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Friday, October 14, 2022

Hacked Colombian Emails Reveal Cooperation Targeting Australian Bikie Drug Traffickers

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat

A massive leak of classified documents from the Colombian government has exposed the identities and methods of undercover agents working to stop international drug cartels from operating in Australia.

More than five terabytes of data, including more than five million emails and tens of thousands of documents, were hacked and held in a password-protected database in August. The hack comes from the same group known as Guacamaya, which recently leaked terabytes of hacked emails from Mexico's SEDENA.

The leak contains details of 35 Australian Federal Police operations, some ongoing, as well as surveillance reports from undercover agents, phone taps, and payroll records for Colombian law enforcement officers. Many overseas police agencies are also affected. One group is allegedly linked to a Queensland accounting firm that caters to Spanish speakers, and an Australian man with links to the Bandidos.

The leak sheds light on the vast scale of drug importation into Australia and the webs of businesses such as gyms, luxury car dealerships, hairdressers, and a nightclub set up to launder drug money.

In one case, the AFP is hunting a drug kingpin who is living in luxury after fleeing Perth for Colombia, leaving behind a string of still-operating businesses here. In another, a series of migration agents targeting Colombian students are being used to filter money and import cocaine to motorcycle gangs operating in Brisbane.

“The AFP is concerned about possible breaches of operational security as a consequence of this data compromise,” a spokesperson said. “The AFP is working with our partners in impacted regions to mitigate any potential threats to the safety of people or ongoing investigations.”

To reduce the risk that reporting could compromise current investigations or endanger lives, the Herald delayed publication until Friday.

The AFP has dismantled an Australian criminal network allegedly importing and manufacturing hundreds of kilograms of cocaine under the direction of a Colombian organized crime syndicate.  “Transnational serious organized crime groups are importing illicit drugs into Australia on an industrial scale,” the AFP spokesperson said. “They are ambivalent to the misery caused by their product, its impact on our health systems, or if innocent people are killed in the crossfire of their turf wars.”

Information that could affect ongoing police operations or court cases, disclose novel police methods, or put people in danger is not being published. In a statement, they said their motivation is to target mining and oil companies, and military and police systems in Mexico, Peru, El Salvador, Chile, Colombia, and elsewhere to sabotage corporations and systems they said exploit natural resources and support US interests.

Guacamaya “invites the peoples of Abya Yala (an Indigenous name for Central and South America) to hack and filter these systems of repression, domination, and enslavement that dominate us, and that it be the peoples who decide to find a way to free us from state terrorism,” their statement said.

In a separate hack, the group published emails from Chile’s military forces, resulting in the head of the joint chiefs of staff there, General Guillermo Paiva, resigning on September 23. The documents chart a steady flow of cocaine and other drugs from Colombian cartels and organized crime groups in Europe, Asia, and the Pacific targeting Australian ports and airports, via intermediaries in places such as Africa, Hong Kong, and Fiji.

Large-scale drug importation is happening via shipping containers, small and large aircraft, cargo vessels, and private yachts, in some cases with the aid of corrupt law enforcement officials overseas. Some documents pertain to current AFP operations and others reveal details about past operations, including the recently revealed Ironside sting, which brought down crime networks around the world.

Some of the AFP’s operations in the leak led to arrests in Australia and overseas, apparently causing significant disruption to drug supply chains. In one operation, the AFP and their Colombian counterparts focused on a cartel “moving large quantities of cocaine (up to 500 kilograms) to Europe or Africa (as intermediate countries) where it is broken up into small quantities and forwarded to other countries including Australia”.

The cartel was “sending smaller three-kilogram packages of cocaine which are hidden in products including pottery mud/make-up [and] using a crypto/cash office/s in Melbourne and Sydney to move money offshore”, according to one email.

The cartel uses people on student visas, who receive the air cargo consignments from FedEx Colombia and then send money to Colombia. Concealment techniques for the drugs often change but the use of clothing items to conceal drugs is a feature of the syndicate’s methods, the documents reveal. The syndicate also “has the ability to impregnate cocaine into items like plastic tables and mobile phones”. Other items used to conceal the cocaine include large bolts, engine parts, shampoo, and face creams.

