Manchester Airport: £1m of cocaine found in electric wheelchair
Cocaine with a street value of almost £1m was found stashed in an electric wheelchair at Manchester Airport after a flight from Barbados. Border Force officers scanned the wheelchair and found it contained 11 packages, weighing 12kg (26.4lbs) on Sunday 30 March. Portuguese national Casimiro De Lemos Francisco, 56, has been charged with drug trafficking and was remanded in custody after a hearing at Salford Magistrates' Court on Tuesday. The National Crime Agency (NCA) released pictures of brown packages, wrapped in masking tape, hidden in the seat and backrest of the chair.
NCA senior investigating officer Charles Lee said: "The concealment shows the ingenuity crime groups employ to smuggle cocaine."Mr De Lemos Francisco is next due to appear at Manchester Crown Court on 6 May.
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Wales Online
4 hours ago
- Wales Online
He left the country after a £50m money-laundering case. Now he has new life in sun
He left the country after a £50m money-laundering case. Now he has new life in sun The money laundering sparked a stranger-than-fiction chain of events involving a lottery winner, student houses and a bomb plot Half Moon Bay, an Auckland suburb where businessman Gregory Candy-Wallace appears to be based A man who ran companies that a court found laundered vast sums of money in Wales and England appears to have started a new life thousands of miles away. New Zealand authorities are "assessing" whether Gregory Candy-Wallace should be disqualified from managing businesses in the country after we informed them he had been operating there. It comes after the 64-year-old Brit settled a legal claim in the UK last year over his having controlled a network of firms that defrauded the taxman, HMRC, of tens of millions of pounds. There was due to be a civil trial at the High Court in London but the National Crime Agency (NCA) reached a settlement with Candy-Wallace and his companies last June, recovering assets worth £5.8m — a fraction of the more than £50m diverted from the taxman. A judge later said the money recovered was "the proceeds of crime". Now WalesOnline can reveal Candy-Wallace — a water polo enthusiast from Sussex whose companies used addresses in Cardiff for the money-laundering scheme — has more recent ventures in Auckland, where he is a majority shareholder in two companies and owns 49% of a third. We obtained court documents from the UK court case listing Candy-Wallace's address as a detached five-bedroom house in a wealthy coastal suburb of Auckland, with an outdoor pool and picturesque views onto the yacht-dotted Half Moon Bay. The home is valued at around £900,000. The Auckland-based firms are FM Group Ltd, which bills itself as a chemical wholesaler; ACM Environmental Services Ltd, an "environmental consultancy service"; and the curiously named 846361 Ltd, which says it is in the business of waterproofing buildings. Article continues below Candy-Wallace was previously a director of another Auckland company, Amoeba Investments Ltd, which classed itself as being in the "rental of residential property" industry. The firm owned a four-bedroom semi-detached house in Yorkshire, England, which the NCA applied for permission to seize before reaching a settlement. Who is Gregory Candy-Wallace? Candy-Wallace does not appear to be active on social media and — barring coverage of his court case — there is little trace of him on the internet. What can be found is mostly tied to his fondness for water polo, from refereeing in the Sussex league in 2013 to winning a tournament in Guam the same year and playing for a club in Dubai in 2022. Members of Sussex's water polo community told us they were puzzled when Candy-Wallace suddenly "disappeared" from the local scene a few years ago without explanation. Records show Candy-Wallace has been linked to civil tax fraud cases in the UK for two decades. One of his companies, described as a former "CD pressing business", was found to be "connected with fraud" as far back as 2006 in the form of invalid invoices. Another civil case dated back to 2005 when firms owned by Candy-Wallace were found to be linked to the "fraudulent evasion" of VAT by what the judge referred to as "the Malaga cell" of an illicit contra-trading network. WalesOnline's interest in his activities was first sparked last year when we investigated a network of "dormant companies" in Wales and England. There was little online to indicate what these firms actually did, beyond brief descriptions on Companies House such as "combined office administrative service activities" and "payroll services". One director, Damien Paton, was said to be a French national