True Detective

Former deputy editor received £25,000 from News of the World publisher after starting work as consultant with police force

Saturday 24 September 2011

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Former News of the World deputy editor Neil Wallis leaving Hammersmith police station in July. Photograph: Murray Sanders/Mail On Sunday

The relationship between the police and the News of the World has come under fire again amid revelations that Neil Wallis, the former deputy editor of the News of the World, was paid by the paper's publisher for "crime exclusives" while working for the Metropolitan police.

Wallis was secretly paid more than £25,000 by News International after he left the paper and got a contract to work two days a month as a PR consultant with the Met. One story earned him a single payment of £10,000.

The Daily Telegraph claims that internal records obtained by Scotland Yard show that he was paid for providing News International with details of a suspected assassination attempt on the Pope during his visit to the UK last year.

A spokesman for Scotland Yard said the contract it had with Wallis's PR firm, Chamy Media, "had a confidentiality clause, a data protection act clause and a conflict of interest clause within it".

He added that Wallis did not have access to the Met's IT systems.

The revelations that Wallis received money from News International while working for Scotland Yard will raise questions about conflicts of interest.

Last month, it emerged that Andy Coulson, the former editor of the News of the World, continued to receive payments from News International as part of a severance deal after he was employed by the Tory party as its director of communications.

Wallis's solicitor has made a complaint alleging that the police had leaked the information regarding the payments.

 

 

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Spanish jail-house film shows without on-the-run actor

Friday 23 September 2011

 

A Spanish prison screened a short film made by inmates Friday with one missing ingredient -- a key actor in the jail-house drama is on the run. Inmates spent months making "Guilty", about a murderer haunted by his victim, to show in an annual festival behind bars in Leon, northern Spain, a prison official and media here said. "Among the inmates taking part, there was one in the final stages of his sentence who was allowed out regularly with leave, but who did not come back from one of those leaves," said a prison service spokeswoman. Prisoners completed the film without the missing actor who disappeared at least two months ago, said the spokeswoman for the Secretary General of Penitentiary Institutions. She denied reports he had the leading role. "He may have had some more important scenes but he was not not necessarily the hero." The actor is being sought for breach of a six-year drug-dealing sentence, which had been due for completion in 2012, she said, stressing that he was not considered a danger.

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Mexican Gulf Cartel gangster Manuel Alquisires Garcia paraded with his bling

Friday 16 September 2011

Mexican marines have recaptured a fugitive suspected trafficker, who had been arrested 13 years earlier, along with the man who was to become the Gulf Cartel's top leader.

Manuel Alquisires Garcia is the cartel's alleged finance officer, the Mexican navy said in a statement, and he was captured by marines on Saturday in the city of Tampico.

Among the items seized allegedly from Manuel Alquisires Garcia included a gold plated pistol, wads of cash and jewellery.

Recaptured: Mexican Navy marines escort Manuel Alquisires Garcia, alias 'El Meme,' during a presentation to the press in Mexico City

Recaptured: Mexican Navy marines escort Manuel Alquisires Garcia, alias 'El Meme,' during a presentation to the press in Mexico City

Alquisires, aka ‘El Meme’, was originally arrested in June 1998 along with Osiel Cardenas Guillen.

Cardenas later escaped and went on to become the Gulf Cartel's leader before being recaptured in 2003.

 

 

He was extradited to the U.S. in 2006 and sentenced last year to 25 years in federal prison.

Alquisires escaped from a prison in Matamoros, across the border from Brownsville, Texas, in 2002, three years after his arrest, prosecutors said yesterday.

The golden gun: A gold plated pistol and jewellery were among the items allegedly seized from Mauel Alquisires Garcia in Mexico

The golden gun: A gold plated pistol and jewellery were among the items allegedly seized from Mauel Alquisires Garcia in Mexico

 

Bling seized: Part of the arsenal and personal things of alleged financial agent of the drug 'Cartel del Golfo', Manuel Alquisires Garcia, including wads of cash

Bling seized: Part of the arsenal and personal things of alleged financial agent of the drug 'Cartel del Golfo', Manuel Alquisires Garcia, including wads of cash

Zetas hitmen, who at the time were still allied to the Gulf Cartel, allegedly orchestrated his escape.

He had evaded authorities until Saturday.

Alquisires is suspected of trafficking cocaine from Guatemala for the Gulf Cartel.

