British drug smuggler pardoned from life sentence in Philippines after 20 years in jail

 A BRITISH thalidomide victim jailed for drug ­smuggling 20 years ago has been pardoned by the president of the ­Philippines. Billy Burton, born with shortened arms and twisted hands, got a life sentence after trying to take 12lb of cannabis out of the country. Benigno Aquino III’s decision came after a campaign for release on the grounds of Mr Burton’s poor health. Advertisement >>...

Rich Egyptians weigh emigration as Islamists surge

 For decades, Egypt's Westernised elite kept the country's growing religosity at arm's length, but a projected Islamist surge in the first post-revolution polls has driven many to think of moving abroad. Sporting the latest fashions and mingling in upmarket country clubs, Egypt's rich fear a victory for the Muslim Brotherhood and hardline Salafis in the first phase of parliamentary elections...

confrontation was between members of the outlaw Gypsy Jokers and Comancheros motorcycle gangs

 A confrontation between rival bikie gangs saw 12 members ejected from the Danny Green fight in Perth. West Australian Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan confirmed on Thursday two gang members were arrested, with one charged with assaulting a public officer. They were led out of Challenge Stadium by members of the Gang Crime Squad during the cruiserweight bout between Green and Poland's Krzysztof...

Hells Angel pleads not guilty in NV casino killing

 California member of the Hells Angels has pleaded not guilty to a charge of second-degree murder for his role in a September brawl at Nevada casino that erupted into a shootout that claimed the life of his San Jose chapter president. Cesar Villagrana of Gilroy, Calif., is accused of shooting two members of the rival Vagos motorcycle gang the night that his longtime friend Jeffrey "Jethro" Pettigrew...

former full-patch member of the Hells Angels who was the bike gang's treasurer and top man in the Toronto area is in a fight to avoid deportation to Scotland.

 Mark Alistair Stables, who has no criminal record and has been living here for more than 40 years, was found inadmissible to Canada by an Immigration and Refugee Board for being a member of a criminal organization, the Hells Angels.He appealed the decision to the Federal Court of Canada, and two weeks ago that court ruled Ottawa can make plans to deport Stables even though he doesn't have a...

New ecstasy fears after two dead and one seriously ill following club weekend

 The clubbers, aged 20 and 21, died within hours of each other at the same hospital after attending separate dance music events at Alexandra Palace in north London over the weekend. Another 20-year-old man, also thought to have attended an event at the venue, is also being treated at the same hospital where he is said to be in a serious but stable condition. Last night Scotland Yard issued a...

Ecstasy alert after club deaths

 wo young clubbers suspected of taking ecstasy died after separate dance music events at London's Alexandra Palace, police said. The men, aged 20 and 21, were admitted to a north London hospital on Sunday and were pronounced dead within seven hours of each other. The 21-year-old is thought to have attended an all-night party called Bass Culture, which started on Friday and continued into Saturday....

Mexico army seizes Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman drug lord's $15 million

 Mexico's army seized nearly $15.4 million from the organization of the country's most powerful drug lord, Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, officials said Tuesday, marking a rare financial blow to cartels. The seizure was revealed the same day U.S. border police revealed the third discovery in a week of drug-smuggling tunnel under the border with Mexico. In Mexico, the military said it found the cash...

Police on the Costa del Sol were yesterday hunting a gang who stole £1million of cocaine from a warehouse where authorities held seized drugs before destroying them.

Police on the Costa del Sol were yesterday hunting a gang who stole £1million of cocaine from a warehouse where authorities held seized drugs before destroying them.The thieves used laser equipment to cut through the metal doors of the store in the docks at Malaga, the capital of the southern Spanish...

Watchdog warns over shooting probe

 An investigation into the death of Mark Duggan, whose fatal shooting by police triggered riots across the country, has still to establish the sequence of events concerning a handgun found at the scene, the police watchdog said. The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said that was a key element in its probe. But it said that the sequence of events was not yet known, despite a report...

Sarah Harding has completed her 2-month stint in rehab

Sarah Harding's ex Calum Best is glad she got the help she needed  The Girls Aloud star, 29, was treated for alcohol abuse and depression after calling off her engagement to DJ Tom Crane, 31.Sarah and Tom were due to marry next summer after getting engaged this New...

Drug Smuggling Accused Border Guard Baljinder Kandola At Loss For Words At Trial

 While one former Indo-Canadian border guard got five years for his part in a drug smuggling ring – another is currently on trial for his part in a different operation that brought millions of illicit drugs into Canada. Baljinder Kandola, a former Canadian border guard who was charged with being part of a cocaine-smuggling ring, was at a loss for words during much of his testimony on Tuesday...

Britain's FBI 'abandoned chasing crime Mr Bigs because it's too difficult'

 The elite unit set up by Labour to fight major criminals has failed to catch crime bosses because it is ‘too difficult’ and may even have been infiltrated by the underworld, says a whistleblower. The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) is supposed to be Britain’s answer to the FBI. When it was launched, Tony Blair pledged the organisation would ‘make life hell’ for the country’s ‘Mr Bigs’....

B.C. skipper linked to cocaine shipment posed beside pile of cash

 Just weeks before notorious B.C. skipper John Philip Stirling was caught near Colombia on a boat full of cocaine, he sent his neighbour in Chase — a community in B.C.'s Shuswap region — photos of himself lying on the floor beside a giant pile of money. In the accompanying email, Stirling told Shawn Martin that he wouldn't repay cash he owed him despite being flush after a recent trip to...

