GANGLAND BRITAIN
GANGLAND BRITAIN

Wednesday

Police officer and PCSO stabbed while on duty | UK news | The Guardian

Posted On 09:22 0 comments

Police officer and PCSO stabbed while on duty UK news The Guardian: "police constable and a community support officer have been stabbed while on duty, police said today.
The officer is in a serious condition after being slashed across the neck in Ealing, west London, in daylight.
The police community support officer is believe to have suffered less serious injuries.
First reports say the attack happened after at least one man was stopped by police around Ealing Broadway.
The Metropolitan police said one man had been arrested in connection with the incident, which happened just after 3pm."

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Sunday

Police find £195,000 of cocaine on M74

Posted On 13:48 0 comments

The Pleasures of CocaineBBC News - Police find £195,000 ofcocaine on M74: "Drugs with an estimated street value of £195,000 have been found in a car on a motorway in North Lanarkshire.
Officers from Strathclyde Police stopped the vehicle near junction 7 of the M74 as it travelled north at about 1455 GMT on Saturday.
They searched the car and discovered what was thought to be a quantity of cocaine.
A 26-year-old man has been arrested. He is expected to appear at Hamilton Sheriff Court on Monday."

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Ex-boxer Robert Kelbie, 27, quit Scotland amid claims that jailed drugs boss Mark Richardson has put a £60,000 contract on his head

Posted On 13:11 0 comments

Shooting victim who is alleged to have £60k contract on his head flees Scotland - The Daily Record: "SHOOTING victim linked to a feud with Edinburgh's top cocaine baron has fled to Australia.
Ex-boxer Robert Kelbie, 27, quit Scotland amid claims that jailed drugs boss Mark Richardson has put a £60,000 contract on his head.
An underworld source said: 'There's talk of £60,000 being offered, so Kelbie seems to have decided to get out of town and go as far away as possible.
'He has a lot of friends but he has also made a lot of enemies, so he decided it was a good time to get away for a holiday until things cool off."

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Wednesday

Man stabbed by gang of three while in bed | Glasgow and West | STV News

Posted On 21:56 0 comments

The Real Gorbals Story: True Tales from Glasgow's Meanest StreetsMan stabbed by gang of three while in bed Glasgow and West STV News: "Three men forced their way into a house before attacking a man who was in bed inside, police have revealed.
The incident happened at around 3.15pm on Saturday in Airdrie's Hunter Street.
Strathclyde Police said the attackers left their 21-year-old victim with serious stab wounds to his head and body.
A spokesman said: 'He was taken by ambulance to Monklands District General Hospital where he is presently being treated for his injuries. Hospital staff describe his condition as stable.
'A 21-year-old woman and a two year-old girl were also within the house at the time of the attack. They were not injured.'
The attackers ran out of the house and police are appealing for anyone who saw them, or anyone else who has any information on the incident, to contact them."

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My car was vandalised and strangers yelled 'slut' - The Sun mobile

Posted On 21:44 0 comments

My car was vandalised and strangers yelled 'slut' - The Sun mobile: "RANGERS ace Kyle Lafferty has bagged a stunning new girlfriend - Miss Scotland Nicola Mimnagh.
The Scottish Sun exclusively revealed yesterday how the smitten pair have enjoyed a string of dates since meeting through a mutual pal.
But former WAG Lauren MacDonald - ex of Kyle's Gers teammate Maurice Edu - has some hard-hitting words of advice for Nicola.
She tells DOUGLAS WALKER how life as a soccer star's girlfriend isn't always as glamorous as it appears...
WITH a champagne lifestyle and designer handbags, being a WAG is what many girls dream of.
But for the ex-girlfriend of Rangers star Maurice Edu it turned out to be a complete NIGHTMARE.
Gorgeous Lauren McDonald, 23, fell for the US footballer before she even knew what he did for a living.
But the abuse she suffered from complete strangers ultimately played a big part in their break up.
And it has left Lauren so disillusioned with life in Scotland that she is on the verge of quitting for London.
Stunning hair stylist Lauren, from Anniesland, Glasgow, and Edu, 24, are still good friends and speak regularly on the phone.
They got together at the beginning of this year after being introduced by a mutual friend."

