The businessman, Artur Shehu, who is based in Miami, is also the subject of an Albanian arrest warrant over allegations that he laundered proceeds from drug trafficking through real estate investments. Prosecutors allege that Shehu and his associates trafficked South American cocaine into European ports and used illicit proceeds to build a property portfolio that included land acquired through falsified ownership records.

Shehu denies all allegations. His lawyer, Kujtim Cakrani, told Reuters that his client was neither involved in drug trafficking nor in forging property documents and maintained that the prosecution’s claims were unfounded. Cakrani confirmed that Albanian prosecutors had issued an arrest warrant seeking Shehu on money laundering allegations but said his client disputed the accusations.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment on whether American authorities had received any request from Albania to locate or detain Shehu, who is believed to be in Miami.

According to the prosecutors’ files, Shehu sold the stretch of Adriatic coastline in April to Albania Land Development, a company jointly owned by Sazan Real Estate Development, the developer behind the Kushner-backed resort, and other investors.

The case files state that investigators have “reasonable suspicions,” based on evidence collected during the investigation, that the land involved in the transaction was acquired using forged ownership documents.

The files do not accuse Jared Kushner, Sazan Real Estate Development, Albania Land Development or any other investors of wrongdoing. Reuters reported that it found no indication that the investors were aware of the prosecutors’ suspicions regarding Shehu when they completed the purchase.

A spokesperson for Sazan Real Estate Development did not directly address the allegations against Shehu but said the company believed the land acquisitions had been conducted lawfully and in accordance with applicable procedures. The spokesperson added that the company would cooperate with any lawful process if required. Albania Land Development did not respond to requests for comment, while a spokesperson for Kushner declined to comment.

The allegations present another challenge for the high-profile tourism project, which has already triggered widespread protests from local residents and environmental campaigners who argue that the planned development threatens one of Albania’s last largely untouched stretches of Adriatic coastline.

Residents of the nearby village of Zvernec have spent more than a decade contesting Shehu’s ownership claims in court. Their lawyer, Kostandin Beko, told Reuters that the legal dispute remains ongoing and that residents intend to seek a court order to halt construction of the resort.

The proposed development is planned on a coastal area comprising beaches, forests and wetlands that provide habitat for species including flamingos and sea turtles. Environmental activists have adopted the flamingo as a symbol of their campaign against the project, referring to their demonstrations as the “Flamingo Revolution.”

Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, have previously said the idea for the resort emerged after they viewed the coastline while traveling by yacht. In 2024, Kushner publicly unveiled plans for the project, including artist renderings depicting hotels, villas, swimming pools and yacht facilities. The value of his investment has not been disclosed publicly.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has strongly supported the development, describing it as a beneficial project for the country and stating that it would proceed despite public opposition. A government spokesperson said authorities would not intervene in private commercial transactions and that the development was moving forward in accordance with Albanian and European Union law.

The European Union has previously urged Albania, which is seeking EU membership, to comply with the bloc’s environmental standards in relation to the project. The European Commission declined to provide further comment.

The investigation is being conducted by Albania’s Special Structure Against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK), an independent anti-corruption body established in 2019. A spokesperson confirmed that SPAK is investigating the matter but declined to discuss details.

The prosecutors’ files, dated June 12, state that approximately 110 million euros from the land sale were frozen in a notary’s account, preventing the proceeds from reaching Shehu while the investigation continues. SPAK has not announced whether any of the 20 suspects named in related arrest warrants have been arrested or formally charged.

The Kathmandu District Court found Rayamajhi guilty of offences against the state, fraud and organized crime, court information officer Shiva Khatiwada said. Khand was convicted as an accomplice in the same case, which involved a broader network accused of exploiting people seeking opportunities to migrate abroad.

In total, the court convicted at least 15 defendants in connection with what has become widely known in Nepal as the fake Bhutanese refugee scam. Seven other defendants were acquitted, Khatiwada told AFP.

