Category: Crime

MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: CBIC destroys 10,413 kg seized narcotics and 94.62 lakh tablets worth Rs. 2,246 during Drug Disposal Drivefrom 11th to 26th January, 2025

Source: Government of India (2)

Posted On: 29 JAN 2025 6:53PM by PIB Delhi

As part of Drug Disposal Driveby the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), Ministry of Finance, from 11^th to 26^th, January, 2025, the field formations of CBIC destroyed around 7,844 kgganja, 1,724 kg methaqualone (mandrax), 560 kghashish/charas, 130 kg methamphetamine, 105 kgketamine, 23 kgheroin, 20 kg cocaine, 7 kg MDMA, 94.16 lakh tramadol HCL tablets, 46,000 alprazolam tablets and 586 ampules of injections of various drugs.

The illicit international market value of destroyed NDPS is around Rs. 2246 crores. The destruction was carried out in a safe and non-hazardous manner at multiple locations across India.

The Drug Disposal Drive not only underscores CBIC’s commitment towards combating NDPS trafficking but also aims to promote awareness among public of the initiatives being taken by CBIC in this regard. The drive coincides with the nationwide drive launched by Union Home Minister during regional conference on Drug Trafficking and National Security held on 11th January 2025 at New Delhi.

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NB/KMN

(Release ID: 2097413) Visitor Counter : 65

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

January 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: John Matthew Nigh

Source: US Marshals Service

NOTICE TO LAW ENFORCEMENT: Before arrest, verify warrant through the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). If subject is arrested or whereabouts known, contact the nearest U.S. Marshals Service office, American Embassy/Consulate, call the U.S. Marshals Service Communications Center at 1-800-336-0102, or submit a tip using U.S. Marshals Service Tips.

For More Information Scan Code Above.

MIL Security OSI –

January 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Hantsport — West Hants RCMP Detachment charges a man involved in break-in
Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

West Hants RCMP Detachment has charged a man following a break and enter in Windsor.

On January 4, at approximately 9:15 a.m., RCMP officers responded to a break and enter at a residential construction site on Abbey Rd. Officers learned that a Chevrolet Aveo was seen fleeing the area with stolen tools valued at approximately $5,000.

Through the investigation, officers linked the Chevrolet to an address on Smith Rd. in Glooscap First Nation and later observed two people leave in the vehicle at a high rate of speed. A traffic stop was attempted, but the driver didn’t pull over. In the interest of public safety, a pursuit was not initiated.

A short time later, another RCMP officer attempted to stop the Chevrolet as it travelled on Hwy. 1. The vehicle came to a stop on West Brooklyn Rd. before fleeing; the officer didn’t pursue the vehicle.

Shortly afterwards, the Aveo was located in a ditch along West Brooklyn Mountain Rd. At the scene, RCMP officers followed two sets of footprints leading from the crash site and located and arrested one of the vehicle’s occupants, 26-year-old Morgan Cynthia Hennigar of Halifax. Hennigar has been charged with Obstructing a Peace Officer and Failure to Comply with Order; she’s due in Windsor Provincial Court on May 15.

From the information gathered, a second person of interest was identified.

On January 27, RCMP officers safety arrested 27-year-old Michael Jody James Paul at a Hantsport residence. He’s facing the following charges:
- Break and Enter and Theft
- Flight from a Peace Officer
- Dangerous Operation of a Conveyance
- Operation While Prohibited
- Failure to Comply with Order (seven counts)
“After identifying Michael Paul on January 4, we continued our efforts to locate and apprehend him,” says Cpl. Travis MacDonald of the West Hants RCMP Detachment. “On two occasions, his vehicle fled from police in a dangerous manner and officers did not pursue it in the interest of public safety. On January 27, investigators organized an operation involving surveillance and RCMP Police Dog Services, which resulted in Paul being safety arrested.”

Paul has been remanded into custody and is scheduled to appear in Windsor Provincial Court on January 29.

The investigation is ongoing.

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January 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Tennessee Man Sentenced to 270 Months for Sex Trafficking Conspiracy

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

NEW ORLEANS – CHARLES CUNIGAN (“CUNIGAN”), a resident of Tennessee, was sentenced on January 14, 2025, for conspiring to commit sex trafficking, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1594(c).

According to court documents, CUNIGAN, age 31, and his girlfriend Latesha Gardner, age 31, forced a seventeen-year-old victim to engage in commercial sex acts in New Orleans for three months to generate money so CUNIGAN could purchase a vehicle. The defendants advertised the minor victim for commercial sex on the internet and used physical abuse and other means to force her to comply. CUNIGAN carried a firearm and pistol whipped the minor victim on one occasion. CUNIGAN kept all of the money the minor victim made from commercial sex transactions and required her to meet a minimum daily dollar threshold from these sex acts. He conditioned the victim’s ability to eat on whether she earned enough money. CUNIGAN also tracked the geolocation data on the victim’s phone and threatened to kill her if she left.

U.S. District Court Judge Jay C. Zainey sentenced CUNIGAN to 270 months’ imprisonment, followed by a lifetime of supervised release. CUNIGAN was ordered to pay $48,750 in restitution to the minor victim and to participate in the sex offender registration and notification program. In addition, Judge Zainey imposed a $100 mandatory special assessment fee. In September 2024, CUNIGAN’s co-defendant, Gardner, was sentenced to 60 months imprisonment for her role in this conspiracy.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brent S. Wible, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, made the announcement.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Orlando, Florida Metropolitan Bureau of Investigations. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Maria M. Carboni and Trial Attorney Melissa E. Bücher of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section.

MIL Security OSI –

January 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Lexington Man Sentenced for Fentanyl Trafficking and Conspiracy to Launder Drug Proceeds

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

LEXINGTON Ky. – A Lexington man, Jamele Mundy, 35, was sentenced on Monday, to 156 months in prison, by U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell, for possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, conspiracy to commit money laundering offenses, and concealment money laundering.

According to his guilty plea agreements and other Court records, Mundy participated in a multi-jurisdictional, international money laundering and drug trafficking organization. In doing so, Mundy received kilogram quantities of fentanyl and cocaine base (“crack” cocaine) for distribution in Lexington. In May 2023, DEA executed a search warrant at a stash house being operated by Mundy. There, they seized 3.132 kilograms of fentanyl, 2.314 kilograms of cocaine base, and $67,315 in cash. The residence also contained plastic blenders with drug residue, a metal kilogram press, heat sealing machines, and a digital scale.

Mundy would process these narcotics for further distribution, using the kilogram press and heat-sealing machine at the residence. He would then collect the money from the sale of these drugs and contact his source of supply, to return the proceeds. Mundy participated in this money laundering of drug proceeds by delivering bulk cash to others, who were responsible for converting it to cryptocurrency and sending those proceeds to members of the drug trafficking organization. In February 2023, Mundy delivered $147,540 in drug proceeds for laundering.

Under federal law, Mundy must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence. Upon his release from prison, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for five years. Mundy was also required to forfeit the $67,315 that was seized from his residence.

Carlton S. Shier, IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Jim Scott, Special Agent in Charge, DEA, Louisville Field Division, jointly announced the sentence.

The investigation was conducted by the DEA. Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Bradbury is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

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January 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Man convicted of murdering former girlfriend in Croydon

Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

A man has been convicted of the murder of his ex-girlfriend in Croydon.

Hussain Haron, 24 (17.09.00) of London Road, Mitcham was found guilty of the murder of Felecia Cadore on Wednesday, 29 January at Snaresbrook Crown Court, following a six-day trial.

Police were called to a report of an altercation at an address in Grenaby Avenue, Croydon on 9 June 2023.

Felecia, aged 29, was found with stab wounds and was taken to hospital in a critical condition. She sadly died from her injuries on 14 June 2023.

The court heard that Haron climbed through the window of the address in the search of Felecia. Following an altercation between the two, Haron grabbed a knife and violently stabbed her.

He was arrested later that afternoon and was found in possession of the knife he used to attack Felecia.

Despite claiming he was acting in self-defence, Haron was found guilty of murder by the jury.

He is due to be sentenced at the same court on Friday, 31 January.

Detective Chief Inspector Craig Magee, from Specialist Crime, said: “Today, justice has been served following the conviction of Hussain Haron for the murder of Felecia Cadore in June 2023. It is an example of the devastating impact violence against women and girls can have.

“The verdict is a result of officers working meticulously and tirelessly to secure evidence. It is also testament to the courage of the witnesses who helped establish the facts, and bravely stood in the court room to give their evidence.

“It has been 18 months since Felecia was killed. I hope that today’s verdict provides her family with some comfort and allows them to begin to process the effect this brutal crime has had. We will continue to support the family of Felecia following this horrific attack.”

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January 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Defendant Extradited To Face Charges Related To International Bank Fraud And Money Laundering Ring That Caused Over $60 Million In Losses

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

Members of the Charged Conspiracy Opened Bank Accounts for Over 1,000 Fake Businesses to Receive and Launder the Proceeds of Fraudulent Schemes, Causing Actual Losses of Over $60 Million and Intended Losses of Over $150 Million

Danielle R. Sassoon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Patrick J. Freaney, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the United States Secret Service (“USSS”), announced today that ERICK JASON VICTORIA-BRTIO was extradited from the Dominican Republic and will appear in a federal courtroom in Manhattan later today. VICTORIA-BRITO is charged in a two-count Indictment with conspiring to commit bank fraud and money laundering from December 2017 through November 2022. In connection with the scheme, VICTORIA-BRITO and other members of the charged conspiracy registered over 1,000 fake businesses, used those fake businesses to open bank accounts to receive money stolen through business e-mail compromise schemes, and then laundered that money. Members of the conspiracy caused over $60 million in actual losses and attempted to steal over $150 million.

U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon said: “As we allege, Erick Jason Victoria-Brito and his co-conspirators ran an international bank fraud and money laundering scheme designed to help carry out business email compromise scams. These scams cause significant harm to businesses, nonprofits, and even local governments. As the successful extradition of Erick Jason Victoria-Brito shows, this Office and our partners will not rest until every individual responsible is held accountable.”

USSS Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Freaney said: “This alleged scheme rained down financial ruin upon unwitting businesses and individuals. While the suspects operated with impunity across the nation and beyond, the U.S. Secret Service and its partners remained steadfast in building a strong case — no matter where the evidence took them. I commend the investigators and prosecutors for their commitment to disrupting this type of insidious fraud on behalf of all those victimized by it.”

