to have coerced other individuals to ingest or carry specified items inside their bodies, they will face up to 10 years behind bars.   

    Jess Phillips, Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls,  said:

    There is something truly evil about the gang leaders who degrade young girls, young boys and vulnerable adults in this way, forcing them to put their lives at risk.   

    This new offence will go alongside other measures in our landmark Crime and Policing Bill to turn the tables on the gang leaders and hold them to account for exploiting children and vulnerable adults.   

    As part of our Plan for Change, this government will give police and prosecutors the powers they need to dismantle these drug gangs entirely and secure convictions that reflect the severity of these crimes.

    To deliver the government’s mission to halve knife crime in the next decade and deliver safer streets, it is crucial to tackle the drug gangs that run county lines through violence and exploitation.   

    That is why the government has committed to investing £42 million into the County Lines Programme this year, to break down the organised crime groups behind this trade.

    The latest statistics from the programme show that since July 2024, law enforcement activity resulted in over 1,200 line closures and 2,000 arrests – including the arrest and subsequent charging of over 800 violent offenders controlling the lines.  

    There were also more than 2,100 safeguarding referrals for children and vulnerable people.      

    The County Lines Programme also provides specialist support for children and young people to escape the drugs trade.    

    Over 320 children and young people received dedicated specialist support during this period, which can include one-to-one casework for young people and their families to help prevent exploitation or support their safe exit.

    The criminalisation of ‘coerced internal concealment’ will ensure that victims are properly recognised and receive the support they need.   

    It also sends a clear message to offenders that the punishment for this crime will match the impact of the harm they have caused.    

    The new offence will join a package of other measures in the government’s Crime and Policing Bill designed to protect children and vulnerable adults, including a specific offence of child criminal exploitation aimed at the ringleaders behind county lines operations.       

    Kate Wareham, Strategic Director of Young People, Families and Communities at Catch22 said:    

    Catch22 welcomes the introduction of tougher consequences for adults who force children and vulnerable young adults into carrying drugs through invasive methods of bodily concealment.    

    From our county lines, child exploitation and our Redthread embedded youth work in A&E services across England, we know the devastating, life changing physical and mental impact of this abuse on its young victims.    

    Robust, specialist exploitation and violence reduction services are essential to ensure child victims are supported to process their trauma and safeguarded from further harm. But we need to prevent exploitation happening in the first place. By targeting the perpetrators, this new offence of coerced internal concealment is a crucial step forward towards that.

    Lucy D’Orsi, the Chief Constable of British Transport Police said:

    We welcome this new measure which increases the safety of those at risk and supports bringing their abusers to justice. 

    Safeguarding the vulnerable is a priority for BTP’s County Lines Taskforce. Our bespoke unit, made up of experienced social work professionals, works to pull the exploited from the clutches of organised crime groups by providing them with fast time support and resources from our specialist partners. 

    We continue to put the exploited and the vulnerable at the forefront of our fight against county lines gangs and take a zero tolerance stance against anyone who profits from the exploitation of children.

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    Published 3 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    June 3, 2025

  • Kanimozhi-led delegation concludes Spain visit, reaffirming India’s stand against terrorism

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    An all-party Indian Parliamentary delegation led by DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi successfully concluded its visit to Spain in the early hours of Tuesday, conveying India’s zero-tolerance approach to terrorism.

    “The visit of All-Party Parliamentary Delegation to Spain was successful in effectively conveying India’s zero-tolerance approach to terrorism to government leaders, lawmakers, civil society and the Indian diaspora- strengthening bilateral ties and mutual understanding,” the Indian Embassy in Spain shared on X.

    “The All-Party Parliamentary Delegation met with intellectuals, academicians, think tanks and civil society representatives at a discussion hosted by @Spain_India. During the meeting, they reiterated India’s firm stance against terrorism and its unwavering commitment to global peace. Members of the foundation expressed staunch support for India’s efforts and discussed strategies to combat terrorism,” added the Indian embassy.

    Earlier on Monday, the delegation interacted with the Association of Victims of Terrorism (AVT and shared India’s experience in confronting cross-border threats, reaffirming a shared resolve to build a safer and more compassionate world.

    With over 4,800 members, the Association of Victims of Terrorism (AVT) represents individuals directly impacted by acts of terrorism, including many who have yet to receive compensation.

    The delegation, led by DMK MP Kanimozhi, concluded its international outreach with a visit to Spain. The five-nation tour, which began on May 22, included stops in Latvia, Greece, Slovenia, Russia, and Spain.

    Throughout the mission, the delegation engaged with political leaders and civil society organisations to underscore the objectives of Operation Sindoor and reaffirm India’s ongoing efforts to combat Pakistan-sponsored cross-border terrorism.

    Apart from Kanimozhi, the delegation includes Samajwadi Party MP Rajeev Rai, BJP MP Captain Brijesh Chowta (Retd.), RJD MP Prem Chand Gupta, AAP MP Ashok Kumar Mittal, and Former Deputy Permanent Representative of India to the UN, Ambassador Manjeev Singh Puri.

    (With inputs from IANS)

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Identity released in Bellerive investigation

    Source: New South Wales Community and Justice

    Identity released in Bellerive investigation

    Tuesday, 3 June 2025 – 4:35 pm.

    Police investigations are continuing into the death of a 45-year-old man whose body was found in an industrial-sized garbage bin at Bellerive.
    Officers from South East Criminal Investigation Branch have today returned to the Eastern Shore suburb and, in particular, the Percy Street area where the man’s body was found about 9am on Monday (June 2) at the rear of a business premises.
    Police, with the permission of the man’s family, have released his name – Luke Jon Telega – and a photograph of him in the hope members of the public will come forward with information as to his movements.
    “Mr Telega was last seen alive on Saturday night at 10pm, but there remains a gap in the timeline until the discovery of his body by a garbage contractor on Monday morning,” Detective Inspector David Gill said.
    “Detectives have today spoken with members of the public, conducted further door knocking of homes and businesses, and reviewed CCTV footage.
    “An autopsy was conducted earlier today and details of this will not be released to the public. However, police have confirmed there were no visible signs of injury.
    “Police continue to maintain an open mind and treat the death as a case of misadventure, or foul play, or a potential combination of both.”
    Anyone who may have seen Mr Telega in the Bellerive and greater Hobart area, especially on Sunday, June 1, or has information that can assist police is asked to contact 131 444.
    Information can also be supplied anonymously to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online at crimestopperstas.com.au

    MIL OSI News –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Investigation launched, man charged in relation to death of man, Tokoroa

    Source: New Zealand Police

    Please attribute to Taupo Area Investigations Manager, Detective Senior Sergeant Ryan Yardley:

    Police have launched a homicide investigation, and a man has been charged with murder, after a man seriously injured in Tokoroa last week has now died.

    Officers were called to an Abercorn Place address about 4:15am on Tuesday 27 May, to reports that a man had been injured by a male known to him outside his house.

    The man was rushed to Waikato Hospital in critical condition, but has since passed away.

    A 21-year-old man has been arrested and charged with murder. He is next due to appear in the High Court at Rotorua on 27 June.

    Police are still working to establish the full sequence of events that led to the man’s death, and we’d like to hear from anyone who witnessed anything, or has any information that might help our investigation.

    We’d also like to see any dashcam or CCTV footage anyone may have from around the time in question.

    If you can help, please use our 105 service, quoting reference number 250527/7868.

    You can also give information anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

    ENDS

    Issued by Police Media Centre

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

    June 3, 2025

  • Russia sets out punitive terms at peace talks with Ukraine

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Russia told Ukraine at peace talks on Monday that it would only agree to end the war if Kyiv gives up big new chunks of territory and accepts limits on the size of its army, according to a memorandum reported by Russian media.

    The terms, formally presented at negotiations in Istanbul, highlighted Moscow’s refusal to compromise on its longstanding war goals despite calls by U.S. President Donald Trump to end the “bloodbath” in Ukraine.

    Ukraine has repeatedly rejected the Russian conditions as tantamount to surrender.

    Delegations from the warring sides met for barely an hour, for only the second such round of negotiations since March 2022. They agreed to exchange more prisoners of war – focusing on the youngest and most severely wounded – and return the bodies of 12,000 dead soldiers.

    Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan described it as a great meeting and said he hoped to bring together Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy for a meeting in Turkey with Trump.

    But there was no breakthrough on a proposed ceasefire that Ukraine, its European allies and Washington have all urged Russia to accept.

    Moscow says it seeks a long-term settlement, not a pause in the war; Kyiv says Putin is not interested in peace. Trump has said the United States is ready to walk away from its mediation efforts unless the two sides demonstrate progress towards a deal.

    Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, who headed Kyiv’s delegation, said Kyiv – which has drawn up its own peace roadmap – would review the Russian document, on which he offered no immediate comment.

    Ukraine has proposed holding more talks before the end of June, but believes only a meeting between Zelenskiy and Putin can resolve the many issues of contention, Umerov said.

    Zelenskiy said Ukraine presented a list of 400 children it says have been abducted to Russia, but that the Russian delegation agreed to work on returning only 10 of them. Russia says the children were moved from war zones to protect them.

    RUSSIAN DEMANDS

    The Russian memorandum, which was published by the Interfax news agency, said a settlement of the war would require international recognition of Crimea – a peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014 – and four other regions of Ukraine that Moscow has claimed as its own territory. Ukraine would have to withdraw its forces from all of them.

    It restated Moscow’s demands that Ukraine become a neutral country – ruling out membership of NATO – and that it protect the rights of Russian speakers, make Russian an official language and enact a legal ban on glorification of Nazism. Ukraine rejects the Nazi charge as absurd and denies discriminating against Russian speakers.

    Russia also formalised its terms for any ceasefire en route to a peace settlement, presenting two options that both appeared to be non-starters for Ukraine.

    Option one, according to the text, was for Ukraine to start a full military withdrawal from the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. Of those, Russia fully controls the first but holds only about 70% of the rest.

    Option two was a package that would require Ukraine to cease military redeployments and accept a halt to foreign provision of military aid, satellite communications and intelligence. Kyiv would also have to lift martial law and hold presidential and parliamentary elections within 100 days.

    Russian delegation head Vladimir Medinsky said Moscow had also suggested a “specific ceasefire of two to three days in certain sections of the front” so that the bodies of dead soldiers could be collected.

    According to a proposed roadmap drawn up by Ukraine, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, Kyiv wants no restrictions on its military strength after any peace deal, no international recognition of Russian sovereignty over parts of Ukraine taken by Moscow’s forces, and reparations.