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Jilted husband jailed for Port Dundas murder

Posted On 21:42 0 comments

BBC News - Jilted husband jailed for Port Dundas murder: "A husband who murdered his younger love rival during a frenzied knife attack in Glasgow has been jailed for life.
Wing Ho, 49, stabbed Malaysian restaurant worker, Chee Gang Goh, 18 times in a common close at flats in Port Dundas, Glasgow, in April 2010.
The High Court in Glasgow heard that he snapped after his wife of 20 years left him for 28-year-old Mr Goh.
Judge Lord Pentland ordered Ho to serve a minimum of 15 years in prison before being eligible for parole.
Ho was also found guilty of attempting to defeat the ends of justice by washing and cleaning a Nissan Micra he used during the crime and instructing his daughter, Johin Ho, to give police false information.
The court heard how Ho, who studied medicine for two years and who has degrees in accountancy and law, armed himself with a knife and waited outside the block of flats in Glasgow where Mr Goh lived."

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Petrol bomb attack backfires for dumb criminal - mirror.co.uk

Posted On 21:30 0 comments

Petrol bomb attack backfires for dumb criminal - mirror.co.uk: "calibre of underworld gangsters has slipped somewhat since the Krays, judging by this criminal display.
The plan was to smash the glass door of a pub with bricks before hurling in a firebomb.
But bungling would-be arsonists Amir Ali and his accomplice didn’t quite manage to break the door and their petrol bomb simply bounced off and exploded in Ali’s face.
He was then caught on CCTV fleeing in a blind panic, only to run into a lamppost and fall flat on his back before staggering off again.
To make matters worse, he went to a nearby medical centre to have his head injury treated – helping police capture him almost immediately.
He still had the plaster on when the mugshot was taken
Father-of-two Ali, 28, denied involvement but was jailed for eight years on Tuesday."

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Murdered bride’s husband locked in extradition battle - UK, Local & National - Belfasttelegraph.co.uk

Posted On 21:28 0 comments

Murdered bride’s husband locked in extradition battle - UK, Local & National - Belfasttelegraph.co.uk: "The British newlywed accused of hiring a hitman to murder his bride was remanded in custody last night as South African authorities fought to extradite him.
Wealthy businessman Shrien Dewani (30) was released on £250,000 bail with an electronic tag and curfew by a judge at City of Westminster Magistrate’s Court.
But the decision was dramatically over-ridden before he could walk free after representatives of the South African government lodged appeal documents.
Dewani will now appear before the High Court where a more senior judge will review whether he should be granted bail.
The Bristol care home owner is wanted over the death of his wife Anni (28), who was found dead in the back of an abandoned taxi with a single bullet wound to her neck on November 13."

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Gangs Are Recruiting Emigrants and Treating Them Like Slaves | Emigrate.co.uk News

Posted On 21:25 0 comments

Gangs Are Recruiting Emigrants and Treating Them Like Slaves Emigrate.co.uk News: "Reports show that gangs are now recruiting emigrants and treating them just like slaves. They are forcing these people to live in dirty, cramped conditions, while making them pick leeks that would, in time, be sold to Tesco and Waitrose.
The emigrants from eastern Europe were always promised good wages, accommodations and nice working conditions. However, these emigrants would later find out that they would be beaten and/or threatened often. They would be kept in inhuman conditions and left very hungry.
So far, Gurdip Singh Somal, his wife Manjinder Kaur Somal, Jujhar Singh, Santokh Singh Nizzar, Varinder Singh, Fateh Singh Bal and Ania Jemiola have all denied conspiracy chargers to exploit emigrant workers. They deny two charges between December 2004 and November of 2008. All of the defendants have, so far, denied conspiracy to exploit by arranging travel within the UK, with the exception of Jemiola.
The Prosecutor said to the court that Gurdip Sonal ran the multi-million pound business. He provided agricultural labor to farmers by recruiting workers to harvest leeks in Lincolnshire, Nottingham and Cambridgeshire. He went on to say that this case against them is that they have cruelly mistreated emigrant workers, that they have exploited them. The workers came here on the promise of good wages, accommodations and conditions. However,he continued, in reality they were thrown out into leek fields when they arrived. They were intimidated and threatened all the time. In short, they were not treated like human beings, he added, they were treated like work animals."

