Category Archives: Blog

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Blog, Criminal, International, Legal News, Organized Crime

Italian police arrest alleged Black Axe Nigerian mafia members over trafficking

Four arrests of cult-like criminal gang members made in southern Italy after Nigerian woman forced into prostitution comes forward

Four alleged members of the Nigerian mafia have been arrested in southern Italy after a young sex trafficking survivor spoke out against them.

The men, who were arrested in Palermo and Taranto in the early hours of Tuesday, allegedly belong to the feared Black Axe, a cult-like criminal gang that emerged in the 1970s at the University of Benin, according to police.

Investigators in Palermo who led the operation said the woman, who is also Nigerian, was forced into prostitution after taking part in an occult ritual bound up with traditional spiritual beliefs, known as juju, which bond victims to their traffickers and to any debts they will incur.

“The suspects were charged with slavery, human trafficking, kidnapping and pandering [recruiting prostitutes],” the police said.

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Blog, Civil Rights, Family, Legal News

Family sues condo board, claim swim diaper ban violates baby’s civil rights

Add swim diapers to the list of issues that can get turned into a federal case.

A Florida family is suing their condo board over what they say is a rule barring children from using the community pool while wearing swim diapers.

Swim diapers are a snug-fitting lightweight alternative to disposable or cloth diapers, which become heavy like anchors when wet.

According to the website SwimOutlet.com, swim diapers are “meant to be used only in the pool or ocean to make sure that your little one’s bum is covered and contained.”

But if banning them in a community pool prevents a child from using that pool, swim diapers can also become a symbol of the fight against discrimination.

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Blog, Criminal, Legal News

Body of fifth victim may be linked to alleged ‘shopping cart’ serial killer

A man police have dubbed the “shopping cart killer” may be linked to the body of a fifth victim found in Washington, DC, authorities said on Friday.Anthony Robinson, 35, has already been charged with the killing of two women.Investigators believe Robinson met his victims on dating websites and allegedly lured them into motels where he killed them and transported their bodies in shopping carts.

Police received a “critical tip” this week that might connect Robinson to another case in which a woman’s body was found in a shopping cart in Washington, DC, Fairfax County Police Bureau Chief of Major Crimes Cyber and Forensics Ed O’Carroll said in a news conference on Friday.

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Blog, Business Law, Criminal, International, Legal News, Organized Crime

Italian Mafia fugitive on run for 20 years caught after being spotted on Google Maps

Police have caught an Italian mafia henchman after spotting the fugitive on Google Maps.

According to the Telegraph, Gioacchino Gammino was convicted of murder and then escaped from prison 20 years ago before ending up in Spain.

He thought he’d escaped the clutches of detectives after nearly two decades on the run – but eagle-eyed cops were able to track him down.

Gammino, 60, was living the quiet life in Spain, where he had set up a fruit and vegetable shop under a false name, the Telegraph reports.

However, detectives were hot on the trail and managed to confirm his whereabouts using images on Google Maps.

A snap of the criminal available on the tool’s Street View feature shows him outside a grocery shop in the town of Galapagar north of Madrid.

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Blog, Business Law, Drug Companies, Legal News

Pfizer Is the Next Big Pharma Company Entering the Cannabis Space

The giant will purchase a biotech company with cannabinoid-type therapeutics in the pipeline.

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. is entering the cannabis space via the $6.7 billion acquisition of Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The two publicly-traded companies confirmed Monday that they have signed a definitive agreement under which Pfizer will acquire all outstanding shares of Arena for $100 per share in an all-cash transaction.

Pfizer expects to finance the transaction with existing cash on hand upon obtaining all necessary approvals. 

The deal

Arena Pharmaceuticals, based in San Diego, Cal., is a biotech company with one segment of its drug pipeline dedicated to cannabinoid-type therapeutics. The core of its cannabis biotech operations is the research and development of its investigational drug candidate called Olorinab (APD371). This is an oral full agonist of the cannabinoid receptor 2 that is being researched for the treatment of various symptoms, mainly concentrated on visceral pain connected with gastrointestinal illnesses.

Other parts of Arena’s drug pipeline are concentrated on non-cannabinoid drugs with the main focus on developing innovative potential therapies for the treatment of several immuno-inflammatory diseases. Arena’s portfolio includes diverse and promising development-stage therapeutic candidates in gastroenterology, dermatology and cardiology.

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