As alleged in the Indictment, Superseding Indictments, and court filings:[1]

From at least December 2017 through at least November 2022, a group of individuals perpetrated a massive, international bank-fraud and money-laundering scheme (the “Fraud and Money Laundering Scheme”) designed to obtain and launder the proceeds of business e-mail compromise schemes. In a business email compromise scheme, a scheme member fraudulently induces a company or individual to send money to a bank account controlled by that scheme member or the scheme member’s compatriots.

The Fraud and Money Laundering Scheme operated across borders and preyed on businesses large and small. Between 2020 and 2021 alone, participants in the scheme stole tens of millions of dollars, targeting victims that included a major American sports organization, a publicly traded healthcare company, and a prominent international nonprofit organization, along with multiple city governments, law firms, construction companies, and investment funds. Participants in the Fraud and Money Laundering Scheme registered over 1,000 fake businesses, then used those businesses to open bank accounts. Those bank accounts then received the proceeds of business email compromise schemes. Once the stolen funds reached those fraudulent bank accounts, participants in the Fraud and Money Laundering Scheme worked quickly to take advantage of the international banking system by either withdrawing the money or helping to launder it by wiring it to overseas banks, thereby preventing victims from recouping their losses. The co-conspirators accomplished that primarily by wiring stolen money to banks in China, outside the reach of American banks. During the course of the charged conduct, members of the conspiracy participated in inflicting over $60 million in actual losses and attempted to inflict losses of over $150 million.

* * *

VICTORIA-BRITO, 30, of Hollywood, Florida, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge.

Ms. Sassoon praised the outstanding investigative work of the New York City Police Department, USSS, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Homeland Security Investigations. Ms. Sassoon further thanked the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations for their assistance.

This case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas S. Burnett and Amanda C. Weingarten are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Indictment and Superseding Indictments are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment and Superseding Indictment, and the description of the Indictment and Superseding Indictment set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described herein should be treated as an allegation.

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January 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: ‘Keeping America Left-of-Boom Safe’

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

The FBI is the lead federal agency for responding to WMD threats. The Bureau’s program has existed since 1995, but in 2006 it shifted to a more operational posture as the Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate inside the Bureau’s National Security Branch. The directorate, located at FBI Headquarters, develops the overall policy, guidance, and countermeasures for operators in the field. In FBI field offices across the U.S., WMD coordinators put it all into action.

“We’re the boots on the ground,” said Caviggiola.

Their primary roles include training first responders, partners, and even fellow agents and task force officers on the different modalities of WMD investigations—chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive, often referred to as CBRNE. They are subject matter experts who coordinate the tactical responses when WMDs are suspected.

In the Vermont case, for example, WMD coordinator Tom Stewart led all the responding agencies through the FBI’s Threat Credibility Evaluation (TCE) to determine the gravity of the threat and develop a plan of action. While the TCE process follows strict guidelines established by national policy for interagency responses, the FBI also developed a 14-point checklist—available on an FBI phone application—that helps WMD coordinators and first responders evaluate and process scenes that may not rise to the level of Headquarters involvement.

“We’re constantly in a state of being an investigator and being an educator,” Stewart said. Indeed, many WMD coordinators wear multiple hats: the full cadre includes SWAT operators, special agent bomb technicians, and members of evidence response teams (ERT) and hazardous evidence response teams (HERT). Like each of those disciplines, WMD coordinators receive extensive training and certifications before stepping into the uniquely dangerous role.

MIL Security OSI –

January 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Arrest made in Wimbledon school fatal collision investigation

Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

Detectives investigating the fatal collision at the Study Prep School in Wimbledon in July 2023 have arrested the driver as part of their ongoing investigation, as they appeal for further potential witnesses to come forward.

The 48-year-old female driver was arrested on Tuesday 28 January, on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving – she has been bailed pending further enquiries to a date in late April. This is the second time she has been arrested for this offence, the first time being at the scene of the collision on 6 July 2023.

Nuria Sajjad and Selena Lau – both eight years old – died when a car crashed through a fence and collided with a building at the school.

An initial investigation by the Roads and Transport Policing Command (RTPC) resulted in a direction from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in June 2024 that the driver should face no further action.

After concerns were raised by the families of Nuria and Selena regarding this outcome, it was agreed the Specialist Crime Review Group (SCRG) would carry out a review of the investigation. That review identified lines of enquiry which required further examination.

In October the investigation was moved to the Specialist Crime Command, under Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford. He leads a team who have since been pursuing new lines of enquiry identified by the review.

Detective Superintendent Basford said: “I would like to take this opportunity to appeal to any witnesses or individuals with information who are yet to speak to police to please come forward.

“Were you attending the local golf course or driving in or around the area of the Study Prep School in Wimbledon at the time of the collision? Did you see the vehicle – a distinctive gold Land Rover Defender – in the lead up to the collision? We believe there were people in the local area who have not been spoken to by police and remain unidentified. I would ask those individuals to please contact us.

“Our main priority is to ensure the lines of enquiry identified by the review are progressed. This is a live investigation and in order to maintain its integrity I can’t go into further detail at this stage. I would urge people to avoid speculation.”

+ To provide information you can contact the major incident room on 0207 175 0793, call 101 quoting CAD 6528/27Jan, or message @MetCC on X providing the CAD reference. Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online.

MIL Security OSI –

January 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Slovak Republic: Staff Concluding Statement of the 2025 Article IV Mission
Source: IMF – News in Russian

January 29, 2025

A Concluding Statement describes the preliminary findings of IMF staff at the end of an official staff visit (or ‘mission’), in most cases to a member country. Missions are undertaken as part of regular (usually annual) consultations under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, in the context of a request to use IMF resources (borrow from the IMF), as part of discussions of staff monitored programs, or as part of other staff monitoring of economic developments.

The authorities have consented to the publication of this statement. The views expressed in this statement are those of the IMF staff and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF’s Executive Board. Based on the preliminary findings of this mission, staff will prepare a report that, subject to management approval, will be presented to the IMF Executive Board for discussion and decision.

Washington, DC: An International Monetary Fund mission, led by Magnus Saxegaard, and comprising Christian Bogmans, Shinya Kotera, Yen Mooi, and Jonathan Pampolina conducted discussions for the 2025 Article IV consultation with the Slovak Republic virtually during December 4-13, 2024, and in Bratislava, Slovakia, during January 15-28, 2025. Sumiko Ogawa, Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) mission chief, joined the concluding meeting. At the conclusion of the visit, the mission issued the following statement:

Slovakia, like much of the EU, faces headwinds related to geoeconomic fragmentation, high energy costs, and demographic change. Growth has held up in recent years, but at the cost of a much-increased fiscal deficit. Steadfast implementation of the authorities’ ambitious 4-year consolidation plan is needed to reverse the upward trajectory in public debt, alongside policies to strengthen financial resilience and structural reforms to bolster medium-term growth, including through efforts to strengthen governance and reduce vulnerability to corruption.

Economic Developments, Outlook, and Risks

The Slovak economy is recovering. The economy slowed sharply in 2022-23, but growth is estimated to have accelerated to 2.1 percent in 2024, outpacing that in the euro area. Private consumption was the main driver fueled by recovering real wages, the extension of household energy support, and more generous pensions. Meanwhile, an increase in public consumption partially offset a slowdown in EU-funded public investments. While inflation has declined from record-highs in 2023, it increased in 2024H2 due to higher global food price inflation. Core inflation is higher than in the euro area, driven by a tight labor market and strong nominal wage growth.

Economic growth is projected to moderate to 1.9 percent in 2025, before rising to 2.1 percent in 2026. The fiscal consolidation in 2025 will lower growth directly by slowing government spending, and indirectly as higher taxes put upward pressure on prices and dampen private consumption, though the effect will be partially mitigated by the one-year extension of household energy support and strong EU-funded public investments. Meanwhile external demand is expected to remain subdued. For 2026, higher growth in trading partners and increased capacity in the automotive sector is expected to boost exports. Inflation is projected to rise temporarily to 4.0 percent in 2025 and moderate to 3.2 percent in 2026. Adverse demographic trends and lower productivity growth imply that Slovakia’s medium-term growth, as projected by staff, is expected to be significantly lower than its pre-pandemic average, and below IMF forecasts of medium-term growth in other Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe (CESEE) countries with comparable income levels.

Risks to growth are tilted to the downside while risks to inflation are broadly balanced. Near term risks include a global slowdown or intensifying trade policy uncertainty which would weigh on growth and exert downward pressure on inflation. Domestically, slippages in fiscal consolidation could increase sovereign spreads and tighten financial conditions. A lack of political consensus on structural reforms and concerns about institutional quality could deter private investment and slow the disbursement of EU funds that have been critical in supporting public investment. A correction in real estate prices combined with an economic downturn could trigger losses for financial institutions. Meanwhile, continued strong nominal wage growth could undermine competitiveness and keep inflation elevated.

Fiscal Policy

Slovakia’s fiscal outlook is challenging. The fiscal deficit is projected to have increased to 5.7 percent in 2024 from 5.2 percent in 2023 due to a combination of revenue easing and higher spending that more than offset the 0.6 percent of GDP in net consolidation measures in the 2024 budget. This increase follows the 3.6 percentage points of GDP widening of the fiscal deficit in 2023. While the change in government in October 2023 meant time to finalize the 2024 budget was short, it is clear ex-post that robust growth combined with significant medium-term fiscal challenges would have warranted a tighter fiscal stance in 2024.

