King crab on the barbecue. Photo: Vidar Ruud / NTB scanpix Booming demand for king crab, both in Norway and from export markets, is fueling a growing black market, Norway's fishing ministry has warned. The crab, which invaded Norwegian waters in the 1990s and 2000s, now sells in the centre of major Norwegian cities for close to 1000 kroner a kilo. "We believe the volume is significant and perhaps increasing," Ton-Ola Rudi, Senior Advisor at Norway's fishing ministry, told state broadcaster NRK of the illegal catches and sales. Industry trade body Seafood Norway estimates that hundreds of tons of the succulent delicacy are being caught this year in excess of the 2018 quota of 1,850 tonnes. The illegal fishing comes as Norway is exporting record quantities of live crab to meet soaring demand and benefit from record prices in markets such as South Korea, the US, and Japan. In autumn, Norway's biggest illegal crab … [Read more...] about King crab boom creates giant black market
Black market trade
Trafficker who purchased lion skulls in North Texas, sold them on black market sentenced to 9 months
Court documents state Malasukum bought a tiger skull from two undercover agents with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at a Lewisville hotel room April 21, 2016. The following day, he bought several lion skulls from an auction in Fort Worth through the undercover agents who were acting as straw buyers for him. He told them which items to buy and provided money for the purchases. All the items were sent to his home in Woodside, N.Y. There, he removed the claws from pads and the teeth from skulls. He then re-packaged the parts and mailed them to Thailand, according to court documents. Four packages tracked as part of the case were not declared to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as required. The packages were falsely marked as dog toys and home decorations to escape scrutiny of U.S. Customs officials, records stated. Malasukum pleaded guilty in November to wildlife trafficking. He was sentenced in federal court in Sherman on Wednesday. As part of his plea, he will … [Read more...] about Trafficker who purchased lion skulls in North Texas, sold them on black market sentenced to 9 months
Colorado’s black market marijuana: Are authorities wrongly blaming cartels?
Editor’s note: The Gazette continues its Collateral Impact series, which takes a look at the effects and sometimes unintended consequences of legalized marijuana in Colorado.A frequently used criticism by law enforcement of Colorado’s legalized marijuana industry is that it invited dangerous drug cartels into the state, where they operate in black market shadows.Law enforcement in El Paso, Teller and Pueblo counties say it in news releases when perpetrators are of Cuban or Mexican descent. Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs, said it in January, alleging “cartels have rushed into Colorado, resulting in 19 cartel operation busts in the last 18 months.”And 4th Judicial District Attorney Dan May repeated it to a crowd of community leaders May 1.“We have cartels from around the world,” May said. “You name any South American country, we have it here.”The shock value is immediate, as it conjures images of a city overrun by violence and … [Read more...] about Colorado’s black market marijuana: Are authorities wrongly blaming cartels?
Colorado’s black market marijuana: If data is correct, authorities wrongly blaming cartels
Editor’s note: The Gazette continues its Collateral Impact series, which takes a look at the effects and sometimes unintended consequences of legalized marijuana in Colorado.A frequently used criticism by law enforcement of Colorado’s legalized marijuana industry is that it invited dangerous drug cartels into the state, where they operate in black market shadows.Law enforcement in El Paso, Teller and Pueblo counties say it in news releases when perpetrators are of Cuban or Mexican descent. Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs, said it in January, alleging “cartels have rushed into Colorado, resulting in 19 cartel operation busts in the last 18 months.”And 4th Judicial District Attorney Dan May repeated it to a crowd of community leaders May 1.“We have cartels from around the world,” May said. “You name any South American country, we have it here.”The shock value is immediate, as it conjures images of a city overrun by violence and … [Read more...] about Colorado’s black market marijuana: If data is correct, authorities wrongly blaming cartels
Facebook exposed as a black market for body parts harvested from endangered wildlife
Tuesday, April 17, 2018 by: Ethan Huff Tags: black market, body parts, corruption, deception, endangered wildlife, evil, Facebook, illegal sales, illegal trade, Instagram, investigation, mark zuckerberg, Messenger, organ harvesting, SEC, Securities and Exchange Commission, Social media, WhatsApp (Natural News) As a publicly traded company, social media giant Facebook has certain obligations and responsibilities to closely monitor what crosses its platform in order to prevent illicit and illegal activity. But the company has been utterly failing in this regard, with one of the latest examples being its allowance of pages on the site that operate black market sales of endangered wildlife body parts. A screenshot that’s been making the mainstream media rounds shows buckets of tiger teeth being offered for sale, which represents an illegal activity. Conservation and wildlife preservation groups quickly took notice, and immediately filed complaints with the federal Securities … [Read more...] about Facebook exposed as a black market for body parts harvested from endangered wildlife