Torture Chambers: Like Something Out of 'The Blacklist'

Seven TORTURE CHAMBERS & cells inside shipping containers discovered in Dutch police raid after crack of encrypted chat app

©  Politie Landelijke Eenheid

Six Dutch men have been arrested after a Franco-Dutch police operation to crack the EncroChat encrypted text app led authorities to seven shipping containers outfitted as grisly torture chambers and cells near the Belgian border.

Police arrested six men after snooping on their alleged plans to kidnap and take hostage fellow criminals, discussed in detail over EncroChat for months, Dutch authorities revealed on Tuesday. The kidnappers were apparently quite meticulous in their planning, with several “teams” preparing to snatch up their victims and one “observation team.” The authorities conducted their raid on June 22, swooping in right as it seemed the men were ready to strike – through their assumed victims had been tipped off by police and gone into hiding.

Another shed used by the group in Rotterdam contained over two dozen weapons, as well as police clothing, bulletproof vests, and other police accoutrements like flashing lights. Some 24 kilograms of MDMA was also found onsite. The selection of goods suggested the men intended to kidnap at least some of their victims by setting up roadblocks and pretending to be cops.

Some 800 arrests have been made across Europe since the decryption of EncroChat, which had 60,000 subscribers and was based in France, promising “worry-free secure communications” to its users.

According to the UK’s National Crime Agency, however, it was a “criminal marketplace” used by gangs around the world for money laundering, selling drugs and other illicit merchandise, and plotting against rival gangs. The raids based on information from EncroChat have led to over 27 tons of drugs seized in the UK and Netherlands.

‘Why Even Fight?’ Duterte Threatens Drug Lord Politicians with Airstrikes

Calling in the Air Force is taking the war on drugs to another level. But with drug-lords with private armies thinking they can do anything they want, this might actually get their attention. The danger here is two-fold: collateral casualties - bombs are not surgical, and the likelihood that some people will accuse political rivals of being drug dealers just to get rid of them.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has threatened to unleash the full might of the military against the private militias of corrupt politicians, including sending in fighter jets to bomb their positions.

The president was giving a speech in which he revealed he had expanded the list of politicians suspected to be involved in the drugs trade.

“Even if you have 100-200 armed men, that will not help,” he said, as quoted by the Manila Bulletin on Tuesday. “Why would you put up a fight? I have 12 FA-50 jets. I will drop five bombs on you. I will really use the force of the government.”

“I told you not to contradict the government. I will use the government because I have to protect the people who represent the government. I will not hesitate.”

Private armies led by politicians and powerful clans have long been a fixture in the Philippines, particularly in the southern island of Mindanao, wracked by conflict with communist and Muslim insurgents as well as the terrorist group, Abu Sayyaf, linked to Islamic State.

Other than providing security, the militias are known to be used for settling scores: in November 2009, gunmen loyal to the powerful Ampatuan family massacred 57 people in the province of Maguindanao. Duterte himself has been accused of leading an armed group dubbed the “Davao Death Squad” prior to his election as president, which allegedly carried out the killings of thousands of accused drug dealers, users, thieves and other petty criminals. Some of the alleged former members of the squad have testified in court, either providing descriptions of the alleged extrajudicial killings, or dismissing the very existence of the group as “media hype.”

Duterte’s latest warning comes just over a week after Reynaldo Parojinog, mayor of Ozamiz City, was shot dead along with 13 others, including his wife and his brother, when a shootout erupted during an anti-drugs operation. Parojinog had been on Duterte’s “list” since 2016, and Duterte denounced him and his family as “gangsters.”

Allegations of using the war on drugs as a method of getting political opponents out of the way have also surfaced locally.

“I am the president of the barangay [village] council,” Vicente Yungco Jr told Marina Kosareva for RT’s documentary Project Duterte. “I was really surprised that I was linked with drugs. I’m on bail now, amounting to 80,000 pesos [$1,600] for illegal firearms and ammunition.”

“I think it was a political motivation. I have a political rival in my barangay. We were elected for three terms, they did not win. I’m afraid that certain local officials, they can do whatever they want.”

Over 7,000 people have been killed in the police crackdown on drug dealers since the start of Duterte’s presidency in July 2016, according to data from the Philippine National Police (PNP). The Philippines authorities have claimed that a large portion of those deaths have come from suspects resisting arrest in police operations while others have come at the hands of vigilantes or rival crime syndicates working outside the law. Meanwhile, human rights groups allege there is an unofficial state-sanctioned policy of exterminating drug suspects, while police officers actively collude with the vigilantes.