The mission welcomes the authorities’ ambitious fiscal consolidation targets for 2025-28, which is commensurate with the scale of Slovakia’s fiscal challenges.
- The 2025 budget targets a reduction in the headline deficit to 4.7 percent of GDP. Fund staff’s more conservative macroeconomic forecasts imply an overall deficit of 4.9 percent of GDP in 2025. However, the projected structural tightening is broadly in line with the budget. These forecasts are subject to significant downside risks, including from a lower-than-expected yield from the fiscal consolidation measures or a worse economic outlook. If revenues in 2025 appear to be falling short of targets (as implied by staff’s macroeconomic forecasts) the authorities should limit the resulting increase in the deficit, including by saving as much as possible of the contingency buffer.
- Beyond 2025, the medium-term fiscal structural plan targets another 2.5 percentage points of GDP reduction in the fiscal deficit to bring it close to 2 percent of GDP by 2028, though measures to achieve this consolidation are not yet specified. Staff projections suggest that the fiscal consolidation envisaged over the next four years, if met, will reverse the increase in the deficit over the past two years and put public debt on a downward path by the end of the projection period. Staff’s baseline forecast, which does not include any further consolidation beyond that in the 2025 budget, entails a gradual increase in the deficit over the medium term, with public debt rising to 75 percent of GDP by end-2030 from 56 percent of GDP in 2023.
The consolidation measures for 2025 are a step in the right direction. Several of the measures are welcome and will help reduce the deficit on a structural basis, including the increase in the basic VAT rate, and better targeting of child benefits. However, the increase in the number of items subject to reduced VAT rates deprives the government of much needed revenue, while the financial transactions tax (FTT) could weaken financial intermediation and increase incentives for informality.

The measures to lower Slovakia’s fiscal deficit closer to 2 percent of GDP by 2028 should be consistent with Slovakia’s long-term growth and climate objectives, while protecting the most vulnerable in society. While there is no definitive evidence that reducing spending is more effective than increasing revenues in terms of economic efficiency or equity, prioritizing the rationalization of expenditures moving forward would result in a more balanced fiscal consolidation, given the reliance on revenue-based measures thus far.
- Spending: According to Fund staff estimates, value for Money initiatives, including a reduction in subsidies, could yield savings of up to 0.5 percent of GDP, while improved targeting could reduce social spending by as much as 0.8 percent of GDP. Also, there may be scope to increase efficiency by trimming departmental budgets and reducing public sector wage growth, though this should be done cautiously to avoid unintended cuts in service delivery. Reversing the increase of the 13^th pension could yield about 0.4 percent of GDP in savings while eliminating the recently introduced early retirement option could yield fiscal savings over the long-term. Finally, energy support measures to households (projected to cost 0.2 percent of GDP in 2025) should be phased out as they are costly and discourage energy conservation.
- Revenues: Reducing the number of items subject to reduced VAT rates could generate as much as 1.3 percent of GDP in savings, while raising property taxes by transitioning to a market value-based system could generate around 0.3 percent in additional revenue. Plans to counter tax evasion and reduce the VAT compliance gap are welcome and could yield up to 0.5 percent of GDP in revenues. Finally, the authorities should replace the FTT with alternative revenue sources, while phasing out the bank levy as planned.
Safeguarding Slovakia’s strong fiscal framework is essential for the credibility of the consolidation effort. Aligning Slovakia’s national expenditure ceiling framework with the new EU fiscal rules avoids inconsistencies and streamlines the budget process but continued focus on the long-term fiscal outlook (beyond the horizon used for the EU fiscal framework) remains useful given Slovakia’s medium-term fiscal challenges. Slovakia’s strong and independent Council for Budgetary Responsibility can help by monitoring the impact of government policies on the long-term sustainability of public finances. Lastly, the mission recommends reforming the debt brake before it comes into effect in 2026, to avoid the risk of a disruptive fiscal consolidation.

The mission welcomes the government’s objective to increase absorption of EU funds. The Slovak government is working with the OECD and the European Commission to identify concrete measures to increase absorption. In this regard, there is a need to strengthen project management capacity, especially at the municipal level, while the preparation of a national investment plan could help guide the timely selection of investment projects.

Financial Sector Policy

The 2024 Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP)—an in-depth review of the financial sector—assessed the banking sector to be resilient against severe shocks, reflecting a healthy level of buffers and profitability. The residential real estate market remains a source of vulnerability. In particular, tighter financial conditions, an economic slowdown, and a decline in still-elevated house prices could put pressure on households’ repayment capacity and increase the riskiness of banks’ mortgage portfolios. Also, risks remain elevated in the office segment of the commercial real estate (CRE) market while banks with large exposures to firms facing geopolitical risks could be vulnerable to credit losses. That said, solvency stress tests indicate that banks have sufficient capital to withstand severe macro-financial shocks. Likewise, liquidity stress tests indicate that the banking system as a whole is resilient to funding and market liquidity shocks.

The current macroprudential stance is broadly appropriate, but the policy framework could be further developed over the medium term to help attenuate cyclical and structural risks.
- Residual risks in the residential and CRE markets suggest the current level of the countercyclical capital buffer (CCyB) is appropriate. Borrower-based measures (BBMs) have contributed to contain household credit risk and should remain in force. The authorities should stand ready to activate the systemic risk buffer on banks’ CRE exposures before risks in the sector become systemic.
- The macroprudential policy framework could be further strengthened by adopting a positive neutral countercyclical capital buffer (pnCCyB). A pnCCyB would help safeguard the availability of releasable capital and give policymakers time to collect evidence of a build-up in vulnerabilities. A healthy level of profitability and/or the availability of voluntary buffers would help facilitate a smooth introduction of a pnCCyB. In addition, remaining leakages in the BBMs (e.g. co-financing a mortgage with a consumer loan) should be closed, while the BBM speed limits should be differentiated across borrower categories (e.g. first- and second-time home buyers, investors, and mortgage top-ups).
Financial resilience could be bolstered by strengthening the supervision of less significant institutions (LSIs) as well as the crisis management framework.
- The NBS’s supervisory powers and operational independence should be enhanced by restricting banks’ appeals only to supervisory decisions and corrective measures that are finalized, and by strengthening the legal protections for supervisors. Moreover, the NBS should streamline off-site supervision to align with LSI’s risk profile and strengthen on-site inspections to bolster the overall effectiveness of LSI supervision.
- The financial safety net and crisis management framework should be reinforced by ensuring that the National Resolution Authority (NRA) has adequate resources, preventing the judiciary from suspending or reversing resolution decisions, ensuring NRA resolutions are immediately enforceable, and enhancing the legal protection of staff involved in resolution. Meanwhile, the authorities should remove active bankers from the board of the deposit guarantee fund to prevent conflicts of interest, while expanding the fund’s mandate and financial strength to enable it to play a broader role in crisis management.
Efforts to strengthen the AML/CFT framework should continue. In particular, the authorities should review the criteria for the application of ML/TF sanctions, strengthen coordination between the NBS and Financial Intelligence Unit, and introduce mechanisms to verify beneficial ownership information and sanction the submission of inaccurate information.

Structural Policy

Slovakia needs structural reforms to diversify its economy, enhance resilience to global shocks and sustain productivity growth. The success of the automotive sector has led to decades of strong growth but exposed Slovakia to global trends related to the green transition and automation. To improve resilience and sustain productivity growth the authorities should intensify efforts to promote innovation and technology adoption. In this context, the mission welcomes the increase in direct government R&D spending, but further efforts are needed to stimulate business R&D including in small firms and startups that are not yet profitable. At the same time, deepening the European single market would allow innovative firms to leverage economies of scale. Finally, advancing the capital market union would facilitate cross-border flows of capital including equity financing and venture capital, which is critical for supporting startups, particularly in countries with less-developed capital markets.

The automotive sector is facing headwinds related to the unfolding green transition and rapid rise of electronic vehicle (EV) production in other markets. To address these challenges, the authorities should encourage innovation across the entire domestic EV production supply chain, promote efforts to diversify the economy, and enhance Active Labor Market Policies (ALMPs) to facilitate the movement of workers across sectors.

The challenges of an aging population require policies to increase the labor force. Flexible working arrangements, shortening the 3-year long maximum parental leave period, and improved child and elderly care could increase female participation, while tax credits and restrictions on early retirement could raise labor force participation among the elderly. The recent easing of national visa rules for foreign workers in professions with shortages could boost migrant inflows, but further efforts are needed to integrate and retain migrants, including by scaling up language training and streamlining certification recognition. Increased focus on vocational education and training would help bring down Slovakia’s high youth unemployment.

Maintaining a favorable investment climate, strengthening governance, and reducing vulnerability to corruption will help lift the economy’s growth potential.
- Governance indicators and perceptions of judicial independence lag peers, and recent surveys point to a decline in the perceived effectiveness of anti-corruption policies.
- A new national anti-corruption strategy is expected to be released mid-year. In that context, the authorities should verify that the new institutional framework that replaced the dissolved Special Prosecutor’s Office and National Crime Agency has not weakened the institutional capacity to investigate and prosecute high-level corruption. Also, the asset declaration and conflict of interest framework for high-risk public officials could be improved. Specifically, broadening the scope of covered public officials, and centralizing and digitizing the submission and publication process with robust verification procedures and appropriate sanctions, would be beneficial. Finally, existing safeguards pertaining to the Prosecutor General’s authority to annul decisions by lower-level prosecutors should be strengthened.
- Safeguards to ensure members of the Judicial Council can only be recalled based on specific and reasonable grounds would enhance judicial independence. Also, the crime of “abuse of law”, whereby judges are subject to criminal liability for their decisions, can have an intimidating effect on judges. Additional safeguards to ensure the framework balances the accountability of judges and independent judicial decision-making would be beneficial.
While greenhouse gas emissions have fallen by 50 percent since 1990, further efforts are needed to cut emissions by 55 percent by 2030 and to reach net-zero by 2050. Slovakia should move expeditiously to fully implement the ETS II scheme for road transport and buildings and could consider gradually raising environmental levies in these sectors until the scheme becomes operational in 2027. The authorities should continue exploring options to replace two coal-fired blast furnaces in the steel industry and phase out fossil fuel subsidies. Also, supporting environmental R&D and green technology would support mitigation efforts and economic diversification. Lastly, a more integrated energy market in Europe would encourage investment in renewables and enhance energy security and reduce energy prices.

The IMF team thanks the authorities and other interlocutors for their generous hospitality and constructive dialogue.

Table 1. Slovakia: Selected Economic Indicators, 2020–2030

IMF Communications Department

MEDIA RELATIONS

PRESS OFFICER: Boris Balabanov

Phone: +1 202 623-7100Email: MEDIA@IMF.org

@IMFSpokesperson

https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2025/01/29/mcs-012925-slovak-republic-staff-concluding-statement-of-the-2025-article-iv-mission

MIL OSI
MIL OSI Russia News –
January 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: Slovak Republic: Staff Concluding Statement of the 2025 Article IV Mission
Source: International Monetary Fund

January 29, 2025

A Concluding Statement describes the preliminary findings of IMF staff at the end of an official staff visit (or ‘mission’), in most cases to a member country. Missions are undertaken as part of regular (usually annual) consultations under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, in the context of a request to use IMF resources (borrow from the IMF), as part of discussions of staff monitored programs, or as part of other staff monitoring of economic developments.