ARRESTED 60-year-old, who is originally from Blackpool, but has been living in the Marbella area of Spain

Armed Naval and Gardai personnel with cocaine which was seized from a yacht off the west coast of Ireland A BLACKPOOL man has been arrested for allegedly being part of a £250m international cocaine smuggling racket. Police, acting under orders from the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA)...

Civil Guard have arrested 18 members of a drugs network which had its main base in Bilbao

Some of the drugs recovered. Photo - Civil GuardThe Civil Guard have arrested 18 members of a drugs network which had its main base in Bilbao and smuggled cocaine into the country from Colombia for sale on the Canary Islands.They used drug mules to bring the cocaine into Spain on regular flights to...

A member of the Hells Angels biker gang, Mazdak Fabricius, is accused of the murder, which was the starting point for a bloody gang war in Copenhagen

 62 people were arrested near Copenhagen on Tuesday following a clash between two rival gangs outside a courthouse where a gang member was on trial for the 2008 murder of a young Turk, police said. The people arrested in the Copenhagen suburb of Glostrup had "ties to gangs and bikers," a police statement said. Rival gangs have been battling for years over control of Copenhagen's illegal drug...

Three brothers from hell

 These are the three brothers from hell -- two killers and one a suspected hitman. Two of the men, Eric and Keith Wilson from Ballyfermot in Dublin, are now suspected of being involved in over ten gun murders between them. Keith Wilson (23) was today beginning a life term in jail for the gangland execution of hitman-for-hire Daniel Gaynor in August, 2010. His brother Eric 'Lucky' Wilson (27)...

Gangster dead in Vancouver daytime shooting

 brazen gangland slaying in a busy area one block from a Vancouver police station has left witnesses to the Sunday morning shooting extremely shaken. A man dressed in black clothing approached the victim as he walked his dog and shot him six times in the chest from close range, according to witness accounts. A witness, who asked to be identified only as Sylvia, said she heard six gunshots....

‘Notorious gangster’ shot dead

 man, who police described as a “notorious gangster and shooter,” was shot dead on Tuesday night. David “Pickles” Thomas, 39, was shot once in the face by a gunman at Wharton Street, Laventille. His death pushed the murder toll to 303 for the year compared with 400 for the same period last year. Thomas was the 33th person to be murdered since the state of emergency was declared on August 21....

‘Slob’ Simmons had sex sickness says Ace

 Former Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley says Gene Simmons is an “epic slob” sex addict – and his sleeping around meant he was contantly suffering attacks of lice. The claims appear in Frehley’s autobiography, No Regrets, in which he discusses his own addiction issues along with memories of his two stints with the glam icons. The guitarist writes: “I believe Gene is a sex addict in much the same...

Brain scans may show addiction to soda, sugar, and certain processed fatty foods

 What changes in your brain may be caused by soda, fatty foods, processed foods, and sugar? You can check out the Bloomberg News article by Robert Langreth and Duane D. Stanford, which appeared today in the November 6, Sacramento Bee, "Soda, fatty foods may spur addiction." In that article, studies are reported that show changes in the human brain. But sometimes the average consumer may not know...

Italy government hangs by thread as coalition crumbles

 Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's fate hung by a thread Friday and desertions from his crumbling centre-right coalition may have already robbed him of the parliamentary numbers he needs to survive. Berlusconi, caught in the crossfire from European powers and a party revolt at home, agreed at a G20 summit in France to IMF monitoring of economic reforms which he has long promised but...

Police raided the Magog Motorcycle gang's New Plymouth headquarters yesterday

 Police raided the Magog Motorcycle gang's New Plymouth headquarters yesterday as part of an operation targeting the Hells Angels. The Centennial Dr gang pad was one of two addresses searched locally while simultaneous warrants were carried out at Auckland properties, including the headquarters of the Hells Angels and other properties linked with the gang, by police and the Organised and Financial...

Dead Man Inc.: 22 charged in indictment of white prison gang

 Nearly two dozen alleged members of a homegrown prison gang that started in Maryland and spread across the country have been indicted on federal racketeering charges, including accusations of murder for hire, armed robbery and drug running, officials announced Wednesday. The members of Dead Man Inc., who refer to themselves as "dawgs" and espouse an anti-government philosophy, used contraband...

Vietnamese-based organization known as the Catacutan Drug Crew.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES Enlarge ImageAn SUV is towed away from Arthur Street and McDermot Avenue Saturday afternoon after a shooting left one person dead.Winnipeg police believe a spate of weekend shootings that killed two young men -- and left a teen fighting for survival...

Hackers Challenge Mexican Crime Syndicate

 The hackers’ message, delivered via YouTube by a man wearing a red tie and a Guy Fawkes mask, was as bold and risky as anything produced by the Zetas, Mexico’s most ruthless crime syndicate. But this time, the Zetas were the target. Connect With Us on Twitter Follow @nytimesworld for international breaking news and headlines. They had kidnapped a geek with backup — a respected member of the...

Gangster suspect Freddie is bailed in Spain

 SUSPECTED gangland boss 'Fat' Freddie Thompson is enjoying the Spanish sunshine after being freed on bail following a brief court appearance. Mr Thompson (30) was allowed to leave a Costa del Sol court a free man yesterday after more than a fortnight in jail in Ireland and Spain. He was told he was suspected of offences including drugs trafficking, money laundering and unlawful assembly, at...