From the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, April 23:
Giant clam shells, cyberattacks against Dutch cheese distributors, cats used to smuggle drugs into prison, and the man who tried to ‘blow up the internet’ — OCCRP’s Daily News team here with your regular roundup of oddities from the world of corruption and organized crime.
An environmental crime worth a boatload of clams this week, after authorities in the Philippines seized an illegal shipment of the crustacean’s shells valued at more than US$25 million.
The country’s coastguard told press that four suspects had been arrested on Green Island in the Sulu sea over what was described as the largest ever bust of its kind in the area.
Amid the ongoing global crackdown on the illicit trade in elephant tusks, wildlife criminals are increasingly turning to clam shells for sale on the black market as a substitute for ivory.
Home to the lion’s share of the world’s largest clam species, the Philippines has recently emerged as a central hub for this burgeoning underground trade.
Meanwhile in the United States, authorities announced the arrest of a man who was allegedly planning to bomb an Amazon data-storage centre, believing this would enable him to “kill off about 70% of the internet.”....
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