    UKRAINE TARGETS RUSSIAN BOMBER FLEET

    The conflict has been heating up, with Russia launching its biggest drone attacks of the war and advancing on the battlefield in May at its fastest rate in six months.

    On Sunday, Ukraine said it launched 117 drones in an operation codenamed “Spider’s Web” to attack Russian nuclear-capable long-range bomber planes at airfields in Siberia and the far north of the country.

    Satellite imagery suggested the attacks had caused substantial damage, although the two sides gave conflicting accounts of the extent of it.

    Western military analysts described the strikes, thousands of miles from the front lines, as one of the most audacious Ukrainian operations of the war.

    Russia’s strategic bomber fleet forms part of the “triad” of forces – along with missiles launched from the ground or from submarines – that make up the country’s nuclear arsenal, the biggest in the world. Faced with repeated warnings from Putin of Russia’s nuclear might, the U.S. and its allies have been wary throughout the Ukraine conflict of the risk that it could spiral into World War Three.

    A current U.S. administration official said Trump and the White House were not notified before the attack. A former administration official said Ukraine, for operational security reasons, regularly does not disclose to Washington its plans for such actions.

    A UK government official said the British government also was not told ahead of time.

    Zelenskiy said the operation, which involved drones concealed inside wooden sheds, had helped to restore partners’ confidence that Ukraine is able to continue waging the war.

    “Ukraine says that we are not going to surrender and are not going to give in to any ultimatums,” he told an online news briefing.

    “But we do not want to fight, we do not want to demonstrate our strength – we demonstrate it because the enemy does not want to stop.”

    (Reuters)

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Death following Somerset crash on 27 May

    Source: New South Wales Community and Justice

    Death following Somerset crash on 27 May

    Tuesday, 3 June 2025 – 3:00 pm.

    Sadly, police can confirm a 78-year-old woman has died following a crash at Somerset on 27 May.
    The woman was involved in a two-vehicle crash involving a Toyota Corolla hatch and a Ford F250 truck at the intersection of Wragg and Falmouth Streets.
    At the time of the crash, the woman was the driver of the Toyota Corolla, and was subsequently transported to the North West Regional Hospital.
    Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the crash.  
    A report will be prepared for the Coroner.
    Police are continuing to investigate the crash. Anyone with information or dash cam is asked to contact Western Crash Investigation Services on 131 444 and quote reference ESCAD 199-27052025 and OR776030. 
    Information can also be provided anonymously through Crime Stoppers Tasmania at crimestopperstas.com.au or on 1800 333 000. 

    MIL OSI News –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Hooning incident on new Bridgewater Bridge

    Source: New South Wales Community and Justice

    Hooning incident on new Bridgewater Bridge

    Tuesday, 3 June 2025 – 12:39 pm.

    Police are investigating reckless driving on the new Bridgewater Bridge overnight, involving dangerous and irresponsible hooning behaviour.
    The incident happened about 1.15am Tuesday in the northbound lanes. It was reported to police shortly after it happened and is now the subject of an active investigation.
    Police are working to identify those responsible and have urged members of the public to assist the investigation if they can.
    Hooning – including street racing, burnouts, and other dangerous driving behaviour – places innocent road users at serious risk. These actions are not only illegal, but demonstrate a complete disregard for the safety and wellbeing of others.
    Tasmania Police is increasingly frustrated by the selfish and reckless actions of a small number of individuals who continue to engage in this type of behaviour.
    The reality is simple. Sooner or later, someone will get seriously hurt or killed. And when that happens, the responsibility will rest solely with those who made the decision to break the law.
    In Tasmania, hooning offences carry significant penalties of up to 40 penalty units (currently $8080), imprisonment for up to six months, and vehicle confiscation
    Police urge anyone with information, or has access to dash-cam footage, to contact police on 131 444 or report anonymously to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online at crimestopperstas.com.au
    Footage of dangerous driving can be uploaded via the evidence portal on the Tasmania Police website (police.tas.gov.au/report)

    MIL OSI News –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-Evening Report: ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for June 3, 2025

    ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on June 3, 2025.

    In her memoir, Jacinda Ardern shows a ‘different kind of power’ is possible – but also has its limits
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Grant Duncan, Teaching Fellow in Politics and International Relations, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Imagine getting a positive pregnancy test and then – just a few days later – learning you’ll be prime minister. In hindsight, being willing and able to deal with the

    Google’s SynthID is the latest tool for catching AI-made content. What is AI ‘watermarking’ and does it work?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By T.J. Thomson, Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication & Digital Media, RMIT University HomeArt/Shutterstock Last month, Google announced SynthID Detector, a new tool to detect AI-generated content. Google claims it can identify AI-generated content in text, image, video or audio. But there are some caveats. One of them

    What parents and youth athletes can do to protect against abuse in sport
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Fanny Kuhlin, PhD candidate in Sport Management (Sport Science), Örebro University Ron Alvey/Shutterstock From the horrific Larry Nassar abuse scandal in United States gymnastics to the “environment of fear” some volleyball athletes endured at the Australian Institute of Sport, abuse in sport has been well documented in

    Astronomers thought the Milky Way was doomed to crash into Andromeda. Now they’re not so sure
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ruby Wright, Forrest Fellow in Astrophysics, The University of Western Australia Luc Viatour / Wikimedia, CC BY-SA For years, astronomers have predicted a dramatic fate for our galaxy: a head-on collision with Andromeda, our nearest large galactic neighbour. This merger – expected in about 5 billion years

    Is the private hospital system collapsing? Here’s what the sector’s financial instability means for you
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yuting Zhang, Professor of Health Economics, The University of Melbourne lightpoet/Shutterstock Toowong Private Hospital in Brisbane is the latest hospital to succumb to financial pressures and will close its doors next week. The industry association attributes the psychiatric hospital’s closure to insufficient payments from and delayed funding

    Trump’s steel tariffs are unlikely to have a big impact on Australia. But we could be hurt by what happens globally
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Scott French, Senior Lecturer in Economics, UNSW Sydney Shestakov Dymytro/Shutterstock Just one day after the US Court of Appeals temporarily reinstated the Trump Administration’s Liberation Day tariffs of between 10% and 50% on nearly every country in the world, Trump announced tariffs on all US imports of

    Tax concessions on super need a rethink. These proposals would bring much needed reform
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris Murphy, Visiting Fellow, Economics (modelling), Australian National University fizkes/Shutterstock The federal government has proposed an additional tax of 15% on the earnings made on super balances of over A$3 million, the so-called Division 296 tax. This has set off a highly politicised debate that has often

    The surprising power of photography in ageing well
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tricia King, Senior Lecturer in Photography, University of the Sunshine Coast Marcia Grimm Older adults are often faced with lifestyle changes that can disrupt their sense of place and purpose. It may be the loss of a partner, downsizing their home, or moving to residential aged care.

    What birds can teach us about repurposing waste
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Farrier, Professor of Literature and the Environment, University of Edinburgh Some birds use deterrent spikes to make their nests. Chemari/Shutterstock Modern cities are evolution engines. Urban snails in the Netherlands and lizards in Los Angeles have developed lighter shells and larger scales to cope with the

    Human Rights Watch warns renewed fighting threatens West Papua civilians
    Asia Pacific Report An escalation in fighting between Indonesian security forces and Papuan pro-independence fighters in West Papua has seriously threatened the security of the largely indigenous population, says Human Rights Watch in a new report. The human rights watchdog warned that all parties to the conflict are obligated to abide by international humanitarian law,

    Will surging sea levels kill the Great Barrier Reef? Ancient coral fossils may hold the answer
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jody Webster, Professor of Marine Geoscience, University of Sydney marcobriviophoto.com In the 20th century, global sea level rose faster than at any other time in the past 3,000 years. It’s expected to rise even further by 2100, as human-induced climate change intensifies. In fact, some studies predict

    Pro-Trump candidate wins Poland’s presidential election – a bad omen for the EU, Ukraine and women
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Simpson, Senior Lecturer, International Studies, University of South Australia Poland’s presidential election runoff will be a bitter pill for pro-European Union democrats to swallow. The nationalist, Trumpian, historian Karol Nawrocki has narrowly defeated the liberal, pro-EU mayor of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski, 50.89 to 49.11%. The Polish

    Australia’s latest emissions data reveal we still have a giant fossil fuel problem
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Lovell, Senior Lecturer in Chemical Engineering, UNSW Sydney According to Australia’s Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen, the latest emissions data show “we are on track to reach our 2030 targets” under the Paris Agreement. In 2024, Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions were “27% below 2005

    What is retinol? And will it make my acne flare? 3 experts unpack this trendy skincare ingredient
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laurence Orlando, Senior Lecturer, Product Formulation and Development, Analytical Methods, Monash University Irina Kvyatkovskaya/Shutterstock Retinol skincare products suddenly seem to be everywhere, promising clear, radiant and “youthful” skin. But what’s the science behind these claims? And are there any risks? You may have also heard retinol can

    Pasifika recipients say King’s Birthday honours not just theirs alone
    By Teuila Fuatai, RNZ Pacific senior journalist, Iliesa Tora, and Christina Persico A New Zealand-born Niuean educator says being recognised in the King’s Birthday honours list reflects the importance of connecting young tagata Niue in Aotearoa to their roots. Mele Ikiua, who hails from the village of Hakupu Atua in Niue, has been named a

    Eugene Doyle: Writing in the time of the Gaza genocide
    COMMENTARY: By Eugene Doyle I want to share a writer’s journey — of living and writing through the Genocide.  Where I live and how I live could not be further from the horror playing out in Gaza and, increasingly, on the West Bank. Yet, because my country provides military, intelligence and diplomatic support to Israel

    Decades of searching and a chance discovery: why finding Leadbeater’s possum in NSW is such big news
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Lindenmayer, Distinguished Professor of Ecology, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University Until now, Victorians believed their state was the sole home for Leadbeater’s possum, their critically endangered state faunal emblem. This tiny marsupial is clinging to life in a few pockets of mountain

    In Bradfield, the election is not yet over. What happens when a seat count is ultra close?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Graeme Orr, Professor of Law, The University of Queensland Election day was over four weeks ago. Yet the outcome in one House of Representatives remains unclear. That is the formerly Liberal Sydney electorate of Bradfield. In real time, you can watch the lead tilt between Liberal hopeful,

    Is there a right way to talk to your baby? A baby brain expert explains ‘parentese’
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane Herbert, Associate Professor in Developmental Psychology, University of Wollongong 2p2play/Shutterstock You might have seen those heartwarming and often funny viral videos where parents or carers engage in long “talks” with young babies about this and that – usually just fun chit chat of no great consequence.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Police urge public to be aware of recent card skimming incidents

    Source: New Zealand Police

    Police are urging members of the Wellington community to be aware of recent card skimming incidents, taking thousands of dollars from victims.