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Gangs continue to cast cloud over Shannonside - National News, Frontpage - Independent.ie

Posted On 21:24 0 comments

Gangs continue to cast cloud over Shannonside - National News, Frontpage - Independent.ie: "DEATH threats following a shocking TV programme, balaclavas and a replica gun found at the scene of fatal accidents and one of the country's most dangerous criminals back in town.
While conversation across the rest of the country concerns the crippling Budget, water shortages and freezing snow, in Limerick, it is the activities of the city's criminals which dominate.
In recent years, there has been a major push to spin positive about life on Shannonside -- particularly by Laura Ryan in the city's co-ordination office -- but the dark and sinister side of Limerick refuses to disappear.
While the problems of Limerick's criminal gangs has been well-documented, on Monday night a 'Prime Time Investigates' programme brought the stark reality of life in the country's most deprived estates into sitting rooms: youths brandishing a sawn-off shotgun; criminals comparing prison to a holiday camp; and tearful families held prisoner in their own homes as gangs run riot outside."

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Crime is smashed across Essex (From Basildon Recorder)

Posted On 21:21 0 comments

Crime is smashed across Essex (From Basildon Recorder): "THIRTEEN organised crime gangs have been smashed by police in Essex so far this year.
The gangs, responsible for crimes such as dealing drugs and people trafficking, were tackled by police in the first six months of this year alone.
It comes as a report, written by Essex Police’s Chief Con-stable Jim Barker-McCardle, reveals crime across the county has continued to drop.
In the first six months of this year police in the county saw 478 fewer crimes reported compared with the same period last year.
So far this year, recorded incidents of antisocial behaviour have also plummeted by nearly 12 per cent, with 5,421 fewer incidents reported, compared with the previous year.
High: Confessions of an International Drug SmugglerThe force has also seen good results in its continued war on drug dealers."

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Mersey drug gangs: how Liverpool's influence spreads across UK and beyond - Liverpool Local News - News - Liverpool Echo

Posted On 21:13 0 comments

Mersey drug gangs: how Liverpool's influence spreads across UK and beyond - Liverpool Local News - News - Liverpool Echo: "SINCE the late 1970s and early 1980s, Liverpool crime gangs have been a dominant force on the UK drug scene. The reach of the families and gangs who control the lucrative trade stretches far beyond the city boundaries.
City crime syndicates are known to have a major say in the sale of drugs as far north as Inverness and as far south as Cornwall, with Hull to the east and North Wales to the west.
Many of the places now seen as Liverpool strongholds have good transport links for moving drugs about, are hit by deprivation or have a mass market.
Places like Blackpool and Devon were firm family holiday favourites in the 1960s and 1970s before they became favoured spots to make ill-gotten gains – police in Torquay in the 1980s even had a team nicknamed “the Scouse Squad” to deal solely with the influx of Mersey crooks.
The travelling band of football fans from the city who toured the country following the successful Liverpool and Everton sides of the early 1980s also brought new opportunities.
Supporters who made a weekend out of games in other towns and cities soon spotted possible new ventures and hook-ups with local criminals.
Now, with high-speed rail links, motorways dissecting the country and cheap domestic flights, drug barons and their couriers can be anywhere and back within a day."

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Tuesday

Machine gun & ammunition found in Ashbourne - RTƉ News

Posted On 17:08 0 comments

Machine gun & ammunition found in Ashbourne - RTƉ News: "machine gun and ammunition have been recovered during a Garda search of open ground in Co Meath.
The operation, targeting organised crime gangs, was carried out near Ashbourne yesterday evening.
No arrests were made.
Meanwhile, GardaĆ­ are continuing to detain 10 men arrested as part of an operation targeting organised crime in the southeast.
A number of items including weapons and drugs were seized during searches in Cork, Dublin, Tipperary and Waterford yesterday morning."

