Renfrew gangster shot in the leg Wednesday, 3 June 2009

The victim, thought to be in his 40s, was blasted on the town's Inchinnan Road at around 7.50pm.Man was shot outside a police station in a suspected gangland hit last night.Detectives had to tape of the streets around their own office after the incident in Renfrew.He was rushed by ambulance to Paisley's Royal Alexandra Hospital where his injuries were said not to be life-threatening.A shopkeeper close to where the shooting happened said: "The first I knew something was going on was when the police started swarming out of the station and sealing off the area."I've been told it was a local gangster who has been shot in the leg."It's got to be a bit embarrassing for police because it happened literally right outside the station.
"When the sun comes out, this place just seems to go mental."A police spokeswoman said: "We are investigating an incident."The Scottish Ambulance Service said a man was taken to hospital after they were called by police.

Zlatibor hotels, restaurants and resorts are now in the hands of the Mafia Monday, 25 May 2009

money laundering activities by tycoons and crime bosses have found a home in Zlatibor and similar resort towns. It is a public secret that hotels, restaurants and resorts are now in the hands of the Mafia, even though documents pertaining to the businesses and properties are all in other people's names, the daily writes.
This is not only a common occurrence in Zlatibor, but in Subotica, Palić, Vrnjačka Banja, Kopaonik, Novi Sad and Belgrade. However it seems that the highest concentration of “dirty money” can be found in the beautiful mountain resorts of Zlatibor. It is not only Serbian criminals that are working in Zlatibor, but crime bosses from Montenegro and the Republic of Srpska too, the daily writes.
“Once upon a time they caused problems. Now they have changed into suits and are acting like businessmen, but they always get their jobs done the old-fashioned way, either illegally or on the edge of the law,” the daily states. In 2007, Milan Stamatović, president of the Čajetina municipality, called on the state institutions to deal with the problem, and for police in the region to receive technical and personnel support because of “the increased presence of the construction mafia and criminals.”

“Zlatibor has been occupied by the construction mafia, which is legalizing dirty money through the purchase of property and the construction of buildings, especially apartments,” Stamatović wrote in his letter to the institutions.

“Criminals from Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina congregate here…They take out their guns in night clubs, consume and sell drugs, and club owners are afraid for their own safety,” he stated.

Red Bull Cola traces of cocaine found in it.

Germany is considering a nationwide ban on the high-energy drink Red Bull Cola after traces of cocaine were found in it.Authorities in the states of Hesse and North-Rhine Westphalia have ordered retailers to stop selling the beverage - which is available in the UK.The consumer ministries in the two states confirmed they had ordered retailers to pull the drink off their shelves after a food safety institute in North-Rhine Westphalia found the drug in samples.
Coke problem: An investigation in Germany has found traces of de-cocainized extract of coco leaf in Red Bull Cola'The institute examined Red Bull Cola in an elaborate chemical process and found traces of cocaine,' said Bernhard Kuehnle, head of the food safety department at the federal ministry for consumer protection.Authorities said the cocaine levels do not pose a health threat but are not permitted in foodstuffs.The investigation found the drink to contain a de-cocainized extract of coca leaf in the drink.

Three armed people barged into Air India’s cargo complex adjacent to the domestic airport here and escaped with 145 kg of gold and silver coins worth

In a sensational daylight robbery, at least three armed people barged into Air India’s cargo complex adjacent to the domestic airport here and escaped with 145 kg of gold and silver coins worth millions of rupees, officials said.
The criminals armed with guns and revolvers barged into the high security zone at about 11.30 a.m. and attacked security guard S. Bhosle when he attempted to stop them, an Air India spokesperson said.At that time, some officials of Messrs Pidilite Industries were booking six packets of gold and silver coins, weighing 145 kg in all, at the cargo complex. The consignment was bound for Hyderabad.A police official said the company officials were in the process of screening the packets when the armed robbers barged in, threatened the security personnel and fled with four packets.They got into a car and disappeared from the scene of the crime within minutes.“We have put up road blocks all over the city and alerted security staff at all exit points to be on the lookout for the culprits,” the police official said.
According to the Air India spokesperson, the injured security guard was admitted to a nearby hospital.

Murder of 25-year-old James Galloway in Turangi

35-year-old man charged with the murder of 25-year-old James Galloway in Turangi on Saturday has been remanded in custody until next month.The man was granted interim name suppression when he appeared in Taupo District Court on Monday.Galloway was driven to Turangi police station suffering from a stab wound.Police will not say if he was already dead when he arrived but says attempts were made to revive him.No one else is being sought in relation to the incident, which appeared to be domestic-related.The accused will reappear in Rotorua District Court on June 8.

Indo-Canadian gang hit Bodies of two men were found in the trunk of an abandoned car in rural Pickering Thursday, 14 May 2009

Bodies of two men were found in the trunk of an abandoned car in rural Pickering, killings with all the hallmarks of a gang hit.
The bodies are suspected to be that of Indo-Canadians as a car full of Indo-Canadian men from Brampton paid a visit to the crime scene with one of the men saying in accented English that his brother had been missing for a while and he suspected one of the dead to be the missing man.
"Our brother, he's been missing for the last two days, right?" said an Indo-Canadian man, who didn't identify himself.
It's not clear yet if the family members are related to either of the dead men, Durham Det. Mitch Martin said.
"The act doesn't appear to be random to me," Martin said, trying to calm fears of residents in the rural area.
But although it appears the two victims were targeted, Martin didn't elaborate on the killings, saying the investigation is in its early stages.
"We're looking for suspects, we don't have anybody in custody," he said.
Detectives wouldn't confirm or deny reports the victims were shot and beaten, or comment on a motive in the region's second and third murders of the year
But there was "trauma on both bodies," Martin said.
The bodies, one of a Peel resident and the other whose hometown hasn't been revealed, were found around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday after an area resident reported a vehicle parked on Rosebank Rd., just north of Taunton Rd.
The Ottawa Valley plays a role in the investigation, sources said.
Other GTA police and the OPP are assisting in the investigation, Durham Police spokesman Dave Selby said. Traces of blood were found next to the car. Martin wouldn't confirm reports that the car was a rental from Toronto. Autopsies are expected to be performed today on the bodies that were kept in the vehicle as it was taken away for forensic examination.

