Latest news with #HeadHunters
Times
30-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Labour rival takes swipe over Sarkozy mishap on TV quiz
Nicolas Sarkozy proved to be a difficult figure to define for one Labour quiz contestant THIBAULT CAMUS/AP Barely a week into recess, it appears everyone is already bored and spending too much time on social media. That led to a spat on X between Mish Rahman, formerly a Labour national executive committee member, and Abdi Duale, a current one. It ended with Duale posting an old video of Rahman on the quiz show Head Hunters, answering the question 'Nicolas Sarkozy was president of which country?' with 'Russia'. He's not the only one to suffer a slip of memory under pressure. When one contestant on The Chase was asked which former UK prime minister had the middle name 'Hilda', she replied without hesitation: 'John Prescott.' You may have noticed that Margaret Thatcher's opinion of her immediate successor as prime minister wasn't always that complimentary. But Peter Just's new book, Margaret Thatcher: Life After Downing Street, reveals that her dislike of John Major even affected her vocabulary. Campaigning in Dorset during the 1997 general election, Thatcher conducted an interview in which she referred to 'the major issues'. Stopping herself, she said: 'I used the word 'major',' before starting again with 'the main issues'. This self-imposed limitation must have been pretty tricky. If Major had retaliated it would only have affected discussions about rural tradesmen and cider. Celebrities store their awards in all kinds of places: a chicken coop, the bathroom, buried in the back garden. But James Cameron found a practical solution, using his Oscar as a doorstop. 'It's actually the best one to use, because it takes up the smallest footprint,' he tells Empire magazine. 'The fricking Saturn [awards] are too wide. You'd trip over 'em.' Some statues are known to develop a Toy Story-esque life of their own. Dame Helen Mirren once said: 'My theory is that my Screen Actors Guild award is having a very, very steamy affair with my Oscar. I catch them together and I swear to God that I haven't put them together. • How to get a body like Helen Mirren at 79 We reported on the auction of items from John Peel's record collection. Let's hope the discs' new owners will honour his memory by playing their purchases (if only once) at the wrong speed. Peel was known for doing this on his radio shows, although it was accidental: many of the records didn't have lyrics and their labels didn't always provide a clue. Playing Josh Wink's Higher State of Consciousness one evening, he commented: 'I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking that sounded better when I played it the other night at the wrong speed.' Occasionally Peel would ring up the record company to inquire about a disc's correct speed. Sometimes they replied: 'To be honest we're not entirely sure ourselves.' Edinburgh Fringe kicks off this week but for the first time in 17 years there will be no funniest joke award. A sad affair considering past winners have included Tim Vine ('I decided to sell my Hoover … well it was just collecting dust), Lorna Rose Treen ('I started dating a zookeeper, but it turned out he was a cheetah') and, a personal favourite, Darren Walsh ('I just deleted all the German names off my phone. It's Hans free').
NZ Herald
30-07-2025
- NZ Herald
Torture ringleader Israel Lama imprisoned along with ‘lieutenants'; younger brother granted mercy
Younger brother Sefelino Lama, who was 17 at the time of offending, was ordered to serve a sentence of home detention. He is expected to remain at the Grace Foundation rehab facility, which submitted a glowing assessment to the judge. Justice Downs pointed out repeatedly that, due to the younger defendant's age at the time, he was restricted from factoring the repeated violence into the sentence starting point. It included, however, shaving the victim's eyebrows, beating him and extinguishing a cigarette on his forehead. Authorities said Israel Lama instigated the May 2023 torture session after the victim slapped his girlfriend's bottom at an Auckland Central nightclub. But court documents suggest the 23-year-old had an interest in torture well before coming up with a feeble justification to exercise his cruelty. He had earlier created the handle 'torturous88″ on Instagram – 88 being a reference the the Head Hunters, widely recognised in New Zealand's criminal underworld. Some of the acts for which he was sentenced today were recorded and used as content for the now-deleted account. Six other men have admitted to having followed Israel Lama's lead that morning, including another younger brother who is set to be sentenced later this week. Power drill, hammer and pole The victim and the defendants were in downtown Auckland about 4am on a Sunday morning when the victim was confronted about his suspected inappropriate behaviour inside a nearby bar. He repeatedly denied touching the woman and agreed to go back to the bar to check CCTV with the group. Police later discovered through CCTV that he had touched the woman. Instead of taking the man back to the nightclub, the group took him to a Helensville home associated with the Head Hunters. The group made the victim strip naked before he was seated in a camping chair, as Lama ordered co-defendant Jade Jerome to bind his arms and legs with electrical cords. Jade Jerome appears in the dock in the High Court at Auckland in May 2025, just before pleading guilty to participating in the prolonged torture of a stranger. Photo / Michael Craig 'Israel Lama uplifted a Makita electric impact driver fitted with a screwdriver bit and started drilling a hole in [the victim's] left thigh,' the agreed summary of fact states, noting that the drill was also used on his shin and knee. 