    Wellington District Operations Manager, Acting Inspector Tim McIntosh says Police have seen an increase in the number of victims losing large amounts of money due to card skimming incidents.

    “In the last week alone, we have received around 12 reports of this offending, where in some cases victims have lost over $5,000.”

    Card skimming is where an offender will install a device with a camera on an ATM or POS (point of sale) terminal to capture card data and record PIN numbers.

    Offenders will then use the obtained information to create fake payment cards and make unauthorised purchases or withdraw funds to steal from victim’s accounts.

    “We urge the public to be aware of this type of offending to ensure they can take the proper precautions to keep their data and finances safe,” says Acting Inspector Tim McIntosh.

    “Thankfully, there are many ways to help prevent being a victim of card skimming when using your cards.”

    • Always double check an ATM or POS terminal. Look out for signs of damage or tampering, loose or unattached pieces, or a different colour variation on the device.
    • Block your PIN number. When entering your PIN number, use your other hand to block any camera that may be recording.
    • Trust in what you know. A large majority of card skimming takes place at non-bank ATM machines due to increased security and cameras around bank ATMs.
    • Follow your instinct. If you feel something is off or suspicious about an ATM or POS terminal, check-in with a bank or store staff member.
    • Regularly check on your accounts. This will not only allow you to keep track of where you have spent your money, but will also ensure you can act quickly in the case your money has been stolen.

    If you believe you have been victim to card skimming, please contact your bank immediately and cancel your cards and accounts.

    Police also urge you to gather as much information as you can and make a report through 105.police.govt.nz or call 105.

    You can also provide information anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 0800 555 111.

    For more information on card skimming, head to Westpac’s guide to card skimming or Southern Cross Travel Insurance.

    ENDS

    Issued by Police Media Centre

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: What is retinol? And will it make my acne flare? 3 experts unpack this trendy skincare ingredient

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Laurence Orlando, Senior Lecturer, Product Formulation and Development, Analytical Methods, Monash University

    Irina Kvyatkovskaya/Shutterstock

    Retinol skincare products suddenly seem to be everywhere, promising clear, radiant and “youthful” skin.

    But what’s the science behind these claims? And are there any risks?

    You may have also heard retinol can increase your risk of sunburn and even make acne worse.

    For some people, retinol may help reduce the appearance of fine lines. But it won’t be suitable for everyone. Here’s what you need to know.

    What is retinol?

    Retinol is part of a family of chemical compounds called retinoids. These are derived from or related to Vitamin A, a nutrient essential for healthy skin, vision and immune function.

    All retinoids work because enzymes in our skin convert them into their “active” form, retinoic acid.

    You can buy retinol in creams and other topical products over the counter.

    These are often promoted as “anti-ageing” because retinol can help reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and even out skin tone (for example, sun spots or acne scars).

    It also has an exfoliating effect, meaning it can help unclog pores.

    Stronger retinoid treatments that target acne will require a prescription because they contain retinoic acid, which is regulated as a drug in the United States, European Union, United Kingdom and Australia.

    How is retinol used in skincare?

    One of the most common claims about retinol is that it helps to reduce visible signs of ageing.

    How does this work?

    With age, the skin’s barrier becomes weaker, making it more prone to dryness, injury and irritation.

    Retinol can help counteract this natural thinning by stimulating the proliferation of keratinocytes – cells that form the outer skin layer and protect against damage and water loss.

    Retinol also stimulates the production of collagen (a key protein that creates a scaffolding that keeps skin firm and elastic) and fibroblasts (cells that produce collagen and support skin structure).

    It also increases how fast the skin sheds old cells and replaces them with new ones.

    Over time, these processes help reduce fine lines, fade dark spots and even out skin tone. It can also make skin appear clearer.

    While effective, this doesn’t happen overnight.

    You may have also heard about a “retinol purge” – a temporary flare of acne when you first start using topical retinoids.

    Studies have found the skin may become irritated and acne temporarily worsen in some cases. But more research needs to be done to understand this link.

    The idea of a retinol purge is popular on social media.
    TikTok, CC BY-NC-ND

    So, is retinol safe?

    At typical skincare concentrations (0.1–0.3%), side effects tend to be mild.

    Most people who experience irritation (such as redness, dryness, or peeling) when starting retinol are able to build tolerance over time. This process is often called “retinisation”.

    However, retinol increases the skin’s sensitivity to UV radiation (known as photosensitivity). This heightened reactivity can lead to sunburn, irritation and an increased risk of hyperpigmentation (spots or patches of darker colour).

    For this reason, daily use of broad-spectrum sunscreen (SPF30 or higher) is strongly recommended while using retinol products.

    Who should avoid retinol?

    Teenagers and children generally don’t need retinol unless specifically prescribed by a doctor, for example, for acne treatment.

    People with sensitive skin or conditions such as eczema (dry, itchy and inflamed skin) and rosacea (chronic redness and sensitivity) may find retinol too irritating.

    Using retinol products alongside other skincare treatments, such as alpha-hydroxy acids, can over-exfoliate your skin and damage it.

    Importantly, the active form of retinol, retinoic acid, is teratogenic (meaning it can cause birth defects). Over-the-counter retinol products are also not recommended during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

    Choose and store retinol products wisely

    Since retinol is classified as a cosmetic ingredient, companies are not required to disclose its concentration in their products.

    The European Union is expected to introduce new regulations that will cap the concentration of retinol in cosmetic facial products to 0.3%.

    These are precautionary measures aimed to limit exposure for vulnerable groups, such as pregnant women, given the risk of birth defects.

    It’s therefore recommended to use products that clearly state the retinol concentration is between 0.1% and 0.3%.

    Retinol is also a notoriously unstable molecule that degrades with exposure to air, light or heat.

    Choosing a product with airtight, light-protective packaging will help with potential degradation problems that could lead to inactivity or harm.

    What’s the safest way to try retinol?

    The key is to go low and slow: a pea-sized amount of a low-concentration product (0.1%) once or twice a week, preferably at night (to avoid UV exposure), and then the frequency and concentration can be increased (to a maximum of 0.3%) as the skin adjusts.

    Using a moisturiser after retinol helps to reduce dryness and irritation.

    Wearing sunscreen every day is a must when using retinol to avoid the photosensitivity.

    If you experience persistent redness, burning, or peeling, it’s better to stop using the product and consult your doctor or a dermatologist for personalised advice.

    Laurence Orlando is affiliated with the Australian Society of Cosmetic Chemists.

    Professor Ademi currently serves as a member of the Economics Sub Committee of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee within the Department of Health, Australia which assesses clinical and economic evaluations of medicines submitted for listing on the PBS. She leads the global economics initiative for the Lp(a) International Task Force and Member of Professional Advisory Board of Familial Hypercholesterolemia (FH) Australia. Zanfina Ademi receives funding from FH Europe Foundation to understand the population screening for LP(a), globally. Received funding from National Health and Medical Research Council, Medical Research Future Fund not in relation to to this work, but work that relates to health economics of prevention and cost-effectiveness.

    Zoe Porter does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. What is retinol? And will it make my acne flare? 3 experts unpack this trendy skincare ingredient – https://theconversation.com/what-is-retinol-and-will-it-make-my-acne-flare-3-experts-unpack-this-trendy-skincare-ingredient-256074

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Coalinga Gang Member Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Methamphetamine Distribution and Firearms Trafficking

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Juan Carlos Ruiz Jr., aka “Goer”, 26, of Coalinga, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for distributing methamphetamine and firearms trafficking, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.

    According to court documents, Ruiz distributed more than 4 kilograms of methamphetamine and sold 19 firearms over several occasions. Ruiz is also a felon and documented Bulldog gang member.

    Ruiz joins several other co-defendants that have now been sentenced to prison.

    • On March 31, 2025, Javier Alfonso Lopez Lopez was sentenced to four years in prison for conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine.
    • On Jan. 6, 2025, Sostenes Quintero Lopez was sentenced to over 10 years in prison for manufacturing and distributing methamphetamine.
    • On June 24, 2024, Angel Sanchez was sentenced to 14 years in prison for distributing methamphetamine and firearms trafficking with Ruiz, who is his cousin.
    • On Sept. 25, 2023, Alma Sanchez was sentenced to over 16 years in prison for distributing methamphetamine to Ruiz, who is her son.

    This case was the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Coalinga Police Department, Tulare County Sheriff’s Office, Tulare County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Unit (HIDTA), and the Fresno Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Antonio J. Pataca prosecuted the case.

    This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

    This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

    MIL Security OSI –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Fentanyl distributor linked to three fatal overdoses imprisoned for 27 years

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    HOUSTON – A 33-year-old Houston resident has been ordered to federal prison following his convictions for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine and being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

    Fredrick Douglass Shelton pleaded guilty Feb. 13.  

    U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt has now ordered Shelton to serve 324 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court recognized the families of the deceased and commented on the disturbing fact that after the deaths, Shelton continued to sell fentanyl with a verbal warning to customers that the drugs are strong. In handing down the sentence, Judge Hoyt noted Shelton’s history of drug dealing and conduct during this offense which made him question whether there is anywhere Shelton could be safely housed.

    “The defendant’s conduct in this case vividly illustrates his utter disregard for human life and the safety of others,” said Ganjei. “Not only was his fentanyl trafficking linked to three overdose deaths, but he also left a 10-month-old baby alone, surrounded by guns and drugs (including fentanyl), while he was out dealing. With today’s sentencing—made possible by collaboration with our partners—this dangerous individual is now off the street for decades to come, and Houstonians are safer for it.”

    The investigation began following evidence linking three fatal fentanyl overdoses to Shelton. He had sold large quantities of highly potent fentanyl to numerous individuals in the Houston area.  

    As Shelton left his residence to conduct yet another drug transaction, law enforcement conducted a search at his residence. They found large amounts of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, narcotics packaging equipment and firearms strewn throughout the residence in a disorderly fashion, including on counters, scales and the floor. 