Guiseppe Gregory, gunman sprayed bullets into the car he was in as it was being driven out of the car

Guiseppe Gregory, 16, from the Ardwick area of the city, had survived an earlier shooting three years ago.Shortly before midnight on Sunday a gunman sprayed bullets into the car he was in as it was being driven out of the car park of The Robin Hood pub in Stretford.the bullets struck the teenager in the head. Friends drove him to Trafford General Hospital but he died a short time later.It is understood that the gunman opened fire after a drugs deal went wrong. Detectives have since arrested three men, aged 18, 20 and 22, on suspicion of murder.The shooting was the first fatality in the city since Greater Manchester Police launched an anti-gang operation more than a year ago.Officers now fear it could spark a series of tit-for-tat shootings among local gangs.Det Chief Insp Howard Millington said: "Police inquiries are at a very early stage but we are urging anyone with any information to come forward".

Gangland criminals will be tried in the same court as terrorists under new laws .

Gangland criminals will be tried in the same court as terrorists under new laws
The move is among a raft of measures to be brought in by the end of the year as the Government tackles the country’s gangs. Attorney General Paul Gallagher has approved legislation to go to Cabinet tomorrow, allowing the DPP to prosecute major criminals in the nonjury court. The move is part of a major package of anti-gangland laws, including new 15-year sentences for directing or involvement with a criminal gang.
Tougher sentences will also be imposed for those who threaten witnesses.
The plans come after 10 gangland murders in Dublin alone this year. Charges have not been brought in relation to any of the killings at this point.
It also follows an anti-crime march in Limerick yesterday, led by local businessman Roy Collins, whose son Steve was shot dead last month. It was attended by 5,000 people. The Attorney General's sign-off on the proposed laws indicate constitutional hurdles over the legislation have been overcome. Retired detective superintendent PJ Browne, who policed underworld crime in Dublin's south city, said the judiciary's response to the moves by Brian Cowen's Government will be crucial. He said courts have not always acted in the way expected to by the legislators. "You have to ask will this law be akin to the Drug Trafficking Act, where there is a mandatory 10-year sentence for certain drugs offences, which has never been accepted by the courts," he said. "Instead the judiciary has made its own mind up on the laws." The proposals are separate to the Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Bill, which is currently before the Oireachtas. That law governs the use of phone taps and other secret surveillance procedures against criminals. It will be voted on in the coming weeks and could be in force by the end of the year. The move to try gangland offenses in the three-judge Special Criminal Court has been used in the past by the DPP. Drug boss John Gilligan was tried and convicted on drugs offences, and his associate, Brian Meehan, was also found guilty of murdering journalist Veronica Guerin. The move to prosecute serious offences has been repeatedly called for by commentators, including Herald columnist Gerry O'Carroll. It has been welcomed by law enforcement agencies, but some experts have questioned how it may be implemented by the courts. The Special Criminal Court, at Green Street in Dublin, is usually used to try those suspected of terror offences. Justice Minister Dermot Ahern said that he wanted the same powers available to combat terror organisations to be applied to crime gangs. He said: "These are not decisions that any normal society would take lightly, but particularly in Limerick and in some places in Dublin, there is intimidation of people who have been involved in court case and we have to take cognisance of that." He outlined that internment of suspects was not an option but that more weight would be given to the evidence of gardai. "There is no doubt that the killing of Roy Collins showed clearly that these criminal gangs are willing to kill family members of people who become involved in court cases against them," he said. The Minister also said it is envisaged "that a new offence of directing a criminal gang would be created, along with an offence of involvement in criminal activity in association with a criminal gang, with a maximum penalty of 15 years".
Mr Ahern said the aim was that such offences would be tried in the Special Criminal Court and that it would be more difficult for suspects to be awarded bail. There may also be post-release supervision similar to that used for sex offenders.
"In essence," he said, "what we're trying to make available is that powers that were available to combating subversives organisations, terrorist organisations that would be similarly applied to criminal gangs."

Haiti is a fragile state where armed gangs can be used to stir up trouble for political reasons

"Haiti is a fragile state where armed gangs can be used to stir up trouble for political reasons and abject poverty fuels discontent." See photos taken by award-winning photojournalist Ron Haviv »Even among the children. In Cité Soleil, a dozen street children start pummeling a young girl. It's not known why. But within seconds word has spread that a fight is on. Hordes of children with matted hair and ragged clothes race to the scene, glad of anything to relieve the monotony of yet another day with nothing to do. Weary parents pull their children away, leaving the shaken girl to escape.This is a far cry from the days when families ran for cover from daily gun battles. A few years ago, Cité Soleil was one of the most dangerous and destitute places on earth -- a shanty town torn apart by a vicious gang war for control of the area. United Nations troops have stabilized the security situation in Haiti, the western world's poorest country, and many gang members are either dead or behind bars. Nevertheless, violence still surrounds the 300,000 residents of Cité Soleil, fueled by hunger and the frustration of trying to survive on less than a dollar a day.I sidestep the brawling children and enter the home of a woman who has suffered more than most. A long-standing resident of Cité Soleil, 83 year old Elevanise Tidor was first caught in gangland crossfire in 1993. In 2004 she stepped into harm's away again when she was shot in the breast and stomach. As she undoes her faded dress to show the scars from her mastectomy, she tells me she was later hit by a car and now can hardly walk. Confined to a sparsely furnished corrugated iron shack, she worries about how her children and grandchildren are going to make ends meet."My body took the bullets, but my family has been hit the hardest," she says. "I can't work or do anything for them. My grandchildren often go to bed crying with hunger."That the victims of violence can suffer for years after the event is well-known, but in Cité Soleil the suffering can last a lifetime.With the help of the ICRC, a group of victims of the violence is aiding fellow sufferers. In 2007, Pierre Wilber founded REVICIS (Regroupement des victimes de Cité Soleil) after gang members beat him up for political reasons. REVICIS has already identified 300 victims and is now trying to get funds for social, psychological and legal help.
"There are so many social problems in Cité Soleil that everyone here is a victim," he says. "But we give priority to people visibly scarred by violence, because they have suffered a double blow.Brice Osmer is one of the rare victims who can still work. In April 2005, he was caught in a shoot-out between UN troops and gang members. He was hit three times and lost an arm. Since then he walks the streets selling mobile phone time cards and bags of water."On a good day I earn a dollar, but it's thanks to my wife who sells food from dawn to dusk that my children don't starve."In 2004, at the height of the gang warfare, the Red Cross ensured that people had safe access to water. Previously, they had been risking their lives crossing frontlines to fill up their buckets.Today, the ICRC works with the water board, maintaining and running 53 communal water points across Cité Soleil, turning them on for a couple of hours 20 days a month.Prospere Borgelin works with the ICRC on its water project. He also works with other international organizations to improve living conditions in Ti-Haiti where he lives (Ti-Haiti is Creole for Petit Haiti, or Little Haiti.)Like other community leaders, he has seen the benefits of working closely with the humanitarian agencies and with the Brazilian troops from the U.N. stabilization mission responsible for security in Cité Soleil.
"The troops have brought security. Communities are beginning to organize themselves. We see the results in that roads are being built, rubbish collected and sewage removed," he says.At considerable personal risk, Borgelin has helped the U.N. and the Haitian police arrest gang members in his neighborhood and continues to be vigilant.Like many in Cité Soleil, he fears that the U.N. will pull out before the Haitian police are ready to take over and that the streets will again echo to the sound of gunfire."Misery," he says, "breeds violence. And there's still plenty of misery in Cité Soleil."