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Amnesty sees 1,300 of gangs' gun of choice off the streets | News

Posted On 17:06 0 comments

Amnesty sees 1,300 of gangs' gun of choice off the streets News: "1,300 pistols which have become the weapon of choice among gangsters in London are now in the hands of police after a nationwide amnesty.
Olympic .38 BBM guns were declared illegal after criminals began converting them to fire live ammunition.
The guns, easily available online for as little as £30, were normally used to start track races but, by the end of March, 179 of the converted weapons had been used in crimes such as grievous bodily harm and attempted murder — all but 22 of them in London.
Police revealed today they had recovered 1,322 guns in the seven-week amnesty, launched in April, which assistant chief constable Susannah Fish called a “hugely successful operation”. The public handed in 799, with the rest seized in raids against internet importers.
In March a 17-year-old from Islington was jailed for 10 years for two attempted murders using an Olympic gun."

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Crime is smashed across Essex (From Basildon Recorder)

Posted On 17:05 0 comments

Crime is smashed across Essex (From Basildon Recorder): "THIRTEEN organised crime gangs have been smashed by police in Essex so far this year.
The gangs, responsible for crimes such as dealing drugs and people trafficking, were tackled by police in the first six months of this year alone.
It comes as a report, written by Essex Police’s Chief Con-stable Jim Barker-McCardle, reveals crime across the county has continued to drop.
In the first six months of this year police in the county saw 478 fewer crimes reported compared with the same period last year.
So far this year, recorded incidents of antisocial behaviour have also plummeted by nearly 12 per cent, with 5,421 fewer incidents reported, compared with the previous year.
The force has also seen good results in its continued war on drug dealers.
In the first half of this year the number of dealers charged for peddling Class A drugs – such as cocaine and heroin – also increased by 15, or nearly 29 per cent, compared with the previous year.
The force’s good results come as Essex Police prepare to make £45million of cuts over the next four years as part of the Government’s bid to slash public spending."

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London Street Gangs: Southall drug dealers jailed for five years

Posted On 11:18 0 comments

London Street Gangs: Southall drug dealers jailed for five years: "TWO Southall drug dealers caught red-handed in an undercover police operation were jailed for five years on Friday (December 3).

Irfan Javed, 27, of Western Road and Abdul Alam, of Dane Road were brazenly trading in class A drugs on the streets of west London.

They were part of a four-man gang arrested when police set up an operation to clamp down on street dealing.

Prosecutor James O'Connell said: 'An undercover officer was deployed in Southall Broadway in early August of this year and it was a continued operation through to early September, buying drugs covertly from people who were prepared to deal to them on the street.”

An officer introduced himself to a user on the street and was eventually given the number of someone was selling drugs."


Sunday

Murderer enjoyed the trappings of gangster life (From Croydon Guardian)

Posted On 09:03 0 comments

Murderer enjoyed the trappings of gangster life (From Croydon Guardian): "Police are baffled as to how Saturday Lobsang Hassan came to possess a gun or why he turned murderous after being thrown out of the Deslandes pub.
The 30-year-old builder, who was convicted of murdering Darren Deslandes and attempting to murder his brother, had no prior convictions and police could uncover no criminal past in their background checks on him.
Detective Chief Inspector Gordon Allison, who led the investigation, said: “Someone who can source a firearm in that period of time, you would think they had some contacts in the criminal world. “Hassan has never been on our radar. He was a builder, he was jobbing in regular employment.”"

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Tuesday

Man seriously injured by Glasgow gang | Scotland | STV News

Posted On 17:10 0 comments

Man seriously injured by Glasgow gang | Scotland | STV News: "Police are appealing for information after a man was attacked and seriously injured in the south side of Glasgow on Friday.
The 37-year-old man was getting out of his car in Elder Street near to its junction with Luath Street when he was attacked by a group of four men at around 5.30pm.
They then made off in a silver car - possibly an Audi - in the direction of Govan Road.
The victim was taken to the Southern General Hospital where he was treated for leg injuries and later released."