    Authorities also discovered Shelton had left his 10-month-old child in the residence alone and exposed to the narcotics. 

    Shelton will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

    The FBI Houston Field Office and Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation with the assistance of the Montgomery County Narcotics Enforcement Team and sheriff’s offices in Montgomery and Harris Counties. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage. 

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Stuart Tallichet prosecuted the case. 

    MIL Security OSI –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Three arrested and 113kg of cannabis seized

    Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

    Drug and Organised Crime Detectives have seized 113 kilograms of cannabis and approximately $270,000 in cash in a major drug interdiction operation that has significantly disrupted the activities of a Vietnamese organised crime syndicate operating across state borders.  A small amount of cocaine was also seized.

    The seizure occurred on Monday 2 June, after a targeted traffic stop on Willard Road in Holtze. Intelligence indicated the vehicle was transporting a commercial quantity of cannabis intended for distribution within the Territory through established criminal networks.

    Detective Superintendent Lee Morgan from the Drug and Organised Crime Division said the seizure is a major blow to those attempting to profit from the harm inflicted on Territory communities.

    “This seizure strikes at the heart of a sophisticated criminal syndicate responsible for trafficking large quantities of illicit drugs into the Northern Territory,” said Detective Superintendent Morgan.

    “This is not a case of low-level offending. This syndicate is part of a broader Vietnamese organised crime network intent on exploiting vulnerable communities for financial gain.”

    “Removing 113 kilograms of cannabis from the supply chain will have an immediate and significant impact on the local drug market. The reduced availability of cannabis will interrupt the operations of street-level dealers and limit the reach of this syndicate into our community.”

    Cannabis remains the most used illicit drug in the Northern Territory. Its misuse is closely linked to a range of community harms, including mental health issues, domestic violence, road trauma, and reduced outcomes in education and employment.

    Criminal groups use cannabis distribution as a gateway to entrench their influence and introduce more dangerous drugs into the market.

    This operation is part of an ongoing commitment by the NT Police Force to dismantle criminal networks that attempt to profit at the expense of public safety.

    Two men from Victoria aged, 27 and 56, and a local 26-year-old man were arrested.  The two Victorian men are expected to appear in court today with the local man expected to appear on Wednesday 4 June.

    The 27-year-old male has been charged with:

    • Supply schedule 2 drug – Commercial quantity
    • Possess schedule 2 drug – Commercial quantity
    • Receive property – Commission of Offence.
    • Possessing schedule 1 drug – Less than traffickable quantity

    The 56-year-old man was charged with:

    • Supply schedule 2 drug – Commercial quantity
    • Possess schedule 2 drug – Commercial quantity
    • Receive property – Commission of Offence

    The local 26-year-old man was charged with:

    • Supply schedule 2 drug – Commercial quantity
    • Possess schedule 2 drug – Commercial quantity
    • Receive property – Commission of Offence

    Anyone with information on the supply of alcohol or drugs to our communities can call police on 131 444 or make an anonymously report to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

    MIL OSI News –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Marshals Extradite Austin Fugitive Intercepted by Foreign Officials in Panama

    Source: US Marshals Service

    Austin, TX – The U.S. Marshals, working with the Department of State, and Panamanian Officials received custody of a man who had been sought by the Austin Police Department on a warrant issued May 17, 2024, for aggravated kidnapping. 

    Brayan Estiven Rios, 29, Columbian national, was wanted by the Austin Police for a robbery that occurred July 19, 2022, in the 2500 block of Francisco Street. According to the affidavit, a victim reported to have been forced into a vehicle at gunpoint and was further instructed to withdraw a large sum of money from her bank account. 

    In April, the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force, Department of Justice – Office of International Affairs, and the Travis County District Attorney’s Office communicated with the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) to facilitate the extradition of Rios, who was intercepted by officials in Panama.

    On May 22, Panamanian officials handed Rios over to the USMS for extradition back to the United States. After arriving at the Austin Bergstrom International Airport, he was transported and booked into the Travis County Jail, where he will await further judicial proceedings. 

    The Department of Homeland Security filed an immigration detainer on Rios, who is a Columbian national and has no legal status in the United States. 

    The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with Panamanian authorities to secure the extradition of Rios.

    Members of the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force in Austin – 

    Austin Police Department-Tactical Intelligence Unit
    Round Rock, and San Marcos Police Department
    Caldwell, Hays, Travis, and Williamson County Sheriff’s Office
    Texas Attorney General’s Office
    Texas Department of Criminal Justice OIG
    Texas Department of Public Safety
    U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement
    U.S. DHS/Homeland Security Investigations

    MIL Security OSI –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Call for information – Vehicle fire – Alice Springs

    Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

    Police are calling for information in relation to a vehicle fire that occurred in Alice Springs on Saturday evening.

    Around 8:20pm, the Joint Emergency Services Communication Centre received multiple reports of a vehicle fire on Barrett Drive. It is alleged that two females and a male were involved in an altercation before one of the females set the vehicle alight.

    NT Police and NT Fire and Rescue Service attended the scene and the fire was extinguished.

    The three allegedly involved in the altercation are assisting police with their enquiries.

    Investigations remain ongoing.

    Police urge anyone with information in relation to the incident to make contact on 131 444. Please quote reference number P25147814. Anonymous reports can be made through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via https://crimestoppersnt.com.au/.

    MIL OSI News –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Polis Signs New Laws To Make Colorado Safer

    Source: US State of Colorado

    DENVER – Today, Governor Polis signed a number of new laws that will make Colorado safer and get tough on crime by investing in local law enforcement, supporting the families of fallen officers, and cracking down on gun theft. Before signing these new laws, Governor Polis addressed the terrorist attack in Boulder, applauding the first responders, brave bystanders and sending his thoughts to the victims and their families. 

    • SB25-310 – Proposition 130 Implementation, sponsored by Senators Kirkmeyer and Bridges, and Representatives Bird and Taggart
    • HB25-1062 – Penalty for Theft of Firearms, sponsored by Representative Armagost and Majority Leader Duran, and Senators Hinrichsen and Pelton
    • SB25-205 – Firearm Serial Number Check Request Procedure, sponsored by Senator Hinrichsen, and Representatives Espenoza and Lindstedt 

    “We continue working to make Colorado safer for everyone and I’m proud of the progress we’ve made this year. From investing in our local law enforcement and supporting the families of fallen officers, to cracking down on gun theft by increasing penalties and making it easier to identify stolen guns, and making it harder to sell stolen goods online. I appreciate the work of the legislators who continue to prioritize the safety of our communities, and look forward to implementing these new laws to support safety across our state,” said Governor Jared Polis. 

    Governor Polis also signed SB25-168 – Prevention of Wildlife Trafficking, sponsored by Senators Bright and Roberts, and Representatives Armagost and Espenoza.

    “Colorado is proud of the wild lands and animals here in our state, and this new law will help prevent wildlife trafficking by increasing the penalties for this illegal act. These wild animals are part of our identity, and we are taking further steps to ensure they stay in their natural habitats here in our great state,” said Governor Polis. 

    Governor Polis signed the following bills to protect transit workers, help young Coloradans leave the criminal justice system, and provide support for those experiencing mental health challenges. 

    • HB25-1146 – Juvenile Detention Bed Cap, sponsored by Representatives Bird and Woog, and Senators Kirkmeyer and Amabile
    • SB25-041 – Competency in Criminal Justice System Services & Bail, sponsored by Senators Michaelson Jenet and Amabile, and Representatives Bradfield and English 

    “These new laws take important steps to increase bed capacity to help young Coloradans get the support they need to get out of the criminal justice system and expand access to needed mental health supports. All of this work is so important to reducing crime, and I thank the bill sponsors for their efforts to make Colorado safer,” said Governor Jared Polis. 

    Governor Polis also signed the following bills administratively, all of which are focused on public safety: 

    “Making Colorado safer requires all of us working together and I was proud to sign these new laws to make Colorado safer from every angle. I thank all of the sponsors who worked on these bills for their commitment to increasing safety and security in our great state,” said Governor Jared Polis. 

    • SB25-288 – Intimate Digital Depictions Criminal & Civil Actions, sponsored by Majority Leader Rodriguez, and Representatives Titone and Soper
    • HB25-1250 – Gun Violence Prevention & Parents of Students, sponsored by Representative Hamrick, Majority Leader Duran, and Senator Cutter
    • SB25-079 – Colorado Vending of Digital Assets Act, sponsored by Senators Rich and Roberts, and Representatives Taggart and Jackson
    • SB25-281 – Increase Penalties Careless Driving, sponsored by Senators Carson and Snyder, and Representatives Espenoza and Armagost
    • SB25-146 – Fingerprint-Based Criminal History Record Checks, sponsored by Senators Rich and Michaelson Jenet, and Representatives Hartsook and Lukens
    • HB25-1098 – Automated Protection Order Victim Notification System, sponsored by Representatives Stewart and Soper, and Senators Michaelson Jenet and Gonzales
    • HB25-1183 – Colorimetric Field Drug Test Working Group, sponsored by Representatives Gilchrist and Bacon, and Senators Ball and Daugherty
    • SB25-273 – 14 Days Hospitals Retain Blood Draws for Investigations, sponsored by Senator Roberts, and Representatives Smith and Soper
    • HB25-1275 – Forensic Science Integrity, sponsored by Representatives Soper and Zokaie, and Senators Weissman and Frizell
    • SB25-034 – Voluntary Do-Not-Sell Firearms Waiver, sponsored by Senator Kipp and Representatives Boesenecker and Jackson.
    • SB25-189 – Require Jury to Determine Prior Convictions, sponsored by Senators Liston and Snyder, and Representatives Soper and Espenoza
    • SB25-187 – Sunset Motorcycle Operator Safety Training Program, sponsored by Senators Hinrichsen and Sullivan, and Representatives Martinez and Weinberg
    • HB25-1195 – First Responder Voter Registration Record Confidentiality, sponsored by Representatives Johnson and Martinez, and Senators Mullica and Baisley
    • HB25-1112 – Local Authorities Enforce Vehicle Registration sponsored by Representatives Titone and Hamrick, and Senators Exum and Frizell
    • HB25-1298 – Judicial Performance Commissions, sponsored by Representatives Carter and Richardson, and Senators Exum and Michaelson Jenet
    • HB25-1290 – Transit Worker Assault & Funding for Training, Sponsored by Representatives Lindstedt and Valdez, and Senators Mullica and Kirkmeyer 

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Stansbury Fights to Secure Millions for New Mexico

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Melanie Stansbury (N.M.-01)

    $158.45 million in federal Community Project Funding (CPF) requests will support essential local projects

    WASHINGTON D.C. — As the U.S. House of Representatives begins marking up appropriations bills in the House this week, Representative Melanie Stansbury (NM-01) submitted 15 Congressionally funded community projects, totaling $158,450,000 for communities across New Mexico in the upcoming 2026 budget process. Since coming to office, Rep. Stansbury has secured CPF funding for 37 projects focused on tackling New Mexico’s biggest challenges in public safety, housing, healthcare, education, protecting our lands and waters, and investing in our future.   

