Brighton gangster jailed after kidnap and torture (From The Argus)

Brighton gangster jailed after kidnap and torture (From The Argus): "violent drug dealer who kidnapped and tortured his teenage girlfriends has been jailed indefinitely.

Steven “Dollar” Wilson is deemed so dangerous he will have to serve at least 10 years before he can even be considered for parole.

He will only then be released if he is no longer a danger to the public or the women whose lives he tried to control.

Baby-faced Wilson, 35, kidnapped both his victims and subjected them to vicious beatings during fits of drug-fuelled jealous rage.

One was snatched off the streets and bundled into a car outside Hove station in front of horrified witnesses when she was just 16."

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Yorkshire gangster's wife faces jail - Yorkshire Evening Post

Yorkshire gangster's wife faces jail - Yorkshire Evening Post: "The wife of a Leeds crime boss is facing jail after admitting laundering hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Maxine Valentine, 36, whose gangster husband Dennis Slade is serving life for robbery and conspiracy to murder, was told yesterday that prison was 'almost inevitable'."

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Asbos to be used against 2012 ticket touts

Asbos to be used against 2012 ticket touts - Crime, UK - The Independent: "Asbos will be among the battery of legal weapons to hit ticket touts and fraudsters targeting the London 2012 Games, Scotland Yard said today.

Talks have already begun for them to face tight bail conditions, possibly including a ban from the Olympic venues, and assets will be seized.

There are no guarantees that London 2012 will be a tout-free zone but 'we will put the fear on them using every possible legislation that we can', vowed Assistant Commissioner Chris Allison, the National Olympic Security Co-ordinator.

With 6.6 million Olympic tickets due to go on sale on March 15, touting is currently the top priority for Operation Podium, the police team set up to deal with serious and organised criminal networks looking to exploit the Olympics.

There have been 10 operations and 37 arrests, including for fraud offences, in the past six months.

The unit is currently running 16 operations aimed at frustrating criminals so much in the run-up to 2012, by preventing and disrupting their deeds, that they do not bother to target the Games."

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Romanian sex trafficking crime family jailed in UK | Catatanku

Romanian sex trafficking crime family jailed in UK | Catatanku: "A judge jailed a Romanian for 21 years and the man’s father for six years Wednesday for trafficking girls and women — including one of their own relations — into the UK to force them to become sex slaves, a spokeswoman for Manchester Crown Court said.

Marius Nejloveanu, 23, and his father Bogdan, 51, deceived at least five women, then aged between 15 and 23 years old, into coming to England and making them work as prostitutes in Manchester, Birmingham and on the continent.

“Each of them was identified as a potential victim either because they were young, could be isolated from their family, were low in intelligence or for some reason easily persuaded to come to the UK,” prosecuting lawyer Rachel Smith said during the trial."

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'Custody battle' gunman kills himself after 16 hour siege with armed police | Mail Online

'Custody battle' gunman kills himself after 16 hour siege with armed police | Mail Online: "The gunman who shot himself following a 16-hour siege in Luton had been denied access to his children by a girlfriend.

The man, whose name is believed to be Steven, was in the middle of a custody battle when he took his own life using a sawn-off shotgun this morning.

Police had been negotiating with the man on a football pitch, at Leagrave Common, in the Bedfordshire town, since 8pm last night.

But just before 12pm today, a shot rang out across the playing fields and he fell to the ground."

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Shot after ‘grass’ Facebook claim

Shot after ‘grass’ Facebook claim | The Sun |News: "A MAN was shot on a doorstep four hours after he was pictured and named as a police informant on Facebook.
Domenico Masciopinto, 30, had a bullet removed from his chest in hospital.

He is said to be 'critical but stable' after the attack eight days ago. He was named as a grass after records at a Bedford police station were doctored.

As rumours spread around the town, someone posted on Facebook what appeared to be a police computer screen grab with his picture, claiming he had been a grass since 2009. It is not known if he is an informant. Police said a 27-year-old civilian member of custody staff at the nick was charged with misconduct and neglecting to perform his duty.

He was remanded in custody to appear at St Albans Crown Court on February 1.

Another man was being questioned yesterday over the shooting and the doctoring of custody records. Malik Blackburn, of Bedford, will face Hatfield Magistrates' Court today.

Sources said police files would not reveal if anyone was an informant."

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Handguns are weapon of choice in gang murders - National News, Frontpage - Independent.ie

Handguns are weapon of choice in gang murders - National News, Frontpage - Independent.ie: "Handguns were used in 19 gangland murders last year, new figures show.

Garda statistics reveal there were 54 murders committed in 2010, a drop of two on the previous year.

A shotgun was the chosen weapon in four of the fatalities, while there were 15 stabbings with knives, and one with a garden shears, which resulted in the death of troubled west Dublin youth, Daniel McAnaspie.

The detection rate for the gangland murders committed in 2009 was 29pc at the end of the year but has since increased to 41pc, while the corresponding rate for last year is currently 26pc.

The overall murder detection rate for 2010 is 67pc, compared with 68pc the previous year."

