Gang dispute sparked funeral home shooting that left 2 dead, 12 injured

 

Dispute among gang members at a North Miami-area funeral home sparked a mass shooting that injured 12 people and killed two men, according to Miami-Dade police and law enforcement. The gunmen, who fired a barrage of bullets at a crowd of mourners Friday night, remained on the loose. Investigators have not released information about the shooters, only that a white car may have been involved. One of the victims, a 43-year-old man, died outside the Funeraria Latina Emanuel funeral home, authorities said. The other, a 27-year-old man, died at the hospital. Witnesses at the funeral home had said one of the two people killed was shot in the chest. Among the wounded was a 5-year-old girl who was shot in the leg. She is hospitalized at Jackson Memorial Hospital and is listed in stable condition. The funeral was for Morvin Andre, 21, of North Miami, who was buried Saturday morning at Southern Memorial Park next to the funeral home. Andre was killed March 16 after he tried to jump 22-and-a-half feet from the fourth floor of the Aventura Mall parking garage to escape pursuit from Bloomingdale’s loss prevention employees. Andre landed on his feet, but then fell back and hit his head, according Aventura Police Major Skip Washa, a spokesman. Washa said Saturday the county medical examiner’s office has ruled Andre’s death a suicide because the Bloomingdale’s employees were one floor below Andre when they told him to stop. Instead, he jumped. Originally, it was reported that Andre, a nursing student at Broward Community College, had been killed in a shooting, according to mourners at the funeral home. A law enforcement official told the Miami Herald that the shooting involved members of several South Florida gangs who were in attendance at his wake Friday night to pay their respects. Andre was not part of a gang himself, the official said. Certain gang members took offense when someone touched Andre’s body in the casket, setting off an argument that spilled out into the street. Members of one gang retrieved an assault rifle and a handgun from a car and opened fire at other gang members in front of the funeral home, a police commander told Miami Herald news partner WFOR-CBS 4. Shooting erupted as more than 100 people were gathered outside the funeral home, in the 14900 block of West Dixie Highway, outside the city limits of North Miami. “I was on my way out of the chapel when I heard the shots,“ said A.D. Lenoir, the pastor who officiated at the service. “I told people to look for cover. It was chaos.” Lenoir, 29, said people were screaming, crying and yelling. Several victims were taken to Jackson, and others to local hospitals. The West Dixie Highway corridor has been the scene of several shootings in recent years. In 2007, the owner of a martial arts studio was fatally gunned down in a drive-by.

Kansas man struck by lightning hours after buying lottery tickets

A Kansas man was struck by lightning hours after buying three Mega Millions lottery tickets on Thursday, proving in real life the old saying that a gambler is more likely to be struck down from the sky than win the jackpot. Bill Isles, 48, bought three tickets in the record $656 million lottery Thursday at a Wichita, Kansas grocery store. On the way to his car, Isles said he commented to a friend: "I've got a better chance of getting struck by lightning" than winning the lottery. Later at about 9:30 p.m., Isles was standing in the back yard of his Wichita duplex, when he saw a flash and heard a boom -- lightning. "It threw me to the ground quivering," Isles said in a telephone interview on Saturday. "It kind of scrambled my brain and gave me an irregular heartbeat." Isles, a volunteer weather spotter for the National Weather Service, had his portable ham radio with him because he was checking the skies for storm activity. He crawled on the ground to get the radio, which had been thrown from his hand. Isles had been talking to other spotters on the radio and called in about the lightning strike. One of the spotters, a local television station intern, called 911. Isles was taken by ambulance to a hospital and kept overnight for observation. Isles said doctors wanted to make sure his heartbeat was back to normal. He suffered no burns or other physical effects from the strike, which he said could have been worse because his yard has a power line pole and wires overhead. "But for the grace of God, I would have been dead," Isles said. "It was not a direct strike." Isles said he had someone buy him ten more tickets to the Mega Millions lottery on Friday night. While one of the three winning tickets was sold in Kansas, Isles was not a winner. Officials of the Mega Millions lottery, which had the largest prize in U.S. history, said that the odds of winning lottery were about 176 million to one. Americans have a much higher chance of being struck by lightning, at 775,000 to one over the course of a year, depending on the part of the country and the season, according to the National Weather Service. Isles, who is out of work after being laid off last June by a furniture store, said he did once win $2,000 in the lottery and will keep playing. "The next time I will use the radio while sitting in the car," he said

Kevin 'Gerbil' Carroll murder trial

PHOTOGRAPHS of the spot where gangland figure Kevin “Gerbil” Carroll was shot dead were shown to a murder trial jury yesterday. The pictures – shown on day one of the trial – included an image of an Audi with smashed windows. The court was told the car was “subject to a significant degree of examination”. Carroll, 29, was shot in the car park of Asda in Robroyston, Glasgow, in January 2010. Ross Monaghan, 30, has been accused of Carroll’s murder. It is alleged that, while masked and acting with others, Monaghan repeatedly discharged loaded handguns at him, shooting him on the head and body. Monaghan is accused of – while acting with others – attempting to defeat the ends of justice by disposing of a revolver, pistol and ammunition in undergrowth in Coatbridge and Airdrie. It is also claimed a car bearing false number plates was set on fire. Monaghan also faces a number of firearms charges. He denies all the charges against him at the High Court in Glasgow and has incriminated Mr X, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and seven others. The trial, before Lord Brailsford, continues.

popular Caribbean dancing style used by adults, known as 'daggering', is sexualising the dance floors of a much younger generation.

 

 Teenagers as young as 11 are modelling sex acts and rape, in the form of daggering, on the dance floor with their peers. Deputy Children's Commissioner Sue Berelowitz said: "there's not a lot separating that kind of behaviour from actual violent, coercive sex." Footage seen by Channel 4 News [see above] shows an under-18s club night in East London. As with all 'under-18s' club nights, everyone is between 11 and 16. Some of the children look much younger. The club is packed. The music: Caribbean dancehall. The dancing style: daggering. It is a style of dancing that any carnival regular will be used to. Aficionados will no doubt, have a more technical description of the style but it mainly involves women bending over and rubbing their backsides up against the men's crotches. During that August weekend in Notting Hill every adult gives it a go. But what's different about this night club is that every child is giving it a go. Spurred on by the DJ, the 'daggering' becomes more enthusiastic, some of it verging on violent. Boys and girls end up on top of each other on the floor simulating sex. Throughout the night someone employed by the club promoter (presumably an adult) is filming it all and uploading it on the club's website via YouTube.

Shawn Tyson guilty of murdering two Britons in Florida

 

An American teenager has been found guilty of the first degree murder of two British tourists in Florida. James Cooper, 25, from Warwickshire, and James Kouzaris, 24, from Northampton, were shot dead on a public housing estate in Newtown, Sarasota. The pair, who met at Sheffield University, were killed after drunkenly wandering into the estate in the early hours of 16 April 2011. The court heard Shawn Tyson, 17, killed them after trying to rob them. Tyson, who was tried as an adult despite being 16 at the time of the shooting, faces life in prison with no chance of parole. 'Shattered soul' The families of Mr Cooper and Mr Kouzaris were not in court but said in a statement they were satisfied with the verdict. They added: "It is a fact that we were given a life sentence when our sons were so brutally and needlessly taken from us. "Ours is a life sentence, with no chance of parole from a broken heart, and a shattered soul." Mr Kouzaris and Mr Cooper had been out drinking in downtown Sarasota before they were shot The families also criticised the Sarasota court system that freed Tyson after a judge warned he was a danger to the public. Hours before he shot the two Britons, Tyson was arrested for a separate shooting incident in which no-one was hurt. In the statement the families said: "The evil of the killer is one thing, but the fact is, he would not have been on the streets had instructions to keep him incarcerated been passed from one judge to another." Killer's boast When the mistake came to light the Mayor of Sarasota, Kelly Kirschener, vowed the city's prosecutors would never let anything similar happen again. During the trial jurors heard how Mr Kouzaris and Mr Cooper had been out drinking in downtown Sarasota before getting lost and wandering into the Newtown area in the early hours. The prosecution said they were confronted by Tyson who tried to rob them and then shot them when he realised they had very little money. The court heard Tyson had boasted to his friend Latrece Washington, who testified against him, that one of the men had begged for his life but he shot him anyway.