    “I came to Congress to support the needs of New Mexico using every tool available,” said Rep. Melanie Stansbury (NM-01). “As the Administration targets funding and resources our communities depend on, Community Project Funding is one of the most powerful tools we have to deliver investments necessary to support lasting and generational change for communities across our state. These 15 projects will help deliver vital healthcare and behavioral health services in rural communities, help seniors and families experiencing homelessness, help tackle the fentanyl crisis and public safety issues, protect our cultural heritage, and deliver water to communities across the state.  I am proud to work with the state, local, and tribal leaders who are working every day to address these needs on the ground.” 

    After more than a decade, Congress resumed congressionally directed spending for community projects four years ago.  Since then, Rep. Stansbury has secured millions in funding for fire, emergency, and public safety services, housing and food assistance, healthcare and behavioral health programs, economic development, and youth and education programs across the state.  Past submissions for Fiscal Year 2022,Fiscal Year 2023, and Fiscal Year 2024 budgets are available online. Last year, Rep. Stansbury submitted $104 million in CPF requests to support New Mexico, but Republicans stripped FY25 Community Project Funding from their Continuing Resolution.

    This year Rep. Stansbury submitted 15 projects to the House Appropriations Committee for consideration, pending approval through the Congressional budget and appropriations process. Projects this year were restricted to a limited number of federal programs, and only state, local, and Tribal governments and eligible entities are permitted to receive funding. The House Appropriations Committee will consider these requests alongside other submissions as part of the FY 2026 appropriations process, which begins with Appropriations Committee markups this week.

    Once the Appropriations Committee approves projects, they will be subject to passage in both Chambers of Congress before being signed into law. This process will likely extend into fall, with the Fiscal Year 2016 beginning on October 1. 

    A summary of the 15 projects submitted by Rep Stansbury is provided below: 

    Investing in Public Safety Across the State 

    Lincoln County, Regional Wildfire Mitigation Public Safety and Training Complex – $3,000,000 
    Funding will support building a new Regional Public Safety and Training Center to help address wildfires and boost the region’s ability to hire, train, certify, and retain firefighters.

    Fort Sumner, Fire and Rescue Fire Station – $ 1,300,000  
    Funding will support building a new fire station in Fort Sumner to serve the community on the West side of the Pecos River, allowing timely emergency response and a new community hub in the Sunny Side subdivision.

    State Police Department, Technical Capabilities Improvements – $1,650,000  
    Funding will enable NM State Police to improve wireless and other technical capabilities statewide. This includes improving 5G technologies, cellular routers, and Automated License Plate Readers, increasing real-time situational awareness and allowing for more informed and rapid decision-making for first responders. 

    Albuquerque Police Department, Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) Mobile Lab Vehicle – $800,000  
    Funding will enable the City of Albuquerque to add a new CSI Mobile Lab vehicle to update its current fleet and help meet expanded public safety needs across the Albuquerque metro area. 

    Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, Public Safety Vehicles – $1,000,000  
    Funding will support BCSO’s replacement of an aging fleet of vehicles to enhance operations and reduce maintenance costs to meet public safety needs across the Bernalillo County area.   

    Addressing Rural Healthcare and Behavioral Health Needs 

    Valencia County, Acute Care Hospital – $8,000,000  
    Funding will support construction of a state-of-the-art acute care hospital in Los Lunas, designed to meet the healthcare needs of the growing rural communities of Valencia County. This hospital will be a critical lifeline for local residents increasing access to both emergency and inpatient care.  

    Sandoval County, Behavioral Health Clinic – $8,000,000  
    Funding will support the construction of a comprehensive behavioral health and resource center in the Town of Bernalillo, in partnership with a broad set of local, tribal, and county stakeholders to address community needs related to addiction, housing, mental health and family services. This center will serve a large number of rural and remote communities across Sandoval County, providing a first-of-its-kind regional hub for urgent and ongoing medical and behavioral health needs.  

      

    Addressing Homelessness, Housing Insecurity, and Supporting Vulnerable Families 

    Bernalillo County, Affordable Housing – $2,000,000  
    Funding will provide housing for low- and moderate-income families in Downtown Albuquerque and Bernalillo County. This project will provide safe and stable temporary housing for seniors and families in need of housing support.   

    Albuquerque, Transitional Housing for Families – $1,000,000  
    Funding will support the purchase and rehabilitation of transitional housing for vulnerable families experiencing crisis. This project will help families grow out of emergency and short-term shelters and into longer term housing while they continue to get back on their feet. 

    Albuquerque, Senior Stability Shelter – $1,700,000  
    Funding will support building a new permanent shelter for seniors who are experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity in Albuquerque. This project will provide safe and stable permanent housing in a vulnerable part of the city.   

    Protecting Our Water Infrastructure

    Middle Rio Grande Pueblos, Rio Grande Pueblo Irrigation Infrastructure – $82,700,000   
    Funding will provide long-overdue support for improving acequia and irrigation infrastructure for the six middle Rio Grande Pueblos and addressing deferred maintenance, repairs, and upgrades needed for improvements in agricultural irrigation on Pueblo lands.

    City of Santa Rosa, Drinking Water Pipelines Project – $4,000,000  
    Funding will support construction of a major project for improving drinking water supplies in the City of Santa Rosa and replacing aging infrastructure impacting drinking water pipelines.  

    Town of Bernalillo, Wastewater Project – $20,000,000  
    Funding will support the rehabilitation of the Town of Bernalillo’s aging wastewater treatment plant, extending the service life of its infrastructure and future growth in the community to protect water supplies.   

    Village of Corrales, Wastewater Treatment Facility – $20,000,000  
    Funding will help install a treatment facility and expand wastewater collection across the Village of Corrales to protect local groundwater from septic system contamination, conserve water resources by recycling treated wastewater, and supporting long-term sustainability.  

    Protecting our Cultural Heritage and Historic Buildings 

    Estancia and East Mountains, Estancia Town Hall Renovation – $3,300,000 
    Funding will support planning and capital improvement repairs of the historic Estancia Community Center. The community center serves as a vital hub, offering access to essential services, educational programs, and support for generations of New Mexicans. 

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Three Admit to Roles in Drug Trafficking Organization (DOJ)

    Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

    ARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Three people have admitted to working in a large-scale drug operation in Berkeley and Jefferson Counties.  

    Juan Carlos Suarez-Lugo, age 55, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, and Alexis Alvarado, age 38, of Ranson, West Virginia, each pled guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. Mauricio Antonio Alvarado-Flores, age 38, a citizen of El Salvador, pled guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and illegal reentry.

    According to court documents and statements made in court, Suarez-Lugo, Alvarado, and Alvarado-Flores were working together and with others to sell drugs for the drug trafficking organization.

    Suarez-Lugo, Alvarado, and Alvarado-Flores each face at least five years and up to 40 years in federal prison for the drug charge. Alvarado-Flores faces up to two years in prison for the illegal reentry charge. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher is prosecuting the cases on behalf of the government.

    The Eastern Panhandle Drug Task Force was the lead investigative unit. Other investigative agencies that assisted include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, including the Pittsburgh, San Francisco, San Juan, and Philadelphia Field Offices; United States Marshals Service; Homeland Security Investigations; United States Postal Service; Drug Enforcement Administration, the Louisville and Chicago Divisions; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; West Virginia State Police; Martinsburg Police Department; Ranson Police Department; Charles Town Police Department; Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office; Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office; West Virginia Air National Guard; Mineral County Sheriff’s Office; Grant County Sheriff’s Office; Hampshire County Sheriff’s Department; Keyser Police Department; Northwest Regional Drug Task Force, Virginia; Pennsylvania State Police; Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Pennsylvania; Winchester Police Department, Virginia; Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, Virginia; Virginia State Police; Sunnyvale Police Department, California. 

    U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

    MIL Security OSI –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Two-Hundred-Eighty-Two Charged in New Cases Related to SDTX’s Continuing Efforts to Secure Southern Border

    Source: US FBI

    HOUSTON – In support of Operation Take Back America, the Southern District of Texas has filed another 281 cases in immigration and border security-related matters from May 23-29, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. 

    Among those are 105 people who face charges of illegally reentering the country. The majority have prior felony convictions for narcotics, violent crime, sexual offenses, prior immigration crimes and more. A total of 163 people are charged with illegally entering the country, while seven cases allege various instances of human smuggling with the remainder involving other immigration crimes, child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and firearms.

    One such person charged this week is Carlos Enrique Gonzalez-Pena, an alien present in the United States with a work visa who was allegedly found in possession of CSAM. The charges allege he had visited the darknet where he viewed child pornography sites. A forensic examination of his computer allegedly resulted in the discovery of two video files involving a female child approximately four to six years of age, one of which showed her being sexually assaulted. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison. 

    Another one of the cases involves Humberto Vasquez – a Mexican male who allegedly attempted to exit the United States via the Donna Port of Entry. Upon inspection, law enforcement discovered four pistols belonging to him as well as 870 rounds of assorted ammunition, according to the charges. The complaint alleges he did not possess an export license that would authorize him to transport such items into Mexico and faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of illegal exportation of firearms. 

    Authorities also found three Mexican nationals near Mission this week with no legal permission to be in the United States, according to the complaints against them. Victor Manuel Ornelas-Ochoa, Alfredo Samuel Gallegos-Esquivel and Exequiel Solano had allegedly been previously removed from the country and have felonies to include possession with intent to deliver marijuana, human smuggling and aggravated sexual assault of a child, respectively. They are all charged with illegal reentry and could receive up to 20 years in prison. Another man who faces the same charges and penalty is Julio Sanchez-Lorenzo. He is a Mexican male who had just been removed from the United States via Brownsville May 21 with no permission to return, according to the charges. However, authorities allegedly found him just six days later near Roma. 