Monday

new Fat Freddie war erupts - City News, National News - Herald.ie

Posted On 19:46 0 comments

ERU on streets as new Fat Freddie war erupts - City News, National News - Herald.ie: "ARMED gardai have been deployed to south Dublin after gang boss Fat Freddie ordered a sickening attack on one of his own lieutenants.
Heavily armed units from the Emergency Response Unit have been running checkpoints across Crumlin and Drimnagh to quell gangland tensions.
A row has erupted within the ranks of Fat Freddie Thompson's drug trafficking gang which threatens to explode into all-out war.
Thompson ordered the attack after his lieutenant made lewd comments about an old flame of his, leading to a vicious 'Glasgow smile' slashing.
A Glasgow smile is a nickname for the result of cutting a victim's face from the edges of the mouth to the ears. The cut leaves horrific scars which form what resembles a smile.
He was slashed across both cheeks in a bid to leave his face permanently disfigured. He also suffered a laceration to his forehead and was heavily beaten in the attack.
The victim was once a leading member of Freddie's gang."


Birdman Robert O’Hara has agreed to cough up £130,000 in crime profits | The Sun |Home Scotland|Scottish News

Posted On 19:40 0 comments

Birdman Robert O’Hara has agreed to cough up £130,000 in crime profits | The Sun |Home Scotland|Scottish News: "FORMER high-living crime boss who 'terrorised a whole area' of a city yesterday agreed to cough up £130,000 in crime profits.
Robert O'Hara, known as the Birdman, has a month to pay the cash after he settled a Crown case to sieze hiss assets.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard O'Hara, 33, made £268,600 from his criminal empire but a confiscation order would be made for £131,250 of 'realisable assets'.
Crop-haired O'Hara, who is serving a life sentence for murder, used to head a gang involved in drug dealing, money laundering, guns and violence."


£40,000 worth of cocaine found in birthday card

Posted On 12:19 0 comments

BBC News - £40,000 worth of cocaine found in birthday card: "More than £40,000 worth of cocaine has been discovered in a birthday card by UK Border Agency officers in Belfast.
The card containing the class A drug was posted in South Africa to an address in Glengormley.
A 21-year-old woman was arrested and later released on bail in connection with the incident"


OFT acts on debt recovery measures

Posted On 11:47 0 comments

The Press Association: OFT acts on debt recovery measures: "Action has been taken against four lenders that took steps to have unsecured debts customers were struggling to pay secured against their homes.
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has imposed requirements on Alliance & Leicester Personal Finance, American Express Services Europe, HFC Bank, part of HSBC, and Welcome Financial Services, which is part of sub-prime lender Cattles, following concerns about the way they were enforcing some consumers' debts.
The problems centred around the use of charging orders, which enable lenders to claim any funds left over following the sale of a customer's home, after priority debts - such as a mortgage - have been met, to repay the money they are owed.
The order effectively turns an unsecured debt into a secured one, and the creditor can go on to obtain a second order forcing the person to sell their property to settle their borrowings, although this only happens in a small number of cases.
The OFT said that although charging orders were a legitimate way for creditors to recoup unpaid debts, it had found problems with the way some lenders were using them. The problems were different for each business, but included cases where a charging order had been obtained on debts of less than £600."


Friday

Four arrests after £1.5m gold stolen

Posted On 16:56 0 comments

UTV News - Four arrests after £1.5m gold stolen: "Police say a Europe-wide operation was launched after two separate shipments of gold and computer parts were stolen in November 2009.
Four other men were charged with fraud, deception and handling stolen goods in connection with the theft in June.
Police say the searches which led to the arrests are ongoing"


Wednesday

BBC News - Murder probe in Sunningdale after van stopped by police

Posted On 15:47 0 comments

BBC News - Murder probe in Sunningdale after van stopped by police: "murder inquiry has started after a man died soon after armed police chased and stopped a van in Berkshire.
The man died in London Road, Sunningdale, near Ascot, after being found inside the van which was stopped by officers at about 1400 GMT.
Four other men inside the van, who attempted to escape, were arrested on suspicion of murder.
Thames Valley Police said officers had been looking for the vehicle after receiving a tip off.
Witnesses said a man's body was covered in tarpaulin by the A30, near its junction with Cedar Drive.
The large blue sheet could be seen on the ground next to a white Mercedes Sprinter van."


