Gang murdered drug dealer then blew up his house

 

Drugs gang executed one of their dealer's and then blew up his house to cover-up the murder, a court heard this afternoon. Colliston Edwards, 38, of no fixed address and Andre Johnson, 25, also of no fixed address are accused of shooting Leroy Burnett, 43, after he kept back some of their money from drugs deals. Max Walter, 21, of no fixed address was then recruited by the pair to blow-up his house in Crichton Road, Battersea the Old Bailey heard. Mr Burnett was allegedly a low level drug supplier, who dealt drugs in Wandsworth Road and the Nine Elms area on behalf of Edwards. Edwards, whose street name is Lousy, was allegedly a drug dealer who commuted between Doncaster and South London and worked in a team with Johnson, known as Tallman. The court heard that Lousy had two mobile phones and gave out the numbers to his customers, travelling to their homes to sell the drugs. He allegedly expected Mr Burnett to carry out sales and look after his phones whilst he was away in Doncaster, but problems arose when Mr Burnett started miscounting money owed to him. Prosecuting, Aftab Jaffbrjee said: "There was simply no reason other than this pernicious deed of drugs supply to cost Leroy his life. Ads by Google Build Eco Friendly Visit us Today for Carbon Reduction Eco Tips for Construction Industry! www.CutCarbon.info Election Boundary Changes Constituencies are changing. Have your say on our report, Autumn 2013 independent.gov.uk/boundarychanges "He was executed in his home having been shot in the head at point blank range. There was nothing else that accounted in his life for such a brutal attack. "Walter then blew up the entire house causing destruction to the building and the street." Edwards and Johnson are both on trial for joint enterprise of murder and intending to pervert the course of justice. They deny having anything to do with the murder or the cover-up. Walter has pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice and arson, but denies being reckless as to whether life was endangered. The trial which opened this afternoon is expected to last six weeks.

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Jurors convict two men of first-degree murder in shooting death near Delray Beach

 

A jury convicted two men of first-degree murder Tuesday in connection with the 2007 shooting death of John Blazevige, whose body was found outside his still idling pick-up truck near Delray Beach. It took three days for jurors to return the verdicts against Michael Marquardt and Louis Baccari at the end of the week-long trial. At times they seemed entrenched into two separate camps, but in the end they made the unanimous decision to return the convictions on murder and armed robbery for each man. "We were surprised, and disappointed," Baccari's defense attorney Andrew Strecker said. "We thought for sure it would have been a hung jury." More puzzling, Strecker said, were the jury's findings in their verdict. For example, they found that Baccari, the alleged triggerman, had not used a firearm during the robbery of Blazevige, but they convicted him of armed robbery anyhow. Prosecutors Sherri Collins and Aaron Papero built their case largely on the testimony of Antonio Bussey, who deputies originally said was responsible for the killing. His DNA was found on the murder weapon, but he told deputies that Marquardt had made him touch the gun after Baccari shot Blazevige during a bad drug deal, telling him that they were "all in it together." Bussey made a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for a 21-year sentence. Hours before they returned the verdicts Tuesday, jurors asked to hear Bussey's testimony again. Baccari's and Marquardt's attorneys Strecker and Scott Skier asked Circuit Judge Jeffrey Colbath to also allow jurors to hear their entire cross examinations of Bussey, but the judge ruled that jurors only needed to hear a small portion of it. Colbath also denied defense attorneys' subsequent requests for a mistrial. Baccari's relatives outside the courtroom described him as a warm-hearted person and said they were convinced there was no way he would ever harm Blazevige, who had been his longtime friend and formerly lived in West Palm Beach. Prosecutors had said that Blazevige was addicted to prescription drugs and had met Baccari, Marquardt and Bussey to buy pills when he was killed. But defense attorneys, along with Baccari's family, say Bussey made a deal with prosecutors even though he knew he was the one who killed Blazevige in order to avoid the life sentences both Baccari and Marquardt will now inevitably receive as result of their convictions. Colbath set sentencing for Marquart, a landscape company owner who lived in Boynton Beach, and Baccari for April 2.

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Drug gangs report blasting UK cities as dangerous

 

 Comment By Professor Alan Stevens Drug gangs report blasting UK cities as dangerous is too confusing The problems are nowhere near as deep in Manchester or Liverpool as they are in Rio de Janeiro – or even San Francisco A masked municipal policeman stands outside a shopping mall in MexicoAP On one hand it is right to state that there are communities in British cities suffering from social exclusion and marginalisation and that this contributes to their drug and crime problems. But on the other, these ­problems are nowhere near as deep in Manchester or Liverpool as they are in Rio de Janeiro or Ciudad Juarez – or even San Francisco or Los Angeles. The problem with the INCB report is that the wording is unclear. It gives the impression that its comments on no-go areas could apply equally to all of these cities. But it should have been more careful in specifying which ones it was referring to. The cities in Central and South America have more extreme ­problems which come from bigger social inequalities. They are dramatically more affected by crime and health problems. For example, in the past few years in Rio there have been repeated attempts to crack down on the areas controlled by violent drug markets. For a while these places were no-go zones. But authorities have acted in a militaristic fashion in the past year as they prepare for the World Cup.

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British cities are becoming no-go areas where drugs gangs are effectively in control

British cities are becoming no-go areas where drugs gangs are effectively in control, a United Nations drugs chief said yesterday. Professor Hamid Ghodse, president of the UN’s International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), said there was “a vicious cycle of social exclusion and drugs problems and fractured communities” in cities such as Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester. The development of “no-go areas” was being fuelled by threats such as social inequality, migration and celebrities normalising drug abuse, he warned. Helping marginalised communities with drugs problems “must be a priority”, he said. “We are looking at social cohesion, the social disintegration and illegal drugs. “In many societies around the world, whether developed or developing, there are communities within the societies which develop which become no-go areas. “Drug traffickers, organised crime, drug users, they take over. They will get the sort of governance of those areas.” Prof Ghodse called for such communities to be offered drug abuse prevention programmes, treatment and rehabilitation services, and the same levels of educational, employment and recreational opportunities as in the wider society. The INCB’s annual report for 2011 found persistent social inequality, migration, emerging cultures of excess and a shift in traditional values were some of the key threats to social cohesion. As the gap between rich and poor widens, and “faced with a future with limited opportunities, individuals within these communities may increasingly become disengaged from the wider society and become involved in a range of personally and socially harmful behaviours, including drug abuse and drug dealing,” it said.