According to the prosecution’s case, those involved collected large sums of money from Nepali citizens by promising to present them as eligible Bhutanese refugees, enabling them to qualify for international resettlement programs that had already ended. The promised relocation never materialized, leaving hundreds of victims without either migration opportunities or the money they had paid, according to Nepali media reports cited in the source material.

The fraudulent operation emerged after the closure of an international third-country resettlement initiative that had relocated tens of thousands of Bhutanese refugees from camps in Nepal. Investigators allege the accused exploited public awareness of that earlier program by falsely claiming they could still secure overseas resettlement through fabricated refugee documentation.

The case has its roots in a decades-long refugee crisis involving the Lhotshampa, an ethnic Nepali community from Bhutan. More than 100,000 ethnic Nepalis fled Bhutan during the early 1990s after policies introduced by the Himalayan kingdom made national dress compulsory and restricted the use of the Nepali language.

The Nepali-speaking Lhotshampa were classified as immigrants and stripped of citizenship rights after Bhutan’s “One Nation, One People” policy was introduced in 1985. Many subsequently settled in refugee camps in eastern Nepal while diplomatic efforts sought a resolution to their status.

After years of negotiations failed to secure large-scale repatriation to Bhutan, an international third-country resettlement program operated between 2007 and 2018. The majority of refugees were resettled in the United States, while thousands of others moved to countries including Canada, Australia, New Zealand and several European nations.

Authorities say the criminal scheme only began after that internationally supported resettlement process had concluded. The accused allegedly targeted Nepali citizens by claiming they could still gain access to overseas relocation through false refugee identities, despite the official program having already closed.

Nepali police launched the investigation after several alleged victims filed complaints, leading to the first arrests in March 2023. The investigation subsequently expanded into one of the country’s highest-profile corruption and fraud cases because of the involvement of senior political figures and former government officials.

Tuesday’s ruling represents the latest judicial milestone in the case, with those convicted expected to learn their sentences when the Kathmandu District Court reconvenes on July 13.

The suspect was identified as 39-year-old Anastasiia Berezovska, who is wanted by Monaco authorities for attempted murder, placing an explosive device on a public road with criminal intent and participation in a criminal conspiracy, according to the Interpol notice released on Friday.

The explosion occurred on Monday evening in the entrance hall of a residential apartment building near Monaco’s border with France. Investigators said an unidentified individual left a package inside the building shortly before it detonated as three residents entered the premises.

The blast injured a man, a woman and a 13-year-old child. Monaco’s prosecutor has not officially identified the victims, but multiple consistent sources said the apparent target was Vadym Yermolaiev, a 58-year-old businessman originally from Ukraine who later acquired Cypriot citizenship, along with his partner and son.

The two adults sustained serious injuries in the explosion, while the child was taken to Lenval Children’s Hospital in Nice in non-critical condition. By Wednesday, the man was no longer listed in critical condition, although the woman’s condition remained unstable.

The investigation initially focused on a male suspect after security camera footage showed an individual wearing a black fisherman’s hat leaving the package. Subsequent inquiries led investigators to identify Berezovska as the primary suspect.

Photographs released by Interpol show a woman with shoulder-length dark hair. The Red Notice states that she has a tattoo on her right arm, possibly depicting a snake, and that she speaks German.

Late on Thursday, the Monaco prosecutor’s office confirmed that investigators had identified a suspect but declined to release further details regarding the investigation or a possible motive.

The bombing has drawn significant attention in Monaco, a small Mediterranean principality known for its extensive security measures and as a residence for many wealthy international business figures.

Yermolaiev has lived in Monaco since at least 2021. In December 2023, Ukrainian authorities imposed sanctions on him over business activities linked to Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014, a move that Ukraine and most Western countries do not recognize.

Authorities have not publicly linked the bombing to those sanctions or to any specific motive, and the investigation remains ongoing.

