Crime Correspondent

SPANISH AUTHORITIES are seeking to extradite a Dublin man, Freddy Thompson

<p><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><div class="images-holder-big" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 25px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: top; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; float: left; width: 360px; padding: 0px; border: initial none initial;"><div class="content" style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: top; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: initial none initial;"><a class="mb" href="http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/images/2011/1015/1224305838460_1.jpg?ts=1318686304" id="mb1" style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: top; color: #c00000; text-decoration: none; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none initial;"><img alt="Freddy Thompson, of Loreto Road, Maryland, Dublin 8, leaves his extradition hearing at the High Court yesterday. He was remanded in custody by Mr Justice Michael Peart to next Wednesday's sitting of the court." height="289" src="http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/images/tile/2011/1015/1224305838460_1.jpg?ts=1318686304" style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: top; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: initial none initial;" width="360" /><span class="enlarge" style="margin-top: -29px; margin-right: 2px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: top; background-image: url(http://www.irishtimes.com/images/v3/multibox/enlarge.png); background-attachment: scroll; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; float: right; height: 27px; width: 27px; position: relative; z-index: 1; background-position: 100% 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px; border: initial none initial;"> </span><span class="multiBoxDesc mb1" style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 11px; vertical-align: top; display: block; color: #ffffff; width: 350px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #000000; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 5px; margin: 0px; border: initial none initial;">Freddy Thompson, of Loreto Road, Maryland, Dublin 8, leaves his extradition hearing at the High Court yesterday. He was remanded in custody by Mr Justice Michael Peart to next Wednesday's sitting of the court.Photograph: Collins Courts</span></a></div></div><div class="article-extension" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 22px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 10px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 11px; vertical-align: top; width: 192px; float: right; display: inline; border-left-width: 1px; border-left-color: #d6d8cd; line-height: 15px; padding: 0px;"><div class="content" style="padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 11px; vertical-align: top; width: 182px; min-width: 182px; float: right; border-top-width: 3px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 3px; border-left-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; border: initial solid #d7d7cb;"><h1 style="font-size: 21px; color: #000000; line-height: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 11px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; clear: both; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></h1></div></div><p style="line-height: 18px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px;">SPANISH AUTHORITIES are seeking to extradite a Dublin man, Freddy Thompson, who they allege is a member of a international criminal gang involved in trafficking drugs and weapons.</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px;">Mr Thompson (30), with an address at Loreto Road, Maryland, Dublin 8, was arrested by gardaí at that address yesterday afternoon on foot of a European extradition warrant issued by the authorities in Malaga, Spain in September 2010 and then brought before the High Court.</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px;">The court heard the Spanish authorities are seeking his extradition on grounds alleging Mr Thompson is a member of a criminal organisation whose members include Irish, British and Spanish nationals.</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px;">The warrant further claims Frederick James Thompson, said to have moved to Spain in 2008, is a member of an organisation alleged to have laundered the proceeds of illegal drugs and weapons trafficking through a complex network of companies.</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px;">It is claimed Mr Thompson’s role was to secure weapons for the organisation and that he acted as a bodyguard and a chauffeur for the gang, based on Spain’s Costa Del Sol.</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px;">The Spanish authorities also allege Mr Thompson is an associate of and has worked for other known criminals, some of whom were described as good friends of his.</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px;">It is also claimed in the warrant that ongoing surveillance of Mr Thompson conducted by police in a number of countries revealed that on dates between 2008 and 2010 he travelled to locations including Morocco and Amsterdam.</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px;">It is claimed he travelled either in the company of or to meet gang members or other criminals, and the trips were to organise criminal activity including the shipment of drugs.</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px;">It is further claimed Mr Thompson has no movable or immovable assets, such as property, in Spain, and no legitimate means to support his lifestyle.</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px;">Yesterday, Sgt Sean Fallon of the Garda extradition unit told the court Mr Thompson was arrested shortly before 3pm at Loreto Road. Sgt Fallon said when the charges contained in the warrant were read and a copy of the warrant was handed to Mr Thompson, he replied: “I can’t read, I am not taking that.”</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px;">Mr Thompson was then taken to Kevin Street Garda station.</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px;">Mr Justice Michael Peart said he was satisfied the individual before the court was the person sought in the warrant. He told Mr Thompson he had a right to professional legal advice as well as the right to consent to surrender at any time during the extradition process to the Spanish authorities.</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px;">While no application for bail was made yesterday, Mr Thompson’s lawyers indicated one would be made in the future. The State indicated it would object to any such application.</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px;">Mr Thompson’s lawyers told the court they would be applying for legal aid under the Attorney General’s scheme.</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px;">Mr Thompson was remanded in custody by Mr Justice Peart to next Wednesday’s sitting of the High Court.</p></span></p>

SPANISH AUTHORITIES are seeking to extradite a Dublin man, Freddy Thompson

Freddy Thompson, of Loreto Road, Maryland, Dublin 8, leaves his extradition hearing at the High Court yesterday. He was remanded in custod...

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<p> </p><p> Surfers Paradise nightclub had been a target for alleged bikie money laundering amid growing business links between powerful Gold Coast bikies and others interstate and overseas.  Read more reports in the print edition of The Courier-Mail or explore the Bikie Inc web of intrigue diagrams or the detailed club profiles in our multimedia specials.  But outlaw clubs are also targeting Brisbane, where they have tried to open clubhouses and tattoo parlours in West End and Fortitude Valley.   Gold Coast's bikie tsars exposed Two hours and $2000 and a gun is yours Nightclub link to bikie money laundering  A nascent chapter of Bandidos whose members do not even ride motorcycles is seeking a Valley clubhouse, according to police sources.  The development has echoes of the "Notorious" gang in Sydney connected to organised crime figures John Ibrahim and the Sarkis brothers.  That group styled itself as a motorcycle club but members - so-called "Nike Bikies" - failed to win recognition from outlaw clubs because they were not sufficiently interested in bikes.  Fortitude Valley - despite its historical links to organised crime - was an "untapped area" for outlaw motorcycle clubs, the police source said.  The Hells Angels tried last year to find a lease on a new clubhouse in West End.   Hells Angels Brisbane president Mark Nelms declined to comment. "It wouldn't matter if you were the Queen of England, we don't comment to anybody," he said.  The Bandidos' existing footprint in the Valley includes Valley Ink, a Brunswick St tattoo parlour opened by Gold Coast chapter president Sava Cvetkovic.  An underworld source said that a senior member of Highway 61, a club with New Zealand roots, also had sought to open a parlour on West End's Boundary Street.  Last week The Courier-Mail revealed that a multimillion-dollar Surfers Paradise nightclub deal had been thwarted after police warned the landlord that it was a front for bikies laundering cash.  The bid was bankrolled by a Sydney financier with business and family links to a national franchise chain.  The last known attempt at bikie infiltration of Gold Coast nightclubs was when Global Group Security looked at providing bouncers for several clubs about seven years ago.</p>