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Teenagers jailed for south London murder

 

teenager accused of two gang murders at the age of 16 has been sentenced to a life term. Jordan Williams was told on Thursday he would serve a minimum of 18 years for murdering Daniel Graham, 18, who was stabbed 24 times in 45 seconds. Williams, who turned 17 last month, was part of a gang which attacked Graham as he stepped off a bus on 29 January last year. Williams was later arrested for the murder of promising athlete Sylvester Akapalara, 17, who was shot dead in Peckham, south London, a month before. But a jury cleared him of that killing, which resulted in Sodiq Adeojo, 20, being jailed for a minimum of 30 years, also on Thursday. Williams, Colin Aghatise, 16, and Lennie John, 24, all from Peckham, were found guilty on Wednesday at the Old Bailey of murdering Graham. Williams and Aghatise were ordered to be detained during Her Majesty's pleasure, with Aghatise given a minimum term of 15 years. John, 24, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 22 years. They were said to be members of the GMG gang, which is said to stand for various names, including Guns, Murder and Girls. Graham was attacked with knives and a broken bottle in front of horrified passengers as he got off a bus in East Dulwich, south London. He was helped back on to the 176 bus by passengers, but died from his injuries. Judge Timothy Pontius told the defendants: "Daniel Graham was murdered in circumstances of horrific and merciless brutality. "He was killed in an attack which, for all its brevity, was intensely ferocious. "At least four, and probably more, played an active part. They were acting like a pack of hyenas." Williams had taken one of two lock-knives he kept at home to a party where violence was likely to arise at the meeting of two opposing groups. Williams and Aghatise were both 15 at the time. All three defendants were from decent homes and had good academic achievements. But on the night "they all too readily followed the pack instinct". The court was told that Williams was a server at his local church and had been elected chairman of his school council. And John's mother was said to work at a central London magistrates court. Duncan Penny, prosecuting, said trouble flared at an under-18s event at Dulwich Hamlet football club and a gun was fired, hitting a youth in the leg. He said a row broke out between Graham's friends and another group of youths. Penny said: "Daniel's group was punched and knives were produced and it appears a firearm was discharged and at least one shot was fired. "Daniel's group fled the party and their escape route took them past East Dulwich railway station. They were pursued by members of the defendants' group." Graham had tried to take refuge on the double-decker bus before changing his mind and jumping off. But he was attacked in front of passengers by a large group of youths who subjected him to "a volley of punches, kicks and stamps" to the body and head. Penny said CCTV on the bus showed the time of the attack as 12.09am. "It lasted in the region of 45 seconds," he added. "In that short period he had received 24 stab wounds, having been descended upon by a group of murderers." Passengers made the driver drive off while Graham, who was covered in blood, was laid across two seats by a nurse and her sister. After seeing some of the attackers at the next stop, the bus drove on until police and an ambulance reached it in Lordship Lane. Williams and John were identified by a youth who had viewed them rapping on YouTube. Aghatise's DNA was found on a broken bottle with Graham's blood on it. Graham had gained seven GCSEs and was doing business studies. He did voluntary work for the NSPCC children's charity in his spare time. His mother, Stephanie, said in an impact statement to the court that she had been devastated by his death. She added: "Everyone loved Daniel. He was instantly likeable to all who knew him."

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Hells Angel charged over Sydney ice labs

 

Police say they have charged a senior member of the Hells Angels bikie gang over the discovery of two illegal drug laboratories earlier this week. The 33-year-old man was arrested with an alleged Hells Angels associate on Wednesday afternoon at an apartment block at North Ryde, in Sydney's north-west. Police say they found drugs and a loaded handgun at the unit. The apartment was raided by officers investigating the discovery of two methylamphetamine labs on Tuesday in the city's south-west at Catherine Field and Narellan. Specialists from the Drug Squad's Chemical Operations Team are still working to dismantle the equipment and chemicals used in the manufacture of ice. Both men arrested yesterday have been charged with drug manufacture and other drug offences, while one has been charged over the pistol. Two other men who were arrested at the lab sites on Tuesday, aged 36 and 41, remain before the courts.

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1993 £1m Felixstowe heist: Suspect Eddie Maher was 'bankrupt'

 

A man wanted in Suffolk over a £1m heist in 1993 had been declared bankrupt with debts of more than $30,000 (£19,000), American court papers have revealed. Eddie Maher, 56, originally from Essex, was arrested on 8 February after being found in Ozark, Missouri. Mr Maher had $85 (£54) in his bank account when he filed for bankruptcy in 2010. He is due in court in America on 22 February for a preliminary hearing. Anonymous tip-off Mr Maher disappeared in 1993 after a security van packed with cash was taken from outside a bank in Felixstowe. The former security guard, who had been living in South Woodham Ferrers when he disappeared, has been charged with immigration and firearm offences in the United States. Bankruptcy papers filed in November 2010 revealed Mr Maher had got into financial difficulties. They showed that he had $17,061 (£10,881) of loan and credit card debts. He also owed $1,759 (£1,121) in hospital and doctors bills and $3,148 (£2,007) in unpaid tax. The security van disappeared after stopping outside Lloyds Bank, in Felixstowe, in January 1993 Assets listed on the court papers included a rifle and digital camera valued at $170 (£108) and a 1997 Mercury Mountaineer car valued at $1,700 (£1,083). He was working as a broadband technician and earned $1,896 (£1,208) a month. His monthly expenses totalled more than $1,807 (£1,151). 'Financial management' course The papers also revealed Mr Maher and his family regularly moved home. Between May 2007 and September 2010, they lived in three addresses within the Ozark area. After being declared bankrupt in November 2010, Mr Maher was forced to complete a course in "personal financial management" on 13 December 2010. Police in America arrested Mr Maher after receiving an anonymous tip-off that he was a "fugitive wanted in England". Papers from a US District Court, in Springfield, Missouri, revealed Mr Maher cannot afford a lawyer. Suffolk police is looking to start extradition proceedings to bring Mr Maher back to the UK.

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The lucrative illicit market in “B.C. Bud”

 

The lucrative illicit market in “B.C. Bud” — by far the province’s largest agricultural crop — is controlled largely by Asian and biker gangs.  Grow operations have led to gang warfare in what were once peaceful Fraser Valley farm towns. “The case demonstrating the failure and harms of marijuana prohibition is airtight,” wrote the former B.C. AG’s,  “massive profits for organized crime, widespread gang violence, easy access to illegal cannabis for our youth, reduced community safety and significant and escalating costs to taxpayers.” Four former Vancouver mayors signed a similar letter recently, which was endorsed by the city’s current Mayor Gregor Robertson. Prominent law enforcement figures, including Mandigo and ex-U.S. Attorney John McKay, are backing I-502 on this side of the border.

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Serbian fugitive Dobrosav Gavric, Russian Igor Russol and Moroccan Houssain Ait Taleb have made appearances in the Cape Town Magistrate's Court.

 

 They have all been branded by police as underworld figures with links to organised crime. Yesterday, community safety MEC Dan Plato said he was concerned about these developments. "I am worried about the fact that so many high-profile underworld figures are involved in Cape Town. I am worried about the number of foreign nationals involved in organised crime in Cape Town. "My question is: why are all these foreign people heading for Cape Town, doing their business in Cape Town and finding Cape Town so cosy and appropriate?" Plato said new names of underworld figures were daily being added to the list "known to us". The latest high-profile case involves local businessmen Mark Lifman and André Naudé, who both allegedly ran Specialised Protection Services, providing security to Cape Town nightclubs, without the necessary permits. On Friday, Naudé, the company's CEO, was released on R1000 bail after handing himself over to police. A warrant of arrest has been issued against Lifman, who is in China on business. Charges against 13 of the company's bouncers, including Taleb, were dropped last week. Yesterday, Russol appeared in court accused of extorting R600000 and a Porsche Cayenne from businesses in and around Cape Town. His bail application was postponed to tomorrow. Next month, Gavric is set to appear in court on two cases. He is accused of fraudulently entering South Africa in 2007 and is also facing extradition to Serbia, where he has to serve a 35-year jail sentence for three murders. The Serb was driving Cyril Beeka when Beeka was killed in a drive-by shooting last year. Beeka, too, has been branded an underworld figure. He is also said to have had links to SA Secret Service boss Moe Shaik. Last week, Western Cape police commissioner Lieutenant-General Arno Lamoer told parliament that drugs with a street value of R12-billion had been confiscated in the province since April , and that this was just the tip of the iceberg. Plato said that though police had managed to prevent drugs from finding their way into the provinces via the roads, the ports were "wide open". He said: "We heard through the grapevine that [some] underground figures are also responsible for drug trafficking. "We're dealing with high-profile, professional and sophisticated gang and drug bosses and we need people to outplay them. I do not believe the SAPS in its current format is in that position," he said. Plato said this was a clear indication that specialised police units should be reinstated. Plato said he had met Lifman and businessman Jerome Booysen, who have both been linked to the underworld. Booysen has been fingered in court as a possible suspect in the Beeka murder. He has also been linked to Specialised Protection Services and suspected of being a leader of the Sexy Boys gang. Both men, Plato said, wanted to clear their names and insisted they were not involved in crime. He admitted that he had been criticised for meeting the two, but said it was the right thing to do. "Many are saying: 'Don't speak to gangsters.' My take is, if we are not going to start speaking to these people, who is going to talk to them? Who is going to change their mindsets? "Booysen is the president of the Belhar Rugby Football Club. He deals with vulnerable youngsters. It was appropriate for me to face him and challenge him. But he said: 'I'm not giving them drugs'." Plato said Lifman had denied being linked to the murder of Yuri "the Russian" Ulianitski. Ulianitski was killed in a late-night ambush that also claimed the life of his four-year-old daughter, Yulia, in May 2007. After meeting Plato, Lifman left the country. Lawyer William Booth confirmed a warrant of arrest had been issued against him. Hawks spokesman McIntosh Polela said the elite unit had embarked on a "crackdown on the security industry in Cape Town".