The authorities have consented to the publication of this statement. The views expressed in this statement are those of the IMF staff and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF’s Executive Board. Based on the preliminary findings of this mission, staff will prepare a report that, subject to management approval, will be presented to the IMF Executive Board for discussion and decision.

Washington, DC: An International Monetary Fund mission, led by Magnus Saxegaard, and comprising Christian Bogmans, Shinya Kotera, Yen Mooi, and Jonathan Pampolina conducted discussions for the 2025 Article IV consultation with the Slovak Republic virtually during December 4-13, 2024, and in Bratislava, Slovakia, during January 15-28, 2025. Sumiko Ogawa, Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) mission chief, joined the concluding meeting. At the conclusion of the visit, the mission issued the following statement:

Slovakia, like much of the EU, faces headwinds related to geoeconomic fragmentation, high energy costs, and demographic change. Growth has held up in recent years, but at the cost of a much-increased fiscal deficit. Steadfast implementation of the authorities’ ambitious 4-year consolidation plan is needed to reverse the upward trajectory in public debt, alongside policies to strengthen financial resilience and structural reforms to bolster medium-term growth, including through efforts to strengthen governance and reduce vulnerability to corruption.

Economic Developments, Outlook, and Risks

The Slovak economy is recovering. The economy slowed sharply in 2022-23, but growth is estimated to have accelerated to 2.1 percent in 2024, outpacing that in the euro area. Private consumption was the main driver fueled by recovering real wages, the extension of household energy support, and more generous pensions. Meanwhile, an increase in public consumption partially offset a slowdown in EU-funded public investments. While inflation has declined from record-highs in 2023, it increased in 2024H2 due to higher global food price inflation. Core inflation is higher than in the euro area, driven by a tight labor market and strong nominal wage growth.

Economic growth is projected to moderate to 1.9 percent in 2025, before rising to 2.1 percent in 2026. The fiscal consolidation in 2025 will lower growth directly by slowing government spending, and indirectly as higher taxes put upward pressure on prices and dampen private consumption, though the effect will be partially mitigated by the one-year extension of household energy support and strong EU-funded public investments. Meanwhile external demand is expected to remain subdued. For 2026, higher growth in trading partners and increased capacity in the automotive sector is expected to boost exports. Inflation is projected to rise temporarily to 4.0 percent in 2025 and moderate to 3.2 percent in 2026. Adverse demographic trends and lower productivity growth imply that Slovakia’s medium-term growth, as projected by staff, is expected to be significantly lower than its pre-pandemic average, and below IMF forecasts of medium-term growth in other Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe (CESEE) countries with comparable income levels.

Risks to growth are tilted to the downside while risks to inflation are broadly balanced. Near term risks include a global slowdown or intensifying trade policy uncertainty which would weigh on growth and exert downward pressure on inflation. Domestically, slippages in fiscal consolidation could increase sovereign spreads and tighten financial conditions. A lack of political consensus on structural reforms and concerns about institutional quality could deter private investment and slow the disbursement of EU funds that have been critical in supporting public investment. A correction in real estate prices combined with an economic downturn could trigger losses for financial institutions. Meanwhile, continued strong nominal wage growth could undermine competitiveness and keep inflation elevated.

Fiscal Policy

Slovakia’s fiscal outlook is challenging. The fiscal deficit is projected to have increased to 5.7 percent in 2024 from 5.2 percent in 2023 due to a combination of revenue easing and higher spending that more than offset the 0.6 percent of GDP in net consolidation measures in the 2024 budget. This increase follows the 3.6 percentage points of GDP widening of the fiscal deficit in 2023. While the change in government in October 2023 meant time to finalize the 2024 budget was short, it is clear ex-post that robust growth combined with significant medium-term fiscal challenges would have warranted a tighter fiscal stance in 2024.

The mission welcomes the authorities’ ambitious fiscal consolidation targets for 2025-28, which is commensurate with the scale of Slovakia’s fiscal challenges.
- The 2025 budget targets a reduction in the headline deficit to 4.7 percent of GDP. Fund staff’s more conservative macroeconomic forecasts imply an overall deficit of 4.9 percent of GDP in 2025. However, the projected structural tightening is broadly in line with the budget. These forecasts are subject to significant downside risks, including from a lower-than-expected yield from the fiscal consolidation measures or a worse economic outlook. If revenues in 2025 appear to be falling short of targets (as implied by staff’s macroeconomic forecasts) the authorities should limit the resulting increase in the deficit, including by saving as much as possible of the contingency buffer.
- Beyond 2025, the medium-term fiscal structural plan targets another 2.5 percentage points of GDP reduction in the fiscal deficit to bring it close to 2 percent of GDP by 2028, though measures to achieve this consolidation are not yet specified. Staff projections suggest that the fiscal consolidation envisaged over the next four years, if met, will reverse the increase in the deficit over the past two years and put public debt on a downward path by the end of the projection period. Staff’s baseline forecast, which does not include any further consolidation beyond that in the 2025 budget, entails a gradual increase in the deficit over the medium term, with public debt rising to 75 percent of GDP by end-2030 from 56 percent of GDP in 2023.
The consolidation measures for 2025 are a step in the right direction. Several of the measures are welcome and will help reduce the deficit on a structural basis, including the increase in the basic VAT rate, and better targeting of child benefits. However, the increase in the number of items subject to reduced VAT rates deprives the government of much needed revenue, while the financial transactions tax (FTT) could weaken financial intermediation and increase incentives for informality.

The measures to lower Slovakia’s fiscal deficit closer to 2 percent of GDP by 2028 should be consistent with Slovakia’s long-term growth and climate objectives, while protecting the most vulnerable in society. While there is no definitive evidence that reducing spending is more effective than increasing revenues in terms of economic efficiency or equity, prioritizing the rationalization of expenditures moving forward would result in a more balanced fiscal consolidation, given the reliance on revenue-based measures thus far.
- Spending: According to Fund staff estimates, value for Money initiatives, including a reduction in subsidies, could yield savings of up to 0.5 percent of GDP, while improved targeting could reduce social spending by as much as 0.8 percent of GDP. Also, there may be scope to increase efficiency by trimming departmental budgets and reducing public sector wage growth, though this should be done cautiously to avoid unintended cuts in service delivery. Reversing the increase of the 13^th pension could yield about 0.4 percent of GDP in savings while eliminating the recently introduced early retirement option could yield fiscal savings over the long-term. Finally, energy support measures to households (projected to cost 0.2 percent of GDP in 2025) should be phased out as they are costly and discourage energy conservation.
- Revenues: Reducing the number of items subject to reduced VAT rates could generate as much as 1.3 percent of GDP in savings, while raising property taxes by transitioning to a market value-based system could generate around 0.3 percent in additional revenue. Plans to counter tax evasion and reduce the VAT compliance gap are welcome and could yield up to 0.5 percent of GDP in revenues. Finally, the authorities should replace the FTT with alternative revenue sources, while phasing out the bank levy as planned.
Safeguarding Slovakia’s strong fiscal framework is essential for the credibility of the consolidation effort. Aligning Slovakia’s national expenditure ceiling framework with the new EU fiscal rules avoids inconsistencies and streamlines the budget process but continued focus on the long-term fiscal outlook (beyond the horizon used for the EU fiscal framework) remains useful given Slovakia’s medium-term fiscal challenges. Slovakia’s strong and independent Council for Budgetary Responsibility can help by monitoring the impact of government policies on the long-term sustainability of public finances. Lastly, the mission recommends reforming the debt brake before it comes into effect in 2026, to avoid the risk of a disruptive fiscal consolidation.

The mission welcomes the government’s objective to increase absorption of EU funds. The Slovak government is working with the OECD and the European Commission to identify concrete measures to increase absorption. In this regard, there is a need to strengthen project management capacity, especially at the municipal level, while the preparation of a national investment plan could help guide the timely selection of investment projects.

Financial Sector Policy

The 2024 Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP)—an in-depth review of the financial sector—assessed the banking sector to be resilient against severe shocks, reflecting a healthy level of buffers and profitability. The residential real estate market remains a source of vulnerability. In particular, tighter financial conditions, an economic slowdown, and a decline in still-elevated house prices could put pressure on households’ repayment capacity and increase the riskiness of banks’ mortgage portfolios. Also, risks remain elevated in the office segment of the commercial real estate (CRE) market while banks with large exposures to firms facing geopolitical risks could be vulnerable to credit losses. That said, solvency stress tests indicate that banks have sufficient capital to withstand severe macro-financial shocks. Likewise, liquidity stress tests indicate that the banking system as a whole is resilient to funding and market liquidity shocks.

The current macroprudential stance is broadly appropriate, but the policy framework could be further developed over the medium term to help attenuate cyclical and structural risks.
- Residual risks in the residential and CRE markets suggest the current level of the countercyclical capital buffer (CCyB) is appropriate. Borrower-based measures (BBMs) have contributed to contain household credit risk and should remain in force. The authorities should stand ready to activate the systemic risk buffer on banks’ CRE exposures before risks in the sector become systemic.
- The macroprudential policy framework could be further strengthened by adopting a positive neutral countercyclical capital buffer (pnCCyB). A pnCCyB would help safeguard the availability of releasable capital and give policymakers time to collect evidence of a build-up in vulnerabilities. A healthy level of profitability and/or the availability of voluntary buffers would help facilitate a smooth introduction of a pnCCyB. In addition, remaining leakages in the BBMs (e.g. co-financing a mortgage with a consumer loan) should be closed, while the BBM speed limits should be differentiated across borrower categories (e.g. first- and second-time home buyers, investors, and mortgage top-ups).
Financial resilience could be bolstered by strengthening the supervision of less significant institutions (LSIs) as well as the crisis management framework.
- The NBS’s supervisory powers and operational independence should be enhanced by restricting banks’ appeals only to supervisory decisions and corrective measures that are finalized, and by strengthening the legal protections for supervisors. Moreover, the NBS should streamline off-site supervision to align with LSI’s risk profile and strengthen on-site inspections to bolster the overall effectiveness of LSI supervision.
- The financial safety net and crisis management framework should be reinforced by ensuring that the National Resolution Authority (NRA) has adequate resources, preventing the judiciary from suspending or reversing resolution decisions, ensuring NRA resolutions are immediately enforceable, and enhancing the legal protection of staff involved in resolution. Meanwhile, the authorities should remove active bankers from the board of the deposit guarantee fund to prevent conflicts of interest, while expanding the fund’s mandate and financial strength to enable it to play a broader role in crisis management.
Efforts to strengthen the AML/CFT framework should continue. In particular, the authorities should review the criteria for the application of ML/TF sanctions, strengthen coordination between the NBS and Financial Intelligence Unit, and introduce mechanisms to verify beneficial ownership information and sanction the submission of inaccurate information.