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Members of the Bandidos - who acquired four new chapters in Indonesia during "Bandidos Bali Bike Week" earlier this year - are looking to set up business as far afield as Japan

<p><span style="color: #444444; font-family: LiberationSerifRegular, Times, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21px; background-color: #ffffff;"><div class="article-media article-media-large media-count-1 first-image-650w366h" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px !important; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; font: normal normal normal 13px/1.231 Arial, Helvetica, san-serif; min-height: 366px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><div style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><div class="image " style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><div class="image-frame image-650w366h" style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><img alt="Bikies Inc rotator" height="366" src="http://resources0.news.com.au/images/2011/10/07/1226161/515724-bikies-inc-rotator.gif" style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;" width="650" /></div><p class="caption" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 11px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #7e7e7e; font: normal normal 400 11px/18px Arial, Helvetica, san-serif; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: #e5e5e5; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 5px; margin: 0px;"> </p></div></div></div><div class="story-intro" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 25px; margin-left: 10px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 17px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; max-width: 487px; font: normal normal 400 17px/21px LiberationSerifRegular, Times, serif; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><p style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 17px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><strong style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 17px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">BIKIE Inc Australia is spreading its wings overseas.</strong></p></div><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 25px; margin-left: 10px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 17px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; max-width: 487px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Local Hells Angels and Bandidos club members own nightspots in Thailand tourist centres that have become popular haunts for bikies worldwide.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 25px; margin-left: 10px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 17px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; max-width: 487px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Not to be outdone, members of the notorious Gold Coast chapter of the Finks are trying to follow in their footsteps with their own Thai beachhead, according to police.</p><div class="story-related story-sidebar block-style" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 4px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 8px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 17px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffff; width: 149px; float: right; clear: right; display: block; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><div id="sidebar-start" class="assistive sidebar-jump" style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 17px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; height: 0px; left: -5000em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; position: absolute; width: 4000em; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><p style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 17px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><a href="http://www.news.com.au/australian-bikies-hells-angels-and-bandidos-club-members-own-nightspots-in-thailand-tourist-centres/story-e6freoof-1226166279473#sidebar-end" style="font-size: 17px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; color: #0373b3; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"></a></p></div><div class="group item-count-1" style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 17px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; display: block; clear: both; width: 149px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><div class="group-content sidebar-related-content" style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 17px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; display: block; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><div class="item ipos-1 irpos-1" style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 17px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; float: left; width: 149px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><div class="module related-coverage multi-promo multi-promo-related" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: -2px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: url(http://resources2.news.com.au/cs/newscomau/v2/_shared/base/css/story/images/backgrounds/module-footer-bg-striped.png); background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; display: block; font: normal normal normal 13px/1.231 Arial, Helvetica, san-serif; width: 149px; background-position: 0px 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px initial initial;"><div class="module-header" style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: url(http://resources2.news.com.au/cs/newscomau/v2/_shared/base/css/story/images/backgrounds/module-header-bg-striped.png); background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; min-height: 0px; text-align: center; width: 149px; background-position: 0px 50%; background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><h2 class="heading" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: auto; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 3px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: url(http://resources2.news.com.au/cs/newscomau/v2/_shared/base/css/story/images/text/heading-related.gif); background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffff; font-weight: bold; float: none; display: block; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; height: 18px; width: 68px; text-indent: -9999px; position: relative; background-position: 3px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px initial initial;">Recommended Coverage</h2></div></div></div></div></div><div id="sidebar-end" class="assistive sidebar-jump" style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 17px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; height: 0px; left: -5000em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; position: absolute; width: 4000em; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><p style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 17px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><a href="http://www.news.com.au/australian-bikies-hells-angels-and-bandidos-club-members-own-nightspots-in-thailand-tourist-centres/story-e6freoof-1226166279473#sidebar-start" style="font-size: 17px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; color: #0373b3; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"></a></p></div></div><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 25px; margin-left: 10px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 17px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; max-width: 487px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Members of the Bandidos - who acquired four new chapters in Indonesia during "Bandidos Bali Bike Week" earlier this year - are looking to set up business as far afield as Japan, a Queensland police source told <em style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 17px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">The Courier-Mail</em>.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 25px; margin-left: 10px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 17px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; max-width: 487px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Thailand was significant as a source of chemicals for drug manufacture and trafficking and scrutiny of Gold Coast bikies' travel would show "a lot of trips" to the country, the officer said.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 25px; margin-left: 10px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 17px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; max-width: 487px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">"A lot of them are looking into Thailand - it gives them the opportunity to source pharmaceuticals. Hells Angels and Bandidos have got premises in Thailand.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 25px; margin-left: 10px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 17px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; max-width: 487px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">"Of course, the Finks can't be left behind and they're looking too.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 25px; margin-left: 10px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 17px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; max-width: 487px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">"Nationally, the Bandidos are looking to get into Japan. They're already in Asia."</p></span></p>

Members of the Bandidos - who acquired four new chapters in Indonesia during "Bandidos Bali Bike Week" earlier this year - are looking to set up business as far afield as Japan

BIKIE Inc Australia is spreading its wings overseas. Local Hells Angels and Bandidos club members own nightspots in Thailand tourist centr...

HUGE volcano in Iceland could be about to blow which would turn day into night and cause chaos across Europe.