Peter de la Serpe, who is suspected of involvement in several killings, had been due to give evidence in the trial

Peter de la Serpe, who is suspected of involvement in several killings, had been due to give evidence in the trial of 10 men and one woman charged with at least seven gangland killings.key crown witness in a Dutch gangland trial is refusing to testify because he says he does not trust the police to guarantee his personal safety, the Telegraaf reports on Monday.The Telegraaf reports that De la Serpe, whose evidence is considered vital to the prosecution's case, wants to pull out. According to Nos news, he is not happy about the amount of money he has been promised to build up a new life after the trial. De la Serpe had also threatened to pull out of the trial in January but that dispute was settled, the Nos says.

Murder,Stanislav Markelov had fought the early release of a Russian colonel Monday, 19 January 2009

Markelov was shot in the back of the head at close range by an attacker who followed him after the news conference, wore a stocking-style mask and had a silencer on his gun — clear signs of a planned killing, state-run RIA-Novosti news agency reported, citing an unidentified law enforcement official. Police also reportedly said there were several witnesses.


Stanislav Markelov had fought the early release of a Russian colonel whose killing of a Chechen woman in 2000 put names and faces on the gruesome rights abuses in the war-wracked region. His death Monday angered many Chechens, already upset by the release of last week of the military officer.Colleagues drew comparisons with the 2006 killing of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya — a client of Markelov's and a fellow enemy of rights abuses in Chechnya and across former President Vladimir Putin's Russia."This is a horrible, frightening crime," said Tatyana Lokshina of the Human Rights Watch.Prominent rights activist Lyudmila Alexeyeva called the shooting "a disgrace for Russia," the Interfax news agency reported.Markelov, 34, was shot near a building where he had just held a news conference, about half a mile (1 kilometer) from the Kremlin, said Viktoria Tsyplenkova, a spokeswoman for the Investigative Committee of the Moscow prosecutor's office.Anastasia Baburova, a freelance journalist in her mid-20s who had worked for the newspaper Novaya Gazeta newspaper, was shot when she tried to intervene after Markelov was attacked, said Andrei Lipsky, a deputy editor. Another Novaya Gazeta editor, Sergei Sokolov, later said she died on an operating table.Markelov, who represented the family of the 18-year-old Chechen woman killed by Col. Yuri Budanov in 2000, had told reporters he was considering filing an international court appeal against Budanov's early release, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported.The colonel was freed last week with more than a year left in his murder sentence.Budanov was convicted in 2003 and sentenced to 10 years — including time served — for strangling Heda Kungayeva. He admitted killing her, saying he believed she was a rebel sniper in the Kremlin's war against Chechen insurgents.Budanov's case was closely watched as a test of authorities' determination to punish rights abuses in Chechnya. But he was held up as a hero by racist nationalist groups, some of whose members held rallies to support him during court hearings.Kungayeva's father Visa Kungayev, who has taken refuge in Norway with his family, said Markelov told him when they spoke Friday that he had been threatened with death if he refused to drop the case, the Interfax news agency reported.

Budanov's release drew criticism from rights activists and lawyers, who pointed out that inmates convicted of nonviolent crimes but considered Kremlin foes — such as former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky — have been refused early release.

Defense lawyers who represent whistleblowers, Kremlin foes and Russians who claim abuse at the hands of authorities sometimes find themselves targeted, and Politkovskaya is one of more than a dozen journalists killed in Russia since Putin, now prime minister, began his 8-year presidency in 2000."Stanislav Markelov is yet another victim — very possibly murdered for his professional and courageous work to defend human rights," Nicola Duckworth, regional program director at Amnesty International, said in a statement.Markelov had represented Politkovskaya, who wrote extensively about human rights violations in Chechnya. He also had represented activists who have battled abuses the Russia's military and a Chechen woman who was a victim in a 2002 hostage-taking attack on a Moscow theater.
"He was always on the front line," said Alexander Cherkasov of the human rights organization Memorial.Cherkasov said Markelov was instrumental in another case involving alleged atrocities by the Russian military in Chechnya — the 2005 conviction of a police officer, Sergei Lapin, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison for the torture and "disappearance" of a young Chechen man.Markelov spent months trying to persuade authorities to prosecute Lapin for allegedly threatening Politkovskaya's life. On April 16, 2004, Markelov was riding home on the Moscow subway when five young men accosted him and beat him unconscious, he told a journalist later that year.He said one of his attackers shouted "You asked for this!"When he awoke, his cell phone and papers on the Politkovskaya case were gone, although his wallet and cash were untouched. When he tried to report the attack, he said, police accused him of faking his injuries.A Chechen parliament deputy, Isa Khadzhimuratov, said Monday he believes Markelov's killing was likely connected to the Budanov case. "Like a real patriot, Markelov decided to restore justice and protect the interests of his clients," Khadzhimuratov said.One of Markelov's last clients was Mokhamadsalakh Masayev, who alleged in 2006 he was held in a secret prison in Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov's home village and subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment. Masayev was abducted in Chechnya in August; his whereabouts remain unknown."For victims of human rights abuses in Chechnya he was a hero," Lokshina said.

Harry Nicolaides, 41, was sentenced to 6 years in Prison

Harry Nicolaides, 41, was sentenced for insulting the king and Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn in his self-published 2005 book "Verisimilitude," which he has said sold seven copies.
Shackled at the ankles and handcuffed, Nicolaides said he felt "dreadful" as guards escorted him out of the courtroom.

"I would like to apologize," he said, adding that he had "unqualified respect for the king of Thailand" and had not intended to insult him. He said he endured "unspeakable suffering" during his pretrial detention, but did not elaborate.

