drug lord yacht

Here are the superyachts seized from Russian oligarchs

As part of an international pressure campaign on Russia, authorities from around the world have seized more than a half-dozen superyachts belonging to billionaire oligarchs allied with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The yacht seizures since the Feb. 24 invasion are "just the beginning," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters in March, as an international task force worked to identify further assets that can be seized or frozen.

“The Justice Department will be relentless in our efforts to hold accountable those who facilitate the death and destruction we are witnessing in Ukraine,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said of the ongoing efforts in May.

Here are the superyachts government officials have seized since Russia invaded Ukraine last month.

The Justice Department announced May 5 that the Fijian government had seized billionaire oligarch Suleiman Kerimov 's 348-foot yacht Amadea. The vessel, which is valued at more than $300 million , arrived in Fiji last month. Kerimov, who's worth an estimated $14 billion and has ties to the Russian government, was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department over alleged money laundering in 2018.

Special features on the sprawling yacht include a helipad, infinity pool, a jacuzzi and multiple bars, according to a report in Boat International . It can accommodate 16 overnight guests in addition to 36 crew members, the report said.

In April, Spanish law-enforcement officials seized a 255-foot yacht called the Tango, which Justice Department says is owned by oligarch Viktor Vekselberg. Vekselberg is an aluminum magnate who the Treasury Department says has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Tango is worth an estimated $90 million, prosecutors said , and Vekselberg allegedly purchased it through shell companies. The 11-year-old yacht has seven staterooms and reportedly includes amenities such as a pool, gym and beauty salon .

Authorities in Italy seized a 215-foot superyacht called the Lady M this month. It's owned by Alexei Mordashov, Russia's richest businessman, and it’s estimated to be worth $27 million . The vessel, which requires a crew of 14, has six guest cabins , a pool and a gym.

But it pales in comparison to another of Mordashov's yachts, the $500 million Nord . The 464-foot vessel, which has two helipads and a waterfall and can accommodate 36 guests, was anchored this month in the Seychelles, where the U.S. and European Union sanctions don’t apply.

Italian officials also seized the 132-foot superyacht Lena, owned by the energy magnate Gennady Timchenko. Estimated to be worth $8 million, it has five cabins and can accommodate 10 guests.

SY A — short for Sailing Yacht A — is one of the world's largest superyachts. Valued at over $440 million, the 469-foot vessel, owned by the fertilizer magnate Andrey Melnichenko, has eight decks, multiple elevators, an underwater observation area and the world's tallest masts . It was seized in the Italian port of Trieste.

Authorities in Spain seized Sergei Chemezov's Valerie, a 279-foot superyacht that had been moored in Barcelona. Chemezov , a former KGB officer, heads the state conglomerate Rostec. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez touted the seizure on La Sexta television. “We are talking about a yacht that we estimate is worth $140 million,” Sanchez said.

Officials in France announced this month that they had seized the 289-foot Amore Vero, which was undergoing repairs in a shipyard near Marseille. When they arrived, authorities said, they found the crew preparing for an urgent departure, even though the repair work was scheduled to last through April. The $120 million boat, which has seven cabins , is linked to Igor Sechin, described by the U.S. Treasury Department as a close ally of Putin's.

Dareh Gregorian is a politics reporter for NBC News.

How the seizure of Russian superyachts helps the feds punish Putin and his oligarchs

• The US and other countries have sanctioned Russian oligarchs and some of their family members as punishment for the Ukrainian invasion.

The most recent seizures include $1 billion worth of superyachts, tracked down in ports from Europe to Fiji.

• So, what happens to the billions of dollars worth of seized property? Biden has proposed giving it back to Ukrainians.

You name it, former U.S. Marshal Jason Wojdylo seized it: Racehorses . Luxury cars . Paintings. Cryptocurrency.

Recently retired after a 25-year career, Wojdylo served as the Marshals Service's lead expert in asset forfeiture, and he's watching as his former colleagues wreak havoc on Russian oligarchs and their ill-gotten gains under orders of President Joe Biden and Task Force KleptoCapture .

"Really, the power of asset forfeiture is that allows us to hit them where it hurts the most, which is in the pocket, and not let them keep things that were otherwise illegally acquired," Wojdylo said. "A Russian oligarch yacht is certainly a new level of vessel we've never seized before."

U.S. officials, along with governments around the world, have sanctioned Russian oligarchs and some of their family members as punishment for the Ukrainian invasion. Oligarchs are widely considered to have improperly benefited from their close relationships to President Vladimir Putin, and in many cases have been accused of illegally accumulating their wealth at the expense of ordinary Russians.

THE YACHTS: A look at the luxury yachts that are being taken from Russian oligarchs

Seizures crack down on wealthy criminals

Although asset forfeiture is a fairly common practice to target drug dealers, con artists and embezzlers in that way — with the money returned to victims or kept by law enforcement — Congress would have to pass a new law allowing the proceeds to go to Ukraine, as Biden has proposed . 

Experts say freezing these assets is just one step in what is usually a lengthy cat-and-mouse game between federal investigators and criminals, fought via electronic financial records, shell companies, offshore bank accounts and street-level surveillance.

"Seizing is only the beginning of the process," said Aixa Maldonado, a former top federal prosecutor who oversaw billions of dollars in seizures from drug lords and other criminals. "It takes forever."

In one yacht seizure case, federal investigators say they traced payments from a Russian oligarch through several intermediaries to a yacht manager who used the money to pay for maintenance, despite the oligarch's name never appearing on ownership papers.

UNDER INVESTIGATION: Justice Department launches plan to go after billionaire Russian oligarchs and their assets

Maldonado, now a partner at the law firm Zeichner Ellman & Krause, said investigators first have to determine whether there's evidence to support a seizure, and then build a case for why a court should let the government sell the seized asset under the legal process known as forfeiture.

But unlike in typical criminal cases, the burden of proof in forfeiture cases is lower, and the government can oftentimes hold onto someone's house, money, yacht or car until they prove their purchase was aboveboard. In other words, the government can declare it thinks the owner is a Russian oligarch, and it's up to the owner to prove otherwise. 

While the forfeiture system has been abused in the United States — in particular being used by local police departments to seize cars and cash from small-time drug dealers — federal officials say it's an important and powerful tool to hit wealthy criminals where it hurts the most.

Maldonado once cracked a case because investigators were going through foreign bank records and found a name they'd never heard before attached to a small payment. Digging deeper, they discovered it wan alias used by a well-known drug lord in another country, she said.

"You need people who are really good at tracing — you have to make the connection between the property and a crime. Because just having a nice boat or a nice house is not a crime," Maldonado said. "You have to track down who is really calling the shots."

In some cases, Maldonado said, ultra-wealthy criminals simply walk away from their property instead of risking prosecution or subjecting their finances to additional search warrants.

