Banged-Up

UK police arrest Murdoch tabloid staff

2012-01-28T10:51:00.001-08:00

Police arrested four current and former staff of Rupert Murdoch's best-selling Sun tabloid and a policeman on Saturday in a probe into suspected payments by journalists to officers for information, police and the newspaper's publisher said. Police also searched the London offices of Sun publisher News International, News Corp's British arm, in a corruption probe linked to a continuing investigation into phone hacking at its now closed News of the World weekly tabloid. News Corp's Management and Standards Committee, set up in the wake of the phone hacking scandal, said Saturday's operation was the result of information it had passed to police. "News Corporation made a commitment last summer that unacceptable news gathering practices by individuals in the past would not be repeated," the committee said in a statement confirming the arrests of four "current and former employees" of the Sun. Three of the employees, all arrested at their homes, were a 48-year-old man from north London and two men from Essex, east of the capital, aged 48 and 56, police said. The fourth man, aged 42, was arrested after reporting to an east London police station. The fifth arrest was a 29-year-old police officer serving with the Met Police's Territorial Policing Command, who was arrested at the central London police station where he worked. All five were being questioned on suspicion of corruption. A Sun reporter, who asked not to be named, said: "Everyone is a bit shocked, there is disbelief really. But there is a big difference between phone hacking and payments to the police." The arrests included the Sun's crime editor Mike Sullivan, its head of news Chris Pharo, and former deputy editor Fergus Shanahan, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters. Also arrested was the paper's former managing editor Graham Dudman, now a columnist and media writer, the source said. Searches at News International's offices in Wapping, east London, and at the arrested men's homes, were expected to continue until the afternoon, police said. The operation takes to 13 the number of arrests in a probe into allegations journalists paid police in return for information, known as Operation Elveden, one of three criminal investigations into the news-gathering practices of the News of the World. Last week, News International settled a string of legal claims after it admitted that people working for the tabloid had hacked in to the private phones of celebrities and others to generate stories. Ad Feedback The phone hacking scandal drew attention to the level of political influence held by editors and executives at News International, and other newspapers in Britain. It embarrassed British politicians for their close ties with newspaper executives and also the police, who repeatedly failed to investigate allegations of illegal phone hacking.

Thousands of children are being "needlessly dumped in prison" because of Britain's failing youth justice system

2012-01-15T08:29:00.001-08:00

Thousands of children are being "needlessly dumped in prison" because of Britain's failing youth justice system, a think-tank has warned. The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) said courts and prisons were being used to "parent children" and were expected to sweep up problem youngsters inadequately dealt with by other departments, such as social services. In a new report, the group called for a radical overhaul in the way the Government deals with young offenders. It said there needed to be a drastic cut in the 5,000 children a year currently given custodial sentences, arguing the imprisonment of youths between the age of 10 and 17 should be limited to the "critical few" guilty of the most serious or violent crimes. The CSJ said too many children are being taken before the youth courts for trivial reasons. The report cited one example where a child who had thrown a bowl of Sugar Puffs at his care worker, jumped out of the window, then climbed back in, was held in a police cell over a weekend on suspicion of assault and attempted burglary. The independent think-tank, set up in 2004 by Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, urged a return to a "common-sense" approach to minor incidents with parents and teachers using their judgment to deal with them at a home or school level. It also criticised the widespread use of short sentences for young offenders, arguing they undermine justice and disrupt attempts to educate and rehabilitate them. Gavin Poole, executive director of the CSJ, said: "Many young people fall into the system unnecessarily and do not receive the help they need to free themselves from it. Custody is sometimes neither a protective nor a productive place for children, and community orders can be equally ineffective. Moreover, despite years of good intentions, many young people leaving custody are still not being provided with the basic support they need for rehabilitation." Among a series of recommendations, the CSJ said there should be no sentences shorter than six months and an emphasis should be placed on non-custodial punishments where underlying behavioural problems can be tackled more effectively. The group also said measures to prevent lawbreaking by young people should be the primary responsibility of child welfare services rather than the youth justice system. It added local services needed to work together to ensure that young people and their families receive the help they need early.

Five men have been arrested on suspicion of fraudulent transactions from accounts held at Bristol-based stockbroker Rowan Dartington

2012-01-12T04:54:00.001-08:00

The arrests have been confirmed by Avon and Somerset Constabulary, which said that the men aged 45, 36, 49, 57 and 23 have all been bailed pending further enquiries but not charged.

The arrests are in connection with high value fraudulent transactions that saw money leave accounts held at Rowan Dartington. The events are understood to have taken place prior to the management buyout headed by current chief Graham Coxell (pictured), who is not one of the five arrested, in February of last year.

A spokeswoman for Avon and Somerset police said the investigation expanded beyond the Bristol area, with the Cumbria police force also involved. She was unable to confirm if any of the five suspects were former Rowan Dartington employees.

She stressed that Rowan Dartington was the victim in the investigation rather than a suspect and ‘substantial’ amounts of money were involved.

The FSA declined to comment and said it was unable to confirm or deny whether Rowan Dartington was the subject of an investigation by the regulator.

In a separate incident, Rowan Dartington was previously fined £511,000 by the FSA in June 2010 for failing to protect and properly segregate client accounts over a two-year period, following a settlement system failure dating back to 2007. This caused the firm’s back office to be saddled with more than 150,000 unreconciled trades and eventually led to a £1.4 million black hole in the stockbroker’s accounts.

Since Coxell took over the business in February last year, he has sought to position the business to benefit from the retail distribution review and announced plans to launch a platform. He has also sought to rebuild the investment management team with the hires of Ashcourt Rowan’s head of collective research Tim Cockerill and Oliver Cowell from Redmayne-Bentley.

Rowan Dartington declined to comment.

Thornton Heath man in South American jail after being caught with £20k of coke

2012-01-11T16:16:00.001-08:00

A young man has been jailed in South America for attempting to traffic drugs just three weeks after sneaking out of his Thornton Heath home without telling his mother. Former Stanley Technical School pupil, Nishit Patel, 21, left his home in Attlee Close, in secret on Christmas Day before flying 4,500 miles to Guyana. The next time his mum, part-time Tesco worker Amita, heard from him was on January 3 phoning from a Guyanese jail after being caught boarding a plane with 29 pellets of cocaine worth more than £20,000 inside him. On Monday, January 9, he was sentenced to four years in jail after he admitted drug trafficking. He was also fined $30,000 Guyanese dollars, about £95. Mrs Patel, 46, said she last saw her son, who changed his name to Nikesh after being teased at school, after lunch on Christmas Day. She said: “I came home and he had bags packed. I asked if he was leaving and he said no. I never know where he is going, he tells me nothing. “I didn’t even know where Guyana was. I asked why did you do it, and he said for the money.” On December 31 Guyana’s Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) at Cheddi Jagan International Airport saw Patel acting suspiciously and arrested him. Dennis Mahase a senior supervisor with CANU said Patel, who has spent his whole life in Croydon, missed his earlier flight home and was picked up by officials while he waited. He said: “When the officials began questioning him he complained about feeling unwell. After further question he admitted swallowing the pellets.” Taken to Woodlands Hospital in Georgetown, the country’s capital, Patel, was x-rayed and the pellets, containing 352 grams of the drug with a street value of around £20,000, were found. Mr Mahase added: “He admitted to us he had done this before in November and got away with it.” Mrs Patel said Nishit went off the rails after his grandparents and father died in quick succession four years ago. She said: “He was such a good boy. Very caring. It changed him. A son listens to his father but to his mother, not so much. It was very hard.” The family will now fight to have him extradited to the UK. She said: “I want to be able to see him. I know he has done wrong but he is my son. I have no idea what a jail out there is like.” A foreign office spokesman said: “We can confirm the arrest of a British national on December 31 in Guyana. “We are providing consular assistance.”

Cargo ship runs aground off Sweden, crew suspected drunk

2012-01-11T16:08:00.001-08:00

The captain and helmsman are both suspected of being under the influence of alcohol and we have launched an inquiry," coast guard spokeswoman Lotta Brandstroem told AFP. It was not immediately known why the Anke Angela, an 82-metre (270-foot) ship loaded with timber, ran aground around 0100 GMT in the Kalmarsund strait between the Swedish mainland and the island of Oeland. "The captain is a German national and the helmsman is Russian, and the other four crew members are from Ukraine and Cape Verde," Brandstroem said, adding that the vessel was en route from Moensteraas to Ireland with a cargo of wood. The ship was listing slightly on Wednesday and the coast guard was assessing the damage.

Outspoken Moroccan rapper awaits assault verdict

2012-01-11T15:40:00.001-08:00

A Moroccan rapper who has become one of the monarchy's boldest critics on Wednesday awaited a verdict after a trial on assault charges which his lawyers and right activists said were a ploy to muzzle the popular singer. Mouad Belrhouat, better known as El-Haqed, or "The Sullen One", has become the singing voice of a protest movement inspired by Arab uprisings, demanding a constitutional monarchy, an independent judiciary and a crackdown on corruption. The judge adjourned the case on Wednesday after an all-night hearing to consider his verdict, expected on Thursday. The 24-year-old rapper has been in jail since his arrest in September after a brawl with a monarchist. Bail requests by his defence team have been rejected and the trial has been adjourned six times. "The charges are a farce. El Haqed is being persecuted for his critical songs. The state is keeping him in jail and repeatedly adjourning his trial to silence him," said Khadija Ryadi, who chairs Morocco's main human rights group, AMDH. The rapper's cutting lyrics telling Moroccans to "wise up" have angered many monarchists. In one song he raps that the king spends so much time giving orders that he has little time to count his money in Switzerland. However, he has struck a chord with young Moroccans who are disenchanted with poor or non-existent jobs and one song "Bite just as much as you can chew" has received more than 600,000 hits on Youtube. ALL-NIGHT SESSION Belrhouat's trial is a test for the Justice and Development Party PJD.L, which like its Tunisian peers is a moderate Islamist party leading a government for the first time after it won elections in November. In a Casablanca court packed with Belrhouat supporters, the judge begun to hear the case in an unusually late session on Tuesday which continued through the night. Mohamed Bouawine, one of the 24 lawyers who have volunteered to defend the rapper, said his client faces up to three years in jail if found guilty. AMDH's Ryadi says Belrhouat has become yet another case among "dozens of prisoners of conscience" in Morocco. Local and international right groups say hundreds of Islamists have been jailed in what they said were politically-motivated trials rushed through after suicide attacks in Casablanca in 2003, that killed 45 people. Morocco's judiciary is meant to be given more independence under reforms crafted last year by the Arab world's longest-serving monarchy as it sought to preempt a popular revolt. The man whom Belrhouat is alleged to have assaulted said the injury left him incapacitated for 45 days but defence lawyers produced evidence suggesting he recovered far more quickly and was being used as a political pawn. Belrhouat's father Mohamed told Reuters he would not be supporting his son in court had the rapper done anything wrong. "My son was set up. The police and the ambulance turned up five minutes after the incident: This never happens here."

5 UK men on trial for allegedly distributing leaflets calling for gay people to be killed

2012-01-11T08:22:00.001-08:00

Five men are on trial in Britain for allegedly distributing leaflets calling for gay people to be killed, charged under a new law that makes such actions a hate crime. The men allegedly gave out flyers titled “The Death Penalty” that showed a noose and said gay people would be punished. Two other leaflets were used to publicize a protest against a gay pride march in the central English city of Derby in 2010. 0 Comments Weigh InCorrections? inShare The Crown Prosecution Service said Wednesday this was the first prosecution for stirring up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation, under the law that took effect in March 2010. It has long been illegal to incite hatred over disability, race or religion. The maximum penalty for the crime is seven years in jail. Prosecutors said Ihjaz Ali, 42, Mehboob Hussain, 45, Umar Javed, 38, Razwan Javed, 27, and Kabir Ahmed, 28, handed out leaflets near a mosque in Derby and also stuffed them into mailboxes. Prosecutor Bobbie Cheema called the leaflets “frightening and nasty.” “These five defendants were part of a small group of men who distributed horrible, threatening literature, with quotations from religious sources and with pictures on them, which were designed to stir up hatred and hostility against homosexual people,” she said.

Once powerful Mexican drug lord Benjamin Arellano Felix pleaded guilty in a U.S. federal court on Wednesday to drug trafficking, racketeering and money laundering charges

2012-01-10T23:02:00.001-08:00

. Arellano Felix, 58, was the head of the feared Tijuana cartel run by his brothers and operated on the Mexico-U.S. border near San Diego until his capture in Mexico in early 2002. He was extradited to the United States last April, and prosecutors said his guilty plea marked the demise of the violent cartel that dominated smuggling on the California-Mexico border in the 1980s and 1990s. "Arellano Felix led the most violent criminal organization in this part of the world for two decades. Today's guilty plea marks the end of his reign of murder, mayhem and corruption," U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy said. "His historic admission of guilt sends a clear message to the Mexican cartel leaders operating today: The United States will spare no effort to investigate, extradite and prosecute you for your criminal activities," she added. As part of a 17-page plea agreement, Arellano Felix admitted smuggling tons of cocaine and marijuana into California and conspiring to launder hundreds of millions of dollars. He also agreed to forfeit $100 million in profits under the plea deal, which is expected to land him 25 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on April 2. "It was a favorable deal to my client who faced a minimum of 40 years and a maximum of 140 years under the extradition agreement," defense attorney Anthony Colombo Jr. said. CARTEL A SHADOW OF FORMER SELF President Barack Obama's administration has worked closely with Mexican President Felipe Calderon in his army-led battle to crush warring drug gangs in a conflict that has claimed more than 46,000 lives since late 2006. At the height of his power in the 1990s, Arellano Felix smuggled hundreds of millions of dollars in narcotics through a 100-mile wide corridor stretching from Tijuana, south of San Diego, to Mexicali, south of Calexico. But after the death and capture of many of its leaders over the past decade, including three of Benjamin Arellano Felix's brothers, the Tijuana cartel, also known as the Arellano Felix Organization, is a shadow of its former self. Arellano Felix's brother Ramon, the cartel's flamboyant enforcer, died in a shoot-out in 2002. Francisco Javier is serving a life sentence in U.S. federal prison after being captured on a fishing boat in 2006, and Eduardo is in jail in Mexico awaiting extradition. With the downfall of the Arellano Felix brothers, the rival Sinaloa cartel run by Mexico's most-wanted man, Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, has largely taken over the cartel's valuable turf in Tijuana. Appearing before U.S. District Judge Larry Burns at the hearing, Arellano Felix was neatly groomed and dressed in an orange jumpsuit. He said he took medication for migraine headaches, but when asked by the judge if it affected his decision to plead, he replied, "no." Among the former kingpins serving time in U.S. jails is former Gulf cartel leader Osiel Cardenas, who was extradited to the United States by Mexico in 2007 and is serving a 25-year sentence in Texas without chance of parole.

Drug smuggling bid foiled

2012-01-10T22:59:00.001-08:00

Customs at the airport foiled an attempt by one Egyptian expatriate arriving from Cairo to smuggle 1,000 narcotic pills into the country. The concerned officers said the suspect had kept the contraband hidden in his shoes when they discovered it. He has since been handed over to Drug Prosecution. In a statement following discovery of the illicit drug, the Director General of Customs Ibrahim Al-Ghanim commended efforts exerted by customs men to uncover complicated smuggling cases.

Drug smuggling compartment specialist sentenced to 24 years

2012-01-10T22:55:00.001-08:00

A California man who specialized in building secret compartments in vehicles used to smuggle drugs received a 24-year sentence in what prosecutors said was one of the first cases against a specialist who worked for drug dealers but didn’t directly handle the drugs. Alfred Anaya, 40, a native of San Fernando, CA, was sentenced to 292 months in federal prison and forfeiture of $3.2 million. Anaya, said a Jan. 6 statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Kansas, operated in the state. “Evidence showed the defendant installed sophisticated hidden compartments in dozens of vehicles,” said U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom. “He knew he was working for drug traffickers.” Anaya was convicted on one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, as well as methamphetamine and marijuana, and two counts of attempting to intimidate a witness, said the statement. Convicted in the case along with Anaya were James Clark, 29, of Overland Park, KS, who was given a sentence identical to Anaya’s on the same charges. Curtis Crow, 30, of Leawood, KS, was sentenced to 147 months on conspiracy and drug distribution charges. Anaya and Clark were convicted in Feb. 2011 and Crow pleaded guilty, said the statement. Prosecutors showed the men were members of a California-based drug trafficking organization that operated a drug distribution center in Kansas between 2008 and 2009 that distributed cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana in Kansas and Missouri. Prosecutors also presented evidence that Anaya installed secret compartments including a 20-kilogram compartment in a Ford F-150, a 10-kilogram compartment in a Honda Ridgeline, a 3-kilogram compartment in a Toyota Camry and a 10-kilogram compartment in a Toyota Sequoia.