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Sun newspaper 'will continue' says Rupert Murdoch

 

News International owner Rupert Murdoch has said he is committed to publishing the Sun newspaper, following the arrest of five of its employees. They were among eight people arrested over alleged corrupt payments to police and public servants. A Surrey Police officer, a member of the armed forces and a Ministry of Defence employee were also arrested. Sun editor Dominic Mohan said he was "shocked" by the arrests but pledged to continue to lead the paper. The BBC understands picture editor John Edwards, chief reporter John Kay, chief foreign correspondent Nick Parker, reporter John Sturgis and associate editor Geoff Webster were arrested as part of the Operation Elveden probe into payments to police. The arrests marked a widening out of the operation to include the investigation of evidence in relation to suspected corruption involving public officials who are not police officers. News International chief executive Tom Mockridge issued a memo to Sun staff, which said: "The Sun has a proud history of delivering ground-breaking journalism.

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Rupert Murdoch flies into London as five Sun journalists arrested over alleged corruption

 

The journalists, including The Sun’s deputy editor, were detained at dawn as part of the Metropolitan police investigation into corruption of public officials. A serving officer with the Armed forces and his wife, who is a Ministry of Defence official, were also arrested at an address in Wiltshire. It is the first time the Armed Forces have been drawn into the widespread police inquiry launched following phone hacking revelations at The Sun’s now defunct sister title The News of the World. One source suggested Mr Murdoch’s decision to come to the UK was in order to reassure news international staff about the tycoon’s support for a newspaper that he is said to cherish above all others in his media empire. The latest arrests follow the detention just a fortnight ago of four senior Sun executives, for allegedly bribing police. In total, ten Sun journalists have been arrested over alleged corruption.

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drug gang threatened to kill an officer per day

 

2,000 police are hunkering down in hotels in Mexico's most violent city of Ciudad Juarez after a drug gang threatened to kill an officer per day if their chief refused to resign. Eleven police officers, including four commanders, have already been killed in the city across from El Paso, Texas, since the start of the year. The city's mayor this week ordered police to use several local hotels as temporary barracks to protect themselves from attacks on the way home from work in the city at the heart of Mexican drug violence that has left 50,000 dead in five years. Mayor Hector Murguia said Tuesday that they would stay in hotels for at least three months, with 1.5 million dollars put aside to pay for it. Murguia stood by his police chief, Julian Leyzaola, a controversial former soldier who has also been asked to resign by human rights groups for his alleged heavy-handed policing. "The chances that he (Leyzaola) resigns or that they force him to resign are zero percent," the mayor told journalists. At the entrance to the Rio motel, on Las Torres avenue, several patrols stand guard to protect access to the improvised barracks, as others monitor vehicles passing by. Last week, several banners signed by the "New Cartel of Juarez" appeared around the city of 1.3 million, to announce the killing of a police officer each day as long as Leyzaola stayed in charge of the local police. Some of the messages also accused the police chief of protecting another group, "New Generation," allied to powerful Sinaloa drug cartel of fugitive billionaire Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. According to the mayor, the threats only showed how concerned the drug gangs were in the face of Leyzaola. Murders fell to less than 2,000 in the city in 2011 -- the year Leyzaola took control -- from 3,100 in 2010. Key leaders of city gangs like the "Aztecas" were also captured. Leyzaola already provoked controversy when he led police in another Mexican border city, Tijuana in northwest Mexico. Authorities lauded him for reducing crime there but organizations such as Amnesty International sought to put him on trial for the alleged torture of prisoners, backed by witness accounts from at least 25 police. Since Leyzaola took over the local police in Ciudad Juarez in March 2011, the Chihuahua state human rights commission has recorded 37 complaints against him, including for abuse of authority and arbitrary detentions. Gustavo de la Rosa, a commission member, told AFP that the police "were told to arrest anyone who looked like a criminal or became nervous on seeing someone in uniform." The business community of Ciudad Juarez -- the base of almost 20 percent of Mexico's manufacturing industry -- support the police chief, however. "It's clear that we have to stop the violence continuing, particularly murders of police. We have to look for means to reinforce the local police," said Alejandro Seade, director of the city's chamber of commerce.

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Twenty seconds of shooting, 432 bullets, five dead policemen.

 

