Crime Correspondent: London

Mark Warne ,Katie Dukes face the prospect of a lengthy jail term after pleading guilty

Mark Warne faces the prospect of a lengthy jail term after pleading guilty to having the drugs last autumn.A second defendant, Katie Dukes, also 28 years old, pleaded guilty to simple possession of the drugs before a jury could be sworn in on the morning of her trial.couple, who live together in Willington Road, Redhouse, admitted having the heroin between Tuesday September 11 and Saturday September 15 last year.Warne pleaded guilty to possessing a class A drug with intent to supply and Dukes to possession of heroin. A third person, Martin Randall, of Balham, London, had also been charged with possession with intent to supply and was alsodue to stand trial.But the prosecution offered no evidence after reading a psychologist's report which had been compiled on the 18-year-old.They also dropped a charge of having a firearm when prohibited from doing so which relate solely to Warne allegedly having a .177 air pistol during the same period of time.Judge Douglas Field, sitting at Swindon Crown Court, recorded formal not guilty verdicts on the two matters and Randall was discharged.He adjourned the hearing for the other two until Wednesday April 30 to allow the probation service to compile pre-sentence reports on them.Rob Ross, for Warne, told the court "While he is entirely accepting he will receive a lengthy jail sentence the court would require a report."The judge remanded Warne in custody and release Dukes on bail on the condition she lives and sleeps at her home.

Mark Warne ,Katie Dukes face the prospect of a lengthy jail term after pleading guilty

Mark Warne faces the prospect of a lengthy jail term after pleading guilty to having the drugs last autumn.A second defendant, Katie Dukes, ...

Found actress Natasha Collins dead in the bath

"She took sufficient cocaine to kill people anyway." found actress Natasha Collins dead in the bath But paramedics were unable to revive Natasha, 31, an actress, who had burns over 60 per cent of her body.Yesterday, a pathologist said it was likely the cocaine caused her to collapse while the hot tap was running, causing the horrific injuries.The level of the drug in her blood was 3.42mg per litre while a level of a fifth of that - 0.7mg - can be fatal.Speight, 43, was sworn in to give evidence at yesterday's inquest at Westminster Coroners' Court.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0N5jGO9mjw_HfAfbZfm7QD_mjoCzXid5gCIkZgVDBq-CGnTKQhMH33umOOvEut_J69X2lVqGObP1LpJnokNeL88bUiN7bQ6z0uV8wpYqSDiOWC6023Jl_FzHsxXWCQ_TtPjfBGGAVuzk/s1600-h/211.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185027032086808930" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0N5jGO9mjw_HfAfbZfm7QD_mjoCzXid5gCIkZgVDBq-CGnTKQhMH33umOOvEut_J69X2lVqGObP1LpJnokNeL88bUiN7bQ6z0uV8wpYqSDiOWC6023Jl_FzHsxXWCQ_TtPjfBGGAVuzk/s400/211.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" /></a>But he told coroner Dr Paul Knapman he had nothing to add to what he had told police or the evidence of other witnesses. He was only told last month he would not face charges over his fiancee's death in January.The court was also told Natasha showed the signs of long-term drug abuse, with a 1cm hole in the septum of her nose. Paramedic James Eaton told the inquest Speight was "distressed" when he arrived at the couple's penthouse flat in St John's Wood, London, adding: "He just asked us to help the patient."But there was no output from Natasha's heart and her body was covered in scalds.The coroner said police found Speight kneeling over his girlfriend's body.He admitted to police that the couple had taken cocaine, saying: "We were partying."The court had heard the couple had been holed up for two days in their flat taking drugs .Speight then told officers that he and Natasha had drunk wine and vodka and taken sleeping tablets at about 4am on January 3 because they were having trouble sleeping.Natasha had also been having period-related stomach pains.When Speight was sworn in yesterday, the coroner asked him: "For very understandable reasons you are very upset. Is there anything you would like to say in addition to the evidence?"He replied: "No, I can't think of anything." Asked if there was any of the evidence which may be misleading, he said: "Not that I can think of, no."Pathologist Professor Sebastian Lucas said: "It is not so much the amount of cocaine (that can be fatal) but the way the cocaine reacts which is unpredictable."He told the inquest the cocaine abuse could have caused Natasha to collapse and the subsequent burns then killed her.Prof Lucas gave the cause of death as cocaine toxicity and immersion in hot water.Recording a verdict of misadventure, the coroner said: "In the privacy of their flat, they had embarked on adventurous behaviour, ignoring the risks."She has suffered the consequences by the ending of her life. It is a tragedy for all concerned."It seems that while Mr Speight was asleep, at some stage she got up and had a bath."It is more likely than not she had some heart problem in the bath that caused her to lose consciousness and unfortunately she had the hot tap still going.A joint statement from Speight, who resigned from the BBC in February, and Natasha's family said: "Natasha was a loving daughter, fiancee, sister and friend with a very positive attitude towards life. "She was always thinking of others. We are devastated that her life was cut short and we miss her deeply."She will always remain in our hearts."

