Third suspect linked to alleged Ballymena rape fled to Romania, court told
Police have confirmed that they are seeking the extradition of a suspect who fled to Romania over the alleged rape of a schoolgirl in Ballymena.
The incident sparked days of race-related anti-immigration rioting in the Co Antrim town, with linked outbreaks of violence in other parts of Northern Ireland.
Ballymena Youth Court heard details of the alleged attack for the first time on Wednesday during a bail hearing for a 14-year-old Romanian boy, who cannot be identified because of his age.
Another teenager is also in custody charged with the attempted rape. Both deny the charges.
The court was told that the school girl was walking along a street in the Co Antrim town on June 7 when she was dragged into a garage and subjected to a violent sex attack by three males.
The girl told police that once inside the garage, she claimed, there was two mattresses and she was ordered to get on one. The alleged attack lasted around 10 minutes. The girl was able to get away when the trio fled the scene after hearing voices.
Two of the alleged were arrested hours later, the third has since fled to Romania.
The bail application was adjourned until August.
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Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Brit mum arrested in Mauritius with son, 6, is being held in hellhole prison
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Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
British mother who smuggled £1.6m of cannabis into Mauritius hidden in her six-year-old son's suitcase faces a year in hellhole prison BEFORE her trial
A British mother who is accused of trying to smuggle cannabis into Mauritius inside her six-year-old son's suitcase is being held in a notorious hell hole prison on the holiday island, MailOnline can reveal. Natashia Artug, 35, faces waiting more than a year on remand in the womens' section of Beau Bassin Central Prison just outside the island capital Port Louis before she is brought to trial. The jail with around 135 women inmates has been described as being filthy with prisoners often having to spend hours outside 'under the scorching sun'. Mother-of-two Natashia from Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, was arrested with six other Britons and her Romanian boyfriend after they allegedly tried to smuggle 161kgs of cannabis worth £1.6million into Mauritius. But the authorities are said to be treating her case with particular seriousness because cannabis weighing 14kg was found wrapped in cellophane packages and stuffed inside her six-year-old son's wheelie case. The shock discovery was made after the group's British Airways flight from Gatwick touched down at the island's Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport last month. Natashia is being held alongside four other British women Lily Watson, 20, Shannon Ellen Josie Holness, 29, Laura Amy Kappen 28, and Shona Campbell, 32, who are all from Cambridgeshire and were arrested with her, according to local newspaper Le Mauricien. She was initially held under guard with her son in the headquarters of the Anti-Drug and Smuggling Unit in Mauritius so they could be together. But she is believed to have been transferred to the Beau Bassin Central Prison after her son's father reportedly flew over to collect him and took him back to the UK. More than half the women in the jail are said to be foreign with the majority serving sentences or on remand for drug offences. A Human Rights report by the US State Department in 2014 highlighted prison conditions in Mauritius, saying they 'did not always meet international standards' and drug abuse had been reported in jails across the island. The report said media reports had highlighted a 'lack of hygiene, sanitation, and basic medical care' as 'problems' at Beau Bassin Central Prison. In a further comment on the jail, it added: 'Given the lack of administrative remedies, inmates' relatives sometimes turned to private radio stations to denounce hygiene conditions or other problems.' The report did not specify whether the issues related to the womens' section of the jail or the far larger mens' section. It did, however, describe record keeping in prisons on Mauritius as 'adequate' with inmates able to have visitors, submit complaints and follow religious observance The report also said there were no reports of threats to life or health, food shortages, poor ventilation, extreme temperatures or lighting problems in the nation's other prison facilities. A Russian woman whose sister was being held on drug smuggling charges at Beau Bassin Central Prison highlighted her fears about the jail in a Reddit post. The woman said conditions in the prison were potentially worsening her sister's long standing medical conditions, and her complaints to authorities in Mauritius were being ignored. She wrote: 'Sometime I can communicate with she (sic), and she always complain on conditions of imprisonment. 'She doesn't have normal access to medicines, clean drinking water. Sanitary conditions are terrible. She often hear verbal harassment and threats, sounds like 'You'll die here'. Abuse on racial prejudice. 'Most of the time the prisoners are in the prison yard under the scorching sun. Foreign prisoners are not allowed to wear hats.' The Association for the Prevention of Torture based in Geneva, Switzerland, highlighted conditions for women inmates in Mauritius in a more recent report in August last year. It made a series of recommendations including calls for the renovation of the kitchen with a larger cold room for vegetables and fruits, more fridges, and addition psychiatrists to provide mental health care for inmates The report also said authorities should provide protective gear such as gloves, aprons and rubber boots for women cleaning shower units. It further called for more Skype calls to be made available for foreign prisoners to keep in touch with family and friends with 'income generating opportunities' for women to pay for calls. The UK Government website also talks of prison conditions in Mauritius, saying: 'Imprisonment is generally in small cells with a number of other detainees. 'Mauritius is one of the rare countries where time out of cell is from 6.15am to 5pm. Prison officials will normally speak English to British prisoners. 'Many other detainees can also speak English although most of them will speak in the local language (Creole). While in detention, detainees can have access to the prison library where English books are available. 