New Black Panther leader arrested as group sets bounty in Florida shooting

 

high-ranking member of the New Black Panther Party was arrested for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office said Monday. DeKalb County Sheriff's Office Hashim Nzinga, 49, was arrested for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. More Atlanta area news » Immigration-related complaint may become ‘moot' 'Chicken Man' house explodes Trayvon Martin rally at Capitol draws many Gang member guilty of 2011 killing Hashim Nzinga, 49, recently announced on CNN that his group was offering a $10,000 reward for the capture of George Zimmerman, the man who fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla. CNN identified Nzinga as the chief of staff of the New Black Panther Party. According to a DeKalb arrest warrant, Nzinga was in possession of an FN Herstal 5.7 x 28 handgun, which investigators said he pawned at a shop on Rockbridge Road. That alleged transaction would be illegal due to Nzinga’s convictions last month for felony deposit account fraud in Gwinnett County, the DeKalb Sheriff's Office said. Nzinga was arrested by members of the fugitive squad at a probation office in Lawrenceville and transported to DeKalb County Jail. The New Black Panther Party is offering a $10,000 bounty for the capture of Zimmerman, the Florida neighborhood watch captain who shot and killed Martin, an unarmed teenager, last month. "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," Black Panther leader Mikhail Muhammad said Saturday at a rally in Sanford, where Martin was killed Feb. 26, according to Fox News. Zimmerman has claimed he shot Martin in self-defense, but the New Black Panthers are calling for mobilization of 10,000 black men to capture Zimmerman, who has gone into hiding, the Orlando Sentinel reported. "He should be fearful for his life," Muhammad said. "You can't keep killing black children." According to the website of the Southern Poverty Law Center, the New Black Panthers "is a virulently racist and anti-Semitic organization whose leaders have encouraged violence against whites, Jews and law enforcement officers." The group was founded in Dallas in 1989 and believes black Americans should have their own nation, according to the SPLC. Zimmerman shot Martin as he returned to his father's house from a store where he had bought candy. Zimmerman told a 911 dispatcher that Martin was acting suspicious and told police that he was attacked by Martin. Sanford police say they were advised by prosecutors that they did not have enough evidence to charge Zimmerman.

Shawn Tyson trial: Murder accused often carried a gun, court hears

A teenager accused of murdering two British tourists in Florida often carried a revolver which he fired into the air, a US court has heard. James Cooper, 25, from Warwickshire and James Kouzaris, 24, from Northampton, were shot dead in Sarasota last April. Floridian Shawn Tyson, 17, from Sarasota, denies two counts of first degree murder. His friend Jermaine Bane lives near Mr Tyson and told the court that he regularly saw Mr Tyson carrying a gun. He told the court he met Mr Tyson about three years ago, they lived within minutes from each other's house and typically spent about 10 hours per day in each other's company. Shots fired Mr Bane told jurors he often often saw his friend with a 0.22 calibre revolver in his pocket. He said he had seen Mr Tyson fire the gun into the air on about four or five occasions. He said shortly before the tourists died, Mr Tyson had mentioned spotting the Britons walking around the public housing neighbourhood where he lived in Newtown, Sarasota. Mr Kouzaris (left) and Mr Cooper were found in a public housing neighbourhood in Newtown, Sarasota Mr Bane told the court he received a phone call from Mr Tyson in which he talked about the British men, who he referred to as the "crackers", meaning white men. Mr Bane also reported hearing gunshots around the time of the fatal shooting in the early hours of 16 April and said when police searched Mr Tyson's house, he saw his friend throw something into another friend's car. The two British men were found shot dead and stripped to the waist. Their trousers had been pulled down to their thighs, but they still had their wallets and a small amount of cash on them. Murder confession Mr Kouzaris had been staying with Mr Cooper's family in Longboat Key, an island 12 miles away from where their bodies were found. Latrece Washington, another of Mr Tyson's friends, told the court how Mr Tyson had described the killings to her and a friend as a failed robbery attempt. Mr Tyson was with someone else when they spotted the two British men he planned to rob, she said. She said Mr Tyson had told her the men looked drunk and when he found they had very little cash on them, he told the men, "well since you ain't got no money, I got something for your ass". Ms Washington told the court: "That's when he like shot one of them in the side and one of them fell instantly and then the other one was crying for his life, and he shot him and emptied the clip on him."

Rock Machine gang rearing ugly head in Quebec

 

20 men wearing Rock Machine colours were spotted at a Montreal strip club Sunday morning in the latest indication the biker gang might be regrouping in the province. Gang members were spotted at the Amazones club in the city's west end. Police spokesman Raphael Bergeron said detectives met the individuals, and there was no violence. The Rock Machine is the sworn enemy of the Hells Angels, and the two gangs battled it out in Eastern Canada in the 1990s and early 2000s. A 2001 police raid ended the war, but not before 160 people were killed, including adult bystanders and an 11-year-old boy who was hit by shrapnel in a 1995 truck bombing. The war and the raids drove the Rock Machine out of Quebec, but its website says it has since reopened a chapter in Quebec. The gang is at its strongest in Manitoba, where it has waged war against a group linked to the Hells Angels. The weekend Rock Machine meeting in Montreal is one of several such gatherings in the past 12 months. In January, police saw two Rock Machine members in a bar in east-end Montreal. Ten members from Quebec, Manitoba and British Columbia were arrested last July at Chez Pare, a famous downtown strip club. In April 2011, several Rock Machine members with jackets from Germany, Nevada and Australia were seen in a Montreal hotel.

Fan dies after being shot in Brazil battle of hooligans

 

Palmeiras supporter died on Sunday after being shot in the head by a Corinthians fan during a battle between rival hooligan gangs before their Sao Paulo derby. Violence in big cities, including soccer hooliganism, is one of the big problems Brazil faces two years before staging the World Cup finals. Police reported that about 500 Palmeiras fans were being escorted to the municipal Pacaembu stadium where Corinthians play when some home supporters confronted them with firearms, iron bars and home-made grenades. Five people were hurt including the 21-year-old fan, who was shot and died later in hospital. Film footage by amateur witnesses broadcast on television showed scenes of a street battle and a fan lying on the ground bleeding and waiting for assistance, which he was given by police after the fighting before being taken to hospital. Media reports said no one was arrested. "The military police were caught between the two gangs but for an hour people's lives were in danger," police corporal Adriano Lopomo told TV reporters. "The military police had no way out unless it was to retreat and practically help the conflict." The scene of the battle is an area where there are often confrontations between rival fans of the big Sao Paulo clubs. Since police have managed to all but end the violence within the stadiums, fighting has moved into the surrounding areas. Last year, a Corinthians supporter was killed by Palmeiras hooligans. On Sunday, there were also scuffles between Corinthians fans and police at the stadium's main entrance minutes before kickoff. TV footage showed people who were still outside when the game was about to start trying to force their way in. Mounted police used tear gas to push the crowd back.