 Four of the corpses are sprawled over a shiny new Dodge Ram pickup truck that has been pierced so many times it resembles a cheese grater. The bodies are contorted in the unnatural poses of the dead - arms arched over spines, legs spread out sideways. The bloodied fifth man is lying three metres from the pickup. His eyes are wide open, his right hand stretched upward clasping a 9mm pistol - a death pose that could have been set up for a Hollywood film. It is a balmy evening in Culiacan, Sinaloa, near Mexico's Pacific Coast. The policemen had stopped at a red light when the gunmen attacked, shooting from the side and back, unleashing bullets in split seconds. A customized Kalashnikov can fire 100 rounds in 10 seconds. This is a lightning war. I arrive 10 minutes after the shooting and a crowd of onlookers is already thickening. "That one is a Kalashnikov bullet. That one is from an AR15," says a skinny boy in a baseball cap, pointing at a long silvery shell next to a shorter gold one. Besides them, middle-aged couples, old men and mothers with small children gawk at the morbid display. The local press corps huddles together, checking photos on their viewfinders. They are relaxed, cheery; this is their daily bread. A battered Ford Focus speeds through the crowd. The wife of one of the victims jumps out and starts screaming hysterically. Her swinging arms are held back by her brother, his eyes red with tears. It is only when I see the pained look on their faces that the loss of human life really sinks in. Anyone with half an eye on the news knows that Mexico is in the midst of a drug war, with rival cartels battling for control of a multibillion-dollar trade in the United States. The country is so deep in blood it is getting harder to shock the locals. Even the kidnapping and killing of nine policemen, or a pile of craniums in a town plaza, isn't big news. Only the most sensational atrocities now grab media attention: a grenade attack on revellers celebrating Independence Day; an old silver mine filled with 56 decaying corpses, some of the victims thrown in alive; the kidnapping and shooting of 72 migrants, including a pregnant woman. In the five years of President Felipe Calderon's administration, the government admitted earlier this month, the drug war has claimed 47,500 lives, including 3,000 public servants - policemen, soldiers, judges, mayors and dozens of federal officials. Such a murder rate compares to the most lethal insurgent forces in the world - and is certainly more deadly than Hamas, Eta, or the IRA in its entire three decades of armed struggle. The nature of the attacks is even more intimidating. Mexican gangsters regularly shower police stations with bullets and rocket-propelled grenades; they carry out mass kidnappings of officers and leave their mutilated bodies on public display; they even kidnapped one mayor, tied him up and stoned him to death on a main street. I originally travelled to Latin America with the goal of being a foreign correspondent in exotic climes. The Oliver Stone film Salvador inspired me with its story of reporters dodging bullets in the Central American civil wars. But by the turn of the millennium, the days of military dictators and communist insurgents were no more. We were now, apparently, in a golden age of democracy and free trade. I arrived in Mexico in 2000 the day before Vicente Fox, the former Coca-Cola executive president, was sworn into office, ending 71 years of rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party. This was a titanic moment in Mexican history, a seismic shift in its political plates, a time of optimism and celebration. The clique who ravaged the country and lined their pockets for most of the 20th century had fallen from power. Ordinary Mexicans looked forward to enjoying the fruit of their hard work along with freedom and human rights. In the first years of the decade, no one saw the crisis ahead. The American media heaped high expectations on the cowboy-boot-wearing Fox as he entertained Kofi Annan and became the first Mexican to address a joint U.S. session of Congress. The first wave of serious cartel warfare began in the autumn of 2004 on the border with Texas and spread across the country. When Calderon took power in 2006 and declared war on these gangs, the violence multiplied overnight. The same system that promised Mexico hope was weak in controlling the most powerful mafias on the continent. The old regime may have been corrupt and authoritarian, but it could manage organized crime by taking down a token few gangsters and taxing the rest. Mexico's drug war is inextricably linked to the democratic transition. Its special-force soldiers became mercenaries for gangsters. Businessmen who used to pay off corrupt officials had to pay off mobsters. Police forces turned on one another - sometimes breaking into shootouts. Following the rise of the Mexican drug cartels has been a surreal - and tragic - journey. I have stumbled up mountains where drugs are born as pretty flowers; dined with lawyers who represent the biggest capos on the planet; and I got drunk with American undercover agents who infiltrate the cartels. I also sped through city streets to see too many bleeding corpses - and heard the words of too many mothers who had lost their sons, and with them their hearts. I have met the assassins, too; men like Jose Antonio from Ciudad Juarez, probably the most murderous city on the planet - just 11 kilometres from the border with the U.S. Jose stands just five foot six and has chocolate coloured skin, earning the nickname "frijol" or bean. He has a mop of black curly hair and bad acne, like many 17-year-olds. But despite his harmless demeanour, he has seen more killings than many soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Frijol came of age in a war zone. When Mexico's two most powerful gangs, the Zetas and Sinaloa cartels, began fighting in 2004, he was just 12 and joined a street gang in his slum. At 14, he was already involved in armed robberies, drug dealing and regular gun battles with rival gangs. At 16, police nabbed him for possession of a small arsenal of weapons and being an accessory to a drug-related murder. Frijol is typical of thousands of teenagers and young men. His parents hail from a country village, but joined the wave of immigrants that flocked to work in Juarez. They sweated on production lines making Japanese TV sets, American cosmetics and mannequins, for an average of $6 a day. It was a step up from growing corn in their village. But it was also a radical change in their lives. Frijol's parents still celebrated peasant folk days and macho country values. But he grew up in a sprawling city of 1.3 million where he could tune into American TV and see the skyscrapers of El Paso over the river. Contraband goods and guns flooded south and drugs went north. He was in between markets and in between worlds. While Frijol's parents slaved for long days in the factories, he was left for hours at home alone. He soon found company as part of a Juarez street gang or "barrio," the Calaberas, or skulls. "The gang becomes like your home, your family. It is where you find friendship and people to talk to. It is where you feel part of something. And you know the gang will back you up if you are in trouble." These barrios had been in Juarez for decades. New generations filled the ranks while veterans grew out of them. They had always fought rival gangs with sticks, stones, knives and guns. But a radical change occurred when the barrios were swept up into the wider drug cartel war. Frijol learned to use guns in the Calaberas. Arms moved around Juarez streets freely and every barrio had its arsenal. "There was a guy who had been in the barrio a few years before and was now working with the big people," explains Frijol. "He started offering jobs to the youngsters. The first jobs were just as lookouts or guarding tienditas (little drug shops). Then they started paying people to do the big jobs ... to kill." I ask how much the mafia pays to carry out murders. Frijol says one thousand pesos - about $77. The figure seems so ludicrous that I ask other active and former gang members. The price of a human life in Juarez is just $77. To traffic drugs is no huge step to the dark side. All kinds of people move narcotics and don't feel they crossed a red line. But to take a life for what amounts to enough to buy some tacos and a few beers over the week shows a terrifying degradation in society. I ask Frijol what it is like to be in fire fights, to see your friends die and to be an accessory to a murder. He answers unblinking. "Being in shootouts is pure adrenalin. But you see dead bodies and you feel nothing. There is killing every day. Some days, there are 10 executions; other days, there are 30. It is just normal now." I speak to Elizabeth Villegas, a psychologist. The teenagers with whom she works have murdered and raped. I ask, how does this hurt them psychologically? She stares at me as if she has not thought about it before. "They don't feel anything," she replies. "They just don't understand the pain that they have caused others. Most come from broken families. They don't recognize rules or limits." The teenagers know that, under Mexican law, minors can be sentenced to a maximum of only five years in prison no matter how many murders, kidnappings or rapes they have committed. Many convicted killers will be back on the streets before they turn 20. Frijol himself will be out when he is 19. But the law is the least of their worries; the mafias administer their own justice. Juarez cartel gunmen went to neighbourhoods where gang members had been recruited for the Sinaloans. It didn't matter that only two or three kids from the barrio had joined the mob; a death sentence was passed on the whole barrio. The Sinaloan mafia returned the favour on barrios that had joined the Juarez Cartel. Frijol recognizes that youth prison may be hard. But it is a lot safer there than on the streets now. "I keep hearing about friends who have been killed out there. Maybe I would be dead too. Prison could have saved my life." On the streets of Mexico, death was never far away. Five sources whose interviews helped to shape my book were later murdered or disappeared. One of them, the Honduran anti-drug chief Julian Aristides Gonzalez, gave me an interview in his office in the capital Tegucigalpa. The officer chatted for hours about the growth of Mexican drug gangs in Central America and the Colombians who provide them with narcotics. In his office were 140 kilos of seized cocaine and piles of maps and photographs showing clandestine landing strips and narco mansions. I was impressed by how open and frank Gonzalez was about his investigations and the political corruption they showed. Four days later, he gave a news conference showing his latest discoveries. Next day, he dropped his sevenyear-old daughter off at school. Assassins drove past on a motorcycle and fired 11 bullets into him. It turned out he had planned to retire in two months and move his family to Canada.

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ruling on how much money will be confiscated from the ringleader of an international drugs gang that was based in Wiltshire is due next week.

 

Police believe David Barnes made as much as £29m from illegal activities and want to seize it under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Barnes, 42, of Berkshire, was convicted of conspiracy to supply Class B drugs and jailed for 12 years in 2010.

He appeared at Gloucester Crown Court on Friday, surrounded by armed police.

During the trial, Bristol Crown Court heard Barnes and seven other gang members were caught after 10 tonnes of skunk cannabis was found at a farm in Wanborough near Swindon in April 2009.

