Arconan Smuggling Cartel Dismantled
TYLCARROS, CONA – The capture of Lojrak Shrag and the apparent death of his lieutenant, Godiban Bakoosta, has cracked apart a lucrative salt smuggling cartel servicing the poor and distant world of Cona, in the Teke Ro system.
Jedi Knights Tassida Judrelle, Quarmall and Stass Allie discovered and penetrated the cartel’s inner circle on an unnamed asteroid five parsecs from Cona with the help of information provided by independent traders. They arrested 15 smugglers, including cartel kingpin Lojrak Shrag.
“We are forever grateful to the Jedi Knights for the salvation of our people from the horrible drug that’s tearing apart our nests,” said Arconan spokesbeing Kimar Walc. “We will now rebuild and we hope to spread the word to all Arconans of the dangers of salt.”
Cona had previously been serviced intermittently by the Trade Federation, until the taxation of the outlying trade route priced the shipments beyond the native Arcona’s ability to pay. The routes were then picked up by independent operators. Some were licensed by the Trade Federation, though most were not.
Cona’s primary import is liquid water. The scattered Arcona “Grand Nests” would typically exchange mineral rights for water shipments. It was eventually discovered that simple sodium chloride has a euphoric, addictive effect on Arconan metabolisms, and some operators, led by Lojrak Shrag, began shipping inexpensive salt instead of volume-intensive water.
An independent report to the Senate of the growing salt problem described it as “epidemic,” prompting a Jedi task force to investigate. By pooling intelligence resources with the more scrupulous of the independent traders, the Jedi were able to infiltrate the smuggling cartel.
An independent operator known only as Billey, who was influential in helping the Jedi, was named an “honorary legend” by the largest Grand Nest in Tylcarros. “The big shippers like the Trade Fed like to paint us independent types as scum with no morals,” he told reporters. “But it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if it was the Federation that first salted the water shipments and are getting kickbacks from Shrag and his boys.”