Structural Policy

Slovakia needs structural reforms to diversify its economy, enhance resilience to global shocks and sustain productivity growth. The success of the automotive sector has led to decades of strong growth but exposed Slovakia to global trends related to the green transition and automation. To improve resilience and sustain productivity growth the authorities should intensify efforts to promote innovation and technology adoption. In this context, the mission welcomes the increase in direct government R&D spending, but further efforts are needed to stimulate business R&D including in small firms and startups that are not yet profitable. At the same time, deepening the European single market would allow innovative firms to leverage economies of scale. Finally, advancing the capital market union would facilitate cross-border flows of capital including equity financing and venture capital, which is critical for supporting startups, particularly in countries with less-developed capital markets.

The automotive sector is facing headwinds related to the unfolding green transition and rapid rise of electronic vehicle (EV) production in other markets. To address these challenges, the authorities should encourage innovation across the entire domestic EV production supply chain, promote efforts to diversify the economy, and enhance Active Labor Market Policies (ALMPs) to facilitate the movement of workers across sectors.

The challenges of an aging population require policies to increase the labor force. Flexible working arrangements, shortening the 3-year long maximum parental leave period, and improved child and elderly care could increase female participation, while tax credits and restrictions on early retirement could raise labor force participation among the elderly. The recent easing of national visa rules for foreign workers in professions with shortages could boost migrant inflows, but further efforts are needed to integrate and retain migrants, including by scaling up language training and streamlining certification recognition. Increased focus on vocational education and training would help bring down Slovakia’s high youth unemployment.

Maintaining a favorable investment climate, strengthening governance, and reducing vulnerability to corruption will help lift the economy’s growth potential.
- Governance indicators and perceptions of judicial independence lag peers, and recent surveys point to a decline in the perceived effectiveness of anti-corruption policies.
- A new national anti-corruption strategy is expected to be released mid-year. In that context, the authorities should verify that the new institutional framework that replaced the dissolved Special Prosecutor’s Office and National Crime Agency has not weakened the institutional capacity to investigate and prosecute high-level corruption. Also, the asset declaration and conflict of interest framework for high-risk public officials could be improved. Specifically, broadening the scope of covered public officials, and centralizing and digitizing the submission and publication process with robust verification procedures and appropriate sanctions, would be beneficial. Finally, existing safeguards pertaining to the Prosecutor General’s authority to annul decisions by lower-level prosecutors should be strengthened.
- Safeguards to ensure members of the Judicial Council can only be recalled based on specific and reasonable grounds would enhance judicial independence. Also, the crime of “abuse of law”, whereby judges are subject to criminal liability for their decisions, can have an intimidating effect on judges. Additional safeguards to ensure the framework balances the accountability of judges and independent judicial decision-making would be beneficial.
While greenhouse gas emissions have fallen by 50 percent since 1990, further efforts are needed to cut emissions by 55 percent by 2030 and to reach net-zero by 2050. Slovakia should move expeditiously to fully implement the ETS II scheme for road transport and buildings and could consider gradually raising environmental levies in these sectors until the scheme becomes operational in 2027. The authorities should continue exploring options to replace two coal-fired blast furnaces in the steel industry and phase out fossil fuel subsidies. Also, supporting environmental R&D and green technology would support mitigation efforts and economic diversification. Lastly, a more integrated energy market in Europe would encourage investment in renewables and enhance energy security and reduce energy prices.

The IMF team thanks the authorities and other interlocutors for their generous hospitality and constructive dialogue.

Table 1. Slovakia: Selected Economic Indicators, 2020–2030

IMF Communications Department

MEDIA RELATIONS

PRESS OFFICER: Boris Balabanov

Phone: +1 202 623-7100Email: MEDIA@IMF.org

@IMFSpokesperson
MIL OSI Economics –
January 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Parkersburg Man Sentenced to Prison for Role in Charleston Methamphetamine Trafficking Organization

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Michael Dale Cain, 49, of Parkersburg, was sentenced today to eight years and one month in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Cain admitted to a role in a Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO) that distributed methamphetamine in the Charleston area.

According to court documents and statements made in court, from in or about January 2024 to in or about May 2024, Cain conspired with others to distribute methamphetamine in Charleston and within the Southern District of West Virginia. On May 5, 2024, co-conspirator Anthony Michael Mowery arranged for Cain to travel to Charleston for the purpose of picking up approximately 3 pounds of methamphetamine from another co-conspirator, Kirt Ray King, that Cain intended to transport to Parkersburg and distribute to others. After Cain acquired the methamphetamine, he was stopped by law enforcement officers who searched his vehicle, seized the methamphetamine, and arrested Cain.

King, 48, of Charleston, pleaded guilty on January 27, 2025, to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine. Anthony Michael Mowery, 48, of Parkersburg, also pleaded guilty on January 27, 2025, to conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine. King and Mowery are scheduled to be sentenced on April 21, 2025.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy B. Wolfe prosecuted the case.

The investigation was part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The program was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and is the keystone of the Department of Justice’s drug reduction strategy. OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:24-cr-95.

###

MIL Security OSI –

January 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: E-scooter shooter convicted of shooting gang rival

Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

Two men have been jailed following a violent shooting in Southwark.

Kemar Edwards, 25 (14.10.1999), of Manthorp Road, Plumstead, and Amari Bailey, 23 (16.04.2001), of Hastings Close, Peckham were sentenced at the Old Bailey on Wednesday, 29 January after being found guilty of Section 18 grievous bodily harm with intent.

Edwards was also found guilty of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and possession of a firearm when prohibited,

Edwards received a sentence of 18 years’ imprisonment and three years’ extended licence. Bailey was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment and three years’ extended licence.

On Saturday, 24 June 2023, a man was shot at three times in Bradenham Close, Walworth while sitting in a vehicle by Edwards, who was riding an e-scooter. This caused serious injuries to his arm and knee.

The court heard that Bailey spotted the victim, aged 24 at the time of the incident, who was alleged to be a ‘rival gang member’, and pursued him on a stolen moped for 20 minutes.

Bailey contacted Edwards and told him where to find the victim. Edwards then rode an e-scooter to the victim’s location in Bradenham Close, Walworth and shot at him three times using a hand gun.

The gun was never recovered.

Following an extensive investigation, and meticulous CCTV enquiries, the two suspects were identified as Edwards and Bailey.

Edwards and Bailey were wearing a balaclava and motorbike helmet respectively during their offending, making it more difficult for detectives to identify and prosecute them.

Detective Constable John Davis, of the Trident South Specialist Crime Command team, said:

“We would like to thank members of the public who informed police on hearing the shooting, their evidence assisted in proving that Edwards fired the shots in a CCTV blind spot.

“Edwards and Bailey are extremely dangerous individuals, who had the arrogance to brazenly carry out a targeted shooting in the street in broad daylight on a summer’s afternoon.

“This posed a significant risk to the wider public. They are now safely behind bars for a substantial amount of time for their offending.

“Trident will investigate all shootings to identify those responsible and bring them to justice.”

A warrant was executed at an address in Greenwich on Friday, 15 December 2023, where Edwards was arrested and later charged.

Bailey was interviewed on Monday, 5 February 2024, and later charged.

MIL Security OSI –

January 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: The miscarriage of justice watchdog is failing at its only job – here’s how to fix it

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Brian Thornton, Senior Lecturer in Journalism, University of Winchester

The body responsible for investigating miscarriages of justice in England, Wales and Northern Ireland has been plunged into crisis. The chair of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), Helen Pitcher, resigned this month following relentless criticism about the way the commission had handled recent cases.

Most notably, the commission was criticised over the case of Andrew Malkinson, who was wrongly convicted for rape and spent 17 years in prison. The CCRC twice rejected Malkinson’s submissions that he was innocent, and he was only cleared thanks to work by his own lawyers to track down DNA evidence that proved his innocence.

Malkinson said the CCRC “didn’t investigate and they didn’t believe me”.

Pitcher said that she had been made a scapegoat for the failings on the Malkinson case: “A head had to roll and I was chosen for that role,” she said. Pitcher was not in her post as chair when the CCRC rejected Malkinson’s first appeal. She rejected the findings of an independent panel that concluded her decisions, including not apologising promptly to Malkinson, had eroded confidence in the CCRC.

“I don’t know who or why anyone would want to take on the role, because you will be held accountable for previous miscarriages of justice,” Pitcher told the Times. “You will be expected to have known what was going on then. It’s just not possible.”

Malkinson described the commission as “infected with a culture of denial”. And along with other critics, such as legal professionals, academics and campaigners, he believes the CCRC is no longer fit for purpose and should be dissolved.

What is the CCRC?

Once a prisoner, who claims to be innocent, has exhausted all legal avenues they have no choice but to look beyond the court system for redress.

For most of the 20th century, the last chance saloon was located in the heart of government, in the Home Office. The home secretary had the power to send a case to the Court of Appeal “if he saw fit”.

This arrangement was doomed from the start. It made referrals political affairs – particularly in the context of the Irish terrorism cases of the 1980s and 90s. It also put the home secretary in the firing line as investigative journalists uncovered miscarriages of justice.

The relentless pressure for reform eventually came to a head in 1991, with the release of the Birmingham Six – six Irishmen who had been wrongly convicted of planting bombs in two Birmingham pubs in 1974 that killed 21 people and injured 182. Amid chaotic scenes outside the Old Bailey, Paddy Hill (who died last month), grabbed a microphone and unleashed a savage attack on the institutions that had taken his freedom:

For 16 and a half years we have been used as political scapegoats. The police told us from the start they knew we hadn’t done it. They told us they didn’t care who had done it. They told us that we were selected and they were going to frame us. Justice? I don’t think the people in there [the judiciary] have got the intelligence nor the honestly to spell the word, never mind dispense it. They’re rotten.