Gang-related shootings continue

 

Police say Portland's 30th gang-related shooting of 2012 took place Sunday night. That is nearly twice the number of such incidents as this time last year. No one was injured in the incident, although two people were arrested. Jose Torres-Jimenez, 20, is charged with four counts of attempted murder and one count of unlawful use of a weapon. Juan Carlos Espinoza-Soreque, 21, is charged with one count of criminal mischief in the third degree. According to police, the two men are from rival gangs. The incident began around 9:00 p.m. when a white Chevy Suburban pulled into the parking lot of an apartment complex located at 5109 Northeast Killingsworth Street. Espinoza-Soreque got out of the Suburban and slashed the tires of a car associated with the apartment. Torres-Jimenez emerged then from an apartment and fired multiple gunshots at the Suburban as it fled the parking lot. North Precinct officers responded to the report of shots fired at the apartment complex. As they were enroute, additional information was broadcast that a white Chevy Suburban suspected of being involved in the incident was described leaving eastbound on Kilingsworth Street. Officers arrived and located the Suburban near Northeast Cully Boulevard and Killingsworth Street and observed evidence that the vehicle had been struck by gunfire. They then figured out what happened and arrested both men. Gang Enforcement Team detectives responded to conduct an investigation.

Leaders of El Salvador's two largest street gangs, Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Mara 18 (M-18), announced Friday they had reached a truce to curb violence

Leaders of El Salvador's two largest street gangs, Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Mara 18 (M-18), announced Friday they had reached a truce to curb violence that has turned the country into one of Latin America's most violent, the daily newspaper El Diario de Hoy reported. The truce was confirmed by army chaplain Monsignor Fabio Colindres, who said he acted as an intermediary in the talks. Colindres said the government promised nothing in return, but key gang leaders have been transferred to lower-security prisons. “We are living a situation of war and we have come to the decision that it has to stop,” said Carlos Ernesto Mojica, aka “El Viejo Lin,” of the M-18 street gang. Romeo Enrique Henríquez, aka “El Diablo,” from MS-13, said that ending the war with the M-18 has been a long process. “This agreement has taken years of planning to achieve,” he said. Killings appear to have declined in El Salvador after it was announced earlier this month that the rival gangs would try to strike a deal to end the violence. Douglas García Funes, director of El Salvador’s Transnational Anti-Gang Center, said his agency registered 20,809 gang members as of 2011, most of them from Mara Salvatrucha. But the actual total of Salvadoran gang members is more likely around 30,000. The anti-gang center was created in 2007 with funding from the United States. It operates as a law enforcement agency that targets gangs.

federal agents helping out in battle to stop Chicago gangs

 

With the help of federal agents, Chicago police say they have made strides against street gangs by busting up two drug operations. Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Police Department Superintendent Garry McCarthy held a news conference Monday morning about gangs in the city. They said police arrested more than 50 members of two West Side gangs. But, they say, the real test is yet to come. Gun violence is largely driven by street gangs, and narcotics are the lifeblood of those gangs. So the Chicago Police Department's plan is to smother the street sales, arrest the dealers- on tougher federal charges if possible, and then reclaim the neighborhood. While the arrests go far within the two neighborhoods, reclaiming the streets is far from easy.About a month ago, the area was an open air drug market with, police say, $7,000 a day in sales. After a series of controlled buys, police made 15 arrests. Now, with their presence, officials hope to send a message: No more drugs here. They did the same with another gang in the Lawndale neighborhood, which led to even more arrests -- some on federal charges. "What we're doing different, is that in those locations where those markets existed are not going to be returned to those drug dealers. That's why we're standing with the community and clergy to not allow the regression of those spots. It will be a systematic elimination of these markets moving forward," Chicago Police Department Supt. Garry McCarthy said. Bust the dealers, shut down the market, and let the uniforms move in. But next comes what could arguably be the most challenging part of the equation. "The real test isn't just today. Does the community come outside the church, outside the family room and reclaim these streets as ours?" Mayor Rahm Emanuel said. The plea and the plan has been to have the clergy and social service groups lead efforts to reclaim the so-called trouble spots. But there does not yet appear to be a detailed plan for how that might work - apart from the mayor talking about after school programs and an increase in spending for summer jobs for youth. Where will that money come from? "That's a good question for them to figure out," the Rev. Ira Acree, Greater St. John Bible Church, said. Most churches and social service agencies are not flush with money to support long-haul neighborhood fixes, so the challenge of reclaiming Laramie and Adams, for instance, remains fixed largely on those who live there. "The bottom line is it's now or never. It's do or die. If not us, then who?" Acree said. Press release from Mayor Emanuel's office: MAYOR EMANUEL AND SUPERINTENDENT McCARTHY ANNOUNCE RESULTS OF TWO GANG-RELATED INVESTIGATIONS ON CITY'S WEST SIDE Multiple Weapons Seized with More than $1.6 Million in Illegal Drugs in Lawndale; Gang-Controlled Drug Market Dismantled and Offenders Charged in Austin Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Superintendent Garry McCarthy and the DEA joined community members Monday to announce the results of two gang and narcotics takedowns aimed at eliminating gangs, drugs and guns on the city's West Side. "The streets of our City belong to our children and the law-abiding residents of Chicago, not to gangbangers and gangs," said Mayor Emanuel. "Whether in Lawndale or Austin, violence in any part of our city is unacceptable and that is why I've tasked Superintendent McCarthy and First Deputy Al Wysinger to implement a comprehensive strategy that will tackle the unique gang problem Chicago has to make our streets city safer." As part of a comprehensive strategy, CPD gathers and shares intelligence information throughout the department in a timely fashion in order to prevent retaliatory events from occurring. This includes identifying gang conflicts, new territories and factions, focusing on gang related murders, shootings and general violence related to gang activity. As a result, "Operation Triple Threat," which targeted 35 of the most violent members of the Four Corner Hustlers street gang, culminated in the recovery of more than $1.6 million in narcotics and eight firearms in the City's West Side. The Chicago Police Narcotics Division also concluded a two-month investigation into an active narcotics location in the Austin (15th) District, charging 15 offenders with drug-related offenses and effectively dismantling a drug market with estimated daily sales of approximately $7,000. "These take downs are the result of partnerships between the Chicago Police Department, our federal partners and the input of the community," said Superintendent McCarthy. "This is just the beginning - we are going to be addressing gang violence in a new, comprehensive fashion to ensure that Chicago is a safe place to live, work and play for residents of all our communities." Operation "Triple Threat" focused on violent gang-related activity in the Harrison (11th) District, where the Chicago Police Violence Reduction Initiative announced by Mayor Emanuel and Superintendent McCarthy last month has been underway to drive down crime in the area. Drug markets identified in Operation "Triple Threat" and now dismantled were associated with street violence occurring in the Harrison District. Austin (15th) District officers will continue to work closely with residents, business owners, and members of the faith-based community to promote positive results following the dismantled drug market and removal of gang members from the street.

A full inquest into the police shooting of a man whose death sparked the London riots last summer may never take place after a police watchdog suggested evidence should be kept secret.

The family of Mark Duggan reacted with anger yesterday after a pre-inquest review into his death in Tottenham in August heard that sensitive material relating to police ‘decision making’ may not be disclosed – even to the coroner.

The move has alarmed campaigners, who warn of a ‘pandemic of secrecy’ coming at a time of controversial plans to extend private court hearings.

Shot by the police: Mark Duggan, whose death led to rioting

The Daily Mail has led the way in revealing growing unease at Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke’s proposals for an extension of ‘closed material procedures’, in which cases are held in secret.

