Tornado Alley (PROG)

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El Chapo v El Vicentillo: son of cartel's co-founder testifies against drug lord

""Traffickers at the El Chapo trial say drugs aren't smuggled through open parts of the border""

Vicente Zambada Niebla, son of the Joaquín Guzmán’s longtime partner, had been groomed to take over Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel

Ed Vulliamy

Fri 4 Jan 2019 15.03 EST
Last modified on Fri 4 Jan 2019 15.11 EST


Vicente Zambada Niebla takes the witness stand, at the trial of accused Mexican
drug lord Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán, right, in Brooklyn federal court in
New York. Photograph: Jane Rosenberg/Reuters

One of the greatest betrayals in mafia history emerged into open court this week at the New York trial of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán .. https://www.theguardian.com/world/joachim-el-chapo-guzm-n , as the former heir-apparent to Guzmán’s Sinaloa federation turned against his own boss, the cartel – and apparently even his own father.

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Behind the El Chapo trial: what's been left unsaid in a New York courtroom
Read more > https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/03/behind-el-chapo-trial-joaquin-guzman
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Vicente Zambada Niebla .. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/11/mexican-drug-lord-10-years-sinaloa-cartel – “El Vicentillo” – is the son of Guzmán’s longtime partner and co-founder of the cartel, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada García, and was once groomed to take over the business.

But in court on Thursday, he testified for the prosecution.

More: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/04/el-chapo-el-vicentillo-trial-joaquin-guzman


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Kings of cocaine: how the Albanian mafia seized control of the UK drugs trade

The Hellbanianz business model of eliminating middlemen i think is the model El Chapo used.

The Observer
Drugs trade

‘They’re sophisticated, clever – and they always deliver’: from the ports of Europe to the streets of London, one criminal network is now at the top of the UK’s £5bn trade

Mark Townsend Home Affairs Editor
@townsendmark

Sun 13 Jan 2019 02.00 EST
Last modified on Mon 14 Jan 2019 04.56 EST

Albanian crime gangs used the threat of violence – and commercial savvy – to take over the UK cocaine market.

[...]

How Albanians came to conquer the UK’s cocaine market is a lesson in criminal savvy; the value of making friends with the world’s most dangerous mafias; and the absolute threat of violence.

It began with a business model that was simple in concept, but sufficiently bold to subvert the existing order. For years cocaine’s international importers worked separately from its wholesalers and the gangs. Pricing structure varied, depending on the drug’s purity; the higher it was, the more it cost.

The Albanians ditched the entire model. They began negotiating directly with the Colombian cartels who control coca production. Huge shipments were arranged direct from South America. Supply chains were kept in-house.
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Intelligence obtained by British experts revealed that the Albanians were procuring cocaine from the cartels for about £4,000 to £5,500 a kilo, at a time when rivals thought they were getting a decent deal using Dutch wholesalers selling at £22,500 a kilo. The Albanians lowered the price of cocaine – and increased its purity. More massive consignments were brought into the UK.

[...]

There is considerable evidence that not only are the Albanians working with the ‘Ndrangheta, but that they have formed the tightest of alliances. Sources say the Italian mafia consider the Albanians as equals. Saggers said: “There’s a strong Italian-organised mafia link with Albanians now, Albanians are working with them – not in competition with them. Plus, historically, the Italians have good contacts in Latin America.”

Rotterdam in the Netherlands is Europe’s largest seaport, with eight million containers passing through each year. Many arrive via the direct “Colombian express” route before crossing to Harwich in Essex or Hull.

The second busiest European port is Antwerp in Belgium, which connects to the Thames port of Tilbury, 15 miles from Hellbanianz territory.


Seizures of cocaine have risen as the drug has flooded into the UK in recent years. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA

Collectively, the Belgian and Dutch ports employ 240,000 people, a cohort of whom, police intelligence indicates, work for the ‘Ndrangheta and Mafia Shqiptare.

“This gives the Albanians based on the near continent, direct access and control of it [cocaine] at the ports,” said Saggers.

[...]

The most vulnerable point for drug smugglers is the port of entry. Security is tight, options are finite. Sources say that the ‘Ndrangheta has outsourced this element of the supply chain to the Albanians.

“You need the best people to get it out of port. If you are good at moving things then you stay ahead of your competitors – and the Albanians are good at this,” said Sergi.

Yet even the most senior Albanians are caught sometimes. Klodjan Copja, 30, who ran a £60m cocaine imports syndicate, was jailed in 2017 after his couriers were intercepted meeting drug-laden lorries arriving in Kent.

[...]

Before its account was closed in November, Hellbanianz had 115,000 Instagram followers. The video for Hood Life, which opens with a drone shot of the Gascoigne estate, has been watched more than 7.5m times. The gang’s lyrics discuss defending Barking with “kallash” (AK47s)– and dishing out threats to rival Albanian outfit OTR ( On Top Of The Rest) and a fair few others. Their latest video, released in late October 2018, states they are “ready for war”.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/13/kings-of-cocaine-albanian-mafia-uk-drugs-crime