The gang had smuggled the cannabis into the UK among shipments of flowers such as tulips and chrysanthemums.

Ten tonnes of skunk cannabis was found at a farm in Wanborough near Swindon

It was then driven in lorries to Wiltshire.

Wiltshire Police said it was one of the largest drug distribution operations seen in the UK.

Barnes, from Hungerford, claimed in court that he only made £40,000 from the operation.

Police believe the gang transferred millions of pounds out of Britain by taking cash by car from Swindon to London.

From there a courier would go to a high street money bureau and wire the cash to bureaux in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Dubai.

It was then collected and the trail ends.

Judge Jamie Tabor is due to announce his ruling next Friday.

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Four members of a criminal gang have been jailed for their role in one of the biggest alcohol smuggling frauds ever uncovered in Britain.

The complex scam was worth an estimated £50 million a year in unpaid duty and VAT and allowed the men to buy fast cars and luxury homes, investigators said.

They used their positions and contacts in the drinks trade to conceal dozens of truckloads of alcohol being moved into Britain without paying tax or duties in a scam known as diversion fraud.

 

Alcohol smugglers: Gary Clarke and Kevin Burrage were convicted of conspiracy to cheat the public revenue last month while Michael Turner and Davinder Dhaliwal pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to the same charges and fraudulent evasion of excise duty

 

Gang ringleader Kevin Burrage, 49, and Gary Clarke, 55, were convicted of conspiracy to cheat the public revenue last month following a three-month trial at Canterbury Crown Court.

Their accomplices, Michael Turner, 52, and Davinder Dhaliwal, 32, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to the same charges and fraudulent evasion of excise duty.

 

 

Sentencing them, Judge Michael O'Sullivan said 'All four of you were involved in a criminal enterprise to cheat the revenue. Alcohol was diverted in the UK without paying duty or tax due to the revenue.'

Burrage, of Ravendale Way, Shoeburyness, Essex, was jailed for 10 years, and Clarke, of Maplin Way North, Thorpe Bay, Southend, was sentenced to six years, nine months behind bars.

Luxury: Bundles of cash were seized from the gang after they were found to splashing cash on luxury cars and homes

Turner, of Rendezvous Street, Folkestone, Kent, was jailed for three years, two months and Dhaliwal, of Langdale Gardens, Dartford, was sentenced to 16 months in prison.

Prosecutor Andrew Marshall said the scam heavily revolved around Promptstock Ltd, a bonded warehouse in Essex owned by Burrage.

Alcohol can be stored and moved between bonded warehouses within the EU without paying excise duties.

But once the business needs to release the alcohol to retailers the excise duty then becomes payable at the rates applicable in the host country.

Burrage's brother-in-law, Clarke, managed the warehouse which the pair used to import and export alcohol without paying a penny in tax.

The gang bought beer, wine and spirits from bonded warehouses in France and imported them duty-free into Britain, destined for Promptstock Ltd.

Once through Customs, the alcohol was illegally diverted to locations around the country where they were then sold on without duty being added.

Mr Marshall said 'What was planned and what took place was to cause enormous and continuous losses to the Revenue of millions of pounds and those losses were only stopped by their arrest.'

Over a 22-month period from January 2007, he said the total VAT and excise duty loss caused by the gang amounted to £7.49 million, but, quoting former US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, said there were 'known unknowns'.

HM Revenue and Customs officials said they believed the scam was worth around £50 million a year in losses to the Revenue.

Mr Marshall said 'Mr Burrage was the organiser and ringleader of all of this trade. It was fraudulent from the very start. It has an international element, controlling goods abroad and from abroad.'

There was a 'web of corrupt players' involved in the fraud, he added, including transport companies which diverted the loads from their intended destinations.

Mr Marshall went on 'It was not just transport companies but cash-and-carries, here and abroad, and some retailers, all of which undercut legitimate retailers and therefore imperil their businesses.'

Investigators said the gang also reversed the fraud by appearing to send lorries over to the Continent loaded with non-duty paid alcohol.

HMRC said the cargo of alcohol in fact remained in the UK and the alcohol was sold on, again with no tax added.

Turner owned Keytrades (Europe) Ltd which provided an apparently legitimate cover for the movements of the alcohol consignments.

Meanwhile, Dhaliwal operated as Burrage's right-hand man, and organised the delivery of large quantities of alcohol ready for their distribution.

Mr Marshall said the gang were responsible for 'professional offending' and made use of sophisticated concealment methods to try to hide their crimes.

In addition to the lost VAT and excise duty, he added that they ran the risk of alcohol being sold to children and falling into the hands of 'less than reputable' operations.

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Senior Sun journalists arrested in police payments probe

 

Five Sun newspaper journalists have been arrested as part of Operation Elveden, the police inquiry into alleged inappropriate payments to public servants. Photograph: Martin Argles for the Guardian The Sun has been plunged into crisis following the arrest of five of its most senior journalists, including the deputy editor, over allegations of inappropriate payments to police and public officials. The five Sun journalists are understood to be: deputy editor Geoff Webster, picture editor John Edwards, chief reporter John Kay, chief foreign correspondent Nick Parker and reporter John Sturgis. The Sun's editor, Dominic Mohan, said: "I'm as shocked as anyone by today's arrests but am determined to lead the Sun through these difficult times. I have a brilliant staff and we have a duty to serve our readers and will continue to do that. Our focus is on putting out Monday's newspaper." A News International source said Mohan was "not resigning" but added that it was "obviously a dramatic day for him". Sky News reported that Rupert Murdoch is flying into the UK to reassure Sun staff that he will not close the paper in the wake of the latest arrests. The worsening crisis at the tabloid could have wider ramifications for the Murdoch media empire, according to some media experts. Clive Hollick, former chief executive of United Business Media, said the latest arrests could intensify the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigation into News Corp in the US. In a post on his Twitter account he added that the arrests "may lead to fines, director oustings and asset sales". He also suggested that the developments could lead to the broadcasting watchdog Ofcom review Murdoch's control of Sky television in the UK. Hollick tweeted: "Will Ofcom conclude that Sun arrests on top of hacking render NI not fit and proper to hold #Sky license and make them sell shareholding?" A Surrey police officer, 39, a Ministry of Defence employee, 39, and a member of the armed forces, 36, were also arrested at their homes on Saturday on suspicion of corruption, misconduct in a public office and conspiracy in relation to both. The new arrests at Britain's bestselling newspaper will further rock News International, which is still reeling from the closure of the Sun's sister title, the News of the World last year, after it emerged that journalists had hacked the phone of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler. The journalists, aged between 45 and 68, were arrested at addresses in London, Kent and Essex on suspicion of corruption, aiding and abetting misconduct in a public office, and conspiracy in relation to both these offences. They are being questioned at police stations in London and Kent. News Corporation, the parent company of News International which owns the Sun and the Times, confirmed that five Sun staff were among those arrested today. It said its Management and Standards Committee (MSC) had provided information to the Elveden investigation which led to the arrests and had also provided the option of "immediate legal representation" to those arrested. "News Corporation remains committed to ensuring that unacceptable news-gathering practices by individuals in the past will not be repeated and last summer authorised the MSC to co-operate with the relevant authorities," it said. "The MSC will continue to ensure that all appropriate steps are taken to protect legitimate journalistic privilege and sources, private or personal information and legal privilege. "News Corporation maintains its total support to the ongoing work of the MSC and is committed to making certain that legitimate journalism is vigorously pursued in both the public interest and in full compliance with the law." The arrests come two weeks after four former and current Sun journalists and a serving Metropolitan police officer were arrested over alleged illegal police payments. Senior Sun employees Chris Pharo, 42, and Mike Sullivan, along with former executives Fergus Shanahan, 57, and Graham Dudman, were named by sources as suspects facing corruption allegations. All five were released on bail. Surrey police confirmed a serving officer was arrested at the officer's home address on Saturday as part of Operation Elveden. A spokesman said: "Surrey police has been working closely with Operation Elveden since it was established in 2011, with a number of its officers seconded to the [Metropolitan Police Service] to assist with the investigations. "On learning about the involvement of one of its officers, the force immediately referred the matter to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC)." Assistant Chief Constable Jerry Kirkby said: "The force takes matters of this nature extremely seriously and we will not hesitate to respond robustly to allegations where there is evidence to support them." Deborah Glass, deputy chair of the IPCC, said: "Today's arrests are further evidence of the strenuous efforts being undertaken to identify police officers who may have taken corrupt payments." The MoD refused to comment. Officers from Operation Elveden made the arrests between 6am and 8am as part of the investigation into allegations of inappropriate payments to police and public officials. Operation Elveden, which runs alongside the Met's Operation Weeting team, was launched as the phone-hacking scandal erupted last July with allegations about the now-defunct News of the World targeting Milly Dowler's mobile phone. Its remit has widened to include the investigation of evidence uncovered in relation to suspected corruption involving public officials who are not police officers. All home addresses of all eight detained men are being searched and officers are also carrying out searches at the offices of News International in Wapping, east London, the Metropolitan police said. " larger | smaller Media The Sun · News Corporation · News International · Rupert Murdoch · Dominic Mohan · Ofcom · Newspapers & magazines · National newspapers · Newspapers · Media business · US press and publishing · US television industry UK news Ministry of Defence World news United States Television & radio US television More news More on this story Operation Elveden and Operation Weeting: the full list of arrests 30 people have been arrested so far in police investigations into phone hacking and payments to officers Leveson inquiry: James Harding, Dominic Mohan, Baroness Buscombe Leveson inquiry: Sun editor recalled for questioning on Page 3 Sun journalists think Murdoch doesn't care for them any longer Rupert Murdoch cuts off Wapping? Sun arrests show that News Corp is now at war with itself Printable version Send to a friend Share Clip Contact us