The growing crisis threatened the legitimacy of the entire criminal justice system and the government had no option but to act. A royal commission was set up, and from it sprung a new body – the CCRC.

When it began work in 1997, the CCRC was the world’s first statutory, publicly-funded body responsible for investigating miscarriages of justice. The powers at its disposal were impressive.

If a prisoner applied to the CCRC, claiming they were innocent, the commission could use these powers as part of a fresh investigation into the conviction. It could get information from the police and prosecutors, re-interview witnesses or find new ones, and order new DNA testing. If it found new evidence it could then refer a case back to the Court of Appeal.

It has had some successes. The commission was widely praised for the investigation into the Sam Hallam case, where it uncovered fresh evidence that proved the young Londoner could not have committed the murder he was jailed for.

But while demand for its services is soaring, these successes have become rarer.

Last year the CCRC received a record-breaking 1,629 applications from people claiming they were innocent, and referred 25 to the Court of Appeal. Critics, describe it as chronically underfunded, reluctant to exercise its powers and subservient to the Court of Appeal.

Prisoners and their lawyers say they are exasperated at the length of time the CCRC takes to look into their cases. But the real frustration is with the quality of the investigations themselves.

Critics point to cases such as Victor Nealon, who spent an additional 10 years in prison because the CCRC refused to carry out DNA tests that would have proved his innocence. He applied to the CCRC twice but was rejected both times.

The then chair of the CCRC, Richard Foster, told Nealon: “We are doing what we can to prevent anything similar happening in the future”. But as the Malkinson case shows, the CCRC hasn’t really learned its lesson.

A crisis of legitimacy

The body that was created to solve a crisis in public confidence is now facing its own crisis of legitimacy. The CCRC needs new leadership – and not another career bureaucrat. The new chair, who is appointed by the king, must be someone who will oversee a culture of change in the organisation – dispelling the insipid timidity and transforming the CCRC into an organisation that pursues justice without fear or favour.

It must also be funded properly. The commission is now entirely incapable of properly investigating the huge number of cases it receives. The money involved is relatively small, but the impact on the wrongfully convicted and their families is immeasurable. A parliamentary inquiry found that the CCRC had suffered bigger cuts that any other part of the criminal justice system since 2010.

And finally, a key structural flaw must be fixed. The “real possibility test” means that the CCRC will only refer a case if there is a real possibility that the Court of Appeal will quash the conviction.

But because the Court of Appeal will only overturn convictions it believes to be “unsafe”, the CCRC only concerns itself with safety or unsafety rather than guilt or innocence. From the perspective of the Court of Appeal, a conviction is safe if all the legal procedures (the arrest adhered to the guidelines, there were the correct number of jurors at the trial) have been followed. It has nothing to do with the factual guilt of the defendant.

This test must be scrapped. We cannot have a miscarriage of justice watchdog that cares more about procedure than innocence.

Brian Thornton 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. The miscarriage of justice watchdog is failing at its only job – here’s how to fix it – https://theconversation.com/the-miscarriage-of-justice-watchdog-is-failing-at-its-only-job-heres-how-to-fix-it-247623

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

January 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Bridgewater Man Sentenced to More than Six Years in Prison for Cocaine Trafficking

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

More than a kilo of cocaine found in apartment of previously convicted cocaine trafficker

BOSTON – A Bridgewater man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for possessing and distributing cocaine.

Kevin Mercado, 38, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to 78 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. In October 2024, Mercado pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine.

In 2019, an investigation began into a drug trafficking organization selling cocaine and fentanyl in the southeastern part of Massachusetts, including Brockton. From March 2020 through November 2023, 11 controlled purchases of drugs were made from Mercado. In November 2023, a search was conducted at Mercado’s apartment in Bridgewater where nearly a kilogram and a half of cocaine and cocaine base, three digital scales, a money counter and $16,086 in drug proceeds were found. An additional search of Mercado’s SnapChat account showed communications evincing regular access to large quantities of cocaine and willingness to cook cocaine into crack cocaine. In 2010, Mercado was sentenced to 48-months in federal prison after being convicted of two counts of distribution of cocaine base.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by Massachusetts State Police and the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office. 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 –

January 30, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: New Jersey Man Convicted for Conspiring to Traffic Fentanyl-Related Substances and Launder Money

Source: US State of Vermont

A federal jury in Newark convicted a New Jersey man on Jan. 27 for conspiring to traffic fentanyl-related substances and launder money.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, from approximately January 2014 through September 2020, William Panzera, 51, of North Haledon, and other members of a drug trafficking organization, agreed to import and distribute controlled substances and controlled substance analogues, including fentanyl analogues, methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), methylone, and ketamine. Co-conspirators ordered controlled substances and analogues from a source in China and paid those sources hundreds of thousands of dollars via wire transfer and cryptocurrency. The conspirators distributed the substances throughout New Jersey in bulk and in the form of counterfeit pharmaceutical pills that actually contained fentanyl analogues. Eight other defendants have pleaded guilty in the case.

The jury convicted Panzera of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of furanyl fentanyl and 100 grams or more of 4 fluoroisobutyryl fentanyl and conspiracy to commit international promotional money laundering. Panzera faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum penalty of life in prison, and a fine of up to $10 million for the drug trafficking conspiracy charge, and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000 for the money laundering conspiracy charge. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 25. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna for the District of New Jersey, and Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Newark made the announcement.

HSI Newark is investigating the case. HSI Philadelphia, the FBI Newark Field Office, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Newark Field Office, IRS Criminal Investigation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Newark Police Department, and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office provided valuable assistance.

Money Laundering and Forfeiture Unit Chief Stephen Sola of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sammi Malek and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Hasapidis-Sferra for the District of New Jersey are prosecuting the case. Financial Investigator Kathryn Montemorra of the MLARS Special Financial Investigations Unit supported the investigation.

This case 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.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 30, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Welch Votes Against Bill to Sanction International Criminal Court Officials

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) released the following statement after Senate Democrats blocked legislation that would have caused irreparable harm to the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has a mandate to prosecute and punish war crimes:
“Building lasting peace requires justice and ensuring accountability for violations of international humanitarian law in Ukraine, in Gaza, and wherever they occur. The United States was instrumental in establishing the International Criminal Court to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide when domestic justice systems fail to act. That is a key limitation which the ICC’s critics—including Senate Republicans—often neglect to acknowledge: the ICC does not supplant the courts of any country. It has jurisdiction only when domestic justice systems fail to prosecute and punish war criminals.
“Yet, instead of waiting to hear the evidence, the White House and some in Congress attempted to selectively sanction the ICC’s judges and prosecutors, which would have damaged our own credibility, the credibility of the Court, and the rule of law. The ICC is only as effective as the international community’s willingness to enforce the Geneva Conventions and hold violators accountable. And while its indictments and rulings, like any court, will always have detractors, there cannot be one standard of justice for war crimes committed by our adversaries and a lesser standard for our allies.”

MIL OSI USA News –

January 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Greenfield Man Sentenced to 15 Months’ Imprisonment for Paying Health Care Kickbacks

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

Gregory J. Haanstad, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that, on January 24, 2025, Mohammed Kazim Ali was sentenced to 15 months’ incarceration for paying healthcare kickbacks in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute. Ali was also ordered to pay over $2.2 million in restitution to Medicaid and Medicare as well as a $75,000 fine.

Ali and his co-defendant, Justin Hanson, owned a Milwaukee-area clinical laboratory called Noah Associates. According to court records, beginning in 2017, Ali and Hanson engaged in a three-year-long scheme to pay kickbacks to the owner of a Milwaukee substance use treatment clinic in exchange for referrals of Medicaid and Medicare patients for urine drug testing performed by Noah Associates. Ali and Hanson paid over $400,000 in kickbacks to procure the tests. The tests, however, were not ordered by any physician and were not medically necessary for the treatment of patients. After one physician learned that his credentials were being used without his authorization to order the tests, the physician told Ali to stop. Ali nonetheless continued to have Noah Associates accept and bill the government for tests falsely ordered under that physician’s credentials for months. As a result of the scheme, Medicaid and Medicare paid Noah Associates over $2.2 million for the unnecessary tests. Ali personally received over $800,000 from Noah Associates during the scheme.

At sentencing, United States District Judge J.P. Stadtmueller emphasized the seriousness of Ali’s crime, including Ali’s manipulation and breach of trust of the Medicaid and Medicare programs to receive millions of dollars that were not truly earned. Judge Stadtmueller further noted that Ali knew that his conduct was criminal yet still engaged in a long-running, creative fraud scheme—a decision that Judge Stadtmueller criticized as “beyond belief.”

In addition to his sentence, Ali will also be excluded from participation in the Medicaid and Medicare programs and has shut down Noah Associates. His co-defendant, Hanson, has also pleaded guilty for paying healthcare kickbacks and will be sentenced on March 21, 2025.

“Paying kickbacks for patient referrals is illegal because, as this case demonstrates, kickbacks result in Medicaid and Medicare paying for unnecessary services,” said United States Attorney Haanstad. “Rather than bill the government for tests that patients actually needed, Ali abused the Medicaid and Medicare programs for ill-gotten gains. The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to prevent frauds against Medicaid and Medicare.”

“This sentence demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to investigating individuals like Mr. Ali who erode the public’s trust in our healthcare systems,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael Hensle of the FBI Milwaukee Field Office. “The FBI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure that those responsible for healthcare fraud are exposed and brought to justice. The safety and well-being of Wisconsin residents remains our highest priority.”

“Individuals and medical providers who accept kickbacks in exchange for the referral of patients covered under a Federal health care program place personal profit ahead of patient care, which can ultimately lead to the delivery of costly, medically unnecessary services,” said Mario M. Pinto, of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Chicago Region. “Our agency is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to bring those who violate laws intended to protect patients, and our Federal health care programs, to justice.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Office of the Inspector General, Department of Health and Human Services investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Carter and Julie Stewart handled the prosecution.

