Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Stunning images of some of the most impressive photography of the U.S. Air Force submitted for 2014 review

The year's flown by! Stunning images of some of the most impressive photography of the U.S. Air Force submitted for 2014 review

These stunning images show the day-to day lives of the brave men and women who work in the U.S. Air Force.
The pictures are a part of the 'Visuals of 2014' collection which have been collated by the official publication of the military service - the Airman Magazine.
Each one captures the men and women who dedicate their lives to protect and serve the public and show unique operations in the air and on the ground throughout America and abroad.  
Highlights range from members of the Special Tactics Training Squadron jumping into a swimming pool with their hands and feet bound, to the Special Forces Group conducting a high-altitude, low-opening jump from a C-130J Super Hercules over Yakima Training Center in Washington. 
Daredevil: Soldiers assigned to the 1st Special Forces Group conduct a high-altitude, low-opening jump from a C-130J Super Hercules over Yakima Training Center in Washington. Special forces soldiers are experts in unconventional warfare, direct action, special reconnaissance
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Daredevil: Soldiers assigned to the 1st Special Forces Group conduct a high-altitude, low-opening jump from a C-130J Super Hercules over Yakima Training Center in Washington. Special forces soldiers are experts in unconventional warfare, direct action, special reconnaissance
Dive: Members of the Special Tactics Training Squadron enter the pool with their hands and feet bound. The drown proofing exercise teaches students to remain calm in the water during stressful situations, skills that are vital during real-world operations
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Dive: Members of the Special Tactics Training Squadron enter the pool with their hands and feet bound. The drown proofing exercise teaches students to remain calm in the water during stressful situations, skills that are vital during real-world operations
Performance: 
 The U.S. Air Force Honor Guard Drill Team performs at Mount Rushmore near Keystone, South Dakota. The Drill Team completed a nine-day, seven-city, 10-performance tour across the Midwest with the U.S. Air Force Band's rock ensemble Max Impact
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Performance: The U.S. Air Force Honor Guard Drill Team performs at Mount Rushmore near Keystone, South Dakota. The Drill Team completed a nine-day, seven-city, 10-performance tour across the Midwest with the U.S. Air Force Band's rock ensemble Max Impact
Jet: An A-10C Thunderbolt II sits under a sun shade at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, the A-10's primary weapon is a single 30mm GAU-8/A seven-barrel Gatling gun. It can also carry up to 16,000 pounds of mixed ordnance such as cluster bomb units, joint direct attack munitions and AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles
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Jet: An A-10C Thunderbolt II sits under a sun shade at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, the A-10's primary weapon is a single 30mm GAU-8/A seven-barrel Gatling gun. It can also carry up to 16,000 pounds of mixed ordnance such as cluster bomb units, joint direct attack munitions and AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles
Display: Thunderbirds Diamond Formation pilots perform the Bottom Up Pass during the Wings Over North Georgia Air Show in Rome, Ga. 
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Display: Thunderbirds Diamond Formation pilots perform the Bottom Up Pass during the Wings Over North Georgia Air Show in Rome, Ga. 
Training: Members of the 106th Rescue Wing conduct SERE refresher training at Francis S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base showing aircrew members ways to properly cover and conceal from a pursuing enemy force and how to camouflage themselves using available materials
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Training: Members of the 106th Rescue Wing conduct SERE refresher training at Francis S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base showing aircrew members ways to properly cover and conceal from a pursuing enemy force and how to camouflage themselves using available materials
Weapons: An F-22 Raptor displays its weapons bays to the crowd during the Arctic Thunder Open House at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. Arctic Thunder, a biennial event, features more than 40 Air Force, Army and civilian aerial acts and is the largest two-day event in the state
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Weapons: An F-22 Raptor displays its weapons bays to the crowd during the Arctic Thunder Open House at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. Arctic Thunder, a biennial event, features more than 40 Air Force, Army and civilian aerial acts and is the largest two-day event in the state
Sixth Street: Airmen maneuver through traffic lights while towing an F-15 Eagle to the Warner Robins City Hall in Warner Robins, Georgia. The aircraft was loaned to the city by the Georgia Air National Guard's 116th Air Control Wing to serve as a static display for a new veteran's memorial
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Sixth Street: Airmen maneuver through traffic lights while towing an F-15 Eagle to the Warner Robins City Hall in Warner Robins, Georgia. The aircraft was loaned to the city by the Georgia Air National Guard's 116th Air Control Wing to serve as a static display for a new veteran's memorial
Training: Members of the 106th Rescue Wing's fire department train on various fire-suppression systems as they battle a blaze at the Suffolk County Fire Academy in Yaphank, New York
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Training: Members of the 106th Rescue Wing's fire department train on various fire-suppression systems as they battle a blaze at the Suffolk County Fire Academy in Yaphank, New York
Resilience: A member of the Air Force Special Operations Commandos Special Tactics Training Squadron strains while lifting weights during a strength and conditioning session at Hurlburt Field, Fla.
 U.S. Air Force Visuals of 2014 photography
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Resilience: A member of the Air Force Special Operations Commandos Special Tactics Training Squadron strains while lifting weights during a strength and conditioning session at Hurlburt Field, Fla. U.S. Air Force Visuals of 2014 photography
Invictus: Max Rohn, a retired Navy 3rd Class Petty Officer, winds up to throw a discus during training for the Invictus Games at Mayesbrook Field in London. The Invictus Games is an international Paralympic-style, multi-sport event designed for wounded service members
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Invictus: Max Rohn, a retired Navy 3rd Class Petty Officer, winds up to throw a discus during training for the Invictus Games at Mayesbrook Field in London. The Invictus Games is an international Paralympic-style, multi-sport event designed for wounded service members
