direct flights from Dubai to Durban could be proving a boon to drug smugglers

introduction of direct flights from Dubai to Durban could be proving a boon to drug smugglers. This week at Durban International Airport police and custom officials seized pure heroin that, once "cut", would have had a street value of more than R2,5-million. A 20-year-old Cape Town woman was arrested and will appear in court next week.Police and airport officials said with Durban opening up to international air traffic, drug syndicates would increasingly target these flights.The 1kg of powder was covered with carbon paper - to make it more difficult to detect - and stitched inside cricket shin pads.Police from Crime Intelligence Gathering were tipped off that a consignment of drugs was en route to Durban from India via Dubai.Police believe the bust could be the "tip of the iceberg" as another woman, who was travelling with the suspect, gave police the slip.
Investigating officer Detective Carl Saunders of the Organised Crime Unit said the bust was linked to international and local crime syndicates who were taking advantage of the new route to bring drugs into Durban.
He said the value of the uncut drugs was about R500 000, but once cut by dealers and sold on the streets was worth five times the amount.The bust was set in motion on Thursday after Crime Intelligence informed custom officials to be on the lookout for suspicious-looking travellers from Dubai. About 275 passengers were on board the Emirates flight from Dubai.Using CCTV footage police and custom officials picked up two women acting suspiciously. One was "nervous and fidgeting" and was called aside for questioning. Her luggage contained sports equipment, which was X-rayed.
Officials noticed there was an "unevenness" in the lining of the shin pads. On further investigation police found brown powder wrapped in carbon paper neatly stitched into the shin pads. "It was really well done. There was no indication that the packaging had been tampered with," a customs official said.Police identified the substance as pure heroin and the woman was arrested. However, her travelling companion gave police the slip and it is believed she may have also been carrying drugs.An official explained that syndicates often used tip-offs as decoys, giving up a small amount of a consignment to distract from a bigger haul.
Saunders said it was not yet clear whether the drugs originated in India, but the woman's steps would be traced.Airports Company of South Africa spokesman Colin Naidoo said they were aware of the increased risk of smuggling due to direct flights to Durban, but that authorities were vigilant."We have a close relationship with the police and customs officials and commend them for their efforts," he said.Naidoo said new technology at King Shaka Airport (due to open on May 1) would make it more difficult to smuggle drugs into Durban.
"We want to assure the public that we are keeping a close eye on activities and that this will increase during the World Cup and beyond," Naidoo said.

Cape Town is as violent as New York was in the late 1950s.

Cape Town is as violent as New York was in the late 1950s."I see a lot of resemblance between the Cape Town gangs today and the ones we had in New York back then. The scale of violence, slick crime syndicates and everything else seems to have been adopted by troublesome youngsters here," he said while on a visit to the Cape Flats this week.Cruz, 71, who led the notorious New York Mau Mau gang in the 1950s, but later became an evangelist and wrote 15 books, was in Manenberg on Friday as part of his global crusade to change the lives of gangsters. Accompanied by bodyguards, relatives, former gangsters who had turned their lives around and curious locals, Cruz took a stroll through the gang-infested area and spoke to residents. Manenberg is home to gangs such as the Fancy Boys, Young Mafia and the Americans.Noting the many police, youngsters hanging out at corners and the security fences of schools, Cruz remarked that the neighbourhood resembled the Brooklyn area in New York when he lived there as a teen.Going door-to-door, the former gangster urged parents to show their children "more compassion", as lack of it led children to look for it in the wrong places.Cruz, born in Puerto Rica, knows more than most what it's like being a hardened criminal.As a child he was abused by his parents, who are said to have practised voodoo. At 15 he was sent to the United States to live with his brother."But I didn't stay with my brother. Full of anger and rage, I chose to make it on my own."After he joined the feared Mau Maus - named after Kenyan rebels - he quickly became a warlord and sowed terror wherever he went.The gang became known all over the world for their killing sprees and organised crime.But after the brutal death of a gangster friend, Cruz decided he had had enough. A priest, David Wilkerson, co-author of the seminal The Cross and the Switchblade, offered him a better life and he grasped the chance to become an evangelist.
Cruz said the syndicated crime, the brutality and the whole nature of gangs "starkly resembles the types of violent crimes committed by gangs in my time".Although he was no longer a criminal, some Mafia families still looked up to him - a fact that he did not approve of."I'm confident, though, that if we - parents, children and the government included - work together we could wipe crime off the face of the Earth," said Cruz.

Versalko spent NZ $4 million on extravagance properties, NZ$3.3 million on prostitutes and NZ$300,000 on wine.

Cash drained from the customer’s investments was openly used for showcasing a luxurious lifestyle of having property, cash and prostitutes by an investment adviser at ASB. Almost NZ$17.8 million was stolen by the banker Stephen Gerard Versalko, 52. For this offence, the accused have been jailed for six years.This has come out to be the first and the biggest single employee case in New Zealand. This case was unveiled after one of the clients of Versalko observed a documentary with behavioral similarities on Bernard Madoff, an US impostor.People who were clawed under the defrauded scheme of Versalko's, largely included elderly females who resided away from New Zealand. The investors were assured that their money will get them high-return as the investments were guaranteed by Government.It is now known that during the year 2000 and 2009, Versalko spent NZ $4 million on extravagance properties, NZ$3.3 million on prostitutes and NZ$300,000 on wine. He also spent the money for buying boats and cars.This case, reported by media has brought into light that during this period of time, a prostitute was offered NZ $2.5 million which she used in erecting a good amount of property that will face a legal action for getting the property back.Addressing the bank authority, two days before the sentencing, he wrote, “The years ahead are going to be very difficult, however I want to make amends even if only in a small way”.

