Narcos fall for clever fake drug delivery sting


An organized crime syndicate spanning four continents was revealed by careless casino gambling; U.S. and Australian authorities pulled a clever sting, replacing a replica load of cocaine for the real deal that was seized by the U.S. military off the coast of South America and used it to lure in the alleged smugglers. Let me tell you about it.
The Mob Reporter here with the story of an intriguing case that started when a man attracted attention with his wild gambling at The Star Casino, Australia’s second largest gambling joint — transactions totalling more than $100 million in one week. Police traced the man’s finances and linked him to other alleged syndicate members internationally, with Eastern European roots and South American ties.
He has been identified as 42-year-old Mende Rajkoski. Police allege he was associated with Nikolao Misa, 37. Both had worked at the cargo area of Sydney’s main international airport together in 2018. It was the beginning of the end.
About 9,000 miles away, in the Pacific Ocean, the United States Navy and U.S. Coast Guard were continuing their patrols of the vast oceans around South America, where cocaine is produced. In October 2020, a U.S. Navy patrol off the coast of Colombia tracked an open-topped vessel with three high-powered outboard motors. In April, the U.S. Coast Guard tracked a second vessel in international waters off the coast of Ecuador.
The U.S., European and Australian authorities hatched a scheme of their own. An inert replica of the bricks were created and sent on to the intended final destination at a storage facility in Sydney, where police surveillance teams watched it like a hawk. On June 3, 2021, a man arrived at the facility where the replica load had been sent. A tactical police team moved in and arrested him, police said. A tactical team then took down a man waiting in a parking lot nearby, police say. Police then raided five homes in the suburbs around Sydney. At one of those raids, officers arrested a third man, Gjelosh Nikollaj, 58. Police said there was more than just this three involved in this, describing the operation as a significant transnational crime syndicate operating across Australia and North and South America. Police said this was the largest ever interception of coke destined for Australia and estimated its value at AUS$900 million, which is about US$700 million.


USA - MR.

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