Stunning: A KC-135 Stratotanker from Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington, refuels a B-1B Lancer during a training exercise over South Dakota. For more than 50 years the KC-135 has provided the core aerial refueling capability for the Air Force
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Stunning: A KC-135 Stratotanker from Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington, refuels a B-1B Lancer during a training exercise over South Dakota. For more than 50 years the KC-135 has provided the core aerial refueling capability for the Air Force
Air show: A P-51 Mustang flies side by side with an F-16 Fighting Falcon over the crowd during the Warriors Over the Wasatch Air Show at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Events during the show included the U.S. Army parachute team, the Golden Knights; an F-16 attack demonstration by the 388th Fighter Wing and a precision air demonstration by the Thunderbirds
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Air show: A P-51 Mustang flies side by side with an F-16 Fighting Falcon over the crowd during the Warriors Over the Wasatch Air Show at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Events during the show included the U.S. Army parachute team, the Golden Knights; an F-16 attack demonstration by the 388th Fighter Wing and a precision air demonstration by the Thunderbirds
Training exercise: Military training instructor, Tech. Sergeant Chananyah Stuart, yells at trainees during an exercise. The normally smiling instructor has the ability to change his personality on a dime to instill fear in his trainees
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Training exercise: Military training instructor, Tech. Sergeant Chananyah Stuart, yells at trainees during an exercise. The normally smiling instructor has the ability to change his personality on a dime to instill fear in his trainees
Jump: Paratroopers on a C-17 Globemaster III await instructions to jump from the aircraft. The Soldiers, assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg, N.C., were part of a large formation exercise that provided more than 500 operational and maintenance training objectives
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Jump: Paratroopers on a C-17 Globemaster III await instructions to jump from the aircraft. The Soldiers, assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg, N.C., were part of a large formation exercise that provided more than 500 operational and maintenance training objectives
Flares: Two F-16C Fighting Falcons release flares while conducting low-level combat training during the Coronet Cactus exercise near Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona The F-16s are assigned to the 182nd Fighter Squadron. This exercise provides realistic combat training for student fighter pilots
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Flares: Two F-16C Fighting Falcons release flares while conducting low-level combat training during the Coronet Cactus exercise near Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona The F-16s are assigned to the 182nd Fighter Squadron. This exercise provides realistic combat training for student fighter pilots
Ability: Retired U.S. Air Force Captain Sarah Evans jumps rope at a Cross Fit gym in San Antonio, Texas. Evans, lost her left leg to an aggressive form of bone cancer, but works out regularly and competes the military's Warrior games
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Ability: Retired U.S. Air Force Captain Sarah Evans jumps rope at a Cross Fit gym in San Antonio, Texas. Evans, lost her left leg to an aggressive form of bone cancer, but works out regularly and competes the military's Warrior games
England: Airmen from the 48th Mission Support Group watch a training exercise from a building constructed as a mock village during a force-on-force exercise at Stanford Training Area in England. More than 130 48th MSG Airmen participated in the training exercises
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England: Airmen from the 48th Mission Support Group watch a training exercise from a building constructed as a mock village during a force-on-force exercise at Stanford Training Area in England. More than 130 48th MSG Airmen participated in the training exercises
Fencing: Alex Chiang hits his opponent to score a point during a foil match at the 2014 NCAA Fencing Championships at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. The foil is used as a thrusting weapon only. Contact with the side of the blade from a slap or slash does not result in a score. Foil is one of the three weapons of modern fencing, with the other two being ÈpÈe and sabre
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Fencing: Alex Chiang hits his opponent to score a point during a foil match at the 2014 NCAA Fencing Championships at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. The foil is used as a thrusting weapon only. Contact with the side of the blade from a slap or slash does not result in a score. Foil is one of the three weapons of modern fencing, with the other two being ÈpÈe and sabre
Airmen: Combat camera Airmen exit a C-17 Globemaster III while participating in an exercise designed to test their ability to survive and operate in an austere environment at Air Force North's Auxiliary Airfield in South Carolina. The 1st Combat Camera Squadron conducts this exercise every year as a culminating training event to reinforce skills taught throughout the year
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Airmen: Combat camera Airmen exit a C-17 Globemaster III while participating in an exercise designed to test their ability to survive and operate in an austere environment at Air Force North's Auxiliary Airfield in South Carolina. The 1st Combat Camera Squadron conducts this exercise every year as a culminating training event to reinforce skills taught throughout the year
Reflection: Senior Airman Jonathan E Mazura pauses for a moment outside during a major snowstorm in Westhampton Beach, New York, Mazura is assigned to the 106th Rescue Wing
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Reflection: Senior Airman Jonathan E Mazura pauses for a moment outside during a major snowstorm in Westhampton Beach, New York, Mazura is assigned to the 106th Rescue Wing
Thunderbirds are go: The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds fly the Delta formation over Falcon Stadium during the U.S. Air Force Academy graduation ceremony. The flyover marks the first return of the Thunderbirds to Colorado Springs since sequestration last year
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Thunderbirds are go: The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds fly the Delta formation over Falcon Stadium during the U.S. Air Force Academy graduation ceremony. The flyover marks the first return of the Thunderbirds to Colorado Springs since sequestration last year
Flight: Civil Air Patrol Cadet, Liz Bell, signals to her wing-runner that she is ready for take-off on a solo flight in a Schweizer SGS 2-33
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Flight: Civil Air Patrol Cadet, Liz Bell, signals to her wing-runner that she is ready for take-off on a solo flight in a Schweizer SGS 2-33