‘What if There is No God?’ Duterte Promotes Death Penalty as Certain Means of Serving Justice

President Duterte, don't give up your day job;

you are no theologian!

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. © Ted Aljibe / AFP

The Philippines’ president said that growing influence of atheism and agnosticism leads to people disrespecting laws and committing heinous crimes. And “if there is no God,” capital punishment is the only way to make sure justice is served.

The first sentence is most definitely true; the second, I'm not too sure about. At any rate, there is a God so the statement is redundant. There is a difference between people who believe God exists, or may exist, and Christians who have accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour. The difference is the first group have never, or probably never really experienced God; the second has. 

To accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour results in the immediate invasion of the Holy Spirit into the believer. It is only by this Spirit that one can experience God and therefore truly know that He is. 

President Rodrigo Duterte has condoned the restoration of the death penalty in the Philippines “because the fear is not there” anymore. According to him, the previous presidents had given in to the pressure of the “bleeding hearts” and the Catholic Church who had been against the death penalty “because only God can kill”.

“The problem with that is, I ask you, ‘what if there is no God?’” Duterte said to reporters at the presidential palace in Manila.

“When a one-year-old, an 18-month-old baby is taken from the mother’s arms, brought under a Jeep and raped, and killed, where is God? And in Syria women and children, who don’t want to have sex with ISIS, they are burned. So where’s God? My God, where are you?” he addressed the creator directly.

God has restricted Himself to intervening in man's affairs only when He is asked or wanted. Otherwise, there would be no such thing as free will, and without free will, we could never come to love God, for which we were created. The horrors that man commits on the children of this world will not go unpunished and the suffering will not go without blessings in Eternity.

Previously, Duterte promised to personally deal with Islamic State jihadists by eating them alive in public.

Duterte professed that he personally believes in God, though existence of God have been a “perpetual question” for him, seeing “heartaches, sorrows and agony.” According to the Philippines’ president, the state needs a means to punish wrongdoers, without a need to wait for “the end of the world, when he [God] will judge the living and the dead”, since growing atheism and agnosticism mean people lack fear and do not respect the law.

“That is why, I said give me back the death penalty,” concluded the president, saying he has “always been a hardliner when it comes to the penal laws.”

On Friday Duterte made a similar comment, while giving a speech to police officers about illegal drugs and a set of rules to deal with drug criminals.

“Maybe God doesn’t want all these killings. But never mind, God is not my enemy. I’ll talk to him when I get there,” said Duterte to the officers. “I'll ask him, 'If you are really God, you didn't do anything, and the Filipinos are going crazy.'”

I would strongly advise you sort that out before you get there!

During the election campaign, Duterte promised to re-establish capital punishment as part of an ongoing ‘war on drugs’. Since he took office in the end of June, some 3,500 people have been killed during ‘the war’, while more than 600,000 people reportedly turned themselves in.

600,000 drug dealers in one country? Astonishing!

President Duterte is well-known for his harsh comments littered with profanities against world leaders. He has been facing criticism for his bloody war on drugs recently and responded to it in a rather questionable manner.

The Philippines president called his US counterpart Barack Obama “son of a b**ch,” earlier this month after hearing that the latter was to address the country’s ‘war on drugs’. The outburst led to the cancellation of scheduled talks between the two leaders. Later, Duterte stated that his comment had not been directed towards Obama, while doing that he somewhat managed to redirect the insult to the UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, calling him “a fool”.

Last week Duterte invited Ban Ki-moon and EU officials to investigate the methods of the nationwide drug crackdown. He managed, however, to insult the UN Secretary-General once more in process.

“I am inviting the United Nations’ Ban Ki ... what's the name of that devil? ... Ban Ki-moon,” Reuters quoted Duterte as saying.

OMGosh!

Mind you, it is odd that Moon and Obama are so concerned about the summary executions of reprobates in the Philippines and not at all concerned about the many beheadings and other executions in Iran and Saudi Arabia. But then, the Philippines don't have any oil and aren't buying much in terms of weapons. If they were, Moon and Obama would be a lot quieter.