With Putin, experts say he's typically insulated himself by putting assets in the names of family or other oligarchs, who themselves have created a network of shell companies to hide the money trail. One of the yachts seized in Italy, the $700 million Scheherazade, is widely believed to be Putin's personal yacht. 

"Do we envision Putin coming in and filing a claim in U.S. court? I don't think so," Maldonado said.

WHO ARE THE OLIGARCHS?   And how do they play into the war in Ukraine?

'KREMLIN KIDS': Children of elite face sanctions over Ukraine

Feds target yachts linked to Putin

On Thursday, the Biden administration targeted additional boats they say are linked to Putin or his cronies, including the $156 million Madame Gu; the $65 million Sea Rhapsody; motor yachts Flying Fox, Graceful and Olympia; and boats Shellest and Nega, along with several aircraft. Additionally, the new sanctions also target a yacht management company, which U.S. officials said helps oligarchs manage or rent their yachts when they're not using them.

“Russia’s elites, up to and including President Putin, rely on complex support networks to hide, move and maintain their wealth and luxury assets,” said Brian Nelson, under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence in the Department of Treasury, in a statement. “Today’s action demonstrates that Treasury can and will go after those responsible for shielding and maintaining these ill-gotten interests. We will continue to enforce our sanctions and expose the corrupt systems by which President Putin and his elites enrich themselves.”

Although they know the risk of moving money through U.S. bank accounts, or of buying property in the United States, many criminals consider it worth the risk, said Michael A. Crain, a CPA and director of the Center for Forensic Accounting at Florida Atlantic University. That's because the dollar remains among the most stable of currencies, as does the U.S. property market.

Additionally, many international financial transactions invariably pass through the computers of banks with U.S. operations, opening up those transactions to scrutiny by American law enforcement.

"It's like Sherlock Holmes, trying to figure out a big puzzle," Crain said. "... You find someone who has no apparent source of income and then they suddenly have millions of dollars, and so you then look at where that money came from and where did that money go. You follow the money."

LATEST: US ally gives safe harbor to oligarch's $300M yacht

Stefan D. Cassella , another former top federal asset-forfeiture prosecutor, said he helped seize everything from $1.2 billion in laundered drug money to a Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, two Bentleys and other luxury cars bought by a Baltimore man running a $9 million biodiesel scam.  

"He couldn’t think of anything else with to do with the money so he bought this fleet and parked it in front of his house. And that's how he got caught," Cassella said, citing that case as an example of how many criminals do a poor job covering their tracks after making extravagant purchases.

Cassella, who now serves as an expert witness and seizure consultant as the CEO of AssetForfeitureLaw LLC, said he suspects that his former colleagues are closely scrutinizing certain neighborhoods of New York, Miami and London, where Russian oligarchs have bought property, which in many cases is just sitting empty.

He said he could see how Biden's threat to sell the yachts and give the money to Ukrainians would anger oligarchs, potentially making them pressure Putin to withdraw.

Any items seized are held by the federal government until a judge decides whether the government can formally take possession and then sell them off. In many cases, maintenance and upkeep is so expensive, the government will simply seize the owners' money and let a bank repossess the property, said Wojdylo, the former U.S. Marshal. 

Since 2002, the Justice Department has returned over $8.5 billion in assets to crime victims.

"At the end of the day, you recover some cool stuff and get some money back for the victims," Cassella said. "That's very satisfying."

• Skip to main content
• Keyboard shortcuts for audio player

National Security

A russian oligarch's $90 million yacht is seized as part of u.s. sanctions.

A Civil Guard stands by the yacht called Tango in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, on Monday. U.S. federal agents and Spain's Civil Guard are searching the yacht owned by a Russian oligarch. Francisco Ubilla/AP hide caption

A Civil Guard stands by the yacht called Tango in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, on Monday. U.S. federal agents and Spain's Civil Guard are searching the yacht owned by a Russian oligarch.

Spanish officials have seized a Russian-owned luxury yacht in Mallorca at the request of the U.S. Department of Justice. It was the first coordinated seizure under the department's Task Force KleptoCapture, which is tasked with enforcing the sweeping sanctions placed on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine.

The $90 million 255-foot yacht, named Tango, is owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg, who heads the Renova Group, a Russian conglomerate with interests in metallurgy, machinery, energy, telecommunications as well as others.

"Today marks our taskforce's first seizure of an asset belonging to a sanctioned individual with close ties to the Russian regime. It will not be the last," said Attorney General Merrick Garland in a statement. "Together, with our international partners, we will do everything possible to hold accountable any individual whose criminal acts enable the Russian government to continue its unjust war."

The seizure was performed by Spanish Guardia Civil officers with assistance from the FBI.

U.S. officials allege that the Tango has been owned continuously by Vekselberg since 2011 and that he used shell companies to " obfuscate his interest in the Tango ," the Justice Department said in a press release.

The release cites alleges bank fraud and money laundering as justification for the seizure, highlighting U.S. bank payments for support and maintenance of the vessel — including a December 2020 stay at a luxury water villa resort in the Maldives.

• Justice Department

Superyacht seized with cocaine worth £160m to be sold at auction

The MY Kahu was intercepted 80 miles south of Plymouth last year, and goes on sale Wednesday

A superyacht seized from drug smugglers who were attempting to bring £160m worth of cocaine to the UK will be sold on behalf of the government in an online auction this week.

Acting on a tipoff, Border Force and National Crime Agency officers intercepted and boarded the 120ft (37-metre) yacht in international waters near Guernsey last year. They discovered more than two tonnes of cocaine stuffed inside the boat.

The MY Kahu was seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act (Poca), and will on Wednesday be put up for auction, minus the cocaine, with the money used to fund the NCA’s operations.

The yacht, which has a large saloon, galley, five staterooms and accommodation for four crew, is expected to sell for more than one million pounds.

The auctioneer, Mark Woods, said more than 25 parties had registered interest in buying the yacht, and several potential buyers viewed the MY Kahu during an open day in Torquay last week.

Woods said bidders have flown in from Greece, the south of France and even New Zealand. The New Zealand family are particularly interested in acquiring the MY Kahu, he said, because it was built in 1979 for the Royal New Zealand Navy.

“It’s so rare that something like MY Kahu comes up for auction and she’s a wonderful vessel, so we look forward to seeing her in the hands of the highest bidder and being able to send the proceeds of sale to the government,” said Woods, government contracts manager at Wilsons Auctions.

Woods, who specialises in selling confiscated assets, said the yacht was one of the most interesting items seized by the government under the Proceeds of Crime Act that he has sold.

“We have sold all sorts of things seized under the act. This isn’t our first boat, but it’s one of the biggest,” he said. “We’ve also sold planes, gold bullion, high value jewellery and watches, cryptocurrency and even an Olympic gold medal-winning horse. Then there are the cars – Rolls-Royces, Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Bentleys.

