Bulgarian authorities seize a large amount of cocaine hidden in a van
According to customs officials, the nearly 206 kilograms (453 pounds) of cocaine was the largest seizure at Bulgaria's land border. A vehicle inspection led to the discovery of the drugs valued at 20 million euros ($22 million). The drugs were hidden in 179 sealed bags stashed among personal belongings in five suitcases.
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Associated Press
5 hours ago
- Associated Press
Ecuadorian drug lord 'Fito' pleads not guilty after being extradited to New York
The head of a violent Ecuadorian gang accused of smuggling cocaine and firearms between South America and the U.S. pleaded not guilty to drug and gun charges Monday in New York. José Adolfo Macías Villamar, whose nickname is 'Fito,' appeared in federal court in Brooklyn a day after Ecuador extradited him to the U.S. A judge ordered him detained until trial and set his next court date for Sept. 19. U.S. prosecutors accuse Macías of leading the vicious Los Choneros gang that used hitmen, bribes and military weapons, including machine guns and grenades. The hitmen, or sicarios, murdered, tortured and kidnapped people in Ecuador as the gang committed violence against law enforcement, politicians, attorneys, prosecutors and civilians, authorities said. Los Choneros also worked with Mexican drug cartels to ship cocaine from Colombian suppliers through Ecuador and Central America to the U.S., and shipped firearms from the U.S. to South America, prosecutors said. 'Macías Villamar poses an extraordinary danger to the community,' U.S. prosecutors wrote in a request that Macías be detained without bail until trial. 'The Court should enter a permanent order of detention, as no condition or combination of conditions can assure the safety of the community or assure Macías Villamar's appearance at trial.' Macías' lawyer, Alexei Schacht, who entered the not guilty pleas on Macías' behalf, did not immediately return phone and email messages Monday. Macías escaped from a prison in Ecuador in January 2024 and wasn't caught until last month, when he was found in an underground bunker at a relative's mansion in the port city of Manta. He was serving a 34-year sentence for drug trafficking, organized crime and murder when he escaped. He also fled from a maximum-security prison in February 2013 but was recaptured a few weeks later. Los Choneros emerged in the 1990s and Macías has been its leader since 2020, authorities said. Macías cultivated a cult status among fellow gang members and the public in his home country. While behind bars in 2023, he released a video addressed to 'the Ecuadorian people' while flanked by armed men. He also threw parties in prison, where he had access to everything from liquor to roosters for cockfighting matches. A federal grand jury in New York City indicted him on seven charges in April and returned an updated indictment in late June. The charges include international cocaine distribution conspiracy, use of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking and straw purchasing of firearms conspiracy. If convicted, he could face 20 years to life in prison. 'The defendant and his co-conspirators flooded the United States and other countries with drugs and used extreme measures of violence in their quest for power and control,' Joseph Nocella Jr., U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement.
The Hill
9 hours ago
- The Hill
Belgium questions 2 Israelis at music festival over Gaza crime allegations
BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgian police questioned two members of the Israeli army who were attending a music festival in Belgium over allegations of serious violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza, the Federal Prosecutor's Office in Brussels said in a statement Monday. In a statement to The Associated Press, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said an Israeli citizen and an Israeli soldier who were on vacation in Belgium 'were taken in yesterday for interrogation and were released shortly afterward.' It said Israeli authorities 'dealt with this issue and are in touch with the two.' It was not immediately clear why the Israeli Foreign Ministry referred to one civilian and one soldier, while Belgian prosecutors spoke of two Israeli army members. The whereabouts of the two people who were questioned was not immediately clear. The case was hailed as a 'turning point in the global pursuit of accountability' by a Belgium-based group called the Hind Rajab Foundation, which has campaigned for the arrest of Israeli troops it accuses of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The group was named for a young girl who Palestinians say was killed early in the war by Israeli fire as she and her family fled Gaza City. Israel says its forces follow international law and try to avoid harming civilians, and that it investigates allegations of wrongdoing. In a written statement, the prosecutor's office said that the two army members — who were in Belgium for the Tomorrowland festival — were questioned after the office received legal complaints on Friday and Saturday from the Hind Rajab Foundation and another group. The prosecution office requested the questioning after an initial assessment of the complaints 'determined that it potentially had jurisdiction.' The Hind Rajab foundation said it filed its complaints along with the rights group Global Legal Action Network. The decision to question the two Israelis was based on an article in Belgium's Code of Criminal Procedure that went into force last year and grants Belgian courts jurisdiction over acts overseas that are potentially governed by an international treaty, in this case the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the 1984 United Nations convention against torture, the prosecution statement said. 