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Snitch paid $500K in Project Deplete

 

Using a paid police informant was one tactic employed in a recent RCMP-Winnipeg police sweep of the drug underworld — continuing a scheme used by police in similar high-level crime probes in the recent past. An undercover agent is to be paid in the range of $500,000 for his or her role in Project Deplete, a justice source confirmed Monday. The organized crime investigation, details of which were revealed last Friday, remains ongoing with two suspects remaining at large. The latest sweep saw charges laid against people police accuse of being major players in the city’s drug trade. Some have gang associations, others are more “independent,” police said. Among those arrested were former Hells Angel William ‘Billy’ Bowden and Joshua Lyons, who was convicted in Project Defence, a separate organized crime sting conducted in 2006. As well, justice officials have authorized the use of direct criminal indictments against suspects in the latest case. The bulk of those arrested so far made an initial appearance in the Court of Queen’s Bench Monday. The use of direct indictments means preliminary hearings meant to test the Crown’s evidence are bypassed. Direct indictments were also used in a 2009 crackdown into the Hells Angels-associated Zig Zag Crew gang code-named Project Divide. In that case, police paid former Zig-Zag member Michael Satsatin hundreds of thousands of dollars to inform on the criminal activities of other members. Lawyers appearing for suspects in Project Deplete Monday were given some preliminary disclosure and portable computer hard drives containing police evidence. No evidence was put forward by prosecutors on the record in court. The lawyer for Christopher Murrell, 36, said he plans to make a bail application prior to Mar. 14 — the date Justice Brenda Keyser remanded the cases to. Jay Prober refused comment on the specifics or details of the investigation or allegations against Murrell, who is accused of cocaine-trafficking. He did state he felt the use of direct indictments was unfair to accused people. If a paid informant was used, Prober speculated, it wouldn’t be uncommon for the Crown to use the legal tactic to ensure witness safety. “If there’s an agent involved, they inevitably use direct indictments because they don’t want to bring the agent out more often than necessary,” Prober said. Nearly seven kilograms of cocaine, almost half a kilo of crack, more than 9,800 ecstasy tablets, a kilo of MDMA and large quantities of methamphetamine, oxycodone and marijuana were seized during Project Deplete, which started in August 2011. Police estimate the total street value of the drugs seized at about $1 million. FOUR MORE ARRESTS Four more arrests were made as part of project deplete. Kareem Martin, 31, Dane Sawatzky, 27, Mark Beitz, 31, Dalton Miller, 21 were all taken into custody since the first arrests were made on Friday. Warrants for the arrest of two individuals are still out. Elmer John Deato, 26 is wanted for trafficking cocaine while David Thomas, 29 is wanted for weapons trafficking, among other charges.

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More arrests made in million dollar drug bust

 

Police have made four more arrests in the major drug operation called Project Deplete, a long-term investigation by the Manitoba Integrated Organized Crime Task Force. More than 80 officers made arrests and seized more than a million dollars worth of drugs on Friday. A total of 13 people were charged and seven people were arrested at that time, said police. On Monday, they announced four more arrests: Kareem Martin, 31, Dane Sawatzky, 27, Mark Beitz, 31, and Dalton Miller, 21. On Tuesday, RCMP said Elmer John Deato, 26, had also been taken into custody.  A warrant for arrest remains in effect for David Thomas, 29, of Winnipeg, Manitoba for weapons trafficking and other offences.  Those taken into custody Friday include: William Lauren Bowden, Joshua James Lyons, Chi Hong Do, Christopher Lea Murrell, Pardeep Kapoor, Joshua Robert Charney, all of Winnipeg and Ramsey Yaggey of Edmonton. "We've had a lot of success in the last while with the Hell's Angels, taking them off the street, the Zig Zag Crew and others," said Winnipeg Police Chief Keith McCaskill on Friday. "When that happens quite often there is a void left open and there is people jockeying for position." On Friday officers seized: 6,912 grams of cocaine, 465 grams of crack cocaine, 272 grams of methamphetamine, 9,811 ecstasy tablets, 1,063 grams of MDMA, 501 oxycodone tablets and 891 grams of marihuana. A number of the accused made an appearance in court Monday, including Hell's Angel member Billy Bowden, who was charged with three counts of trafficking cocaine and two counts of possessing the proceeds of a crime. Many of the accused have been remanded to March 14. Some of their lawyers expressed their intention to seek bail in the meantime. Project Deplete began in August and focuses on high level independent drug traffickers in Winnipeg and around the province. Officers from the Winnipeg Police Service, RCMP and Brandon Police Service participated in Friday's bust.