“You never know what you are going to be instructed to manage with seized assets and it really captures the imagination of the public when it comes to the auction. It’s quite the story.”

Woods said the boat was in good condition, despite being raided and extensively searched by Border Force officers. “She went through a thorough search process when originally seized. However, after carrying out works, she is now well presented and ready for auction.”

The yacht left Barbados in August 2021 and sailed across the Atlantic. It was intercepted 80 miles south of Plymouth by specialist officers from Border Force and the NCA, who raided the vessel.

Cocaine with an estimated street value of £160m was discovered wrapped in hundreds of sealed packages distributed carefully across the vessel to avoid the weight leading the boat to list. At the time of the seizure, the NCA said the cocaine would have “no doubt been sold on to communities in Britain”.

Four men charged with drug smuggling in relation to the haul were cleared after a trial last month. The Crown Prosecution Service dropped a similar charge against a fifth defendant.

Andrew Cole, 33, of Norton Road, Stockton-on-Tees, has pleaded guilty to drug smuggling. He will be sentenced on 26 May.

Bidding on the yacht starts at 3pm on 27 April , and closes at 3pm on 28 April.

The Proceeds of Crime Act – which has been called the Al Capone act after the US gangster – was introduced into law in 2003 by then home secretary David Blunkett. He said it would target criminal “parasites” with “flashy” lifestyles and he hoped it would recover up to £60m a year. “We are hitting organised criminals where it really hurts, in their pockets,” he said .

Under the act, £219m was recovered in the 2020-21 financial year, the latest available, according to Home Office figures .

Earlier this year, a court heard that 15 gold bars were seized from a woman passing through Heathrow as she changed planes on the way to India. She was stopped by Border Force officers who spotted that she was trying to carry £650,000-worth of gold, weighing 15kg (33lb), in her hand luggage.

Following a two-day hearing, the bullion was passed to the National Crime Agency under the act. The unnamed woman, who was allowed to continue her journey without the gold, claimed she was moving the bars for jewellers. But invoices she provided were fake.

In 2015, the government recovered almost £1.2m by selling the seized supercar collection of a crime lord dubbed “Don Car-leone’. Alexander Surin, a fugitive living in Dubai, had three Ferraris and a Rolls-Royce seized under the act.

The cars – a Ferrari Enzo, Ferrari 599 GTB, Ferrari California and the Rolls-Royce Phantom – were sold at luxury auction house Bonhams, at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, for a total of £1,189,840.

The Enzo, named after Ferrari’s founder and one of just 400 ever built, sold for £897,500. It was believed to be the most expensive car ever seized and sold at a UK auction.

• Drugs trade
• Shipping industry
• Water transport

More on this story

Italian fugitive caught after passion for football betrays his location

Richard Wakeling, crime boss extradited to UK from Thailand, starts jail sentence

British organised crime boss arrested in Thailand

Cracking apps: are crimefighters going too far to bring down cartels?

James ‘Whitey’ Bulger: three charged with 2018 prison killing of Boston crime boss

Head of ‘colossal’ UK-Dubai money-laundering gang jailed for nine years

Rare stolen books, including works by Newton and Galileo, returned to owners

Cannabis crop worth £1m discovered in former Coventry nightclub

Businessman to hand over £10m following ‘unexplained wealth order’

Most viewed.

Drug lord The Professor slips net that caught transatlantic cocaine gang

Mike Johnson Defiant After GOP Votes Down Its Own Government Funding Bill

‘Agatha All Along’ Episode 2 Recap: “Circle Sewn With Fate / Unlock Thy Hidden Gate”

From a Long Island Rally, Trump Lobs Exaggerated Attacks at New York City

Center right gets its way as golden boy Hansen lands EU farm job

Lindsey Graham visits Nebraska to push for electoral vote change

Student, 10, Dies After Stabbing Near Japanese School in China

‘Agatha All Along’ Episode 2 Recap: Down The Witches Road

Mom, 25, arrested after 1-month-old newborn left in hot car died of ‘severe’ hyperthermia and dehydration

All The Women Diddy Has Been Romantically Linked To Through The Years

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 937

‘Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’ Premiere Is Flawless TV

Veteran CIA Officer Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Sexually Abusing Dozens of Women

• Environment

A powerful drug lord nicknamed The Professor who allegedly smuggled billions of pounds worth of cocaine from Latin America to Europe in yachts across the Atlantic is on the run.

The eccentric criminal mastermind is being sought by Spanish and British police who said they smashed the world’s largest cocaine smuggling sailboat operation.

“Damon Hill” and “Jeremy Clarkson” were used as nicknames by gang members who made so much money, they “decorated” a lavatory with piles of €50 notes.

It was reported guns were encrusted with diamonds; a Ferrari featured the insignia of the Colombian police and homes were filled with gold busts of gang leaders.

One of the alleged gang members was Conor Cowan, 30, a fisherman from the Isle of Lewis, The Telegraph can reveal.

Mr Cowan was arrested by the French navy, which seized 1.2 tons of cocaine with a street value of £96 million when sailors boarded a Spanish-registered yacht 1,200 miles east of Martinique in the Caribbean in December.

The Professor, who was born in Iran but has Norwegian nationality, oversaw the drugs empire from a luxury villa in Denia on Spain’s Costa Blanca.

To hide his real vocation, the 50-year-old pretended to teach Norwegian to locals but never gave a class, Spanish police said.

Over 20 years, he won the confidence of the Mexican and Colombian drug cartels, police said, and worked with a British crime group based in Marbella to ship drugs in yachts from Latin America to Spain and on to the UK.

His British partners ran a fleet of yachts based in southern Spain but The Professor made the final decision when shipments would be made.

Before each yacht sailed, The Professor consulted a santero, a witch doctor derived from Latin American and African religion.

In December, the mystic’s judgment proved disastrously wrong when police boarded the yacht in the Caribbean.

Ten Britons were among 52 people arrested by the end of a three-year international operation in June. 

But The Professor fled from Spain a few days before the arrests and was still at large, police said.

Mr Cowan, who is facing charges for alleged drug smuggling in Spain and is awaiting trial, was confirmed as the British skipper was arrested in December, police sources said.

Described as a “mild-mannered boy” by those who knew him in Lewis, he would regularly post images on social media of sea views around the Western Isles, a springer spaniel called Luna and show off hauls of prawns.

“He was raised by granny and was really devoted to her until she passed away,” one person who knows Mr Cowan said.

“He was a really nice, decent boy, very polite. He barely drank and wasn’t much of a partier, he just went fishing.

“It’s a real shock. He’s the last person you would have expected to have become mixed up in something like this.”

Mr Cowan comes from a seafaring family, a decade ago posting a grainy black and white picture to his Instagram account of his grandfather on an expedition to South Georgia in the Southern Atlantic.

