Australia: ‘Asian El Chapo’ arrested, cyber fraud and darknet raids
Australian authorities announced over the weekend a series of victories in three separate investigations, including the arrest of suspected Chinese drug lord Tse Chi Lop in Amsterdam.
Australian Federal Police (AFP) said on Sunday that a man had been detained in the Netherlands, at the request of Interpol, pursuant to an Australian arrest warrant issued in 2019 as part of ‘Operation Flying’, an investigation into seven years on ‘a global criminal syndicate operating in Since then, the international press has identified the suspect as Tse Chi Lop, a Chinese-born Canadian citizen and alleged head of the Sam Gor union, believed to be responsible for up to 70 % of all illegal drug trafficking in Asia. Pacific Region
The AFP confirmed that it is currently preparing to submit a formal extradition request so that the detainee can face criminal proceedings.
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Often described as the Asian ‘El Chapo’, a nod to Joaquim’s nom de guerre Guzmán, the condemned boss of the immensely powerful Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico, a 2019 Reuters investigation revealed that Tse had been the main target of a series of probes connected by more than 20 law enforcement agencies around the world.
Reporters found that his alleged organization, which according to conservative estimates has an annual income of $ 8 billion per year, was responsible for funneling multi-ton quantities of heroin, ketamine, and especially methamphetamine,
His specialty: hiding drugs in loose-leaf tea packets
At the height of his powers, Tzu was reportedly protected by a personal guard from e highly trained Thai kickboxers. jet and was something of a high roller, with police claiming that he once lost $ 66 million in a single night at a casino in Macau.
Tse’s arrest was quickly followed by n news of two other successful law enforcement actions in other separate investigations being carried out by the AFP.
Agents searched several properties in Brisbane and Gold Coast in connection with the recent closure of the illegal online market DarkMarket, seizing a laptop, four mobile phones, and several computer disk drives, as well as several bank cards.
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The agency noted in their statement that German police arrested an Australian citizen, a suspected administrator of the illicit website, at the country’s border with Denmark on January 11.
Meanwhile, Australian police also arrested a 22-year-old Dutch national on Monday. years in Queensland for allegedly operating as a money mule. for a fraud ring suspected of stealing and subsequently laundering more than 3.5 million Australian dollars (2.7 million US dollars) from bank accounts of Australian citizens.
The organization behind the scheme is believed to have used sophisticated malicious software to steal victims’ data and extract funds from their financial holdings.
OCCRP / TheTechConflict.Com