born in 1994. But elsewhere on Companies House his year of birth was given as 1960. In both records he was registered to a French address that was not a real place. Another of the directors was Candy-Wallace. One of the addresses used by the network was in Cranbrook Street, in Cardiff's student heartland of Cathays (Image: Conor Gogarty ) When we scanned through the many companies, a cluster of 12 stuck out. All were based at the same terraced house in Cranbrook Street in Cathays, the student heartland of Cardiff. It turned out the home was being used as a fake address for money-laundering. Landlord Nasser Nazemi told us the home started to be bombarded with letters from Companies House in 2017 after businesses had been registered there despite having no connection to the property. "The cheek of it," said Mr Nazemi. "We had to involve a solicitor to protect ourselves and it ended up costing us about £600 in legal fees." The firms in the money-laundering network were controlled by Candy-Wallace, according to the NCA, which said the "organised crime group" diverted away more than £50m of 'pay as you earn' and national insurance payments by "offering outsourcing services to third-party companies but then failing to pay the appropriate sums to HMRC". The funds were initially moved through a complex network of UK bank accounts before mostly ending up in Hong Kong and Taiwan accounts. Why wasn't he prosecuted? After last year's money-laundering settlement, we raised questions over the NCA's decision not to bring a criminal case against Candy-Wallace, particularly given that only a small portion of the £50m was recovered — on top of his decades-long links to tax fraud. As the NCA's own barrister James Laddie KC put it, the money-laundering ring was a 'deliberate and organised' fraud that featured 'inducements to secure clients'. Mr Laddie also said the settlement was a 'formal acknowledgement' that the funds were the proceeds of crime. Mr Justice Julian Knowles also described the funds in this way and said the network was part of "unlawful" payroll and money-laundering schemes. People are regularly imprisoned for fraud involving comparatively tiny sums of money. When we asked the NCA why it would not be bringing criminal proceedings, its spokeswoman said: "Civil recovery investigations are an efficient way to reclaim funds that have been acquired through unlawful conduct, and are not dependent on a criminal conviction." Jonathan Nuttall (Image: Press Association ) There was a criminal prosecution of one person involved in the network, but not for money-laundering. In 2023 one of Candy-Wallace's associates, Jonathan Nuttall, was jailed for eight years and two months after being found guilty of orchestrating a bomb plot against NCA lawyers. Nuttall had conspired to plant two explosives in London's legal district after becoming upset at the prospect of losing his stately home in Hampshire as assets were being seized in the civil case. The 51-year-old's wife, Amanda Nuttall — who once won £2.4m from her first lottery ticket — agreed to pay £1.4m and give up the stately home as part of the recent settlement. New Zealand Companies Office is now "assessing" Candy-Wallace's involvement in the Auckland firms. Its investigations team manager Vanessa Cook told us it is looking into whether his past conduct should disqualify him from directing or managing companies in New Zealand. Candy-Wallace and the Auckland companies were approached for comment. The only response we received was from a construction business whose email address was listed as a point of contact for one of Candy-Wallace's companies. The building firm said: "I don't know Mr Candy-Wallace, haven't had any dealings with him, and haven't seen him before." In the UK, registering sham addresses on Companies House has been a longstanding avenue for fraud. There is no requirement for those setting up a company to prove its legitimacy — and for those who actually live at the address, the fraud can ruin their credit rating due to the activity linked to their home. Article continues below The mass-registering of "burner companies" allows gangs to open UK bank accounts for money-laundering. However, later this year ID verification is finally due to become a requirement to start a company — after more than a decade of the system being abused — though experts have warned the scale of change needed will take time. If you know of a story we should be investigating, email us at
Daily Mirror
21 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Mystery woman who paid fine to free Madeleine McCann suspect is ex-cop