'The drill was used forcefully so that even though the impact driver was not fitted with a threaded drill bit, it deeply penetrated [the victim's] flesh and muscle approximately one centimetre.' As he drilled, Israel Lama began to interrogate the stranger, who continued to deny he had slapped the woman's bottom. His wounds were later treated with toilet paper and tape before the elder Lama switched torture tactics, retrieving a large knife that had been heated up on a nearby gas burner. The knife was used to cut the victim's chest before the flat end was used to cause severe burns, including on his face. The victim was then ordered by Israel Lama to get on the floor, at which point the crowd began punching and kicking him, including blows to his head. Group members passed around an aluminium pole and beat the man until the pole became so bent it was no longer usable. 'The defendants complained about this and taunted [the victim] for breaking the pole,' court documents state. 'They joked about having to beat [him] further for breaking their pole.' 'Right to hang your head' The beating stopped after Israel Lama came up with another sadistic tactic and ordered someone to bring him a jug of hot water. As others held down the squirming victim, the ringleader again ordered him to confess, which he refused. 'Israel Lama then poured the hot water onto [his] already seared chest and poured the hot water onto [his] genitals,' documents state, noting that others in the room yahooed and laughed as he did so. '[He] could not offer resistance and remained on the ground trying to protect his genitals.' Another person then splashed cold water on the victim. At that point, Jerome used a hammer to repeatedly hit the man's legs, shins and knees – making it difficult for him to walk afterwards. Israel Lama appears in the High Court at Auckland in May 2025. Photo / Michael Craig Israel Lama later took the victim's own belt and began whipping him with it. He then passed the item around as others in the room took turns – bruising his back and bottom. Samuel Lama – the brother who is to be sentenced later this week - strangled him for around 10 seconds, lifting him off the ground by his neck. The two younger Lama brothers stood guard after others 'retired from the torture to rest', making conversation with the victim and explaining that they used to be with the Bloods gang before switching allegiance to the Head Hunters. The victim asked if he could get dressed and the brothers refused – a callous indignity that the judge repeartedly referred to today. 'You are right to hang your head,' he told the younger defendant. The victim was subjected to another round of beating with the belt, while Israel Lama made racist remarks and comments about slavery, before the younger brothers and Jerome took him away because a gang meeting was about to start. But he was brought back about an hour later, at which point Lama debated with the victim whether he should let him go. He suggested the victim would need to pay him $20,000 before he could be set free. The victim said he didn't have that kind of money but offered to work for him to pay it off, the agreed facts state. He was dropped off where the ordeal started in Auckland Central. Lama had given him a deadline of four days to come up with the $20,000. 'Frankly disturbing' Defence lawyer Mark Edgar acknowledged his client's demand for money but said it wasn't extortion so much as a throw-away comment after Israel Lama had already decided to release him. The judge wasn't so convinced. Edgar also acknowledged his client was the 'elder statesman' of the group but said he was damaged by his own violent upbringing. Jade Jerome, left, and Israel Lama stand in the dock in the High Court at Auckland during their arraignment in May 2025. Photo / Michael Craig 'It was triggering for him,' Edgar said of the bottom slap. 'He was feeling rage. He had no plan. He was very distraught ... and very, very angry. '... This was very much an issue of history repeating itself.' The victim, who was referred to as 'X' because of his permanent name suppression, 'exacerbated' what happened due to his persistent denials, the defence lawyer said. He said his client realised 'the enormity of what he had done' after taking a short rest that morning. He then took steps to release the victim, he said. 'He's ashamed,' Edgar said. 'He's ashamed for his family. He's ashamed he brought his brothers in this, who simply followed his lead.' But Crown prosecutor Pip McNabb emphasised that the offending was 'cruel, callous and degrading' – and among the worst of its kind. She pointed out that he was already on bail for three seperate offences at the time of the offending and is now serving a three-year sentence for the previous crimes, including a disturbing robbery in which he urinated on the victim. The judge agreed. 'That X had slapped your girlfriend's bottom does not make your offending any less serious,' Justice Downs said. 'I reject any notion that it does.' He described the facts of the case as 'frankly disturbing'. Auckland High Court judge Justice Matthew Downs. 'Pleasure – I repeat, pleasure – was taken in the torture of a fellow human being,' he said, pointing out that the main defendant then used social media 'like a trophy'. The judge quoted extensively from the victim impact statement, which was not read aloud in court. 