World News Digest

  Drifting off the coast of Suva with a dead engine, a cruising yacht inbound from Central America was concealing two tons of Colombian cocaine in its hold. At the helm: an Australian "sound healing" DJ and a former Fijian rugby player, paid to transport a cargo destined for the VIP clubs of the Gold Coast. The bust highlights the transformation of South Pacific archipelagos into a maritime superhighway for South American cartels. In the turquoise waters surrounding the Fiji archipelago, the postcard-perfect setting gave way with brutal suddenness to one of the largest drug seizures in the region’s history. Drifting aimlessly after total engine failure, the Serenity Now —an elegant foreign-flagged monohull pleasure yacht—was boarded by Fijian customs and naval patrol vessels off the coast of Suva. What initially appeared to be a routine maritime search-and-rescue operation in tropical waters quickly escalated into a major international drug trafficking bust. Inside the storag...

  Behind the polished storefronts of a high-street money transfer chain, seven men secretly operated the largest financial laundromat in Australian history. In the shadows: ruthless outlaw bikie gangs, covert accounts in Dubai, and millions in cyber-scam proceeds vanished into cryptocurrency. Sydney. Famous for the golden sands of Bondi Beach, dawn surfers, and a glittering skyline. But beneath the postcard-perfect veneer of Australia’s premier metropolis, a vastly different financial engine was roaring after dark. To everyday passersby, Changjiang Currency Exchange was a respectable high-street business—the go-to service for tourists and expats sending money overseas. To the global underworld, it was the Pacific’s premier black-market bank. Following an exhaustive, high-stakes investigation, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) shattered the illusion with Operation Avarus-Nightwolf . The final count: $229 million laundered , seven men behind bars, and the takedown of the most comp...