<p><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; background-color: #d3dce2;"><div class="article-image fl-left" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: #fcd8d8; background-image: url(http://images.mirror.co.uk/collections/m4_art2/imagegallery-bg.jpg); clear: both; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><div class="image-caption" style="font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><img alt="Iceland's desolate landscape stretches beyond Vik (Pic: AP)" border="0" height="396" src="http://images.mirror.co.uk/upl/m4/oct2011/4/6/iceland-s-desolate-landscape-stretches-beyond-vik-pic-ap-935102395.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: auto; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: block; float: left; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;" width="610" /><p class="caption" style="font-weight: bold; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: #ffffff; text-align: center; color: #000000; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Iceland's desolate landscape stretches beyond Vik (Pic: AP)</span></p></div></div><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A HUGE volcano in Iceland could be about to blow which would turn day into night and cause chaos across Europe.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Scientists have warned that Katla – one of the most feared volcanoes in the world – is on the brink of a major explosion which would dwarf the Eyjafjallajokull eruption last year.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Katla’s magma chamber is 10 times the size of the one at nearby Eyjafjallajokull, which grounded planes because of its ash cloud and cost the European economy £1billion.</span></p><div class="inline-ad span-16 last" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; float: right; width: 310px; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><div class="caption" style="font-style: inherit; font-size: 0.917em; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: #727272; line-height: 1.636em; text-align: center; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"></div><div class="ad0 mpu InSkinHide" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: block; width: 300px; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><div id="tmgdfc-rk2" style="font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: block; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><ins style="display: inline-table; height: 250px; position: relative; visibility: visible; width: 300px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: initial none initial;"><ins id="aswift_0_anchor" style="display: block; height: 250px; position: relative; visibility: visible; width: 300px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: initial none initial;"><iframe width="300" height="250" frameborder="0"></iframe></ins></ins><img alt="" height="1" src="http://ad.360yield.com/status?publisher_user_id=f76b9966-281a-42c6-a68e-a7c070233c30&publisher_dsp_id=2&publisher_call_type=redirect&publisher_redirecturl=http://ad.360yield.com/match" style="font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: hidden; position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;" width="1" /><img alt="" height="1" src="http://aidps.atdmt.com/AI/Api/v1/UserRest.svc/Provider/1AC1C520-232B-4E3D-B0CC-A52AC15EB7D4/User/394737483956258250/gif?meta=appNexus" style="font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;" width="1" /></span></div></div></div><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The blast caused problems for several weeks even though it was only classed as a minor eruption.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Scientists detected a series of small tremors at Katla in July but have recorded more worrying signs in the past few days that pressure is building. There has been a swarm of minor earthquakes that have now reached a magnitude of four.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Professor Pall Einarsson, of the University of Iceland, said: “It is definitely showing signs of restlessness. Volcanoes can be quite beautiful but they can also be quite destructive.”</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">An evacuation plan is in place for communities near Katla such as Vik, a small town of 300 people, but many fear they may have less than an hour to escape once the volcano goes up.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Katla – named after an evil troll – usually explodes twice a century. It last erupted in 1918 when the ash starved crops of sunlight and killed livestock.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ice covering the volcano melted and flooded farms with a torrent of water said to be as wide as the Amazon.</span></p><span style="font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><br /><br /></span></span></p>

HUGE volcano in Iceland could be about to blow which would turn day into night and cause chaos across Europe.

Iceland's desolate landscape stretches beyond Vik (Pic: AP) A HUGE volcano in Iceland could be about to blow which would turn day into n...

Holidaymakers warned on fake goods

<p> </p><blockquote>Holidaymakers have been urged to avoid buying counterfeit goods abroad in a bid to crack down on serious organised crime. Gangs use the trade in fake goods to fund areas such as human trafficking, firearms and illegal drugs. Officers from the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) are at Glasgow Airport to drive home the message and show people examples of fake goods. Detective Chief Inspector Ronnie Megaughin, from the SCDEA, said: "The trade in fake goods is not a victimless crime; there is no such thing. It is linked to a bigger and more serious picture. Those who are involved in this illegal activity are very often also responsible for peddling drugs in our communities, forcing people into the sex trade and trading in firearms. "We are all tempted by a bargain, but the fake goods that you see at markets at home and abroad - such as football shirts, handbags, watches and sunglasses - are being sold to raise funds for organised crime groups. We live in a global marketplace and criminals have no regard for international boundaries, so it could mean that the cash you spend at markets on holiday is being used to fund drug dealing in your local area. "In addition, many of these products are dangerous because they are produced with no regard for health and safety regulations, so you could be putting your safety at risk by using items such as fake electrical goods, cigarettes and alcohol." The UK Border Agency works to uncover fake goods coming into the UK. Murdo MacMillan, assistant director for the agency in Scotland, said: "UK Border Agency officers operate 24 hours a day at ports, airports and mail sorting centres to prevent fake goods hitting the UK's streets, where they can be bought by unsuspecting members of the public. Many people enjoy finding a bargain but counterfeit goods are just the tip of the criminal iceberg." Mr Megaughin said: "There are some signs people can look for to help spot a fake. Price, place and packaging are all indicators of whether something is genuine or not. It is unlikely that genuine designer brands would be on sale at market stalls, and if the price seems too good to be true, it probably is. "We are urging people to think very carefully before buying these products. It is up to all of us to help tackle this problem and reduce the impact of serious organised crime. The public can help by deciding not to buy fake goods."</blockquote>

Holidaymakers warned on fake goods

Holidaymakers have been urged to avoid buying counterfeit goods abroad in a bid to crack down on serious organised crime. Gangs use the tr...

Mexico arrests senior Zetas crime boss

<p> </p><p>Mexico's armed forces arrested a high-level Zetas drug cartel boss who was in charge of operations in three states along the US border and was a right-hand man of the cartel chief. The military said the arrest of the suspect, whom it did not identify, was made in Saltillo, Coahuila state, as gang members unleashed a hail of gunfire in an apparent failed attempt to cover his escape. The suspect "is considered the operational chief for the criminal operations of the Zetas criminal group in Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas states," the Defense Ministry said in a statement. It said he was also a top lieutenant of cartel chief Heriberto Lazcano, in which case the arrest would be one of the largest blows ever dealt to the organization. The arrest followed running street battles involving troops, police and gang members in which a taxi driver was killed and eight other people were wounded, including three police, the Coahuila state prosecutor's office said. Authorities said the suspect would be presented to the media on Thursday. The arrest came the day after the United States accused Iranian operatives of having tried to contact a Mexican drug cartel as part of a plot to kill the Saudi ambassador in Washington. Officials did not specify which of Mexico's powerful cartels was allegedly approached, but US media reported that it was the Zetas, a notorious drug cartel made up of former Mexican special forces. The Zetas have been accused of a string of killings, kidnappings and macabre displays of brutality that have made them one of the most feared gangs in Mexico's spiraling drug violence. Set up in the 1990s by ex-elite soldiers turned hired killers, the Zetas are fighting their former allies the Gulf cartel and others. More than 45,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence since Mexico launched a massive military operation against the cartels in 2006 involving some 50,000 troops. Earlier on Wednesday, the navy said it had found the body of a man it described as the "chief financial operator of the Gulf Cartel" in Reynosa, Tamaulipas state, without saying who was behind the killing. Last week Mexican troops detained 32 alleged Zetas members, including 18 municipal police officers, in the eastern state of Veracruz. The sting came after the bodies of 35 people, most with criminal records, were dumped on a road in Veracruz city in broad daylight. The killings were claimed by a shadowy new vigilante group calling itself the "Zetas Killers."</p>

Mexico arrests senior Zetas crime boss

Mexico's armed forces arrested a high-level Zetas drug cartel boss who was in charge of operations in three states along the US border...