He claimed his ancestor was the first to bring penguins back to Britain.

Locals admitted there had been widespread speculation within the tight-knit community about how a Lewis native, whose birth was registered in Stornoway in 1994, had allegedly found himself at the centre of a major international drug smuggling ring.

“There was a lot of talk about it when he was arrested,” another islander said.

The Spanish detective who led the operation told The Telegraph: “The operation is a success of international co-operation because we have managed to dismantle the biggest drug sailing fleet in the world.

“This gang must have transported billions of pounds worth of cocaine over the years. We can never know how much. Each sailing boat carried about €20 million (£17 million) in cocaine.”

The officer, who did not want to be identified for security reasons, said: “The Professor deeply believed in the witch doctor and he made a decision on each embarkation based on what they said.”

The British men organised the fleet of yachts and were “top tier” members of the gang, the Spanish officer said.

The British women occupied a lower level, allegedly working as treasurers to launder drug money in Marbella and beyond. They bought a restaurant and a hotel in the upmarket resort.

The skipper of the yacht boarded in the Caribbean was a 30-year-old man from Stornoway.

Three of the women were from Boston, Lincs, aged 19, 38 and 28, who were living in Marbella when they were arrested.

A 54-year-old woman from Chelmsford, Essex, and a 49-year-old woman from Nottingham were also detained along with a 63-year-old man from East Yorkshire and a 24-year-old British man.

A 37-year-old man from Bracknell, Berks, who was living in Portugal and a 34-year-old Scottish man was detained.

All are being held in Spain pending trial. None have been charged.

Spanish police released a video showing officers raiding the sumptuous villa in Marbella, which they say is owned by one of the Britons arrested in the operation.

Inside, police found a lavatory which was covered with piles of €50 notes as the drug dealers did not know what to do with the loot.

In 2020, intelligence from the National Crime Agency identified a British crime group based in Spain who were trafficking cocaine across the Atlantic.

Yachts sailed from Valencia, Malaga and Alicante to Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Lucia, Barbados and Panama. They made the return journey laden with cocaine

Neil Keeping, National Crime Agency regional manager in Spain, said: “This Spanish-led international operation has dismantled a major drug trafficking crime group and resulted in the arrests of 10 British nationals.

“A portion of the class A drugs seized would have undoubtedly been destined for the UK where its supply at street levels fuels violence and exploitation and brings misery to our communities.”

More than 15 Norwegians including a “reconverted bank robber” were held as part of the police operation.

Around 1.5 tons of cocaine in all, eight boats, 36 vehicles and more than 85 mobile phones were seized.

The post Drug lord The Professor slips net that caught transatlantic cocaine gang appeared first on The Telegraph .

Trending Posts

Giant “flying” Joro spider sighting confirmed in Pennsylvania

From queen to empress: Ursula von der Leyen’s power grab

US says Iran emailed Trump campaign material to Biden staff

Agatha All Along’s unnamed ‘Teen’ is probably this familiar Marvel Comics character

Ex-Trump Aide Warns Republicans on ‘Strategically Disastrous’ Move

Copyright © 2023.

Site Navigation

• Privacy & Policy

Privacy Overview

Jailed British drugs smuggler used luxury yacht for international £160m cocaine plot

Andrew Cole was the link between an international organised crime syndicate and a UK group - and his role was to ensure the safe receipt, passage, and transfer of the cocaine to the crew of a luxury yacht.

By Laura Mowat, news reporter

Thursday 26 May 2022 15:07, UK

A British drugs smuggler who used a luxury yacht in a bid to smuggle £160m worth of cocaine into the UK has been jailed for 18 years.

Andrew Cole, 33, of Norton Road, Stockton-on-Tees, was aboard the luxury yacht Kahu when it was stopped off the coast of Plymouth.

Last September, Border Force and National Crime Agency (NCA) officers intercepted the yacht and discovered the massive haul of cocaine - totalling two tonnes - from South America.

Cole admitted smuggling the Class A drugs, which were between 60% and 80% pure, in January this year.

He was the link between an international organised crime syndicate and a UK group - and his role was to ensure the safe receipt, passage, and transfer of the cocaine to the yacht's crew.

On 28 August 2021, Cole sent a message, "Count is complete. 2000 bits", which meant 2,000 kilos of cocaine had been handed over to the Kahu.

Five other men, the captain and four crew members, were acquitted by a jury.

More on Crime

Man jailed 21 years on from raping 14-year-old girl in alley - after victim came forward to Rotherham sex abuse probe

Crime minister has purse stolen at police conference

Labour backs new 'respect orders' to fight anti-social behaviour - but isn't yet sure how they will work

Related Topics:

How text messages exposed smuggling plot

In the months before the Jamaican-flagged Kahu sailed, Cole had been involved in planning the smuggling operation, and travelled to Costa Rica and Panama in May 2021.

In early July he flew from Panama to Miami and the following day he flew to Barbados, where the Kahu arrived on 29 July from Florida.

During the journey across the Atlantic, Cole used a Samsung phone to contact others involved - and it ended up providing investigators with a running commentary on the smuggling operation.

The phone's messages show the Kahu was to meet with another vessel coming from Suriname in South America and take possession of the drugs.

As Cole and the crew realised a Border Force vessel was tailing them, a text message was sent saying: "We are getting boarded."

The response, which went unread, said: "Throw satphones what you use. Throw all phones. Did you copy, throw all phones."

Gavin Heckles, NCA operations manager, said: "This was a huge haul of cocaine, which we and our law enforcement partners have prevented coming into the UK drugs market and being sold across UK communities, where it would have fuelled more crime.

"We thank colleagues from Border Force and Australian Federal Police who were both key in seizing these drugs and the jailing of Andrew Cole."

The yacht was sold at auction earlier this month for £473,500.

Related Topics

Watch CBS News

Accused drug trafficker dubbed "Pirate of the Unknown" extradited to NYC following arrest before international yacht race

Updated on: July 29, 2024 / 8:40 AM EDT / CBS/AP

A citizen of Montenegro nicknamed the "Pirate of the Unknown" has been extradited to New York City from Italy to face charges connected to what U.S. authorities called an international drug ring that transported tons of cocaine around the world. The extradition comes after Milos Radonjic was arrested in Italy where authorities say he planned to captain a yacht in an international race.

Radonjic, 34, arrived in Brooklyn on Friday and is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court Monday, according to federal prosecutors and officials with the Department of Homeland Security and FBI. A federal grand jury indicted him and several other people last year on charges of conspiracy and attempt to violate the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act.

According to court filings, Radonjic was a high-ranking member of a transnational drug organization that used commercial cargo ships, including some registered to deliver goods to the U.S., to transport tons of cocaine from South America to Europe for drug cartels in the Balkans . Ship crew members knowingly took part in the alleged trafficking, court documents say.