Found actress Natasha Collins dead in the bath

"She took sufficient cocaine to kill people anyway." found actress Natasha Collins dead in the bath But paramedics were unable to ...

Mohammed Baba was arrested and subsequently charged with possession with intent to supply a class A drug.

Metropolitan Police's Specialist Crime Task Force have taken heroin worth £52,000 off the streets.At 3pm on Tuesday, March 11, officers ...

Craig Ainslie,Asha Grey,Carl Dinnage.The trio were sentenced on Friday after admitting several offences including kidnap, grievous bodily harm

PR executive Nick Rappolt, 31, was stabbed in the back and arm with a combat knife as he told his wife on the phone that he was almost home. He nearly bled to death after the attack near his £1million house off Clapham Common, London. Mr Rappolt needed ten hours of emergency surgery and has lost most of the use in his left hand since the attack last September, the Evening Standard reported. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4hnkDsoiwgqlBJw4vMW9f0uVDfT9f66M1WN6lWzgavF54aNlYpCHIPCXLSsqNhZqK-mCOoLU5dCeSsw7safQC1sNQM7J2FR1F394TlLwgeZ77oMoNwCOL2TjRQyudhjDmXV-v5cV34gk/s1600-h/gangES0303_450x265.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173538358946776466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4hnkDsoiwgqlBJw4vMW9f0uVDfT9f66M1WN6lWzgavF54aNlYpCHIPCXLSsqNhZqK-mCOoLU5dCeSsw7safQC1sNQM7J2FR1F394TlLwgeZ77oMoNwCOL2TjRQyudhjDmXV-v5cV34gk/s320/gangES0303_450x265.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" /></a> Details of the attack were revealed at Inner London crown court which heard that Mr Rappolt was the third victim that night of the gang - Craig Ainslie, 22, Asha Grey, 21, and Carl Dinnage, 17. The trio drank champagne and took cocaine as they celebrated Grey's birthday before driving around Wandsworth and Clapham in a stolen Ford Fiesta to pick out a victim at random. They first attacked pizza delivery driver Mohammed Dost, who was battered with his helmet and robbed. Then they pulled Neil Dyer into the back of the car and kicked his head 'like a football' after they tried to get money from his bank account. Then they targeted Mr Rappolt who was on his way home from a charity concert at the Royal Albert Hall. He said in an impact statement: 'I could feel my jeans becoming drenched in my own blood and began to realise I might die. 'Two days after the attack my wife found out she was pregnant. Regrettably she lost our baby six weeks later. I have no doubt the stress of this incident was a contributing factor in this.' The trio were sentenced on Friday after admitting several offences including kidnap, grievous bodily harm and robbery. Grey of Balham, was told he would have to serve a minimum term of five years, Ainslie of Tooting Bec, was given four years. Dinnage was handed a two-year detention and training order.

Craig Ainslie,Asha Grey,Carl Dinnage.The trio were sentenced on Friday after admitting several offences including kidnap, grievous bodily harm

PR executive Nick Rappolt, 31, was stabbed in the back and arm with a combat knife as he told his wife on the phone that he was almost home....

Anthony Best,Stephen Crump,Phillip James spent their profits on holidays in Dubai and southern Spain