Thousands of children' sexually exploited by gangs

Thousands of children in England are being horrifically abused by gangs, the deputy children's commissioner has said, as she launches ...

London Gang Sweep Leads To 13 Arrests

<p> </p><p>Dawn raids by the Metropolitan Police have led to the arrest of 13 gang members in north London on Thursday morning.   The raids involves some 200 police officers under Operation Connect - a dedicated unit set up to crack down on violence by street gangs.  The officers from Haringey borough, Met specialist units and Safer Transport teams, joined the Operation Connect team for the operation. Territorial Support Group officers forced entry to 17 addresses in two coordinated waves during early morning.   All the individuals targeted during the operation were sent warning letters earlier this week offering them the chance to get help to divert from the gang lifestyle - or face tough enforcement consequences.  The arrests were of 12 male and one female suspected gang members, ranging in age from 17 to 26. They were arrested for offences ranging from armed robbery, assault, affray, possession with intent to supply and violent disorder to non-residential burglary.   They are currently being interviewed at a number of London police stations. Four of the 13 arrests related to offences committed in Tottenham in the recent London disorder.</p>

London Gang Sweep Leads To 13 Arrests

Dawn raids by the Metropolitan Police have led to the arrest of 13 gang members in north London on Thursday morning. The raids involves ...

A PLANNED bid for freedom by Melbourne identity Tony Mokbel has been sensationally scrapped.

<p><span style="color: #202020; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff;"><div class="article-media article-media-large media-count-1 first-image-650w366h" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px !important; width: 650px; clear: both; overflow-x: visible !important; overflow-y: visible !important; padding: 0px;"><div style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><div class="image " style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><div class="image-frame image-650w366h" style="width: 650px; text-align: center; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #dadad8; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><img alt="Tony Mokbel" height="366" src="http://resources0.news.com.au/images/2011/10/13/1226166/204016-tony-mokbel.jpg" style="border: 0px initial initial;" width="650" /></div><p class="caption" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 5px; padding-right: 40px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 5px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-size: 11px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-color: #ffffff; border-top-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: #cccccc; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span class="caption-text" style="display: inline; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">Tony Mokbel is expected to use a legal loophole to try to beat charges against him. </span><span class="image-source" style="display: inline; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">Supplied</span></p></div></div></div><div class="story-intro" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 40px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px;"><strong><br /></strong></p></div><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 40px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px;">Mokbel was expected to use a police stuff-up to try to get off drug charges he has already admitted.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 40px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px;">Police sources yesterday revealed that Mokbel's lawyers would try to use a legal loophole to beat charges against the notorious gangland boss.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 40px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px;">Mokbel would have been the first of many criminals and suspects hoping to take advantage of a recent admission by Victoria Police that officers routinely failed to swear an oath when signing affidavits.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 40px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px;">The embarrassing blunder could render any evidence gained from affidavits used to execute search warrants, bug telephones or install listening and tracking devices unable to be used in prosecutions.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 40px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px;">The legal team was expected to seek an adjournment in the sentencing process to allow it to check the veracity of documents used by Victoria Police to gather evidence against Mokbel.</p><div class="story-related story-sidebar block-style" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; float: left; max-width: 180px; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.27em; padding: 0px;"><div id="sidebar-start" class="assistive sidebar-jump" style="position: absolute; left: -5000em; width: 4000em; height: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 40px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px;"><a href="http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/tony-mokbel-to-use-police-bungle-to-beat-charges/story-e6frf7jx-1226166529683#sidebar-end" style="color: #164983;"></a></p></div></div><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 40px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px;">But Mokbel's lawyer Peter Faris QC appeared before the Supreme Court this morning and said they no longer wished to proceed with an application for an adjournment.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 40px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px;">No reason was given for the change of plans.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 40px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px;">A plea hearing for Mokbel will now go ahead on Tuesday.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 40px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px;">Mokbel, 45, pleaded guilty in April to drug charges relating to him masterminding his drug gang while he was on the run in Victoria and Greece.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 40px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px;">Bugging and tracking his phones enabled Purana taskforce detectives to work out where Mokbel had fled to - resulting in him being arrested in the Definia seaside cafe near Athens in 2007 after 15 months on the run.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 40px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px;">Forensic accountants attached to Purana were able to establish that Mokbel made about $100 million through his gang, which he called The Company.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 40px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px;">Company members were involved in the manufacture and distribution of very large quantities of amphetamines and trafficking ecstasy and cocaine.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 40px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px;">The Company was formed largely to finance Mokbel's escape from Australia and pay for his life as a fugitive in Australia and Greece.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 40px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px;">In a deal between his lawyers and prosecutors, outstanding drug charges were dropped in return for him pleading guilty to trafficking a large commercial quantity of methylamphetamine, trafficking a large commercial quantity of ecstasy and urging an undercover operative to import a commercial quantity of ecstasy.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 40px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px;">His fear of being charged over one or more underworld murders prompted him to disappear near the end of his March 2006 drug trial.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 40px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px;">He fully expected to be convicted on the cocaine smuggling charge, telling close associates he would cop it and do the five years he expected to be jailed for.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 40px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px;">What he couldn't stomach was the thought of a life sentence for murder.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 40px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px;">He was sentenced in his absence to a nine-year minimum term from the 2006 drug trial. With time served before sentencing, he would be eligible to be released in February 2014.</p></span></p>

A PLANNED bid for freedom by Melbourne identity Tony Mokbel has been sensationally scrapped.

Tony Mokbel is expected to use a legal loophole to try to beat charges against him. Supplied Mokbel was expected to use a police stuff-up t...

FSA broke its own rules in Keydata probe, judge rules

High Court judge found that the Financial Services Authority (FSA) had wrongfully used privileged emails to bring its case against Keydata...