Also on Monday, the Mexican navy said it captured 13 gunmen, including a suspect in the killing of a marine, who said to be members of the Zetas drug cartel.

The navy said in a statement the men were arrested Friday in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz and were carrying grenades and computers. 

Mass of weapons: The arsenal and personal items allegedly belonging to Garcia were shown during a presentation to the press in Mexico City

Mass of weapons: The arsenal and personal items allegedly belonging to Garcia were shown during a presentation to the press in Mexico City

 

Under arrest: Mexican marines escort alleged financial agent of the drug 'Cartel del Golfo', Manuel Alquisires Garcia, aka 'El Meme' and also know as Agustin Sanchez Morua

Under arrest: Mexican marines escort alleged financial agent of the drug 'Cartel del Golfo', Manuel Alquisires Garcia, aka 'El Meme' and also know as Agustin Sanchez Morua

 

Detained again: Alquisires was originally arrested in June 1998 along with Osiel Cardenas Guillen

Detained again: Alquisires was originally arrested in June 1998 along with Osiel Cardenas Guillen



 

 

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Authorities Confirm Gun Found In Arizona Is Third At U.S. Crime Scene Tied To ATF's 'Fast And Furious'

Friday 9 September 2011

 

Authorities confirm a weapon from the failed ATF program 'Operation Fast and Furious' was found at a violent crime scene in Maricopa, Ariz. in 2010. This is the latest in a series of cases where Fast and Furious guns have been linked to violent crimes across the U.S. and Mexico. The two guns found at the scene were an AK-47 and a Beretta pistol, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety. The AK-47 is linked to Fast and Furious, according to ATF. The weapons were found inside a stolen truck in March 2010 after the driver slammed into two DPS vehicles while trying to evade members of the Arizona Vehicle Theft Task Force, ABC 15 reports. The driver, Angel Hernandez Diaz, was reportedly arrested and charged with multiple crimes, including flight from a pursuing law enforcement vehicle, aggravated assault on an officer with a dangerous instrument or deadly weapon, theft of means of transportation and misconduct involving a weapon, according to court documents. Fast and Furious was an operation launched in late 2009 by the Phoenix office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to follow gun purchasers in hopes that suspects would lead investigators to the heads of Mexican cartels. But hundreds of high-powered rifles and other guns ended up in Mexico, and many now accuse the ATF and the Justice Department of letting the guns "walk" even after safety concerns were raised. Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich said last week that three weapons linked to Operation Fast and Furious had been used in violent crimes in the U.S.  Weapons linked to the program were used in a December attack along the Southwest border that killed U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. Months later, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif, launched his committee's investigation, as the Justice Department's inspector general also opened an inquiry, at Attorney General Eric Holder's direction. On Wednesday, Holder said for the first time that not only he but also other higher-ups at the Justice Department were not aware of the operation as it was being carried out. Holder also suggested politics could be a driving force behind Republican lawmakers' forceful inquiries into the matter. Recently, the man who headed ATF in the midst of it, Ken Melson, was reassigned, and U.S. attorney Dennis Burke, who oversaw the prosecution of cases coming out of the operation, abruptly resigned. At least three men have been charged in connection with the murder of agent Terry, though only one is in U.S. custody. The Justice Department recently informed lawmakers that cases coming out of Operation Fast and Furious will now be led by prosecutors from outside Arizona.

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Police officer who shot dead Mark Duggan will NOT return to duty until probe is complete

 

The firearms officer who shot dead Mark Duggan, the event believed to have triggered the London riots, has not returned to active duty despite reports to the contrary, Scotland Yard has confirmed. Mr Duggan, a father-of-four, was shot in the chest and arm after the taxi he was travelling in was stopped by police near Tottenham Hale on August 5 His death sparked protests in the area which were later followed by rioting. It had been reported that the officer who fired the fatal shot had been returned to duty as part of the Metropolitan Police's CO19 firearms unit, but Scotland Yard have denied this saying he will remain suspended until investigations have been completed. The funeral of Mr Duggan is due to be held today with between 1,500 and 3,000 people expected join a procession through the Broadwater Farm estate where he lived. It was initially reported that Mr Duggan, 29, had shot at police. But ballistic tests later found that a bullet which lodged itself in one officer's radio was police issue. Mr Duggan's relatives have accused officers of deciding to 'shoot to kill' and say they do not believe the gun discovered hidden in a sock belonged to him.

