back to article Busted Russian casino hackers had an appetite for drugs and chocolate

US law enforcement agencies on Wednesday unsealed charges against a large-scale Russian criminal syndicate, laying charges against 33 individuals with some pretty startling sidelines. It's hardly surprising that a bunch of mobsters and racketeers would trade in firearms and narcotics. Hacking casino slot machines with smuggled …

  1. peasant

    Shame really

    Sounds like good business if you can get it

  2. James O'Shea

    that name

    anyone named 'Dzhanashvili' is almost certainly Georgian, not Russian. 'Shulaya' might be Georgian as well.

    <exists, singing 'Marching Through Georgia' Different Georgia, I know, but still...>

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: that name

      This is about as useful as saying that "anyone named o'shea is probably irish" .....

      And your point is?

      You can have a "georgian" or an "Italian" name and have been born and raised in New York !

      Generally when the DoJ mentions a "Russian crime syndicate" they generally mean that the group is led by or has strong ties with Russian based crime organisations... and not a statement about the nationality or ethnic background of the members.

    2. Voland's right hand Silver badge

      Re: that name

      Shulaya is also a Georgian. West Georgia - Zugdidi and thereabouts.

      So definitely a Georgian gang which has been blamed to be Russian because anything bad and criminal has to be Russian and the reds are under our bed.

      I would not be surprised if they claimed Russian persecution. Either around the Ossetia wars or when Saakashvili got his arse kicked all the way to Ukraine for sacrificing his country trade, army and a chunk of territory to provide Bush with an example of why the Reds are so scary that the Polish should install AEGIS missiles to fend them off.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: that name

        Maybe they are from Abkhazia....

        1. Voland's right hand Silver badge

          Re: that name

          Maybe they are from Abkhazia....

          Even more likely that they are Georgian as this would have allowed them to presented themselves as members of a persecuted minority on their US visa applications. Zugdidi (where you are likely to find someone called Shulaya) s right next to Abkhazia border by the way.

          IMHO - clear case where they are Russian only for today's FBI press release purposes in tone with "reds under our beds". I can bet a case of beer that they did not apply for US immigration as "Russians".

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: that name

      > anyone named 'Dzhanashvili' is almost certainly Georgian

      Myself I would have gone for North Carolina, or in a pinch, Alabama, but who knows.

  3. Your alien overlord - fear me

    Sounds like the plot lines for Sin City 4.

    1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

      Would be very disappointing if all that chocolate wasn't happily boiling away in a big vat without lid (tsk! Health and Safety fails again!), just conveniently positioned for some poor minion to get thrown into it.

    2. lglethal Silver badge
      Joke

      "Sounds like the plot lines for Sin City 4."

      I do NOT want to know what they were planning to be doing with the Chocolate then...

  4. handleoclast
    Joke

    Casinos and whores

    Paging Donald Trump. Paging Donald J Trump.

    On a completely unrelated note, this is The Donald's favourite rose.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Reg man says:

    "Hacking casino slot machines with smuggled electronics is more exotic; and shipping around 4.5 metric tonnes (10,000 pounds) of chocolate is a genuine surprise."

    Why? You never heard of diversification as a business strategy? They have.

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