US to pressure Iran over 'plot to kill Saudi envoy'

<p> </p><p>US Attorney General Eric Holder says the alleged conspiracy was "conceived, sponsored and directed from Iran" Continue reading the main story Related Stories  Clinton hails break-up of 'plot' Middle East rivalries play out in US The US secretary of state has called for a "very strong message" to be sent to Iran, after allegations of a plot to kill the Saudi ambassador to the US.  Hillary Clinton said Washington was preparing new penalties against Iran, which is already subject to a variety of international sanctions.  Two Iranians were charged over the plot which US officials said implicated Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps.  Meanwhile the US issued a worldwide alert about possible anti-US actions.  "The US government assesses that this Iranian-backed plan to assassinate the Saudi ambassador may indicate a more aggressive focus by the Iranian government on terrorist activity against diplomats from certain countries, to include possible attacks in the United States," the alert said.  It urged Americans residing and travelling abroad to review the information available when making travel plans.  Iran has dismissed the allegations as false and baseless.  Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote  The idea that they would attempt to go to a Mexican drug cartel to solicit murder-for-hire to kill the Saudi ambassador, nobody could make that up, right?”  Hillary Clinton US secretary of state 'Well-grounded suspicions' Mrs Clinton praised those involved in the operation to uncover the plot.  "It was a terrific achievement by our law enforcement and intelligence communities, and we will be consulting with our friends and partners around the world about how we can send a very strong message that this kind of action, which violates international norms, must be ended," she said at a news conference.  "This case will, I think, reinforce the well-grounded suspicions of many countries about what they're up to."  Mrs Clinton said the suspected plotters had been trying to involve hired killers from Mexican drug cartels.  "The idea that they would attempt to go to a Mexican drug cartel to solicit murder-for-hire to kill the Saudi ambassador, nobody could make that up, right?" she said.  US Attorney General Eric Holder said Iran's involvement in the plot was "a flagrant violation of US and international law".  Continue reading the main story Analysis  Mohammad Manzarpour BBC Persian There is a long history of animosity between Iran and Saudi Arabia which stretches back to before the Islamic Revolution of 1979.  Religiously, the Wahhabi rulers of Saudi Arabia and the Shia clerics of Iran reject each other's interpretation of Islam.  Geopolitically, the two are staunch rivals, engaged in a seemingly never-ending battle for greater regional influence.  They have also been engaged in proxy wars for decades, taking different sides in the Iran-Iraq war, Afghanistan, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.  But it is the Saudis' military intervention in Bahrain which may have prompted the alleged plot. It was little criticised in the West but was seen in Iran as a blatant assault on the Shia majority in Bahrain.  In a statement, UK Prime Minister David Cameron's office said: "Indications that this plot was directed by elements of the Iranian regime are shocking... We will support measures to hold Iran accountable for its actions."  US officials have said military action was not being considered.  The US Treasury Department placed five Iranians, including the two men charged, under sanctions on Tuesday for their alleged involvement in the plot.  The two accused were named as Manssor Arbabsiar, a 56-year-old naturalised US citizen with dual Iranian and US passports, and Gholam Shakuri, based in Iran and said to be a member of Iran's Quds Force, a unit of the Revolutionary Guard Corps.  The other three were described as high-ranking members of the Quds force.  Mr Arbabsiar, who was arrested at New York's John F Kennedy airport on 29 September, has confessed to his involvement in the alleged plot, Mr Holder said.  A lawyer for Mr Arbabsiar said he would plead not guilty when he was officially indicted.  'Shocking' Mr Shakuri was said to be in Iran.  US officials said that on 24 May 2011, Mr Arbabsiar made contact with an informant for the US Drug Enforcement Agency, who was posing as a Mexican drug cartel member.   Manssor Arbabsiar appeared at a court in New York City on Tuesday Over a series of meetings, it is said that details emerged of a conspiracy involving members of the Iranian government paying $1.5m (£960,000) for the assassination of Saudi ambassador Adel al-Jubeir on US soil.  Justice department officials said the initial envisaged target was the Saudi embassy.  But in conversations secretly recorded for the US authorities, Mr Arbabsiar also allegedly considered having the ambassador killed at a purported favourite restaurant, despite the possibility of mass casualties.  The plot would have been carried out with explosives, Mr Holder said. But he added that no explosives were ever put in place and the public was not in danger.  Mr Holder said Mr Arbabsiar, with approval from Mr Shakuri, wired $100,000 to a US bank account for the informant as a downpayment.  Mr Arbabsiar and Mr Shakuri have been charged with conspiracy to murder a foreign official, weapons conspiracy, and conspiracy to commit international terrorism charges.  Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote  The choice of ambassadorial target is a direct expression of the acerbic tensions in the Middle East between Saudi Arabia, a key US ally, and Iran”  Kim Ghattas BBC News, Washington Alleged plot reflects Middle East rivalries Unnamed US officials also told journalists that the Israeli embassy in Washington was also to have been attacked.  Iran's official Islamic Republic News Agency called the charges a "propaganda campaign" by the US government against Tehran.  The allegations were "a comedy show fabricated by America", Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told the semi-official Iranian news agency, Fars.  Mr Arbabsiar appeared briefly at a New York City court on Tuesday. He did not enter a plea and was held without bail.  He could face a life prison sentence if convicted on all charges, the Department of Justice said.</p>

US to pressure Iran over 'plot to kill Saudi envoy'

US Attorney General Eric Holder says the alleged conspiracy was "conceived, sponsored and directed from Iran" Continue reading t...

US issues travel alert linked to Iran plot

The US State Department late on Tuesday issued a worldwide travel alert for US citizens, warning of the potential for anti-US action after...

British man arrested on Tenerife with 34 heroin capsules in his body

34 year old British man has been arrested at the Los Rodeos Tenerife North Airport after found to be carrying 75 capsules of heroin inside...

arrested after argument over loud motorcycle noise

Rock Hill man was arrested and accused of threatening a couple by telling them he would have Hells Angels motorcycle gang burn down their ...

