cleon Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 (edited) Edited December 31, 2020 by cleon 1 Link to comment
Ketamine Kowboy Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 On 11/5/2020 at 12:17 AM, Свето said: A large number of Armenian-Americans reside in the U.S. West Coast, with the most concentrated group being in San Andreas. The first arrival of Armenians in Los Santos can be dated back to the late 19th century, however, the first significant wave of mainly Western Armenian migration came during the early 20th century due to political repression and persecution in their countries of origin. This was followed by additional waves of migration in the 1970s, 1980s and the 1990s after the fall of the Soviet Union. Consequently, the currently large number of Armenians in Los Santos is harbouring one third of all the Armenians in the U.S. and is generally reported as the largest enclave of Armenians in the West. The rising threat of Armenian Organized Crime in Alta The Alta and Hawick area of Vinewood in particular has had a significant historical Armenian diaspora in which the early Russian-Armenian OC groups came to prominence. The first major crimes tied to a local Armenian-American Vinewood crime group came in the early months of 2015 when LSPD officers seized over 10,000 smuggled cigarettes from Asia, with indictments following in 2016 as multiple suspects were arrested and imprisoned following a sting operation spearheaded by the LSPD’s Vice Division. An additional seizure of up to 4 kilos of heroin and 5 fully automatic firearms followed soon after. In the late months of 2020, the Eurasian taskforce dubbed the Alta and Hawick OC group “The Gezalian Mob” after its perceived leader Vasken “Geza” Gezalian of Iraqi-Armenian origin. Today, the group is believed to have ties to fellow Eurasian crime groups as well as the transnational Eurasian OC network. The Gezalian Mob is often compared to other Eurasian criminal entities, however, their modus operandi is fundamentally different. The group’s structure within the criminal underworld was noted to be decentralized internally; the organization functioned more like an umbrella group for various associated fraudsters and criminally oriented entrepreneurs. Specific operations have been seen to consist mostly of credit card fraud, illegal gambling and various fencing rackets while, of course, also being familiar with more "traditional" criminal activities such as the illegal sale of arms and narcotics. The increased financial threat posed by Gezalian's group in the mid to late months of 2020 is believed to have been caused by co-conspirator Vahan Manjikian, who is believed to be a vital part in the logistical aspect of the organization. Investigating Assistant District Attorney O. Mondale was quoted as saying "If he [Vasken Gezalian] is the one who brings product to the table, Vahan Manjikian is the one who ensures it gets distributed, it's a very real possibility that those who work with them [The Gezalian-Manjikian Organization] are not even aware of Gezalian's existence." The heavy incorporation and importance of Manijkian is also what led to the renaming of the organization to The Gezalian-Manjikian Organization. Original Post Updated 1 Link to comment
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