Stephen Crump, 41, who once earned £250,000 a year, was arrested by an undercover policewoman in a pub on the edge of the Square Mile. He was seized in a Met operation that uncovered a number of cocaine dealers selling drugs to City workers. Three dealers who sold between £20,000 and £30,000 worth of the drug a week to office workers in their lunch breaks have already been jailed. Crump blamed the stress of his job after being caught plying the woman officer with cocaine on three separate occasions at the Mr Pickwicks bar. He was held in a 20-month investigation codenamed Operation Telon - the biggest of its kind ever carried out by Scotland Yard's Clubs and Vice Unit - which uncovered drug dealing at Mr Pickwicks and Bar Bed in Whitechapel. The former stockbroker was given a suspended sentence and ordered to do 250 hours of community service after his lawyer told the court he had turned to drugs to cope with his high-pressure career. Crump, who is now taking an IT course and trying to start up his own business, started work in the City at 17 and said he was offered cocaine almost immediately. At the peak of his addiction the father of two was spending £400 a day on cocaine and drinking two bottles of wine, 10 pints of lager and a bottle of vodka. He said: 'The pressures were immense and everyone was doing it. You would hear sniffing in the toilets. We would start work at 6.30am, take our first line at 11.30am, then be entertaining until 2am. I was very young and impressionable and suddenly I was earning all this money. 'I then became involved in a co-dependent relationship and would get home and carry on doing cocaine and drinking, then have a shower and go back to work. I was working in Singapore, Tokyo and Hong Kong, flying first class on holiday to Barbados and buying £2,000 Gucci suits. 'Now everything is gone. But I've been clean for 18 months and am pressing on, turning my life around and fighting to see my kids. I'm also engaged to a wonderful woman who has had a big part to play in my recovery.' In court his lawyer, John King, described how his client had only offered the cocaine to the officer in an attempt to woo her. This was about impressing a woman rather than commercial dealing,' he said. 'This sort of thing is rife in City traders and people working in the City as he was.' Venue: Bar Bed in WhitechapelHe added: '(Crump) had essentially been living in a dream world for 15 years, living with cocaine and therefore not taking care of his life or his family. Now he is, and he has changed dramatically.' Crump, of Basildon, Essex, admitted three counts of supplying a class-A drug and one of facilitating the supply of a class-A drug and was sentenced to a year in prison, suspended for two years. In November, Phillip James, 38, who lived in a Docklands apartment off The Highway, and Lee Ingram, 40, of Harwood Hall Lane, who had a £1.5m Upminster home, were each jailed for 10 years by Southwark crown court.They ran a highly lucrative cocaine and Viagra racket based at the Bar Bed in Leman Street. They spent their profits on holidays in Dubai and southern Spain and expensive jewellery. Anthony Best, 37, of Firbank Road, Romford, a crack addict who worked for the pair, was jailed for seven years. A spokesman for charity DrugScope said that many City workers turned to drugs. 'The problem is so bad that many City employers now have drug and alcohol policies and run random drug tests,' he said. 'Cocaine makes people more energetic and confident, which they might see as a benefit. When taken with alcohol it can also mean people are able to drink more.'

Anthony Best,Stephen Crump,Phillip James spent their profits on holidays in Dubai and southern Spain

Stephen Crump, 41, who once earned £250,000 a year, was arrested by an undercover policewoman in a pub on the edge of the Square Mile. He wa...

Dawn raid nets 3 million pounds from 30 addresses around London

Scotland Yard smashed a suspected drugs network that made an estimated 3 million pounds ($5.9 million) a week in simultaneous raids on 30 addresses around London in one of the force's largest operations. Planned over seven weeks, the operation targeted a network suspected of ``converting drugs money into 500-euro notes to launder vast cash profits'' the force said. The action early today netted 22 suspects, an estimated 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of suspected cocaine and cash along with firearms, the Metropolitan Police said in an e-mailed statement. The raids involved 520 officers. ``These criminals have been living the lives of wealthy businessmen through criminal activity and today we have put a stop to this,'' Detective Superintendent Steven Richardson said in the statement. Those arrested are suspected ``key players'' involved in cocaine and cannabis distribution. ``They are believed to have substantial connections in Europe, using these contacts to traffic drugs into the U.K.,'' the force said. The network had been under investigation since August 2007, police said. Before today's action, police arrested more than 10 people and seized drugs, firearms and more than 2.5 million pounds in cash in earlier operations related to the network.

Dawn raid nets 3 million pounds from 30 addresses around London

Scotland Yard smashed a suspected drugs network that made an estimated 3 million pounds ($5.9 million) a week in simultaneous raids on 30 ad...

Robert Flook

Robert Flook, 46, conspired to supply 150kg of cocaine and eight tonnes of cannabis.The cannabis seizure - valued at £28million - is the largest the Metropolitan Police have ever made, while the cocaine had a street value of £10.5 million.But it's thought Flook used several firms as a front to import 11 containers with drugs, hidden in garden furniture and mirrors, between 2001 and 2006.The undetected consignments are thought to have been of a similar size to those seized, taking the potential value of drugs brought in to over £350million.Flook was arrested following an investigation by the Met and South African law agencies.The cannabis was seized at the port of Felixstowe, Suffolk, in September 2006. The cocaine seizure was made in South Africa weeks later.Flook, of Eltham, London, was found guilty in August and sentenced at the city's Blackfriars Crown Court yesterday.Met Detective Inspector Craig Turner, who led the probe, said: "The sentence represents the substantial damage these drugs

Robert Flook

Robert Flook, 46, conspired to supply 150kg of cocaine and eight tonnes of cannabis.The cannabis seizure - valued at £28million - is the lar...