Triple-murder case involving local Hells Angel goes to grand jury

<p> </p><p>The triple murder case involving a local Hells Angels member and two others is before a grand jury and a second case involving the same biker is heading there as well.  According to a source close to the case, the grand jury is in session and interviewing witnesses in the Aug. 28 murder of three Pittsfield men.  Adam Lee Hall, 34, of Peru; Caius Veiovis, 31, of Pittsfield; and David Chalue, 44, of North Adams and Springfield, allegedly kidnapped then murdered David Glasser in order to keep him from testifying against Hall, a member of the Berkshire County chapter of the Hells Angels, in an assault and kidnapping trial that had been set to begin Sept. 19.  The two other victims, Edward Frampton -- Glasser's roommate -- and their friend, Robert Chadwell, were killed because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time, according to police.  All three were allegedly abducted Aug. 28 from 254 Linden St., where Glasser and Frampton lived.  A fourth defendant, David Casey, 62, of Canaan, N.Y., has been charged as an accessory to the murder for allegedly helping Hall bury the bodies with an excavator in Becket. It was unclear whether Casey was part of the current grand jury proceedings.  All four defendants have pleaded not guilty.  The grand jury is a secret proceeding made up of no more than 23 jurors who serve for up to three months. Unlike a criminal trial, the prosecutor questions witnesses,  Advertisement  while any attorney representing a witness is excluded from objecting, arguing or addressing the prosecutor or the jurors, according to the state's criminal procedure law. If at least 12 jurors find there is enough evidence, then the defendants can be indicted and the case can move on to the superior court level.  Hall is also facing child pornography and extortion charges for allegedly forcing a 16-year-old to send him nude photographs of herself. He was arraigned Sept. 6 in Central Berkshire District Court on those charges.  On Sept. 29, the Berkshire District Attorney's Office pulled the case from district court in order to bring it to the grand jury in hopes of prosecuting Hall on the charges in superior court.  Meanwhile, the police investigation is continuing. The case is headed up by the Massachusetts State Police and the Pittsfield Police, with the assistance of the FBI and other agencies, under the direction of the district attorney.  Investigators were back at Hall's compound located at 40 East Main St. in Peru on Monday and were seen digging on the property with an excavator.  A large-scale police search had been conducted at the site last month.  The warrants in the case were set to be unsealed this week, but at the request of authorities, they won't be revealed until the end of the month</p>

Triple-murder case involving local Hells Angel goes to grand jury

The triple murder case involving a local Hells Angels member and two others is before a grand jury and a second case involving the same bi...

Sûreté du Québec moves in on alleged Hells Angels drug ring

<p> </p><p>Several marijuana grow-op sites were busted and at least one restricted firearm was seized as police conducted eight early-morning raids with a Hells Angels connection Thursday in the Montéregie region east of Montreal, Sgt. Valérie Bolduc of the Sûreté du Québec said.  A total of nine suspects were formally charged on Thursday afternoon with the production and possession of illegal drugs as well as firearms charges while another suspect is to be charged on Friday.  Three other suspects were released either on a promise to appear or to be summoned to court later while one suspect was released without being charged.  “Several SWAT teams were involved,” Bolduc said, refusing to specify the number.  About 100 SQ officers, with the assistance of local police, swept into residences in Acton Vale, St. Théodore d’Acton and Durham beginning “very early” Thursday, she said.  Bolduc said it was part of an SQ effort launched last spring following a series of tips received from the public, to dismantle what she described as “a well-established, long-standing drug ring .... believed to involve the Hells Angels” biker gang.  One of those detained is a man in his 50s, known to police and believed to be the ringleader.  The ring is believed to have distributed and sold cannabis, cocaine and methamphetamines, Bolduc added.  The array of criminal charges will probably include negligent storage of firearms, she added, in addition to production of cannabis and possession of various drugs for the purposes of trafficking.  “It’s too early” to be able to disclose the full number and type of weapons seized, Bolduc said</p>

Sûreté du Québec moves in on alleged Hells Angels drug ring

Several marijuana grow-op sites were busted and at least one restricted firearm was seized as police conducted eight early-morning raids w...

Katie Price a victim of £14k fraud

<p> </p><p>GLAMOUR girl Katie Price has fallen victim to a fraudster who impersonated the model and stole £14,000.  11 comments   Related Stories  Jordan’s new man is Danny Cipriani KATIE Price strikes up amazing romance with hunky rugby star – days after dumping toyboy Katie & Leandro in shock 'split'Leandro: I want to marry Katie PriceKatie Price trend is way off- track A busty woman donned a blonde wig and sunglasses during a visit to a bank - believed to be a HSBC in Lincolnshire - and withdrew money.  She took out £9,000, followed by two payments of £2,500.  The real Katie, 33, who is currently enjoying a fling with rugby ace Danny Cipriani, only learnt of the fraud when her credit cards were rejected during a shopping trip in Brighton.  A source told a newspaper: "Katie tried to make a couple of purchases. When she went to pay by credit card, her PIN kept getting declined and the card was eventually blocked – much to her embarrassment.  "She tried to pay with three different cards and the same happened with all three.  "After calling her bank and speaking directly to her branch manager, she was informed they had received a call from a woman posing as her 24 hours previously who had cancelled the cards.  "Katie then asked what the balance of one of her accounts was and informed it was around £14,000 less than the amount she was expecting. A £9,000 withdrawal had been made, followed by two £2,500 ones, and none of them were by her."  The source added items were ordered using Katie's credit card details and real address for billing purposes, but were to be delivered to an address in the north.  HSBC's fraud department have contacted the police who are trying to track down the person responsible.  Investigating officers have obtained CCTV footage of a Jordan look-a-like attempting to withdraw cash.  Katie said: "It's really horrible. All I know is that police have footage of these people pretending to be me – I don't even know if it is a man or a woman.  "Obviously my ego hopes it was, at least, a female impostor."</p>

Katie Price a victim of £14k fraud

GLAMOUR girl Katie Price has fallen victim to a fraudster who impersonated the model and stole £14,000. 11 comments Related Stories Jo...

Self-styled ‘Lord’ Davenport - known as 'Fast Eddie' - masterminded an ‘advanced fee fraud’ scheme that ripped off scores of businesses.