Half-naked heroes and baby animals… what more could you want! Shirtless firefighters pose with puppies for 2015 charity calendar

Half-naked heroes and baby animals… what more could you want! Shirtless firefighters pose with puppies for 2015 charity calendar 

A new calendar has combined two of the most swoon-inducing subjects known to womankind - shirtless heroes and baby animals. 
Charleston Animal Society released the calendar in association with The Fire Department of Charleston, South Carolina, to benefit its Toby's Fund, which treats injured, abused and abandoned animals.
The visual feast, according to the charity, stars 15 of the area’s 'bravest animal-loving firefighters' cradling an array of rescue dogs, puppies and kittens. 
Scroll down for video
Almost unmanageable: A new calendar has taken two of the most swoon-inducing subjects known to womankind - shirtless heroes and baby animals - and mashed them together into a visual feast
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Almost unmanageable: A new calendar has taken two of the most swoon-inducing subjects known to womankind - shirtless heroes and baby animals - and mashed them together into a visual feast
'Toby’s Fund provides $500,000 in medicine, treatment and recovery therapy to animals who are brought to us homeless, abused and neglected', the charity states.
It's the second consecutive year CAS has released its Firefighter Calendar, following an enormously successful run in 2014.
Last year's effort raised more than $100,000 for Toby's Fund, which is named after one of the charity's first rescue cases.