# # #

For further information contact:

Public Information Officer

Kenneth.Gales@usdoj.gov

(414) 297-1700

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MIL Security OSI –

January 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Red Deer — Red Deer RCMP Crime Reduction Team arrest three for stolen vehicle and weapons
Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

On Nov. 13, 2024, at approximately 3:46 p.m., the Red Deer RCMP Crime Reduction Team located an unoccupied vehicle that had been reported stolen at a business in north Red Deer. Officers established surveillance on the vehicle leading to the arrest of three individuals. Fentanyl and multiple weapons, including a sawed-off shotgun, were also located in the vehicle.

A 53-year-old individual, a resident of Red Deer, has been charged with the following offences:
- Possession of property obtained by crime over $5000
- Possession of a controlled substance
- Possession of a prohibited weapon with ammo without licence/registration
- Possession of firearm in motor vehicle
- Possession of a firearm when known possession unauthorized
- Unsafe storage of firearms
- Possession of weapon for dangerous purpose
- Alter a vehicle identification number
The 53-year-old individual was taken before a justice of the peace and was released on a release order and is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 26, 2024 at the Alberta Court of Justice in Red Deer.

A 33-year-old individual, a resident of Red Deer, has been charged with the following offences:
- Possession of property obtained by crime over $5000
- Possession for the purpose of trafficking
- Possession of a controlled substance
- Possession of a prohibited weapon with ammo without licence/registration
- Possession of firearm in motor vehicle
- Possession of a firearm when known possession unauthorized
- Unsafe storage of firearms
- Possession of weapon for dangerous purpose
- Weapon possession contrary to order
- Alter a vehicle identification number
The 33-year-old individual was taken before a justice of the peace and was remanded into custody and is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 19, 2024 at the Alberta Court of Justice in Red Deer.

A 25-year-old individual, a resident of O’Chiese First Nation, Alta., has been charged with the following offences:
- Possession of property obtained by crime over $5000
- Possession of a controlled substance
- Possession of a prohibited weapon with ammo without licence/registration
- Possession of firearm in motor vehicle
- Possession of a firearm when known possession unauthorized
- Unsafe storage of firearms
- Possession of weapon for dangerous purpose
- Alter a vehicle identification number
- Failure or refusal to comply with demand
- Additional TSA charges
The 25-year-old individual was taken before a justice of the peace and was remanded into custody and is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 15, 2024 at the Alberta Court of Justice in Red Deer.

If you have any information regarding illegal activity within the city of Red Deer, please contact Red Deer RCMP at 403-406-2200. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the “P3 Tips” app available through the Apple App or Google Play Store. To report crime online, or for access to RCMP news and information, download the Alberta RCMP app through Apple or Google Play.

MIL Security OSI –
January 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: New Jersey Man Convicted for Conspiring to Traffic Fentanyl-Related Substances and Launder Money

Source: United States Attorneys General 4

A federal jury in Newark convicted a New Jersey man on Jan. 27 for conspiring to traffic fentanyl-related substances and launder money.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, from approximately January 2014 through September 2020, William Panzera, 51, of North Haledon, and other members of a drug trafficking organization, agreed to import and distribute controlled substances and controlled substance analogues, including fentanyl analogues, methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), methylone, and ketamine. Co-conspirators ordered controlled substances and analogues from a source in China and paid those sources hundreds of thousands of dollars via wire transfer and cryptocurrency. The conspirators distributed the substances throughout New Jersey in bulk and in the form of counterfeit pharmaceutical pills that actually contained fentanyl analogues. Eight other defendants have pleaded guilty in the case.

The jury convicted Panzera of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of furanyl fentanyl and 100 grams or more of 4 fluoroisobutyryl fentanyl and conspiracy to commit international promotional money laundering. Panzera faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum penalty of life in prison, and a fine of up to $10 million for the drug trafficking conspiracy charge, and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000 for the money laundering conspiracy charge. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 25. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna for the District of New Jersey, and Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Newark made the announcement.

HSI Newark is investigating the case. HSI Philadelphia, the FBI Newark Field Office, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Newark Field Office, IRS Criminal Investigation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Newark Police Department, and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office provided valuable assistance.

Money Laundering and Forfeiture Unit Chief Stephen Sola of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sammi Malek and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Hasapidis-Sferra for the District of New Jersey are prosecuting the case. Financial Investigator Kathryn Montemorra of the MLARS Special Financial Investigations Unit supported the investigation.

This case 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.

MIL Security OSI –

January 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Red Deer — Red Deer RCMP Crime Reduction Team arrest two for stolen firearm and property
Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Red Deer RCMP with the assistance of the Emergency Response Team and Police Dog Services, have arrested two individuals and seized multiple firearms and stolen property following their investigation.

On Nov. 13, 2024, officers observed an individual driving a vehicle, while they were prohibited from doing so. Out of concern for public safety police did not pursue the driver. The following day, the same individual was located again by police. Officers conducted surveillance, which ultimately led to the coordinated arrests of two individuals.

A subsequent search warrant was executed on a vehicle, a hotel room and a residence connected to the suspects. As a result of the search, Red Deer RCMP recovered various items including a loaded stolen handgun, a long gun and a stolen licence plate.

A 31-year-old individual, a resident of Red Deer, has been charged with the following offences:
- Operate conveyance while prohibited from doing so x2
- Careless transportation of a firearm
- Knowing unauthorized possession of a firearm
- Unauthorized possession of a firearm in a vehicle
- Possess prohibited or restricted firearm with ammunition
- Possess weapon obtained by crime
- Possess firearm contrary to order x6
A 33-year-old individual, a resident of Red Deer, has been charged with the following offences:
- Careless transportation of a firearm
- Unauthorized possession of a firearm in a vehicle
- Possess prohibited or restricted firearm with ammunition
- Possess weapon obtained by crime
- Breach of release order x2
Both were taken before a justice of the peace and were remanded into custody. Their last court date was on Nov. 18, 2024, at the Alberta Court of Justice in Red Deer.

The cooperation of all units involved was instrumental in ensuring the safe apprehension of the suspects and the recovery of these dangerous items. These arrests highlight the ongoing commitment of Red Deer RCMP to protect the community.

If you have any information regarding this incident or other suspicious activity please contact Red Deer RCMP at 403-406-2200. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the “P3 Tips” app available through the Apple App or Google Play Store. To report crime online, or for access to RCMP news and information, download the Alberta RCMP app through Apple or Google Play.

MIL Security OSI –
January 30, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Yorkshire man ordered to clear illegal waste site
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

A man has been given two months to clear waste from an illegal site in North Yorkshire following an investigation by the Environment Agency.
Image shows illegal waste stored on the site at Catterick.

Oliver Henry Alexander King, 52, of Bedale, North Yorkshire, appeared at York Magistrates’ Court on Friday 24 January 2025, where he pleaded guilty to one charge of operating a waste site without an environmental permit, and one charge of failing to comply with a notice to clear waste from the site.

He was sentenced to a 12 month community order with 110 hours of unpaid work, ordered to pay costs of £5,422.75 and a victim surcharge of £114.

He was also ordered to clear the site of waste by 21 March, 2025. This regulation 44 order requires King to remove all waste from the site and take it to a permitted site for disposal. If he fails to comply he could be subject to further action.

Waste crime puts ‘environment at risk’

Ian Foster, Environment Agency Area Environment Manager, said:

Environmental permits are in place to protect the public and environment and the way the waste was stored at this site posed a risk of contamination and fire.

King was given a number of opportunities to clear the site of waste but failed to comply with the instructions from our officers.

Illegal activity such as this undermines legitimate businesses that work hard to operate within the regulations, as well as putting the environment at risk and impacting on the local community.

The court heard that King rented land next to allotments at Oran Lane in Catterick.

On 22 June 2023, Environment Agency officers attended the site following reports of an illegal waste operation.

They saw a significant amount of waste piled up including wood, plastics, metal, and construction and demolition waste, as well as household waste like fridges and freezers.

The waste, which was close to a local watercourse, posed a risk of groundwater and surface water pollution and was stored in one big pile, posing a fire risk.

An Environment Agency letter was sent to King with actions including to stop bringing waste on to the site and to start clearing the waste that was already present immediately. He was given until 21 August, 2023 to comply.

Image shows illegal waste stored at the site in Catterick.

Deadline for waste removal extended

Follow up visits by officers revealed that while some waste had been removed, most still remained. It did appear King had stopped bringing waste on to site and he said financial and vehicle issues had prevented the waste from being removed.

He was given until 28 February, 2024, to comply with the original deadline.

On 20 March, 2024, Environment Agency officers went to the site to check compliance with the notice, and it was apparent that the pile of waste remained unchanged.

In interview in May 2024 King said he claimed to have been unaware that he needed an environmental permit or waste exemption – which allows for low level waste activity without the need for a permit – until he was told this by the Environment Agency.

He said he stopped importing and treating waste after the initial visit from officers, but didn’t have the money to remove the waste. He added that he owned property which he planned to sell to fund the site clearance.

Follow up visits by officers during the summer of 2024 saw that while some waste had been cleared, most still remained. An enforcement notice was issued by the Environment Agency requiring the site to be cleared by 23 August 2024. This was also not complied with.

Illegal waste activity can be reported to the Environment Agency on its 24-hour incident line on 0800 807060 or to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Background

Full charges

1 – Between 21 June 2023 and 29 August 2024 at land of Oran Lane, Catterick in the county of North Yorkshire, you did operate a regulated facility, namely a waste operation for the recovery or disposal of waste, except under and to the extent authorised by an environmental permit.

Contrary to Regulations 12 and 38(1)(a) Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.

2 – On 24 August 2024, you failed, without reasonable excuse, to comply with a notice dated 09 July 2024 and served on you on pursuant to section 59ZB(2) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 in that you failed to remove controlled waste from land at Oran Lane, Catterick.

Contrary to section 59ZB(6) Environmental Protection Act 1990.

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Updates to this page

Published 29 January 2025
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
January 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Passaic County Man Convicted Of Fentanyl Analogue Distribution And Money Laundering Conspiracies

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

NEWARK, N.J. – A Passaic County man was convicted by a jury in connection with his role in a drug trafficking organization responsible for the importation and distribution of hundreds of kilograms of fentanyl analogues, Acting U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna announced.