The offending passage in the novel _ described by Nicolaides as a commentary on contemporary Thai political and social life _ was just a few sentences long and described the turbulent marital relations of its fictional prince.

The passage "suggested that there was abuse of royal power," and caused "dishonor" to the king and the heir apparent, the presiding judge told the court.
The prosecutor warned reporters Monday that the law prohibited publication and repetition of the material.

Axe Killer suspected of killing eight people Sunday, 11 January 2009

Police searched Xiong’s junkyard and found six more bodies as well as blood-tainted axes and hammThe bodies of the three men and three women were identified as employees at Xiong’s junkyard. They were all natives of Luoyang town, aged from 45 to 69.A neighbor of Xiong said Xiong divorced his wife three months ago hoping to marry Zhu. “After Zhu turned him down, Xiong wanted to make up with his wife but she too rejected him.” Other people in the town confirmed the story, said Wan Xuebin, public security chief of Suizhou. “But no one could explain why Xiong might have killed the junkyard workers.”
Zhu’s husband died many years ago and her son and daughter-in-law were working away from home.
Police in central China seized a man suspected of killing eight people, including a 2-year-old boy who was slain with an axe, state media reported Sunday.The official Xinhua News Agency said authorities nabbed 35-year-old junk collector Xiong Zhenlin on Sunday in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province.The report said Xiong confessed to police that he had killed eight people but did not say if he had been arrested or charged.Xiong is accused of killing the boy, Zou Chuanshuo, and the child's grandmother Zhu Deqing, 43, last Sunday as well as six others.Police were still investigating the motive behind the killings, but the report said neighbors told police that Xiong wanted to marry Zhu — a widow — but she turned him down.The bodies of the boy and grandmother were found Monday in their home in Luoyang in Hubei province with head wounds that suggested the killer used an ax, Xinhua said.Police discovered six other bodies — three men and three women — after searching Xiong's junkyard Monday. The six, between the ages of 45 and 69, were employees at his salvage operation but it wasn't clear when they had been killed. They found bloodstained axes and hammers on the premises.Reports of violent crime are relatively rare in China, where private gun ownership is virtually banned, although there have been scattered cases of revenge attacks. Police in central China’s Hubei Province said Sunday they had seized a man who was suspected to have killed eight people, including a two-year-old boy, last week.
A resident in the provincial capital Wuhan called police at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, saying he had spotted a man who resembled Xiong Zhenlin, a suspect hunted by police.
Xiong, 35, was listed as the most wanted suspect by police after the brutal killings last Sunday night in Suizhou City. Two police officers found the man sitting at a junk collection station in Jianghan District at 11:18 a.m.. He tried to escape at the sight of the policemen but was seized and taken to the police station, where he confessed he was Xiong Zhenlin.
Xiong told police he killed eight people in Luoyang Town last Sunday night and fled to Hainan Province in the south the next day. He had just arrived in Wuhan when police caught him. Xiong was handed over to police authorities in Suizhou Sunday aftern.Police are yet to find out his motive behind the killings. Zou Chuanshuo, a 2.5-year-old boy, and his grandmother, widow Zhu Deqing, 43, were found dead in their home in Luoyang town of Suizhou City last Monday morning. The wounds on their heads suggested the attacker was armed with an axe, and they had died after midnight, said a spokesman with Suizhou public security department.
Investigators named Xiong Zhenlin, a local junk collector, as a suspect. Xiong’s mother called police early Monday saying he was nowhere to be found.

Maytas Infra and Machilipatnam sea port projects and Maytas Properties, Nipuna Services, Knowledge Dynamics, accounts siezed

officials of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in coordination with Registrar of Companies seized documents from Information Technology major Satyam Computer Services, its former chairman B Ramalinga Raju agreed to appear before the regulatory authorities investigating into Rs 7,800-crore fraud.Mr Raju's lawyer Bharat Kumar, who appeared before the SEBI in response to the notice served by the team, sought time till 1600 hrs tomorrow to appear before it; citing the crucial Board meeting in which Mr Raju is to attend in the morning.The SEBI officals along with the RoC officials went to the office of Satyam and seized the documents from its premises and the record office of the company, according to official sources.
The regulatory bodies were also examining the accounts of eight sister concerns of the IT major in the wake of Raju admitting to manipulating the accounts.
The companies being examined, included the Maytas Infra which had bagged the Metrorail and Machilipatnam sea port projects and Maytas Properties, Nipuna Services, Knowledge Dynamics, Nitor Global Solutions, CA satyam ASP and Satyam Venture Engineering Services.

Sterling Airways, 700 passengers have been left stranded at London's Gatwick airport

Icelandic-owned airline bankrupt the situation," the spokeswoman
Up to 700 passengers have been added. 'Impossible' "Over a three
left stranded at London's Gatwick to four weeks period, the whole
airport after an Icelandic-owned [Icelandic] financial system
airline said it would file for melted down, and that resulted in
bankruptcy. Sterling Airways, our shareholder being unable to
which is based in Danish capital continue his support to the
Copenhagen, blamed the Icelandic company," Sterling said in a
financial collapse for making its statement on its website.
owner unable to continue funding. "Negotiations have been conducted
All Sterling flights have been with several potential investors,
cancelled, including services but it was impossible to make
from Gatwick to Copenhagen and ends meet." Sterling is just the
Stockholm. The budget airline was latest airline to end operations
owned by Iceland's Northern in recent months. Others have
Travel Holdings. Sterling also included XL Airways and Zoom.

Norway and Sweden, International drug smuggling ring has been busted

International drug smuggling ring has been busted in an operation involving police in Norway and Sweden. More three quarters of a tonne of narcotics has been seized and 30 people are in detention in the two countries.During the late summer of 2007 Police in Norway launched an investigation to bust open the narcotics network.
"We noticed that several people had bought quantities of hash and imported them into the country and we noted that these people had close contacts in Sweden," said Reidar Brussgaard at Norway's criminal investigation department to news agency TT.
In September of the same year police in Norway contacted their Swedish colleagues who began surveillance of the suspects on visits to Sweden. Swedish police were therefore able to witness the collection of a large quantity of hash from Solvalla outside of Stockholm. The Norwegian-registered car was later stopped at Norwegian customs and around 170 kilograms of cannabis was seized.
After the seizure the police operation, which Norwegian police had named "Happy fish", continued and expanded to involve in police in the Netherlands.Stefan Erlandsson at the Swedish National Investigation Department, explained that the international police cooperation had been crucial to cracking the network.Norwegian, Swedish, Dutch and Moroccan citizens are among the suspects detained. Several of them have been in work and have on the surface, appeared to live regular lives.
Police now claim to have exposed several links of the network."We have got the whole chain and have managed to get at the principal figures," Erlandsson said.
According to the police the narcotics have been smuggled from Morocco to Holland and then on to Sweden and Norway. The ring have used legal means to transport the goods, such as flower shipments used to conceal the drugs.One drug seizure by Norwegian police also netted a number of weapons and a large sum of money."There was around six million Norwegian kronor ($862,000) in cash," according to Reidar Bruusgaard.
He confirms that Swedish and Norwegian police have managed to seize around 700 kilograms of cannabis and around 50 kilograms of amphetamine. A quantity of cocaine has also been seized. There are currently 30 people in detention in Norway and Sweden.