"Radonjic allegedly organized three separate attempts, with the assistance of a corrupt crew member on a commercial cargo vessel, to load a container ship with more than 2,500 kilograms of cocaine in Ecuador and off the coast of Colombia," prosecutors said . 

U.S. authorities said Radonjic and others arranged to use speed boats to deliver drugs at night to cargo ships on the high seas near Colombia and Ecuador.

Radonjic and others also trafficked narcotics that have "contributed to the overdose and drug addiction crisis in the United States and throughout the world," U.S. prosecutors wrote in a request to a federal judge to detain Radonjic pending trial.

"This arrest and successful extradition is a lesson that the high seas are not a no-man's land for the rule of law, and that we are committed to bringing those who violate it to justice," Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement Saturday.

Peace's office said Radonjic had not been assigned an attorney as of Saturday.

Radonjic was arrested in October after traveling to Italy to captain a yacht in an international race, authorities said. Radonjic was supposed to be the skipper of the 24-meter Maxi Jena at the Barcolana, one the world's largest sailing races, when he was taken into custody, according to the magazine InTrieste .

U.S. authorities have not released the names of other people who were indicted and said they were not in U.S. custody.

If convicted, Radonjic  faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years' imprisonment and up to life in prison.

His extradition comes just days after authorities announced another international drug trafficker with a colorful nickname was arrested. Earlier this month, a major cocaine network — led by a smuggler known as "The Professor" — was busted in Europe.

Last month, European police forces arrested around 40 people in a years-long operation to bust a major drug smuggling ring, leading to the seizure of eight tons of cocaine, and Europol said many members of the network were, like Radonjic, from countries in the Balkans.

• Drug Trafficking

More from CBS News

Husband indicted in bizarre double homicide after au pair's arrest

"Computer geek" accused of creating encrypted messaging app for crime

Kansas cult accused of forcing kids to work 16-hour days without pay

Texas's Abbott declares Venezuelan gang a terrorist group

It's cute when GTA Online players name yachts after the man they robbed to pay for it

Gracias El Rubio

GTA Online has historically been a stingy game. Making money s largely a grind to afford better tools to grind more efficiently, with the dream of one day maybe actually buying something fancy just for funsies. That grind became a bit friendlier in December with the launch of the Cayo Perico Heist , a mission to rob the party island of drug lord Juan "El Rubio" Strickler. It's so lucrative that many players can now buying the game's novelty superyachts, and as thanks (or insult to injury?) to El Rubio, some name them in his honour. Not a huge thing, but always makes me smile.

Cayo Perico is a quick heist, and it can even be completed solo. While you won't finish one heist then suddenly be able to buy a yacht, repeating it is faster and more fun than consulting player-made spreadsheets to optimise output of in-game businesses. Which means many more players are living the high life and can splash cash on frivilous flexes like the superyacht. The least they can do is remember the guy whose money filled your wallet.

Finally I have 'em all...Gracias Mr Rubio🙌 from r/gtaonline

Though god help you if your yacht accidentally sparks a Reddit debate about redundancies in bilingual names:

He paid for it might as well name it after him! from r/gtaonline

And I appreciate the subtlety of new yacht owner "AndyRobbo93", who explained : "I've always robbed El Rubio at night."

This is a cute touch. I've seen other yachts with names remembering Rubio but hey, you get the idea. A fun daft idea. Well done, criminals.

I had thought I'd hit Cayo Perico a lot myself but ugh, GTAO's endless loading time is such a drag it genuinely puts me off playing the game. I end up going for something I know will I absolutely definitely can be playing within, like, ten minutes. So it's been very curious to see one players thinks they've found a way Rockstar could massively speed it up . I'm still a touch sceptical but god, I wish it were true and Rockstar actually did.

Read this next

• GTA Online update pops a quality-of-life feature behind the GTA+ paywall, making it unavailable on PC
• GTA5 nearly had story DLC that made Trevor a 007-style spy - until it was cancelled and turned into a GTA Online heist
• Just 66 titles saw 80 percent of all playtime in 2023, most older games like Fortnite or GTA 5

Get Our Top Trade Ideas Delivered Daily - 65% Off Now

• Get Benzinga Pro
• Data & APIs
• Our Services
• News Earnings Guidance Dividends M&A Buybacks Legal Interviews Management Offerings IPOs Insider Trades Biotech/FDA Politics Government Healthcare
• Markets Pre-Market After Hours Movers ETFs Forex Cannabis Commodities Binary Options Bonds Futures CME Group Global Economics Mining Previews Small-Cap Real Estate Cryptocurrency Penny Stocks Digital Securities Volatility
• Ratings Analyst Color Downgrades Upgrades Initiations Price Target
• Ideas Trade Ideas Long Ideas Short Ideas Technicals From The Press Jim Cramer Rumors Whisper Index Stock of the Day Best Stocks & ETFs Best Penny Stocks Best S&P 500 ETFs Best Swing Trade Stocks Best Blue Chip Stocks Best High-Volume Penny Stocks Best Small Cap ETFs Best Stocks to Day Trade Best REITs
• Money Investing Cryptocurrency Mortgage Insurance Yield Personal Finance Forex Startup Investing Real Estate Investing Prop Trading Credit Cards Stock Brokers
• Cannabis Cannabis Conference News Earnings Interviews Deals Regulations Psychedelics

'Crypto Queen' Ruja Ignatova Murdered By Drug Lord On Yacht In 2018: Report

The public search for Ruja Ignatova , better known as the 'Crypto Queen' , has taken a tragic turn after an investigation by Bulgarian news outlet Bird revealed documents reportedly found in the possession of a murdered Bulgarian police official that proves she was allegedly killed in 2018. 

What Happened : Ignatova was the head of the trillion-dollar OneCoin scam, accused of fleecing investors out of as much as $5 billion in 2017 before her disappearance. She was included in the FBI's ten most wanted and Europe's most wanted lists.

For the uninitiated, the promoters behind the infamous OneCoin, which was launched in 2014, duped hundreds of investors into believing that it was a mineable cryptocurrency, falsely promising a maximum supply of 120 billion coins. Once considered the next  Bitcoin  BTC/USD , OneCoin raised alarm bells among investors after they learned the scheme did not actually have a blockchain.

See More : Top Indian Apps That Give Bitcoin, NFT Rewards 

According to an investigation by Bird, Police documents reveal that Ignatova was killed on the orders of a drug lord aboard his yacht. An unnamed source from the police report has indicated that the killer was an associate of Ignatova, raising speculation that they were also involved in the OneCoin scam.

In a grisly turn of events, Ignatova's body was dismembered and discarded into the Ionian Sea, a body of water between Italy and Greece in the south of the Adriatic Sea.