'All prisons on the island are Human Rights standards compliant. Civil Society and NGOs are widely involved in assisting at prisons. The prison has both an internal and external inspectorate.' The website added that there were opportunities to work and study in Mauritius prisons with a range of options such as gas welding, metal fabrication, basketry, woodwork, pastry baking. Hairdressing, garment making and beautycare are also available in the womens' prison. Natashia's Romanian boyfriend Florian Lisman, 38, and window fitter Patrick Wilsdon, 21, of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, who were also arrested at the airport are in a mens' prison. Mauritian authorities have stated that they believe the group were all acting as drug mules, hired to bring drugs on to the island. Natashia who is said to be 'vulnerable' claims she was coerced into travelling to Mauritius by drug traffickers who threatened her family. Non-profit group Justice Abroad said she did not know the bags she was carrying contained cannabis. She has launched a crowdfunder appealing for £5,000 to fight the serious charges. Justice Abroad said mother-of-two Natashia suffered from fibromyalgia and was currently attending university. They added: 'This case raises serious concerns about the exploitation of a young mother by a criminal gang. 'She now faces criminal trial in Mauritius separated from her children and without the resources to mount an adequate defence and to put together the evidence of the duress and exploitation.' Authorities on Mauritius have branded the use of a child in the audacious drug smuggling plot as 'outrageous and inhumane'. They added: 'This is one of the most revolting cases we have encountered in recent years.' Patrick's mother Carly Wilsdon previously said that he had gone to Mauritius after being being offered a 'free holiday'. She said: 'He wouldn't have known what he was doing because he wouldn't get involved in drugs. 'The person who told them about this free holiday is one of his circle of friends but now he has disappeared. 'He told them that he had been before and that they would meet someone there. There was no mention of drugs. 'It is so hard. He could be looking at 30 years. He has never been in trouble and only been abroad once before. 'I missed a call from him on the day they arrived. I thought it was to show me the apartment. I can't believe what's happened.' Speaking outside her home last month, a relative of Laura Kappen said: 'She is not a bad kid. She's never done anything wrong in her life but I guess she has done something foolish. Someone must have enticed them with money.' A relative of Shona Campbell said: 'It is really difficult. She's got two little kids and they don't know. It's horrible.' A Foreign Office spokesman told MailOnline: 'We are supporting a British national detained in Mauritius and are in contact with the local authorities.'
Daily Record
14 hours ago
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Jay Slater 'went to Airbnb to sell stolen Rolex watch' before death, says friend
Jay Slater's friend has given evidence in the teen's inquest after his death in Tenerife. Jay Slater told his friend that he was going 'to sell a watch' at a remote Airbnb that he had previously ' taken ', his inquest has heard. Brad Hargreaves, Jay's 19-year-old pal, has been giving evidence at Jay's inquest in Preston this morning, reports the Manchester Evening News. Jay, an apprentice bricklayer from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, was found dead at the Juan Lopez Ravine in Tenerife, on July 15 last year. He had gone missing on June 17, after leaving a party in Playa de las Americas and heading north to a remote Airbnb in Masca, before attempting to return on foot. Speculation around whether Jay had stolen a Rolex watch was widely reported at the time, while it was also discussed at the previous hearing of Jay's inquest in May. Speaking to the coroner this morning (July 24), Brad said he was sent a Snapchat by Jay, in which he admitted he had ' taken a watch'. In another Snapchat message, Jay said he was going back to the Airbnb in Masca with Ayub Qassim and Steven 'Rocky' Roccas. Brad told the court: "I didn't think anything of it because there are a lot of people selling fake stuff on the strip. Loads of watches.' Brad told the inquest that Jay said he was going 'to sell a watch' while at the Airbnb. Asked why he didn't ask Jay more about this, Brad replied: "Because I was under the influence of drugs." But, in his own evidence to the court, Ayub said that Jay hadn't stolen the watch. He told the court there was a 'Romanian looky looky guy' who was selling fake watches. The man tried selling a watch to Ayub and he said 'nah, I don't want that, it's fake '. Then he tried selling it to Jay.' 'One thing I can say is that Jay didn't steal no watch,' he tells the court. Asked why Jay would be saying he had stolen a watch if he hadn't, Ayub said it could have been bravado. 'When you're younger you might exaggerate things," he said. "But one hundred per cent I didn't see a watch getting taken, maybe he was just bigging himself up to his pals." Jay, Brad and their mate Lucy Law had been introduced to Ayub and Rocky by another contact, Brandon Hodgson. Brandon can not be located to give evidence, the court heard today. Discussing the watch situation, Brad told the coroner the 'only thing' he knows about it is what Jay said on Snapchat, but he suggested Brandon knew more. "That's why I thought Brandon should be here because he knows a lot more about it than just the Snapchat," he added. Brad's final call with Jay Previously, Brad had told the court that on the night before Jay disappeared, Brad says the pals had been out for drinks until 6pm before heading to the festival, where they 'split up because it was so festival'. He recalled Jay being 'kicked out' of a club, describing him as being 'so drunk he couldn't stand up', but when the group reconvened later on he was 'in a better state'. Brad told the court Jay had taken ecstasy and cocaine on that night and described him as 'giddy'. He recalled the final conversation he had face-to-face with Jay at Magic Mike's take-away, where Jay said he was 'gonna stay' with Ayub and Rocky. The inquest heard Jay video called Brad from the Airbnb in Masca, where he 'showed the bed they had made for him'. Jay later made another call on Snapchat while he was 'walking down a road', in what would become his final conversation with Brad. Brad told the inquest: "At that point I might have been feeling a bit worried. He said 'I'm gonna come back down' and he was asking if we had any drinks left at the apartment." Brad asked Jay how far he was from the apartment, and having checked his phone Jay replied '14 hours' walk'. "I said wow, why are you so far away, get a taxi back," Brad told the court. "He then said 'I'll ring you back' and that was the last time I spoke to Jay." Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
