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RT @MarioNawfal: 🇧🇷 JUSTICE MORAES: THE UNELECTED RULER OF BRAZIL? A Supreme Court judge who rewrites laws, bypasses prosecutors, and trea…

The judicial police are conducting a major operation this Monday morning. More than a dozen suspects have been apprehended in connection with two kidnapping cases targeting crypto entrepreneurs. This offensive highlights a worrying phenomenon shaking the French cryptocurrency ecosystem. But will these arrests be enough to reassure a sector plagued by an unprecedented wave of violence? This Monday’s operation marks the culmination of several weeks of investigations carried out after a series of kidnappings of crypto entrepreneurs in France. Investigators from the Brigade for the Repression of Banditry, supported by the Parisian BRI, made arrests notably in Suresnes in Hauts-de-Seine. Among the suspects, several minors were placed in police custody. These arrests concern two distinct but closely related cases. The first dates back to May 1st, when the father of a young wealthy crypto entrepreneur was kidnapped in the 14th arrondissement of Paris. Four masked men forcibly took him away in a fake UPS van. The kidnappers demanded between 5 and 7 million euros in crypto. To exert pressure, they cut off one of their victim’s fingers and filmed the act. This brutality strangely recalls the kidnapping of Ledger’s co-founder last January in Cher. After intensive phone investigations, law enforcement finally freed the sexagenarian in a hideout in Palaiseau. The second case took place on May 13th in the 11th arrondissement of Paris. Three masked and armed men attempted to abduct a 34-year-old woman near a school. The filmed scene shocked passersby. The victim turned out to be the daughter of Pierre Noizat, CEO of Paymium, a renowned crypto exchange platform. The heroic intervention of a passerby armed with a fire extinguisher and the victim’s partner thwarted the attempt. Investigators now favor the theory of a single criminal organization. This structure would recruit young operatives via social networks to carry out these violent operations. The suspects already identified reveal a recurring profile: young men recruited occasionally, originating from diverse backgrounds (Algeria, Reunion, Chesnay, Levallois-Perret). This wave of kidnappings comes in a broader context of increasing insecurity for crypto entrepreneurs in France. Bruno Retailleau, Minister of the Interior, recently held an emergency meeting with crypto entrepreneurs to unveil an unprecedented protection plan. The announced measures include a priority direct line with the police, personalized security audits at home, and specialized training for law enforcement. The urgency is justified by alarming figures: France accounts for 26% of global attacks related to cryptocurrencies. Faced with this worrying situation, entrepreneurs in the sector are speaking out. They demand tougher justice and denounce the dangerous exposure of their personal data in official documents. This large-scale crackdown could mark a major turning point in this underground war. But the effectiveness of these arrests remains to be proven: will they manage to sustainably deter the criminal networks coveting this expanding crypto sector?

The psyop that Hyperliquid is some kind of pure tech play is amazing tbh, but it does not do justice to whoever is running their growth and attention strategy, because it was one of the most effective ever implemented. Hyperliquid

A sweeping international law enforcement initiative has led to the arrest of 270 individuals and the seizure of over $200 million in cash and digital assets, according to a statement released Thursday by the US Department of Justice. Dubbed Operation RapTor, the effort targeted dark web vendors, buyers, and administrators involved in the illicit trafficking of opioids, particularly fentanyl, and other narcotics. According to the official press release , the operation was carried out with the help of 10 countries – including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, South Korea, and Brazil – and marks the most significant takedown in the history of the DOJ’s Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement (JCODE) team. More than two metric tons of drugs were confiscated, including 144 kilograms of fentanyl-laced substances and over 180 firearms. The JCODE, Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), and international partners pooled intelligence gathered from previously dismantled darknet markets such as Nemesis, Tor2Door, Bohemia, and Kingdom Markets. These takedowns provided critical investigative leads that enabled a series of synchronized, yet independent, enforcement actions across jurisdictions. Interestingly, this operation also included the first sanctions by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as a JCODE member agency. Iranian national Behrouz Parsarad, founder of Nemesis Market, was sanctioned and indicted on drug trafficking charges in Ohio following the market’s seizure. In a statement, FBI Director Kash Patel said, “By cowardly hiding online, these traffickers have wreaked havoc across our country and directly fueled the fentanyl crisis and gun violence impacting our American communities and neighborhoods. But the ease and accessibility of their crimes ends today.” Earlier in March, the U.S. Treasury’s OFAC sanctioned 49 crypto addresses linked to Nemesis, a darknet marketplace which is accused of facilitating a $30 million drug trade. Iranian national Behrouz Parsarad, the alleged founder, is accused of operating the platform, collecting fees, laundering money, and supporting the sale of fentanyl, fake IDs, and hacking services. Nemesis operated from 2021 to 2024 and served more than 30,000 users during this period. Authorities seized its servers last year along with $102,000 in crypto. Despite takedowns like this and others such as Genesis and Hydra, darknet marketplaces generated $1.7 billion in revenue in 2024.