North London Coroners’ Court was told the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) may have material about 29-year-old Duggan’s death ‘that it could not properly disclose to a coroner’.

Instead a judge could hold a special inquiry where the crucial details about why firearms officers shot the suspected gangster would be held behind closed doors.

Yesterday the Duggan family accused the IPCC of ‘delay tactics’.

If an inquest was blocked, there would still be a legal obligation to hold an alternative inquiry.

There has been growing unease at Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke¿s proposals for an extension of 'closed material procedures' in which cases are held in secret

But the family fear that the case may echo that of Azelle Rodney who was shot dead by police in 2005, yet his family are still waiting for a public inquiry seven years later.

Duggan’s aunt Carole said: ‘We believe the IPCC are withholding information from us.

‘Maybe they think we will go away, come to terms with what has happened, but we are a grieving family and we will always grieve for Mark.’

Duggan was being followed in a covert operation when armed officers stopped the taxi he was travelling in and shot him dead on August 4 last year. The shooting sparked the riots that swept across Tottenham before engulfing many parts of the capital and spreading to other parts of the country.

Yesterday Coroner Andrew Walker said: ‘We anticipate that the IPCC may be in possession of material that would be relevant to the issue of police decision making but could not be disclosed even to the coroner.

‘That raises a likelihood and I want the family to understand that that may mean that an inquest cannot proceed.’

He added: ‘Underneath this we must not forget is a grieving family who need to understand what’s happened.

Mark Duggan's shooting sparked the riots that swept across Tottenham before engulfing many parts of the capital and spreading to other parts of the country

The sooner we can identify whether the inquest is the means by which the state discharge their obligations the sooner an alternative if one is necessary can be put into place.’

Even if an inquest does take place it will now be pushed back to January next year to allow for a separate criminal trial to take place into the circumstances in which Duggan got the gun.

Yesterday the IPCC refused to explain why evidence could not be disclosed, but it is thought to relate to surveillance Scotland Yard had been carrying out.

Helen Shaw, co-director of Inquest, a charity providing support for bereaved people facing cases in a coroner’s court, said: ‘We share the coroner’s concern about undue delay.

The IPCC needs to move much more quickly – it shouldn’t have taken this long for them to tell the family and the coroner about their concerns about sensitive evidence.

‘While there are legal complexities surrounding sensitive material, it is absolutely vital a solution is found so that the family can get answers. Failure to do so will only lead to more distrust of the investigation process.’

Shami Chakrabarti, of civil liberties campaign group Liberty, said: ‘The least Mark Duggan’s  family and Londoners deserve is a full and open hearing into how and why he was killed.

Given Government attempts to lock down our open civil courts, public confidence is hardly boosted by the IPCC falling victim to this new pandemic of secrecy.

Mark Ley-Morgan QC, representing the IPCC, said its report into the killing would be released to the parties by early autumn.

A further pre-inquest review has been scheduled for October, with a provisional date for a hearing set in January next year if the disclosure issue is resolved.

RIFKIND ATTACKS HIDDEN JUSTICE

Sir Malcolm Rifkind has criticised secret justice proposals to protect sensitive government material as ‘too broad by far’.

The former Tory Defence and Foreign Secretary concedes that in certain cases secret trials are necessary to avoid putting Britons in harm’s way.

But he declared that justice behind closed doors must not be used to avoid ‘difficult or embarrassing situations’ and must be ‘the exception, not the rule’.

Sir Malcolm chairs Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee, which is due to publish its report into the controversial measures in the Justice and Security Green Paper this week.

He warns that closed trials are only justified in two ‘narrow categories’: Information that threatens the security of intelligence officers, their sources and methods; and intelligence provided by another country on a confidential basis.

Sir Malcolm wrote in The Times: ‘The current uncertainty on the scope of the proposals has been damaging and threatens to undermine those parts that are justified and essential.’

Sex is a multibillion-dollar industry in Spain, with colorfully lit brothels staffed mainly by poor immigrant women from Latin America, Africa and eastern Europe lining highways throughout the country

Pimps Arrested in Spain for 'Barcoding' Women

Police in Spain arrested 22 alleged pimps who purportedly tattooed women with bar codes as a sign of ownership and used violence to force them into prostitution.  Police are calling the gang the "bar code pimps." Officers freed one 19-year-old woman who had been beaten, held against her will and tattooed with a bar code and an amount of money — €2,000 ($2,650) — which investigators believe was the debt the gang wished to extort before releasing her. The woman had also been whipped, chained to a radiator and had her hair and eyebrows shaved off, according to an Interior Ministry statement.All those arrested were of Romanian nationality and had forced the women to hand over part of their earnings, the statement said. The women were tattooed on their wrists if they tried to escape, the statement said. Police also seized guns and ammunition. It was not immediately clear when the raids took place. Police seized €140,000 ($185,388) in cash, which had been hidden in a false ceiling, a large amount of gold jewelry and five vehicles, three of which were described as luxury cars. The gang was made up of two separate groups, referred to as "clans" in the statement, each dedicated to controlling prostitution along fixed stretches of a street in downtown Madrid. One of the alleged ringleaders who was identified only by the initials "I.T." is wanted by authorities in Romania for crimes linked to prostitution, the statement said. The women were controlled at all times to ensure "money was taken off them immediately," the statement said.   Sex is a multibillion-dollar industry in Spain, with colorfully lit brothels staffed mainly by poor immigrant women from Latin America, Africa and eastern Europe lining highways throughout the country. Prostitution falls in legal limbo: it is not regulated, although pimping is a crime. The northeastern city of Barcelona plans to introduce regional legislation in coming weeks banning prostitution on urban streets.

Russian banker shot six times had testified over murder plot

The banker was left for dead by a lone gunman as he returned to his home in Canary Wharf on Tuesday evening. Scotland Yard detectives are investigating the attempted assassination, which Mr Gorbuntsov’s lawyer believes was a retaliation attack after the banker gave evidence in a 2009 attempted murder case. Mr Gorbuntsov, who fled to London because of his fear of reprisals, had recently submitted new evidence to Russian police about the attempted murder of Alexander Antonov, another Russian banker. The case was closed three years ago when three Chechen men were jailed for attempted murder. But police have never discovered who organised the attempted hit. Officers re-opened the case on March 2 this year after Mr Gorbuntsov submitted his new testimony.

Mafia Bosses 'Turn Cannibal': Serbian Gangsters 'Ate Milan Jurisic In A Flat In Madrid' Say Police

A mafia traitor was beaten to death and then eaten by Serbian gangsters, police believe. Milan Jurisic, 37, was killed with a hammer by a gang of criminals from the Zemun Clan, a mafia group from Belgrade, in Madrid. His remains were then ground up with a meat grinder, cooked, and eaten, according to a confession by another Zemun Clan member, Sretko Kalinic, nicknamed "The Butcher". Later the gang reportedly threw the bones into the River Manzanares in the Spanish capital. This week, police found bones in the river and the apartment where the killing apparently took place in 2009. Jurisic is thought to have betrayed his fellow gang members by stealing money from them. He was on the run after being convicted in his absence of assassinating Serbian prime minister Zoran Djindjic in 2003. Kalinic confessed to the murder after he was arrested in the Croatian capital of Zagreb in 2010. Police believe the murder and subsequent cannibalism was led by Luka Bojovic, a Serbian gangster arrested in Valencia last month. Bojovic was also on the run after being accused of assassinating Djindjic. Inside Bojovic's apartment in Valencia police found documents backing up Kalinic's account of the killing. The murder is being investigated by magistrate Fernando Andreu at the National Court in Madrid.