Alberto Ramos

Alberto Ramos, 32,Ramos was jailed for 21 months for dangerous driving, and four years for each count of unlawful wounding. 'inexplicably' veered off the road and hit the women while doped up on a cocktail of crystal meth and prescription drugs. Mrs Reeve, 43, remained conscious as she was thrown up in the air and saw her right foot lying four feet away after it had been torn off above the ankle. Kayleigh Reeve remembers nothing after hearing screams and seeing a car coming towards her and then hitting her. She was later told she had lost her leg below the knee. Police arrived at the scene at the junction of Margaret Street and Regent Street to find a 'tangled heap of bodies'. Ramos initially gave no explantion for the incident, but had later told probation officers he had taken 'large amounts' of crystal meth throughout the night before the collision. He had driven into the West End to see his dealer after running out of the drug and claimed he was returning from the meeting when the accident happened. No drugs were found on him and medical evidence showed that his symptons were consistent with coming down from a high after taking the drug some time earlier. Passing sentence at Southwark Crown Court, Judge Geoffrey Rivlin QC said: "The collision was horrific. "Your car ploughed into the pedestrians and this collision caused mayhem, leaving six victims in hospital, two of whom, a mother and daughter, each had to undergo a leg amputation." The court earlier heard that this is the first time a dangerous driving case involving crystal meth has come to court. Judge Rivlin told Ramos: "At the time of this accident, this drug had recently been reclassified as a class A drug. "Its effects and addictive potential are similar to that of amphetamine use, although these effects are considered to be much stronger. "It is in fact a highly potent and dangerous stimulant. Of course it affects driving ability and evidence shows that this can involve driving out of a line of traffic and drifting off the road.

Alberto Ramos

Alberto Ramos, 32,Ramos was jailed for 21 months for dangerous driving, and four years for each count of unlawful wounding. 'inexplicabl...

Ricardo Fanchini aka Ricardo Rotmann

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcuChsJ0irsDLRUZA8UXPX3dFKcS0BN36uMcTgNsLYjCxF7cfI5xeP5Vi_kgJupSyxv30xfSVze97LvPDxI0pMpXbMHT1LYFl5U_WzMfyJZdRgkfuKg7RZHrbe9l8G6x6D7i3vr8WsMns/s1600-h/70a01fc789f1b5d048dec6228ceda5ef,24,1.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5158452545627812498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcuChsJ0irsDLRUZA8UXPX3dFKcS0BN36uMcTgNsLYjCxF7cfI5xeP5Vi_kgJupSyxv30xfSVze97LvPDxI0pMpXbMHT1LYFl5U_WzMfyJZdRgkfuKg7RZHrbe9l8G6x6D7i3vr8WsMns/s320/70a01fc789f1b5d048dec6228ceda5ef,24,1.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" /></a> Ricardo Rotmann, a Polish-born national wanted in the United States on drug trafficking charges, has been arrested at his home in London on Wednesday. Officers of Britain’s Metropolitan Police Extradition and International Assistance Unit apprehended Rotmann at the request of the U.S. Embassy. He appeared before the City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court and has been remanded to police custody, awaiting an extradition hearing scheduled for October 11th. Rotmann stands charged of conspiracy to unlawfully export cocaine from the United States to foreign countries between 2004 and the present. Rotmann, who is also known under the name Ricardo Fanchini, is alleged to be a prominent figure in the exiled Russian mafia. Identified by German author Juergen Roth in his book on Russian organized crime, Rotmann is said to be one of the three most powerful bosses of the exiled Russian crime syndicate in Europe and the U.S. A prosperous businessman and sports tycoon, Rotmann has been associated with Formula One motor racing and was involved in sponsoring the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix.

Ricardo Fanchini aka Ricardo Rotmann

Ricardo Rotmann, a Polish-born national wanted in the United States on drug trafficking charges, has been arrested at his home in London on ...