Read Next : Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin Slide Amid Rate-Hike Anxiety: Analyst Says 'Avoid Emotions, Trade Prices'

Photo  by OneCoin Corporation on Wikimedia Commons

© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.

• Financeflux
• Scams, Hacks & Breaches
• Latest Stories
• Submit Guest Post
• Press Releases
• Sponsored Posts
• Submit Your Content
• CRYPTO MARKETS
• Press Release
• Sponsored Post

‘Cryptoqueen’ Wanted for $4,000,000,000 Scheme Murdered on Yacht in 2018 by Bulgarian Mafia: Report

A new report claims that the ‘cryptoqueen’ wanted for her alleged role in the $4,000,000,000 OneCoin scam may have been murdered aboard a yacht in 2018.

According to the Bureau for Investigative Reporting and Data (BIRD), known drug lord Hristoforos ‘Taki’ Amanatidis may have ordered the murder of OneCoin founder Ruja Ignatova.

Per the report, the murder may have taken place in 2018 aboard a yacht in the Ionian Sea, her body mutilated and thrown overboard.

BIRD bases the information upon documents it reportedly has viewed that contain an agent’s report on the matter. However, the report’s information is not authenticated and the details about Ignatova’s death appear to remain the subject of speculation.

Per BIRD, the documents were found at the home of a former top Bulgarian officer, Lyubomir Ivanov, after he was murdered last year. The documents reportedly say that the alleged details about Ignatova’s death came from a conversation with Georgi Georgiev Vasilev, Amanatidis’ brother-in-law, when he was intoxicated.

Ignatova remains on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list for “her alleged participation in a large-scale fraud scheme” that is “alleged to have defrauded billions of dollars from investors all over the world.”

In December, co-founder of the OneCoin $4 billion crypto pyramid scheme, Karl Sebastian Greenwood, pled guilty to money laundering and wire fraud charges. Ignatova is the alleged leader of the scam.

Greenwood and Ignatova launched OneCoin in 2014 and allegedly made false claims that OneCoin maintained a private blockchain.

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

Generated Image: Midjourney

Industry Announcements

Covering the future of finance, including macro, bitcoin, ethereum, crypto, and web 3. Categories Bitcoin • Ethereum • Trading • Altcoins • Futuremash •  Financeflux • Blockchain •  Regulators •  Scams • HodlX •  Press Releases

ABOUT US | EDITORIAL POLICY | PRIVACY POLICY TERMS AND CONDITIONS | CONTACT | ADVERTISE

COPYRIGHT © 2017-2024 THE DAILY HODL

© 2023 The Daily Hodl

What happened to the real Griselda Blanco?

• "Griselda" is a Netflix series about real-life drug lord Griselda Blanco. 
• The series focuses on her time in Miami. 
• Blanco served jail time in the United States for her crimes, and was killed in Colombia in 2012.

Sofia Vergara takes on a career-defining role in "Griselda," a new Netflix series about the infamous drug lord Griselda Blanco.

Blanco was also known as the "godmother of cocaine," or simply "the godmother," due to her standing in the drug trade. The Netflix series focuses on one specific part of her life — the late 1970s and 1980s in Miami. Previously, her story was depicted in the documentary "Cocaine Cowboys" and the Lifetime film "Cocaine Godmother: The Griselda Blanco Story."

Blanco was a pivotal figure in the cocaine trade. The Miami Herald reported that she got her start picking pockets in her younger years before eventually selling marijuana after moving to New York. Finally, she pivoted to the easier-to-transport cocaine. Per the publication , she pioneered smuggling techniques that included, in one notable instance, a Medellīn, Colombia lingerie shop designing custom pieces with pockets to hold cocaine.

Vergara executive produces the fictionalized portrayal of Blanco's life, which features representations of her associates like Jorge "Rivi" Ayala. The series is now streaming on Netflix, but here's what happened to the drug lord in real life.

Blanco served jail time in the United States before her death

Blanco was named in a 1975 indictment charging her and 37 others with manufacturing, importing, and distributing cocaine in the United States. A warrant for Blanco's arrest was issued in May 1975, but she wasn't formally apprehended until February 1985.

Related stories

After a trial, Blanco was found guilty and sentenced to 15 years in prison in addition to a $25,000 fine. Thirteen years into her sentence, Blanco was transported to Florida to face murder charges, Time reported .

However, the Florida case was marred by scandal: a key witness, former hit man Jorge Ayala, had explicit conversations with secretaries over the phone, while a prosecutor resigned after he was accused of sexually harassing a secretary, though he denied the allegations.

According to The Guardian, Blanco was suspected of at minimum 40 murders in Florida. She was eventually only convicted of three, and per Time, her eventual deal led to her serving three 20-year sentences concurrently. Per the Miami Herald, she only served a third of those sentences before being deported to Colombia in 2004. There, per El Colombiano , she lived off the income from her rental properties.

Blanco was shot in Medellín, Colombia, in 2012

Blanco was fatally shot at age 69 in Medellín, Colombia, in 2012 by a motorcycle rider as she was walking out of a butcher shop. As The Guardian reported, it was a method that Blanco herself had pioneered.

"It's surprising to all of us that she had not been killed sooner because she made a lot of enemies," Nelson Andreu, an ex-homicide detective who investigated Blanco in Miami, told the Miami Herald after her death. "When you kill so many and hurt so many people like she did, it's only a matter of time before they find you and try to even the score."

Police told the Miami Herald after Blanco's death that Blanco was known to be living in Medellín since her deportation in 2004. However, at the time, there were no open investigations regarding her activities, and it didn't appear that she was involved in any drug trafficking operations.

Disclosure: Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member.

Watch: Inside the dangerous life of Mexican drug lord 'El Chapo'

• Main content

Serial Cleaners: Yacht Mission Guide

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

The Plucky Squire Review: Mechanically Innovative Indie Will Make You Smile

Stop giving games you like bad reviews, deltarune development update reveals chapters 3 and 4 are almost ready, quick links, middle deck, jacuzzi area.

By the time you reach Chapter Three in Serial Cleaners , you'll have mastered every character's abilities. That's a good thing, because this is where the game starts throwing you some serious curveballs. Bob's flashback mission to the late eighties, which opens the chapter, sets the tone.

Related: Serial Cleaners: Chapter Two Mission Guide

In this mission, Bob is coming off a serious bender. The cops and civilians he encounters are imaginary, but will still cause the mission to fail if they catch you. They can spawn and despawn as you move throughout the level, so always stay on your toes!

Bob starts the mission on the aft deck of the ship. Climb down the ladder to your left and collect the evidence there; a cop will appear in the spot you just left. Keep an eye on their route, then climb back up and go to the right. You'll see another cop inside the aft cabin; clean up the blood on the deck before continuing.

When you reach the fore of the ship, a third cop will spawn near the body there. Wait for them to face away from you, then grab the body and bring it further aft. You can safely toss it overboard at the nearby drop point.