Philippines Leader Calls Obama ‘Son of a B****,’ Rejects Lecturing from US on Human Rights

One would think the President of the United States would know

not to irritate a coiled snake

The reference to the war in Syria in the video is a good example of the difference in philosophy between the two presidents. The US and it's allies seemed content to keep the fighting to a level where no side was in danger of winning. It wasn't until Russia stepped in that the US suddenly decided that maybe they should actually try and win.

Duterte is trying to stop the devastating effects of drugs on the Filipinos. It seems the U.S. would rather he keep the status quo. The murders on the streets is a terrible violation of human rights, but in the end may produce a country that is much better off for it as long as the killing ends when the drugs do.

In an acid comment, Philippines leader Rodrigo Duterte called Barack Obama a “son of a b****,” warning the US president against lecturing him over the Philippines’ human rights record in its brutal war on drugs at a global summit in Laos, where the two are set to meet.

“Son of a b****, I will curse you in that forum," the acid-tongued Duterte said before departing for Laos, where the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is hosting a meeting of global leaders, including the US and Russia.

The statement came in reaction to the information President Obama was to address the alleged extrajudicial killings during the anti-drug campaign in the Philippines that has already claimed 2,400 lives.

Speaking to journalists on Monday, Duterte insisted he was “a president of a sovereign state” and that his country has “long ceased to be a colony of the United States."

“I do not have any master except the Filipino people, nobody but nobody,” Duterte went on to say, also cautioning other world leaders about addressing the issue of the anti-drug campaign in his country.

The Philippines president was set to meet Barack Obama on Tuesday, but it appears the talks are now in jeopardy. The US leader has now ordered his team to look into whether a “constructive, productive” dialogue is possible under the current circumstances.

"I always want to make sure if I'm having a meeting that it's actually productive and we're getting something done," Obama told reporters in a press conference following the G20 summit in China.

"The issue of how we approach fighting crime and drug trafficking is a serious one for all of us. We've got to do it the right way," the US leader went on to say. He noted that in case the meeting takes place, the “topic will be raised.”

After the arrival in Laos on Monday, Duterte said he would still consider talks with Obama. “Maybe, if I feel good. I don't want to quarrel with him.”

Rodrigo Duterte came to power in May, promising to wipe out drug dealers and put an end to the problem in his country. According to the latest police figures cited by AFP, since June law enforcers have killed 1,011 suspected criminals, with an additional 1,391 “deaths under investigation.”

The approach gained vast support among the average public, however raising concerns from political opponents, human rights groups and the US in particular.

"More people will be killed. Plenty will be killed until the last pusher is out of the streets. Until the [last] drug manufacturer is killed, we will continue and I will continue," Duterte said Monday.

The Philippines leader is notorious for his inflammatory comments. On one occasion he also called Pope Francis “a son of a b****.”

During the presidential election campaign that brought him to power, Duterte also lashed out at the US ambassador to the Philippines, calling him a homosexual.

Bounty War: Drug Lords Raise Offer for Philippines Leader’s Head to $1,000,000

Bidding wars in the Philippines

Philippines' president-elect Rodrigo Duterte (C) speaks to journalists in Davao City © Manman Dejeto / AFP

Drug lords have raised the ante for anyone who kills Philippine President-elect Rodrigo Duterte, local media report. Over $1 million will be paid for the assassination of the country's new leader, who has recently declared "a bloody war” on drug cartels.

Duterte - 50 mn pesos

The incoming police chief Ronald Dela Rosa said he had received a tip-off from a source saying that raising the reward from 10 million pesos ($216,000) to 50 million pesos ($1,083,845) was the main subject of a meeting between drug lords currently behind bars at the National Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa, Philippines.


Asian Star Building, Muntilupa, Philippines

“What they did not know is that one of those present in the meeting has told me what they discussed,” Dela Rosa told the Manila Bulletin.

When asked how he plans to deal with them, Dela Rosa reportedly replied: “They should be taken out of the NBP horizontally.”

Indeed, that may be the only way to cancel out the reward offer. The drug lords probably just signed their own death warrant.

Last week, the Philippines' president elect urged the public to join his anti-crime fight and pledged to be tougher on local law enforcers and officials found to be protecting and covering up drug lords and other criminal groups.

Drug lords - 5 mn pesos

Duterte, 71, who won the presidential election last month, has publicly acknowledged that his anti-crime campaign would be "a bloody war,” and offered a reward of 5 million pesos ($108,000) for a drug lord “if he is dead.”

“If he is alive, only 4.999 million," he added, laughing, according to AFP.