indicted Ahmed Muhammed Dhakane, 24, a Somalia citizen, on two counts of false statements under penalty of perjury to federal authorities concerning his association with global terrorist organizations.

indicted Ahmed Muhammed Dhakane, 24, a Somalia citizen, on two counts of false statements under penalty of perjury to federal authorities concerning his association with global terrorist organizations. United States Attorney John E. Murphy announced the indictment was returned Thursday and unsealed Friday afternoon.
It alleges that on October 28, 2008, the Dhakane “falsely omitted on an application for asylum that from a time prior to September 11, 2001, until January 2003, he was a member of, or was associated with, al-Barakat and Al-Ittihad Al-Islami.”Both organizations have been designated as Specially Designated Global Terrorists by the Department of Treasury.
Dhakane is also alleged to have “provided additional false information concerning his entry into the United States. The defendant allegedly claimed to authorities that he and his wife traveled from Somalia to Mexico via Russia, Cuba, Costa Rica, and Guatemala.”
“While in Mexico, they traveled by bus to the United States/Mexico border, where they were smuggled illegally into the United States. The indictment alleges that defendant failed to disclose to authorities that from June 2006 until March 2008, he resided in Brazil where he participated in, and later ran, a large-scale human smuggling enterprise knowing that such disclosure to authorities would prevent him from receiving asylum in the United States.”
Dhakane surrendered to U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents near Brownsville, Texas in March 2008. While being held in an Immigration Detention Facility located in Pearsall, Texas, he allegedly made the false statements to federal authorities.
If convicted, Dhakane faces up to 10 years in federal prison per count.
This case was investigated by agents with the Joint Terrorism Task Force, the FBI, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Border Patrol, and the Department of Homeland Security. Assistant United States Attorney Mark Roomberg is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

Gary Bellchambers (46) oversaw a network selling golfing accessories, clothing and passes for an airline lounge “on a scale that, it is believed, has never been seen before

Gary Bellchambers (46) oversaw a network selling golfing accessories, clothing and passes for an airline lounge “on a scale that, it is believed, has never been seen before”, a court in England was told. head of a global crime network that duped eBay customers into buying fake branded golf clubs has been sentenced to four years and three months in jail.Snaresbrook Crown Court heard that over four years the gang was “responsible for the sale and distribution of hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of pounds worth of counterfeit goods both in the UK and abroad”.
Adam Davis, for the prosecution, said the conspiracy was of a “truly global nature”. Conspirators are thought to have been based in Thailand, Australia, Germany, Singapore, the US, Hong Kong and China, he said. Conspirators were found in Ireland, Wales, Aberdeen, Dorset and Birmingham.
Two gang members were also jailed. Keith Thomas (49), Bellchambers’ book-keeper, was sentenced to 16 months. Roy Cottee (66), a pensioner, was given 12 months. Other gang members were handed suspended sentences.

VIDEO:Masked gunmen stormed an upmarket hotel in Berlin on Sunday and forced staff working at a poker tournament there to hand over millions.,

Hyatt hotel:a group of armed men stormed the hotel during a poker tournament
Masked gunmen stormed an upmarket hotel in Berlin on Sunday (NZT) and forced staff working at a poker tournament there to hand over money, police said.There was "a little panic" among guests during the hold-up at the Grand Hyatt in the central Potsdamer Platz square, during which some were slightly injured, a police spokesperson said.
He declined to confirm media reports said the gang got away with 800,000 euros ($NZ1.56 million)ackpot for the tournament stood at €1 million ($1.36 million), according to a European Poker Tour Web site. The EPT confirmed the heist on the event's blog in an official statement, saying there had been "an armed robbery executed by six men." It was unclear why the number differed from the police count.Olaf Wagner, a photographer for Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper, was in the hotel when the raid occurred.
He said: "I was at the entrance to the poker hall when they stormed in.I saw three masked men struggling with security personnel in the room where cash is exchanged for chips.
"I saw one of the men stuffing 500 euro notes into a backpack. A second pinned down a security guard with a machete to his chest.
"As they ran one of the security men pulled a robber to the ground. I couldn't decide if this was all a PR stunt or not; it seemed incredible to believe that it could be a real robbery in the heart of Berlin in daylight.
"I got my camera ready. As the security guard was on the floor a hotel page boy came along and took the bag he had been carrying.I saw next to the robber was his gun, a revolver.
"As they struggle the robber calls for help and the others return. One of them has an empty glass bottle he waves in the face of the security man. They force him to release their accomplice.
"Then I see them, unmasked, running into the tourist filled shopping centre. They left the hotel through the emergency exit."
The tournament organiser, the European Poker Tour (EPT), said the raiders had probably been attracted by the one-million-euro prize on offer to the winner of the event. They did not say how much was stolen.
A statement on their website called on anyone with photo or video footage of the robbery to hand it over to the police.
The tournament, which German tennis legend Boris Becker took part in earlier, resumed around four hours after the attack,

arrested Cody Bertelsen when he surrendered Friday and wrapped up an intense investigation into what police say was a notorious gang of organized thieves

arrested Cody Bertelsen when he surrendered Friday and wrapped up an intense investigation into what police say was a notorious gang of organized thieves. Bertelsen and others face racketeering charges that are normally used for prosecuting the Mafia or other crime syndicates. According to police, Bertelsen's group was an organized gang of thieves who terrorized businesses and individuals for at least a year.Bertelsen had amassed nearly $800,000 in arrest warrants. "Cody is the last piece of the puzzle, the last major player," Capt. T McLachlan of West Valley Police Dept. said.Detectives have served at least two additional search warrants and have recovered thousands of dollars worth of stolen property. Cops say there may be even more stash houses of stolen goods still out there.