Goon squad gang tied to several shootings in past four years

2012-01-10T14:14:00.001-08:00

The Goon Squad — a gang that Waterford Township police say is connected with the Dec. 23 Rolladium shootings — has been associated with shootings around the Pontiac area in recent years. The Rolladium roller rink situation involves three armed men spraying gunfire inside the rink, striking five patrons at 1:44 a.m. Waterford police found that the shooting stemmed from issues involving rivalry between two Pontiac gangs, the “Goon Squad” and “1st Enfantry.” On Saturday, police released the name of a second suspect, Pontiac resident Cheyenne Benjamin Ingram, 17. The first suspect is Robert Lee German, 18, from Pontiac. A third man, whose name has not been released, has been shown only in a surveillance photo. The three suspects, all in their late teens to early 20s, are considered armed and dangerous. According to police, one of the five victims shot was an intended target and considered a rival. The victim was previously shot by members of the gang in a similar incident at a Pontiac night club in December 2010. Willis and Roberson James Cecil Willis III, 18 — accused of being among members of the Goon Squad — was charged in 2008 with shooting 14-year-old Alabama resident Dawan Allan France Roberson in the face after a June 14, 2008, party at the Life Worship and Training Center on Auburn Avenue in Pontiac. The Goon Squad gang, police said, crashed a party at the center and were involved in physical altercations with party attendees. People were thrown out of the party but came back in, and the party was eventually shut down. Roberson was believed to be a bystander and not involved in the fight. The teen was in Pontiac visiting family, police said

Apache Junction man arrested in I-10 road rage incident

2012-01-10T14:11:00.001-08:00

Tempe police have arrested a man involved in Saturday's road rage incident in which a driver was shot, but they are still investigating who is responsible for shooting the victim. The investigation revealed that a group of motorcycles and a champagne/tan-colored SUV were traveling westbound on Interstate 10 from Wild Horse Pass Boulevard. Witnesses reported that a gray Jeep was attempting to collide with the motorcycles. The motorcycles began to chase the Jeep. As they reached the area of I-10 and Elliot Road, the SUV rammed the Jeep, causing the driver to lose control and crash. One of the motorcycle riders, Andre Jordan, 35, of Apache Junction, was seen pointing a handgun at the victim according to Sgt. Steve Carbajal. Witnesses reported that several of the individuals involved had guns. After a physical altercation, shots were fired and the driver of the Jeep received a gunshot wound to the cheek. Investigation into the person responsible for shooting the victim is ongoing. Tempe police detectives have identified two of the individuals involved as members of two separate criminal street gangs. Jordan was booked into Tempe City Jail on one count of aggravated assault, threat by gang member assisting a criminal street gang and endangerment.

Members of the Mad Cowz and Manitoba Warriors have been at odds for several weeks as they battle for turf and the lucrative profits

2012-01-10T14:06:00.001-08:00

Members of the Mad Cowz and Manitoba Warriors have been at odds for several weeks as they battle for turf and the lucrative profits that come from selling drugs, sources told the Free Press. Enlarge Image Police investigate after a Victor Street house was shot up and set afire Wednesday. Mohamed Ali Omar The two groups are believed responsible for several shootings this week that have residents of the West End and North End on edge. Police have beefed up their resources in the neighbourhoods as they struggle to predict and prevent the next attack. Between Sunday morning and Thursday morning, there were five reported shootings and/or firebombings of homes on Aberdeen Avenue, Victor Street and Simcoe Street. Sources say the residences all have ties to gang activity and were deliberately targeted. There have been no reported injuries and no arrests. "This is strictly to do with impeding each other's crack sales," a justice source said Friday. Police are still probing whether there is a connection between those incidents and a New Year's Eve shooting on Selkirk Avenue that left a 46-year-old man dead. A 30-year-old woman also suffered serious injuries after being shot in the eye inside the home, which sources say was a known drug house with connections to gang activity. No arrests have been made. "As of late, we've had several violent instances where firearms have been involved. Any time we have these types of incidents occurring -- whether it's days apart, weeks apart or months apart -- of course we're concerned," Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen said this week. "There's a concern for public safety and there's a concern that these incidents may repeat themselves, but we're making every effort to investigate these matters thoroughly." Sources told the Free Press tensions between the Mad Cowz -- a predominantly African gang -- and the Manitoba Warriors -- a predominantly native gang -- began to rise following an unsolved shooting death late last October in the parking lot of a McPhillips Street hotel. Mohamed Ali Omar, 28, was gunned down as he stood outside the Lincoln Motor Inn. Police say a man in an SUV pulled up and opened fire on a group of people, killing Omar and injuring a 17-year-old. Omar's family have described him as a loving father of four who worked as a hospital cleaner. But police have confirmed he had ties to gang activities, and sources say that gang was the Mad Cowz. No arrests have been made, but there is speculation on the streets that the Manitoba Warriors may have been involved. "That's always a tricky area for police when we're describing gang associations. I don't think we're prepared to go any further than stating that they do have associations to a local street gang," police Const. Natalie Aitken said at the time. Winnipeg has seen its share of gang battles play out in public, most recently with associates of the Hells Angels and Rock Machine trading bullets and firebombs. There were more than a dozen incidents last summer and fall, including several where people narrowly avoided serious injury or death. Police and justice officials publicly declared a biker war was brewing and warned citizens to be vigilant. Officers took the unusual step of going door to door in some neighbourhoods, warning people of the potential for violence. Relations between the two gangs have calmed in recent months, but a source warned there might be more violence to come. "There are a lot of scores to be settled," the source told the Free Press last month. Now, it appears, the Manitoba Warriors and Mad Cowz have decided to stir things up.

Among the funeral attendees were members of several Northwest Washington gangs

2012-01-10T13:58:00.001-08:00

Marcellus E. Jackson, 23, and Kier M. Johnson, 21, were arrested Monday in connection with the 2010 slaying of Jamal Coates, D.C. police announced. Investigators count Coates’s killing as among crimes by rival gang members in the U Street NW neighborhood. Coates was shot to death on Sept. 28, 2010, after he attended a funeral for a young woman who was killed earlier that month and whose boyfriend was charged in her death, police said. Among the funeral attendees were members of several Northwest Washington gangs, authorities said.

Man sentenced to 12 years for gang-related shootings

2012-01-10T13:56:00.001-08:00

21-year-old Winnipeg man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for two gang-related shootings in the city's West End, including one that unintentionally injured a 10-year-old girl. Paramedics take the girl, who was 10 years old at the time, to hospital following the May 26, 2010, shooting on Victor Street. (CBC) The man pleaded guilty on Monday to two counts of discharging a firearm in connection with the May 2010 incidents, including the May 26 shooting of a house on Victor Street. Court heard that the man, who was then a 19-year-old member of the Indian Posse street gang, fired three shots at the home as an act of retaliation for a drive-by shooting that killed a fellow gang member the day before. Inside the house was the girl, who was hit in the knee by a bullet that went through the front window. Her sister, who was eight at the time, was superficially injured by flying glass and debris. Neighbours and the man's own younger brother told police they saw him with a rifle at the time of the incident. The man was arrested two days later at The Forks, with a machete hidden in his pants. A teenage co-accused pleaded guilty in September 2010 to aggravated assault and assault with a weapon in connection to the attack.

Apostasy, murder, rape, armed robbery and drug trafficking are punishable by death in Saudi Arabia.

2012-01-08T08:32:00.001-08:00

The UN human rights office today highlighted Saudi Arabia's "rampant" use of torture to obtain confessions and an almost threefold increase in executions in the kingdom last year. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights spokesman Rupert Colville said: "We are alarmed at the significant increase in the use of the death penalty in Saudi Arabia in 2011." Mr Colville said the number of executions jumped from 29 in 2010 to at least 70 last year, while rights group Amnesty puts the 2011 figure at 79 executions. "What is even more worrying is that court proceedings often reportedly fall far short of international fair trial standards and the use of torture as a means to obtain confessions appears to be rampant," he said. Apostasy, murder, rape, armed robbery and drug trafficking are punishable by death in Saudi Arabia.

Mercenaries arrested for boot full of AK-47 rifles

2012-01-08T08:28:00.001-08:00

Two British private security contractors and two of their Afghan colleagues have been arrested by police in Kabul and told to close their company after 30 AK-47 rifles were found in their car boot. Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqi said today that police had stopped the mercenaries at a checkpoint on Tuesday and found the guns in a metal box. All had their serial numbers scratched off and the men had no permits for them. Mr Sediqi said they were being held as part of a probe into gun running and the case had been sent to the country's attorney general. President Karzai has ordered all mercenary firms operating in the country to shut down by March, to be replaced by a government-run force.

Salford Murder: Family Of Anuj Bidve Learn Of His Murder On Facebook

2011-12-30T09:09:00.001-08:00

Police have admitted that the family of an Indian student murdered in Salford on Boxing Day found out about his death on Facebook. Anuj Bidve, 23, was shot in the head at point-blank range as he walked with friends near their hotel in the Ordsall district of Salford early on December 26. His murder is being treated by detectives as a hate crime which may have been racially motivated. Anuj's father Subhash has complained that he heard about his son's death via Facebook rather than an official channel. He told Sky News: "It has been very, very difficult to understand why no authorities - from the British government, police or anyone - could give this news to me." Greater Manchester Police confirmed that "sadly that was the case" and apologised for not breaking the news in person. The family found out about the student's death on Facebook Assistant Chief Constable Dawn Copley, who has overall command for the operation, said: "That is not the way anyone should have to find out something so devastating and we completely understand how upset the family are." She explained that a family liaison officer had been trying to contact the family to inform them when a post was put up on the website. "Social networking is instantaneous and we have no control over when and what people post on such sites, but no-one should hear such tragic news in this way," she said. ACC Copley stressed that two officers have since been in regular contact with the family and are working on bringing them to Manchester as soon as possible. On the release of the student's body, she said: "We understand how important this is for the family and we are working closely with the coroner to ensure the family can bring Anuj's body home as soon as possible. "The body cannot be released at this stage of the investigation but we are doing everything we can to respect the family's wish." She continued: "I want to reassure the family that staff across the whole of Greater Manchester Police are working on this investigation night and day to bring those responsible for Anuj's murder to justice." That is not the way anyone should have to find out something so devastating and we completely understand how upset the family are. Assistant Chief Constable Dawn Copley A 19-year-old man and a 20-year-old man are still in custody as investigations continue but police have released three other teenagers, two aged 17 and one 16, pending further inquiries. Detectives are now offering a £50,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and prosecution of the person responsible for the killing. The murder weapon, believed to be a small handgun, has yet to be found. Forensic and ballistics investigations are being carried out and police are trawling through CCTV along with house-to-house inquiries. According to a Facebook page set up in Mr Bidve's memory, he "was killed for not answering a simple question: 'What's the time?"'. REWARD OFFERED ON SALFORD MURDER Police have said they are treating the murder as a hate crime, although at this stage they are unsure whether it was racially motivated. The student, who arrived in the UK in September and had been studying at Lancaster University, had been with a large group of friends on a Christmas visit to Manchester. They were walking from their hotel early on Boxing Day when they became aware of two men on the other side of the street. The gunman then walked across the road, spoke briefly to Mr Bidve and then shot him at close range in the side of the head. He then ran back across the street before the pair fled. Armed response units were sent to the scene but Mr Bidve died in hospital a short time later.

Murder squad detectives today offered a £50,000 reward for information as they investigated the "horrific" murder of an Indian student blasted to death on Boxing Day.

2011-12-30T09:04:00.001-08:00

Anuj Bidve, 23, was shot in the head at point-blank range as he walked with friends near their hotel in the inner-city Ordsall district of the city, in the early hours of December 26.

The murder of the Indian student is being treated by detectives at Greater Manchester Police (GMP) as a "hate crime" which may have been racially motivated.

Today senior officers from the force announced the cash reward and said they hoped it would help get the killer gunman caught as soon as possible.

Det Chief Supt Mary Doyle, leading the murder inquiry, said: "It is an extremely unusual, savage and motiveless attack, an absolutely horrific crime, which is why we are taking the step of issuing it (the reward) a bit earlier than we normally would.

"We absolutely understand the need to take whoever is responsible for this off the streets.

"That's the reason we are issuing it now at such an early stage."

Often rewards are offered by the police weeks or months after the crime.

Assistant Chief Constable Dawn Copley, from GMP, speaking at a news conference at the force HQ in Manchester, said: "We are going to issue a reward here and now, for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for Anuj's murder.

"That reward is £50,000.

Four police officers stabbed in north London

2011-11-19T06:16:00.001-08:00

Four police officers were stabbed as they tried to detain a man after a disturbance in north London, Scotland Yard said on Saturday. Police said officers were called to an incident shortly before 9 a.m. on the main road in Kingsbury where they had tried to speak to a man before he ran into a butcher's shop and grabbed a knife. "Officers followed the man in an attempt to detain him and were subsequently assaulted," Chief Superintendent Dal Babu told reporters. "Four male police constables suffered stab injuries during the incident and have been taken by the London Ambulance Service to hospital." One was stabbed in the stomach, a second suffered head injuries and stab wound to his arm, the third was stabbed in the leg, and the last sustained stab wounds to a hand and also suffered a broken hand. Witnesses told media the suspect had been shouting at police beforehand and up to 10 officers had tried to calm him down. A 32-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and is being quizzed at a police station in the area.

UK border checks are 'a bad joke', whistleblower claims

2011-11-13T14:39:00.001-08:00

Under-pressure staff are said to be relying on false data and "massaging" official figures to mask the full extent of the immigration chaos at Britain's borders. The whistleblower, a middle manager who does not want to be identified, said UKBA staff lack the resources to track down asylum seekers. As a result, it is claimed, complicated immigration cases are being abandoned to save time, while detention centres employ a "one in, one out" policy that sees low-risk detainees released to allow more dangerous foreigners to be locked up. The whistleblower said British border checks had become "haphazard" and "a bad joke". "The whole place is a basket case," he told The Sunday Times (£). "Asylum seekers run rings around us and we are virtually powerless to do anything about it. It is depressing."

Drug Smuggling Accused Border Guard Baljinder Kandola At Loss For Words At Trial

2011-11-13T04:34:00.001-08:00

While one former Indo-Canadian border guard got five years for his part in a drug smuggling ring – another is currently on trial for his part in a different operation that brought millions of illicit drugs into Canada. Baljinder Kandola, a former Canadian border guard who was charged with being part of a cocaine-smuggling ring, was at a loss for words during much of his testimony on Tuesday to explain why he risked so much to help a millionaire auto-parts importer for nothing in return. Under cross-examination by Crown counsel James Torrance, Kandola said he agreed to wave his co-accused Shminder Singh Johal and associates in his three automotive companies through the border, helping them avoid inspection, reported the Province newspaper. Kandola — who worked at the Pacific Highway crossing from July 2001 until his arrest on Oct. 25, 2007 — admitted he made unauthorized use of Canadian Border Services Agency databases to come to the conclusion Johal had been subjected to inspections over the years unfairly. “He asked if I was able to wave him through,” Kandola told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Selwyn Romilly, who is hearing the case without a jury. “It would save him time and money, and he wouldn’t be harassed.” Torrance reminded Kandola of his testimony a day earlier, when he said he was risking his job, his pension and his standing in the Sikh community by breaking his oath to protect Canada’s borders. “What was [Johal] offering you in return?” asked the prosecutor. “He didn’t offer me anything,” replied Kandola. “In my mind he was bringing auto parts into Canada.” Torrance asked, “This [waving Johal through] was definitely something you shouldn’t do?” “Yes,” agreed the witness. “Then why would you want to help a successful millionaire businessman?” Kandola replied: “I don’t know, I’ve asked myself the same question.” Torrance turned to Kandola’s illegal use of the databases to come to the conclusion Johal was unfairly harassed. A “lookout” had been placed on Johal’s border crossings after a tip from the RCMP. “Did you not consider [Johal] was previously suspected of smuggling cocaine?” asked Torrance. “No,” said Kandola. “That was all cleared up by your queries [into the databases]?” “I guess so,” replied the defendant. Torrance then meticulously went through Kandola’s phone, text and CBSA database records to show that he called Johal to let him know when he was in position to wave him through the border and when the “lookout” was on or off during the wee hours of Feb. 10, 2007. Asked if he was paid by Johal when they met at a 7-Eleven store the next day, Kandola denied it. Kandola was arrested on Oct. 25, 2007, shortly after he waved through a car driven by Herman Riar that contained 208 kilograms of cocaine. Riar pleaded guilty to drug smuggling and was sentenced last year to 12 years in prison. Kandola and Johal have pleaded not guilty to charges of drug smuggling, illegal firearms, conspiracy and bribing an official. The trial in New Westminster is scheduled to last three more weeks.