Christian Brueckner was facing extra time behind bars because he could not pay a fine. But now a former technician in Germany's BKA - their equivalent of the FBI - has paid the cash A former police officer has paved the way for the release of Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner by secretly paying his court fines. German authorities hoped outstanding levies for an offence in jail would keep the 48-year-old rapist and paedophile behind bars until January. But they were dealt a blow when a mystery woman paid the £1,300 fines needed for him to be freed on the earliest possible date in September. And now it has emerged the anonymous donor is a former employee of the Bundeskriminalamt - Germany's equivalent of the FBI. Her actions means investigators will miss out on crucial extra time to bring charges over Madeleine's 2007 disappearance. Brueckner is nearing the end of a seven-year jail term for raping an American pensioner in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz. German prosecutors named him as their prime suspect in the Madeleine case in June 2020 but have yet to charge him. In May he was convicted for verbally assaulting prison guards and also has outstanding fines for assault. The mystery woman, a former technician from the BKA, transferred €1,447 (£1,238.27) to pay the fines earlier this month. According to Der Spiegel she is a former surveillance operative who once worked in audio intelligence. She was allegedly upset after investigators bugged Brueckner's jail cell without permission. The woman claims she only meant to pay a fine relating to insulting a prison officer and did not realise the charges included assault. She described it as a 'misunderstanding'. Brueckner is now due to walk out of prison on September 17 and has boasted of planning to go into hiding. Politicians and victims' groups want an inquiry into how a woman once trusted with surveillance operations ended up helping Brueckner. 'This is not just a scandal – it's a catastrophic failure of judgement and oversight,' one MP told Der Spiegel. 'The police must explain how this could happen under their watch.' Earlier this week it was reported Brueckner is planning to move to Germany's 'billionaire playground island' when he is released from jail. His lawyer Friedrich Fuelscher has claimed Brueckner plans to stay in Germany after his release - and has already chosen a new home. 'According to my information, he plans to settle in Schleswig-Holstein,' Fuelscher told Bild. And Brueckner has a very specific location in mind - the exclusive North Sea island of Sylt. 'Sylt has appealed to him in the past,' Fuelscher added. Sylt is Germany's northernmost island, nestled in the North Sea just off Schleswig‑Holstein. It has been connected to the mainland by the Hindenburgdamm causeway since 1927. In the 1960s Sylt reinvented itself into a jet‑set playground for rich movers and shakers, and it is still this way today. Despite a lengthy police investigation, detectives appear to be no closer to charging him over Madeleine's disappearance. He was cleared last October of a string of sex crimes he was accused of carrying out in Portugal. Prosecutors are awaiting the outcome of an appeal against those verdicts lodged in Germany's Federal Court of Justice. Brueckner denies any involvement in Madeleine's disappearance. German search teams spent three days hunting for evidence in Portugal earlier this month. Brueckner was living in a ramshackle farmhouse on the edge of Praia da Luz when Madeleine vanished from the holiday resort in May 2007.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Urgent warning issued over growing number of migrants paying huge sums to enter UK aboard yachts
Border Force lacks the resources to deal with an increasing number of migrants coming to Britain illegally on yachts, motorboats and trawlers, officials have warned. Growing numbers of migrants are entering the country irregularly by private vessels rather than aboard small boats, a borders trade union said. Lucy Moreton, of the ISU union which represents Border Force staff, said: 'What we are seeing more of now is small yachts being used to transport people. 'They can start from the Brittany coast in France and then sail into one of the small ports around the UK or get dropped off in the water.' The Daily Mail reported last week how a £70,000 six-berth yacht, Tacoma, was hired at a French marina by a man who claimed to be Austrian. He told the owners he planned a pleasure cruise along the Brittany coast – but then headed for Cornwall. The £70,000 six-berth yacht, Tacoma, was hired at a French marina by a man who claimed to be Austrian. He told the owners he planned a pleasure cruise along the Brittany coast – but then headed for Cornwall - with 17 Albanians aboard The Tacoma's owners – monitoring it on a tracker - alerted the UK Border Force who pounced on the yacht as it reached the mouth of the Helford River, near Falmouth, on April 13. Hiding inside the cabin were 17 Albanian migrants, including one woman, hoping to slip illegally into Britain. Ms Moreton said: 'It is now more of a growing issue as the small boat route becomes more and more challenging. 