Good cause: Charleston Animal Society released the calendar in association with The Fire Department of Charleston, South Carolina, to benefit its Toby's Fund, which treats injured, abused and abandoned animals
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Good cause: Charleston Animal Society released the calendar in association with The Fire Department of Charleston, South Carolina, to benefit its Toby's Fund, which treats injured, abused and abandoned animals
Meow! According to the charity, the calendar stars 15 of the area’s 'bravest animal-loving firefighters'
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Meow! According to the charity, the calendar stars 15 of the area’s 'bravest animal-loving firefighters'
Puppy love: Whose eyes are more enchanting here? It's hard to say
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Puppy love: Whose eyes are more enchanting here? It's hard to say
'Toby came to CAS with severe chemical burns, but was rehabilitated and later adopted by a loving family,' says Caroline Eller, the organization's director of development. 
'That's our goal for every animal who comes through our doors.'
Of the driving concept behind the calendar, Ms Eller states: 'We rescue animals, firefighters rescue humans, it was a natural fit.'
The 2015 Firefighter Calendar can be purchased online at www.charlestonfirefightercalendar.com.
Double trouble: Toby’s Fund provides $500,000 in medicine, treatment and recovery therapy to animals who are brought to them homeless, abused and neglected 
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Double trouble: Toby’s Fund provides $500,000 in medicine, treatment and recovery therapy to animals who are brought to them homeless, abused and neglected 
Arm candy: One firefighter brandishes a slightly bemused-looking puppy
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Arm candy: One firefighter brandishes a slightly bemused-looking puppy
Casual: This strapping young hero cradles his canine co-star amid a smoke-filled building
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Casual: This strapping young hero cradles his canine co-star amid a smoke-filled building
Savior: 'We rescue animals, firefighters rescue humans, it was a natural fit,' says Caroline Eller, CAS's director of development
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Savior: 'We rescue animals, firefighters rescue humans, it was a natural fit,' says Caroline Eller, CAS's director of development
You're welcome: This will be CAS's second consecutive Firefighter Calendar, after last year's effort raised more than $100,000 for Toby's Fund
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You're welcome: This will be CAS's second consecutive Firefighter Calendar, after last year's effort raised more than $100,000 for Toby's Fund
Tanksome: Some firefighters are topless, others aren't, but bulging biceps appear in every shot 
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Tanksome: Some firefighters are topless, others aren't, but bulging biceps appear in every shot 
Model looks: It seems inconceivable that one firefighters unit could include quite so many genetic lottery winners, but the proof is plain to see
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Model looks: It seems inconceivable that one firefighters unit could include quite so many genetic lottery winners, but the proof is plain to see
A good year beckons: One hunk and one pup for every month of 2015
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A good year beckons: One hunk and one pup for every month of 2015
Winning smiles: Here's hoping this year's calendar will draw in a wealth of donations for Toby's Fund
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Winning smiles: Here's hoping this year's calendar will draw in a wealth of donations for Toby's Fund
Where is the baby animal? This shot seems to missing a very key component 
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Where is the baby animal? This shot seems to missing a very key component 
That's all folks: All the stars of the delightful calendar amass to bid us farewell 
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That's all folks: All the stars of the delightful calendar amass to bid us farewell 


Revealed, the most successful criminal mastermind you've never heard of: The real-life Bond villain behind a cocaine and gun empire spanning four continents who's now turned super-snitch

Revealed, the most successful criminal mastermind you've never heard of: The real-life Bond villain behind a cocaine and gun empire spanning four continents who's now turned super-snitch

  • Paul Calder Le Roux is regarded by U.S. agents as 'a very bad guy'
  • He did business in the Philippines, Hong Kong, Africa and Brazil 
  • Le Roux was alleged to be behind an £80m drugs-running operation in 2012 and his name is linked to the 2009 seizure of arms in the Philippines 
  • The South African was arrested in Liberia in 2012 over a huge cocaine deal
  • It is believed he is under protection of US authorities after cutting a deal to inform on former associates in exchange for a lighter sentence
  • He is alleged to have helped US DEA agents set up a sting to catch his former bodyguard with a fake Colombian cartel assassination job
  • Former US Army sniper Joseph Hunter was arrested after he was caught on tape agreeing to the job in exchange for $800,000