Man murdered in street shooting - a set on Flickr

Posted On 00:50 0 comments


streets in London where somebody died as a result of a shooting. London's Gun Crime - Londonist

Posted On 00:44 0 comments


Photo Project Documents London's Gun Crime - Londonist: "Dissatisfied with press reports of shootings in the capital, photographer James Davies decided to document these incidents in his own way. His series of 12 images captures the 'utterly ordinary places where the extraordinary took place'. James explains the thinking behind the project:
The photos in this series were taken on streets in London where somebody died as a result of a shooting. The victim died either at the scene or later as a result of their injuries. My aim in this series is to highlight the mundane. I didn't want to find the exact location where each incident happened or go into the details of each murder. The intention here is just to show the utterly ordinary places where the extraordinary took place, forever associating a street with a horrific crime. I have had a few comments that suggest that by not photographing the exact location of the incident I am being misleading, as they suggest the part of the street I show and the murder scene could differ greatly. I found this a little macabre and also slightly out of synch with the news reports that accompany each photo in the series. There is very little effort put in to gun crime reportage in London. News reports on the topic of gun crime victims are usually just lazily rehashed press releases with no added detail. To suddenly wish to be shown the exact spot that somebody lost their life seems a bit tasteless. Also, the whole point of this series was to highlight the places that are connected by one type of crime. These streets are another innocent witness to something horrific that they can't shake off, but they do not need to be tainted with the crime they will forever be associated with."


Disabled prisoner to be paid £20,000 for discrimination at Belmarsh | United Kingdom Society News

Posted On 00:32 0 comments

Disabled prisoner to be paid £20,000 for discrimination at Belmarsh | United Kingdom Society News: "Ministry concedes discrimination against wheelchair-using prisoner who initially received no help in toilet or bathroom
The prison service is to pay out £20,000 in damages to a prisoner who uses a wheelchair in compensation for the “degrading” treatment he received while in Belmarsh jail in London.
The Ministry of Justice conceded the claim for disability discrimination today made by Abdullah Baybasin, a 53-year-old Turkish Kurd. He was acquitted at a retrial last month of being a drug baron who conspired to supply 2.3kg of heroin.
Baybasin said that when he was first taken to Belmarsh in 2004, he had to look after himself. There was no help from staff for him while using the toilet or bathing so he had to rely on other prisoners.
At one point during his sentence he was told to stand up by a prison officer who told him the fact he was disabled made no difference. Even when he was later provided with a care assistant, there were always delays which meant that he was left for unacceptably long periods in his bed having soiled himself, on the toilet or in a cold bath."


Surgeons to aid Met Police knife crime fight - Glasgow News

Posted On 00:22 0 comments

Surgeons to aid Met Police knife crime fight - Glasgow News: "Surgeons and police officers have agreed at a conference in London to work together to reduce the harm caused by knife injuries.
The Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland [ASGBI] and Metropolitan Police shared techniques to reduce serious injury from knives.
They agreed to provide stab injury training for surgeons and share data on locations and types of knives used.
The Ministry of Health is providing £700,000 to help fund the programme."


Scots gang's waterboard torture of drugs thief rival - The Daily Record

Posted On 00:17 0 comments

Scots gang's waterboard torture of drugs thief rival - The Daily Record: "Scots gangsters are using 'waterboarding' terror tactics to torture rivals.
Hardened crooks have copied the CIA-style interrogation technique where water is poured on to a cloth covering the victim's mouth and nose to simulate drowning.
We can reveal that a leading member of one of Scotland's most notorious crime clans was tortured by a rival gang using the shock tactics last week.
Drug dealer John Fox was terrorised after being snatched off the street by four thugs during a row over stolen drugs.
Associates of Fox said he was taken to a flat in Glasgow's east end, strapped to a scaffolding board, his head covered and water poured over his nose and mouth.
One source close to the family said: 'It's taking torture among gangs to a new level, but they've all seen how effective it can be, so it's a new weapon for them."


