Crime & Courts

Drugs deal between Venezuela and Beirut was worth more than US$8 million
Bylined to: Naharnet
Sunday, September 05, 2010

The statement said CODC busted a house in Doha south of Beirut and confiscated about 50 kilograms of cocaine and arrested five members of the network -- a Venezuelan and four Lebanese.

Bad phone connection with VZLA suppliers caused scheme to unravel
Bylined to: Paul Cherry
Friday, September 03, 2010

A Quebec Court judge has handed out sentences he said should serve as a warning to four men who either pleaded guilty to or were convicted of importing and possessing 218 kilograms of cocaine from Venezuela in 2005 concealed in containers flown to Pi

Experts complain that 91% of murders go unpunished in Venezuela
Bylined to: El Universal
Thursday, September 02, 2010

These figures about impunity in Venezuela were released on Wednesday by Roberto Briceño Leon, director of the NGO Observatorio Venezolano de la Violencia (Venezuelan Observatory of Violence).

Italian tourist slain on sailboat in Venezuela ... police suspect robbery
Bylined to: Wire Services
Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Local police chief Jose Gonzalez said that the man, Emiliano Astore, was found dead aboard his boat 'Yunkano Miami' while it was moored at Margarita Island. He said the 36-year-old had been killed on Sunday.

UK Royal Navy warship intercepts yacht carrying cocaine worth £4 million
Bylined to: Owen Bowcott
Tuesday, August 31, 2010

A Royal Navy destroyer, acting on French intelligence, has intercepted a yacht smuggling £4 million worth (almost $6.5 million) of cocaine as it crossed the Atlantic.

Gang leader Fraiber Velazco escapes from high-security Tocuyito prison
Bylined to: Reuters
Monday, August 30, 2010

"This happened due to corruption and a mafia which still exists in certain parts of the public administration," Interior Minister Tareck El Aissami said, explaining that Velazco was able to leave the prison during visiting hours.

Venezuela seizes four tonnes of cocaine outward bound for Mexico
Bylined to: Reuters
Friday, August 27, 2010

"This is the biggest haul in the last few years in Venezuela," Interior Minister Tareck El Aissami said. He added that soldiers were still searching the area in central Guarico state to see if more cocaine was stashed there.

Extra-territorial application of RICO does not apply to Venezuela corruption...
Bylined to: Mark Hamblett
Friday, August 27, 2010

The recently rejuvenated presumption against the extraterritorial reach of US laws applies to civil racketeering cases, a federal judge has ruled.

German man arrested in VZLA facing trial in 23-year-old slaying of teenager
Bylined to: Wire Services
Tuesday, August 24, 2010

State prosecutor's office spokesman Burkhard Vonnahme told The Associated Press on Tuesday that German authorities want 42-year-old Michael Benz extradited within a few days. Venezuelan police announced the arrest Monday.

Venezuela with one of the world's highest murder rates -- official data
Bylined to: Merco Press Agency
Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Venezuela registered 19,133 murders in 2009, which places the rate of homicides in the country at 75 for every 100,000 inhabitants, according to a study by the National Statistics Institute, or INE, cited Friday by the press.