A team of divers swimming around the coral in the South Pacific decided to check out a luxury yacht, apparently undamaged as it lay on its side on the reef. Their curiosity soon turned to shock and horror.
Inside, slumped at the controls was the decomposing body of a caucasian man with American dollars, European and South American money and passports scattered around him. In the hull were hundreds of packets of white powder that police soon confirmed was cocaine worth more than a cool £80million.
The 40ft yacht, JeReVe meaning I Dream, had been tracked across 6,000 miles of the Pacific Ocean from Ecuador by US and Australian drug enforcement agencies, but then they lost it - until the divers found it on the reef ten miles north of Tonga's main island on November 7, 2012.
Scroll down for video 
Master criminal: This airport surveillance camera image is the only photo to emerge allegedly showing Paul Calder Le Roux, the boss of a criminal empire spanning Hong Kong, the Phillipines, Brazil and Africa
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Master criminal: This airport surveillance camera image is the only photo to emerge allegedly showing Paul Calder Le Roux, the boss of a criminal empire spanning Hong Kong, the Phillipines, Brazil and Africa
The body was later identified as that of a 35-year-old Slovak national, Milan Rindzak, the cause of death uncertain. No-one has come forward to claim Ridsak's corpse.
While America's Drug Enforcement Agency has remained tight-lipped about who was behind the drug-running operation, involving the largest haul in Pacific history, MailOnline can reveal that at its head is allegedly a master criminal whose empire has stretched around the world for years.
Paul Calder Le Roux is regarded by US agents as 'a bad guy, a very bad guy'. In fact he is possibly the world's most successful criminal who no-one has heard of - a figure who could easily slip into the role of any James Bond villain.
He has ducked and weaved his way around the globe, keeping himself just about at arms-length from dangerous deals on four continents in cocaine, gold, diamonds, weapons, murder and even selling prescription drugs illegally over the internet.
He deals in 'anything, clean or dirty, that makes a bucket-load of money,' one source has told MailOnline. 
The New York Times has compared him to the infamous Russian arms dealer, Vicktor Bout, who was the inspiration for the movie Lord of War.