Diego "Don Diego" Montoya, described as the head of the North Valley Cartel, could spend at least 20 years in prison Sunday, 14 December 2008

Diego "Don Diego" Montoya, described as the head of the North Valley Cartel, could spend at least 20 years in prison if convicted on charges of drug trafficking, money laundering, obstruction of justice and witness retaliation by murder.reputed kingpin of a violent Colombian cartel blamed for smuggling cocaine worth $10 billion to the U.S. arrived here from his native country aboard an FBI plane Friday to face a 12-count federal indictment.Montoya, who did not yet have a U.S. lawyer following his extradition, was being held without bail awaiting an initial court appearance Monday.
Under Montoya's leadership, the North Valley Cartel in the mid-1990s become Colombia's dominant cocaine smuggling organization, taking over from the Cali cartel whose leaders also were prosecuted in Miami. At its height, North Valley controlled about 60 percent of Colombia's cocaine trade, authorities said.U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta said the extradition of Montoya has further crippled the cartel. Most of the Colombian cocaine trade is now split among smaller groups, with much of the profits and violence moving to Mexican-run organizations.Montoya, the last of Colombia's major fugitive drug lords, was on the FBI's most-wanted list and the subject of an intense manhunt before his September 2007 capture. He had remained free for years by paying off military and police officials and forming a private militia of several hundred gunmen.The reputed drug lord, who boarded an FBI plane in Bogota, Colombia, wearing jeans, sneakers and a dark jacket under a bulletproof vest, began his criminal career as a cocaine lab "chef," working his way up through transport, export and money-laundering, authorities say."It's through the efforts of the Colombians that we are here today," said Jonathan Solomon, special agent in charge of the FBI's Miami office.U.S. prosecutors said they are seeking forfeiture of some $1 billion in Montoya assets around the world, including luxury condominiums in Aventura and Miami Beach and an 80-foot yacht docked near Miami.Colombian authorities blamed Montoya for upward of 1,500 killings in his illicit career. Montoya's reign is "a tragic story, a story involving the lives of many Colombians murdered by this cartel," said Colombian police Gen. Oscar Naranjo.The brothers who once headed the Cali cartel — Gilberto and Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela — are serving 30-year U.S. prison sentences after pleading guilty to federal charges in Miami in 2006. Several chieftains of its powerful 1980s predecessor, the Medellin cartel, were also tried and convicted in Miami federal court.

Sixty-one-year old Eric Allen Kirkpatrick has been charged with first degree murder in the shooting death at a Christmas party

Sixty-one-year old Eric Allen Kirkpatrick has been charged with first degree murder in the shooting death at a Christmas party in Vancouver Friday night.Earlier in the day, police identified the man who was shot and killed as Benjamin David Banky, 40, was killed when a disgruntled former employee walked into the party and started firing shots, Vancouver police said in a news release Saturday. There were more than 12 employees of Tallgrass Distributors Ltd., at the work function when gunshots rang out around 4 p.m. local time. All except Mr. Banky were able to escape uninjured.
Mr. Banky was the president of the Vancouver-based company, which is a natural-health-product supplier. The company, originally called Tallgrass Hemp Company, specializes in beauty products based on the hemp plant. Vancouver police locked down the area in the central Mount Pleasant neighbourhood for several hours Friday as they negotiated with the 61-year-old male gunman. Investigators say the man had been fired from the company on Dec. 11. The man surrendered two hours after the shooting.

Alarming number of Americans are vanishing in Mexico where there has been a dramatic increase in the numbers of U.S. citizens

