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Crime

Asains found guilty of smuggling migrants to UK

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A 38-year-old Asian-origin man has been found guilty of being part of an organised crime group linked to the prolific smuggling of migrants, including minors, to the UK.

Najib Khan, 38, from Ilford was identified as being part of the network by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), following the arrest of his co-conspirator Waqas Ikram, 40, in March 2021.

Ikram, who was caught red-handed attempting to break into a heavy goods vehicle to put migrants inside, worked for a people smuggling organised crime group headed by Mokter Hossain.

An iPhone belonging to Ikram, seized following his arrest, contained numerous conversations with Khan outlining their involvement in a separate people smuggling network, charging migrants up to 7,000 pounds a head to bring them to the UK, the NCA said in a statement.

Phone evidence showed that Khan and Ikram had been involved in a successful crossing involving five migrants being transported into Harwich in March 2019, and two other attempts that had been foiled by border agents.

The first of these was in May 2019, when 15 Vietnamese and one Afghan migrant were found in a lorry at the Hook of Holland as it prepared to board a ferry to Harwich.

In the same year in August, 16 migrants including 11 minors, were rescued from a purpose built concealment in a lorry carrying 2,000 loose tyres.

The lorry was preparing to board a ferry from Dieppe to Newhaven, and officers reported the heat and the nature of the concealment made breathing difficult.

The lorry drivers involved in both would later be jailed in the Netherlands and France, but the NCA was able to prove Ikram’s crime group had been involved in both attempts.

Further conversations between Khan and Ikram showed they were using GPS trackers to follow lorries that they had arranged to be broken into without drivers’ knowledge to stow migrants.

One of the trackers was found at Khan’s house when he was arrested by the NCA. In 2020, Khan and Ikram purchased a rigid hull inflatable boat for the purpose of smuggling migrants, and Ikram attended a course for piloting powerboats that June, the NCA said.

In July, the pair were encountered by Border Force off the coast of Suffolk in their RHIB.

They told officers they were scouting for scuba diving sites, and returned to Walton-on-the-Naze.

“Ikram and Khan had no regard for the safety and security of those they were transporting, they were only interested in making money from them,” NCA branch commander Andy Noyes said in a statement.

“In at least one case it was only the fact that the migrants were discovered by border agents that prevented them being left in what could have been an incredibly dangerous, and potential fatal, situation,” Noyes added.

Ikram was arrested by the NCA in 2021, charged with people smuggling offences and released on bail by the court. Both he and Khan were detained in connection with further offences by the NCA in July 2022 and charged with three counts of conspiring to facilitate illegal immigration.

While Ikram pleaded guilty to the charge, Khan went to trial, following which a jury at Reading Crown Court on Friday found him guilty on all three counts.

They will be sentenced on October 30.

Crime

RG Kar financial irregularities case: Trial court slaps show-cause notice on CBI

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Kolkata, Jan 30: A trial court has slapped a show-cause on Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for procedural lapses in passing on information to the court about the West Bengal government’s nod for framing charges and trial process against former R.G. Kar principal Sandip Ghosh in the case related to financial irregularities in the institution.

On January 28, the CBI informed Calcutta High Court’s single-judge bench of Tirthankar Ghosh about the clearance from the state government to start the charge-framing and trial process.

Now, the trial court has taken objection as to why the CBI has not informed the same court about the development.

It is learnt that the judge of the trial court has directed the Central agency to give a written explanation for why the same court was informed about it.

The CBI officials investigating the case received the no-objection certificate from the state government on the evening of January 27 and informed the Calcutta High Court about it the next day. On that day, CBI also submitted a report to the Calcutta High Court on the progress in the R.G. Kar financial irregularities case.

A single-judge bench of the Calcutta Court directed officials to complete the framing of charges and begin the trial process within a week.

Besides CBI, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is also conducting a parallel probe into the case.

While CBI started its investigation following an order by the Calcutta High Court, the ED made a suo motu entry to investigate the money laundering angle after filing an enforcement case information report (ECIR).

Altogether five persons, including Sandip Ghosh, his assistant-cum- bodyguard Afsar Ali, private contractors Biplab Sinha and Suman Hazra and a junior doctor Ashish Pandey, have been named by CBI and all are in judicial custody.

The main charges in the case include manipulation in the tendering process of R.G. Kar, getting infrastructure-related work done by private contractors bypassing the state Public Works Department against the hefty commission, smuggling of bio-medical wastes from the hospital outside and finally selling organs of the unidentified bodies sent to R. G. Kar morgue for post-mortem in the open market at premium prices.

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Crime

Mumbai: Worli Police Arrest 40-Year-Old Woman Within 12 Hours For Kidnapping 5-Year-Old Girl In Prem Nagar

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Mumbai: A 5-year-old girl was kidnapped while playing outside her house in Prem Nagar, Worli, between 11 AM and 12 PM on Tuesday.

The Worli Police acted swiftly upon receiving the information and launched an intensive search operation, successfully arresting the accused within 12 hours. The arrested woman has been identified as Deepali Bablu Das (40).

She is currently in police custody, and authorities are investigating whether she has been involved in similar child abduction cases in the past or if she is connected to a larger kidnapping network.

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Crime

Delhi Police seize ‘Punjab sarkar’ car with cash, liquor; Mann govt says ‘fake’

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New Delhi, Jan 30: Delhi Police have filed a case after a vehicle labelled “Punjab government” was intercepted with cash, liquor and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) pamphlets, an official said. The Punjab government, however, said the car had a fake registration plate and was different from the registered model.

The car was found on Wednesday and a large amount of cash and liquor was seized, police said.

The car had a “Punjab government” sticker, said the officials, adding that AAP pamphlets were also found in the car.

Delhi Police said the vehicle was found parked outside Punjab Bhawan on Copernicus Marg in the national capital. When searched, the cops said they found cash amounting to Rs 8 lakh, liquor bottles with Punjab stamps, and AAP pamphlets inside the car.

As per the model code of conduct in force in Delhi ahead of the Assembly elections, people are barred from carrying more than Rs 50,000 in cash.

A case has been registered at the Tilak Marg police station.

The Punjab government soon issued a denial after the news came out. The government said in a statement that as per the official record, the car was registered in the name of Major Anubhav Shivpuri, who was posted at the Army Dental College, Pathankot, three years ago. He is a permanent resident of Khadki in Maharashtra, it said.

“It has come to the knowledge of the Department of Transport (Govt of Punjab), that a vehicle carrying registration number PB35AE1342 has been apprehended in Delhi carrying illegal liquor and some unaccounted cash. It has been alleged in the media reports that the vehicle has a sticker of Punjab Govt on it,” the statement read.

The Punjab government said the registered vehicle model on the registration number PB35AE1342 was the Ford Eco Sport of make year 2018 but the actual vehicle apprehended by the police belongs to the Hyundai Creta series. “This confirms that the vehicle’s number plate is forged and fake. High-Security Registration Plate(HSRP) is mandatory for all vehicles and the registration plate visible in the video is an ordinary one, without the features of HSRP, hence easy to forge. Also, we have searched our records and found that no such vehicle is owned or hired by Govt of Punjab. The apprehended vehicle does not belong to Govt of Punjab at all.”

The AAP also released a statement, saying the car seizure was a “planted stunt and utterly bogus”.

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