The group is allegedly linked to a Queensland accounting firm that caters to Spanish speakers, and an Australian man with links to the Bandidos, Mongols, and Lone Wolf Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs.
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In another AFP operation, their strategy is to “disrupt the onshore syndicate of Colombian-born student visa holders, connected through common education agents and agencies, importing cocaine into South East Queensland via the air cargo stream”, an emailed AFP report said. The number of Colombians applying for student visas to Australia increased from 1859 in 2005-06 to 17,250 in 2019-20, more than doubling in the six years between 2015 and 2020.

“Efforts to disrupt the syndicate’s exploitation of the student-visa stream is also a primary focus for Home Affairs,” the report said. “Visa applications connected to education agencies of concern are now subject to safeguards, resulting in heightened levels of scrutiny.”

In another operation, the AFP identified 55 people as potentially involved in an Australian cartel run out of Perth. The kingpin, who fled the country in 2018 and now lives in Colombia with his wife, has 17 registered companies in his name. He has “family members who seem to live beyond their means and have significant unjustified wealth”.

Australian authorities shared intelligence with their Colombian counterparts relating to the kingpin’s distribution of methamphetamine, MDMA, and heroin trafficked into Perth via criminal networks in the Middle East and South-East Asia.

The kingpin and an accomplice are subject to Interpol blue notices. In September 2019, when he and five other people tried to travel to Panama, they were denied entry due to the blue notice and simply returned to Colombia.

The companies associated with the syndicate have had investments in gyms, a mechanical workshop, a halal meat product company, a used car dealership, commercial premises, residential real estate, businesses related to luxury cars, boats and heavy machinery, hairdressing, beauty treatments, massage businesses, and a nightclub.

“These companies seem to have been created for the purpose of investing money that has entered Colombia through international transactions from Australia,” a police report said. In August 2018, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) published a report that detailed some of the group’s money laundering and drug trafficking activities. It uses a “complex structure of interconnected companies to assist in the placement, distribution, and integration of the proceeds of crime with company directors who are direct family members including his brother with an interest in 14 companies,” the ACIC said.

The kingpin received $100 million in tracked international transfers in the first four months of 2019 alone. Other transactions linked to the group have funneled millions of dollars overseas via a web of shell companies, from the sale of luxury cars, transfers from a commercial law firm and migration agent, money transfers via the Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, and US banks including Wells Fargo, and cash deposits under $10,000 via ATMs.

Source Sydney Morning Herald


29 comments:

  1. "In a statement, they said their motivation is to target mining and oil companies, and military and police systems in Mexico, Peru, El Salvador, Chile, Colombia, and elsewhere to sabotage corporations and systems they said exploit natural resources and support US interests."
    The gringo Monroe doctrine states latin america is our bitches. Plunder the oil and natural resources and leave a toxic environmental shithole! Surprised, Chavez and Maduro have survived this long, though the story is Chavez was poisoned with polonium 210 that caused his cancer.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Been like a hundred coups in South and Central America by America.

      Delete
    2. Maduro and Chavez survived so long but at an extremely high cost, they ruined the country.

      Delete
    3. 6:20 they didn't ruin their country, the US did..
      The same way the US is threatening Russia but the Russian president just laughing.
      Sanctions, freezing accounts and other shenanigans..
      Venezuela doesn't want to be no puppets like AMLO, Calderon, and pena nieto to name a few

      Delete
    4. 7:56
      Chavez's initiated policies - he initiated them not the USA - which crippled his economy. Maduro is just is horrible. They both ruined the country.

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    5. 6:20 is right and the BRICS and the vast majority of the global south want to ditch the US$ reserve currency and their sanctions and theft of gold and reserves! Just last week MBS of Saudi Arabia told Joe to flock off when Joe ordered MBS to pump more oil! The BRICS are expanding as well as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization which combined have greater GDP and population than the West! The West is collapsing and expect the new normal to be more violence, social upheaval and poverty!