    In addition to the new cases, a federal jury in Houston convicted a Mexican citizen for illegally reentering the United States under an assumed identity. On June 11, 2024, authorities found Jose Martin Valdez-Galvan in Laredo. At that time, he provided a false name and claimed to be a U.S. citizen. Testimony revealed Valdez-Galvan originally stole the person’s identity to avoid previous charges for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Valdez-Galvan was an illegal alien who had been previously removed but returned to the United States without permission. He had assumed the other person’s identity in 2015 after his second removal. He faces up to a 20-year prison sentence. 

    “Both public safety and basic common sense require us to know who is entering and residing in our country. Those that adopt false or stolen personas to hide their identities pose an increased criminal risk to our community,” said Ganjei. “Theft of an American citizen’s identity by a foreign national will not be tolerated, and those that engage in such criminality will be charged, punished, and, if appropriate, deported.”

    In Corpus Christi, an intoxicated driver admitted he was an alien illegally in possession of firearm. Honduran national Josias Eliseo Ulloa-Pavon had been driving under the influence of alcohol before crashing Feb. 18. Upon arrival at the scene, authorities found him pinned inside the fully overturned vehicle. He had red bloodshot eyes, appeared unsteady on his feet and had a strong odor of alcohol. A search revealed a magazine containing six rounds of ammunition in his pocket and a Bersa Model Thunder .380 caliber pistol in his car.  

    Two men from Brownfield admitted to conspiring to transport illegal aliens in Laredo federal court this week. On March 22, authorities observed a Ford Expedition circumventing a Border Patrol (BP) checkpoint near Laredo. Mac Quese Howard was driving, and De Richardson Miller was in the front passenger seat providing directions. Authorities conducted a traffic stop and found three illegal aliens hidden in the back seat. Miller and Howard admitted they had travelled to Laredo for the sole purpose of picking up the aliens and transporting them to San Antonio for payment.

    Also announced was the sentencing of a Mexican national with a felony criminal history and multiple prior removals for illegally reentering the country again. Juan Humberto Lara Molina’s has a lengthy drug, weapons and immigration criminal history including two other illegal reentry convictions. He was also convicted of dealing cocaine in Indiana and unlawful sale of firearms in Illinois and was previously ordered removed from the United States on multiple occasions, most recently in November 2021. However, law enforcement discovered him at the Falfurrias BP checkpoint Dec. 12, 2024. He was one of seven individuals being transported farther north by human smugglers in a tractor-trailer. He was ordered to serve 24 months in federal prison. 

    These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – Homeland Security Investigations, ICE – Enforcement and Removal Operations, BP, Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.

    The cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.

    Under current leadership, public safety and a secure border are the top priorities for this district. Enhanced enforcement both at the border and in the interior of the district have yielded aliens engaged in unlawful activity or with serious criminal history, including human trafficking, sexual assault and violence against children.  

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas remains one of the busiest in the nation. It represents 43 counties and more than nine million people covering 44,000 square miles. Assistant U.S. Attorneys from all seven divisions including Houston, Galveston, Victoria, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen and Laredo work directly with our law enforcement partners on the federal, state and local levels to prosecute the suspected offenders of these and other federal crimes. 

    An indictment or criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.

    MIL Security OSI –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Beaumont Convenience Store Robbers Sentenced for Killing Clerk with Firearm

    Source: US FBI

    BEAUMONT, Texas – Two men who robbed a Beaumont convenience store and killed the clerk have been sentenced to over 30 years in federal prison for firearms violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.

    Keandre Marquis Robinson, 20, of Beaumont, pleaded guilty to possessing and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death and was sentenced to 405 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Marcia Crone on May 30, 2025.  Larry Nathaniel Hagan, 28, of Houston, also pleaded guilty to the same charges and was sentenced to 420 months in federal prison by Judge Crone.

    According to information presented in court, on December 29, 2023, Robinson and Hagan were wearing masks and brandishing semi-automatic pistols when they entered the Kris Food Mart located on Gulf Street in Beaumont. Robinson quickly forced the clerk behind the counter and demanded cash while Hagan guarded the front door. Seconds later, Robinson shot the clerk two times in the chest, killing him. Robinson grabbed cigarettes from behind the counter and fled with Hagan. No cash was taken.

    Later that night, the Beaumont Police Department posted images from the robbery to social media and a tip identified Robinson. Police detained Robinson about three hours after the robbery as he was leaving his residence just a few blocks from the store. Robinson later confessed to his role in the robbery and killing but would not identify Hagan.

    Detectives searched Robinson’s phone and discovered text messages with Hagan related to the robbery.  The texts began on December 28 at 10:15 a.m. and ended a few minutes after the robbery. During the conversation, Robinson and Hagan planned to rob the store to “[g]et some money.” In one text, Robinson told Hagan that he would “knock [the clerk’s] top” [to eliminate any] “lose [sic] ends…”.  The conversation ended on December 29 at 10:07 p.m. (approximately 4 minutes after the shooting). In that text, Hagan told Robinson to “[s]tay in the house for some days”.

    “The despicable killing committed by Robinson and Hagan has caused unimaginable pain and loss to the victim’s loved ones and damaged the fabric of our society,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.  “We can never undue the pain that the victim’s loved ones have endured, but we hope this outcome provides them with some measure of closure. The lengthy sentences that were meted out today reflect the gravity of the brazen and senseless crime committed by Robinson and Hagan.”

    “This case shows the importance of collaboration between our officers, our federal partners, and the community that helped us identify the suspect so quickly,” said Beaumont Police Chief Tim Ocnaschek.  “The shooter had already committed an aggravated robbery a year before and was back on the streets just weeks before this murder. The second suspect came to our city with a violent past. While no sentence can bring back the innocent life that was lost, taking these dangerous criminals off the streets for decades makes our community safer and sends a strong message about consequences.”

    “Keandre Robinson’s text messages with Larry Hagan, plotting the slaughter of an unsuspecting store clerk, leave no doubt their only ‘plan’ was to kill,” said Douglas Williams, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Houston. “This was not a robbery gone wrong; it was a cold-blooded, premeditated execution. Thanks to the exceptional partnership between FBI Beaumont and the Beaumont Police Department, these savage criminals will now endure the full consequences of murdering an innocent man.”

    Robinson was indicted by a federal grand jury on February 7, 2024.  Hagan, who was at large until April 24, 2024 when he was arrested in New Orleans by the U.S. Marshals Service, was added to the indictment by the grand jury on May 1, 2024. 

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

    This case was investigated by the Beaumont Police Department, the FBI, and the U.S. Marshals Service, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John B. Ross.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Reducing American antisemitism requires more than condemning opposition to Israel and targeting elite universities

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By David Mednicoff, Associate Professor of Middle Eastern Studies and Public Policy, UMass Amherst

    Law enforcement officials dress in protective gear to investigate after an attack on a march in Boulder, Colo., on June 1, 2025, calling for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza. AP Photo/David Zalubowski

    Violent antisemitism in the U.S. isn’t limited to the far right wing of the political spectrum. This was tragically obvious in two recent events – the June 1, 2025, attack using Molotov cocktails to burn participants in a Boulder, Colorado, march supporting Israeli hostages in Gaza, and the murders of two Israeli embassy staffers, an American Jew and an Israeli, on May 21, 2025, outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.

    As an expert on the Middle East, including Israel, my research and administrative work have included contributing to a global effort to define antisemitism and addressing antisemitism on my own campus.

    Antisemitism can be defined simply as “discrimination, prejudice, hostility or violence against Jews as Jews (or Jewish institutions as Jewish).” What actually constitutes it is more contested, especially with respect to links between Jews and the state of Israel.

    President Donald Trump claims he is taking “unprecedented” steps to combat antisemitism.

    American Jews perceive antisemitism as rising since 2016, largely because, as one study put it, “people who hold anti-Semitic views now feel more free to express them.” But the current federal fight against antisemitism in the U.S. may have more to do with the agendas of members of the American and Israeli governments than with the concerns of most American Jews.

    First, the Trump administration’s attacks on antisemitism center on elite universities, where the president claims antisemitism runs rampant. Second, the current Israeli government tries to blur the lines between pro-Palestinian activism and antisemitism.

    These factors polarize and complicate the landscape for combating antisemitism effectively.

    GOP nominee for president Donald Trump speaks to prominent Jewish donors at an event called Fighting Anti-Semitism in America on Sept. 19, 2024, in Washington, D.C.
    Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    Targeting speech at universities by charging ‘antisemitism’

    Trump’s administration has taken dramatic actions in the name of curbing antisemitism. Yet, his policies are notable for what they ignore as well as what they target.

    Right-wing antisemitism was responsible for the deadliest attack on a Jewish community in U.S. history in Pittsburgh in 2018. Yet the administration’s model for fighting antisemitism is not based in fighting white supremacist hatred toward Jews, which relates back to the Nazis in Germany.

    In fact, members of Trump’s administration, including senior adviser Stephen Miller and former Department of Government Efficiency chief Elon Musk, have supported white supremacist ideas or groups. Trump’s own words have evoked right-wing antisemitic tropes, such as assuming American Jews are loyal to Israel or adept at making money.

    Trump administration policies on antisemitism are most vocal around punishing leading American universities as unsafe for Jews. As the leading target of the president’s ire, Harvard University has acknowledged that some activism against Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza has contributed to antisemitism on campuses.

    However, federal actions targeting Harvard ostensibly seek to punish antisemitism by demanding sweeping federal oversight of Harvard’s curriculum and self-governance. Billions of dollars in research funds have been cut. Neither action connects clearly to Harvard’s patterns or policies around antisemitism.

    Given this, Harvard sued the government in April.

    Many American Jews believe that Trump’s true purpose is to use the antisemitism issue as one means to curb free expression at universities.

    Defending Israeli policy by charging ‘antisemitism’

    National governments naturally seek political and material support from powerful allies. Israel’s efforts to encourage Americans to champion that support fit this pattern.

    Israel receives more U.S. aid than any other country. Thus, its government has an interest in enlisting diverse people and organizations in a sustained way to support its policies.

    The Israeli intervention has grown because Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government is unpopular in both Israel and the U.S. Its war in Gaza, provoked by Hamas, is highly destructive and globally unpopular.

    Most experts and policymakers now argue that Israel, along with Hamas, has committed international war crimes.

    The Israeli government recently increased its funding to US$150 million for global public relations efforts. This is a major acceleration of policies that Israeli has pursued for decades known in Hebrew as “hasbara,” which translates to “explanation.”