B.C. skipper linked to cocaine shipment posed beside pile of cash

2011-11-12T15:12:00.001-08:00

Just weeks before notorious B.C. skipper John Philip Stirling was caught near Colombia on a boat full of cocaine, he sent his neighbour in Chase — a community in B.C.'s Shuswap region — photos of himself lying on the floor beside a giant pile of money.

In the accompanying email, Stirling told Shawn Martin that he wouldn't repay cash he owed him despite being flush after a recent trip to the South American cocaine centre.

Bizarre details of Stirling's feud with his neighbours, Martin and his mother Myrna Beckman, over loans totalling $30,000 are laid out in a suit and counter-suit filed in August and September in Kamloops Supreme Court and obtained the Vancouver Sun.

Stirling was arrested by the U.S. Coast Guard on Oct. 18 just north of Colombia with 400 kilograms of cocaine secreted aboard his sailboat. He is currently detained in a Miami Detention Centre where he told officials "there was nothing wrong with cocaine trafficking and that the United States should mind its own business."

"He further remarked that if Canada didn't have such high taxes, (he and his co-accused) could get legitimate jobs."

If allegations in the B.C. court documents are accurate, some in the town of 2,500 were aware of Stirling's plan to import cocaine.

Martin and Beckman, who live down the road from Stirling and his wife Marlene, say in their court claim they heard at a barbecue last March "that the plaintiff John Stirling was in Colombia setting up a massive cocaine deal."

Martin and Beckman said their efforts to get repayment on several loans to the Stirlings were met with threats and harassment.

They also said accusations by the Stirlings that the neighbours were the aggressors in the dispute are ridiculous — Martin has dwarfism and gets around with crutches and a wheelchair; his mother, 63, is his caregiver.

Both Martin and Beckman declined to comment to the Sun because their case is before the courts. Marlene Stirling did not return calls.

The documents show that Stirling, a 60-year-old convicted cocaine trafficker, struck first against his neighbours, filing a suit on Aug. 29 asking for $10 million in damages.

Stirling said in a brief synopsis that over the last two years, his disabled neighbour and mom have threatened the Stirlings "with bodily harm and death."

"The defendants have written the plaintiffs blackmail letters for money," Stirling wrote. "The defendants have caused anxiety, depression, stress, loss of sleep requiring medical care to the petitioners.

"The defendants have caused travel to become necessary from Colombia for John Stirling at great expense and loss from work to protect his family . . . The defendants have or have attempted to hire Hells Angels to cause murder or physical harm to the plaintiffs and have made statements by phone and email of that intent," the Stirling claim said.

The neighbours fired back in a detailed defence filed Sept. 14, denying all the allegations and making a counter-claim.

They said that, unlike Stirling, they have no criminal record and no connection to the notorious biker gang.

"The defendants do not know any Hells Angels or Hells Angels associates and have never had dealings with them or hired them to do anything," Martin and Beckman said, adding the only information they have about the Angels came from the Stirlings themselves.

"The plaintiff Marlene Stirling also told the defendants that two Hells Angels members sat at her kitchen table and had coffee on multiple different times," the documents said.

They said they learned in an Internet search of Stirling's 2001 bust on his fishing boat, the Western Wind, with 2.5 tonnes of cocaine owned by the Hells Angels. He was never charged.

Tensions escalated between the former friends in August, when Stirling "was back from Colombia and was bragging that he had two suitcases full of money containing in excess of $200,000," the mother-son team said.

Martin fired off an email, "asking John to pay the rest of the money the plaintiffs owed the defendants for loans from June 1, 2007, to Feb. 23, 2011."

On Aug. 23, Stirling sent his neighbours "an email with a picture of him laying on the floor of his Adams' Lake residence with a pile of money in front of him, holding a piece of paper with Aug. 19, 2011, written on it," the claim said.

The email said: "I told you if you waited you would have got paid, but since you didn't, you will never receive a dime and everyone else has been paid back for their investment but you."

They said Stirling warned them that he would go to court and ruin them if they didn't back off.

"The defendants have videotape evidence of the plaintiff John Stirling threatening to kill more than one person at gunpoint," the documents said.

"On Sept. 10, 2011, the defendants were informed that the plaintiff John Stirling has been seeking to hire people to burn down the defendants' house and cause physical harm to them."

Martin and Beckman said "a man calling himself Ryan showed up at the defendants' residence wearing a black leather jacket with a Hells Angel patch and was looking for the plaintiff John Stirling because John apparently owed this guy Ryan money."

Martin said in the court statement that he called Stirlings' house and warned Marlene that someone was looking for John "and that he sounded really p—ed off."

Farmer dies after being attacked by jabalí

2011-11-08T05:43:00.001-08:00

A farmer has died in Guadassuar, Tous, in Valencia after being attacked by a jabalí wild boar. Reports say the 60 year old man was working in his own orange grove when he was surprised by the beast. Miguel E. suffered injuries in the groin and was found with his blood over his hands and face according to witnesses who said it looked like he tried to defend himself from the attack. It happened last Saturday morning. Tous is a municipality where 90% of the population are hunters and nobody can ever remember anything similar ever happening before. The local police say the victim’s son reported that his father had phoned him on his mobile to say he had been injured, but when a neighbour arrived at the scene he was already dead. Reports indicate that he had earlier suffered a heart attack.

National Police arrest Local Policeman in Marbella

2011-11-08T05:36:00.001-08:00

National police arrested a member of the Marbella Local Police force who was found shoplifting in a local commercial centre on Saturday. The man had tried to take a camera from the store. Municipal sources say the agent has already handed in his plaque and pistol, and is being suspended from his post without pay. Marbella Town Hall said they lamented the incident which they described as ‘totally isolated’.

Juan Antonio Roca, the ex Municipal Real Estate Assessor, at the centre of the allegations, has moved on to the most interesting phase

2011-11-08T05:31:00.001-08:00

Juan Antonio Roca - EFE archive

The Malaya case investigating the widespread corruption in Marbella Town Hall, and with Juan Antonio Roca, the ex Municipal Real Estate Assessor, at the centre of the allegations, has moved on to the most interesting phase, as the Málaga court starts to investigate the bribes.

On Monday, some five years and seven months after his arrest, Roca has had to start to respond to the big questions at the centre of the case, the backhanders he allegedly received from real estate promoters in exchange for licences to build outside the PGOU urban plan. More than 50 people including ex Mayors and Roca himself are expected to declare in this section of the case.

The court considers that Roca was paid by 19 different companies between 2001 and 2006, a total of 33.3 million €. Among the big payers were Carlos Sánchez and Andres Liétor – 6.8 million, José Avila Rojas – five million, and the directors of Aifos – 4.8 million.

The Córdoba promoter Sandokán, who is now a councillor in the city, allegedly handed over 600,000 in exchange for town planning favours.

The prosecutor claims that despite not being elected, a politician or even a civil servant, Roca was the man who was running Marbella Town Hall following the motion of no confidence passed in August 2003 against the then Mayor, Julian Muñoz. Roca’s power, lubricated by bags of cash, saw all the councilors act as his subordinates.

Key to the prosecution’s case are a series of files found at the lawyers offices, Maras Asesores. The business was controlled by Roca and councilors and businessmen often met in their offices. Police found some files, in the power of Salvador Gardoqui, which are considered to be Roca’s secret accounts, showing the entry and exit of money, with the real estate section of the accounts showing a surplus of more than 17 million €.

In the court on Monday another one of the accused, Eusabio Sierra, admitted, following a plea bargain with the Anti-corruption Prosecutor, that he paid a 60,000 € backhander to Roca to speed up the Town Hall’s payment of a debt. His two year prison threat has now been reduced to six months as a result, which means he will escape jail by paying a fine.

The basis of Roca’s statement to the court today was that he was not in control of the Town Hall and that the now late Mayor, Jesús Gil decided absolutely everything, ‘above all in the areas of work, the economy and real estate’. Asked by the Prosecutor what his relationship was with the Marbella Town Hall, he replied that it was always via municipal companies.

However Roca did admit paying local councilors for their votes in the motion of no confidence against Julián Muñoz, and admitted to the judge that he was paid more than 3.5 million € in backhanders, which he described as ‘advice payments’ for projects developed in the town. He admitted that Construcciones Salamanca 740,000 € and said that Aifos, whose bosses are also on the accused bench, paid as much as 1.8 million €. He said that the accounting of Maras Asesores, was correct, and admitted that was the company he used to try and hide all his finances.

Three Gibraltar police injured in collision with Guardia Civil boat off Gibraltar

2011-11-08T05:23:00.001-08:00

Three Gibraltar police have been injured after their boat was in collision with a Guardia Civil vessel in the waters off the Rock on Monday night. Spanish media say the collision took place in Spanish waters close to La Línea during a joint chase of drug traffickers who were in an inflatable craft. The fact the Gibraltar and the Spanish authorities were both chasing the drug traffickers showed that in this case there is no talk of any interference having taken place between the two. Spain has repeatedly requested clear protocols to be established to avoid accidents in situations such as this. The three men were injured as a result of the impact between the two boats, and were seriously hurt. All three had fallen into the water and were rescued by the Guardia. One man with a suspected head fracture was taken to La Linea Hospital but is now at St Bernards on the rock. The other two were taken to the Punta de Europa hospital in Algeciras where they were x-rayed and cleared of fractures. An investigation is underway and it is unclear at this stage whether the drug traffickers got away. The Royal Gibraltar Police vessel is reported to be extensively damaged, including its engines. It’s the latest of a chain of incidents between the Gibraltar Police and the Spanish Guardia Civil.

Waiter found guilty of killing Ukrainian call-girl in Mijas

2011-11-08T03:38:00.001-08:00

THE man charged with killing and dismembering a Ukrainian call-girl in Mijas in April last year has been found guilty. The public prosecution was asking for 14 years for manslaughter and five months for desecration of the body. Alla Mefodova, 36, disappeared in Fuengirola, and police only recovered the remains of her hands. DNA tests confirmed they belonged to her. The man confessed that he had been out drinking on the night of April 5, 2010, and enlisted the services of a call-girl who identified herself as Bianca. It was the six calls he made to her phone which led police to him. He told the police they were together at his house for several hours during which they drunk a bottle of whisky and took cocaine. He claimed they began to argue, probably about money. He says that he fell asleep and doesn’t remember how the woman died, but admitted that when he saw she was dead, he went into shock, considering calling the police or committing suicide, but that instead, he took her personal belongings and clothes and burned them. Later, he bought a saw, cut her body into pieces and put them into bags which he dumped in rubbish containers in the area. He claimed to have fainted several times in the process. The waiter from Castilla-La Mancha had no criminal record and had never been accused of violent behaviour. Just a month earlier, Alla had managed to bring her 17-year-old son to Spain, after leaving him with her mother in the Ukraine when he was just seven years old. He and a close friend reported her missing.

Michael Jackson sisters happy with justice

2011-11-08T02:33:00.001-08:00

Michael Jackson's sisters La Toya and Rebbie are relieved and happy after a court jury found the late pop superstar's personal physician Conrad Murray guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the singer's anaesthetic-induced death. After the verdict was announced Monday, his sisters let fans know they were happy with the climax of the trial. "Victory was served," said La Toya, while her sister added: "I'm just happy it's over with. Nothing will bring him back, but I'm just happy he (Murray) was found guilty." La Toya confirmed she was the courtroom guest who said "Yes!" as the verdict was read. The Jackson family has been a constant presence in court throughout the trial and Janet Jackson cut short her Australian tour to be at Monday's climax. She was joined by brothers Randy and Jermaine and her parents Joe and Katherine, contactmusic.com reported. A statement from Katherine and Joe Jackson read: "We have been waiting for this moment for a very long time and we couldn't hold back tears of joy in the courtroom. Even though nothing can bring back our son, justice has finally been served!" The two added: "We can't wait to go home and share this day with Michael's children." The 50-year-old Jackson died June 25, 2009 at his Holmby Hills estate in Los Angeles when he was preparing for his comeback series of 50 sold-out London concerts. The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office ruled Jackson died of "acute propofol intoxication". Prosecutors accused 58-year-old Murray of failing to properly monitor Jackson after giving him a lethal dose of propofol. They contended that the cardiologist repeatedly acted with gross negligence, repeatedly denied appropriate care to his patient, and that it was Murray's repeated incompetence and unskilled acts that led to Jackson's death. Murray was a little bit shocked by Monday's decision, Xinhua reported. He was handcuffed after the verdict was read and was immediately remanded to custody in county jail without bail pending his sentencing Nov 29. At the conclusion of the six-week trial, the seven-men, five-women jury read the long-expected verdict. Murray, who faces up to four years in prison, remained stone-faced as the verdict was announced, showing no visible reaction. The jury deliberated for about eight-and-a-half-hour before reaching a verdict. When the verdict was announced, some cries of "yes" could be heard from the courtroom audience. Jackson fans were seen celebrating when the news spread outside the courthouse. Droves of fans gathering outside the courthouse were elated by the news. One man, who asked not be named, said this was a victory for Jackson and his family. "Murray is guilty because he failed to call 911, this is negligence for a doctor", he said.

GUILTY! Michael Jackson's doctor found guilty of manslaughter in King of Pop's death

2011-11-08T01:43:00.001-08:00

To many of his devoted patients, Conrad Murray was a caring doctor who would offer treatment for free to the poor.

But his secret double life as a deadbeat dad and a compulsive womaniser led him to take a lucrative job as Michael Jackson's personal drug doctor.

Desperate for cash to pay his mounting debts, Murray took the lucrative post injecting Jackson - no questions asked - with nightly doses of the knock-out sleep drug that ultimately killed the world's biggest star.

Murray's $1.2m Las Vegas mansion was about to be repossessed after he fell $96,000 behind with the mortgage in 2009 when Jackson asked him to travel to London with him as his full-time physician, official documents reveal.

His two medical practices in Nevada and Texas faced $631,000 in court judgments and he was late paying a $64,000 personal loan and thousands of pounds in child support.

The Grenada-born doctor's spiraling debts were the reason Murray demanded $4.8m from Jackson when he was first offered the job, said friends. He later settled for $160,000-a-month.

Hours after being convicted of causing the death of the King of Pop, Murray was revealed as the King of the Cads.

Murray, who is married, has fathered at least seven children with six women, most of them out of wedlock.

According to court records, he has also been sued more than a dozen times for claims including breach of contract and unpaid child support.

In April, 2009, Murray was sentenced to 10 days in jail for non-payment of child support and was ordered to spend 25 days behind bars for the same reason in 2007. On both occasions, he eventually paid up to avoid going to prison.

Partner: Nicole Alvarez, 29, told the jury she had been living with Murray for the last three to four years and had a son with him. She said he called her while her was in the ambulance with Jackson en route to hospital

Prosecution witness: Sade Anding was a cocktail waitress who met Murray in Houston was on the phone to him when Michael Jackson's heart stopped

More women: The court heard from Michelle Bella (L) an exotic dancer Murray met in Las Vegas, and Bridget Morgan (R) a former girlfriend who testified she called Murray earlierthe morning Jackson died

He was also arrested twice on charges brought by former girlfriends, once for fraudulent breach of trust and once for domestic violence, although he was never convicted.