Duterte, who has been mayor of the southern city of Davao for over 22 years, said he is deaf to criticism that he was promoting a “culture of death.”

Indeed, that is probably the case, but there already is a culture of drugs that is not much better than death. The culture of death is short-term, just until the country is cleaned up. The culture of drugs would otherwise be endless.

Documents released by WikiLeaks allege Duterte has been linked with a vigilante group called the Davao Death Squad. It is suspected of being behind dozens of killings.

“If they [criminals] can’t be talked into changing, let’s kill them,” the Manila Bulletin quoted him as saying.

"If they are there in your neighborhood, feel free to call us, the police or do it yourself if you have the gun. You have my support," he told crowds of cheering supporters.

"If he fights and fights to the death, you can kill him," Duterte, who officially takes office on June 30, suggested.

"I will give you a medal," he added, noting that drug addicts will not be rehabilitated. He warned: "If you are involved in drugs, I will kill you. You son of a whore, I will really kill you."

Ninja Cops - 2 mn pesos

Yesterday, the president of the Philippines took his much criticized war on drugs to another level, placing a bounty on the heads of “ninja” cops protecting drug syndicates. He said they will "face a day of reckoning," announcing a US$43,000 reward on their heads.

"I might be inclined to place a reward on their heads, the members of the ninja or the members of the police who are protecting the drug syndicates in this country. I am placing per head 2 million peso [$43,000]," President Rodrigo Duterte said in a National Heroes Day speech on Monday.

"I want the police and the armed forces to destroy the drug apparatus in this country," he told retired and serving soldiers, government officials, and foreign diplomats.

He also said that officers who are aware of unethical "ninja" cops should "squeal on your friends," Reuters reported.

Last month, Duterte – who came to power in May on a promise to wipe out drugs and dealers – named around 160 officials, judges, police, and soldiers who he said were protecting drug traffickers or selling drugs in their neighborhoods.

Duterte Style Justice Not Going Over Well in Peru

Peru launches probe into alleged rogue

police killings of civilians

By Andrew V. Pestano

LIMA, Aug. 24 (UPI) -- Officials in Peru are investigating at least 18 police officers accused of carrying out illegal killings of civilians they said were dangerous criminals in order to secure promotions.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Peru's Deputy Public Order Minister Ruben Vargas said there are "strong indications" the group of alleged rogue officers -- including a general -- could be behind the deaths of at least 20 civilians since 2012.

In Rodrigo Duterte's Philippines, 1900 drug dealers have died 'resisting arrest' in the past couple months. 

The killings occurred in at least six police stations in Lima, Chiclayo and Chincha Alta. Vargas said at least 11 of the 20 people known to have been killed did not have criminal records. The officers are accused of falsifying reports to fit their stories related to the killings.

Peru's Interior Ministry released a video of the press conference Vargas held in the Spanish language. The names of the accused were not revealed.

Duterte's Wild West Show is Cleaning Up the Streets

8 suspected drug dealers slain

Including one who surrendered to police

Eight suspected drug dealers were shot dead by unidentified men in a span of 24 hours in Caloocan City.

Rodrigo Duterte, Philippine President

The latest victim was Ricardo Enderez who died on Monday.

Reports reaching the office of Senior Supt. Johnny Almazan, Caloocan police head, said Enderez was attacked by two men on a motorcycle.

Police said Enderez was a suspected drug dealer in Caloocan City.

Twenty minutes before Enderez was slain, Jose Andrew Marie Tesorero was also shot dead inside his house by two men in bonnets.

Tesorero was also a suspected notorious drug pusher, police said.

Also on Monday, Alfredo Tablate was shot to death in his house. His killers were also wearing bonnets.

On the same day, Japhet Bacaltos was killed by two men.

Police said Bacaltos,37, was suspected to be involved in drug trafficking in the city.

Police also recorded the killing of Robert Joshua Capili and Glenn Sapolingan at around 1:50 a.m. on Monday.

The two were attacked by six armed men in three motorbikes.

On Sunday, two killing incidents in the city were recorded by the police.

The victims were Michael Mendoza and Adan King Gatdula.

Gatdula was killed inside his house by four men in bonnets.

Meanwhile, a man who had surrendered to authorities and promised to end his illegal drug activities was shot dead by policemen.

Police said Michael Paguia was shot dead because he engaged anti-drug operatives in a gun battle.

It appears Duterte found a solution to his overcrowded prison population.