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Kratom Crisis, Treasury Targets Terror, and Wiki Warfare
Illicit Edge - Edition for June 24, 2026
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Hello Wednesday! It’s June 24, and we’re tracking today’s top stories: Kratom is a legal $13 'natural' high that's led to addiction and 91 deaths, Treasury Targets ISIS Facilitators and Disrupts Terrorist Financial Networks, Russia’s Wiki Warfare Tries to Distort Reality, Owner of Oak Lawn methadone clinic stole millions — funded lavish lifestyle including yacht ‘Butt Nekkid’.
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🎯 FEATURED STORY
Kratom is a legal $13 'natural' high that's led to addiction and 91 deaths. A 2026 survey by the University of Michigan found that more than five million Americans have used kratom, including 100,000 children aged 12 to 17. New York Post
🔥 TOP STORIES
Treasury Targets ISIS Facilitators and Disrupts Terrorist Financial Networks Treasury Department
Russia’s Wiki Warfare Tries to Distort Reality Bloomberg
Feds: Owner of Oak Lawn methadone clinic stole millions, funded lavish lifestyle including yacht ‘Butt Nekkid’ Chicago Tribune
Justice Department Unveils $6.5 Billion Healthcare Fraud Crackdown Wall Street Journal
DOJ seizes Huione Group cloud computing account used to launder billions in fraud proceeds Block
FBI brings back fugitive accused in $3.7B Medicare fraud scheme after capture in Turkey Fox News
Treasury Further Dismantles Overseas Scam Operations Targeting Americans Treasury Department
Tata Electronics, a major tech supplier to Apple and Tesla, confirms data breach TechCrunch
US, Iran at odds on nuclear inspections, frozen assets in deal to end war Reuters
Thailand Expands Crypto Mining Probe Into $300M Chinese Laundering Network Decrypt
Chinese fentanyl network suspected of crypto fraud via Japan base Nikkei Asia
Over 5,000 people trapped in Myanmar scam centers near Thai border Reuters
KPMG Australia's chairman and two partners resign as audit scandal widens Reuters
Jordan Suppliers to Columbia and Under Armour Face US Forced Labor Ban WWD
Staggering amounts of fentanyl hit streets as the DEA watched and took no action Associated Press
IN THE NEWS
🚩 RUSSIA & CHINA
GLM-5.2's rise reignites debate over China's AI progress Axios
Former Aeroflot CEO Arrested in Moscow Moscow Times
Lutnick privately warned top executives of possible action against imported Chinese robots Politico
Alibaba sues US Department of Defense for branding it a 'Chinese military company' Reuters
Hong Kong police arrest 69 over laundering HK$200m from cross-border fraud South China Morning Post
China's Farm Drones: A Trojan Horse Washington Overlooks War on the Rocks
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🚀 SANCTIONS
US slaps new sanctions on Cuban companies key to island's crumbling economy Associated Press
Exxon can sue Cuba over property confiscated in 1960, Supreme Court rules CNN
U.S. and UK Economic Sanctions Authorities: A Comparative Overview OFAC
UK regulator sanctions auditor of metals magnate Sanjeev Gupta's GFG Alliance Reuters
Did the International Criminal Court Just Ease Restrictions on Putin? Moscow Times
Republicans are dismantling a key tool in the war against kleptocrats New Republic
💥 TERROR
8 convicted of terrorism charges in Texas immigration center shooting sentenced to decades in prison AP
Turkey detains 209 in anti-terror raids as security tightened ahead of NATO summit Reuters
Not Resurgence, but Recalibration: ISIS in Syria Soufan Center
Iranian with 'direct ties to IRGC' tried to enter US posing as World Cup soccer team president New York Post
💸 CORRUPTION & FINANCIAL CRIME
Massive $27M LA hospice fraud revealed as medical scammer used dead patients to fund lavish lifestyle New York Post
Iraq judiciary seizes over $85m in corruption case Arab News
Syria Arrests Assad-Era Military Officer over Corruption and Wartime Abuses OCCRP
Ex-Chinese official’s son held in Hong Kong over HK$64m money laundering case South China Morning Post
Cyprus anti-corruption watchdog refers former president to prosecutors for alleged ‘abuse of power’ ICIJ
Belgium issues EU arrest warrant for ex-Commissioner Avramopoulos in Qatargate probe Reuters
Nepal’s former finance minister arrested for money laundering Reuters
🔐 CRYPTO & CYBER
Iran says card-based banking hit by cyberattack on three lenders Reuters
Scattered Spider members plead guilty to hacking Transport for London BleepingComputer
Bank of England loosens crypto rules after Farage leads backlash The Telegraph
Customers Sue Madison Square Garden Over Hacking of 26 Million Records New York Times
Why phishing attacks are suddenly getting much harder to spot Axios
LastPass confirms data breach in Klue supply chain attack BleepingComputer
🚚 TRAFFICKING
Feds Say a Darknet Dealer Called 'DaddyBiden' Sold Fake Adderall Laced with Meth Gizmodo
Mexico reveals alliance between the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and Los Chapitos El País
After Maduro: Human Trafficking and the Vulnerability of Venezuelan Migrants in Colombia CSIS
Mystery of hit on Tren de Aragua leader: is it linked to US mining plans in Venezuela? The Guardian
Record stash of cocaine found buried underground in Australia CBS News
“Follow that will and that way which experience confirms to be your own.” —Carl Jung
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