While still living with his doctor wife, Blanche, and their two children in Las Vegas, Murray was also paying the $2,564-a-month rent on a flat in Santa Monica, California, for his 29-year-old actress lover Nicole Alvarez.

Top Hells leader arrested after evading police

2011-11-05T16:26:00.001-07:00

key player in Quebec's bloody biker war was arrested Wednesday after two-and- a-half years on the lam. Steve Duquette, 45, was a top lieutenant in the Sherbrooke, Que., chapter of the Hells Angels. The group plotted the deaths of rival Rock Machine bikers in a conflict that saw more than 100 people, including bystanders, killed in the 1990s and early 2000s. Duquette did not resist when he was picked up Wednesday in Montreal. He appeared in court Thursday on charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, gangsterism, drug trafficking and conspiracy to traffic.

Man arrested over alleged police payments named as Sun journalist

2011-11-04T08:43:00.001-07:00

A Sun journalist has been arrested as part of Scotland Yard's investigation into alleged payments to police officers by newspapers. The reporter is believed to be Jamie Pyatt, district editor of the paper. The arrested journalist was taken to a South West London police station at 10.30am on Friday. Pyatt, 48, has been working at the Sun since 1987. He is the sixth person arrested by detectives working in Operation Elveden, which was set up in July following allegations that police officers had received up to £130,000 over several years from the News of the World for information, including contact details of the royal family. News International refused to comment on the arrest and saying it had "a very clear duty of care to employees and would not be making any comment on individuals". Scotland Yard also refused to confirm the identity of the person it arrested, but said in a statement earlier that it had arrested a 48-year-old man in connection with Operation Elveden. Its statement said: "He was arrested outside London on suspicion of corruption allegations in contravention of section 1 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906, and is being brought to a south-west London police station." Operation Elveden is one of three Met investigations relating to alleged illegal activities by newspapers. The others are Operation Weeting and Operation Tuleta, set up to examine phone hacking and computer hacking, respectively. On Thursday, Scotland Yard confirmed to the Guardian that the number of people whose phones may have been hacked had reached 5,800 – 2,000 more than previously stated. So far 16 people have been arrested and bailed on allegations of phone hacking.

Belizean Bloods have been charged with drug trafficking and passport fraud

2011-11-03T17:38:00.001-07:00

Two dozen members of a Chicago street gang have been charged with drug trafficking and passport fraud, the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday. The charges against the members of the Belizean Bloods street gang, said to operate in Chicago and Evanston, Ill., were contained in an indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, a release said. The charges arise from two coordinated investigations that included agents from multiple federal law enforcement agencies as well as the Chicago and Evanston Police Departments, the department said. In 2009, the Chicago Field Office of the U.S. State Department's Diplomatic Security Service began investigating alleged passport fraud by Belizean nationals, while at the same time the FBI and Evanston and Chicago police were investigating alleged narcotics trafficking by suspected members of the Belizean Bloods

Arrests of Mexican drug cartel leaders in Texas raise concerns

2011-11-03T17:26:00.001-07:00

The recent arrests of three alleged drug gang leaders from Mexico and the shooting of a sheriff's deputy in South Texas are raising fears among some Lone Star State officials that the brutal drug wars plaguing Mexico are taking hold north of the Rio Grande. On Sunday, Deputy Hugo Rodriguez of Hidalgo County in the southern tip of Texas was shot several times when he pulled over a vehicle containing a person kidnapped by members of Mexico's Gulf Cartel, County Sheriff Lupe Trevino said. Rodriguez's bulletproof vest saved his life, Trevino said. "I have always said we have never reported spillover violence, but I have to say that this particular incident is our first example," Trevino said. Trevino said cartel leaders told members to enter the United States to search for marijuana stolen from the cartel. The Mexican gang used members of a Texas-based street gang, mostly illegal immigrants, to seek out the drugs, Trevino said. And three alleged high-ranking leaders of the Gulf Cartel have been arrested in Texas in the past two weeks after seeking refuge in the United States in the aftermath of internal gang warfare, according to federal court documents released this week. "Amazingly, these individuals are using Texas as a safe haven to protect themselves from the very violence that they have created," U.S. Senator John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, told reporters this week. The internal warfare was sparked by the September murder in Mexico of Samuel Flores Borrego, a top Gulf Cartel leader, according to the court documents. His death has led to a power struggle between two factions of the Gulf Cartel. DRUG ARREST Rafael Cardenas Vela, 38, the nephew of a co-founder of the Gulf Cartel, was arrested October 21 in Port Isabel, Texas, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He is charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute drugs and using a fraudulent passport. Two other Gulf Cartel members, Eudoxio Ramos Garcia and Jose Luis Zuniga Hernandez, have been arrested in Texas in the past week, according to ICE. All three arrests are related to the split in the Gulf Cartel, said Scott Stewart, vice president of tactical intelligence for the Austin-based private intelligence firm STRATFOR. "The friction between two parts of the Gulf Cartel has been brewing for the past couple of months, and now it appears it is breaking out into all out war," Stewart told Reuters on Thursday. "It is quite possible that the information that led to Cardenas' arrest was actually leaked to U.S. authorities by his rivals in the cartel." Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott on Wednesday wrote in a letter to President Barack Obama that the three arrests and the shooting of the deputy show that the administration is failing to secure the border. "I implore you to aggressively confront this escalating threat," Abbott wrote. A call to the White House press office was not immediately returned on Thursday. Monica Weisberg-Stewart, a McAllen business owner and the chairwoman of the security committee of the Texas Border Coalition, said incidents like the ones from the past two weeks aren't new in South Texas. "There is still less crime down here on the border than there is in most parts of the country," said Weisberg-Stewart, whose coalition includes elected officials and business owners. "What we need is to work on establishing a true sense of security, and not take reactive steps, which will give us a false sense of security."

An alleged high-ranking member of the Comanchero outlaw motorcycle gang (OMCG) has been charged with a revocation of parole warrant

2011-11-03T17:16:00.001-07:00

An alleged high-ranking member of the Comanchero outlaw motorcycle gang (OMCG) has been charged with a revocation of parole warrant by officers from the Gangs Squad’s Strike Force Raptor. Part of Strike Force Raptor’s charter is to monitor members of OMCGs who have been released from Corrective Services custody with parole conditions. Their inquiries led them to a man who had allegedly fled to Queensland. About 6.30pm on Wednesday 2 November 2011, a 41-year-old man was arrested in Tugun, Queensland, by officers from the Queensland Police Service’s Task Force Hydra. He faced Southport Magistrate’s Court yesterday where he was remanded into the custody of Strike Force Raptor officers. He was subsequently taken to Tweed Heads Police Station, in northern NSW, and charged with the revocation of parole warrant. He has been transferred into Corrective Services custody. Strike Force Raptor was established by the State Crime Command’s Gangs Squad in 2009 and is a proactive, high-impact operation targeting outlaw motorcycle gangs and their alleged associated criminal enterprises.

Hells Angels held a party in Tallinn last Saturday that climaxed with a fight that broke out between a night club security guard and two Finnish citizens

2011-11-03T17:07:00.001-07:00

motorcycle gang Hells Angels held a party in Tallinn last Saturday that climaxed with a fight that broke out between a night club security guard and two Finnish citizens who were later brought to trial and “essentially thrown out of the country,” as one law enforcement officer put it. Having caused a raucus at the night club, three Hells Angels members had called their friends for help, but police - who had been keeping an eye on their festivities - were standing by and preempted a further conflict, reported ETV. Police say the otherwise peaceful party, attended by Hells Angels members from six countries, is just one sign that motorcycle gangs are expanding to Estonia. A local biker club has been courting the Hells Angels to get full membership. Another local club has already gained membership and established a new headquarters for a second international organization, Bandidos, which Finnish law enforcement has dubbed the biggest organized crime ring in their country. The two groups - Hells Angels and Bandidos - cannot be allowed to come together. “Violence is relatively probable,” said Elmar Vaher, who heads the North Prefecture of the police. He recalled the Great Nordic Biker War in the 1990s, in which 11 were killed, 96 injured, and weapons such as AK-47s were used. "There is a principle that commiting a common crime can tie people more closely to one another than anything else," said Vaher. Authorities now fear new cases of prostitution and drug trafficking. Although police have searched one of these local biker clubs on several occasions, and discovered illegal drugs in one instance, the Estonian biker organizations cannot yet be labeled as criminal, they say. Estonian police have been watching the activities of biker gangs since 2005, when Finnish colleagues identified a problem. "Along with the public club activities, there are more shady dealings as well," said Vaher. "Their handwriting is generally clever. They want to show that they mean well - international associates have built kindergartens [...] But there are also hidden crimes, mainly drugs, prostitution, and serious financial crimes." While Vaher submitted that not every person with a motorcycle and a leather jacket can be considered a criminal, he said some markings - such as the Hells Angels's “1%” insignia - are a clear statement of endorsing criminal activity. Upon inquiry, however, the Estonian biker club associated with Hell Angels defended itself, saying that it is just a group of hobbyists, that every societal demographic has crime, and that criminal activity - indeed - is not a prerequisite for membership.

Maurice Boland launches iTalk FM radio

2011-11-03T09:57:00.001-07:00

THIS month radio presenter, Maurice Boland, will launch iTalk FM, a new radio station on the Costa del Sol. The radio station will be based at the Five Star Kempinski Hotel in Estepona, according to Boland. Presenters include: Mat Court, Jack Jackson, Stephen Ritson, Sheila Sanderson , David Jelley, Richie Allan, and Maurice Boland, according to a statement from the presenter.

A man who fled to Spain after being charged in connection with a terrifying robbery has been jailed for 10 years

2011-11-03T07:32:00.001-07:00

A man who fled to Spain after being charged in connection with a terrifying robbery has been jailed for 10 years. Stephen Devalda provided a motorbike used by two robbers to get to and from the scene of a cash-in-transit raid. The robbers, who were carrying an imitation firearm and a machete, attacked a security guard collecting money from an Asda supermarket. Devalda, of Stanton Avenue, Salford, was arrested and charged in 2007 but he went on to skip bail and fled to Spain. A joint operation between the Serious and Organised Crime Agency and Spanish police was launched – and they tracked him down in Malaga in March. CCTV of the robbery Devalda, 28, who pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to rob and a bail offence, has now been handed a sentence of 10 years and three months behind bars. Detective Inspector Simon Cheyte said: “This was a pre-planned and violent attack which has left the security guard so traumatised and distressed that he has not been able to return to his normal work duties. “This investigation was carried out by a small team over a protracted period of time. They showed dedication and determination to bring this offender to justice and their resolve to succeed has lead to the conviction of a member of an organised and dangerous criminal gang from the Salford area of Manchester. “Thankfully these types of offences are extremely rare but we take them very seriously and are committed to carrying out full and thorough investigations to identify those responsible. “This should demonstrate the lengths Lancashire Constabulary will go to in order to arrest people and bring them justice. I am pleased with the sentence and hope it sends a clear message that this type of offence will not be tolerated.” The court heard how the armed robbery was carried out at Asda, in Colne, in May 2005. Two men in crash helmets arrived on a motorbike. The security guard was attacked with a machete after being knocked to the ground. The victim had a handgun pushed into his neck and a demand was made for money. He was then hit over the helmet with such force that he fell to the floor. One of the robbers shouted 'kill him' to his accomplice. He was ordered to tell a colleague to pass money out. The terrified guard curled up in a ball as the machete was used to rain blows to his head and upper arms. The court heard how the ordeal left him with both physical and psychological injuries. He had three lacerations to the upper arms and £25,000 in cash was stolen. The robbers made off on the motorbike and later switched to a getaway vehicle. Devalda pleaded guilty on the basis that he had been recruited by someone else. His role had been limited to providing the motorbike. A second man, Andrew Moran, 25, from Salford, was also charged with conspiracy to rob in connection with the raid. He appeared at Burnley Crown Court in March 2009 after a six week trial and was remanded into custody by the judge pending the result of the jury’s deliberations. Moran then assaulted a Group 4 security member, vaulted over the dock and ran from the court building. The jury later returned a guilty verdict and he was convicted in his absence of conspiracy to rob, for which he is to be yet sentenced. Moran is still missing and this week was named one of Britain’s most wanted criminals as part of a national Crimestoppers appeal. Det Insp Cheyte said: “We are determined to get Moran back before the courts to serve the time for his crime and I would urge anyone with any information as to his whereabouts to come forward and contact the police.” Moran is described as being around 5ft 8in, of stocky build with cropped fair hair. He has a Manchester accent

COLOMBIAN lingerie model dubbed "Narco Queen" was handed six years in jail

2011-11-03T07:21:00.001-07:00

COLOMBIAN lingerie model dubbed "Narco Queen" was handed six years in jail yesterday after trying to ship cocaine to Europe in her suitcases. Stunning Angie Sanclemente Valencia, 31, had denied helping her boyfriend recruit other beautiful young women to work for her international drug smuggling ring. The former beauty queen tried to take drugs from Argentina to Europe in late 2009 via Mexico. She was arrested in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in May 2010 after months on the run from police. Her attorney German Delgado said he would appeal the conviction. He insisted there was no proof, declaring that Sanclemente should be acquitted as she had no criminal record. Nicolas Gualco, her boyfriend, was also sentenced to six years and eight months for his role in the same plot. Sanclemente claimed during the trial in Argentina that she travelled to the country to marry Gualco and was not involved in the drug trade. She told the court: "I did not come here to commit crimes, I am not a narco-trafficker." She said all she had done for her boyfriend was "make a few calls", adding: "God knows I did it for love." Another man, Venezuelan Gustavo Paez Arneses, was sentenced to six years and two months for his role in the smuggling attempt.

Gangster suspect Freddie is bailed in Spain

2011-11-01T00:07:00.001-07:00

SUSPECTED gangland boss 'Fat' Freddie Thompson is enjoying the Spanish sunshine after being freed on bail following a brief court appearance. Mr Thompson (30) was allowed to leave a Costa del Sol court a free man yesterday after more than a fortnight in jail in Ireland and Spain. He was told he was suspected of offences including drugs trafficking, money laundering and unlawful assembly, at the private court hearing in Estepona near Marbella. But he was spared more prison time after agreeing to bail conditions including the surrender of his passport and a ban on leaving Spain. Accomplices He has also been ordered to sign on at the court twice a month -- a requirement likely to bring him into contact with alleged accomplices John Cunningham and Christy Kinahan's sons Daniel and Christopher. Suspected gang boss Christy is in jail in Belgium after being extradited there in August. Mr Thompson's bail address has not been made public. A court source confirmed yesterday: "Frederick Thompson has been released on bail. "He has been informed he is under investigation for crimes including money laundering, unlawful assembly and drugs trafficking. Court "The three conditions of his bail are that he cannot leave Spain, hands in his passport to the authorities and signs on at court twice a month on days fixed by the court." Mr Thompson consented to extradition after being arrested in Dublin on a European arrest warrant on October 14. He spent 13 days in Cloverhill Prison before being flown to Spain last Friday. He is thought to have spent the weekend in prisons in Madrid and Alhaurin de la Torre near Malaga. He is said to be facing nine years in prison in Spain if convicted. Under Spanish law, he has not been officially charged with any crimes.

Fat FreddieThomson has been wanted in Spain for the past 18 months

2011-10-31T23:44:00.001-07:00

30 year old Irishman, Freddie Thompson, known in the criminal world as ‘Fat Freddie', was arrested by the Garda in Dublin on October 21.

The arrest order dates from 18 months ago and was issued by the courts in Estepona, Málaga. The police consider that Thomson was a member of the Irish gang led by Christopher Kinahan, which was broken up by police in May 2010 in an operation codenamed ‘shovel’ which saw the arrest of more than 30 people in Spain, Ireland and the U.K. They were all linked to large scale drug and arms trafficking, as well as money laundering and other crimes committed on the Costa del Sol.

Thomson is now expected to declare before the court in Estepona this week. Police had thought that he could have been hiding in Holland.
He has been the most famous prisoner in the Clovenhill prison since his arrest.