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Australian slain mobster Carl Williams 'was informant'

 

Notorious Australian gangster Carl Williams was offering information to the police in the weeks before he was beaten to death in his jail cell, the trial of his alleged killer has heard. A lawyer who handled Williams' talks with the police said the gangster was preparing to provide the names of some of his underworld associates. The lawyer said Williams had become worried about his safety in prison. His former cellmate Matthew Charles Johnson, 38, denies murder. Johnson has admitted killing Williams, but said it was self-defence, adding that he was in a "kill or be killed situation". At the time, police feared the killing could spark another gangland war in Melbourne's criminal underworld. Williams was already serving a 35-year jail term for murdering three of his rivals when he was killed in April 2010. On the third day of Johnson's murder trial, Williams' former lawyer told the court that the gangster had been ready to tell police the names of other people involved in those murders. Shane Tyrrell said Williams had hoped to get his sentence reduced, as well as having his daughter's school fees paid, in return for the information. However, Mr Tyrrell said his client had become uneasy because prison staff had known about his talks with the police. On Wednesday, Williams' father George had told the jury that Johnson had killed his son because he wanted to benefit from the police deal. George Williams, himself a convicted drug trafficker, said Johnson had asked his son: "Can you get me on board?" Williams was one of Australia's most infamous gangland bosses before he was jailed. His life of crime and the gangland warfare it engendered in Melbourne was the inspiration for the TV series Underbelly.

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Elderly fugitive sentenced on drug charges

Thursday 8 September 2011

 

A Manitoba fugitive who spent more than 30 years on the run before being arrested in Florida earlier this year has pleaded guilty to drug-smuggling charges. Ian MacDonald, 72, appeared in a Winnipeg courtroom Wednesday morning and offered a guilty plea to one count of conspiring to import narcotics. The Crown and defence lawyers submitted a joint recommendation of a conditional sentence of two years less one day to be served in community. MacDonald, who has been in custody at the Remand Centre since he was extradited from Florida and returned to Manitoba in March. He had been arrested in January after being tracked to his central Florida home but it took some time to arrange his extradition. As part of the conditions of his sentence, MacDonald is under 24-hour house arrest with the exception of medical appointments or emergencies. He can leave his home for four hours a week for personal business, if accompanied by a person approved by the court. MacDonald must also abstain from drugs alcohol and he cannot leave jurisdiction without permission from the court. In 1980, MacDonald — then known as "Big Mac" — was arrested in Florida on a warrant issued by Manitoba police, who suspected he had helped smuggle a large amount of marijuana into the province. While in custody in June of that year, he faked a heart attack and was taken to hospital, where he escaped by conning a guard into removing his leg shackles, Barry Golden, a senior inspector with the U.S. Marshals Service, told CBC News in January. He escaped and lived on the lam for many years, until an officer who had been assigned to the file in 2009 found information in it that led investigators to a home in Pennsylvania, where MacDonald and his wife had once lived under an assumed name. While speaking with people in the area, officers learned the couple had moved to a town in central Florida, where he was located and arrested.

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Dutch police leads the convoy as members of the Dutch divisions of motorcycle clubs Hells Angels and Satudarah gather to demonstrate in Amsterdam

Monday 5 September 2011

Dutch police leads the convoy as members of the Dutch divisions of motorcycle clubs Hells Angels and Satudarah gather to demonstrate in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 04 September 2011.

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Source: EPA/BGNES

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Taiwan busts massive drug smuggling ring

 

TAIWAN police say they've busted a drug smuggling ring responsible for transporting $66.06 million worth of narcotics to Australia, New Zealand and Japan. A total of nine suspects have been arrested, including the suspected leader of the ring, 40-year-old Fan Chu-lin, the Criminal Investigation Bureau said on Monday. "This is definitely one of the largest smuggling rings to be uncovered in many years," bureau official Yang Ming-chang said. Over a 10-year period, the group allegedly smuggled hundreds of kilograms of ecstasy and amphetamines from Hong Kong and China to Japan, New Zealand and Australia. It also smuggled large amounts of marijuana from Thailand and Holland into Taiwan. According to preliminary estimates, the drugs smuggled by the group over the 10-year period totalled at least $65.5 million, Yang said. If convicted, Fan could face a minimum 20 years in jail under Taiwanese law.

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