'In light of this potential jurisdiction, the Federal Prosecutor's Office requested the police to locate and interrogate the two individuals named in the complaint. Following these interrogations, they were released,' the statement said, without elaborating. It said it was not providing any further information at this stage of its investigation. The news in Belgium came as the U.N. food agency accused Israel of using tanks, snipers and other weapons to fire on a crowd of Palestinians seeking food aid, in what the territory's Health Ministry said was one of the deadliest days for aid-seekers in over 21 months of war. The death toll in war-ravaged Gaza has climbed to more than 59,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians but the ministry says more than half of the dead are women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas government, but the U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties. Since forming last year, the Hind Rajab Foundation has made dozens of complaints in more than 10 countries to arrest both low-level and high-ranking Israeli soldiers. 'We will continue to support the ongoing proceedings and call on Belgian authorities to pursue the investigation fully and independently,' the group said in a statement. 'Justice must not stop here — and we are committed to seeing it through.'
San Francisco Chronicle
9 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Belgium questions 2 Israelis at music festival over Gaza crime allegations
BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgian police questioned two members of the Israeli army who were attending a music festival in Belgium over allegations of serious violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza, the Federal Prosecutor's Office in Brussels said in a statement Monday. In a statement to The Associated Press, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said an Israeli citizen and an Israeli soldier who were on vacation in Belgium 'were taken in yesterday for interrogation and were released shortly afterward." It said Israeli authorities "dealt with this issue and are in touch with the two.' It was not immediately clear why the Israeli Foreign Ministry referred to one civilian and one soldier, while Belgian prosecutors spoke of two Israeli army members. The whereabouts of the two people who were questioned was not immediately clear. The case was hailed as a 'turning point in the global pursuit of accountability' by a Belgium-based group called the Hind Rajab Foundation, which has campaigned for the arrest of Israeli troops it accuses of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The group was named for a young girl who Palestinians say was killed early in the war by Israeli fire as she and her family fled Gaza City. Israel says its forces follow international law and try to avoid harming civilians, and that it investigates allegations of wrongdoing. In a written statement, the prosecutor's office said that the two army members — who were in Belgium for the Tomorrowland festival — were questioned after the office received legal complaints on Friday and Saturday from the Hind Rajab Foundation and another group. The prosecution office requested the questioning after an initial assessment of the complaints 'determined that it potentially had jurisdiction.' The Hind Rajab foundation said it filed its complaints along with the rights group Global Legal Action Network. The decision to question the two Israelis was based on an article in Belgium's Code of Criminal Procedure that went into force last year and grants Belgian courts jurisdiction over acts overseas that are potentially governed by an international treaty, in this case the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the 1984 United Nations convention against torture, the prosecution statement said. 'In light of this potential jurisdiction, the Federal Prosecutor's Office requested the police to locate and interrogate the two individuals named in the complaint. Following these interrogations, they were released,' the statement said, without elaborating. It said it was not providing any further information at this stage of its investigation. The news in Belgium came as the U.N. food agency accused Israel of using tanks, snipers and other weapons to fire on a crowd of Palestinians seeking food aid, in what the territory's Health Ministry said was one of the deadliest days for aid-seekers in over 21 months of war. The death toll in war-ravaged Gaza has climbed to more than 59,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians but the ministry says more than half of the dead are women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas government, but the U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties. 'We will continue to support the ongoing proceedings and call on Belgian authorities to pursue the investigation fully and independently,' the group said in a statement. 'Justice must not stop here — and we are committed to seeing it through.'