    Documenting specific links between Israel’s government and groups promoting its agenda in the U.S. can be difficult. This may be a deliberate strategy by Israeli leaders to conceal their efforts.

    Yet, mainstream Israeli-run organizations such as the Jewish Agency have played up links between pro-Palestinian activism and antisemitism since Hamas triggered the war in Gaza. Groups whose funding and leadership are hard to trace maintain public blacklists labeling vocal pro-Palestine activists as antisemites. Those lists have been used by Israeli government bureaucrats to bar visitors to the country.

    U.S.-based groups aligned with Israeli government messaging engage in persistent strategies to discredit opposition voices. Some attack publicly vocal activists, including some American Jews. Others press organizations, political bodies and institutions to adopt a definition of antisemitism that makes it easy to conflate criticism of Israeli policy with antisemitism.

    Anti-Israel behavior in the U.S. can be antisemitic, such as asserting that American Jews, because they are Jews, are responsible for Israeli state actions. And some American Jews support crackdowns on pro-Palestinian activists.

    However, characterizing antisemitism in the U.S. mostly in terms of speech and activism against the Israeli government augments the Trump administration’s neglect of dangerous right-wing antisemitism.

    Presidential adviser Elon Musk interviews via video the German right-wing party AfD leader Alice Weidel at AfD’s election campaign launch on Feb. 23, 2025.
    Hendrik Schmidt/picture alliance via Getty Images

    Polarization and antisemitism in the US

    Taken together, the politics pursued by Trump and the Netanyahu government combine to target legally protected speech in the U.S. more than they deter antisemitism.

    By contributing to polarization, the conflation of antisemitism with a wide range of speech critical of Israel could add to threats faced by Jews and other religious minorities. Those who wish to undermine work toward Palestinian-Israeli coexistence benefit from the charge that most pro-Palestinian activists are antisemitic. This worsens already visible divides among American Jews over how Israel’s mistreatment of Palestinians squares with their Jewish identities.

    Supported by the most aggressive pro-Netanyahu groups, the Trump administration links concerns against antisemitism to efforts to deport immigrants who have expressed pro-Palestine views, such as Tufts doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk. Deporting people in the name of policing speech critical of Israel also runs a risk that Jews will be blamed for government actions many Americans find objectionable.

    Let’s be clear. Some pro-Palestinian activism embraces Jew-hatred, as the attacks in Washington and Boulder highlight. But lumping together as antisemitic most pro-Palestinian speech, as current American and Israeli leaders do, complicates seeing antisemitism clearly and countering it.

    In addition, most Americans – and Israelis – seek an end to the war, mounting deaths and humanitarian disaster in Gaza. Any potential to blur this with antisemitism augments the few, loud American voices that support one side in the conflict by dehumanizing the other side.

    Americans believe other minority groups face greater discrimination than Jews. Yet, antisemitism from diverse directions is the worst I have seen in my lifetime.

    As with any policy problem, the way to deal with this issue is to focus on all facets of the problem, including right-wing racism and Christian nationalism.

    Current national politics around antisemitism may serve many purposes. Yet most American Jews doubt that these policies actually protect them.

    David Mednicoff does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Reducing American antisemitism requires more than condemning opposition to Israel and targeting elite universities – https://theconversation.com/reducing-american-antisemitism-requires-more-than-condemning-opposition-to-israel-and-targeting-elite-universities-257290

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Two Charged in $227 Milion Medicare Fraud Scheme

    Source: US FBI

    An Illinois man and a foreign national were arrested yesterday on criminal charges related to their alleged submission of more than $227 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare.

    According to court documents, Syed Murtuza Kablazada, 34, of Arlington Heights, and Syed Mehdi Hussain, 32, of Carol Stream, owned and operated purported medical laboratories that submitted fraudulent claims to Medicare for the reimbursement of over-the-counter COVID-19 test kits allegedly provided to Medicare beneficiaries. The defendants allegedly installed foreign nationals to act as nominee owners at the laboratories to submit fraudulent claims to Medicare for the provision of over-the-counter COVID-19 test kits, with the understanding the nominee owners would flee the United States when they learned that their laboratory was under investigation.

    “As alleged, the defendants used straw owners at multiple laboratories to cause the submission of more than $200 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare for COVID-19 test kits,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Health care fraud harms Americans by squandering taxpayer money and diverting limited resources from those who need them most. The Criminal Division will continue to aggressively prosecute these crimes to hold fraudsters accountable, protect victims, and recover financial losses.”

    “The overwhelming fraud uncovered in this investigation details a blatant disregard for America’s critical health care program, Medicare, and puts all patients at risk,” said Special Agent in Charge Douglas S. DePodesta of the FBI Chicago Field Office. “The FBI and our partners will not tolerate anyone who abuses the health care system for personal gain and will aggressively pursue justice on behalf of both patients and taxpayers.”

    “The submission of fraudulent claims to Medicare for products or services not dispensed or not medically necessary undermines the integrity of this valuable program, intended to protect the most vulnerable in our community,” said Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Christian J. Schrank of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Today’s arrests demonstrate our unwavering commitment, working in conjunction with our law enforcement partners, to identify, investigate and bring to justice those who seek to defraud our nation’s federal healthcare programs.” 

    As alleged in the indictment, the defendants rarely provided Covid-19 test kits to Medicare beneficiaries but instead submitted reimbursement claims on behalf of beneficiaries who had not requested COVID-19 test kits, including individuals who were deceased. Further, the defendants allegedly paid a marketing company to provide the names of hundreds of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries that the defendants used to submit fraudulent claims. In total, between September 2022 and June 2023, the defendants’ labs billed Medicare approximately $227 million in fraudulent claims, of which Medicare paid approximately $136 million in reimbursements.

    Kablazada and Hussain are both charged by indictment with four counts of health care fraud. If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on each of the four counts.

    The FBI Chicago Field Office and HHS-OIG are investigating the case.

    Trial Attorney Andres Q. Almendarez of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Jasmina Vajzovic for the Northern District of Illinois.

    The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of 9 strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

    An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    MIL Security OSI –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Kansas City Man Charged with Bank Robbery

    Source: US FBI

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Christopher L. Curtner, 41, was charged with bank robbery in a federal criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo. on Wednesday, May 28, 2025.

    The complaint affidavit alleges Curtner robbed a financial institution on the morning of May 27, 2025.  After speaking briefly with the bank teller, Curtner wrote a note saying: “give me the money this is a robbery.”  The teller activated the bank’s duress code and provided Curtner with approximately $1,400 in cash, after which he fled the scene.

    A Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) task force positively identified Curtner as the bank robber.  Kansas City, Missouri Police Department (KCPD) officers located Curtner, who was on foot in the Kansas City metro area. The KCPD fugitive unit began physical surveillance on Curtner and took him into custody as he entered a second financial institution.

    Under federal statutes, bank robbery carries a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment in federal prison without parole.  The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

    The charges contained in this complaint are simply accusations and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

    This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Siegele. It was investigated by the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force, Kansas City Division and the Kansas City Missouri Police Department.

    MIL Security OSI –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Leader of Drug Trafficking Organization Sentenced to Decade in Prison for Fentanyl Conspiracy

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    BOSTON – A Braintree man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for leading a large-scale drug trafficking organization (DTO) that distributed fentanyl sourced from Latin America.

    Jonathan Melendez Decatro, a/k/a “Jacha,” 32, of Braintree, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to 10 years in prison and five years of supervised release. In January 2025, Melendez Decatro pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl. Melendez Decatro was indicted in June 2023.  

    In 2019, Melendez Decatro was identified as the leader of a large-scale DTO operating in the Brockton area, who sourced narcotics directly from Colombia, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. On two dates in 2021, packages intended for Melendez Decatro were intercepted by law enforcement and each found to contain a kilogram of cocaine. Additionally, on several dates in the spring of 2023, Melendez Decatro conspired with an individual who resided in the Dominican Republic to distribute 1.5 kilograms of fentanyl to another individual in Braintree. It was later determined that the purity of the fentanyl ranged from 54% to 79% and also contained xylazine. During of search of Melendez Decatro’s residence, over $11,000 in drug proceeds and clothing worn during the fentanyl transactions were recovered.

    United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; Kimberly Milka, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration in Bogota; United States Postal Inspection Service; Massachusetts State Police; and the Brockton Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey E. Weinstein of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case.

    This operation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF. 

    MIL Security OSI –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: California Man Sentenced to 12 Months and One Day for Federal Cares Act Fraud

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    NEW ORLEANS – Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that NIPUN DESAI (“DESAI”), formerly of Hammond, La., but now a California resident, age 56, was sentenced to 12 months plus one day by U.S. District Judge Wendy B. Vitter for making false statements related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).

    On March 27, 2020, the President of the United States signed into law the CARES Act, which provided emergency assistance, administered by the United States Small Business Administration (SBA), to small business owners affected by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.  The two primary sources of funding for small businesses were the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) program.

    According to court records, on or about January 25, 2021, DESAI made false statements to an approved lender in order to obtain an SBA backed PPP loan in the amount of $146,947.50 for a hotel in Metairie, LA.  At the time of the loan application, DESAI’s hotel was permanently closed and had no employees or payroll.

    In addition to incarceration, which is to be divided between time in the Bureau of Prisons and home incarceration, DESAI was sentenced to 2 years of supervised release.  He was also ordered to repay the SBA approximately $234,000 and the Louisiana Workforce Commission $26,000.  He also paid a mandatory special assessment fee of $100 and a fine of $25,000.

    For more information on the Department of Justice’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus. Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

    As part of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) Task Force, this investigation was conducted by U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs – Office of Inspector General. The PRAC was established to promote transparency and facilitate coordinated oversight of the federal government’s COVID-19 pandemic response.  The PRAC’s 20 member Inspectors General identify major risks that cross program and agency boundaries to detect fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement in the more than $5 trillion in COVID-19 spending, including spending via the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.  This case was also supported by the PRAC’s Pandemic Analytics Center of Excellence, which applies the latest advances in analytic and forensic technologies to help OIGs and law enforcement pursue data-driven pandemic relief fraud investigations.

    Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson praised the work of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs – Office of Inspector General, the Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, and the U.S. Bankruptcy Trustee’s Office (Region 5) in investigating this matter.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward J. Rivera of the Financial Crimes Unit was in charge of the prosecution.