Tuesday

Hells Angels sensed a traitor infiltrated their ranks, court hears | Canada | News | London Free Press

Posted On 23:56 0 comments

Hells Angels sensed a traitor infiltrated their ranks, court hears | Canada | News | London Free Press: "Police shut down an undercover operation against Toronto's Hells Angels when the outlaw bikers sensed a traitor infiltrated their ranks, a Superior Court jury heard on Monday.
David Atwell, an executive officer with the motorcycle club, worked secretly as an undercover paid police agent for 18 months, Crown Attorney Tanit Gilliam said in her opening statement at the trial of five Hells Angels.
Atwell comes with a chequered past and was still using cocaine 'on a handful of occasions throughout this project' known as Project Develop, which began in the spring of 2005."


Bent Lancashire police officer jailed for 11 years (From Burnley and Pendle Citizen)

Posted On 17:32 0 comments

Bent Lancashire police officer jailed for 11 years (From Burnley and Pendle Citizen): "FORMER police Sergeant branded a 'criminal in uniform' by his bosses has been jailed for 11-and-a-half years.
Ex-Nelson officer Salim Razaq, 33, plotted to scupper his brother Hafiz's kidnap and assault trial by threatening witnesses, collected in drugs debts, unlawfully searched the police computer system and stashed lethal sub machine guns at his house.
Judge Henry Globe QC said his involvement with the 'Deepdale Gang' in the Preston area had lead to a 'catalogue of offences' before he was 'caught red-handed' following a search on his home by his colleagues in March this year.
He labelled Razaq's actions whilst a serving Pennine Sergeant as a 'gross breach of trust and a dereliction of duty' which had brought 'potential discredit to the police force as a whole'."


Wednesday

major crackdown on violent crime.

Posted On 02:17 0 comments

SPECIALIST police squads swooped on houses across Inverclyde and made a string of arrests in a major crackdown on violent crime.
Five people were arrested during the early morning raids in Greenock and Port Glasgow.
The joint operation — which targeted 29 addresses — was led by officers from ‘K’ Division and involved CID officers from Crime Division, the Gangs Taskforce and Domestic Abuse Taskforce.
More than 40 officers were deployed and, when necessary, support unit staff used a battering ram to gain entry to properties.


courts have now handed jail terms totalling more than 63 years to William Byrne and 14 crooks linked to his gang

Posted On 02:14 0 comments

The courts have now handed jail terms totalling more than 63 years to William Byrne and 14 crooks linked to his gang. A 16th man is awaiting sentence.
Byrne, 25, and his henchmen smuggled cocaine from the Caribbean and bought and sold drugs all over Scotland. They also distributed guns and cash.
The Mr Big used couriers - or "mules" - to keep his hands clean, and told the taxman he had earned less than £5000 since 2002. But he lived in luxury in a £350,000 home in a seaside town and drove BMW and Mercedes cars worth more than £50,000.
Judge Lord Matthews jailed Byrne for 54 months. He told him: "You obviously were the main player, although your record up to now has been minor."
The crook, who admitted drug-dealing, will now face court action to seize assets including his home and cars.
Byrne, of Wemyss Bay, Renfrewshire, worked with Gary Mackie, 42, from Ayr, to recruit and run a network of drug mules. But the elite Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency smashed the gang in an operation codenamed Salute, which lasted more than a year.
The SCDEA cops worked with Strathclyde and Lothian and Borders police and detectives in the Dominican Republic, where the crooks bought cocaine .
In all, they seized 14.5 kilos of cocaine worth approximately £3.8million and 1.25tons of cannabis resin with an estimated £3.5million value. Four firearms, ammunition and a CS spray gun were recovered.
Detective Superintendent Rikki Bailey of the agency said: "Byrne used a number of people to avoid getting his hands dirty, but the volume and value of the drugs we seized indicates how much he was gaining.
"He enjoyed a lavish lifestyle and showed no regard for the harm he was inf licting on Scotland's communities."
They watched Byrne's mules as they moved packages around Scotland and met up to exchange drugs, money and weapons.
In January 2008, the cops saw Jason Kane, 24, of Greenock, Renfrewshire, receive a firearm and ammunition from James Kane, 46, of Dundonald, Ayrshire.
Surveillance and mobile phone sei zures l inked both men to Byrne. Jason Kane got four years and James Kane six years and four months.
In February 2008, 27-year-old Craig Emmerson, of Port Glasgow, Renf rewshi re, was caught handing cocaine worth £50,000 to Robert Waterson, 47, of Bonnyrigg, Midlothian. The handover took place at Fort Kinnaird Retail Park in Edinburgh.
Emmerson admitted he was working for Byrne and was jailed for 32 months. Waterson got 45 months.
The next piece of the puzzle fell into place in April 2008.
Police searched the home of Alan Brown, 34, who was known to be one of Byrne's mules, and found Class A and Class B drugs. Brown admitted drug offences and is now serving 54 months.
Then, in August 2008, Kevin Duddy, 21, of Gourock, Renfrewshire, handed half a kilo of cocaine to Robert Halford, 43, of Clydebank, at a rendezvous in Langbank, Renfrewshire.
The cocaine was worth about £20,000. Duddy got two years and Halford three years after both men admitted drug offences.
By February last year, the police were ready to move on Byrne himself. They arrested him at his home in Wemyss Bay.
Then, in July 2009, cops in the Dominican Republic arrested two Scots, Paul Cairns, 23, of Gourock, and Daniel Squires, 22, from Greenock.
The pair were caught redhanded at an airport with 9kg of 90 per cent putity cocaine, destined for Scotland. Both are now in jail in the Dominican.
Four other men linked to the gang were jailed for being concerned in the supply of drugs.
David Scobie, 40, of Coylton, Ayrshire, got 32 months. William West, 36, and Brian Quinn, 35, both of Glasgow, got 45 months and 32 months respectively.
William Scott, 60, died in Kilmarnock jail, where he was serving two years.
Steven Scott , 37, from Gar thamlock, Glasgow, was convicted of firearms offences as a result of the investigation.
He will be sentenced today at Glasgow Sheriff Court.


