Over 1,000 Arrested Across Europe in Europol Crackdown on Organized Crime

Europol, The Hague, the Netherlands, September 24, 2014 – http://tinyurl.com/mgovf2c

Law enforcement officers from 34 countries take part in the largest ever coordinated operation against organised crime in the EU – 1027 individuals arrested.

Between 15 and 23 September, law enforcement authorities from 34 countries, coordinated and supported by Europol from its headquarters in The Hague, joined forces in Operation Archimedes.

The operation targeted organised crime groups and their infrastructures across the European Union (EU) in a series of actions in hundreds of locations, with the cooperation of Eurojust, Frontex and Interpol.

“Operation Archimedes is a milestone in attempts by the law enforcement community to deliver concerted action against organised crime groups in Europe. The scale of the operation is unprecedented and the outcome, with over 1000 arrests made across Europe, a reminder to even the most serious criminal groups that the international law enforcement community is determined to combat their illegal activities,” says Rob Wainwright, Director of Europol.

“This week, as EU police chiefs gather at Europol for the 2014 European Police Chiefs Convention, our focus will be on how our combined strengths can best be applied to bringing down even more of the organised criminal groups that threaten the safety and wellbeing of our society.”

Focussed on disrupting the activities of the most threatening criminal groups and top targets active in key crime hotspots across Europe, the intelligence-led Operation Archimedes saw the participation of law enforcement officers from all 28 EU Member States as well as Australia, Colombia, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland and the USA (ICE and CBP).

In the largest period of joint action days held so far in the EU, raids and other interventions took place between 15-23 September 2014 in hundreds of locations including airports, border-crossing points, ports and specific crime hot spots in towns and cities all of which had featured variously in Europol’s SOCTA1, criminal intelligence reports from EU Member States and third countries and analytical products drawn from Europol’s criminal databases.

Results from the operational actions include:

• 1027 individuals arrested
• 599 kg of cocaine and 200 kg of heroin seized
• 1.3 tonnes of cannabis seized
• 30 children saved from trafficking.

Joint action days have become a regular feature, over the years, of the EU law enforcement response to specific aspects of organised crime. Operation Archimedes builds on this experience. In one concerted set of actions, over an extended period the operation sought to harness the collective strength of police, customs and other enforcement agencies, supported by real-time, live intelligence exchange to focus on nine ‘EMPACT’ priority crime areas, as part of the EU multi-annual policy cycle established by the Council of the European Union:

• Trafficking in human beings
• Facilitated illegal immigration
• Synthetic drugs
• Cocaine and heroin trafficking
• Firearms trafficking
• Counterfeit goods
• Excise and carousel (MTIC)2 fraud
• Organised property crime
• Cybercrime (transnational child sex offenders and payment fraud).

In parallel, investigators targeted the key infrastructures used by criminal groups, the use of the Internet as a facilitator for crime, and the illicit movement of criminal proceeds using money transfer systems.

In cooperation with Frontex and EU Member States, around 10 000 irregular migrants were checked which also led to the arrest of criminals facilitating illegal immigration. In total in the overall operation, 170 facilitators were arrested and important intelligence was gathered.

Europol played a central role in coordinating and directing the overall operation from a 24/7 operational coordination centre in The Hague, manned by Europol officials, liaison officers from all involved countries and colleagues from international law enforcement partners.

Europol specialists, supported by their liaison officer colleagues, coordinated the exchange of information and intelligence between national law enforcement authorities, international partners and Europol, while Europol analysts processed the information and produced real-time reporting to those engaged in interventions and operational activity in the field.

Europol officers were also deployed on the spot in various locations, with their Europol mobile office which gave them direct, secure access to Europol’s centralised databases and analysis tools.

While Operation Archimedes may be over it is clear that the huge operational activity will provide many leads which will, in turn, direct further investigations and arrests.

Washington (AFP) - The US government will pay more than $500 million to the Native American Navajo tribe in the US southwest, ending decades-old disputes over use of their land, officials said Wednesday.

Under the agreement -- to be formally signed Friday in Window Rock, Arizona -- the Navajo will receive $554 million, the Navajo Nation and US Department of Justice told AFP.

In return, the tribe will waive lawsuits over US management of Navajo resources and funds.

The sum is the largest ever paid by the United States to a single tribe, according to The Washington Post.

"This historic agreement resolves a longstanding dispute between the United States and the Navajo Nation, including some claims that have been sources of tension for generations," Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement sent to AFP.

Half of all Navajo land is rented out for agricultural and forestry purposes, oil and gas production, and mineral extraction, among other uses.