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Smugglers hid cigarettes from Eastern Europe to avoid £10m tax duty jailed | Mail Online

Smugglers hid cigarettes from Eastern Europe to avoid £10m tax duty jailed | Mail Online: "Nine members of a smuggling ring which helped the Italian Mafia flood Britain with millions of black market cigarettes were jailed for more than 30 years today.

The offenders teamed up with a notorious family to sneak contraband tobacco past customs inside consignments of pickled vegetables, dog food and orange juice.

Prosecutors estimate the gang ripped off the taxpayer by up to £10m by evading duty on the cheap imports from Eastern Europe.

Wine merchant Peter Vyse, who was described as the 'main organiser' was jailed for seven years for masterminding the scam - the maximum sentence available."

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Teenager hurt in suspected shooting

 Teenager hurt in suspected shooting: "18-year-old man has been taken to hospital after an incident which may have involved a firearm.
The teenager was taken by ambulance from Frith Road, Dover, Kent, to the William Harvey Hospital at 8pm on Monday.
The Dover Grammar School for Girls is located in the street where the incident happened.
A Kent Police spokesman would not confirm whether a firearm was involved in the incident, but said there was a 'spontaneous incident in Frith Road'.
A spokeswoman for South East Coast Ambulance Service said: 'We were called to that address at about 8pm and an 18-year-old male was conveyed to the William Harvey Hospital.
'We do not have any details of his injuries.'
The spokeswoman said she could not confirm whether a firearm had been involved in the injuries suffered by the man.
Jackie Bowles, landlady of The Louis Armstrong pub in nearby Maison Dieu Road, said: 'There's lots of police activity and helicopters.
'They've shut the end of Salisbury Road and Bridge Street. The main activity seems to be at the grammar school.
'The police are just saying they've had an incident, but the word on the street is there's been a shooting.'"

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Terror kingpin Johnny 'Mad Dog' Adair is prime suspect as dodgy cigarettes flood Scotland - The Daily Record

Terror kingpin Johnny 'Mad Dog' Adair is prime suspect as dodgy cigarettes flood Scotland - The Daily Record: "MOBSTER Johnny 'Mad Dog' Adair can today be exposed as the top target for crime-busters probing a huge cigarette smuggling operation.
Police and Customs believe the convicted terror chief, whose paramilitaries were suspected of 40 murders, is now the Mr Big of a tobacco trafficking gang.
Crooks are doing a roaring trade at street markets across Scotland, selling tonsof cigarettesandrolling tobacco supplied by Chinese black marketeers.
And Customs men and police believe Adair's gang control the trade in Ayrshire, where he settled after his old UDA cronies hounded him out of Belfast.
A source said: 'Adair's name frequently crops up. They're known as Adair's gang.
'He is target number one. 'Given Adair's background in violence, murder and organised crime, some might see fake fags in Ayrshire as a form of semi-retirement. But the money to be made by those controlling the trade is massive.
'It's an attractive proposition to criminals, who risk much heavier sentences if they are caught dealing drugs.'"

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Government accused of cover-up after Ford Prison riot (From The Argus)

Government accused of cover-up after Ford Prison riot (From The Argus): "Government has been accused of staging a cover-up by refusing to publish a report into the New Year’s Day riot at Ford Prison.

The Ministry of Justice’s decision to keep the findings of its inquiry into the £3 million rampage under wraps has provoked criticism from prison officers and the community living near the open prison.

Burnt-out buildings at the prison, near Arundel, were being bulldozed (pictured) this week as independent monitors revealed the Prison Service had been warned about low staff numbers weeks before 40 inmates torched the prison’s B Wing.

Only two prison officers and four support staff were guarding about 500 men on the night of New Year’s Eve, when efforts to breathalyse inmates triggered a mutiny which lasted well into the following day."

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Forty new legal highs made in China are being sold in Britain - Telegraph

Forty new legal highs made in China are being sold in Britain - Telegraph: "Experts monitoring the appearance of so-called 'legal highs' in the UK, claim a new generation of drugs that circumvent the country's laws has been created in China by unscrupulous chemists and then exported to the UK.
Figures compiled by the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs reveal that 40 new synthetic drugs appeared on sale in the UK during 2010. In the previous year there were 24 new drugs identified. In 2008 there were just 13.
Drug treatment experts said that young people taking the drugs were playing 'Russian roulette' with their lives.
It comes after a row last year over the ban on one designer drug called mephedrone, or meow meow, when a leading Government drugs advisor warned the move would cause users to turn to other more dangerous synthetic alternatives.
Many of the new compounds are based on illegal drugs which have been tweaked so as not to be covered by the list of banned substances."

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7/7 hero jailed over £100 mln drug ring

7/7 hero jailed over £100 mln drug ring: "A firefighter honoured for his bravery during the aftermath of the July 7 bombings has been jailed for 14 years for smuggling 110 kg of cocaine into Britain.
Simon Ford, 41, won a London Fire Brigade Gold Award after risking his life to pull victims from the bus blown up in London's Tavistock Square in July 2005.
But the fireman was jailed last year after admitting he was a key player in a £100 million cocaine and money-laundering operation.
His conviction was revealed to the public for the first time on Wednesday after the 35th and final member of the gang was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court and reporting restrictions were lifted."