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Accused wants to play soccer with witness

 

A MAN accused of orchestrating a $3.7 million fraud ring that allegedly involved a Hells Angels bikie boss wants his bail conditions varied so he can play soccer. Adam Eli Meyer, a husband and father, defrauded or attempted to defraud legitimate businesses of property, luxury cars, a yacht and excavation equipment, police allege. Meyer, 37, appeared today in Sydney's Central Local Court charged with 12 fraud offences and one count of dealing with the proceeds of crime. A number of the offences allegedly involved Felix Lyle, the president of the Sydney chapter of the Hells Angels, who has also been charged over the alleged fraud ring. Meyer is on bail with a $250,000 surety bond from his father. Counsel for Meyer applied today to have his bail conditions varied so he could play soccer for a Balmain team. The court heard that Meyer plays on the right wing and a prosecution witness plays left wing for the same team. His bail conditions prohibit him from approaching any witnesses in the case but Meyer's counsel assured the court he would not discuss the matter if he and the witness did engage in random conversation. The witness has provided a statement to police that a tax statement in his name is fraudulent, the court heard. Thomas Spohr, from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, opposed the bail variance, saying it could result in "contamination of evidence". The matter was adjourned before determination because Meyer's father was not present to consent to the bail variation. Meyer, Lyle and four co-accused will appear in the same court on April 10, when Meyer will have an opportunity again to have his bail conditions varied. Court documents allege a string of alleged fraud offences spanning from September 2010 to early this year. Police say Meyer provided false business and tax documents from a dummy company, BRZ Investments Pty Ltd, in attempts to obtain financing to purchase high-value items. Four Caterpillar excavators worth $940,000, a Regal Commodore yacht worth $325,000 and a $1.2 million Alexandria property were on the wish list. Other items included four Harley Davidson motorcycles, three Lexus cars, two Mercedes, two Toyotas and a number of computers.

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Gangster 'Mad Dog' in savage beating of murder supergrass

 

A BRUTAL gangland thug was spared even more jail time after he admitted his role in a savage assault on a criminal who became a supergrass in a high profile murder trial. Crumlin gangster Ian 'Mad Dog' Maloney (25) repeatedly kicked Joey O'Brien in the head as he lay semi-conscious in Charlie's Restaurant, Dame Street, on January 4, 2009. sickening Maloney -- who was connected to 'Fat' Freddie Thompson's mob -- is currently serving a 12-year sentence for the €1.2m armed robbery of Paul Sheeran Jewellers in Dundrum Town Centre on September 3, 2008. Just four months after that robbery he subjected Joey O'Brien -- the State's 'star witness' in a murder trial last summer -- to a beating which a judge yesterday described as "sickening". Self-confessed Crumlin drug dealer O'Brien -- who is now in the witness protection programme -- gave the key testimony that helped secure the conviction of gangland killer Peter Kenny (30), from Rialto, for the savage murder of Johnny 'Champagne' Carroll in February, 2009. A source explained: "A lot of people want O'Brien dead -- there is a contract on his head. "Mad Dog hated him because he used to bully him when he was a young fella -- he was delighted to get a chance to batter him. "The beating that O'Brien got was very severe -- Maloney was calling him a rat as he danced on his head." Yesterday, Dublin Circuit Court heard O'Brien woke up the next morning in hospital with a broken jaw, smashed teeth and a broken eye socket. He was badly concussed and could not remember much about the attack. Pieter Le Vert, defending Maloney, submitted that his client has offered a full apology. He said Maloney's brother had died several years ago shortly after been released from garda custody and he blames the authorities for this. He said this led to his client starting to drink and use drugs before becoming involved in crime. Mr Le Vert said Maloney is now drug free and the recent birth of his son has "changed him entirely". Judge Nolan called it a "sickening assault" and said it appears Maloney inflicted most of the injuries. assault However, he said there is some hope he will reform and that he would not extend his prison term. He sentenced Maloney to four years to run alongside his current sentence. Mad Dog's friend, Jonathon Murray (22), was jailed for 18 months for his role in the assault. The court heard that Maloney has 73 previous convictions and Murray has 48, including four for drug dealing.

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Canadian woman charged in Gadhafi smuggling plot

 

The Mount Forest, Ont., woman held in a Mexican jail since November in a suspected plot to smuggle Moammar Ghadafi's son and his family out of Libya has been charged with falsifying documents, organized crime and attempted human smuggling. The charges were laid the same day Cyndy Vanier's family released a letter outlining what she calls deplorable conditions endured in the Mexican jail where she is being detained. Vanier, 52, was picked up in Mexico, where she and her husband have a winter home, last Nov. 10 and held without charges until Tuesday when a judge ordered warrants against two women and two men for a suspected plot to whisk Saadi Gadhafi and his family to Mexico. Those four people were Vanier, a mediator specializing aboriginal dispute and president of Vanier Consulting, and three other arrested in the alleged plot. Vanier has been pointed to as the ring leader. The charges were outlined in a press release from Mexico's office of the attorney general, who said its investigation showed a group had attempted to smuggle Gadhafi's son and his family in July but failed. A decision was made to make a second attempt and use another aircraft company to move the Gadhafis. The charges include accusations of falsifying a passport, voter registration card and a birth certificate. A house was bought in Bahia de Banderas, Nayarit, Mexico, to hide the family. There was also an attempt to buy an apartment in St. Regis hotel in Mexico City. The allegations, unproven in court, were linked to the theft of 4,586 passports in 2009. The charges outlined in the news release are for human smuggling, organized crime and counterfeiting three official documents. Vanier and the other female suspect are being held in a federal prison in Chetumal, Quintana Roo. The men are in a facility in Veracruz. Vanier wrote in the letter released by her family that she has been abused and tortured while in custody. Until Wednesday, she had been held on a judge's order. Under Mexico's preventative arrest law, people can be held up to 90 days without charge as investigators gather enough evidence to charge them. Bail is uncommon and not available at all for people accused of serious crimes. Her Canadian lawyer, Paul Copeland, said there was no coincidence as to why the letter was released early Wednesday when Vanier was finally charged. The family had it in their possession for some time, but waited until the detention order was over "so not to prejudice the situation." A spokesman for Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Diane Ablonczy confirmed Vanier contacted the Canadian government to allege she'd been abused in Mexican custody. "Officials have received, but have not verified Ms. Vanier's allegations. Canadians officials are reviewing these allegations and will act accordingly," John Babcock said. "Ms. Vanier faces very serious allegations in Mexico including the falsification of documents, human trafficking and participating in organized crime. Canadian officials are providing her with consular assistance, but Canadians travelling abroad are subject to the laws in the countries they visit. "Canada will continue to interact with Mexican authorities on her behalf as required, and our consular officials are ensuring that her medical concerns are being addressed." In a letter to Canada's foreign affairs department obtained by the CBC, Vanier said a dozen officers took her into custody on Nov. 9 and one of them struck her en route to a detention centre as they drove past her co-accused and lawyers. "I tried to yell out the open window ... and as I did, one of the female officers struck me with her elbow on the lower right side over the kidney. I could hardly breathe it hurt so much ... I started to cry ... and they laughed at me," she alleges. Police accused her of being a terrorist and didn't allow her to call a lawyer or the Canadian Embassy, she said. Vanier said she was also denied access to the bathroom for hours and not given medical attention. Mexican authorities allege Vanier was the ringleader who tried to smuggle the slain Libyan dictator's son, Saadi Gadhafi, and his family into the country by falsifying documents, opening bank accounts and purchasing real estate. Vanier, a vacation property owner in Mexico, said she was in the country with her husband looking to buy property. Police questioned her about her real-estate hunting. Further suspicion arose because Vanier travelled to Libya in July for the engineering firm SNC-Lavalin with a former Gadhafi staffer as her bodyguard. Three other people, two from Mexico and a man from Denmark, have been detained as alleged accomplices. "I have suffered physical, mental and emotional abuse and trauma, and my rights as a Canadian citizen have been violated based on my international human rights as well as the Mexican constitution," she wrote.

