Notorious gangster Kakathope Balaji, wanted in more than 50 criminal cases including murder, was killed in an encounter with the police in Chennai.

The encounter occurred in the wee hours of Wednesday.

A team of cops had gone to Vyasarpadi in Greater Chennai to arrest Balaji in a pending case. According to the Greater Chennai Police, the gangster attacked the cops with deadly weapons and police had to resort to firing which led to the death of the gangster.

Kakathope Balaji was earlier attacked by a rival gang led by Sambo Senthil, a wanted criminal in the murder of BSP state president K. Armstrong, in the busy Anna Salai in Chennai in March 2020. Bombs were hurled at Balaji and another gangster CD Mani but the duo had escaped unhurt.

Mobile phone spam in South Korea reached a record high through August, despite ongoing government efforts to curb unwanted messages and advertisements, parliamentary data showed on Wednesday.

From January to August, 280.4 million spam messages and calls were reported or detected by the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA), up 68 percent from the same period last year, according to the data submitted to the National Assembly by KISA.

This year's figures already represent 95 percent of the total spam messages and calls reported in all of 2023, which amounted to 295.5 million, reports news agency.

The number of spam from January to August has surged in recent years, climbing from 27.7 million in 2022 to 167 million in 2023 and 280.4 million in 2024.

In response, South Korean authorities have introduced measures since early this year to tackle the rise in spam, including stricter guidelines for sending mass text messages.

Four accused, who were linked to over 10 serious offences, have been arrested from Gujarat's Gir Somnath district.

The crackdown against the organised crime group under the Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime (GUJCTOC) Act, led to the arrest of four out of five accused, including the Taluka Congress President, Mahesh Jethabhai Makwana, who is believed to be the mastermind behind the group's illegal activities, police said.

The Local Crime Branch (LCB) filed the complaint, which led to the action against the suspects.

Along with Makwana, the other accused include Hareshbhai Chikubhai, alias Sidhibhai Damaniya, Ramesh Virabhai Chudasama, Rafik alias Bhuro Sulemanbhai Selot Ghanchi, and Munaf alias Muno Nazirbhai Sipai. Police have already rounded up four of these individuals while further investigation is underway.

Myanmar authorities have seized large amounts of narcotic drugs in the regions of Yangon and Mandalay, the local media reported on Tuesday.

The confiscated narcotics included 1 kg of ketamine, 105 g of happy water, 1.9 million stimulant tablets and 50 g of heroin, reports news agency, quoting state-run The Mirror Daily.

The narcotic drugs were seized in Dagon Myothit (North) township of Yangon region on September 8 and Chanmyathazi township of Mandalay region on September 13.

A total of four suspects in connection with the case were arrested, and the confiscated drugs are approximately worth about US$1.1 million, the report said.

Gujarat's Dahej Police uncovered an illegal gas refilling operation in the industrial areas of Bharuch district, seizing assets worth over Rs 3.33 crore.

The operation, which involved siphoning gas from tankers into bottles, was being carried out in the parking area of a hotel near Paniyadra village.

Dahej Police Station Inspector H. V. Zala and his team, during routine patrols, spotted five LPG tankers and a pickup truck near Mahalaxmi Hotel. Upon investigation, they found several individuals illegally transferring gas from the tankers into bottles. When the police approached, the individuals fled, but two were apprehended while around ten others managed to escape, officials informed on Tuesday.

The arrested individuals were identified as Dhanaram Bhikharam Luhar, a resident of Paniyadra village, who is originally from Rajasthan, and Mustakali Mahebubali from Maharashtra. During questioning, Dhanaram revealed that he had rented Mahalaxmi Hotel and allowed tanker drivers to use the premises for meals.

In a major operation, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in collaboration with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), has busted a sophisticated virtual asset and bullion-supported cybercrime network with raids in Mumbai and Kolkata.

The cybercrime syndicate has been targeting victims in different countries since 2022, and the CBI-FBI operation has led to the arrest of one from Mumbai, identified as Vishnu Rathi.

Following a complaint, the CBI’s CBI’s International Operations Division lodged a case on September 9 (2024) against the key accused Rathi and others, and initiated a thorough probe into the scam.

A man has died and several others sustained injuries following a violent clash that erupted after a collision between a van and a motorcycle in Dhaka's Mugda area.

This tragic incident took place on Friday. Ashiq Elahi Shakil, 28, who was involved in the liquified petroleum gas (LPG) business, was identified as the deceased, reported.

His brothers, Ashiq Parvez Sujan, 38, and Ashiq Shams, 24, were admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital with injuries sustained during the attack. Two other local residents were also injured.

Bulgarian law enforcement authorities have seized 124.708 kg of smuggled gold items worth US$6 million at the country's Kapitan Andreevo checkpoint, authorities said.

"This was the largest amount of contraband gold seized at the Bulgarian borders," the National Customs Agency (NCA) said in a statement on Friday.

The items were found on Wednesday in a car with Bulgarian registration, which arrived at the checkpoint at 7:30 p.m. local time and was travelling from Bulgaria to Turkey, reports news agency, citing the statement.

A man allegedly strangled his wife to death in Delhi, for using social media, police said. The accused has been identified as Ram Kumar, 33, a resident of Delhi's Razapur area.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Rohini, Pankaj Kumar, said on Friday, "A murder case was reported in PS Prashant Vihar in which a person named Ram Kumar, aged 33 of Razapur, confessed that he has murdered his wife by strangling her."

After enquiring further into the matter, it was revealed that his wife used to be more active on social media, which triggered an argument and led to this incident.

Indonesia's court sentenced four Mexican nationals to three years and ten months in prison for the robbery and shooting of a Turkish citizen in Denpasar, in Bali province.

The defendants are visitor visa holders, news agency reported.

"The defendants are guilty of committing the crime of theft with violence, violating the Criminal Code. The court is sentencing each of the defendants to three years and ten months imprisonment," Judge Putu Suyoga of the Denpasar District Court said when reading the verdict.

According to the verdict, the defendants committed the robbery and shooting in January 2024 at a villa in Badung, Bali. They stole a Hislon blue dial watch and a black bag containing nearly $6,000 which belonged to the victim, and then shot him in the stomach.