Defendant William Panzera, 51, of North Haledon, New Jersey was convicted of drug trafficking conspiracy and international promotional money laundering conspiracy by a jury in Newark, New Jersey. Eight other defendants have previously pleaded guilty in related cases.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From approximately January 2014 through September 2020, William Panzera and other members of the drug trafficking organization agreed to import and distribute various controlled substances and controlled substance analogues, including fentanyl analogues, MDMA, methylone, and ketamine. Members of the conspiracy placed orders with a source in China and agreed to distribute, and did distribute, the controlled substances and analogues in New Jersey, both in bulk and in the form of counterfeit pharmaceutical pills that actually contained fentanyl analogues. In total, they imported over a metric ton of fentanyl and other drugs into the United States. They also sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to China using wire transfers and Bitcoin to pay for the drugs.

The charge of drug trafficking conspiracy of which Panzera was found guilty carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of life in prison, and a fine of up to $10 million. The charge of international promotional money laundering conspiracy of which Panzera was found guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000. Sentencing is scheduled for June 25, 2025.

Acting U.S. Attorney Khanna credited special agents of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) – Newark, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. He also thanked U.S. Customs and Border Protection in New Jersey, New York, and Kentucky, HSI in Philadelphia, the Federal Bureau of Investigation – Newark Division, U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Newark, IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Newark Police Department, and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office for their assistance.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sammi Malek and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Hasapidis-Sferra of the Criminal Division in Newark and Trial Attorney Stephen Sola, Chief of the Money Laundering and Forfeiture Unit of the Justice Department’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section. Financial Investigator Kathryn Montemorra of the MLARS Special Financial Investigations Unit supported the investigation. The case is being prosecuted jointly by the United States Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey and the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) of the United States Department of Justice.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (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 https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

###

Defense counsel: Jeffrey G. Garrigan, Esq.; Christopher L. Patella, Esq.

MIL Security OSI –

January 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Red Deer County — Innisfail RCMP seize drugs and guns during assault investigation
Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

On Nov 9, 2024, Innisfail RCMP were called to a rural property west of Dickson, Alta. for an assault. While at the property investigating the assault, RCMP officers developed grounds to believe the suspect was in possession of drugs and illegal weapons. RCMP officers obtained a search warrant for the property.

Search of the property resulted in the seizure of:
- Suspected Cocaine;
- Suspected Fentanyl;
- Suspected Methamphetamine;
- Suspected GHB;
- Drug trafficking paraphernalia;
- .22 Caliber Handgun;
- Sawed off Shotgun (prohibited Firearm);
- Long Barrel Rifles(x3);
- Shotguns (x3);
- Hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
A 39-year-old individual, a resident of Red Deer County, has been charged with the following offences:
- Assault;
- Possession for the purpose of trafficking;
- Unauthorized possession of firearms;
- Possession of firearms w/o holding licence;
- Possession of a weapon for dangerous purpose.
The individual was taken before a justice of the peace and release with his net court date set for Nov. 28, 2024, at the Alberta Court of Justice in Red Deer.

MIL Security OSI –
January 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Lloydminster — Lloydminster RCMP execute search warrant after break and enter to local business
Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

In the early morning hours of Nov. 26, 2024, Lloydminster RCMP responded to an alarm at a local cannabis store on the city’s south side. Upon arrival, officers discovered the business had been broken into and approximately $15,000.00 worth of items were stolen.

Later that day, Lloydminster RCMP General Investigation Section, Crime Reduction Unit and General Duty members executed a search warrant at a residence in the 1800 block of 49 Avenue and took a male youth into custody as well as recovered items taken during the break and enter.

The 17-year-old male youth, who cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, has been charged with the following:
- Break and Enter
- Possession of Stolen property over $5000
- Fail to comply with release order x3
- Fail to comply with probation order x5
The male youth was taken before a justice of the peace and was released on a release order. He is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 3, 2024 at the Alberta Court of Justice in Lloydminster.

This investigation saw a collaboration between several units of the Lloydminster RCMP which resulted swift conclusion of this investigation and a recovery of thousands of dollars worth of property.

MIL Security OSI –
January 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Michigan Man Charged with Drug Distribution and Loan Fraud

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

BOSTON – A Michigan man has been charged and has agreed to plead guilty in connection with a conspiracy to import and sell illegal pharmaceuticals, including opioids, and to fund the operation of the scheme by fraudulently obtaining a Covid pandemic relief loan.

Donald Nchamukong, 37, was charged by Information with conspiracy to smuggle goods into the United States, to commit loan fraud and to distribute controlled substances. Nchamukong will make an initial appearance in federal court in Boston on a date to be scheduled by the Court.

According to the charging documents, starting in 2019 and continuing to 2022, Nchamukong and a co-conspirator, Doyal Kalita, conspired to distribute drugs to persons in the United States over the internet and using call centers in India. Nchamukong allegedly used shell companies, including a purported dietary supplements company and an auto parts supplier, and associated bank and merchant accounts to process sales of illegal foreign drugs, including the Schedule IV opioid, tramadol. Nchamukong and Kalita also received shipments of tramadol from India and reshipped the drug to customers across the United States, including in Massachusetts. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Nchamukong and Kalita allegedly fraudulently obtained a $200,000 Economic Injury Disaster Loan to fund their illegal drug scheme.

Kalita was convicted in 2024 and sentenced to 10 years in prison for orchestrating the online drug distribution scheme and a technical support fraud scheme and related money laundering.

The charge of conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the monetary gain or loss, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office; and Fernando P. McMillan, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by Homeland Security Investigations in New York, Small Business Administration and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kriss Basil, Deputy Chief of the Securities, Financial, and Cyber Fraud Unit, is prosecuting the case.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, pleasehttps://www.justice.gov/coronavirus and https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus/combatingfraud.

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 via the NCDF Web Complaint Form.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

MIL Security OSI –

January 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Criminal Complaint Charges Baltimore City Man with Sexual Exploitation of a Child and Receipt of Child Sexual Abuse Material

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

Baltimore, Maryland – Today, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland filed a federal criminal complaint charging Dazhon Darien, 32, of Baltimore, with sexual exploitation of a child and receiving child sexual abuse material.

Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the complaint with Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office, and Chief Robert McCullough, Baltimore County Police Department.

According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, investigators obtained search warrants for Darien’s phones and online accounts which contained child sexual abuse material. Additionally, the affidavit further describes how Darien used CashApp to pay a minor victim to send videos of himself engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Darien paid the victim for the videos between December 2023 and March 2024. The affidavit also shows that Darien received other child-sexual-abuse-material files, including some that depicted prepubescent minors.

A criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by a criminal complaint is presumed innocent until proven guilty at a later criminal proceeding.

If convicted, Darien faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years or a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for sexual exploitation of a child. Additionally, Darien could receive a mandatory minimum sentence of five years or a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for receipt of child sexual abuse material. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge determines sentencing after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.

U.S. Attorney Barron commended the Baltimore FBI Field Office and the Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine Goo and Paul E. Budlow who are prosecuting the federal case.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. Click the “Resources” tab on the left of the page for more information about Internet safety education.

For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

# # #

MIL Security OSI –

January 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Former Deputy Sheriff Heads to Prison for Drug Trafficking

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News (b)

McALLEN, Texas – A former deputy with the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office has been ordered to prison following his conviction of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine, announced acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.

Baldemar Cardenas, 39, McAllen, pleaded guilty April 1, 2022.

Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane has now ordered Cardenas to serve 46 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. In handing down the sentence, the court noted the his position as a deputy at the time of the offense and the serious issues with law enforcement authorities assisting drug traffickers.

At the time of his plea, Cardenas admitted that in January 2020, he conspired with a drug trafficking organization.

Members of the group would receive kilogram quantities of highly pure cocaine. They would then utilize small portions of the drugs to create sham cocaine with very low purity.

Cardenas ensured authorities seized the fake bundles by providing information to local law enforcement agencies. The information would enable authorities to conduct the seizure of the low purity cocaine, allow co-conspirators to avoid responsibility for stealing the cocaine from their source of supply and the distribution of the stolen cocaine for profit.

In order to further the scheme and in exchange for compensation, Cardenas provided information to local law enforcement in January 2020 in order to effectuate the seizure of approximately 33 kilograms of sham cocaine bundles. Cardenas falsely claimed a confidential source provided the information. Based on the information he gave, law enforcement seized the multi-kilogram sham bundles of cocaine in Mission.

Laboratory testing on the bundles revealed a cocaine purity level of only 1.5%.

Cardenas was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The FBI and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office and Mission Police Department. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Roberto Lopez Jr. prosecuted the case.

MIL Security OSI –

January 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: St. John’s — Update: RCMP NL confirms valid RNC Association telephone fundraiser

Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Following the release of a post advising the public of a telephone scam involving a fundraising initiative of the RCMP for victims of sexual assault, RCMP NL has since learned that a legitimate fundraiser is currently taking place involving the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Association (RNCA).

Information originally received, which initiated a public advisory, stated that the caller identified themselves as a Constable with the RCMP. The RCMP is not currently involved in any fundraising. The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Association is participating in its Annual Community Guide Telephone Appeal. Funds raised help publish their 35^th Annual Crime Prevention Guide with this years’ focus on “Child Abuse Awareness.”

For further information about the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Association Annual Community Guide Telephone Appeal, please call the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Association at 709-739-5946 or the Community Guide Office at 1-800-215-8987.

Backgound: https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/news/2025/public-advisory-telephone-scam-claims-rcmp-fundraising-victims-sexual-assault

MIL Security OSI –

January 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: kersten-anlageberatung.de: BaFin warns consumers about website and renewed identity fraud

Source: Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht – In English

The financial supervisory authority BaFin warns offers from the website kersten-anlageberatung.de. The website is almost identical to kersten-anlageberatung.com, which BaFin already warned against on 17 January 2025. BaFin expressly points out that the licensed securities institution Kersten Anlageberatung GmbH contrary to the information in the imprint does not operate the website kersten-anlageberatung.de either. This is yet another case of identity theft.

Anyone providing financial or investment services in Germany may do so only with authorisation from BaFin. However, some companies offer these services without the necessary authorisation.

The information provided by BaFin is based on section 37 (4) of the German Banking Act (Kreditwesengesetz – KWG).

Please be aware:

BaFin, the German Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt – BKA) and the German state criminal police offices (Landeskriminalämter) recommend that consumers seeking to invest money online should exercise the utmost caution and do the necessary research beforehand in order to identify fraud attempts at an early stage.

MIL OSI Economics –

January 30, 2025