Return to the foredeck and clean up as much blood as you can without alerting the cop. You'll probably have to leave a few spots, but you can make up the difference later.

If you enter the cabin nearby, you'll find a large trophy that needs to be disposed of. As you approach it, a cop and a civilian will immediately spawn nearby . Move to the right, behind the civilian, and you should be able to slip out the door and toss the trophy overboard without being noticed.

Re-enter the cabin and make your way aft. The cop patrolling this area spends lots of time in the smaller rooms to your right, so you have plenty of time to remove the blood, wrap the body, and get it overboard. Use the double doors to the left if you need to make a quick getaway, but beware of the cop outside.

Related: Serial Cleaners: Chapter One Mission Guide

You can go upstairs via the cabin or the spiral staircase on the aft deck; there are several bodies here as well as a key that you'll need to get the second piece of big evidence on the middle deck.

Take the spiral staircase, but watch out for the officer at the top. Move toward the bottom of the screen and pick up the big evidence on the ground near the body, then go right and toss it overboard . Do the same for the body when the cop's patrol route allows it; he moves in a wide enough circle that you can clean up blood while you're waiting for him to move away from the body.

Trying to enter the cabin via the double doors won't work, as they're controlled from a switch behind the bar . Instead, move toward the front of the ship and clean up any blood you find, then enter the orange door to reach the helm. Take the square key from the console, then clean up any remaining blood and dump the body. You'll see a cop spawn on the deck in front of you; be quick, because he'll enter the room from the north side. If you need to hide, go back through the orange door and close it to buy yourself some time.

Go back to the aft deck and north to the port side of the ship; there's a purple door that will let you into the bar. There's still a cop inside, so hide on the stairs immediately to your right if need be. The bar also makes a useful tool for blocking line of sight, and gives you a chance to open the glass doors, but be warned; the circle key can only be picked up from in front of the bar , not behind it.

When the cop goes outside, clean up the blood . You may not have time to wrap the body before he comes back, so be patient and complete the cleanup over multiple cycles if needed. The body can easily be dumped overboard once you get it back out the purple door.

Related: Awesome Things You Didn't Know You Could Do In GTA Online

When you're ready, go up the stairs to reach the pool deck. There are two bodies to clean here, and only a single detective; unfortunately, he tends to stay pretty close to the right-hand body. Try distracting him by making noise with your vacuum from the left, then circling around to deal with the body while he investigates. The body can be dumped near the top of the stairs.

Next, use the circle key you collected from the bar to open the gate on the left and deal with the body there. The detective has a key as well, so he can unlock the gate even if you lock it behind you - try not to attract his attention! If he does come to investigate, hide behind the jet skis until he leaves. When the body is wrapped and ready, it can be thrown overboard from the netting south of its position.

Related: Mafia: Definitive Edition - Gansters Monthly Comic Book Locations

Once you've cleared the pool deck, go directly down both flights of stairs to return to the middle deck; you'll be in front of the bedroom door, which you can now unlock with the square key. Dump the rifle you find inside, then continue.

Take the stairs to the lowest part of the ship. Immediately south is a corridor covered in blood that also has some evidence. This is a trap. When you're midway down the corridor, a cop will spawn immediately behind you with his nightstick drawn. Run to the end of the hall and open the left-hand door to reach the engine room. Close the door behind you if you can, then go directly left. When the cop enters the room, duck under the low pipes and hide behind machinery to break his line of sight. After a few seconds of searching, he will disappear.

Once the cop despawns, wrap the body in the engine room and dispose of it by tossing it into the machinery in the lower left. If you drag the body instead of carrying it, you can squeeze under the low pipes that you used to evade the cop.

Once the body is dealt with, clean up the corridor and grab the evidence; the cop won't respawn, but another one may appear in the engine room if you linger too long. As soon as the yacht is clean, you can return to the helm to complete the mission!

Next: Things We Wish We Knew Before Starting Mafia: Definitive Edition

• Indie Games
• Serial Cleaners

• Work & Careers
• Life & Arts

Traffickers use Polish-flagged yachts to move drugs across Atlantic

Keep abreast of significant corporate, financial and political developments around the world. Stay informed and spot emerging risks and opportunities with independent global reporting, expert commentary and analysis you can trust.

Try unlimited access Only $1 for 4 weeks

• Then $75 per month
• New customers only
• Cancel anytime during your trial

Keep reading for $1

Explore our subscriptions

Find the plan that suits you best.

Professional

Premium access for businesses and educational institutions.

• Get Started

Check if your university or organisation offers FT membership to read for free.

• Breaking News
• University Guide
• Meghan Markle
• Prince Harry
• King Charles III

Fugitive drug lord 'Taliban' who stole cartel's 450lb cocaine shipment is tossed ALIVE into ocean with an anchor tied to his waist

• Reinaldo Fuentes was thrown off a raft into the Caribbean Sea
• Fuentes was a Venezuelan drug trafficker who was accused of stealing millions of dollars worth of cocaine 
• He was kidnapped on July 17 and dumped to die the same day in apparent retribution for the theft

By Adry Torres For Dailymail.com

Published: 14:06 EDT, 29 August 2023 | Updated: 17:12 EDT, 29 August 2023

View comments

This is the moment a fugitive Venezuelan drug trafficker known as Taliban is dumped alive in the ocean with his hands zip-tied and an anchor around his waist in revenge for stealing 450 pounds of cocaine - and cash - from a cartel.

Reinaldo Fuentes, 68, is seen bound and gagged with blood stains on the back of his head before his killers struggle to heave him - and the anchor - over the side of a boat into the Caribbean Sea near Martinique.

The footage, shared to social media, shows Fuentes staring at the person recording the video. He is then dumped overboard and left to drown.

None of his kidnappers are identified but one is heard in the background of the video saying 'make sure none of our faces can be seen' and another later said 'he has no way to save himself'.

In an elaborate - and poorly thought out - ruse, Fuentes, a middleman for the Venezuelan Clan del Cartel, earlier had dumped a shipment of narcotics worth $10 million at sea and fabricated a fake coast guard pursuit to explain not bringing the drugs back to his bosses and kept the cash.

Reinaldo Fuentes, a Venezuelan drug trafficker, lies flat inside a raft moments before he was tossed in the Caribbean Sea near Martinique in July

Fuentes is lifted from the raft moments before he was tossed in to the Caribbean Sea after being accused of stealing millions of dollars worth of cocaine

He then went back out on the water to collect the cocaine, repackaged it and took it to another Caribbean island.

But the scheme went awry when his henchmen snitched, leading to his watery demise on July 17 - the day he was invited to a cartel meeting.