Marbella police arrested a man considered to be a ‘frontman’ for the group, who was paid a monthly sum for the use of his name. Officially he owned luxury cars and businesses, when in fact he was almost pennyless.

Most of the money is thought to have been laundered in Brazil where real estate was purchased. 60 properties worth an estimated 150 million € have been impounded on the Costa del Sol in connection with the case.

Welcome to Oculto Café – Cordoba’s infamous Satanic saloon.

2011-10-31T16:51:00.001-07:00

GLASSES shoot across tabletops, busty vamps serve blood-red cocktails, and twisted locals raise a toast to an image of Aleister Crowley. Welcome to Oculto Café – Cordoba’s infamous Satanic saloon. The bar is situated in a maze of narrow, winding streets in the ancient ‘Old Town’ district. Stepping outside for a Marlboro, I scan my surroundings. It’s a chilly, moonlit night and the streets are deserted. Strain your ears, however, and you’ll hear muffled voices coming from dark balconies. It’s like a scene from Interview with the Vampire. As I re-enter, the room falls silent. A cross-eyed chap stares at me… well, I think it’s me… it’s hard to tell. Had my gothic guy-liner run, or had he caught a whiff of fresh meat? In this insular atmosphere, I feel as welcome as Gary Glitter at Tivoli World! Forget fruit machines and pool tables, it’s ouija boards and tarot cards that keep these punters amused. A little weakened, I seize a newspaper and hide in the corner. Alongside ads for ‘Black Angels’ and ‘Colombian Swallowers’, the classifieds are swarming with clairvoyants. I’m shocked! Isn’t Spain supposed to be a God-fearing country? But the truth is, up until the Inquisition (1478), Iberia was a hotbed of magic and sorcery. With the coming of Catholicism, however, mystics – including ‘witches’ and ‘healers’ were round-up and executed. For survival’s sake, Spaniards severed their ties with the ‘other side.’ Today, however, there is growing evidence that Spain is returning to its supernatural roots. Church-going is down (just 14.4%), and stories of Satanism are everywhere. In March 2011, an Almerian church was littered with satanic scrawls. Investigators claimed that the site had been used for a “black mass.” Tenerife’s Arona Cemetery has also been targeted by sinister cults. In 2008, graves were desecrated and animals sacrificed during “bizarre nocturnal rituals”. For sceptics, it’s easy to blame rebellious youth or drug-addicts for these atrocities. However, as someone who’s experienced dark forces – first hand – I try to keep an open mind. It all started in 2001 when I was filming a documentary at Devon’s Berry Pomeroy. In the castle grounds, I indivertibly captured an inhuman figure on camera. Whilst replaying the footage to BBC colleagues, the office computers went wild. In 2009, I moved my family to a 15th century cottage on the West Pennine Moors. Unbeknown to us, our ‘dream house’ was built on a Quaker burial site. During our six-month stay – we endured stamping noises, icy chills and orbs zipping round the lounge. At night, the constant thumping would deprive us of sleep, and we’d trudge into work like a couple of zombies. However, my most recent spooking occurred right here in Andalucia. One evening, I watched a can of Asturiana cider move sideways, hover and then drop off the table! Earlier that day, an old drinking buddy had been buried in Devon – was this his final ‘chin-chin’? Whatever it was, it scared the bejesus out of my missus and she hasn’t slept properly since. Two weeks on, and we’re sitting in Oculto, trying not to blush at orgy paintings. After some Dutch courage, I enquire about a séance at the bar. A black-toothed midget points towards a battered wooden door. Timidly, I wander down the corridor and knock on wood. It’s opened by a raven-haired gypsy. She’s both beautiful and grotesque: Penelope Cruz’s mum meets the Bride of Chucky. Without speaking – she beckons me in with a long, black talon. With low ceilings, purple walls and an absence of windows – the room is claustrophobic and unsettling. Under flickering candlelight, the Victorian death portraits seem to eyeball you from the walls. But it’s the cold air and fetid stench that’s really sending shivers down my spine. The woman glides over to a monolithic Ouija board and orders me to sit. She lays out a clutch of cards, including The Hanged Man, The Fool, The Stig, Jeremy Clarkson, Dog the Bounty Hunter, The Archbishop of Canterbury and Boy George. Okay… I lied about Boy George – but it’s all the scary ones! Suddenly, my stomach churns and I shout ‘Stop!’ I apologise for wasting her time – but I’ve got the heebie-jeebies. A floating cider is hardly The Ring – so why risk opening a fresh can of worms? I chat to Jose, a Pepe Reina lookalike in his late 20s. Around us, weirdoes chuck darts at an image of the Pope (only joking….it’s Desmond Tutu!) Jose is erudite and speaks fine English. Over Osbourne brandies, I pose the question: “So….Are you a Satanist?” “Of course”! Jose replies: Usually, I’d grab my coat, but by now, I’m immune to the madness. After dispelling myths of “priest-beating” and “baby-eating”, Jose insists that Satanists are “Perfectly normal.” Apparently, the only difference is they choose “indulgence over abstinence’, and prefer “vengeance” to forgiveness. Oh…..and they enjoy kinky sex and coke-snorting – but hey… so does the cast of Skins. By 1am I’m craving a Horlicks and a late night snack. I thank Jose and wish him a “hell-of-a-life.” We leave Occulto and hot-foot it to the Corredera for a greasy kebab. After filling our faces, we clamber into a taxi. We’re only 10-minutes from the hotel – but I’m bloated on beer and lamb offal. Back at the room, Jose’s words haunt me. Having spent the last five hours binge-drinking, ogling rude pictures and eating crap – could I be accused of “indulgence”? If Christianity equals modesty, chastity and turning the other cheek, what about all those times I’ve bought designer togs, belted a thug or lusted over lesbians? Perhaps I’m more Satanic than I thought? By bedtime, I’d seen no demons, virgin sacrifices or people snacking on goats’ head soup. This said, not everyone was as friendly as Jose, and the yokels at the bar seemed quite menacing. I’ve yet to decide whether Satanists are ordinary folk – daring to be different, or psychopaths to be avoided at all costs. I DO know, however, that pentangles are not for me. For one – I like animals too much to put their heads on sticks – and secondly, I root for the “goodies” when it kicks off on Buffy. Nevertheless, I enjoyed my time at Occulto and found the experience enlightening. Whatever they are (or aren’t), there’s a pub full of them in Cordoba, and if you ever feel like taking a walk on the wild side, you know where to head.

Body found in boot of crashed car on Alicante motorway

2011-10-31T09:51:00.001-07:00

Firemen called out to an accident on the A-31 Alicante-Madrid motorway early on Monday found an unidentified body in the boot of a car which had crashed into the central reservation at Sax and then burst into flames. The body was partially burnt but appears to be that of a man. Reports indicate that the deceased had been tied up and gagged. No other occupants were found at the site and the Civil Guard are now trying to identify the victim and the cause of death.

Hells Angels have had a rough year in California.

2011-10-31T09:39:00.001-07:00

The Hells Angels have had a rough year in California. Three Northern California members have died violently in the last month amid a turf battle with a rival biker gang. And law enforcement officials on both ends of the motorcycle club's home state are pursuing and jailing members, with 26 Angels and their associates arrested recently in San Diego. The violence spilled into public view in the unlikeliest of places two weeks ago when thousands of Harley-Davidsons rolled up to a San Jose cemetery on a sunny Saturday afternoon to bury a Hells Angels leader who was gunned down weeks earlier in a Nevada casino. A Hells Angel allegedly shot and killed a fellow member at the cemetery and fled — the latest sign of the in-fighting and violence that has plagued the gang in recent months. And if the deadly gunfire were not enough, a member was plowed down by a van a week later near Oakland, the alleged the victim of road rage. While no one is predicting the demise of the notorious outlaw motorcycle club, law enforcement officials and gang experts said the Hells Angels' recent woes still stand out for an organization they describe as violent, sophisticated and disciplined with loyal-to-the-death members. "They are the heavyweight champions of the biker gang culture," said Jay Dobyns, an agent with Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives who infiltrated the Hells Angels in Arizona for two years beginning in 2001. "And every other biker gang wants the belt." The organization has a long history in California, dating to its founding in 1948 by returning World War II veterans in the dusty town of Fontana and including a notorious incident during a Rolling Stones show in Altamont in 1969 in which a spectator was stabbed by a Hells Angel working security. A jury later acquitted the killer, finding he acted in self defense. The U.S. Department of Justice says the Hells Angels now have as many as 2,500 members in 230 chapters in 26 countries, and are a major source of drug-trafficking. Federal, state and local police have pursued the club for decades, infiltrating it with undercover agents, prosecuting suspects with harsh charges once reserved for the Mafia and indicting members on charges ranging from drug trafficking to mortgage fraud. Yet the club flourished. They opened chapters worldwide, aggressively enforced their trademarks in court like a responsible Wall Street corporation and won high-profile acquittals and other legal battles with law enforcement. The ATF, which handles many federal biker cases, said it arrested more outlaw motorcycle gang members last year than any other since 2003. Police in Germany, Canada and elsewhere also report a surge in motorcycle gang violence, with much of it connected to the Hells Angels. The California Hells Angels' current problems are partly rooted in a battle with the Vagos, a California-based motorcycle club founded in the 1960s. The clubs have been bitter enemies dating at least back a decade to a violent 2001 confrontation at a Costa Mesa swap meet. "These groups are trying to expand their membership and dominance," said Kent Shaw, the California Attorney General's acting head of law enforcement. "There's going to be a number of clashes and it seems to have gotten worse over the last couple years. It seems to be coming to a flash point." After dozens of Vagos took over a bar in Lakeport, Calif., and rode their motorcycles up and down the main drag, officials went so far as to close the downtown to traffic on May 14. Lake County Sheriff Frank Rivero said the Vagos were making a statement about controlling the region after one of its members was allegedly beaten by Hells Angels earlier in the year. So Rivero put up a road block that day after the California Highway Patrol and FBI warned that Hells Angels were traveling toward town. The Angels turned back before reaching the road block. But now the district attorney is investigating whether the sheriff violated the club members' civil rights with his plans to stop them. The sheriff is unapologetic. "It's a basic response," Rivero said. "I'm not going to tolerate gang violence in Lake County." A month later, a Vagos member and a friend were severely beaten in a casino. Four Hells Angels have been charged with assault. Three were arrested and the sheriff said they were bailed out by fellow Angel Steve Tausan, who owned a bail bonds company. A fourth is being sought. In September, the two gangs fought again. San Jose Angels leader Jeffrey "Jethro" Pettigrew was slain during a wild shootout with rival Vagos in a Reno-area casino on Sept. 23. It was at Pettigrew's burial where more violence occurred. Two shots were fired, and Tausan, Pettigrew's good friend and high-ranking Angel, lay bleeding with a mortal wound. Police suspect fellow Angel Steve Ruiz of firing on Tausan after they argued over the casino shooting and whether enough was done to protect Pettigrew, the president of the San Jose chapter. Police are now searching for Ruiz, who reportedly was hustled into a waiting car, leaving behind his motorcycle. Investigators initially feared Ruiz was killed and went so far as to dig up Pettigrew's grave in search of a body. But now police believe he is on the run with his girlfriend. San Jose police were out in force Saturday as Tausan was laid to rest at the same cemetery where he was killed during the Oct. 15 funeral. A police spokesman said there were no reports of any disturbances or violence. The Hells Angels didn't respond to numerous phone calls and email messages sent to their clubhouses in San Jose and Santa Cruz, where Tausan served as the chapter's sergeant at arms. The Angels have always maintained they are a club of motorcycle enthusiasts who are unfairly regarded as an organized crime syndicate because of the crimes of a few members acting independently. The club participates in charity events, such as "Toys for Tots" motorcycle runs and blood drives. "When we do right, nobody remembers," the club's Web site states. "When we do wrong, nobody forgets." Karen Snell, a lawyer who won a $1.8 million settlement in 2005 after the San Jose chapter filed a lawsuit claiming illegal police searches during a murder investigation, said Pettigrew, Tausan and the others involved with the case were serious businessmen with families. "They were really responsible clients," Snell said. "In my all my interactions with them, they were always gentlemen." Now Pettigrew and Tausan are dead. "We lost our brother, our father, our son and our friend," said Karen Tausan, Steve's sister. "He left a big hole in our family and we can only hope this will come to an end now."

10,000 border arrests due to screening system

2011-10-31T05:41:00.001-07:00

10,000 criminals including rapists and murderers have been held at the UK border thanks to a screening system begun in 2005, a minister has said. Air and sea carriers using UK ports and airports submit passenger and crew details electronically to the e-Borders screening system, prior to travel. It results in about 52 weekly arrests, Immigration Minister Damian Green says. He praised the UK Border Agency and police for the scheme, which covers up to 55% of journeys to and from the UK. "By checking passenger and crew information before travel, law enforcement agencies can apprehend those trying to evade justice," Mr Green said. "From 2013 the new dedicated Border Policing Command, part of the National Crime Agency, will further strengthen security at the border, providing leadership and coordination based on a single national threat assessment and strategy." E-Borders has not avoided controversy. The government faces the threat of a lawsuit from Raytheon, the firm which managed the £750m system until Mr Green terminated its contract in July 2010 over delays to its full implementation. Raytheon says the problems were down to UK Border Agency mismanagement of the scheme. But John Donlon, of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said e-borders would continue to play a key role. Extending scheme "Police have been able to identify those wanted for offences before they leave or when they return to the UK, bringing offenders to justice and supporting counter-terrorist and serious crime investigations," he said. More than 125 million passengers' details were screened in the year to September, resulting in 2,700 arrests. Among those detained were 11 murderers, 22 rapists, 316 violent criminals and 126 drug offenders, government figures show. The government is extending the number of routes and carriers covered by the e-Borders system and will re-introduce exit checks by 2015. "Inevitably as more routes are covered the number of arrests will grow," Mr Donlon added. The border agency said recent successes included the arrest at Manchester Airport of a 44-year-old man who was later charged with sexually grooming a boy after an alert from Swiss authorities, and the detention of a man wanted for a rape 14 years ago. Other cases involved the jailing of a Spanish drugs courier trying to smuggle 1kg of cocaine from Brazil, the arrest of one man from Dubai who was wanted for a £5.7m theft and another who was suspected of a £50m fraud. Meanwhile, the agency said on Sunday it had blacklisted nearly 3,000 banks it believed could not be trusted to verify documents supporting student visa applications.

charity worker employed by one of David Cameron’s Big Society gurus has been arrested on suspicion of smuggling cocaine with a street value of £120,000

2011-10-31T02:26:00.001-07:00

charity worker employed by one of David Cameron’s Big Society gurus has been arrested on suspicion of smuggling cocaine with a street value of £120,000 into Britain.

Former US gang member Derrick ‘Anthony’ Mitchell was held at Heathrow this month after UK Border Agency officers allegedly discovered 3kg of drugs in his luggage.

Mitchell, 37, is a duty manager at the South London-based Kids Company founded by charity boss Camila Batmanghelidjh. She set it up in 1996 to care for abused, neglected or abandoned children in London’s inner-city communities.

She has been described as ‘Britain’s most colourful charity leader’ because of her style, dress sense and selfless approach to charity work.

The award-winning author and campaigner was invited to 10 Downing Street last year.

She also advises former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith and is thought to be one of the inspirations behind Mr Cameron’s pledge to ‘hug a hoodie’.
Ms Batmanghelidjh spoke of her shock at the allegations surrounding Mr Mitchell, whom she described as a ‘street-level youth mentor’.

She said: ‘Obviously, because the judicial process needs to take place, we cannot legally comment. The only thing I can say is that the alleged incident took place while he was on holiday in his own time.

‘At this stage I do not know enough to know the full details. But as a worker, he gave exceptional commitment to the kids over a number of years and I can never take that away from him.

Pledge: David Cameron's Big Society aims to 'take power away from politicians and give it to people'

As an organisation, we employ a range of people and a lot of them have had challenging backgrounds as children and we have given them chances. The majority of them go on to do incredibly well.

‘In the situation of this individual, if what is alleged has occurred, he has made an abhorrent choice and I do not agree with it.’

