A sweet tooth helped bring down 33 Russian mobsters, according to New York authorities.
The theft of 10,000 pounds of chocolate confections is one of numerous charges in the arrests of members of a Russian crime syndicate, according to the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office.
"We have charged 33 members and associates of a Russian organized crime syndicate allegedly engaging in a panoply of crimes around the country," acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Joon Kim said in a statement on Wednesday.
Those crimes include, a "variety of racketeering, fraud, narcotics, firearms, and stolen property offenses," the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said.
"The dizzying array of criminal schemes committed by this organized crime syndicate allegedly include a murder-for-hire conspiracy, a plot to rob victims by seducing and drugging them with chloroform, the theft of cargo shipments containing over 10,000 pounds of chocolate and a fraud on casino slot machines using electronic hacking devices," Kim said.
Members of the Shulaya Enterprise, as the crime syndicate is called, are also charged with selling untaxed cigarettes, scheming to bribe local law enforcement officials, and operating illegal poker businesses.
The FBI, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and New York authorities were involved in the operation that nabbed the mobsters.
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