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The Wedding Invitation From Hell

By Jeralyn, Section Crime in the News
Posted on Mon Aug 22, 2005 at 11:48:48 PM EST
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Oh, that clever F.B.I. You've all read by now about the Justice Department's big bust of an Asian counterfeiting and smuggling ring. From Los Angeles, to Newark, a huge coordinated effort by FBI agents and local cops brought down an international organization trafficking in millions. Here's the DOJ press release. The New York Times has more ont "Operation Smoking Dragon" and "Operation Royal Charm":

Federal law enforcement agents sent out invitations for a mock wedding on a yacht off Atlantic City to lure 42 people who were accused of taking part in an Asian smuggling ring that brought counterfeit money, drugs and cigarettes into the United States, officials said Monday.

The wedding "guests," who had been invited to attend the nuptials of two supposed American smugglers who were actually undercover agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, were among 57 people arrested in recent days as part of the smuggling inquiry, the officials said. In all, 87 people have been indicted.

The wedding was to be held aboard a yacht called Royal Charm docked off Atlantic City, officials said, and the guests were told in the invitations that the hosts would provide transportation to the ceremony once they arrived in town.

"Transportation was provided for them - by law enforcement," said Christopher J. Christie, the United States attorney for New Jersey. "They never made it to any wedding."

A classic reverse sting, where the Government acts as purchasers and transporters, rather than sellers, of contraband. Since Homeland Security was also involved, there's also the gratuitous tie-in to terrorism:

"This was a one-stop-shopping criminal organization that had the will and the means to smuggle virtually every form of contraband imaginable. For those reasons alone, the organization posed a serious homeland security threat that we are happy to close down today.

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    • The Wedding Invitation From Hell | 8 comments (8 topical)
    Re: The Wedding Invitation From Hell (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:02:37 PM EST
    They got a bunch (100+) deadbeat dads with the old "invitation to a sports bar grand opening" ploy. The amazing thing about this is it always seems to get a LOT of people. -C

    Re: The Wedding Invitation From Hell (none / 0) (#2)
    by swingvote on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:02:37 PM EST
    Seems like a better way to go about making these kinds of arrests than kicking in the doors at 6:00 AM, doesn't it? And it has the added advantage of a much lower likelihood of the wrong person being arrested, since they show up and identify themselves.

    Re: The Wedding Invitation From Hell (none / 0) (#3)
    by DawesFred60 on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:02:37 PM EST
    You missed the part about mass human smuggling from Red China, its not only about money I.E. mass counterfeiting but also about mexican and many Asian banks doing business here with billions in drug money. well over 800,000 people are being smuggled into the so called usa which is now the best place to buy a political guy and get your people into the police dept, and local government for control, the next move will be big business and the last move will be the white house within 10 years.( see bush family drug dealers ) but its funny to see the FBI Doing its so called job, or was it that the boys in the FBI Were just "doing" a new gang? from orders of the old gang?, which in many cases owns the local system of government controlers? I.E. Judges and lawyers for mexico/red china/bin laden and the third world. where is bin laden?

    Re: The Wedding Invitation From Hell (none / 0) (#4)
    by DawesFred60 on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:02:37 PM EST
    I will never be taken alive, maybe? stop prison rape.

    Re: The Wedding Invitation From Hell (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:02:37 PM EST
    This is an old trick. The same ruse was used very successfully to make the arrests in the huge BCCI money laundering case in the 1980's. The overseas targets were lured to Tampa, FL for a wedding of undercver cops.

    Re: The Wedding Invitation From Hell (none / 0) (#6)
    by BigTex on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:02:37 PM EST
    It's one of the oldest tricks in the book at this point, but it keeps working because it preys on basic human emotion. Who goes to weddings for people they don't know? Or collects tickets to sports events in a contest they won, but never entered? Very strange.

    Re: The Wedding Invitation From Hell (none / 0) (#7)
    by jackl2400 on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:02:37 PM EST
    Following the DEA bust of Canadian Marc Emery on July 29th for selling marijuana seeds by mail order to Americans, the DEA tried to follow up with a "sting" operation, sending flyers to people sending mail to or from Emery, telling them to go to a Western Union office to wire money and use a certain code-word and e-mail address to confirm in order to receive the seeds they had ordered. You see, Emery was careful enough (as he said in his printed instructions) to not keep any written customer records such as invoices, shipping records, etc., so the raid on his premises on July 29 did not inculpate customers. So the DEA had to send these letters to people whose envelopes had had a police mail cover for the 90 days prior to the bust. Discussed here and here. However, the sting was quickly outed by Emery's people on the net (above links), so it is thought that few took the bait. Hopefully, we will not be seeing another knee-slappingly hilarious story about another DEA sting arising out of that one.

    Re: The Wedding Invitation From Hell (none / 0) (#8)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:02:39 PM EST
    test

    The Wedding Invitation From Hell | 8 comments (8 topical)