Camila Batmanghelidjh said she was shocked at the allegations surrounding Mr Mitchell, claiming he gave 'exceptional commitment to the kids'

Mitchell, of Camberwell, south London, was arrested at Heathrow on October 6 and remanded in custody by Uxbridge magistrates the next day. He will reappear in court in the next month.

The university undergraduate has previously spoken of deciding to rebuild his life after leaving a violent street gang in Miami.

He claimed he had earlier sold drugs and lost a family member to violence at the age of 19 when his sister bled to death after being stabbed in a leg.

After coming to Britain in his 20s, he began working with the charity about five years ago, attempting to convince youths in gangs to turn their back on crime.

Kids Company operates from three centres in Southwark, Lambeth and Camden in London, as well as working in 37 inner-city schools.

It employs more than 600 people in full and part-time roles to reach out to 14,000 children from the capital’s most deprived and crime-ridden areas.

Many of the youngsters live with parents who are unable to care for them and have had severely troubled lives.

Boy, 17, shot in back in Poplar, east London

2011-10-30T07:30:00.001-07:00

teenager has been shot in the back in east London. The 17-year-old boy was wounded in East India Dock Road, Poplar, in the early hours of the morning. A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "A 17-year-old male had a gunshot wound to the back and is in hospital in a serious condition." The attack happened just before 01:00 GMT, police said. Any witnesses to the shooting should call the Metropolitan Police.

Armed guards are to be deployed on British civilian ships for the first time to protect them from pirates,

2011-10-30T04:45:00.001-07:00

Armed guards are to be deployed on British civilian ships for the first time to protect them from pirates, David Cameron announced today.

A legal ban on weapon-toting protection staff will be relaxed so that firms can apply for a licence to have them on board in danger zones.

The Prime Minister said radical action was required because the increasing ability of sea-borne Somali criminals to hijack and ransom ships had become 'a complete stain on our world'.

He unveiled the measure after talks at a Commonwealth summit in Australia with leaders of countries in the Horn of Africa over the escalating problem faced in waters off their shores.

Under the plans, the Home Secretary will be given the power to license vessels to carry armed security, including automatic weapons, currently prohibited under firearms laws.

Officials said around 200 ships were expected to be in line to take up the offer, which would only apply for voyages through particular waters in the affected region.

It is expected to be used by commercial firms, rather than private sailors such as hostage victims Paul and Rachel Chandler.

Pirates: There are around 50 ships currently being held hostage

Asked if he was comfortable with giving private security operatives the right to 'shoot to kill' if necessary, Mr Cameron told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show: 'We have to make choices.

'Frankly the extent of the hijack and ransom of ships round the Horn of Africa is a complete stain on our world.

'The fact that a bunch of pirates in Somalia are managing to hold to ransom the rest of the world and our trading system is a complete insult and the rest of the world needs to come together with much more vigour.

Gang ringleaders: Mehmet Sirin Baybasin (left) and Paul Taylor (Pic: PA)

2011-10-27T15:46:00.001-07:00

A GANG of drug dealers planned to flood Britain with £4 billion of cocaine - arranging the plot from a phone box.

The Liverpool and London-based gangsters were planning to smuggle 40 tonnes of cocaine from South America by sea, hidden inside tins of fish and wooden pallets.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that the drug would be bought at a "wholesale price" and then sold to other dealers who would dilute it and sell it on.

If all the cocaine had made it to the streets of the UK and it was cut before being sold, the court heard it could have been worth around £4 billion.

The head of the Liverpool operation used a phone box in Old Hall Street, in Liverpool city centre, to arrange the deal with his London counterpart.

But the gang were being watched by undercover officers from the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (Soca).

The phone box on Old Hall Street used by one of the drug dealers

The group was led by Mehmet Sirin Baybasin, 48, of Fairfield Crescent, Edgware, north-west London, who was jailed for 30 years at a hearing last week after he was found guilty of conspiracy to import cocaine.

The court heard that Baybasin was one of a total of 24 defendants brought to justice as part of the Soca investigation and that he was "at the top of the pyramid".

Judge David Aubrey QC said the offences had "at their core the evil and pernicious trade of drug dealing" and were indicative of the gang's "desire for the good life".

He said he was satisfied that the amounts they were talking about were not "pie in the sky" and that the wholesale value of 1,102lb (500kg) of uncut cocaine alone was worth a potential £17 million

TOP Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson tried to stop his ex-wife from claiming they had sex after he remarried.

2011-10-26T16:10:00.001-07:00

Jeremy Clarkson took out the gagging order against his ex-wife last year. It's not known why he applied to lift it. Picture: Cameron Richardson Source: Supplied

Clarkson, who has made a name for himself as a man refuses to be silenced, denies the allegation but took out a gagging order against Alexandra Hall last year.

The claim can now be revealed because he asked for the order to be lifted.

It is unclear why he decided to withdraw the order, which banned any reporting of "sexual or other intimate acts or dealings" between Clarkson and Ms Hall.

Ms Hall married Clarkson in 1989 but their marriage lasted only a year.

She claims she had relationship with him after they split and Clarkson was married to his current wife, Frances.

Clarkson's marriage came under fire from the tabloids earlier this year over claims he had cheated on his wife with a member of the Top Gear production team while in Australia.

He denied the reports and said his 18-year marriage was strong.

The couple have three children.

Real IRA terrorist has been jailed for 12 years after being found guilty of buying weapons and explosives which he wanted to use to “kill Brits.

2011-10-26T15:44:00.001-07:00

Michael Campbell (Pic: PA)

A Real IRA terrorist has been jailed for 12 years after being found guilty of buying weapons and explosives which he wanted to use to “kill Brits.”

Irishman Michael Campbell - brother of Omagh bomber Liam - was snared in a six year MI5 sting across three countries with agents pretending to be arms dealers.

Yesterday he was finally jailed by a Lithuania court after spending three years awaiting trial and having been snared by an amazing MI5 undercover operation.

Campbell, 39, was secretly filmed in a field in Lithuania pointing a high-power Barret sniper rifle which he later bragged he would use to kill British people.

Michael Campbell testing weapons in the Lithuanian countryside (Pic: PA)

Using secret filming Campbell was caught on camera inspecting the weapons stash in a lock-up garage (Pic: PA)

Campbell's shopping list for weapons (Pic:PA)

He was also recorded on video in a garage buying weapons and explosives from an undercover Lithiuanian agent he nicknamed “Rambo.”

But the hero of the MI5 plot was a cigarette smuggler - turned MI5 agent who went deep undercover using the cover name Robert Jardine.

Using his connections Robert Jardine coolly penetrated deep into the Real IRA network knowing he could have been killed if his cover was blown.

At one stage in his dealings with dark-haired Campbell and other terror suspects - who cannot be named for legal reasons - he was bundled into a padded van containing a shovel.

Sources have told The Daily Mirror he feared he had been rumbled and was being driven to his death - but it was just a Real IRA tactic to unnerve him.

Judge Arunas Kisielus of the Vilnius Regional Court sentenced Michael Campbell to 12 years in prison for weapons offenses and supporting a terrorist group.

Covert footage showed Campbell paid £5,200 for explosives, grenade launchers, detonators, AK-47s and an assassin’s rifle to Lithuanian agents posing as arms dealers.

He says on tape: “You imagine, with a six-hour timer, we could be over to London and back,” Campbell says in an audio clip after mulling over a price list for explosives and detonators. “Just tick, tick, tick, tick ... gone.

In court Campbell had pleaded not guilty.

The Real IRA’s worst crime to date was the 1998 Omagh bombing which killed 29 and for which Liam Campbell -Michael’s brother - was found liable in a civil trial.

MI5’s Operation Uncritical ruined a bid by the Real IRA to get guns and explosives to mount a deadly terror campaign on the British mainland.

Yesterday a senior security official said: “The conviction of Michael Campbell is the result of a successful joint operation between the Security Service and the Lithuanian authorities.

“Working closely together, along with a selfless and brave agent, they have put behind bars a senior member of the Real IRA whose intention was to kill innocent members of the public in Northern Ireland and in Britain.”

Courageously Jardine - who now lives in a secret location - for years risked his life to provide his MI5 handlers with intelligence about the Real IRA.

The agent, who was referred to in court as “Robert Jardine”, was a legitimate businessman based in southern England dealing in “imports and exports.”

But he also had an illicit sideline in smuggling cigarettes from Eastern Europe - and it was that which caught the eye of the security service and led him into a world of terrorist intrigue.

The Real IRA (RIRA) was using the contraband cigarettes to fund its terrorist activities and in late 2002 Jardine was recruited as an agent by MI5.

Two years later RIRA asked Jardine whether his contacts in Eastern Europe could help them get weapons. And - carefully directed by MI5 - he laid a trail of deception which drew in the terrorists.

The court heard that in January 2005 he handed over a price list to a contact.

The following July Jardine and the contact crossed the border into Lithuania where Jardine introduced her to “Tomas”.

In fact Tomas was working for the Lithuanian security service, the VSD - the first in a cast of “role-players” deployed to convince the RIRA that the offer of weapons was real.

The RIRA gave Jardine the first of two hand-written shopping lists of weapons they wanted to buy - including sniper rifles, rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers, hand grenades, detonators and Semtex plastic explosives.

Then, in late 2006, another RIRA man, moved to revive the arrangement. Jardine responded by saying he would provide the introductions but the republicans would have to cut their own deal. The “sting” was back on.

Then Michael Campbell entered the story.

On August 29 2007, Michael Campbell and another associate travelled to a lodge in the Lithuanian countryside belonging to the supposed arms dealer.

There they were given their first chance to test guns and explosives.

Next day they were introduced to a second dealer - whom the two Irishmen quickly nicknamed “Rambo” - who was to provide them with the actual weapons they wanted.

Like Tomas, however, Rambo was in reality working for the VSD.

Campbell and his colleague agreed to pay a deposit on explosives, detonators and timers.

Afterwards an excited Campbell was secretly recorded telling his associate: “Look at it this way, for one of them and one of them you have a bomb - for f****** a hundred quid.

“F*** me. You imagine us getting over to England if you’d ten of them and ten clocks in a holdall. You imagine, with a six-hour timer we could be over to London and back.

“Just tick, tick, tick - gone. Leave it anywhere.”

That October, Campbell met Rambo again in Marbella in southern Spain.

This time the RIRA man said he wanted a first instalment of weapons - including two rocket propelled grenades as well as the explosives - against the deposit.

On January 21 2008, Campbell went to Lithuania to inspect his purchase and finalise the arrangements.

That evening the couple dined with Rambo who the following day took Campbell to a lock-up garage where the weapons were stashed.

A hidden camera secretly filmed as Campbell examines one of the detonators and asks whether they would be “good for booby traps”.

“They would be good for under a car, wouldn’t they?” he says. “Anchored to the wheel and then the car goes round - bang.”

Campbell was also filmed paying a further deposit for a powerful Barrett sniper rifle - the type of weapon used to kill Lance Bombardier Stephen Restorick, the last British soldier to die at the hands of the IRA in 1997.

When Rambo demands what it would be used for - saying he was not prepared to sell it just “to shoot roe deer or wild boar” - Campbell tells him: “No, no, we will be shooting from across borders. The border. You know, from one side to the other.”

Asked who the target would be, Campbell replies simply “Brits”.

Libya: Col Gaddafi buried at dawn

2011-10-25T02:15:00.001-07:00

Officials said earlier that the ousted Libyan leader would be buried in a secret desert grave, ending a wrangle over his rotting corpse that led many to fear for the country's governability. Transitional government forces had put the body on show in a cold store in Misurata while they argued over what to do with it, until its decay forced them on Monday to end the display. His son Mutassim is thought to have been buried in the same ceremony. A few relatives and officials were in attendance, according to a Misurata military council official. Yesterday, the government bowed to international pressure and announced a commission to determine how Gaddafi died after he was cornered in a drain while trying to flee Sirte, his besieged home town. Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the chairman of the NTC, and other officials have said Gaddafi was killed in crossfire. Mr Jalil said: "In response to international calls, we have started to put in place a commission tasked with investigating the circumstances of Muammar Gaddafi's death in the clash with his circle as he was being captured."

Pop legend Madonna today told a court of her 'alarm and distress' after a delusional fan, who believes the star loves him, broke into her £10million London home and rifled through her bedding.

2011-10-24T15:53:00.001-07:00

Grzegorz Matlok, 30, burgled a mews house linked to the singer's luxury townhouse in Marylebone, central London, and stole a can of Red Bull after wandering through two bedrooms and a living room.

Southwark Crown Court heard Matlok was discovered holding the drink and playing with a kitchen light switch at around 4.40am on March 12 by Madonna's former gardener-turned film director Nathan Rissman, 39, who was staying in the mews at the time.

When he was quizzed over what he was doing and told Madonna was not staying there, he said: 'I'm sorry. Arrest me, arrest me'.

He later told police he had been given permission by the singer and had found a welcome note from her.

A map with a large 'M' scrawled over Madonna's home and a bag containing a safety knife, nail scissors, a coach ticket from Poland and Matlok's passport were found in a bag outside the property.

A year ago Matlok sneaked into the Wiltshire estate Madonna used to share with ex-husband Ritchie and was caught putting on his clothes.

The 'Music' star was heard to be 'distressed and unsettled' by Matlok's two successful break-ins and said she feared for the safety of herself, her four children and her staff.

Prosecutor Philip Stott said: 'It appears that the defendant took a route, by examination of the lights he had turned on, through the lounge and kitchen and into a bedroom and dressing area and then gone through an inter connecting door where again he had gone into a bedroom and dressing room, where he disturbed some bed clothes.'

Matlok had broken into the house after smashing a window with a stone and using a rope and scaffolding to enter one of the three properties by a first floor window.

The court heard he had travelled to England from Poland by coach a few days before the burglary on March 12.

Mr Stott said that in interview Matlok told Madonna's security manager he was there 'To see Madonna' and afterwards told police she had okayed his visit.

Country house: A year ago Matlok sneaked into the Wiltshire estate (pictured) Madonna used to share with ex-husband Guy Ritchie

'He told the police he had permission to stay in the flat and that Madonna knew he was coming,' said the barrister.

'He said he had found a note saying welcome and he went inside.

'He said he had been at the address two or three days earlier, but no one had answered the doorbell.

'He said he was not there to steal anything - he said he had sent messages to Madonna over the internet to say he was going to turn up.'

In a victim impact statement read to the court Madonna said: 'I do not know the defendant, I've not had any form of relationship with the defendant nor have I had any form of contact by phone or by email, or by any other way, with the defendant.

'In particular I've never given the defendant permission to enter the premises or any of my other premises.

'I feel very alarmed and distressed by the actions of the defendant.

When Matlok broke into Wiltshire home, he was restrained by Guy Ritchie (pictured)

'It is extremely unsettling to know that despite the extensive security I have he has been able to break into two of my residential properties.

'I'm worried about my children's safety as well as the safety of my staff. I'm also naturally worried about my own safety.'

The court heard that Matlok suffered from 'delusions that Madonna loved him' but, according to consultant psychiatrist Dr Nadji Kahtan, his schizophrenia could be controlled by medication.

'In hospital he's fully compliant and has expressed no wish to stop taking it [his medication] and he says he wishes to still take it because he recognises that he has a mental illness,' he said.

'We feel that the best way to manage his illness is for him to continue to be treated at a hospital in England until he can be moved to a hospital in Poland.'

The court heard however that Matlok had attacked someone in his cell and had been 'rather aggressive' to women, including nurses.

When Matlok broke into the Wiltshire home of Guy Ritchie he was found by a housekeeper cowering under the bed of an 'outhouse'.

Mr Stott said he had to be restrained by Mr Ritchie, a gamekeeper and 'The Football Factory' director Nick Love.

'He had taken cash from Mr Ritchie and Mr Love and had put on a pair of Mr Ritchie's jeans,' he said.

Batteries, a torch, a bottle of shampoo and three credit cards had also been moved, according to Mr Ritchie, but no further action was taken and Matlok was deported in August 2010.

In June Matlok reportedly attempted suicide by setting fire to his cell and was said to have been dragged to safety by prison guards.

Madonna, 53, was not in the property at the time, having taken her four children - Lourdes, 14, Rocco, 10, Mercy, 6, and David, 5 - to Michigan in the U.S. to pay her respects to her late grandmother Elsie Mae Fortin.