Le Roux is a chameleon, able to cunningly slip into any role that circumstance demands. He plays 'Mr Ordinary' to those who do not know him, his only outstanding features being his height and a strong gaze.
He studiously avoids having his photo taken and only a few grainy shots of him are known to exist beyond those captured on intelligence surveillance cameras.
In private, he exudes supreme confidence to those he has trusted to work with him, including a small group of former Israeli military conscripts. 
He has always been in total command as he plotted his next fantastic, daring, money-making venture.
But his latest role is that of prize snitch. Le Roux, a South African in his 40s, is understood to be in a secret location somewhere in the United States after cutting a deal with the FBI and Drug Enforcement Agency.
He was picked up in Liberia in late 2012 and handed over to DEA agents while he was running an operation in Africa, believed to be in relation to the voyage of the doomed yacht JeReVe.
Shocking discovery: Divers came across the 40ft yacht, JeReVe, and the body of  35-year-old Slovak national, Milan Rindzak surrounded by wads of cash
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Shocking discovery: Divers came across the 40ft yacht, JeReVe, and the body of 35-year-old Slovak national, Milan Rindzak surrounded by wads of cash
Drugs haul: More than 200 one-kilo blocks of cocaine were discovered on board the ship worth £80m
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Drugs haul: More than 200 one-kilo blocks of cocaine were discovered on board the ship worth £80m
Global: It is claimed that the yacht was one of two sent by Le Roux or his associates from Ecuador to the Philippines and Australia. The first reached its destination but the JeReVe ran hit a storm off the Tonga coast
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Global: It is claimed that the yacht was one of two sent by Le Roux or his associates from Ecuador to the Philippines and Australia. The first reached its destination but the JeReVe ran hit a storm off the Tonga coast
His capture is so secret that no public paperwork exists that relates to his case with his files being sealed in the U.S.
He is not just in custody for the public's protection - but he is being held for his own protection. Now has many powerful enemies who would like to see him dead.
At least 11 people he is said to have pointed the finger at are now facing unspecified charges. 
Yet his arrest has allowed his extraordinary story - a real-life crime thriller - to begin to seep out into the public domain. 
Federal agents have a huge file on him and dozens of incidents to which his name is linked, including the 2009 seizure of a ship-load of arms in the Philippines and the subsequent murder of the vessel's British captain who was gunned down by assassins on a motorcycle as he drove his car through a city north of Manila.
And most recently he allegedly helped the FBI set up a sting in which a former U.S. sniper nicknamed Rambo with Special Forces training was arrested after allegedly assembling a team to assassinate a drug agent for $800,000 in a plot involving private jets and latex mask disguises. 
He deals in anything, clean or dirty, that makes a bucket-load of money
Le Roux has let little slip about his early life, but former associates say he is the illegitimate son of a poor teenager in the former Southern Rhodesia who was later adopted by a couple in South Africa.
He later moved to Australia where he studied I.T. and, at a young age, married an Australian woman. It was a violent relationship that ended in divorce, but not before a son was born.
He began to make his vast fortune by selling prescription pills illegally on the internet. It is claimed he employed doctors especially to manufacture the drugs.
Le Roux was never charged when the fraud was exposed but agents told the New York Times that he was an unindicted co-conspirator. 
Then in 2008, he splashed out $12m he had made from the pills and other business ventures to secure 99-year leases on farmland seized by the Zimbabwean government as part of the country's controversial land reform programme.
'It didn't have much success,' a person who has met Le Roux told MailOnline. 'He wanted to see Zimbabwe back under the control of the whites. 
'There was even talk of him being behind a plot to remove President Mugabe, but Mugabe is still there, of course.'
Snitch: Le Roux is now helping the FBI with an alleged plot by his former bodyguard and ex-US Army sniper, Joseph Hunter - nicknamed Rambo - to assassinate a federal drug official for $800,000
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Snitch: Le Roux is now helping the FBI with an alleged plot by his former bodyguard and ex-US Army sniper, Joseph Hunter - nicknamed Rambo - to assassinate a federal drug official for $800,000
After meeting a Filipina woman and setting up home in a luxury gated community in Manila, Le Roux was linked by the UN to a company called La Plata Trading Inc. which came to be embroiled in an infamous gun-running case.
In August 2009, a Turkish-based ship, the Captain Ufuk, owned by the company, was boarded in the Philippines by customs officials who found that its 'commercial cargo' was, in fact a large shipment of Israeli Galil assault rifles and pistols intended for rebels in the south of the country.
Men arrested over the operation claim that the guns were due to be delivered to La Plata Trading Inc.
The British captain of the vessel, 50-year-old Bristol-born Bruce Jones, managed to flee before the customs raid and remained in hiding for weeks before coming forward and agreeing to tell the authorities all that he knew about the ship and its cargo.
However, he insisted he would talk only if he was placed on a witness protection programme. But whatever protection he was given wasn't good enough. 
In September 2010, as Jones and his Filipina wife were driving through Angeles City, near Manila, he was shot dead by two assassins on a motorcycle.