Alarming number of Americans are vanishing in Mexico where there has been a dramatic increase in the numbers of U.S. citizens who have recently been reported missing or kidnapped along the border with Mexico, reports the Washington Post. Many who have vanished from U.S. cities are still missing and it is feared they will turn up in the mass graves that have been discovered lately in Mexico.U.S. State Dept recently issued Mexico alert said “Recent Mexican army and police force conflicts with heavily-armed narcotics cartels have escalated to levels equivalent to military small-unit combat and have included use of machine guns and fragmentation grenades. Confrontations have taken place in numerous towns and cities in northern Mexico, including Tijuana in the Mexican state of Baja California, and Chihuahua City and Ciudad Juarez in the state of Chihuahua. The situation in northern Mexico remains very fluid; the location and timing of future armed engagements there cannot be predicted”. Public shootouts have occurred during daylight hours near shopping areas in many Mexican border towns. In Ciudad Juarez the body of a man who had been beheaded and whose hands were handcuffed behind him was found hung from the Rotario Bridge in Juarez across the border from El Paso Texas. He had been forcibly kidnapped and carried off two days before according to police. A message from a local criminal organization was left nearby. The gruesome display even for this northern border city long accustomed to drug-related violence was shocked.
Shortly after the grisly sighting about 5 a.m., police found the victim’s head in a black bag in a nearby plaza, said state police spokesman Alejandro Pariente.
Pariente said the body was wearing black jeans, a red T-shirt and white sneakers, and was handcuffed. A banner apparently directed at rival drug-gang members was hung next to the corpse.The victim’s father was barely able to identify his 23-year-old sons body. Yet one more body was found near the Rio Grande in Juarez, this one shot in the head.Elsewhere, masked men gunned down two police officers in a convenience store in Chihuahua City, the capital of Chihuahua state, where Juarez is located, said Eduardo Esparza, spokesman for the state attorney general’s office. After the killings assailants left a toy pig next to the bodies. A man wearing a pig mask was found hung in a residence in Juarez. Near the body was a message threatening to do the same to others. Police believe the message was from drug gangs.Drug violence has been escalating across Mexico and cartels have turned to increasingly gruesome methods to send a message to their rivals and police.Also in Juarez, the same day four men were found shot to death. And four other men fell victim to gunfire attacks in various places in the city.Elsewhere in town, the cadaver of a man was found hanging from a metal fence in front of an empty house. A mask with the face of a pig had been placed over his head and his hands had been cuffed. There was also a threatening “narco-message” left with the hanged body.Later the same day Mexican army personnel detained four heavily armed men in Cuauhtemoc, Chihuahua the four had with them “an anti-tank rocket launcher, a high explosive rocket, two caliber 308 rifles capable of piercing armor, two cal. 223 AR-15 rifles, a caliber 556 rifle, a .22 caliber rifle, a .22 revolver, a caliber 11.25 pistol, 12 fragmentation hand grenades, a gas grenade and clips of various calibers.” They also had five “͋ level bullet proof vests, bandoleers, gas masks and ID cards of the PGR (Mex. Dep’t. of Justice) plus small amounts of drugs. Most of the front page and the headline on the printed version of a Juarez paper were devoted to the horror which Juarez residents feel because of the level and brutality of all the violence.Tijuana violence does not cease there either it is becoming an everyday affair according to Jose Gonzalez a resident of Tijuana were there is more violence reported and where the finding of cadavers and narco messages keep police agencies on alert on both sides of the border and the civilian population in a state of panic.In Tijuana alone there have been to date more than 700 execution type killings carried out by organized crime that have been counted this year, which makes it one of the most violent in the city’s history. Recently in TJ two more decapitated bodies were found, two police officers were murdered and so were eleven other men, all within a 14 hour period.
In a banner headlines on the printed front page of a TJ newspaper read: City policeman executed Physician kidnapped. A second “ministerial police” agent lost his life Wednesday afternoon in TJ. He was driving his car when the occupants of two other vehicles opened fire killing him dead in his car. Two severed human heads were left on top of the lids of each of two blue plastic barrels found near the Otay Mesa border crossing point on the east side of TJ near the California border. The location is just four blocks away from where six persons were killed by gunfire on Monday. The headless bodies were inside the barrels, and a narco message.A “Ministerial Police” commander was killed and his police officer escort was critically wounded Monday afternoon when killers shot them repeatedly while the two were eating at a restaurant. The hit-men left and disappeared as quickly as they had arrived. Recently four men fell victim to a gunfire assault at a junkyard in the Lomas Verdes section of TJ but between 4 p.m. and late evening six other men were shot to death and two others were wounded in two other incidents elsewhere in town.Just yesterday, ten gunmen lost their lives after a shootout with state agents in Nogales, Sonora. The police were attacked with fragmentation grenades; three police and three civilians were wounded.The body of a gagged man was found in Cabo San Lucas his fingers had been chopped off. Eight persons have died in Baja California Norte in the last 24 hours, the product of a spiral of violence.
Just recently two Rosarito police officers were assassinated while on patrol. Twenty kilometers away three other persons were murdered. Seven other crimes took place in Chihuahua two men were found dead in Hermosillo, Sonora, two in Culiacan and “some others more” in Guanajuato, Guerrero, the Distrito Federal and Taxco.
A related account in “El Universal” (Mexico City) states that violence in Rosarito has cost the lives of seven police and at least a dozen other persons in less than thirty days; it adds that there have been mass resignations of police there because of fear of being murdered. Just some years back Rosarito was a laid back, peaceful ocean beach town.Just recently Baja racer Arron Cooper another American was shot in Mexico while pre-running the Baja 1000 race.

Fatal shooting in south Charlotte that left one man dead happened after armed robbers wearing masks tried to steal from two people

Fatal shooting in south Charlotte that left one man dead happened after armed robbers wearing masks tried to steal from two people who police say are drug dealers, according to officers.The shooting happened about 10:45 p.m. Thursday on Scotch Heather Way. Police say one of the would-be robbers was shot dead after a scuffle, and a resident of the home had injuries that were not life-threatening. Officers had not identified the dead man by Friday night and hadn't released more information about the other people who broke into the townhome.When officers searched the house and a silver BMW belonging to one of the owners, they found marijuana. Also, people they interviewed in connection with the case said the residents were drug dealers, police said.
The residents – Ryan Clark Tucker and Sean Nicholls Tobin, both 23 – were charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell or distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia and maintaining a vehicle for the use or storage of a controlled substance. Homicide detectives will also present their findings to the District Attorney's Office to see if any other charges will be filed against either of the men. The shooting happened in a part of town that had not had a slaying – or many other violent crimes – so far this year. The neighborhood if full of relatively new townhomes, said Capt. Roderick Golding, who oversees the South Division.But neighbors said they'd began to grow suspicious in the past couple months about what was going on inside the house with the silver BMW outside.“A lot of the neighbors said there had been activity going on there for a long time," Golding said. “But they never bothered to call police about it.”

former U.S. Army Ranger Luke Sommer sentenced to 24 years in prison for an August 2006 bank robbery in Tacoma, Wash.

Peachland resident and former U.S. Army Ranger Luke Sommer, 22, who holds dual U.S. and Canadian citizenship, has been sentenced to 24 years in prison for an August 2006 bank robbery in Tacoma, Wash.The robbery was carried out by five men in black masks and military garb brandishing AK-47 assault rifles and semi-automatic handguns. It netted $50,000.Bank staff were threatened with death if they did not comply with the gang's demands to open the vault.The gang was tracked down to a barracks in the military base at Fort Lewis, Wash., after a bystander recorded the licence plate number on the robbers' escape vehicle.Sommer had recruited two other Army Rangers to take part in the robbery, and two Canadians.The others have all pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.Sommer fled to B.C. following the robbery and was arrested in his parents' home in Peachland by the RCMP and later extradited to Washington state.The U.S. Attorney's office said Sommer planned to use the proceeds from the robbery to start a crime family in B.C. to rival the Hells Angels.The U.S. District Court was told that a "blood bath" would likely have ensued had police confronted the gang during the robbery. The robbers carried hundreds of rounds of ammunition, wore body armour, possessed a hand grenade and carried a military medical kit.