An Interpol Red Notice is an international request to law enforcement agencies worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a wanted person pending extradition or other legal proceedings. It is not an international arrest warrant but serves to alert member countries that an individual is sought by a national judicial authority.

Monaco investigators continue to work with international law enforcement agencies as efforts intensify to locate the suspect and determine the circumstances surrounding the attack.

The explosion, which occurred in the town of Pomezia about 20 km (12 miles) south of Rome, destroyed two vehicles belonging to Ranucci, a prominent investigative reporter known for exposing corruption and organized crime. No injuries were reported in the attack.

In a statement, the Carabinieri said the four suspects, detained near Naples, were strongly suspected of possessing, transporting and using explosive devices in a public place, issuing threats and causing damage under aggravating circumstances linked to acting as part of a group using mafia-style methods.

Three of the suspects were placed in pre-trial detention, while a fourth was ordered under house arrest, police said.

Ranucci, host of the investigative television programme “Report” on public broadcaster Rai 3, has lived under police protection for several years because of repeated death threats linked to his reporting.

Speaking to Italy’s ANSA news agency following the bombing, Ranucci said he had received “an endless list of threats.”

The investigation, led by the Rome Anti-Mafia Prosecutor’s Office, involved extensive analysis of surveillance camera footage, telephone records and forensic examinations of the explosive device, according to the Carabinieri.

Investigators believe the individuals who carried out the bombing acted on behalf of unidentified third parties who allegedly organized logistical support, including financial assistance, dedicated mobile phone cards, legal support and contingency plans to facilitate the suspects’ escape abroad if necessary.

Authorities said efforts to identify those believed to have ordered the attack remain ongoing.

An estimated 331 million people, or 6.2% of the global population aged 15 to 64, used illicit drugs in 2024, according to the UNODC’s 2026 World Drug Report. The figure marks an increase from 5.2% of the same age group in 2014, reflecting a decade-long upward trend in global drug consumption.

Cannabis remained the world’s most widely used drug in 2024, followed by opioids, amphetamines, cocaine and ecstasy. The report said cannabis users increased by 40% between 2014 and 2024, aided in part by legalization and decriminalization policies in several jurisdictions.

The agency expressed particular concern over the rapid expansion of synthetic opioids, including fentanyls, nitazenes and orphines, which are increasingly being marketed as substitutes for heroin.

“We have seen an unprecedented spike in new types of drugs on the market, and worryingly, some are more potent or dangerous than before,” UNODC Executive Director Monica Juma said in a statement.

The report said illicit manufacturers were developing new synthetic compounds to evade regulations and law enforcement, with drug seizures in 2024 identifying five times more drug types than were detected before 2000.

The number of new psychoactive substances circulating in global drug markets reached 755 in 2024, including 118 substances reported for the first time, underscoring the accelerating pace of innovation within illicit drug networks.

The global heroin trade also continued to feel the effects of Afghanistan’s 2022 ban on poppy cultivation imposed by the Taliban, prompting traffickers to increasingly shift toward synthetic alternatives.

“A turn away from plant-based opiates toward synthetics could cause a permanent shift in the global opioid market, with ramifications on how these drugs are used and the harms therein,” the report said.

The UNODC also reported the emergence of new methamphetamine markets beyond traditional production centers, with supplies increasingly originating from Myanmar as well as North America, West and Southern Africa, and Southwest Asia.

Cocaine production expanded more than fourfold over the past decade, with traffickers increasing shipments not only to established markets in Europe, the Americas and Oceania but also to rapidly growing markets across Africa and Asia, the report said.

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The cocaine, estimated to have a street value of A$816 million ($572 million), was discovered on June 19 at a semi-rural property in the western Sydney suburb of Londonderry, the Queensland Joint Organised Crime Taskforce said on Monday.

Investigators said the drugs were hidden in plastic tubs buried in underground bunkers accessible through false floors installed inside three shipping containers on the property.