Just recently, in mid-December, the replacement captain of the Ufuk, South African Lawrence Burne, was sentenced in absentia to eight years imprisonment for tax evasion related to the gun shipments. 
Several other people in the Philippines linked to Le Roux are also facing tax evasion charges.
Le Roux was never officially linked to Jones' death, but in July 2011 his name came up in relation to gun-running when the UN marked him as a man who, two years earlier, had spent $3 million, which included nearly $1 million in salaries, to supply weapons including AK47s and light machine guns to Somalian militias in violation of an arms embargo.
Gun-running: A large shipment of Israeli Galil assault rifles and pistols were found on board the Captain Ufuk, destined to be delivered to La Plata Trading Inc  which Le Roux was linked to, in August 2009
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Gun-running: A large shipment of Israeli Galil assault rifles and pistols were found on board the Captain Ufuk, destined to be delivered to La Plata Trading Inc which Le Roux was linked to, in August 2009
Firearms: Customs and Coast Guard officials seized the guns while on board the Captain Ufuk at the Port of Mariveles in the Philippines
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Firearms: Customs and Coast Guard officials seized the guns while on board the Captain Ufuk at the Port of Mariveles in the Philippines
Murdered: The British captain of the vessel, Bruce Jones, managed to flee before the customs raid but agreed to tell authorities what he knew if he was placed on a witness protection programme. However, he was shot dead by two assassins on a motorcycle while driving through Angeles City, near Manila
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Murdered: The British captain of the vessel, Bruce Jones, managed to flee before the customs raid but agreed to tell authorities what he knew if he was placed on a witness protection programme. However, he was shot dead by two assassins on a motorcycle while driving through Angeles City, near Manila
One of his partners in that operation was also said by the UN to have been involved in a plot to cultivate hallucinogenic plants near the Ethiopian border.
Lachlan McConnell, a security contractor, who is facing charges related to Le Roux's painkiller scam, told the New York Times: 'Le Roux's businesses were huge. He had operations in Manila, Hong Kong, Colombia, Africa, Brazil. It was guns, gold, drugs, you name it. It was big, really big.'
Late at night in mid-May 2012, Le Roux arrived at Rio de Janeiro's Galeao airport, accompanied by his Filipino wife, Cindy Cayanan, and their five-year-old daughter.
He told immigration officials that he had brought his family with him to show them around.
But that 'tour' wasn't going to happen. Anti-drug authorities in the US, Australia and Hong Kong had been keeping track of Le Roux and knew that his visit had nothing to do with sightseeing - but to arrange another drug operation.
They watched him as he strolled casually through shopping malls in shorts and sandals, playing his well-practised role of Mr Innocent.
Le Roux's businesses were huge. He had operations in Manila, Hong Kong, Colombia, Africa, Brazil. It was guns, gold, drugs, you name it. It was big, really big
Lachlan McConnell, security contractor linked to Le Roux
He had in fact, lived in the city two years earlier and according to a Brazilian newspaper, Folha de S.Paulo, had a son with a local woman. 
While he was away, the paper said, his business affairs were cared for by three Israeli men.
This particular visit, though, was to arrange for the departure of two Ecuadorian boats on a drug run, each with around 200 kilos of cocaine, one intended for the Philippines, the other for Australia.
The boat heading for the Philippines reached its destination without incident - but the second vessel, the yacht JeReVe, ran into a storm off the coast of Tonga. 
And there on a reef, with one man dead and decomposing and the other missing, it was found by the team of divers.
Le Roux, who had in the meantime been living in Liberia, was arrested by DEA agents. He was taken to the U.S. and the questioning began. It seems he had much to talk about.
But in spilling details that could have come from the pages of an international spy novel, the man who for two decades has allegedly splashed out millions to finance his global criminal enterprise, has put a heavy price on his own head.
He has already helped the FBI and DEA to trap his former bodyguard, Joseph Hunter - nicknamed Rambo.
Hunter was caught in a sting where agents faked an order for a hit ion a bid to hire the former US Army sniper to assassinate a federal drug official for $800,000.
U.S. prosecutors claim that Hunter, originally from Owensboro, Kentucky, was caught on tape plotting the murders.
It is alleged that Hunter was hired by agents posing as a Colombia cartel who met him in Thailand. He was to be their 'head of security' and told him to assemble a team of men. He did over the internet. 
In May 2013, the undercover agents offered him and his hired guns a 'bonus job', reports the New York Times.
It was to kill a DEA agent and an informant in Liberia. According to prosecutors, Hunter wrote in an email: 'They will handle both jobs, they just need good tools'.
Infamous: Le Roux has been compared to Russian arms dealer, Vicktor Bout (pictured), who was the inspiration for the movie Lord of War
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Infamous: Le Roux has been compared to Russian arms dealer, Vicktor Bout (pictured), who was the inspiration for the movie Lord of War
These tools were two submachine guns with silencers, a .308 calibre rifle with a scope and two .22 calibre pistols. The last two were a 'must', Hunter allegedly wrote.
The plan was that Hunter's men were to wear latex masks to make them look like they were from a different race and escape aboard a private jet. But by the time his men landed on September 25, Hunter had already been arrested in Phuket. 

