Connor Plunkett
@conplnk.bsky.social
Investigator @bellingcat.com Signal username: conp.123
The FIFA World Cup was predicted to be the biggest betting event in history. Bellingcat researcher @msramalho.bsky.social looked into the data on prediction markets Polymarket and Kalshi - and found that fans wagered more than US $14 billion through the two sites www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/07...
Will Ronaldo Cry? World Cup Fans Bet Billions Through Prediction Markets - bellingcat
Users traded on almost 60,000 outcomes, betting on everything from the sponsor of the Golden Boot winner to whether Cristiano Ronaldo would shed a tear during a Portugal match.
bellingcat.com
“The famine is over! The curse be damned!! Hit the nuclear button! Mayo have won the All-Ireland!!” An all-time great sports commentary moment from Stephen Grealis and Martin McHugh on Mayo’s Midwest Radio. #gaa
Our latest Bellingcat investigation reveals that #Shahed type drones, likely of #Russian origin, have now reached #Mali and are being used to strike civilian targets. www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/07...
Shahed-Type Drones Filmed During Attack on Mali Villages - bellingcat
Bellingcat has geolocated footage showing Shahed-136 type kamikaze drones in operation in Mali.
bellingcat.com
Bellingcat is a global collective uncovering facts to hold power to account. We share everything, including our methods, because the truth belongs to everyone. Support our work by joining our membership program: www.bellingcat.com/donate/?utm_...
The truth belongs to everyone. Help us find it. - Donate to bellingcat
Every membership directly supports our investigations and global community work.
bellingcat.com
As fighting intensifies in Mali, Bellingcat has verified two recent strikes that used Shahed-136 type kamikaze drones. Video footage of the strikes provides the clearest open-source evidence to date of use of these drones in the conflict www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/07...
Shahed-Type Drones Filmed During Mali Village Attacks - bellingcat
Bellingcat has geolocated footage showing Shahed-136 type kamikaze drones in operation in Mali.
bellingcat.com
New publication from me! 🎉 Please check out my latest investigation where we identify (no surprise) a crypto guy to a popular 'leaked' nudes website. Users could even get paid out for sharing leaked/hacked nudes from women. Within 48 hrs of reaching out to him, the site went offline. Impact! 🙌
Bellingcat@bellingcat.com · 3w agoBellingcat and @thepress.co.nz have uncovered a series of links between a New Zealand-based man and the adult forum LeakedBB – a site with over 2.3 million registered users, including some who distributed leaked nude photos and videos. www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/07...
We're launching a funding drive on Bellingcat today. It's a tough funding environment at the moment with global funder cuts & the fear of Trump scaring off donors, so support us here www.bellingcat.com/donate/?utm_... A short video about what your donations will fund www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Vzb...
What Happens When You Fund Bellingcat ...
YouTube video by Bellingcat
youtube.com
A promotional image for a padel club in Dubai shows a talented player, mid-swing and eyes locked on the ball. He’s also a key figure in the Kinahan cartel, the Irish organised crime group involved in drug trafficking, money laundering and arms smuggling. www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/06...
Poster Boy: Sanctioned Kinahan Cartel Lieutenant Found Playing Padel in Dubai - bellingcat
A trusted lieutenant of the transnational Kinahan cartel has been found playing padel in Dubai, where he has become a poster boy for the racquet sport.
bellingcat.com
lan Dixon is a key figure in the Kinahan cartel, the Irish organised crime group worth $1.5 billion. He has been living in the shadows for the past decade - until we found him playing padel in Dubai. www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/06...
Poster Boy: Sanctioned Kinahan Cartel Lieutenant Found Playing Padel in Dubai - bellingcat
A trusted lieutenant of the transnational Kinahan cartel has been found playing padel in Dubai, where he has become a poster boy for the racquet sport.
bellingcat.com
Brilliantly researched piece from @jonathanmoens.bsky.social!