Two Sydney men, aged 21 and 25, were arrested at the scene and charged with possessing a commercial quantity of an illicit drug. If convicted, they face potential life sentences under Australian law.

The seizure surpasses Australia’s previous record cocaine interception of 2.34 metric tons, recovered from a fishing vessel near K’gari, formerly known as Fraser Island, off the Queensland coast in 2024.

Authorities allege the shipment entered Australia through Midge Point in Queensland before being transported approximately 1,800 kilometers by road to Sydney by an organized crime network.

Police believe the drugs originated from the same mother ship linked to an earlier seizure of 178 kilograms of cocaine and 142 kilograms of methamphetamine in Queensland. Six individuals have already been charged in connection with that investigation.

Investigators suspect the vessel involved is the Belize-flagged cargo ship MV Wealth, which has been detained by authorities in the Solomon Islands over suspected links to transnational organized crime activities.

The Solomon Islands lie roughly 2,000 kilometers northeast of Queensland and have increasingly attracted law enforcement attention as authorities monitor trafficking routes across the Pacific region.

Australian Federal Police Commander Stephen Jay said criminal syndicates were increasingly exploiting Queensland’s extensive 13,000-kilometer coastline to import illicit drugs into Australia.

The seizure highlights the continued attraction of the Australian narcotics market to international trafficking organizations. Law enforcement agencies note that Australians pay some of the highest prices globally for cocaine, making the country a highly profitable destination for organized crime groups despite intensified border enforcement and interdiction efforts.

Investigations into the trafficking network and the origins of the shipment remain ongoing.

Trump said the operation was conducted by the US Southern Command and coordinated with Venezuelan authorities. Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said the strike took place earlier in the week and confirmed Guerrero was killed.

Venezuela’s information ministry said the operation involved clashes with criminal groups and that Guerrero was neutralized, adding that the action involved intelligence-sharing and specialized technological support.

The Trump administration has previously sanctioned Guerrero and other Tren de Aragua leaders over alleged involvement in drug trafficking, human smuggling and money laundering. Washington has designated Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization.

Trump has accused the group of coordinating activities in the United States with Venezuela’s government, a claim his administration has cited in support of deportation measures targeting some migrants.

Tren de Aragua emerged from Venezuela’s Tocorón prison and expanded across parts of Latin America. Authorities have linked the group to crimes including extortion, kidnapping, human trafficking, money laundering and organized criminal activity.

Guerrero escaped from Tocorón prison in 2023 shortly before a police operation against the facility, according to authorities.

The State Security Court said it unanimously issued a final ruling against the defendant, finding him guilty of assaulting law enforcement personnel tasked with enforcing narcotics laws, resulting in the deaths of three officers and injuries to another.

According to the court’s statement, the accused was convicted on multiple charges related to the attack and received the harshest penalty available under Jordanian law, a sentence of capital punishment.

The case stems from a March 18 security operation conducted by Jordan’s Anti-Narcotics Department. During the raid, three officers were killed and a fourth was wounded before authorities arrested the suspect and seized quantities of drugs and weapons, according to the Public Security Directorate.

While Jordan’s legal system continues to permit capital punishment, executions have effectively been suspended for years. The last known executions were carried out in 2017, when authorities hanged 15 convicted prisoners, including 10 found guilty of terrorism-related offenses.

The ruling comes as Jordan faces mounting challenges linked to drug trafficking and cross-border smuggling. Authorities have significantly increased enforcement efforts in recent years amid concerns over the kingdom’s role as a transit route for narcotics destined for regional markets.

Jordanian officials say the vast majority of drugs seized within the country are intended for smuggling beyond its borders rather than domestic consumption. Government figures show that security agencies arrested more than 38,000 individuals last year in over 25,000 cases involving drug use, trafficking and smuggling.

Security forces have also stepped up operations along Jordan’s lengthy frontier with Syria, where the military regularly reports intercepting attempts to smuggle narcotics, particularly captagon pills, into or through the kingdom.