Veteran journalism Rafael Tolentino revealed Monday on 'Esto No Es Radio,' a daily morning show in the Dominican Republic, that Fuentes obtained a fake national identification document that allowed him to live under the name of Miguel Fulcar in the Dominican Republic, making it impossible for him to be detected by authorities.

Fuentes was reportedly dating a prominent lawyer, caring for her daughter, in the Dominican city of Bonao.

He was a native of Sucre, Venezuela, and had three children from a prior relationship in Venezuela. 

Fuentes allegedly controlled drug dealing in the Bonao neighborhood of Buenos Aires, where he picked up the 'Taliban' nickname due to illicit dealings with Middle Eastern drug traffickers.

Two members of his organization were previously killed in a shootout with the police in Buenos Aires. An investigation led cops to a home were a cache of weapons were recovered from a Bonao home. The weapons reportedly belonged to Fuentes. 

Sources told Tolentino Fuentes entered the country July 14 and was there for two days before leaving.

Sources told Tolentino that Fuentes was murdered because he had been involved with stealing a multi-million-dollar cocaine shipment destined for Tortola, the largest of the British Virgin Islands.

Fuentes accepted money for 200 kilos of cocaine and then stole the drugs in an elaborate plot. But, his fellow drug traffickers ratted him out

Fuentes was living in Venezuela, but got fake identification that let him live in the Dominican Republic after the alleged theft

Fuentes had his hands bound and had an anchor tied to his body as he was dumped into the sea

He was kidnapped on July 17 and the same day was taken out to the Caribbean sea 

'He still doesn't have a way to free himself,' one of the men in the background could be heard saying before the video comes to an end

Fuentes left his Dominican home and was lured to a cartel meeting at an unknown location on July 17. That is when he was kidnapped and dumped at sea later in the day. 

In the video, a gang member ensured that the executioners' faces were not shown on film. 

Two men then struggled to lift Fuentes off the raft because he had an anchor wrapped around his body to prevent him from saving himself. They subsequently dump him headfirst into the sea.

The video ends with a distant image of Fuentes floating in the water with no effort to save him. 

It's unclear if authorities have made any arrests in the case although the Dominican Republic military said that the incident did not take place in its waters.

The video ends with a distant image of Fuentes floating in the water with no effort to save him

It's also unknown how long Fuentes has been linked to the Clan del Cartel, aka Gulf Cartel, considered the oldest active criminal organization in Mexico.

The network started off by smuggling alcohol into the United States during the Prohibition Era. Once it came to an end, the organization turned to other illicit activities like gambling, prostitution rings and smuggling other goods.

It was not until the 1980 that the Gulf Cartel got itself immersed into the drug trade, tapping into the marijuana and heroin market.

Its leader Juan García eventually entered an agreement with the once-powerful Colombian Cali Cartel to set up drug trafficking routes to the United States due to its proximity to the border - the Gulf Cartel is based out of the northeastern state of Tamaulipas.

García made a deal with Cali Cartel leaders, the Rodríguez Orejuela brothers, to manage cartel shipment along the Mexico-United States border in return for 50 percent of the profit.

Extraditions and killings of Gulf Cartel leaders diminished the organization's stronghold in the drug trafficking business. 

Cartel cells like the Scorpions, Cyclones, Metros, Panthers and Rojos went their own ways and set up operations in different parts of Tamaulipas.

The organization has operations throughout Latin America and has had leaders from various countries.

In August, former head Dairo Antonio Usuga David, aka Otoneil, was sentenced to 45 years in American prison for his role running the drug trafficking operation. He was also ordered to forfeit $216 million. 

It's unclear who the current leader is, as fragmentation among the gang has made identifying a central leader difficult, according to InsightCrime . 

Share or comment on this article: Fugitive drug lord 'Taliban' who stole cartel's 450lb cocaine shipment is tossed ALIVE into ocean with an anchor tied to his waist

Most watched news videos.

• Footage shows destroyed room in Lebanon after pager's explosion
• U.S. Coast Guard release footage on sunken OceanGate's tail cone
• Gisele Pelicot arrives at the criminal court in Avignon
• Dominique Pelicot's lawyer: 'He asked his wife to forgive him'
• Black man arrested by police claims they believed he was drug dealer
• Rape victim Gisele Pelicot arrives at court to testify against husband
• Barrister on former BBC presenter Huw Edwards: His sentence is a joke
• Shocking scenes inside hospital shows aftermath of Beirut explosion
• Benjamin Netanyahu vows to return citizens 'safely' to their homes
• Scene after pagers explode and wound hundreds of Hezbollah fighters
• Smoke rises from Lebanese villages near Israel border after strikes
• Chaotic scenes in Beirut hospital after Hezbollah pager explosion

Comments 366

Share what you think

• Worst rated

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.

• Follow DailyMail
• Subscribe Daily Mail
• Follow @dailymail
• Follow MailOnline
• Follow Daily Mail

From the Makers of Candy Crush

• Back to top

Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd

Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group

The latest ITV News headlines - as Lebanon's Health Ministry says twenty killed in new explosions

More news videos.

Series 9 • The latest news from ITV News at Ten

Series 9 • All the latest news from the ITV Evening News team

Series 11 • BAFTA-nominated breakfast show covering the latest news, sport & weather

1h 15m • The story of the war in Gaza and the attacks on the 7th of October, 2023

Series 25, 26, 26 • Compelling current affairs stories that get to the heart of what matters

1h • Prince Harry, Hugh Grant & others open up about the hacking scandal

Series 10 • ITV News' Robert Peston presents his lively political interview programme

1h • Seven politicians go head to head in ITV's General Election debate

1h • Martin hosts a summer special packed with financial 'need to knows'

50m • Join the party leaders for in-depth interviews

1h 10m • The leaders go head to head in the first TV General Election debate

1h 20m • Witness the inside story of Theresa May's tumultuous premiership

40m • Travels across the UK to celebrate the Jewish festival of Passover

40m • Shehab Khan follows the holy month of Ramadan and sees how it's observed

1h • The former gymnasts & their powerful fight for justice

1h • Journalist Robert Moore lifts the lid on Donald Trump's latest comeback

1h 5m • Timely documentary about the history of a controversial NHS unit

Series 1 • Starmer's victory speech, the rise of Reform and more

Series 1 • Watch every moment of Prime Minister's Questions

From excitement to agony - here are the must-watch moments

30m • How a groundbreaking covert police operation caught a killer

Watch key moments as Reform UK secure several seats

The Labour leader vows to 'rebuild Britain'

Sir Ed Davey hails the Liberal Democrats' 'historic result'

Julie Etchingham hosts as the final, damning Grenfell Report is released

Rishi Sunak speaks outside No 10

Starmer speaks minutes after Labour wins General Election

Catch up on the results as big names are booted out

30m • The ITV News archives reveal the real-life stories behind 'Mr Bates vs The Post Office'.

1h • Compelling story of the children taken to Russia after war broke out