'It's something we have started monitoring more closely, but we simply don't have the staff to do everything.' She went on: 'The problem is, most of the ports in the UK do not have a Border Force officer working at them so it comes down to local police forces and members of the public. 'And the system of boat ownership is very hard to monitor, small boats have transponders switched on to avoid getting hit by bigger boats but they can always switch them off. 'All the unmanned ports have posters which say 'if you see anything which looks suspicious call this number', but that's about it when it comes to security. 'What's happening with small yachts now speaks to the desperation of the people trying to cross the Channel and the pull the UK has.' Fees paid to smuggling gangs to enter the UK on a yacht will be far higher than the amounts charged for a place in a dangerous and ovcercrowded dinghy. Entering Britain clandestinely in a yachts or other small vessel will also be attractive to foreign nationals with a criminal record. Those who have previously made a failed asylum claim here, or have been deported, may also wish to avoid detection by the authorities. Albanian nationals, such as those found aboard the Tacoma, face fast-track removal measures back to their home country under an agreement signed by former home secretary Priti Patel in 2022. In another case in September last year, nine Iranian passengers were caught illegally attempting to enter the UK on board a pleasure boat near Brixham, Devon. Some criminal gangs have been caught in the act attempting to use yachts to cross the Channel by the National Crime Agency (NCA), dubbed 'Britain's FBI'. A Georgian national, Igor Romanovi, was jailed in France in 2023 following an investigation by the NCA and French authorities into an organised crime group suspected of using pleasure boats to smuggle migrants across the Channel. A boat operated by the group was involved in a smuggling run which saw 11 migrants brought to shore in Rye, East Sussex in February 2022. And, in 2021 a different gang was jailed for planning to smuggle 69 Albanian migrants into the UK on a fishing vessel. They had planned to bring in 50 more every week. Small ports and airfields were first identified as a potential weakness in Britain's border security measures as long ago as 2002. Lord Carlile of Berriew KC, then the government's independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, warned they were the 'soft underbelly' of Britain's war against terrorism. Concerns about the vulnerability of Britain's coastline were raised in two reports in 2010 and 2011 by John Vine, the then independent inspector of borders. Both found small ports were at risk from people smuggling. The warnings were repeated by terror watchdog David Anderson in 2017. An NCA spokesman confirmed the 'clandestine manner' of entering Britain may appeal to those with criminal pasts. 'We have seen cases where organised crime groups have used larger maritime vessels, such as fishing boats and yachts, to facilitate entry for migrants,' he said. 'Often these are used by those who may be prepared to pay more to avoid contact with law enforcement, in contrast to small boats where migrants and their smugglers seek contact to enter the asylum system. 'The NCA, alongside our law enforcement partners, have undertaken a number of operations which have seen people involved in this form of people smuggling arrested and prosecuted. 'Bringing people to the UK in this way remains dangerous and also risks our border security. 'Tackling organised immigration crime in all its forms remains a priority for the NCA, and we would ask anyone who lives or works around the coast or in a maritime environment to report suspicious activity to the police.' A Home Office spokesman said: 'We will stop at nothing to dismantle vile people-smuggling gangs, which is why our new maritime directorate within Border Force is explicitly focused on general maritime security to uphold the integrity of the border. 'Through close collaboration across agencies, Border Force will have access to better intelligence, joint operational activity and better engagement with international partners. 'This will ultimately enhance our approach to dealing with irregular migration, including illegal activity involving yachts, and further help to tackle people smuggling gangs.' end