Adam Alcock was one of a 16-strong gang that cut and sold the class A drug in Merseyside and Dundee.

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Drug gang member who ferried cash and heroin jailed for four years - Maghull Star: "DRUG gang member who ferried heroin and cash around Liverpool was jailed for four years.
Adam Alcock was one of a 16-strong gang that cut and sold the class A drug in Merseyside and Dundee.
Surveillance officers eavesdropped on the gang for nine months in 2009 as they cut the drugs, hid them inside their bodies and ferried them north of the border where they used addicts to push their wares.
Alcock admitted to being involved on just March 4, 2009, when he ferried cash from Barry Devlin, of Bedford Road, Bootle, to gang leader Stephen Harrison, of Chapel Road, Anfield.
Later that day he took 0.5kg of 32%-pure heroin to Devlin. The drugs were later found at another co-conspirator’s house in Liverpool Road South, Maghull. They were worth more than £20,000, Liverpool crown court heard yesterday."


Friday

Gangland Britain, From tea and crumpets to guns and grenades… | Street Gangs Resource Center

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Gangland Britain, From tea and crumpets to guns and grenades… | Street Gangs Resource Center: "Ten years ago, the idea that the likes of the Bloods, the Crips and the Latin Kings would one day extend their tentacles overseas to the United Kingdom would have been met with scorn and disbelief. Whereas Britain has always had its fair share of criminal activity, there is a clear distinction between organised crime groups and American-style territorial street gangs. The notion that gangsters in the UK would ever identify themselves by wearing a certain colour of clothing would have been laughable prior to the start of the twenty-first century. Fast forward a decade and the streets of London and Manchester are slowly becoming akin to those of Los Angeles and Chicago…
There are now an estimated twenty-five Blood sets and seven Crip sets in the city of London alone and although it would be easy to pass their activities off as a posturing attempt to emulate their transatlantic cousins, they have been responsible for countless murders, robberies and shootings over the last few years. In January 2010, a man was shot in the chest after foolishly attempting to engage in a snowball fight with a member of the E7 Crips in Newham, East London. Later that month, an eighteen-year-old with alleged connections to the Isle of Dogs Gang was stabbed to death by a member of East London’s E3 Bloods. In February, a member of the 031 Bloods was arrested in connection with the murder of sixteen-year-old Oluwaseyi Ogunyemi in Stockwell, South London. These are three of many gang-related killings at the hands of replica Bloods and Crips in England’s capital city."