Captagon trafficking expanded significantly during the Syrian conflict and became one of the region’s most lucrative illicit trades during the rule of former Syrian president Bashar Assad. Jordan has repeatedly cited drug smuggling as a major national security concern and has intensified cooperation between military and law enforcement agencies to curb the flow of narcotics.

The court’s decision reflects the increasingly hard-line approach adopted by Jordanian authorities toward drug-related crimes, particularly cases involving violence against security personnel engaged in counter-narcotics operations.

Mérida Sánchez, 66, is the first of 10 current or former Mexican officials indicted by U.S. prosecutors last month to appear before a court. Federal authorities accused him and others of protecting cartel operations and helping move large quantities of narcotics into the United States.

The former security official did not enter a plea during the hearing and was ordered detained pending further proceedings. Court records showed he is scheduled to return to court on June 1. A message seeking comment was left with his lawyer.

Prosecutors charged Mérida Sánchez with narcotics importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy involving prohibited weapons offenses. If convicted, he faces a potential prison sentence ranging from 40 years to life.

The indictment also named Rubén Rocha Moya and Juan de Dios Gámez Mendívil among the accused officials. Both men announced temporary leaves of absence after the charges were unveiled but have not been taken into custody.

Mexico’s Security Cabinet said on social media that Mérida Sánchez crossed into the United States from Hermosillo, Sonora, on Monday and was detained by the U.S. Marshals Service at the Nogales border crossing in Arizona before being transferred to New York.Mérida Sánchez served as secretary of public security in Sinaloa from September 2023 until resigning in December 2024.

In that role, he oversaw the state police force and senior law enforcement appointments.According to the indictment, Mérida Sánchez received at least $100,000 in monthly cash payments from “Los Chapitos,” a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel led by sons of imprisoned cartel leader Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán.

Prosecutors alleged the payments were made in exchange for targeting rival groups and leaking sensitive law enforcement information.Federal authorities said Mérida Sánchez warned cartel members about at least 10 planned raids on drug laboratories and safe houses during 2023, allowing operatives to remove drugs, weapons and personnel before authorities arrived.

Some of the accused officials are affiliated with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Morena party. Following the indictments, Sheinbaum said Mexico would not shield any official proven to have committed crimes, but argued that any prosecution involving Mexican public officials should occur within Mexico’s judicial system.

Her remarks came amid heightened tensions with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly threatened military action against drug cartels operating in Mexico.Mexico’s Foreign Ministry and Security Cabinet said they remain in institutional communication with U.S. authorities under existing bilateral cooperation frameworks.“El Chapo” Guzmán was convicted in the United States in 2019 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Another senior cartel figure, Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada, pleaded guilty last year to U.S. drug trafficking charges and is scheduled to be sentenced in July.

The aircraft arrived Thursday at Piarco International Airport from the Bahamas for refueling before continuing onward to Libya through Cape Verde, according to the Airports Authority of Trinidad and Tobago.Immigration officials inspecting the aircraft found explosives onboard that had not been disclosed in accordance with international aviation and security procedures, the airport authority said in a statement.

Authorities detained the aircraft temporarily while conducting inquiries into the cargo documentation and security compliance. Officials later concluded that the crew and pilot bore no responsibility for the undeclared shipment.

“It was determined that no liability should be attributed to the pilot or crew,” the Airports Authority said, adding that the aircraft and personnel were subsequently authorized to leave Trinidad and Tobago.Officials did not specify the type or quantity of explosives being transported, nor did they disclose the aircraft’s ownership or final recipient in Libya.

Trinidad and Tobago, located off Venezuela’s northeastern coast, has long faced scrutiny from regional security agencies over narcotics trafficking and organized crime activity. The government has declared multiple states of emergency since 2021 in response to rising violent crime rates.

The incident comes amid heightened international monitoring of aviation cargo movements involving sensitive materials across conflict-linked transit routes.