'Mara' Gangs Behind 11 Deaths in North Honduras

 

The government says a wave of violence in northern Honduras that left at least 11 people dead within 48 hours is due to gang warfare, but the reality may be more complex. The spokesperson for the Attorney General's Office in San Pedro Sula said the conflict began when members of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang killed two members of Barrio 18 (M-18) on Monday night, reports the AFP. Barrio 18 retaliated by killing four alleged members of the MS-13 in La Lima, a town some 260 kilometers north of San Pedro Sula, the spokesperson said. The group then reportedly murdered five more alleged MS-13 members in another town, Chamelecon (see map, below). Police say they have captured one suspect responsible for the Chamelecon killings. The deaths followed a massacre on Sunday in the northern port city La Ceiba, where gunmen killed seven people in a pool hall. InSight Crime Analysis The alleged conflict between MS-13 and Barrio 18 is taking place in Cortes province, which, according to the National Autonomous University of Honduras, registered the highest number of homicides in Honduras last year, with 1,915 killings. Human rights organization Conadeh released slightly different numbers, but found that Cortes and another province, Francisco Morazan, accounted for 46 percent of the violent deaths registered in Honduras last year. Along with the province of Atlantida, where La Ceiba is located, these three northern provinces have seen the highest levels of violence in the country since 2008. There are different explanations for why these areas have been so badly afflicted. One is that the killings are part of gang wars, as with the government's explanation for the 11 murders on Monday and Tuesday. But as human rights group Conadeh has observed, police frequently commit extrajudicial killings and then pass off the deaths as being related to gang infighting. Cortes and the other provinces have also been the site of land conflict, with farm workers pressuring for agrarian reform. Activist groups have said part of the violence is related to this struggle. Government institutions allege that gang rivalry is responsible for much of Honduras' violence, but the reality is often more complex.

TWO men who have been arrested by detectives investigating the murder of crime boss Eamon 'The Don' Dunne are senior lieutenants of crime lord Christy Kinahan.

 The mobsters were picked up by armed gardai during a dawn raid at a property in the north inner city and are currently in custody at Store Street Garda Station. Sources do not believe that either is the gunman who actually killed Dunne in the gangland murder in a Cabra pub in April 2010 but they believe that the pair played a key role in organising the hit. The Herald can today reveal that gardai also planned to arrest the young criminal who they believe shot Dunne but he "has gone to ground." The north inner city gunman is a close associate of the two related men who are in garda custody today. Selling One of those arrested -- aged in his late 20s -- was mentioned by Spanish authorities in the four-page European Arrest Warrant they used to extradite 'Fat' Freddie Thompson to Spain last year. The warrant asserts explosive details about the criminal's role within the multi-million euro Christy Kinahan drugs organisation. This man, who comes from a flats complex in the city, was previously arrested by Spanish police as part of Operation Shovel -- the massive probe against Kinahan's organisation which revealed that his mob were selling shipments of drugs worth a staggering €1m every two months. The 'Fat' Freddie warrant alleges that the arrested criminal is a "member of this organisation in Ireland". The warrant claims that the criminal travelled to Malaga on May 7, 2010, to meet Christy Kinahan's son Daniel to discuss a major drugs shipment into Ireland. "Daniel was supposedly going to finance part of the shipment. A surveillance operation was launched in Malaga Airport and officers saw Ross Browning, another one of the persons under investigation, arrive at the airport," the warrant alleges. The Herald has previously revealed that Browning (28) was named in the warrant, which claims he was a driver for the Kinahan drugs organisation. Browning, from the north inner city, is a close associate of the men arrested yesterday. In January 2001, a 30-year-old, who is in custody today, was involved with Browning in the robbery of over £IR13,000 from a a Securicor van driver. Both men later received suspended sentences. Gardai believe the shocking murder of Dunne was sanctioned by Christy Kinahan who felt that the reckless behaviour of the gang boss was getting out of control. 'Dapper Don' Kinahan -- who is serving the last days of a jail sentence for money laundering in Belgium -- is regarded as the biggest drugs trafficker in the history of the Irish State.

A Nation 'Addicted' To Statins...

Dear Reader,

In the UK alone, more than 7 million people are taking cholesterol-lowering statins. This is extremely worrying when you consider the damage these over-prescribed drugs can inflict, with side effects ranging from liver dysfunction and acute renal failure to fatigue and extreme muscle weakness (myopathy).

Slowly tearing us apart

Even more concerning are the side effects that crop up after long-term use, which are often not linked to statins. For example, one study monitored the symptoms of 40 asthma patients for a year. 20 of these patients started statins at the outset of the study, while the remaining 20 did not.

The results showed that those patients on statins used their rescue inhaler medications 72 per cent more often than they had at the start of the study, compared to a 9 per cent increase in those who were not taking statins. The researchers also reported that patients taking statins had to get up more frequently at night because of their asthma and also had worse symptoms during the day...

Worsening asthma symptoms is just the beginning. More recent research has linked statins with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, depression, Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

Still, doctors are very quick to reach for their prescription pads and push these drugs. There appears to be an unofficial (but widely practiced) 'statins for all' approach... especially if you are aged 50 and over.

Luckily, some mainstreamers are slowly catching on to what we've been saying for nearly a decade. In 2011, research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine drew attention to the fact that there is inadequate medical data available that proves the benefits of statins, and that many studies fail to acknowledge the most commonly reported adverse effects of statins.

The fact remains (and your doctor may still deny this) that in total, statins cause serious damage in about 4.4 per cent of those taking them, in comparison to the 2.7 per cent statin users benefiting from them... and it looks as if this message is finally getting through to medical authorities.

A case in point is simvastatin or Zocor. After being on the market for almost 3 decades and causing havoc and distress with its horrendous side effects, the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finally issued a warning about the use of this drug... saying that even the approved dosage can harm or even kill you!

Yep! Kill you!

All well and good

It's all fair and well and good that the FDA flagged this warning, but what's the point if doctors continue to prescribe these drugs left, right and centre?

Professor Sarah Harper, director of Oxford University's institute of population ageing, recently said that the UK's "love affair" with prescription medicine, shows how people choose to pop pills rather than follow a healthy lifestyle.

She cited the widespread use of statin drugs to 'help' protect against heart disease and lower cholesterol, instead of eating healthily, quitting smoking, reducing alcohol intake and taking regular exercise.

By all means, I applaud Prof Harper for pushing the message that living a healthy life plays a big part in preventing disease, but why blame patients for being a bunch of pill poppers when doctors hand out drugs with reckless abandon... and recommend taking preventative drugs to ever younger age groups. So in fact, the white coats should be labelled as Big Pharma's drug pushers, because they're part of the problem... especially considering that so many people put their entire trust in their doctor and would never dream of questioning their advice. Most people take what they say as gospel.

Then there's the media, inundating Joe Public with inflammatory headlines like: 'Statins could help fight breast cancer' or 'Statins can prevent infections like pneumonia'... Not to mention their reporting on botch studies showing the 'unintended benefits' of statins, like their potential to prevent pneumonia, combat diabetes, reduce the risk of oesophageal cancer, breast cancer and prostate cancer — all of these so-called benefits are of course not yet proven, and highly unlikely. Still, they reach the front pages!

So, yes we might have turned into a pill popping public, but it's the mainstream and the media that have created this monster all with the help and backing of the puppet master: Big Pharma. Because as you and I know all too well, it's all about the money. 