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The murder case against Eldon Calvert, the alleged leader of the Montego Bay based Stone Crusher gang, and two other men was thrown out

 

The murder case against Eldon Calvert, the alleged leader of the Montego Bay based Stone Crusher gang, and two other men was thrown out yesterday because a policeman fabricated a witness statement. “This is a very sad day in the history of justice,” Senior Puisne judge Gloria Smith said when the disclosure was made in the Home Circuit Court. Paula Llewellyn, QC, director of public prosecutions, said she could not proceed any further with the case because handwriting experts for the defence and the Crown confirmed the witness statement was written and signed by Detective Sergeant Michael Sirjue. Llewellyn said she was told that Sirjue fled the island. She said the report was that he left on a flight for Florida late Thursday afternoon. After Llewellyn got the report from handwriting expert Deputy Superintendent William Smiley late Thursday afternoon, she wrote to the commissioner of police informing him that Sirjue must be charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice and uttering a forged document. Eldon Calvert was on trial along with his brother, music band operator Gleason Calvert, and Michael Heron for the 2006 murder of cookshop operator Robert Green of Salem, St James. The prosecution was relying on the statement of Artley Campbell to prove its case against the three men. Campbell was shot and killed on November 13, 2006. Sirjue wrote a statement purporting that Campbell had given the statement on November 14, 2006 but the date was subsequently altered to October 14, 2006. During Sirjue’s evidence, defence lawyers Roy Fairclough, Trevor HoLyn, Tamika Spence and Chumu Paris disclosed that they had an opinion from Beverley East, document examiner, that it was Sirjue who wrote and signed the statement. Llewellyn then asked for an adjournment on Tuesday to get the opinion of a handwriting expert. Handwriting expert Yesterday, Llewellyn announced that a new policy had since been put in place that all statements to be put into evidence in cases where witnesses are dead or cannot be found will be examined by the handwriting expert. Justice Gloria Smith also called for legislation or rules to be put in place for the defence to make disclosure to the prosecution when expert witnesses are to be called. She said disclosure should be made at case management. Fairclough called for all cases involving Sirjue to be examined. Sirjue was the supervisor at the Montego Bay CIB for former Detective Constable Carey Lyn-Sue who had pleaded guilty in relation to writing a false witness statement. He was sent to prison for attempting to pervert the course of justice. Eldon Calvert and Michael Heron were remanded until February 8 because there is another murder charge against them. “Justice has been served,” Gleason Calvert remarked after he was freed.

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Jarrod Bacon, co-accused Wayne Scott found guilty of drug conspiracy

 

Gangster Jarrod Bacon and his co-accused Wayne Scott have been found guilty of conspiracy to traffic in cocaine. Bacon, 28, and Scott, 55, who is the grandfather of Bacon’s child, were involved in a scheme to import up to 100 kilograms of cocaine into Canada from Mexico, B.C. Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Austin Cullen concluded Friday. The two men were targeted in a sting operation in which a police agent, who can only be identified as G.L., implicated the accused in the conspiracy. Court heard wiretap evidence of the men meeting at Scott’s home in Abbotsford and discussing plans for the drug conspiracy. Bacon boasted that he could provide $3 million in financial backing to take the shipment of drugs. The scheme was aborted in August 2009 after a police emergency response team entered a warehouse where the drug transaction was expected to take place. Bacon was on bail at the time of the offence. He took the stand in his own defence, claiming that he wanted to steal the drugs but had no plans to traffic the narcotics. The accused lashed out at police and admitted to being a gangster but insisted he was not guilty of the offence. Bacon admitted a heavy drug habit, including the abuse of the painkiller OxyContin, as well as the use of cocaine and steroids. He called the media coverage of his family “propaganda” and said the press was on a relentless campaign to smear him. But prosecutors, who said the accused was motivated by greed, dismissed his testimony as an “outright fabrication” and called him an “unmitigated liar.” In a verdict that took nearly two hours to read out in court, the judge said he found Bacon’s evidence on cross-examination to be at times evasive, confrontational and argumentative. He said the evidence showed Bacon taking a “knowledgeable and cautious” approach to the business of drug dealing. He rejected the assertion by Bacon that he only wanted to steal the drugs, saying that “it does not accord with logic or common sense.” Bacon was clearly operating according to an agenda and his evidence was not truthful, said the judge. There was “ample evidence” of a conspiracy to traffic as opposed to just negotiations as asserted by the defence, he said. Though Scott was in the middle of the conspiracy, he had a stake in the trafficking enterprise and was also aware of the specifics of the plan, said Cullen. “The quantity of drugs at issue clearly implies an intention to traffic The discussions between Bacon and G.L. and Scott clearly imply the existence of a prospective trafficking enterprise.” The judge spent a good part of the ruling setting out the elements involved in a conspiracy offence and citing case law. Outside court, an RCMP officer said the ruling clarified conspiracy law for police. “I was really pleased because it gives all us more clarity on how we approach these things,” said RCMP Supt. Pat Fogarty. “In terms of the disposition, the verdict, I’m very pleased with it.” Asked why Bacon was targetted, Fogarty replied that there was intelligence available and police took the opportunity provided. “I don't like, and I would never say, that Jarrod Bacon would be a target based on his notoriety.” Asked about the impact of the verdict on the gang wars that have been raging in the Lower Mainland, Fograrty noted that many have been prosecuted with “a lot” more trials to come. “This is just one level of completion in terms of providing a level of safety to the Abbotsford community, in this case, but also as much in the Lower Mainland, to alleviate this gang stuff.” The verdict came after the judge had dismissed several applications by the defence to stay the charges. At trial, lawyers for the two men indicated that if there was a guilty verdict, the accused might seek to have the charges stayed on the grounds that the police were engaged in entrapment. Jeremy Guild, Scott’s lawyer, told Cullen that prior to sentencing, he would be proceeding with an entrapment motion but Jeffrey Ray, Bacon’s lawyer, asked that the matter be adjourned until next week before he decides whether to join in on the motion. The judge adjourned the matter until Feb. 8. Bacon’s older brother, Jonathan, was last year gunned down in a gangland slaying in Kelowna. His younger brother, Jamie, is awaiting trial in the Surrey Six murders.

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German nationals face death penalty over drug smuggling charges in Malaysia

 

A district court near the Kuala Lumpur International Airport charged the three men on January 13 with drug trafficking, said a customs official who declined to be named. Airport officials arrested the men arriving from Istanbul on January 1 after finding 10.2 kilogrammes of methamphetamine hidden in the bags they were carrying, the official said on Wednesday. He said no plea had been recorded from the three pending the case's transfer to a high court once a chemist report on the drugs is ready. The two Germans have parents from Afghanistan but were born in Germany, while the Moroccan has lived in Germany for 15 years, the official said. Authorities in the Southeast Asian country went on "red alert" late last year following a surge in arrests and drug seizures, tightening passenger and luggage screening.

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Times of London Dragged Into UK's Hacking Scandal - Another Rupert Murdoch newspaper being probed, says lawmaker

 

Police are investigating alleged email interception by Rupert Murdoch's Times of London, a British lawmaker said today—dragging Britain's oldest national newspaper into the broadening scandal over press wrongdoing. Labour Party legislator Tom Watson, who helped lift the lid on tabloid phone hacking, released a letter from police confirming they were investigating alleged email hacking by the Times. The 226-year-old Times has acknowledged that a former reporter tried to intercept emails in 2009 to unmask an anonymous policeman who blogged as NightJack. Editor James Harding told Britain's media ethics inquiry last month that the reporter had acted on his own and had been reprimanded. The paper later published the blogger's name, but Harding insisted it had been obtained by legal means. In the wake of the new development, Harding will be summoned back to give further testimony to the judge-led ethics inquiry.

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