Obama Targets Hungary, US Ambassador After “Dirty Bomb” Plot Uncovered

December 29, 2014
Obama Targets Hungary, US Ambassador After “Dirty Bomb” Plot Uncovered
By: Sorcha Faal, and as reported to her Western Subscribers

A stunning new Federal Security Services (FSB) report circulating today in the Kremlin warns that the Obama regime may be planning to unleash a “false flag” operation involving a radioactive “dirty bomb” device after its discovery was unsuspectingly uncovered by the highly respected retired US Ambassador Robin Raphel [photo 2nd left] who traced its origins to the European Union, and NATO member, nation of Hungary.
According to this report, the FSB had been contacted by Hungary’s Military National Security Service (KBH) last month after it and Pakistan’s Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had been queried by Ambassador Raphel regarding an undisclosed amount of uranium discovered in an apartment block in BoiseIdaho.
The 8 October discovery of this uranium was, likewise, reported by the Idaho Statesman News Service who in their article about this incident stated:
Even though US authorities did not publically identify who was in possession of this uranium, this report continues, the KBH states they and the ISI were informed by Ambassador Raphel that the person was a Pakistani-American and that the uranium in his possession had a “signature” revealing its origin as being from Hungary’s newly reopened Tformer Mecsek underground uranium mine. [Note: Origin of uranium deposits are revealed by their rare earth element signature.]
As to the KBH intelligence analyst’s requests to the FSB regarding this matter, this report says, was to “track and indentify” the American military and CIA personnel who had been in Hungary during the first week of October conducting NATO exercises to see if they could have been involved in the theft of uranium from their Tformer Mecsek mine.
The FSB upon receiving this request from the KBH, this report continues, opened a joint investigation with the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) which was then able confirm that an American CIA operative of Pakistani origin/birth was indeed a member of the NATO contingent to Hungary and upon his leaving the EU on 3 October departed to the Mountain Home US Air Force Base located southwest of Boise, Idaho.
Equally as disturbing as this fact, however, FSB analysts in this report say, was that nearly immediately after Ambassador Raphel’s query to the KBH and ISI, her home and State Department office was searched and sealed and she was put under a counterintelligence investigation by the Obama regime.
The Washington Post News Service in their article about the Obama regimes attack against this highly respected Ambassador further stated:
Not just has Ambassador Raphel been attacked by the Obama regime due to this “dirty bomb” plot either, this report warns, as Hungary has come under an unrelenting assault too leading House Speaker Laszlo Kover to warn earlier today that the US was planning to overthrow their government like they did to Ukraine.
In regards to the Obama regimes overthrowing of the Ukrainian government, this report further notes, George Friedman, who is the Founder and CEO of Stratfor, the ‘Shadow CIA’ firm, stated of the overthrow of Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych that occurred on 22 February 2014: “It really was the most blatant coup in history.”
As “Endless War” is not dramatic rhetorical license but a precise description of America’s foreign policy, this report warns, and as President Putin has already warned these Western elites that “Play-Time Is Over” as Russia sees the outbreak of global war as almost inevitable, is prepared for it, and is continuing to prepare for it, still left unknown is for what purpose the Obama regime has for this “dirty bomb”.
Whatever purpose that may be, however, this report concludes, the finality and folly of the Obama regimes plans were long ago unmasked by one of America’s founding fathers, and President, John Adams who warned, “Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide .”

Suburban New York judge charged with drunk driving (and pleaded with cops to let him off because he's on the bench)

Suburban New York judge charged with drunk driving (and pleaded with cops to let him off because he's on the bench)

  • Harrison Town Justice Marc Lust was arrested on driving while intoxicated and other charges on December 19 in midtown Manhattan
  • Lust told police that he was a judge and would 'take care of this'
  • He was unsteady, slurred his words and told them he'd had three drinks at a Christmas party, according to police 

A suburban New York judge smashed into another car while driving drunk in Manhattan following a Christmas party and then tried to persuade police to let him go because of his position, according to reports.
Harrison Town Justice Marc Lust, 63, was arrested on driving while intoxicated and other charges on December 19, shortly after 5pm. 
Police said his Jaguar rear-ended another car in midtown Manhattan and then he tried to drive off from the accident between 34th and 35th streets on 10th Avenue. 
Lust told police that he was a judge and would 'take care of this'.
Harrison Town Justice Marc Lust was arrested on driving while intoxicated and other charges on December 19 in Manhattan. Police said that he tried to use his powers as a judge to get out of the charges
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Harrison Town Justice Marc Lust was arrested on driving while intoxicated and other charges on December 19 in Manhattan. Police said that he tried to use his powers as a judge to get out of the charges
He was unsteady, slurred his words and told them he'd had three drinks at a Christmas party, according to police.
The judge refused to take a breathalyzer test, according to lohud.com
The judge was charged with misdemeanor DWI and violations, driving while ability impaired and leaving the scene of an accident.
He was held in a cell overnight and arraigned the following day. The judge was released on $2,500 bail and had his license suspended. 

He is due back in Manhattan Criminal Court on January 22. 
He is allowed to continue to serve as a judge because he has not been charged with any felonies, lohud.com reported. 
Lust's lawyer, Andrew Quinn, says prosecutors inaccurately characterized Lust as trying to trade on his judgeship.
Daily Mail Online was awaiting a comment from Mr Lust on Tuesday.
Lust is one of Harrison's two part-time justices. He was first elected in 1999. He ran on both the Republican and Democratic lines in 2011.
He is also a partner at DOPF, P.C., a powerful defense litigation firm in New York City. He has been a trial lawyer for 28 years and normally defends medical malpractice, construction accident and trucking litigation.
Mr Lust is married and has three children, two sons and one daughter, according to records. 
The judge rear-ended another driver with his Jaguar on 10th Avenue, according to police, after drinking at his Christmas party on December 19
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The judge rear-ended another driver with his Jaguar on 10th Avenue, according to police, after drinking at his Christmas party on December 19