Bellingcat@bellingcat.com · 2mo agoA drug up to 40 times more potent than fentanyl and 500 times stronger than heroin is increasingly being detected in the US. Bellingcat produced the most detailed account yet of how nitazenes are infiltrating US borders and destroying lives. www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/06...
I'll be speaking at #CIJSummer Investigative Journalism Conference on 25-26 June 2026 at Goldsmiths, University of London. See the full programme here: tcij.org/summer-confe...
CIJ Summer Conference 2026
25-26 June 2026 Goldsmiths, University of London Bookings will open on the 30th of March 2026. Early bird discount till 19 April 2026. #CIJSummer Investigative Journalism Conference is the UK’s ...
tcij.org
An investigation by Bellingcat has identified yet another Russian-flagged bulk carrier, exporting grain from occupied Crimea to Libya. This adds Libya to the list of countries willing to accept what the Ukrainian government describes as “stolen” grain. www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/06...
Heading Off: New Technique Helps Track Grain Smuggling Expansion to Libya - bellingcat
Heading data contained in AIS information helped confirm the presence of ship in the Occupied Ukrainian Port of Feodosia before it travelled to Benghazi.
bellingcat.com
Last night our @frontlinepbs.bsky.social documentary collaboration with @pbs.org , @washingtonpost.com and @evidentmedia.org covering Iran's nuclear programme won an Emmy for Outstanding Investigative Coverage: Long Form.
Footage analysed by Bellingcat and Jeune Afrique shows unexploded Russian-made cluster munition bomblets found in northern Mali - Despite Mali being a state party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) which prohibits their use. www.bellingcat.com/news/africa/...
Banned Russian Submunitions Found After Mali's Military Announces Airstrikes - bellingcat
Unexploded Russian-made cluster munition bomblets have been found in northern Mali – despite the West African country being party to a convention that bans their use.
bellingcat.com
Bellingcat and Cerosetenta have uncovered online links between the first South American branch of the far-right Active Club movement in Colombia and a mainstream political figure who ran in recent elections for the country's largest right-wing political party. www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/05...
A Colombian Politician’s Links to Neo-Nazi Group Active Club
Jorge Rodriguez, who stood in Colombia’s March 2026 parliamentary elections, follows Active Club Bogota’s Instagram account and has “liked” an image featuring a neo-Nazi flag.
bellingcat.com
An update on Daniel Kinahan, and Sean McGovern, for @newyorker.com . Trigger warning: contains a mention of Amor Towles "A Gentleman In Moscow" www.newyorker.com/news/the-led...
How Daniel Kinahan’s Cocaine Empire Began to Crumble
After living freely in Dubai for a decade, the notorious Irish drug dealer has finally been arrested, and is likely to be sent back to Dublin to stand trial.
newyorker.com
Last week we revealed Indian companies had shipped more than 320 million synthetic opioid pills to West Africa over the past three years – where the opioids had not been approved by regulators. Not read the investigation yet? You can find all of the data here: www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/04...
Painkiller Pipeline: 300 Million Tapentadol Pills Sent from India to West Africa - bellingcat
Indian companies have sent more than 320 million synthetic opioid pills to West Africa – where they have not been approved by regulators – in three years.
bellingcat.com
Researching China isn’t easy. With many foreign sites blocked, journalists depend on domestic platforms. Even under tight controls, Chinese apps are the main window into the country. Chu Yang’s latest guide explains how to research Xiaohongshu (Rednote). www.bellingcat.com/resources/20...
Mining China’s ‘Little Red Book’ for Open Source Gold - bellingcat
Xiaohongshu, a female-focused lifestyle app, is a rare window into China for researchers outside the country.
bellingcat.com
Breaking: Kinahan cartel leader Daniel Kinahan has been arrested in Dubai. It follows a Bellingcat investigation last month that traced him to an MMA event in Dubai - providing the first proof that the cartel's leadership was still in hiding in the UAE. www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/03...