<p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; background-color: #ffffff;"><p style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 10px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"> </p><p style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 10px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Davenport set up Gresham Ltd in 2005 and pretended it was a respectable business with 50 years of sourcing huge commercial loans. He charged companies advance fees for loans of up to £157million but the money never materialised.</span></p><p style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 10px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span style="font-size: large;">The scam conned at least 51 victims and from 2007 to 2009 Gresham Ltd received more than £4.5million from unsuspecting clients, the court heard.</span></p><p style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 10px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span style="font-size: large;">‘To outward appearances it was long-established, wealthy and prestigious,’ said <a class="entity" href="http://www.metro.co.uk/explore/people/mayo_simon" style="font-size: 10px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; outline-style: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">Simon Mayo</a> QC, for the prosecution. ‘It was essentially worthless. Its only business was fraud.’</span></p><div class="img-cnt figure" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: auto; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 10px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; min-height: 1px; zoom: 1; clear: both; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="Edward Davenport and Tamara Beckwith" height="488" src="http://img.metro.co.uk/i/pix/2011/10/06/article-1317887059430-0E3DA13B00000578-86093_466x488.jpg" style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 10px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;" width="466" /><span class="img-cap legend" style="padding-top: 4px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 6px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: black; color: white; display: block; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">The businessman had many high-profile friends including socialite Tamara Beckwith (right) (Picture: Rex Features)</span></span></div><p style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 10px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Davenport owns Sierra Leone’s former high commission at Portland Place, London, used in The King’s Speech – and a gay porn film.</span></p><p style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 10px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span style="font-size: large;">The 45-year-old is pictured on his website with celebrities including Cowell and Hugh Grant, Knightley, Beckham and Mick Jagger.</span></p><p style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 10px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span style="font-size: large;">He boasted of 'beautiful homes and a collection of sports cars which would make any man jealous including a Ferrari 360 Spider, an Aston Martin Virage Volante, a Rolls-Royce Phantom and a Lamborghini'. </span></p><p style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 10px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Davenport was banned last year from using his home for activities including a ‘porn disco’, sex party and pole-dancing lessons. </span></p><p style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 10px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span style="font-size: large;">He was jailed last month for seven years and eight months with accomplice Peter Riley, 64, of Brentwood, Essex. They were convicted of conspiracy to defraud. Borge Andersen, 66, of South Kensington, got 39 months for the crime.</span></p><div class="img-cnt figure" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: auto; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 10px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; min-height: 1px; zoom: 1; clear: both; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="Elizabeth Emanuel" height="442" src="http://img.metro.co.uk/i/pix/2011/10/06/article-1317887542846-0E3E425600000578-408217_466x442.jpg" style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 10px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;" width="466" /><span class="img-cap legend" style="padding-top: 4px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 6px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: black; color: white; display: block; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Con victim: Royal dress designer Elizabeth Emanuel was among those who paid money to Davenport (Picture: PA)</span></span></div><p style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 10px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span style="font-size: large;">According to Gresham Ltd accounts, Andersen received £159,564 from the fraud, Riley £695,407 and Davenport £773,000. A total of £349,025 vanished, the court heard.</span></p><p style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 10px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span style="font-size: large;">The convictions at Southwark crown court can be revealed because a reporting order was lifted yesterday.</span></p><p style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 10px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Princess Diana's wedding dress designer Elizabeth Emanuel - who had been one of Davenport's victims - welcomed his sentence.</span></p><p style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 10px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span style="font-size: large;">The 58-year-old turned to him in 2008 in the hope of raising £1m for her business, Art Of Being, and was asked to pay £20,000 - later reduced to £5,000 - for his company to complete due diligence.</span></p><p style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 10px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span style="font-size: large;">'I think justice has been served,' she said.</span></p><p style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 10px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span style="font-size: large;">'The amount I lost was nothing compared to everybody else but he was happy to take my £5,000. It sums up the sort of person he is.'</span></p><span style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 10px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><br /><br /></span></span></p>

Self-styled ‘Lord’ Davenport - known as 'Fast Eddie' - masterminded an ‘advanced fee fraud’ scheme that ripped off scores of businesses.

Davenport set up Gresham Ltd in 2005 and pretended it was a respectable business with 50 years of sourcing huge commercial loans. He charg...

WHOEVER shot the son of Mark Sandery broke "the paramount rule" of outlaw bikies, sources close to the gangs have warned.

<p><span style="color: #444444; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><div class="article-media article-media-large media-count-1 first-image-650w366h" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: -7px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; overflow-x: visible !important; overflow-y: visible !important; position: static; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><div style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><div class="image  image-fader js-fader largest-image-366h js-ready js-fader-hover" style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><div class="fader-item js-fader-item image-650w366h js-fader-active" style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><div class="image-frame" style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><img alt="Shooting at Semaphore" height="366" src="http://resources2.news.com.au/images/2011/10/03/1226157/597606-shooting-at-semaphore.jpg" style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;" width="650" /></div><p class="caption" style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span class="start" style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"> </span><span class="caption-text" style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Two men broke into this Semaphore house, smashed windows and shot the son of Finks club member Mark Sandery. </span><span class="image-source" style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><em style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Source:</em> Sunday Mail (SA)</span><span class="end" style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"> </span></p></div><div class="fader-item js-fader-item image-650w366h" style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><div class="image-frame" style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><img alt="a child, 11, was shot at this semaphore house" height="366" src="http://resources1.news.com.au/images/2011/10/02/1226156/441673-a-child-11-was-shot-at-this-semaphore-house.jpg" style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;" width="650" /></div><p class="caption" style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span class="start" style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"> </span><span class="caption-text" style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">A Finks member, right, who was at this Semaphore house where the son, 11, of notorious Fink Mark Sandery was shot on Friday night. Picture: Digitally enhanced image</span><span class="image-source" style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><em style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Source:</em> AdelaideNow</span><span class="end" style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"> </span></p></div><div class="controls fader-controls js-fader-controls" style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><p class="fader-prev-button js-fader-prev" style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"> </p></div></div></div></div><div class="story-intro" style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><p style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><strong><br /></strong></p></div><p style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><em style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">The Advertiser</em>  has been told the shooting of the boy, 11, goes against the core values of bikies.</p><p style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">"When it comes to dealing with rivals, there are no hard and fast rules except for two," a source said yesterday.</p><p style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">"You try not to do it in public, and the paramount rule is that you never, ever hurt the wife or the kids.</p><p style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">"To a lot of the guys, their children mean everything ... that's why you just don't do it."</p><p style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Sandery was a member of the Finks Outlaw Motorcycle Club, but there are conflicting reports on whether he remains a member.</p><p style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">His son was injured when two male intruders burst into a home on Military Rd, Semaphore, on Friday night.</p></span></p>

WHOEVER shot the son of Mark Sandery broke "the paramount rule" of outlaw bikies, sources close to the gangs have warned.

Two men broke into this Semaphore house, smashed windows and shot the son of Finks club member Mark Sandery. Source: Sunday Mail (SA) ...