Southwark Crown Court heard Matlok was discovered holding the drink and playing with a kitchen light switch at around 4.40am on March 12

The Pole, who is being held at a secure psychiatric unit, was flanked by hospital staff and assisted by an interpreter at Southwark Crown Court today.

Matlok has admitted burgling the office in Marylebone but denied two charges of burglary relating to a house connected to it, both of which are owned by 'Madonna Ciccone'.

The two charges he denied were ordered to lie on the court file after prosecutors accepted Matlok's plea.

The burglary took place six months after Madonna was targeted by a man who was arrested outside her New York apartment carrying two knives.

Judge Deborah Taylor was expected to order Matlok's detention under the Mental Health Act, 1983, this afternoon.

full brutality of former Libyan tyrant Muammar Gaddafi's regime has been revealed in chilling video footage of prison torture sessions.

2011-10-24T03:44:00.001-07:00

The full brutality of former Libyan tyrant Muammar Gaddafi's regime has been revealed in chilling video footage of prison torture sessions.

And the fallen dictatorship's former foreign minister, Musa Kusa - who was released by the British authorities six months ago after he defected to the UK in March - is facing fresh allegations that he was directly involved in the beating of political prisoners.

The footage - obtained by the BBC's Panorama programme - was reportedly shot at the notorious Abu Salim prison in Tripoli. It shows crouching inmates, blindfolded and wearing blue uniforms, being repeatedly whipped and kicked by interrogators.

Brutal: A still from footage of a prisoner being whipped inside the Abu Salim prison during Gaddafi's rule

Last month the remains of more than 1,200 prisoners were found in a mass grave outside the prison's walls.

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The Panorama team tracked down Kusa to a luxury resort in Qatar during its investigation into his role in alleged war crimes. He declined to be interviewed for the programme.

Kusa was head of Gaddafi's intelligence agency from 1994 and a senior intelligence agent when PanAm flight 103 was blown up over Lockerbie.

Inhumane: An inmate is kicked in the head by one official as a prison guard looks on

Back in the spotlight: Torture suspect Musa Kusa defected to Britain in April but moved to Qatar just weeks later

The Boeing 747 jumbo jet was en route from London to New York when it exploded over the Dumfriesshire town, killing 243 passengers, 16 crew and 11 residents.

There have also been calls for Kusa to be quizzed in relation to the murder of PC Yvonne Fletcher, who was shot during a protest outside London's Libyan Embassy in 1984.

Kusa made a high-profile defection to Britain in March and was interviewed by police and Scottish prosecutors investigating the Lockerbie attack.

But within weeks he was allowed to leave the UK following an EU decision to lift sanctions against him, meaning he no longer faces travel restrictions or an asset freeze.

No comment: Panorama reporter Paul Kenyon is blocked by a bodyguard while attempting to question Kusa

The Foreign Office said Kusa was a 'private individual' who had been interviewed voluntarily.

But the ruling was condemned by one Tory MP who said Britain had become 'a transit lounge for alleged war criminals'.

And Britain is now under fresh pressure to interview Kusa in relation to the allegations.

Dr Jim Swire, whose 23-year-old daughter Flora died in the Lockerbie bombing, said that if anyone could offer any insight into the 'huge questions still unanswered' on Libya's role in Lockerbie, it would be Mr Kusa.

High profile: Kusa was less reluctant about speaking to the press following his defection to London earlier this year

He said: 'When I met Musa Kusa in Libya in 1991 it was clear to me he was the guy who was central to the Gaddafi administration.

'He could tell us just as much as Gaddafi about Lockerbie as he was at the core of the regime.

'He was a very, very key figure and we need answers as to why he was allowed to fly back. Any probing over his crimes should be done by the International Criminal Court.'

Pamela Dix, who lost her 35-year-old brother Peter in the atrocity, said she was 'incensed' after Mr Kusa was allowed to leave Britain in the first place.

She said: 'We cannot turn a politically pragmatic blind eye.

'I do not know what Musa Kusa knows or does not know about Lockerbie but he needs to come back to answer those questions.

'I condemn the attitude of the UK Government in the strongest possible terms. A political hands-off attitude is inappropriate.'

Rival gangsters pack Vancouver courts

2011-10-21T23:07:00.001-07:00

Members of the Gang Task Force were used to boost security at the Vancouver Law Courts Thursday as four separate gang cases went ahead with rivals appearing on different floors. Eight members of the uniformed GTF arrived for a bail revocation hearing for accused drug trafficker Sukhveer Dhak. One floor below, a cocaine conspiracy trial continued for Dhak rival Jarrod Bacon. Supt. Doug Kiloh, of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, said the GTF officers were on hand because "there is clearly unresolved conflict between gangs." "Do we have concern when we bring them together? Yes, and clearly that poses a public safety risk," Kiloh said. "Even at the Bacon trial, there is going to be conflict internally there." Kiloh said that when any case like that of Bacon and coaccused Wayne Scott has wiretaps being played, things can be tense because of what one party says about the other. Earlier this week, a tape was played in court of Scott saying Bacon's parents were aware of his criminal enterprise, and profited from it. "There are a number of security precautions we are taking," Kiloh said of the Bacon-Scott case. Not only were Dhak and Bacon in separate courtrooms Thursday, but the Greeks gang murder case continued in high-security Courtroom 20 a few floors below. And another case, involving men linked to the United Nations gang, was in pre-trial hearings next door to Dhak. Kiloh said CFSEU has several other big cases and that more charges are expected to be laid in coming weeks. "We know we have been pushing Crown hard. We know they have their hands full," he said. "We hope to have more charges in the coming weeks and months in high-profile cases involving gangs and organized crime." And Kiloh said law enforcement will continue to move forward with major gang prosecutions because "it reduces the threat of public safety issues." Just last month, GTF head officer Supt. Tom McCluskie issued an extraordinary public warning that anyone associating with Dhak or those in the affiliated Duhre group could be at risk because of escalating gang tensions. The Dhaks, Duhres and some members of the UN gang are aligned against an opposing group consisting of some Hells Angels, Red Scorpions and the Independent Soldiers. On Sept. 16, Dhak associate Jujhar Singh Khun-Khun was shot several times in a targeted Surrey shooting that police say may have been in retaliation for the Aug. 14 attack in Kelowna that left Red Scorpion Jonathan Bacon dead and Hells Angel Larry Amero and Independent Soldier James Riach wounded. Dhak was originally charged in October 2008 with production of a controlled substance, possession for the purpose of trafficking and conspiracy to commit indictable offence. He is due to go to trial in that case next April. But he was arrested Sept. 18 for allegedly driving while prohibited related to an incident on July 30, 2011. He is also before the courts on another breach allegation related to a Kelowna incident in March 2011 and was charged in December 2010 with one count of counselling to commit the indictable offence of aggravated assault. Justice Brenda Brown reserved her decision on Dhak's bail until next Wednesday. Dhak, dressed in red prison garb, whispered through Plexiglas to his girlfriend at the morning break Thursday. Police sat in the front row, several seats away from Dhak's mother, sister and girlfriend. Details of submissions and arguments at the two-hour hearing are covered by a publication ban. Kiloh said top police officers from around the Lower Mainland met Thursday to discuss the level of gang tensions. He said the situation is very fluid, with unresolved conflicts between some, and others making new associations that police are trying to assess.

Canada’s top organized crime groups are recruiting workers at Pearson and other major airports to help them smuggle drugs and contraband into the country,

2011-10-21T23:02:00.001-07:00

Police and other agencies at Pearson are working to identify workers who are breaking the law.

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Canada’s top organized crime groups are recruiting workers at Pearson and other major airports to help them smuggle drugs and contraband into the country, says the former head of a national security committee.

Agents of notorious crime groups, including the Hells Angels and Vietnamese gangs, are flexing their muscles to get a bigger share of the lucrative drug-smuggling operation run by corrupt workers at Pearson, police and security officials said.

“Organized crime activity has gotten worst at Pearson,” said Sen. Colin Kenny, former head of a Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defence. “They are actively recruiting people to work for them.”

The RCMP in a 2008 study identified 60 gangs that have infiltrated airports in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Police said agents of the gangs work at “corrupting existing employees or by placing criminal associates or even spouses or relatives into the airport work force.”

A RCMP witness “said categorically that gangs such as Hells Angels have infiltrated Pearson,” the committee said in a report on Canadian airports.

“If the Hells Angels can get their people in place at airports, what’s to stop Al Fatah?,” Kenny asked. “Any holes that criminals open in security perimeters make them more vulnerable to all who wish to circumvent them.”

The committee toured Pearson following the 9/11 terrorist attacks to study safety procedures and found gaping holes in security.

“The security gaps may be wide open at Pearson,” Kenny said. “There is a lot of money to be made and crime groups are getting their own people hired to work there.”

RCMP Const. Michelle Paradis said police and other agencies at Pearson are working to identify workers who are breaking the law.

“We have been working diligently to identify smuggling groups and target them,” Paradis said on Thursday. “These investigations take a lot of manpower and resources.”

The Mounties have smashed several drug rings involving ramp handlers, airline groomers and catering staff who were removing drugs from aircraft and smuggling the bags out of the facility in their vehicles unchecked.

Five ramp handlers and a Jamaican police officer were among nine people arrested in Dec. 2010 by the RCMP after they squashed a ring allegedly smuggling kilos of cocaine and marijuana into Canada.

Police accuse the Jamaica Constabulary Force officer of planting drugs on aircraft that were allegedly removed here by handlers and smuggled from the airport.

Kenny said one way to curb the flow of illegal drugs is to examine all staff and their vehicles arriving and leaving the airport.

“They can check all travellers why can’t they check employees entering and leaving,” he said. “Their vehicles also have to be checked as well.”

Kenny said drugs are still flowing freely through the use of inter-Canada air courier service that promise 24-hour delivery to customers as reported in the Toronto Sun on Monday.

“Very little if anything is being done to examine domestic courier packages,” he said. “They are all virtually unchecked.”

Kenny said a third party, such as the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, which is responsible for passenger and baggage security, should screen packages.

There are about 90,000 people working at Canadian airports and police estimate about 1,000 of them are intent on “infiltrating the airports to facilitate criminal activity.”

Kevin J. Augustiniak entered his plea last week, nearly eight years after his 2003 indictment

2011-10-21T15:57:00.001-07:00

www.bighousecrew.net

Kevin Augustiniak

Ten years after murdering Mesa resident Cynthia Garcia, one of several members of the Hells Angels initially charged in her death has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

Kevin J. Augustiniak entered his plea last week, nearly eight years after his 2003 indictment, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office tells New Times.

According to MCAO spokesman Jerry Cobb, terms of Augustiniak's plea deal call for no fewer than 22 years in prison, and no more than 25.

"The normal sentencing range for second-degree murder is capped at 22 years," Cobb says. "But according to ARS 13-710B, that term can be expanded to 25 years if the defendant has been convicted of a prior second-degree murder or, as in Augustiniak's case, a class 2 or class 3 felony involving a weapon."

Augustiniak and several other Hells Angels -- including biker/stockbroker Paul Eischeid (more on him below) -- were partying with Garcia in the gang's Mesa clubhouse when some of the bikers thought she was being disrespectful.

As we've learned from experience, Hells Angels tend to frown upon disrespect (see exhibits A and B here and here).

Augustiniak and other bikers beat Garcia inside the clubhouse, "stomping on her head repeatedly," according to court records first obtained by the Arizona Republic.

Augustiniak and other bikers then dragged Garcia's somewhat-conscious body to a car, threw her in the trunk, and drove into the desert.

The bikers then used a knife to slash at Garcia, "cutting her throat, stabbing her, and
attempting to cut her head off," according to court records.

One of Agustiniak's accomplices, Eischeid, also was indicted for Garcia's murder in 2003, but escaped custody when he was released from jail before he went to trial.

In addition to being a member of the biker gang, Eischeid, 39, is a former Charles Schwab stockbroker with a "relatively clean criminal record." Because he didn't appear to be a flight risk, he was released on his own recognizance and placed on federal pretrial release with electronic monitoring in 2003.

But Eischeid skipped town and remained on the run for nearly eight years. He was on theU.S. Marshals' 15 Most Wanted Fugitives list until he was captured in Argentina in February.

Eischeid remains in Argentina awaiting extradition back to Arizona where he'll face a first-degree murder charge.

Augustiniak's sentencing is scheduled for November 17.

Gardai in Spain for 'Fat' Freddie handover deal

2011-10-20T03:02:00.001-07:00

DUBLIN detectives have travelled to Spain to negotiate the handover of gangster 'Fat' Freddie Thompson. Sources say that gardai are spending a number of days with their Spanish counterparts examining evidence against Thompson. "This is standard procedure in a case like this," a source said. Thompson is due to appear before the High Court today where he is expected to apply for bail after being remanded in custody on Friday when he was arrested on a European Arrest Warrant. laundering Spanish authorities want to extradite him to Spain and they allege that Thompson operated as a bodyguard and chauffeur for the Christy Kinahan drugs organisation, which was targeted in a massive international police operation in May, 2010, known as Operation Shovel. Spanish authorities say that the Kinahan organisation is heavily involved in gun crime, drug trafficking and money laundering through a complex network of companies. Sources have revealed that in the weeks before his arrest, Thompson had fallen out of favour with the Kinahan mob -- organisation who his gang has been sourcing drugs from for over a decade. A European Arrest Warrant has also been issued for Thompson's close pal Gary Hutch (30) but gardai have not been able to find him. The Herald has previously revealed that Thompson's arrest warrant contains explosive details about a phone call tapped by Spanish police in December, 2009, between 'Fat' Freddie and Hutch in which the two criminals discuss firearms. The warrant also alleged that 'Fat' Freddie and Hutch travelled together to Portugal in November, 2009 and Amsterdam in May, 2010, to organise drug shipments. The warrant also states that Hutch and Thompson lived together in Spain and were "right-hand men" of Daniel Kinahan -- the son of Ireland's richest drugs trafficker Christy Kinahan. Also mentioned on the warrant is Ross Browning (27) from north inner city Dublin who is alleged to have collected a major Irish criminal from Malaga Airport in May, 2010, in a car which was also regularly used by the notorious criminal Hutch. violence Browning was one of around 30 people arrested by police investigating Kinahan's drug organisation last year. He was released without charge after being questioned for a number of days by Spanish authorities. Since being sent to Cloverhill Prison on Friday, Thompson has been placed in the protection unit in the jail because of fears that he may become a victim of a feud related attack or that he may orchestrate violence within the prison. It is understood he has had no visitors in jail.

just 13 years old and yet he poses brazenly with a deadly sawn-off shotgun during a 10-day robbery spree which brought terror to a city.

2011-10-15T22:28:00.001-07:00

He is just 13 years old and yet he poses brazenly with a deadly sawn-off shotgun during a 10-day robbery spree which brought terror to a city.

Police found pictures of Jobe Kilbride brandishing the gun that his friends had taken on his mobile phone.

The teenage thug was the youngest of a gang of five who went on a terrifying 10-day robbery spree across Liverpool in April and May this year.

Bringing fear to the streets: Gun gang member Jobe Kilbride, 13, with the shotgun used by him and others when they robbed taxis and shops

During their rampage the gang, whose members' ages ranged from 13 to 18, targeted taxi drivers and shopkeepers and one man was shot.

Today, they were starting a total of more than 20 years behind bars after police rounded them up.

Ringleader Bradley Beveridge, 18, has been on the police radar since his early teens and has already racked up a host of convictions.

He yelled abuse at Judge Mark Brown as he was taken out of court after being locked up indefinitely.

Jailed: Kilbride was locked up for four years for his part in the armed robberies

Campaign of fear: The gang's first crime was robbing a Quickhomesave store in Selwyn Street, Walton

Violent rampage: The boys threatened staff with a shotgun at the All in One convenience store in Huyton and stole cash and cigarettes

Kilbride was given four years while his older brother Declan, 16, was locked up for nine years. Declan Culshaw, the 15-year-old who acted as look-out in the gang's final robbery, was given five years while the final gang member, 14-year-old Dylan Currie, was jailed for six years.

The judge lifted the normal anonymity restriction to allow the press to name the gang, locked up for a raft of robbery and gun convictions.