New Footage Shows Wanted Kinahan Cartel Kingpins Post-Sanctions - bellingcat
Daniel and Christy Kinahan have been photographed in Dubai, marking the most recent sighting of the wanted crime bosses since the US levied sanctions against the cartel.
bellingcat.com
India has exported more than 320 million unapproved synthetic opioid pills to West Africa in just three years. Trade data shows over 1,400 shipments of tapentadol — a potent painkiller — were sent to a region already facing an opioid crisis. www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/04...
Painkiller Pipeline: 300 Million Tapentadol Pills Sent from India to West Africa - bellingcat
Indian companies have sent more than 320 million synthetic opioid pills to West Africa – where they have not been approved by regulators – in three years.
bellingcat.com
Fifa's prediction market partner, ADI Predictstreet, has no working product yet, is unlicensed in almost all jurisdictions and is run by a man who last year paid a six-figure sum to settle an accusation of insider trading in India. By @uglygame.bsky.social josimarfootball.com/2026/04/06/i...
Inside Deal - josimarfootball.com
Ahead of the World Cup, Fifa has signed a prediction market partner. But the company, ADI Predictstreet, which is backed by the Abu Dhabi royal family, has no working product yet, is unlicensed in alm...
josimarfootball.com
How did a computer science academic and reality TV show contestant from Zagreb end up representing illegal sports-betting operator Z6 when it signed an agreement with the Croatia national football team? By @philippeauclair.bsky.social and @bellingcat.com josimarfootball.com/2026/04/01/m...
My name is “Smith”, “Alexander Smith” - josimarfootball.com
How did a computer science academic and reality TV show contestant from Zagreb end up representing illegal sports-betting operator Z6 when it signed a sponsorship agreement with the Croatia national f...
josimarfootball.com
New YouTube doc out today by the brilliant team at Search Party. A deep dive into the Kinahan cartel and our ongoing investigations with @johnmooneyirl.bsky.social into their global (and surprisingly digital) footprints.
Bellingcat@bellingcat.com · 5mo agoBellingcat and @thetimes.com revealed that two of the world’s most wanted men were visible at a live-streamed MMA event in Dubai. Now, Search Party digs into the Kinahan cartel and their US-sanctioned leaders. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj0G...
Bellingcat and @thetimes.com revealed that two of the world’s most wanted men were visible at a live-streamed MMA event in Dubai. Now, Search Party digs into the Kinahan cartel and their US-sanctioned leaders. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj0G...
How an Irish drug cartel conquered boxing
YouTube video by Search Party
youtube.com
Bellingcat and our partners at @evidentmedia.org and @calmatters.org have tracked US Border Patrol agents, analysing over 85 hours of footage taken across the country to try and unpack the circumstances around multiple use-of-force incidents. www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/03...
Agents of Chaos: Unpacking the Actions of Border Patrol Agents Across US
Bellingcat and our partners analysed over 85 hours of footage, analysing the actions of Border Patrol agents across the United States.
bellingcat.com
Records uncovered by Bellingcat & @thetimes.com link MMA fighter and Kinahan ‘friend’ Mounir Lazzez to multimillion shipping deals, orchestrated by companies in a secrecy jurisdiction, for oil tankers later sanctioned by the US for helping the Iranian regime. www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/03...
Ex-UFC Fighter and Kinahan 'Friend' Mounir Lazzez Linked to Iran Sanctions - bellingcat
Mounir Lazzez, the ex-UFC fighter photographed with the Kinahan cartel bosses, is linked to multimillion dollar deals for oil tankers that were later sanctioned by the US government for helping the Ir...
bellingcat.com
Mounir Lazzez, the ex-UFC fighter who is pictured talking to Daniel and Christy Kinahan at an event in Dubai last year, has business interests far beyond combat sports... Our follow-up to last week's investigation.
Bellingcat@bellingcat.com · 5mo agoRecords uncovered by Bellingcat & @thetimes.com link MMA fighter and Kinahan ‘friend’ Mounir Lazzez to multimillion shipping deals, orchestrated by companies in a secrecy jurisdiction, for oil tankers later sanctioned by the US for helping the Iranian regime. www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/03...