FEMALE pals of Murder Inc thugs John and Wayne Dundon are using SEX to recruit hitmen to execute gangster's moll April Collins.

The Irish Sun can reveal two women close to the depraved brothers have been sleeping with a string of young Limerick thugs in a bid to recruit them as killers.

The female mobsters, who we can't name for legal reasons, want their former friend murdered at all costs.

Last Friday, brutes Wayne, 33, and John, 29, were convicted of threatening to kill members of April's family, for which they face up to ten more years behind bars.

But now the blood-soaked savages fear April will testify against them for ordering at least FOUR gangland murders — including those of innocent victims Shane Geoghegan, 28, and Roy Collins, 35.

And a senior security source told the Irish Sun last night: "The Dundons are terrified April can now obliterate them for once and for all.

"She has first-hand knowledge of several murders and attempted murders.

"By the time she's finished testifying, the Dundons and their associates might never get out of prison again.

 

Eight years together ... Ger and April before she ditched him

"That's why their female pals have been bedding a string of young fools around Limerick and recruiting them to kill April and stop her talking.

 

"These girls are obviously pretty good in bed because these young fools are prepared to do anything for them — as long as they get plenty of sex."

April, 24, who lived with Ger Dundon for eight years and was privy to Murder Inc's darkest secrets, has agreed to tell all she knows.

She's said to be a "dead woman walking" since deciding to do the unthinkable — turn State's witness against her ex's psycho siblings.

Last month, April helped to convict Murder Inc hitman Barry Doyle, 25, for the murder of innocent rugby player Shane Geoghegan in 2008.

She made the decision to become a supergrass after John and Wayne Dundon threatened to kill her and members of her family, including her ma, her gangster da and her brothers.

They made the chilling threats when they learnt she was having an affair with gang-rapist Thomas O'Neill, 24, after brother Ger, 25, was jailed for five years in February 2011.

April had dumped the father of her three children — and refused to bring their young kids to see their da in prison.

Her mother Alice, 48, and her younger sister also gave evidence of being threatened by the lardy mobsters.

During the trial, Alice said Wayne told her his bro John would "give some fool ten grand" to kill her son Jimmy.

She said Wayne then told her his face would be the last her gangster son Gareth, who'd also been a member of Murder Inc, would see — "because I'm going to kill him myself".

He also warned her: "You're digging your own grave; it's very easy to make people disappear." Mr Justice Paul Butler said the Special Criminal Court found April's evidence to be fully believable.

He said the court was also impressed by the "entirely credible and convincing" evidence of her mother Alice, and was satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt Wayne had intimidated and made threats against her.

Although heavily pregnant with sicko O'Neill's twins and living under constant armed Garda protection, April is determined to help cops smash Murder Inc once and for all.

Despite her condition, Collins insisted on being present in court to see the three judges deliver their verdicts against the Dundons last Friday.

Second arrest after man killed at Herbie Hide's home

 

A second person has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a man at the Norwich home of former boxing world heavyweight champion Herbie Hide. Tafadzwa Kahn, 25, of St Giles Street, Norwich, died from a stab wound at the house in Long Lane, Bawburgh, on Sunday morning. An 18-year-old man from the Norwich area was arrested on Tuesday. The first person arrested, a 16-year-old boy, remains in custody in Wymondham Police Investigation Centre. Detectives said the stabbing followed an argument at a party in the house. 'High visibility patrols' The property remains sealed while a forensic examination is carried out. Police said they would continue to provide high visibility reassurance patrols in the area. More than 100 people were at the party at the time of the stabbing. Police said earlier they were "fairly certain" Mr Hide was not on the premises at the time of the stabbing. Mr Hide told the BBC on Monday: "The reality of this right now is a man is dead. Imagine this - a lady was told her son has gone. Imagine that." A spokesman said a post-mortem examination found the cause of death was a stab wound to the body. Mr Hide and his family have relocated while investigations at the house continue. Mr Hide won the WBO (World Boxing Organisation) heavyweight title for the first time in 1994, beating American Michael Bentt, but lost it to another American, Riddick Bowe, the following year. He regained the title in 1997 and made two successful defences before losing to Vitali Klitschko in 1999.

Azhar Ahmed to stand trial over Facebook post about dead soldiers

Azhar Ahmed, 19, appeared at Dewsbury magistrates' court charged under the Communications Act 2003 with sending a message that was grossly offensive on March 8. In court a racially-aggravated public order charge was withdrawn, but Mr Ahmed, from Ravensthorpe, West Yorkshire, denied the new charge. Police and demonstrators outside Dewsbury Magistrates Court (Picture: PA) He has been bailed and is due to stand trial at Huddersfield magistrates' court on July 3. There was a large police presence outside court as 50 far-right protesters staged noisy demonstrations when he arrived and left. Mr Ahmed's court appearance came as the bodies of the six soldiers killed in Afghanistan on March 6 were repatriated to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire. Demonstrators shouted when Azhar Ahmed arrived and left court (Picture: PA) They died when their Warrior vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device in Lashkar Gah in the deadliest single attack on British forces since 2001. Sergeant Nigel Coupe, 33, of 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment was killed alongside Corporal Jake Hartley, 20, Private Anthony Frampton, 20, Private Christopher Kershaw, 19, Private Daniel Wade, 20, and Private Daniel Wilford, 21, all of 3rd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment.

Harry Potter Star Jamie Waylett Jailed For Two Years For Violent Disorder In London Riots

Actor Jamie Waylett, who starred in the Harry Potter films, has been jailed for two years for being part of a violent mob during last summer's London riots. The 22-year-old, who played Hogwarts bully Vincent Crabbe in six of the films, was found guilty of violent disorder by a jury at London's Wood Green Crown Court. The actor, who had already admitted swigging from a stolen bottle of Champagne during the rioting, was cleared of intending to destroy or damage property with a petrol bomb he was pictured holding. He already has a previous conviction for cannabis possession. Waylett of Hillfield Road, northwest London, was with a gang of at least four people who went into Chalk Farm on August 8, the third night of violence in the capital. He was captured on CCTV at various points during the evening, often with his hood over his head. Buildings on fire in Tottenham during the riots Judge Simon Carr sentenced the actor to two years for violent disorder and 12 months for handling stolen goods, to run concurrently. Jailing him, the judge said: "A considerable amount has been said about what happened over those few days. Anyone watching the footage in this case can only imagine the mayhem that took place on the streets. "You chose to go out on to the streets on what was the third day of the violence. "You were pictured on a number of occasions with a bottle full of petrol with a rag as a wick. "I accept entirely the jury's verdict that you did not throw or have any intention of throwing it, but merely being in possession of it would have been terrifying to anyone who saw you." Waylett will be eligible for parole after serving a year in jail. The star, who had a shaved head and a goatee beard, wore a white shirt with an open collar and a dark suit to hear the sentencing. He nodded to the public gallery as he was led down to the cells.

A GANG of “guns for hire” who spread lawless violence in a spate of gun and grenade attacks across Merseyside were today starting life behind bars.

 

The five were the “go to” men for gangsters across the area as they carried out attacks on underworld rivals.

But their spree saw innocent people caught in the middle as indiscriminate shootings and grenade attacks escalated.

At the top of the tree sat Tony Downes and Kirk Bradley, a “thick as thieves” pair of career criminals from Huyton, and Gary Wilson, who used his ill-gotten gains to buy himself a plush seafront Southport home.

Bradley and Downes, both 26, never got their hands dirty – Downes was directing operations from his cell in HMP Liverpool and was said to be the group’s “chief executive” by a judge yesterday.