Their spree was opportunistic, their faces covered by hoods or simply by pulling their jumpers up as they prowled the streets with a loaded shotgun.

It began just before 1am on Saturday April 30 when a private hire taxi driver went to pick up a fare on Daneville Road, Norris Green.

When he pulled up he was faced with three figures with a shotgun who stole his takings and his cab, a silver Ford Mondeo, dumping it less than half-a-mile away.

At around 1am the following morning, Sunday May 1, another private hire driver - this time in a silver Ford Focus - became the gang's next victim.

Jailed: Jobe Kilbridge (left) was given a sentence of four years, while 14-year-old Dylan Currie (right) was jailed for six years

He picked up three youths on Scargreen Avenue, Norris Green, and was told to take them to Delamore Street, in Anfield.

As they neared their destination, one of the thugs reached through from the back, grabbing the handbrake while the driver had a shotgun shoved in his face.

Again the thugs took his cash and taxi, abandoning it on Scarisbrick Road, Norris Green, 45 minutes later.

At 11.10pm the same day two youths with a shotgun burst into the Quickhomesave store, on Selwyn Street, Walton, threatened staff and fled with cash.

They lay low for three days before striking again at the All in One convenience store on Tarbock Road, Huyton, again threatening staff with a shotgun and helping themselves to cash and cigarettes.

Declan Kilbride (left) was locked up for nine years and Declan Culshaw (right), who acted as look-out in the gang's final robbery, was given five years

The last two crimes happened within minutes of each other at around 10.15pm on May 10.

The gang stood huddled in a bus stop on Muirhead Avenue East, Norris Green, for 20 or so minutes, one by one going to peer inside the nearby All in One shop until they were sure the coast was clear.

As seen on CCTV, they filed into the shop and robbed it, leaving the lone staff member cowering in a corner.

Ringleader Bradley Beveridge, 18, has been on the police radar since his early teens

As they fled across the main road into a nearby estate, they were confronted by the shop's owner who was on his way to his business after hearing what was going on.

In Winskill Road, the gang shot at Sri Lankan-born Rajeethan Pulendran and a friend when they tried to stop them, hitting the friend in the body. Thankfully he escaped the attack with only minor injuries.

Det Insp Andy O'Conner led the investigation to catch the gang for the police Matrix unit.

He said: ‘We were looking at the CCTV and when we identified our suspects you just can't believe you're looking at 13 to 14-year-old kids who are out committing armed robberies.

‘It is concerning that boys of this age have become involved in criminality with firearms.

‘Teenagers need to understand they are masters of their own destiny. At the age these kids are, they have a choice.

‘If they get involved in this type of thing, there are only two outcomes - they're either looking at a lengthy prison sentence or seeing themselves seriously injured or dead.’

The Matrix detective team was given the task of catching the gang after the Quickhomesave robbery.

Within seven days, they had their suspects locked up, charged and off the streets. That signalled the end of the robberies.

DI O'Connor said: ‘We investigated 10 offences in total that occurred across or just after the May Day bank holiday weekend.

‘Because of the forensic evidence we collected and the information that came into us from the public, we identified our suspects and in a week had enough on them to lock them up, which is where they have stayed since.’

Judge Mark Brown said: ‘This case highlights the scourge of gun crime and gang culture which we have in our society today.

'This case highlights the scourge of gun crime and gang culture which we have in our society today'

‘This is a wonderful city but there are certain parts which are blighted by a combination of gang and gun culture.

‘The residents of those communities are sick and tired of it. Shopkeepers should be entitled to go about their work in safety and secure in the knowledge that they are not going to be held up at gunpoint by anyone like you.’

To Beveridge, of Anfield, the judge said: ‘The prosecution has described your offending as determined, ruthless villainy and I utterly agree with that description. You are an extremely impulsive individual who has no sense of danger and you have limited thinking skills.

‘It appears to me that you have no respect for authority. It is plain to me that you have no insight at all into the impact of your offending on others.

‘I am satisfied that you are a very dangerous individual. The sentence I am to pass is to all intents and purposes a life sentence.’

Addressing Declan Kilbride, of Huyton, Judge Brown said: ‘It seems to me that you have little respect for authority which is typical of the individuals who are part of these gangs. You have little respect for anyone. It is take take take.’

And to Currie, from Walton, Jobe Kilbride from Huyton and Culshaw, from Clubmoor, he said: ‘I have no doubt the general public will be shocked and horrified to hear that individuals as young as you have got involved in such a serious offence involving the use of a loaded gun.

‘In my judgement it is a terrible, sad and disturbing state of affairs.

‘I can only hope that during the course of the sentence you will have the opportunity to reflect upon your criminality, that you will have the chance to mature and grow up and when you are released there may still be some hope for you.’

Estepona cracks down on street prostitution

2011-10-14T07:37:00.001-07:00

Estepona Town Hall has drawn up a new by-law which includes measures against street prostitution with a ban on offering, requesting, negotiating for or accepting paid sexual services in public spaces, particularly within 200 metres of residential or commercial centres and schools. Fines are envisaged for those who fail to comply with the regulations. Councillor Ana Velasco told Europa Press that the by-law is expected to be approved at the next council meeting. Assistance and advice will also be available from social services for prostitutes who work locally, especially for those who want up to give up the profession. The by-law also covers other matters such as the practice of youngsters drinking in the street, graffiti, unauthorised street peddling and the responsibility of dog owners to clear up after their pets.

British fraudster arrested in Torrevieja

2011-10-14T07:34:00.001-07:00

The Spanish National Police has arrested a British man who is wanted by the authorities in the United States for a fraud. Named as 61 year old R.B.A. he was arrested in Torrevieja, Alicante, when he was carrying out some transactions in a real estate company. The US fraud dates from March 1999 when the Briton was the main owner of a company which mis-invested the firm’s retirement funds. He and others in the company invested part of the fund in treasury bonds, but the rest was transferred to personal accounts. The arrest was carried out by agents of the UDEV from the Alicante Police Station, coordinated by the fugitive location group of the Judicial Police.

Moroccan teenager found dead on Marbella roadside was shot for trying to steal marijuana plants

2011-10-14T07:30:00.001-07:00

The wife of the man who shot him has been arrested for covering up the crime and another youngster is in custody for attempted robberyThere have been two more arrests in the case of the 15 year old Moroccan boy whose body was found on the roadside between Marbella and Ronda on morning. The owner of a nearby finca was initially arrested, and it has now emerged that he shot the teenager dead after catching him breaking in to try and steal his marijuana plants. The owner, 58 year old P.N.G., moved the body off his property to the roadside and now faces charges of a public health crime in addition to the murder charge. His wife has also been arrested for allegedly covering up the crime. The third person taken into custody is a friend who was with the deceased on the night it happened, who is charged with attempted robbery. The deceased lived in San Pedro de Alcántara and is reported to have been involved in previous attempted break-ins at the property with a group of friends from the area. They had been shot at before, and on one occasion one of the group suffered minor injuries but did not report the incident to the police. The murder weapon was a hunting shotgun which was found in a police search of the suspect’s house. Another 10 firearms have also been confiscated.

HUGE volcano in Iceland could be about to blow which would turn day into night and cause chaos across Europe.

2011-10-14T00:38:00.001-07:00

Iceland's desolate landscape stretches beyond Vik (Pic: AP)

A HUGE volcano in Iceland could be about to blow which would turn day into night and cause chaos across Europe.

Scientists have warned that Katla – one of the most feared volcanoes in the world – is on the brink of a major explosion which would dwarf the Eyjafjallajokull eruption last year.

Katla’s magma chamber is 10 times the size of the one at nearby Eyjafjallajokull, which grounded planes because of its ash cloud and cost the European economy £1billion.

The blast caused problems for several weeks even though it was only classed as a minor eruption.

Scientists detected a series of small tremors at Katla in July but have recorded more worrying signs in the past few days that pressure is building. There has been a swarm of minor earthquakes that have now reached a magnitude of four.

Professor Pall Einarsson, of the University of Iceland, said: “It is definitely showing signs of restlessness. Volcanoes can be quite beautiful but they can also be quite destructive.”

An evacuation plan is in place for communities near Katla such as Vik, a small town of 300 people, but many fear they may have less than an hour to escape once the volcano goes up.

Katla – named after an evil troll – usually explodes twice a century. It last erupted in 1918 when the ash starved crops of sunlight and killed livestock.

Ice covering the volcano melted and flooded farms with a torrent of water said to be as wide as the Amazon.

Holidaymakers warned on fake goods

2011-10-13T20:36:00.001-07:00

Holidaymakers have been urged to avoid buying counterfeit goods abroad in a bid to crack down on serious organised crime. Gangs use the trade in fake goods to fund areas such as human trafficking, firearms and illegal drugs. Officers from the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) are at Glasgow Airport to drive home the message and show people examples of fake goods. Detective Chief Inspector Ronnie Megaughin, from the SCDEA, said: "The trade in fake goods is not a victimless crime; there is no such thing. It is linked to a bigger and more serious picture. Those who are involved in this illegal activity are very often also responsible for peddling drugs in our communities, forcing people into the sex trade and trading in firearms. "We are all tempted by a bargain, but the fake goods that you see at markets at home and abroad - such as football shirts, handbags, watches and sunglasses - are being sold to raise funds for organised crime groups. We live in a global marketplace and criminals have no regard for international boundaries, so it could mean that the cash you spend at markets on holiday is being used to fund drug dealing in your local area. "In addition, many of these products are dangerous because they are produced with no regard for health and safety regulations, so you could be putting your safety at risk by using items such as fake electrical goods, cigarettes and alcohol." The UK Border Agency works to uncover fake goods coming into the UK. Murdo MacMillan, assistant director for the agency in Scotland, said: "UK Border Agency officers operate 24 hours a day at ports, airports and mail sorting centres to prevent fake goods hitting the UK's streets, where they can be bought by unsuspecting members of the public. Many people enjoy finding a bargain but counterfeit goods are just the tip of the criminal iceberg." Mr Megaughin said: "There are some signs people can look for to help spot a fake. Price, place and packaging are all indicators of whether something is genuine or not. It is unlikely that genuine designer brands would be on sale at market stalls, and if the price seems too good to be true, it probably is. "We are urging people to think very carefully before buying these products. It is up to all of us to help tackle this problem and reduce the impact of serious organised crime. The public can help by deciding not to buy fake goods."

Mexico arrests senior Zetas crime boss

2011-10-13T20:19:00.001-07:00

Mexico's armed forces arrested a high-level Zetas drug cartel boss who was in charge of operations in three states along the US border and was a right-hand man of the cartel chief. The military said the arrest of the suspect, whom it did not identify, was made in Saltillo, Coahuila state, as gang members unleashed a hail of gunfire in an apparent failed attempt to cover his escape. The suspect "is considered the operational chief for the criminal operations of the Zetas criminal group in Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas states," the Defense Ministry said in a statement. It said he was also a top lieutenant of cartel chief Heriberto Lazcano, in which case the arrest would be one of the largest blows ever dealt to the organization. The arrest followed running street battles involving troops, police and gang members in which a taxi driver was killed and eight other people were wounded, including three police, the Coahuila state prosecutor's office said. Authorities said the suspect would be presented to the media on Thursday. The arrest came the day after the United States accused Iranian operatives of having tried to contact a Mexican drug cartel as part of a plot to kill the Saudi ambassador in Washington. Officials did not specify which of Mexico's powerful cartels was allegedly approached, but US media reported that it was the Zetas, a notorious drug cartel made up of former Mexican special forces. The Zetas have been accused of a string of killings, kidnappings and macabre displays of brutality that have made them one of the most feared gangs in Mexico's spiraling drug violence. Set up in the 1990s by ex-elite soldiers turned hired killers, the Zetas are fighting their former allies the Gulf cartel and others. More than 45,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence since Mexico launched a massive military operation against the cartels in 2006 involving some 50,000 troops. Earlier on Wednesday, the navy said it had found the body of a man it described as the "chief financial operator of the Gulf Cartel" in Reynosa, Tamaulipas state, without saying who was behind the killing. Last week Mexican troops detained 32 alleged Zetas members, including 18 municipal police officers, in the eastern state of Veracruz. The sting came after the bodies of 35 people, most with criminal records, were dumped on a road in Veracruz city in broad daylight. The killings were claimed by a shadowy new vigilante group calling itself the "Zetas Killers."

Thousands of children' sexually exploited by gangs

2011-10-13T20:10:00.001-07:00

Thousands of children in England are being horrifically abused by gangs, the deputy children's commissioner has said, as she launches an inquiry. Current estimates say up to 10,000 children could be affected by the sexual abuse, but it is feared the true figure could be much higher. Sue Berelowitz said: "Right now thousands of children are being horrifically abused by gangs." She is mounting a two-year inquiry into the scale and scope of the problem. The exploitation involves children as young as 11 being targeted by groups of men or gangs. They are given gifts and attention, then sold or passed on to others once they are trapped. The issue reaches across all races and classes, said Ms Berelowitz.

London Gang Sweep Leads To 13 Arrests

2011-10-13T20:05:00.001-07:00

Dawn raids by the Metropolitan Police have led to the arrest of 13 gang members in north London on Thursday morning. The raids involves some 200 police officers under Operation Connect - a dedicated unit set up to crack down on violence by street gangs. The officers from Haringey borough, Met specialist units and Safer Transport teams, joined the Operation Connect team for the operation. Territorial Support Group officers forced entry to 17 addresses in two coordinated waves during early morning. All the individuals targeted during the operation were sent warning letters earlier this week offering them the chance to get help to divert from the gang lifestyle - or face tough enforcement consequences. The arrests were of 12 male and one female suspected gang members, ranging in age from 17 to 26. They were arrested for offences ranging from armed robbery, assault, affray, possession with intent to supply and violent disorder to non-residential burglary. They are currently being interviewed at a number of London police stations. Four of the 13 arrests related to offences committed in Tottenham in the recent London disorder.

Self-styled ‘Lord’ Davenport - known as 'Fast Eddie' - masterminded an ‘advanced fee fraud’ scheme that ripped off scores of businesses.

2011-10-06T06:52:00.001-07:00

Davenport set up Gresham Ltd in 2005 and pretended it was a respectable business with 50 years of sourcing huge commercial loans. He charged companies advance fees for loans of up to £157million but the money never materialised.

The scam conned at least 51 victims and from 2007 to 2009 Gresham Ltd received more than £4.5million from unsuspecting clients, the court heard.

‘To outward appearances it was long-established, wealthy and prestigious,’ said Simon Mayo QC, for the prosecution. ‘It was essentially worthless. Its only business was fraud.’

The businessman had many high-profile friends including socialite Tamara Beckwith (right) (Picture: Rex Features)

Davenport owns Sierra Leone’s former high commission at Portland Place, London, used in The King’s Speech – and a gay porn film.

The 45-year-old is pictured on his website with celebrities including Cowell and Hugh Grant, Knightley, Beckham and Mick Jagger.

He boasted of 'beautiful homes and a collection of sports cars which would make any man jealous including a Ferrari 360 Spider, an Aston Martin Virage Volante, a Rolls-Royce Phantom and a Lamborghini'.

Davenport was banned last year from using his home for activities including a ‘porn disco’, sex party and pole-dancing lessons.

He was jailed last month for seven years and eight months with accomplice Peter Riley, 64, of Brentwood, Essex. They were convicted of conspiracy to defraud. Borge Andersen, 66, of South Kensington, got 39 months for the crime.

Con victim: Royal dress designer Elizabeth Emanuel was among those who paid money to Davenport (Picture: PA)

According to Gresham Ltd accounts, Andersen received £159,564 from the fraud, Riley £695,407 and Davenport £773,000. A total of £349,025 vanished, the court heard.

The convictions at Southwark crown court can be revealed because a reporting order was lifted yesterday.

Princess Diana's wedding dress designer Elizabeth Emanuel - who had been one of Davenport's victims - welcomed his sentence.

The 58-year-old turned to him in 2008 in the hope of raising £1m for her business, Art Of Being, and was asked to pay £20,000 - later reduced to £5,000 - for his company to complete due diligence.

'I think justice has been served,' she said.

'The amount I lost was nothing compared to everybody else but he was happy to take my £5,000. It sums up the sort of person he is.'