Robert Daniel Flook

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3-EIesnLAMBUGetuzOEbph3LEOlJYQ11cKnFagKbRBfD4mvJaLMm5tWihBl5j2MBIq4cM_eliNOFu_PGd6QvQq4rzZUw5L5kGWHNqNxFSF7Dg-deAt7CT6MblWbsBCLlIObrYl6PfIOg/s1600-h/bags.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5152392651715832578" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3-EIesnLAMBUGetuzOEbph3LEOlJYQ11cKnFagKbRBfD4mvJaLMm5tWihBl5j2MBIq4cM_eliNOFu_PGd6QvQq4rzZUw5L5kGWHNqNxFSF7Dg-deAt7CT6MblWbsBCLlIObrYl6PfIOg/s320/bags.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" /></a>Robert Flook, convicted of smuggling tons of cocaine and dagga from SA to the UK, will soon know how many years he will spend behind bars. Flook is believed to be a senior member of the syndicate which, for six years, used front companies to send shipments of drugs hidden in garden furniture and mirrors. Three men suspected of being Flook's South African connections were arrested in Durban last year .In the early years, Flook set up a tourism business that organised sport packages for UK residents to visit South Africa and watch rugby matches and golf tournaments. It was through these tours, police believe, that Flook made the connections he needed to start smuggling drugs. Although "unemployed", he lived a life of luxury. Flook was to be sentenced at the Blackfriar Crown Court in London. But in a last-minute twist, the judge fell ill and the sentencing has been postponed. Flook's arrest was linked to the largest dagga seizure in the history of London's Metropolitan Police and the arrest of the trio in Durban saw South Africa's second largest cocaine bust. Flook (46) was arrested in an operation that saw eight tons of dagga seized at Felixstowe port. Hidden inside a consignment of SA garden furniture, it had a UK street value of R392-million. Flook was convicted last month of conspiracy to smuggle 150kg of cocaine and eight tons of dagga into the UK. But during the trial, police showed how the syndicate snuck 11 shipments of dagga and four of cocaine into the UK between 2001 and 2006 - with a street value of R4,9-billion. The gang's ringleader, Robert Flook, He has been convicted of drugs trafficking and is currently awaiting sentence in London. Tutton, 56, and MacKinnon, 35, were part of a syndicate of which Briton Robert Flook was a kingpin. Flook has been convicted in London of 11 counts of dealing in drug dependence substances. Tutton and MacKinnon centred their criminal acts near Durban harbour which, it was said during the trial, the drug industry regarded as a low-risk gateway for drugs. The drugs were in increasing quantities sent from Latin America to Durban for distribution to the United Kingdom mainly, other parts of Europe and less to other countries, Senior Superintendent Devin Naicker, who heads the fight against drugs in South Africa, told the court. The authorities did not have enough facilities to check the more than a million containers passing through Durban harbour a year, Naicker said. Tutton and MacKinnon processed some drugs in a Pinetown warehouse but when the dagga was seized they moved operations to Tongaat.street value of dagga at R1,30 a gram and estimated that the more than 290 117kg seized was worth R377 152 240. The SAPS said about 170,5 hectares of dagga fields - which might have yielded a crop weighing 91 769kg, worth an estimated R119 300 million - were sprayed in the Eastern Cape Naicker said that stern steps should be taken to combat the sale and use of dagga, which was regarded as a gateway to worse drugs. Many hopeless drug addicts said that their first drug was dagga. The drug lords sold dagga to generate funds to buy the dangerous drugs such as cocaine and heroin. Drug mules, who were often down-and-outs, were offered between R15 000 and R50 000 to take consignments from country to country. Hundreds of mules are languishing in prisons in various countries. He said that the "bad guys who had lots of money had no law but the poor guys had plenty of law." The drug industry was huge with networks that traded just about every place. Heuer said that Tutton and MacKinnon had shown no remorse for their crimes. This lack of contrition did not influence the sentence he imposed but showed the type of people they were. He said Tutton had falsified documention and used false identities to try to disguise their activities and had tailored his evidence to try to meet the exigencies ranged against them. Tutton tried to punch a reporter who photographed them in the court building. Their former co-accused, Ernie Smith, of Umhlanga, was found not guilty of the charges at a previous hearing. Heuer said that although there was a suspicion that he knew about the activities it was not enough to convict in South Africa. - Sapa

Robert Daniel Flook

Robert Flook, convicted of smuggling tons of cocaine and dagga from SA to the UK, will soon know how many years he will spend behind bars. F...

Mark Speight

Mark Speight, dialled 999 to report Collins's death on Thursday, was held initially on suspicion of murder and of supplying a class A dr...

Man has been arrested following the death of Kevin Greening

A man has been arrested following the death of radio presenter Kevin Greening.The man, in his 50s, was held at the address in Wandsworth, so...