The Navajo reservation, straddling the western states of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, is the largest in the United States, covering around 70,000 square miles (181,299 square kilometers).

"This landmark resolution ends protracted and burdensome litigation. It will provide important resources to the Navajo Nation. And it fairly and honorably resolves a legal conflict over the accounting and management of tribal resources," Holder said.

The Navajos are the largest indigenous tribe in the United States with more than 300,000 members.

"After a long, hard-won process, I am pleased that we have finally come to a resolution on this matter to receive fair and just compensation for the Navajo Nation," Ben Shelly, president of the Navajo Nation, said in The Washington Post.

The US government has already reached similar agreements with other tribes. Including the Navajo payment, a total of $2.61 billion has been paid to 80 tribes since 2010.

In 2012, the United States agreed to give more than a billion dollars to 41 tribes settling a dispute over use of their land and goods.

ISIS Hostage Executioner 'Jihadi John' Identified by the FBI

ISIS Hostage Executioner 'Jihadi John' Identified by the FBI

The man who murdered James Foley, Steven Sotloff and David Haines has been identified by FBI officials.

Thus far, the executioner has been known only as "Jihadi John." He was known to intelligence officials as a hostage negotiator for a group of British ISIS fighters in Syria. He was also a guard for hostages in Raqqa. He originally hails from the United Kingdom, likely the London area, based on his accent. One of his former hostages said John is "intelligent, educated and a devout believer in radical Islamic teachings."

While the identity is now known to intelligence officials, it will not be publicly released, presumably as the military works to apprehend him. Though the man will not be named, this is a major step to taking down the terrorist network.

Yesterday, a "copy cat" video of the ISIS beheadings was released by the terrorist organization "Caliphate Soldiers" based in Syria. They murdered a French mountaineer who was kidnapped in Algeria, though their video was distinctly different than that of ISIS, in which "John" is featured and gives the final speech in English.

RELATED: Iraqi Prime Minister Says Attack Against U.S. and Paris Subways Is 'Imminent'

Earlier this week, ISIS released a propaganda video featuring another hostage, John Cantlie, in which he reads a script denouncing the Western media and airstrikes against ISIS occupied territory. This is the third ISIS propaganda video released this week, the second being another Cantlie monologue, and the first a movie trailer style recruitment video. None of those videos featured the now identified executioner.

This article was originally published at http://www.thewire.com/global/2014/09/isis-hostage-executioner-identified/380768/

Associated Press Videos
Ferguson Police Chief Apologizes to Brown Family

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FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — Police and protesters clashed briefly in Ferguson just hours after the St. Louis suburb's police chief issued an apology to the family of Michael Brown, a black 18-year-old who was fatally shot by a white police officer last month.

Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson appeared outside the police department in civilian clothes late Thursday to assure protesters that there would be changes in the wake of Brown's killing, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported (http://bit.ly/1rnGlrg ).

"All those things that are causing mistrust are being evaluated and we are going to be making changes," Jackson said.

The police chief started to march with protesters around 11 p.m. Soon after, a scuffle broke out about 20 feet behind the chief and one protester was arrested. The Post-Dispatch said at least three other protesters were arrested after another confrontation.

The Ferguson Police Department spokesman didn't immediately return call to The Associated Press early Friday.

Earlier Thursday, Jackson released a video apology to Brown's family and the community in which he acknowledged that Brown's body should have been removed from the street much sooner after he was killed. Brown's body remained on Canfield Drive, a residential street, for more than four hours while police collected evidence.

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A fire burns Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2014 at a memorial in Ferguson, Mo., on the site where a Missouri po …

"It was just too long and I'm truly sorry for that," Jackson, dressed casually in a red polo shirt instead of his police uniform, said on the video. "Please know that the investigating officers meant no disrespect to the Brown family, to the African-American community or the people of Canfield (Drive). They were simply trying to do their jobs."

To the Brown family, Jackson said: "I'm truly sorry for the loss of your son."

Brown's parents declined comment when told about Jackson's video during a news conference with civil rights leaders at the National Press Club. Their attorney later said they hadn't heard about the video but would review it.

Brown was unarmed when he was fatally shot Aug. 9 during a confrontation with Officer Darren Wilson. The shooting sparked numerous protests and racial unrest in the predominantly black community. Some residents and civil rights activists have said responding police officers were overly aggressive, noting their use of tear gas and military-style vehicles and gear.

"It is clear that we have much work to do," Jackson said in the video.

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the Ferguson Police Department for possible civil rights violations.

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Clashes in Ferguson after police chief's apology

Police and protesters scuffle hours after Chief Tom Jackson issued an apology to the family of Michael Brown.
Several arrests