Guang Hui Cao, of Castle Close, Morpeth, is accused of murdering Xi Zhou and her boyfriend, Zhen Xing Yang, Sunday, 26 October 2008

Guang Hui Cao, of Castle Close, Morpeth, is accused of murdering Xi Zhou and her boyfriend, Zhen Xing Yang, both 25, who were found dead in their ground-floor flat in Croydon Road, Newcastle, in August.He is due to appear before magistrates in the city on Monday.The couple's bodies were found shortly after 4.30pm on August 9 after officers from Northumbria Police were called to their flat at 8 Croydon Road.Detectives believe Mr Zhen was tortured for up to an hour before he was hacked and stabbed to death by his killers, who then turned on Wagamama noodle bar waitress Miss Xi.The last known sighting of either of the victims alive was a CCTV image showing Miss Xi arriving home from work on August 7 at around 4pm.A spokeswoman for Northumbria Police said the families of the two people who died had been informed of the developments in China.Guang was arrested on Thursday by police investigating the attack. Two other men arrested in connection with the killing have been released on bail pending further inquiries.All three are Chinese nationals.A further 14 people, again all Chinese nationals, were arrested on suspicion of burglary and immigration offences but have all now been bailed pending further inquiries.

Armond Devega has been charged with committing the following crimes

Arrested Armond Devega, 27.Devega has been charged with committing the following crimes:
Jan. 23 robbery of Subway store, 10450 Durant Road
Feb. 1 robbery of Wilco-Hess, 7413 Louisburg Road
Feb. 13 robbery of Wilco-Hess, 7413 Louisburg Road
Feb. 13 murder of Anthony Dwayne Scarborough at 508 Tartan Circle
April 5 robbery of Subway, 6320 Capital Blvd.
April 10 robbery of Wilco-Hess, 1741 Trawick Road, and murder of Stephanie Powell Anderson
May 7 shots fired during robbery of Subway store, 5410 Six Forks Road
May 24 robbery of Capital Food Mart, 2929 Capital Blvd.
June 6 robbery of Bojangles, 10610 Durant Road
Sept. 10 robbery of Mexico Lindo, 4010 Wake Forest Road and attempted murder of Modesta Fernandez-Lucas
Devega faces two charges of murder, one of attempted murder and nine of robbery.
Investigators said that Devega shot Anthony Dwayne Scarborough, 32, at 508 Tartan Circle on the night of Feb. 13.Police have also called Devega a suspect in the death of Stephanie Powell Anderson, 39, inside the Wilco-Hess at 1741 Trawick Road. Anderson was shot to death as she opened the store early April 10.Anderson’s sister said Saturday she was thankful to hear Devega is in jail.“I just said, 'God is good.' We’ve been waiting for this day, every since her murder, and we're glad this person is off the streets,” Lachanda Powell said.The attempted murder charge stems from the shooting of a clerk, Modesta Fernandez-Lucas, 25, at the Mexico Lindo check-cashing business Sept. 10. Fernandez-Lucas was shot multiple times but survived.
The string of robberies in which Devega is charged began Jan. 23 and ended with the Sept. 10 robbery of Mexico Lindo.

Rickey Paul,had been charged as an accessory after the fact to first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of Sidney Long

Rickey Paul, 21, of 615 Jo Henderson Ave., is being held without bond after he was arrested Thursday and charged with failure to appear. Paul had been charged as an accessory after the fact to first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of Sidney Long, 72.Long was shot to death in his store, Long’s Gun and Pawn, during a robbery on May 9. Easton Francisco, 22, and Akeem Evans, 18, both of New Iberia, were charged with first-degree murder in connection with the shooting. Both have remained in the Iberia Parish Jail since being arrested May 10. Now Paul is there as well.Paul was released from custody on $10,000 bond on May 12. He was scheduled to appear Oct.13 for a criminal pretrial before Judge Edward Leonard in 16th Judicial District Court but failed to show, according to the Clerk of Courts Office. Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Wendell Raborn said that a warrant was issued for his arrest.Evans’ trial date has been set for Dec. 9, but Francisco’s has not yet been set.

Keshawn Johnson arrested on an active murder warrant on Saturday.

Police arrested 19-year-old Keshawn Johnson of Cincinnati on an active murder warrant on Saturday.Johnson is accused of shooting 18-year-old Chafonta Hixon on October 15.Hixon was gunned down on West Fifth Street in Newport. Police say the shooting resulted from a fight between several people.Johnson is held at the Hamilton County Justice Center

Loyalist Billy Wright's 1997 assassination had to be approved by a notorious IRA commander Sunday, 12 October 2008

Loyalist Billy Wright's 1997 assassination had to be approved by a notorious IRA commander, according to newly released British army intelligence documents.
The INLA, which killed Wright inside the Maze prison, sought the consent of the IRA in Belfast before the murder, military intelligence officers have claimed. The group held meetings with the IRA commander, from Ardoyne, north Belfast, who also ordered the 1993 Shankill bomb attack, they said. Undercover army surveillance units had key members of the INLA leadership who were central to the murder plot under round-the-clock observation in the days leading up to Wright's assassination, the documents confirm. The classified material was released last week to the ongoing public inquiry into the killing of the Loyalist Volunteer Force leader in the maximum-security prison. Wright's family have alleged that the prison authorities and the security forces 'turned a blind eye' to the dangers the LVF founder faced while sharing a block with INLA inmates. They also claim the security forces could have prevented the murder because they had intelligence warnings that he was being targeted. A military intelligence officer known as Captain AA told the inquiry that the meetings, under constant surveillance, could have related to Wright's murder. He said that he was a battalion intelligence officer with responsibility for north and west Belfast from September 1997 to May 1998. Under questioning last week by the Rev John Oliver, the former Anglican Bishop of Hereford who is one of three inquiry panel members, Captain AA said that the INLA had to seek the approval of the IRA to kill Wright. Captain AA said: 'It would have been foolhardy of them [INLA] to carry out an operation without at least the tacit consent of PIRA.'A further British military assessment disclosed to the tribunal states: 'It is assessed the INLA meetings held at Belfast address 1 on the 16th and 19th of December were in connection with the murder of Billy Wright.'Wright's murder almost destroyed the fragile political negotiations leading to the Good Friday Agreement a few months later. Wright's killing caused a wave of loyalist retaliatory gun attacks in Belfast and mid-Ulster.Wednesday, 25 October, 2000, 13:23 GMT 14:23 UK
Wright killing inquiry demandThe murder sparked a series of reprisal killings in the following months. His father, David, believes there was a conspiracy behind the murder. He handed in a report detailing the circumstances surrounding the killing at Downing Street on Wednesday. The report was prepared by British-Irish Rights Watch, a London-based human rights group which has supported calls for inquiries into the deaths of Portadown man Robert Hamill, who died after being attacked by loyalists, and Rosemary Nelson, a lawyer killed by a loyalist car bomb. BIRW director Jane Winter said the primary responsibility for Billy Wright's murder lay with the three INLA men involved in the shooting. "However, that such a notorious figure could have been so easily be murdered within the confines of a prison, places a very high responsibility on the state." "I find it remarkable that, even today, I do not know the name of the governor that was in charge of my son's welfare that particular morning. "The government won't even tell me who was in charge of security that morning." Repeated requests by Mr Wright for a meeting with the prime minister or secretary of state have been turned down. Mr Wright's visit to Downing Street comes less than a week after his son's killers secured early release under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.Christopher McWilliams told reporters he would support an inquiry into the killing but said unionist politicians making the demand were "hypocrites". Billy Wright: Murdered inside the Maze prison.Billy Wright was among the most feared loyalist paramilitary figures. He was involved in the Ulster Volunteer Force before leaving the organisation to form his own splinter group, the Loyalist Volunteer Force. An inquest into Wright's killing in 1999, concluded it had been carried out by three INLA men in an elaborate premeditated and pre-planned attack. He was shot as he sat in the back of a prison van. His killers managed to smuggle two handguns into the prison and were able to climb out of their prison block and over a roof before jumping into the yard where the van was parked.

