Happy Monday! It’s October 7, and we’re tracking top stories to start your week: Putin’s Merchant of Death is back in the arms business, Iran weaponizes fentanyl, how Mexican resorts became war zones, Illicit Edge launches new podcast Coercive Capital, and much more…

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Coercive Capital with Elaine Dezenski drops tomorrow with a special guest you don’t want to miss…

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🌎 Putin’s ‘Merchant of Death’ Is Back in the Arms Business – This Time Selling to the Houthis. Russian gunrunner Viktor Bout was traded in 2022 for U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner. WSJ

Top Stories

🌎 Tehran’s Tactical Knockout: Weaponized Pharmaceutical-Based Agents. Iran has produced fentanyl-based PBAs for proxy groups that may have used them in Iraq and Syria. West Point CTC

🚩 Analysis: The Houthis’ leadership structure Long War Journal 

🚩 Illegal online pharmacies are selling fentanyl and meth-laced pills Hill

🌎 How Mexican resorts loved by Brits have become cartel war zones. Assassins execute rivals and gun down holidaymakers in a hail of bullets on white sandy beaches. Daily Mail 

🇲🇽 The American Guns That Mexican Cartels Covet: A Visual Guide WSJ

🇲🇽 Inside Mexico’s New Plan to Take On Cartel Violence WSJ

🌎 How Iran’s dark fleet of oil ships smuggles black gold to China. A network of ageing tankers is used to evade sanctions with dangerous consequences for marine life. The Times

🌎 China claims breakthrough in silicon photonics that could clear technical hurdle. JFS is one of China's key institutions tasked with pursuing tech breakthroughs to beat U.S. controls. SCMP

🌎 How the DOJ’s major takedown of a neo-Nazi group contradicts MAGA’s worldview. A significant component of America’s crime problem is made up of hardened, U.S.-born criminals. MSNBC

🌎 Authorities charge dealers trafficking elephant tranquilizer ‘100 times stronger than fentanyl’ in first-of-its-kind bust. Suffolk County busted a drug-peddling ring whose dealers were trafficking carfentanil. NYP

🌎 Elon Musk’s mom encouraged X followers to commit voter fraud. Maye Musk was called out by attorneys who warned that her post ‘constitutes the solicitation of a crime’. Independent

Russia & China

📌 The Russian economy can’t sustain Putin’s war on Ukraine much longer Fortune

📌 What if Russia blocks the export of its raw materials? DW

📌 China Is Big Business for Western Consulting Firms WSJ

📌 ‘Panic Buying’ of Chinese Stocks Weighs on Crypto’s Most-Traded Token Bloomberg

Corruption & Financial Crime

💸 The 3 Brothers at the Center of the Bribery Inquiry Rocking City Hall NYT

💸 Fraud Supervisor Exits Spell Trouble for DOJ White-Collar Office Bloomberg

💸 Trump’s Truth Social Riddled With Scammers Daily Beast

💸 Informant in D.C. council member’s bribery case also defrauded COVID loans Washington Times

Crypto & Cyber

🔐 Massive privacy breach rocks Qantas Daily Mail

🔐 How This Conflict Mineral Gets Smuggled Into Everyday Tech WSJ

🔐 U.S. files complaints to seize assets from North Korean hackers Cointelegraph

🔐 U.S. moves to seize $2.7M from Lazarus hacks traced through Tornado Cash Block

🔐 Stealthy Malware Has Infected Thousands of Linux Systems for Years Wired

Trafficking

🚚 Texas cops raid apartment complex taken over by Tren de Aragua gang members NYP

🚚 Tajikistan nationals with ISIS ties removed in immigration proceedings CBS

🚚 Six Arrested as El Salvador Dismantles Migrant Trafficking Operation AFP

🚚 Cannabis smuggling from Thailand to UK reaches record highs SCMP

“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool.” — Richard Feynman

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