      Delete
    6. 4:16 why do you hate white people? Why are you such a racist?

      Delete
    7. @ 2:57 so facts are now racism! The name-calling response when someone has no intelligent response! The Monroe Doctrine is a racist imperial doctrine that has inflicted misery on countries in Latin America!

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    8. @2:57 the dude is talking about policies and not skin tone.

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    9. Backing-up what I have been saying for quite awhile! Stealing countries reserves like Russia's, Iran's, Venezuela and Afghanistan, their gold like Venezuela's and Russia's have unintended consequences!
      For this reason, many large countries - Saudi Arabia, other Gulf states, India, Turkey, Indonesia and China - are trying to break free from the control of the US currency and escape from Washington's far-reaching economic power.

      Farid Zakaria
      Columnist for The Washington Post

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    10. 12:52 russia took Spain's gold to safekeep, but the Falangistas won the war against Republican Patriots and Sprain never got their gold back, about 80 years ago...

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  2. According to the leaks CDS, CJNG and the Gulf Cartel are all active in Campeche which is generally a very tranquil state.
    A panista, Marcos Aquilar, is stating that ELMO is spying on journalists, human rights activists and even families of the 43 normalistas. I'm not sure how accurate Aguilar's statements are, but I'm sure all of ELMO's chayoteros will speak up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @Detroit you forgot Los Zetas,, they are definitely in Campeche. They live there.

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    2. 5:01:
      That's a real possibility. The article only mentioned CDS, CJNG and Golfo. Campeche on the whole is pretty tranquil so doesn't get mentioned much in narco news. What I'm interested to learn about is if ELMO is spying on the journalists, human rights workers and families of the normalistas. This panista could be twisting the facts so we have to wait to see if these allegations are true or not.

      Delete
    3. There has been a record number of journalists killed in Mexico the last couple of years.
      Mexico has been on #1 spot for most killed journalists in the world for a at least 3 years now
      This year is at its peak with killings of people exposing the crooks of Mexico. Shame on no nuts AMLO

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    4. According to Ana Hernandez 80% of journalists were killed by the government

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    5. 6:21 Did you mean Anabel* Hernandez... and according to her AMLO is El Chapo main collaborator, but she has no evidence.

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    6. 5:17 Awww the grown man that uses nick names.

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  3. Well, what happened?!!! I thought Australians needed El Chapo and his Los Chapitos to supply them with cocaine. Right!? I mean that's what all the old stories were, that Cartel Sinaloa is the biggest baddest cartel on planet earth and they sell cocaine to everyone because they have a monopoly on cocaine and also know how to put fentanyl, methamphetamines, mucus, and sperm in the cocaine

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you believe that your a moron. Colombians always have always will be the kings of cocaine mijo

      Delete
    2. 5:04
      Nowhere in the article does it state CDS, or any other cartel, does not supply Australia. Columbian cartels aren't the only ones supplying the Aussies

      Delete
    3. 5:17

      Mija, Peru was the king of cocaine for many years, surpassing Columbian production, the latter just reclaimed the throne. However, those two countries are not retailers but wholesalers so in terms of money being made neither country may be king.

      Delete
    4. Edit: *Colombia

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    5. 6:39 well Colombians spread out the world supply blow to Europe and the world so yes they are the kings

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    6. Peru production is high. I remember Ronald Regan met with President years back and came up on mexicN news channels shaking hands and all smiles. They were talking about expanding land for coccinellids production..
      Ronald Regan? Wasn't he the guy who started talking about drugs and putting a stop to it when on Office?
      I'm telling you, just a big show

      Delete
  4. Can’t be too big of deal , this hacker group , hasn’t been on any national news I’ve seen.

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  5. Strange about the cocaine. over 50% of cocaine in Australia contains no cocaine and hardly any contains very much cocaine
    https://insightcrime.org/news/australia-receiving-enough-cocaine-meet-demand/

    ReplyDelete

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