Instead their underlings, “trusted and active lieutenants” Craig Riley and Joseph Farrell, were given “jobs” to carry out and would farm some tasks out to younger crooks wanting to make a name for themselves.

On their instructions, the young thugs would be given guns or explosives and an address or a specific individual to target.

They threw grenades into a room where a woman babysitting her seven-year-old grandson was sleeping and shot people in the legs and stomach, leaving them with life-changing injuries.

Their “modus operandi” saw them use the same guns over and over again – two guns linked to the group were used in 16 different shootings – and carry out their attacks on scrambler bikes, ideal for a quick getaway.

Police slammed the gang as “parasites, the worst kind of mercenary” after bringing them to justice.

A covert police operation was launched to snare those linked to more than 20 incidents over two years.

As the net closed on them, officers took an arsenal of weapons off the streets.

At Woolwich Crown Court yesterday the “chapter” in the ongoing fight against gun crime was brought to a close by high court judge Mr Justice Henriques when he sentenced each of the gang to life imprisonment.

Only Farrell, Wilson and Riley were actually in the dock at Woolwich yesterday.

Downes and Bradley escaped from a prison van in Manchester last summer as they were being brought to court in Liverpool.

Their escape caused their trial, which was in its 11th week at the time, to collapse and a retrial at maximum-security Woolwich was ordered.

But the day after they were convicted in their absence, Downes was picked up after eight months of freedom.

Police plans to fire rubber bullets in London

 

Scotland Yard authorised the deployment of rubber bullets ready for use on the streets of London 22 times in the past two years, The Independent can reveal. The figure suggests the Metropolitan Police had considered ordering its officers to open fire during public disorder incidents far more frequently than previously thought. The Yard yesterday refused to say on what dates and during which situations it ordered some of the nearly 3,000 baton rounds it possesses to be distributed to firearms teams. It said the release of such information could endanger future policing operations. The revelation that the Met authorised the distribution of the non-lethal rounds on average almost once a month in 2010 and 2011 follows the disclosure earlier this week that senior officers wanted to fire rubber bullets at rioters in south London last summer – but firearms specialists could not reach the trouble spots in time. The Met has now promised to make "more agile use" of the weapons. Although they have been used in Northern Ireland for many years, baton rounds have never been fired on the British mainland. Even in the extreme circumstances of last August's riots their use would have been seen as a significant escalation in police tactics and a move away from Britain's consensual policing model. The figures, obtained by the Liberal Democrat peer Dee Doocey, are an indication of an increasingly muscular response to what police believe is the increased threat to officers and the public from gangs or individuals bent on violent disorder. But campaigners argue that the use of non-lethal firearms in crowd control has no place in policing on the British mainland. The Yard was criticised last year when it released a statement saying that baton rounds – referred to by police as attenuating energy projectiles (AEPs) – might be deployed if extreme disorder occurred during a protest in London against tuition fees. In a written answer to a question last month from Baroness Doocey, the London Mayor, Boris Johnson, confirmed on behalf of the Met Commissioner, Bernard Hogan-Howe, that the force had "authorised the movement" of rubber bullets 22 times in 2010 and 2011. But he said details of the incidents would only be given under conditions of secrecy because, if made public, they could compromise future operations. Lady Doocey, a member of the Greater London Authority and the Metropolitan Police Authority until it was replaced with a new body in January, said the disclosure of the precise dates was in the public interest. She told The Independent: "I have long believed rubber bullets have no role in policing demonstrations in London. This secrecy over their potential use merely confirms that view. It is simply wrong for the Met to be silent when on so many occasions the use of rubber bullets was being considered." Rubber bullets are designed to offer a non-lethal alternative to conventional firearms and police argue modern AEPs pose less threat of serious injury. Between 2006 and October 2011, the Met Police bought 2,700 AEP rounds. It said it could not produce figures for baton round deployments in previous years, adding that it followed strict guidelines designed to protect life and prevent serious injury. Opinion about rubber bullets remains divided within police ranks. A Met Police review of last summer's riots revealed officers dealing with violence in Enfield and Brixton decided against deploying the weapons because they believed it would escalate the confrontation. During the rioting, Sir Hugh Orde, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said he did not consider the deployment of rubber bullets in London to be sensible in "any way, shape or form".

Michel Smith, a Quebec member of the Hells Angels wanted se 2009 in connection to 22 murder cases, has been arrested by authorities in Panama

 

Michel Smith, a Quebec member of the Hells Angels wanted se 2009 in connection to 22 murder cases, has been arrested by authorities in Panama, according to media reports. However, officials from the Surete du Quebec and RCMP were not immediately able to confirm or deny the reports. According to the RCMP, Smith is a member of the South Chapter of the Hells Angels and goes by the nickname "L'animal." He has been on the run since 2009 in connection with a police crackdown on the Hells Angels biker gang. He faces 29 criminal charges - including 22 murder charges. Citing Panamanian local media and Agence France-Presse, the QMI news agency reported that Smith, 49, had been detained by police Friday evening in the Playa Coronado region, on the Pacific Ocean coast of the Central American nation. A Canada-wide warrant issued by the RCMP said he was being sought for murder, gangsterism, drug trafficking and related conspiracy charges. His Central American connections were known to authorities. "Smith is likely to visit Panama and speaks French," the warrant stated. Const. Erique Gasse of the RCMP's C Division in Montreal said he had relayed a request for official word on Smith's status to RCMP officials in Ottawa, who did not immediately return a phone call. Asked for confirmation of the arrest report, Surete du Quebec spokesperson Sgt. Christine Coulombe said: "I have no information on this." Smith is "considered to be violent," according to the warrant. Aside from "L'animal," his aliases have included Mike Smith-Lajoie, Michel Lajoie-Smit and Michel Lajoie. The warrant describes Smith as 172 centimetres tall and weighing 95 kilograms, with brown hair and blue eyes.

Alleged Quebec Hells Angels member arrested in Panama

 

Quebec fugitive -- and alleged member of the Hells Angels -- who is wanted on murder charges has been arrested in Panama, local media reports say. Michel Smith, 49, who was linked to Quebec's deadly biker war in the 1990s, was reportedly arrested Friday. Smith -- whose nickname is "animal" -- has been on the run since 2009. He was taken into custody by local police in the tourist area of Playa Coronado on the Pacific Ocean coast, according to local reports. The reports said he had been under surveillance for about two months before his arrest. Smith faces 29 charges, including 22 counts of murder. Police in Canada had not confirmed the news as late Sunday night. Smith is to be extradited back to Canada, police officials in Panama said in a news release. Smith has long been alleged to be among the top men affiliated with the Hells Angels when it was at war with the Rock Machine biker gang in the 1990s and early 2000s. The gang war killed more than 150 people. While most of the victims were members of the rival gangs and their affiliates, two prison guards and an 11-year old boy -- a bystander -- also died. An RCMP warrant describes Smith as 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 210 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes.

Rioter who attacked Malaysian student jailed for seven years

 

Beau Isagba, now 18, was last month found guilty of the attack, which has become a symbol of the riots after a video of the student's ordeal was by millions around the world on YouTube. Isagba punched 20-year-old Mr Rossli before stealing his bicycle. As the victim slumped bleeding to the pavement, clutching his jaw, a gang posing as "Good Samaritans" then rifled through his rucksack before fleeing. On Friday a judge sentenced Isgaba to a total of 84 months for the attack and other convictions including carrying a blade and cannabis possession. While sentencing him, the judge said Isgaba represented the "worst aspects" of society. Jailing him at Wood Green Crown Court in north London, Judge Witold Pawlak said: "You represent the worst aspects. On the 8th of August you behaved like a thug, and without any compassion.