    MIL Security OSI –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Rhode Island Man Charged with Assaulting Border Patrol Agents by Discharging Machine Gun (DOJ)

    Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

    urlington, Vermont – The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that on May 29, 2025, a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment charging Brenden Sackal, 32, of Rockville, Rhode Island, with assaulting federal officers with a deadly weapon, possessing and discharging a machine gun in furtherance of the assault on federal officers, possessing an unregistered machine gun, and possessing a machine gun lacking an identification number as required by the National Firearms Act. Sackal’s federal arraignment date has not yet been set. Sackal also faces charges related to the shooting in Caledonia Superior Court.

    According to court records, Sackal is alleged to have assaulted five U.S. Border Patrol agents with a deadly weapon by discharging a privately manufactured 5.56 caliber AR-type pistol, on July 14, 2024. This AR-type pistol is alleged to have been a machine gun, which the National Firearms Act requires to be registered and bear a serial number. Sackal’s weapon was not registered and did not bear a serial number.

    The United States Attorney’s Office emphasizes that an indictment contains allegations only and that Sackal is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. If convicted of all counts in the superseding indictment, Sackal faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years, and up to imprisonment for life. The actual sentence, however, would be determined by the District Court with guidance from the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines and the statutory sentencing factors.

    Acting United States Attorney Michael P. Drescher commended the investigatory efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Vermont State Police. Acting United States Attorney Drescher stated “Anyone who discharges a firearm at a federal law enforcement officer will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I commend the U.S. Border Patrol, Customs and Border Protection, the Vermont State Police, and the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department personnel who pursued and apprehended Sackal on July 14, 2024.”

    The prosecutor is Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan A. Ophardt. Sackal is represented by Mark Kaplan, Esq.

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

    MIL Security OSI –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Four-Hundred-Thirteen New Immigration Cases This Week in the Western District of Texas

    Source: US FBI

    SAN ANTONIO – Acting United States Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas announced today, that federal prosecutors in the district filed 413 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from May 23 through May 29.

    Among the new cases, Salvadoran national Jaqueline Del Carmen Aleman-Aguilar was charged with one count of illegal re-entry in San Antonio. According to a criminal complaint, Aleman-Aguilar was convicted for transportation of aliens in June 2015 and sentenced to six months in federal prison. She was then removed from the United States to Mexico in July 2015.

    Christian Ruben Corea-Benavides, a Nicaraguan national, was charged in El Paso with attempting to transport illegal aliens. U.S. Border Patrol agents allegedly observed Corea-Benavides pick up five illegal aliens just over four miles west of the Fort Hancock Port of Entry. A criminal complaint alleges that during a traffic stop, the investigating USBP agent observed a female passenger in the front seat of the vehicle, and four additional passengers lying on top of one another in the backseat—all appearing to be wet and muddy.

    Mexican national Sabino Renteria-Alvarado was arrested May 28 at the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry after he attempted to enter through the pedestrian entrance and allegedly presented the Customs and Border Protection officer (CBPO) with a false claim that he had been a Legal Permanent Resident, but that police in Nevada possessed his LPR card. The CBPO referred Renteria-Alvarado to Passport Control Secondary, where records revealed he had been previously removed in January 2024 through Nogales, Arizona. His criminal record includes a 15-year prison sentence for a sexual assault of a minor conviction in 2017. Renteria-Alvarado is currently charged with one count of illegal re-entry.

    Two U.S. citizens were arrested in the Del Rio area as the result of separate human smuggling attempts, as alleged in criminal complaints. Nancy Anna Gwyn, of Houston, was encountered during a May 22 traffic stop near Carrizo Springs. USBP agents allegedly uncovered three passengers in her vehicle who were identified to be citizens of foreign countries and illegally present in the U.S. On May 24, an immigration checkpoint inspection near Eagle Pass allegedly revealed that Anastasia Lee Daneill Godfrey, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was attempting to transport two illegal aliens to San Antonio in the trunk of a sedan.

    Honduran national Walter Alonso Martinez-Chandias is charged with illegal re-entry. He has one prior removal—in June 2013 through Alexandria, Louisiana—and a lengthy criminal record that includes convictions in Birmingham, Alabama for drug trafficking and homicide, for which he was sentenced in 2018 to five years and 20 years in prison, respectively. In 2017, he was convicted in Birmingham for unlawful transport of firearms and sentenced to 81 months in prison. A criminal complaint alleges that when he was arrested on May 25, Martinez-Chandias refused to comply with Border Patrol agents’ commands and resisted attempts to be placed in custody and handcuffs by running and kicking.

    Luis Alberto Olivarez-Hernandez, of Mexico, was arrested May 27 near Eagle Pass for illegal re-entry. He has two prior removals, the last one being Feb. 25 through Laredo, five days after a felony conviction for unlawfully carrying a weapon in prohibited places. Additionally, Olivarez-Hernandez was convicted in 2010 for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

    Armando Vazquez-Ruiz, also a Mexican national, is charged with illegal re-entry after being found near Eagle Pass less than two weeks after his most recent removal. Vazquez-Ruiz had been convicted in Georgetown May 7 for assault causing bodily injury and was deported May 8 through Laredo.

    In Austin, Mexican national Basilio Luna-Luna was encountered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Travis County Jail May 24, where he was detained for what would be his seventh DWI, if convicted. Luna-Luna was previously removed from the U.S. in November 2014 and voluntarily returned to Mexico twice—once in 1998 and once in 2009.

    Juan Alberto Zarate-Salgado, also of Mexico, was encountered at the Travis County Jail as well and is charged with illegal re-entry. Zarate-Salgado has two prior removals and multiple convictions for assault of a family/household member and assault causing bodily injury to a family member.

    These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas comprises 68 counties located in the central and western areas of Texas, encompasses nearly 93,000 square miles and an estimated population of 7.6 million people. The district includes three of the five largest cities in Texas—San Antonio, Austin and El Paso—and shares 660 miles of common border with the Republic of Mexico.

    These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

    Indictments and criminal complaints are merely allegations and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Father and Son Indicted for Providing Material Support to Mexican Cartel Engaged in Terrorism

    Source: US FBI

    Defendants are alleged to have illegally imported tens of millions of dollars in crude oil

    BROWNSVILLE, Texas – Two family members with ties to South Texas have been charged with allegedly conspiring to materially support a Mexican cartel previously designated as a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to commit money laundering and related smuggling charges, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. 

    The superseding indictment, returned May 22, alleges Maxwell Sterling Jensen, 25, Draper, Utah, and James Lael Jensen, 68, Sandy, Utah, conspired to provide material support to the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) in the form of U.S. currency. The Secretary of State designated CJNG as a foreign terrorist organization Feb. 20. 

    “This case underscores the more aggressive and innovative approach the Southern District of Texas is taking towards combatting the scourge of drug cartels,” said Ganjei. “This strategy focuses not just on the traffickers and trigger-pullers directly employed by the cartels, but also targeting their confederates and enablers. Whether you are handing the cartel a gun, providing a car or safehouse for smugglers, or putting money in the cartel’s pocket, you will be held to account.”

    The Jensens allegedly operated Arroyo Terminals, an enterprise based in Rio Hondo.

    Both are also charged with allegedly conspiring to conduct financial transactions to conceal and disguise the nature and source of the proceeds of illegally smuggled goods, crude oil. They also aided and abetted the fraudulent entry of approximately 2,881 shipments of the oil in violation of the Tariff Act, according to the charges.  

    “Cases like this highlight the often-dangerous relationships between alleged unscrupulous U.S. businesses and terrorist organizations,” said Special Agent in Charge Craig Larrabee of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) San Antonio. “Through strong collaborations and relentless investigative work, we and our partners exposed a possible large-scale operation that allegedly attempted to move millions in illicit crude oil and launder the proceeds. HSI remains committed to protecting our economy and holding offenders accountable.”

    “What began as a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) drug trafficking investigation evolved into a multifaceted case involving an alleged complex criminal operation generating millions of dollars from crude oil – the largest funding source for Mexican drug cartels,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge William Kimbell of DEA – Houston. “Given the charges have profound implications for both the United States and Mexico, we will continue to explore all leads and identify any believed to be involved. The collaboration with federal law enforcement, prosecutors, and state agencies proved critical to unraveling these alleged crimes and will continue until such operations are destroyed.”

    “It is a top priority of the FBI to eliminate foreign terrorist organizations by depriving them of the funding they need to operate and by seizing their most valued assets,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Aaron Tapp of the San Antonio Field Office. “Together with our law enforcement partners, we will use every resource and capability at our disposal to ensure violent cartels and anyone who corruptly facilitates their operations are held accountable to the American people and unable to establish a foothold in our communities.”

    “Our commitment to taking down drug cartels and organized crime leverages IRS Criminal Investigation’s (CI) specialty in forensic accounting that identifies the alleged money trail and shuts down the flow of cash, just like we did in this case,” said acting Special Agent in Charge Lucy Tan, of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Houston Field Office. “Some of our best special agents are using their law enforcement expertise to build unshakeable cases to ensure criminals are taken off the streets and their ill-gotten gains are returned to the American people.”

    At the time of the initial arrests, authorities seized four tank barges containing crude oil, three commercial tanker trucks, an Arroyo Terminal pickup truck and one personal vehicle. The Arroyo Terminal property in Rio Hondo, crude oil contained Arroyo Terminal storage tanks and additional real properties are also sought for forfeiture. The superseding indictment also contains notice that the United States will seek a $300 million money judgment upon conviction. 

    The conspiracies to provide material support and to commit money laundering both carry a possible prison term of up to 20 years. If convicted of aiding and abetting the smuggling of goods into the United States and doing so by means of false statements, both men could also face up to 10 and five years, respectively. James Jensen also faces one count of money laundering spending which carries an additional 10 years in prison, upon conviction.  

    With the exception of the money laundering charge which has the possibility of up to a $500,000 fine or twice the value of the property involved, the remaining counts carry a maximum $250,000 potential fine. 

    The investigation was a joint effort among many law enforcement partners to include FBI, ICE-HSI and DEA with substantial assistance of IRS CI along with Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Marshals Service and Texas Department of Public Safety.

    Operation Liquid Death involved the combined efforts of DEA, FBI, ICE-HSI and IRS CI and others and is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSA) James Sturgis and Laura Garcia are prosecuting the case. AUSAs Mary Ellen Smyth and Tyler Foster are handling seizure and forfeiture matters.

    An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law. 

    MIL Security OSI –

    June 3, 2025
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