Gouger St,Adelaide gunfights which have erupted on one of the state's premier eating strips are worrying.

Gunfights which have erupted on one of the state's premier eating strips are worrying.Until recently, no one had considered eating on Gouger St to be hazardous, but with two shootings there since June, diners along the street are understandably becoming nervous.Adelaide may not have the problems with gun crime that plague many other large metropolitan cities, but to file the events of recent months as an aberration would be irresponsible.police are failing to make significant headway in cutting down the scourge of gun crime, with 1498 incidents recorded in the past five years.It appears the criminal underworld in South Australia is either growing or becoming more brazen in dealing with its conflicts in full view of the public.Trafficking of drugs and guns across state borders is also growing and it is clear better national co-ordination is needed between police forces and governments to crack down on these evils.It still appears far too easy for the wrong people to obtain guns. That gun crime has not fallen even as police confiscate thousands of firearms a year, indicates procuring a weapon is still too easy.Premier Mike Rann has been consistent in his attacks on crime and this is to be applauded. However, the question has to be asked whether the rhetoric matches the reality, given the continued prevalence of guns in our society.Gun laws across the nation have tightened considerably since the Port Arthur massacre in 1996. Responsible governments should continue to examine ways to further improve legislation, although without disadvantaging groups such as farmers and sporting shooters who have legitimate reasons to own guns.The State Government will further toughen gun laws in coming weeks and this is a sensible move.An amnesty as proposed by Police Minister Michael Wright might achieve some reduction in illegal weapons but this is far from certain.Clearly, the best strategy is to give police the resources, funding and legal armoury they need to curb weapons smuggling, establish a formidable street presence and seize illegal

TWO SUSPECTS HOLDING IRANIAN PASSPORTS HAVE BEEN ARRESTED PENDING INVESTIGATION, HE ADDED

BAHRAIN:TWO SUSPECTS HOLDING IRANIAN PASSPORTS HAVE BEEN ARRESTED PENDING INVESTIGATION, HE ADDED. CID HAD RECEIVED INFORMATION ON A GROUP OF BAHRAINIS AND GULF PEOPLE ATTEMPTING TO SMUGGLE DRUGS INTO THE KINGDOM. IT OBTAINED A PERMISSION FROM THE GENERAL PROSECUTION AND THEN A BOAT WAS SPOTTED BY MARINE PATROLS SAILING IN THE SEA TO THE NORTH-WEST OF BAHRAIN AND WHILE ATTEMPTING TO ESCAPE AND AFTER BEING ALERTED, IT THEN CAME UNDER THE FIRE OF SECURITY MEN TO DISABLE IT, HE SAID. YET, THE BOAT FLED AND AFTER INTENSIVE SEARCH AND INVESTIGATION, 4 SAUDIS AND 2 BAHRAINIS WERE ARRESTED AND CONFESSED THAT THE BOAT WAS REPAIRED AND THE DRUG AMOUNT HIDDEN IN ONE OF THE FARMS IN SADAD. CONSEQUENTLY, THE SMUGGLERS WERE SURPRISED BY A MARINE PATROL, ARRESTED IN POSSESSION OF DRUGS AND REFERRED TO THE GENERAL PROSECUTION, HE EXPLAINED ON THE OCCASION, THE PUBLIC SECURITY DEPUTY COMMANDER HAILED THE EFFORTS MADE BY PUBLIC SECURITY MEN IN COORDINATION WITH CID, COASTGUARD, SPECIAL FORCES AND POLICE AVIATION DIRECTORATE, AFFIRMING THE INTERIOR MINISTRY'S DETERMINATION TO PROCEED WITH ITS PLANS TO COMBAT DRUG SMUGGLING AND PROTECT SOCIETY.

Sister Ardeth Platte, 72, and Sister Carol Gilbert, 60, came back from two weeks out of town to find letters from the Maryland State Police

Sister Ardeth Platte, 72, and Sister Carol Gilbert, 60, came back from two weeks out of town to find letters from the Maryland State Police saying they had been wrongfully listed as suspected terrorists in a federal database in 2005-2006. Two Roman Catholic nuns whose non-violent action against nuclear weapons landed them with prison sentences returned home to Baltimore to learn they had been listed as terrorists, they said Friday.“To be labelled a terrorist is really very hard to hear and to accept, when your whole life has been one of loving nonviolence,” Platte said.
Maryland State Police have sent letters to a total 53 activists wrongfully labelled as terrorists, inviting them to look at their entries in the database — after which the files would be deleted.The Dominican nuns broke into a US nuclear missile silo in Colorado in 2002 and painted crucifixes with their own blood — earning Platte and Gilbert prison sentences of 41 and 33 months respectively.“If they can label us as terrorists, they can label all kinds of people as terrorists,” Gilbert said. “So then people become afraid to speak out against what the established government might be saying — and that is the demise of democracy.”

Francis Kaunda,was jailed together with prominent local businessman Faustin Kabwe. Thursday, 14 August 2008

Zambian court jailed the former head of the country\'s copper mining conglomerate ZCCM on Wednesday for two years with hard labour for corruption relating to the privatisation of copper mines. Francis Kaunda, who headed the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM), a conglomerate that controlled vast copper and cobalt mines before privatisation in 2000, was jailed together with prominent local businessman Faustin Kabwe.