Drug-dealing killer: Chicago cop stopped DEA investigation of me

<p> </p><p>high-level drug trafficker admits he was involved in three killings after a Chicago Police officer scuttled a federal investigation into his illegal activities in the mid-1990s, according to a recent court filing.  Saul Rodriguez, who pleaded guilty last month to federal drug conspiracy charges, was an informant for Officer Glenn Lewellen for years.  But Rodriguez told authorities he and Lewellen were also longtime partners in crime. They allegedly worked together to rip off other drug dealers, splitting millions of dollars in loot.  Lewellen recruited Rodriguez as a police informant in early 1996. Rodriguez’s undercover name was “Bill Pager.” From 1996 to 2001, the Chicago Police Department paid him $807,000 for information that led to seizures of drugs and cash, prosecutors said.  All the while Rodriguez was making cases for the police, however, he was committing crimes. And Lewellen repeatedly stepped in to keep Rodriguez out of jail, prosecutors said.  Rodriguez’s statements to authorities are included in a 188-page document containing evidence prosecutors intend to present against Lewellen and other defendants who face trial in the same case. Rodriguez has agreed to testify against them.  According to the document, Lewellen in mid-1996 persuaded the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to stop investigating Rodriguez after 154 pounds of marijuana were seized from a secret compartment in his Buick. Lewellen told the DEA its investigation would harm ongoing Chicago Police Department cases, prosecutors said.  Lewellen, who joined the police force in 1986, retired in 2002 to become a homebuilder. But he still managed to obstruct a separate DEA investigation of Rodriguez, prosecutors said.  In 2006, Lewellen warned Rodriguez not to speak to a drug courier whose phone was wiretapped, Rodriguez said. At the time, the DEA was investigating Rodriguez’s ties to a cocaine wholesaler, prosecutors said.  Lewellen told Rodriguez he got the information from an “agent” who previously worked in Colombia, but didn’t say what agency was involved in the investigation, according to Rodriguez.  As Lewellen was allegedly protecting Rodriguez from the DEA, Rodriguez was involved in the murders of three men, prosecutors said. Rodriguez has confessed to orchestrating the slayings in 2000, 2001 and 2002.  Rodriguez has also told authorities he arranged for a friend to “escape” from a prison in Mexico in 2003. He said he met with the prison warden while on vacation in Mexico and promised to pay him a $250,000 bribe in exchange for his friend’s freedom.  In addition to his career as a drug dealer, Rodriguez became involved in managing boxers and developing real-estate in Chicago and Nevada, records show.  The document detailing Rodriguez’s statements to federal prosecutors, filed last month, provides new details about Rodriguez’s relationship with Lewellen.  For example, Rodriguez said he bought Lewellen a Ford Crown Victoria equipped with a siren. Lewellen allegedly drove the car while posing as a legitimate cop during drug rip-offs, Rodriguez said.  Rodriguez has told authorities that another Chicago Police officer participated in at least one rip-off, but he believes the officer is now deceased.  The prosecution’s evidentiary document also provides more information about the three murders in which Rodriguez admits to having a role.  Rodriguez said he persuaded Lewellen to frame Juan Luevano with a drug case in 1999. Luevano, who was dating Rodriguez’s former girlfriend, was released from jail after posting bond in the case.  Rodriguez said he then met with a high-ranking Satan Disciples gang member who was in prison. The gang leader was angry Luevano was dating his wife, Rodriguez told authorities.  The gang leader asked Rodriguez to find someone to “get” Luevano. So Rodriguez said he hired a high-school pal, Manuel Uriarte, to kill Luevano.  Uriarte and Andres Flores allegedly shot Luevano to death in 2000 near his home in Cicero, prosecutors said. They’re charged with murder in the same federal drug conspiracy case.  Rodriguez also admitted he arranged for the 2001 murder of Michael Garcia. Rodriguez said he acted at the request of a friend who suspected Garcia had killed his brother, prosecutors said.  And Rodriguez said he was involved in the 2002 murder of Miguel De La Torre. Rodriguez said he arranged the kidnapping of De La Torre to scare him into providing information about the location of cocaine and money.  Rodriguez said he hired Miguel Uriate and his brother Jorge Uriate to squeeze the information from De La Torre, a drug dealer. If De La Torre refused to talk, they agreed the Uriates would kill him, Rodriguez said.  Rodriguez admitted he provided Uriate brothers with an electrical cord they used to strangle De La Torre in a garage. Jorge Uriate also faces murder charges in the same case. Lewellen, who is free on $1 million bail awaiting trial, is not charged with any of the killings.</p>

Drug-dealing killer: Chicago cop stopped DEA investigation of me

high-level drug trafficker admits he was involved in three killings after a Chicago Police officer scuttled a federal investigation into h...

Feds indict 23 Texas Syndicate gang members

<p> </p><p>Federal authorities Tuesday announced the indictment of 23 reputed Texas Syndicate gang members and associates on charges including four murders, drug trafficking and extortion.  Those charged are primarily in the Uvalde and Hondo areas, but the prison-born criminal group has members throughout the state.  Their alleged crimes were committed over the past nine years, according to the indictment, which details the structure and goals the gang, which is led by officers with ranks.  The indictment also delves into the gang's strict rules and penalties, including being killed, for going against the organization or disobeying orders.  "The (Texas Syndicate) will not hesitate to kill anyone who interferes with the business of the gang or who commits a violation of Texas Syndicate rules.  Among those charges under RICO, the acronym for Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organization: Cristobal "Little Chris" Velasquez, 33, of Uvalde; Sotero Rodriguez Martinez "June", 41, of Uvalde; Chuco Mario "Mariachi" Martinez, 35, of Uvalde; Larry "Little Larry" Munoz, Jr.,36, of Uvalde; Brian "Tata" Esparza, 31, of Uvalde; Charles "Horse" Esparza, 32, of Uvalde; Ervey "Mad Max" Sanchez, 31, of Uvalde; Mark Anthony Vela, 35, of Hondo; Charles Olan Quintanilla, 32, of Hondo; George "Curious" Sanchez,36, of Uvalde; and, Inez "Bebito" Mata, 41, of Uvalde.  Others charged in the case are not accused of violating the RICO law.</p>

Feds indict 23 Texas Syndicate gang members

Federal authorities Tuesday announced the indictment of 23 reputed Texas Syndicate gang members and associates on charges including four m...

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