Fear enforces gang code of silence, Toronto murder trial told

 

Citizens throughout Toronto fear for their safety if they co-operate with police after dramatic messages and overt attacks — including bullets being left on the doorsteps of witnesses and drive-by shootings through their windows, a police expert told court Wednesday. "There is nothing nice about the code of silence at all," Sergeant Gavin Jansz, a Toronto police officer, testified at the murder trial of a man accused of shooting dead a Crown witness who previously had fingered him in another shooting. The code of not co-operating with police has evolved and spread from just being an unwritten rule among criminals, he said. "It's been promoted into an overt phenomenon where people in our community accept and adhere to this message for a number of reasons," said Sgt. Jansz. "It has become quite dramatic." Sgt. Jansz was qualified Wednesday to provide the court expert evidence on both the code of silence and urban street language at the first-degree murder trial of Lamar Skeete, 21. Skeete, also known by the nickname Ammo, stands accused of the execution-style shooting of Kenneth Mark. The 30-year-old victim had worked to curb guns and gangs in his west-end Toronto neighbourhood. It was a stance that allegedly led to him being shot in the back; he survived and fingered Skeete and his brother, accusations that fell apart in court. On Dec. 29, 2009, shortly after the Skeete brothers were released despite the victim's testimony, Mark was shot once in the head and died. The Crown alleges it was a retaliatory act by Skeete. Sgt. Jansz's evidence was of a general nature, not acts specific to the shooting of Mark. He said some neighbourhoods in the city were particularly "terrorized" by the code of silence but it is experienced city-wide. Otherwise good citizens are reluctant to be witnesses or come forward with information to help police investigate crime out of fear, said Sgt. Jansz. Prosecutor Karen Simone asked him what the concern was by the residents. "Their own personal safety or the safety of members of their family," he replied. Criminals accomplish this "either by instilling fear or taking physical measures to shut that person up. "If I leave a bullet on your doorstep, that sends a message," he said. "There are also more explicit ways — shootings, drive-by shootings into somebody's window, is an example." The jury trial before Ontario Superior Court Judge Ian Nordheimer continues Thursday.

Criminal gangs rule match-fixing, warns former Fifa head of security

Fifa's outgoing head of security has warned that match-fixing has led to organised criminal gangs infiltrating large swathes of world football, resulting in the intimidation or even murder of players. "If this was just ad hoc, spontaneous groups of people wanting to fix a few matches it would be contained within a nation or a league," said Chris Eaton, who will leave the world football governing body next month to work for the Qatar-based International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS). He said that players were being left at the mercy of fixers and there had been cases where players who had refused to obey instructions and paid "the ultimate price". "This is organised crime. This is the mafia, this is people from organised crime in south-east Asia, from China, who are ripping off many millions of dollars from the illegal gambling dens of south-east Asia," he said. "They start by attracting these people when they're young and then what happens 10 years later? You start by attracting these people, you compromise them or their families and then you bloody well intimidate them. It's been unchecked in football for 10 years." Eaton said the hub of the problem were the illegal markets in south-east Asia, where gambling is mostly illegal. He said the two biggest legal gambling companies in the region turned over $2bn a week. He had "no evidence" of any match-fixing in the UK. "I haven't been looking to tell you the truth. The immediate priority is eastern Europe, Africa, central America and south-east Asia." But he added that many brokers for the biggest gambling syndicates operated out of London. According to Interpol the illegal betting market is worth $500bn in Asia alone. Eaton said that as part of his new role as Director of Sport Integrity at the ICSS, he would be conducting a forensic audit of the size of the illegal market. "There is so much money involved it dwarfs the money in sport itself. Despite the fact we've had a major investigation for 12 months it hasn't stopped them because the sums of money involved are so huge." He said the only way problem could only be tackled was if a single international body worked across all sports and there was more co-operation between law enforcement agencies and governing bodies. "You can have disparate investigations around the world and no one's connecting the dots." Eaton also conceded that third-party ownership of players was a problem as it relates to match-fixing, because it could put players at the mercy of those who own their economic rights. English football authorities have been lobbying Uefa and Fifa to outlaw the practice and Eaton added that Fifa was looking into the issue. "Third-party ownership is a massive problem," said Eaton, who will be replaced at Fifa by the former German police chief Ralf Mutschke. "It's a problem that's being addressed by Fifa as I understand it. There is now some consideration of the third-party ownership side."

One of two men murdered at Kilcock killing spree was trying to flee scene when he died

ONE of two men murdered in a gangland shooting spree at a quiet suburban housing estate was trying to flee his killers when he died, investigators have said. Up to three gunmen opened fire on four men inside a mid-terrace house in Rochford Avenue, Kilcock, Co Kildare shortly after 10pm last night. It is believed the intended target was Andy Barry, 31, originally from Tallaght, south Dublin, a close associate of a well-known crime boss who also lives in Co Kildare. Superintendent John Gilligan said inquiries were at an early stage but suggested not all of the men may have been the original targets of the attackers. "Whether the gunmen knew they were going to find four people in the house or not is subject to investigation," he said. "But certainly the people who came to the house were determined to shoot at least one person, if not more, at the time." Another 31-year-old man, from Eastern Europe, was found dead in a neighbour's back garden, after apparently trying to escape the bloodshed by climbing over a fence. Barry was discovered dead inside the house by emergency services alerted to the scene through a 999 call. Two other men, another Irishman in his early 30s and a second Eastern European aged 25, were also seriously wounded in the attack. But their injuries are not thought to be life-threatening. Both have been initially questioned but will face full interviews after they have been medically treated. Detectives believe the killers either walked into the house through an unlocked door or were invited in, as there was no sign of forced entry. It is thought at least two firearms were used. Barry was believed to a be an "enforcer" charged with collecting drug debts for his gangland boss. His reputation for extreme violence in carrying out his underworld role was fearsome. His family moved from Tallaght to Maynooth when he was in his teens, and he later moved to Kilcock. One neighbour believed he had been living at Rochford Avenue for the past two or three years. The house and the house behind it, where the other victim's body was found in the rear garden, were sealed off for forensic examinations. All four men caught up in the gunfire, who are not related but described as associates, were believed to be in the downstairs area of the house at the time of the attack. The killers fled the scene in a car. Officers are trawling CCTV footage from Kilcock, surrounding areas and from the M4 motorway in an attempt to track the car used and the route they took. They have yet to establish if the car went through Kilcock to the motorway or cross-country towards Trim and Dunboyne, Co Meath. No firearms have been recovered, a Garda spokesman said. Detectives believe the killers may have cased out the house before launching the attack and may have had the intended target under surveillance. They have appealed for witnesses who may have seen or heard any suspicious activity in the estate to come forward. Post-mortem examinations on the dead men were being carried out by Deputy State Pathologist Dr Khalid Jabbar at James Connolly Memorial Hospital. Gardai are investigating whether the murders are linked to another shooting in which a 25-year-old man was injured in Brayton Park, Kilcock last December. Other lines of inquiry include links to a gun attack on a property and shots being fired at a black BMW car, both in Tallaght. A similar style of car was parked outside the Kilcock home today. Several neighbours in the Rochford Avenue area said they heard nothing around the time of the attack. One young father, who did not wish to be identified, said gardai had been called to the scene of the killing a number of times in the past. "It's madness," he said. "I have young children and they play on the green in front of that house." The man, on his way to work, said he had not seen or heard anything last night until emergency services arrived. Door-to-door inquiries were being carried out at the Rochford housing estate, close to the Royal Canal.