'I may have survived physically, but mentally I live with this every day,' the victim said, explaining: 'I don't sleep. I panic when I hear power tools or raised voices. 'I flinch in public. I carry the fear this could happen again.' The victim noted that, like the defendants, he had also known struggle and hardship. 'But never, ever would I think of doing something like this to another human being,' he wrote. 'Active lieutenants throughout' Also appearing for sentencing today were co-defendants Jerome, Harmon Unasa and Nathan Tuaiti. Co-defendant Ricky Harder, whose participation was found to be limited, was sentenced in May to home detention. Former Head Hunters prospect Ricky Harder appears in the High Court at Auckland for sentencing after admitting to having participated in the May 2023 kidnapping and torture of a stranger. Photo / Michael Craig Lawyers for Jerome and Unasa both told the judge today that their clients were remorseful for their participation. Jerome's lawyer, Ian Tucker, emphasised that his client has no ties to the Head Hunters. But prosecutors asked for a starting point sentence, before reductions were taken into account, of 11 years each. It was just two years less than the ringleader, McNabb said, because both men participated in the violence and served as Israel Lama's 'right-hand men'. The judge agreed to the 11-year starting point, explaining that anything less wouldn't be fitting of such a 'prolonged, multi-faceted and sadistic' kidnap and torture. He pointed out that there's nothing in court documentation suggesting that the ringleader asked Jerome to beat the victim with a hammer. 'You did that seemingly on your own initiative,' he said. 'That speaks volumes.' As with the other defendants, the judge declined to allow a reduction for remorse. Nathan Tuaiti appears in the High Court at Auckland to plead guilty to participating in the prolongued torture of a man who slapped the bottom of a mate's partner in an Auckland nightclub. Photo / Craig Kapitan 'There were many, many opportunities over the 19 or 20 hours for an act of compassion,' the judge said, explaining that it could have been as simple as offering the victim a glass of water. 'Something to acknowledge that he was another human. 'Neither of you, nor anyone else for that matter, did anything of the sort.' He ordered sentences of eight years and six and a half months imprisonment for Unasa and eight years and three months for Jerome. They, too, will have to serve at least half of their sentences before they can apply for parole. 'You were willing and active lieutenants throughout,' the judge explained. Tuaiti will be sentenced later today. More to come Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand. Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
1News
23-05-2025
- 1News
Police bust several drug operations in Kumeū, northwest Auckland
Police have recovered 400kg of cannabis and 40g of cocaine from several drug operations running out of northwest Auckland over the past week. Three people have been arrested after police executed search warrants at large cannabis grow houses around Kumeū. Police said the operations were run by Vietnamese organised criminal groups. Warrants across two properties were carried out May 21 and May 16. Waitematā North Area Commander, Inspector Mike Rickards, said Kumeū and Helensville police staff conducted a search warrant on a Station Rd property on Wednesday. "At the property, we located 931 cannabis plants weighing 237 kilograms," Rickards said. On May 16, police discovered cocaine and "130 cannabis plants weighing up to 155 kilograms". "Inside, we also seized a large amount of cash as well as high-end equipment used in the manufacturing of cannabis," Rickards said. A 27-year-old woman and a 32-year-old man were arrested and remained in custody on drug offences. Also, on May 16, police arrested a 36-year-old Head Hunters associate after he allegedly tried to dispose of illicit drugs at an address being searched. Police discovered 30g of cocaine at the property, along with more cannabis. The man has been charged with possession for supply of cocaine and cannabis. "Our team's operations over the past week have in no doubt disrupted the illegal operation and prevented harm in our community," Rickards said. "It will have had an impact on drug distribution across the Rodney area."
NZ Herald
23-05-2025
- NZ Herald
Auckland drug raids: 400kg cannabis, cocaine seized, three arrested
Police completed search warrants yesterday, May 21, and May 16 at two properties. 'On Wednesday, our Kumeū and Helensville staff terminated a search warrant at a Station Road property where a sophisticated operation was uncovered. 'At the property, we located 931 cannabis plants weighing 237 kilograms.' Police also found a vast amount of equipment used to manufacture drugs. Two Vietnamese nationals at a nearby address were arrested last Friday. Police located 130 cannabis plants weighing up to 155 kilograms. 'Inside, we also seized a large amount of cash as well as high-end equipment used in the manufacturing of cannabis.' Cocaine was also located at the property. A 27-year-old woman and a 32-year-old man were remanded in custody on drug offences. A Head Hunters associate was arrested following a third search warrant on May 16, charged with possession for supply of cocaine and cannabis. 'The Waitematā Gang Disruption Unit and members of the Offender Prevention Team attended. 'A 36-year-old man was arrested after he initially tried to dispose of illicit drugs at the address.' Police located 30 grams of cocaine as well as cannabis at the property. Jaime Lyth is a multimedia journalist for the New Zealand Herald, focusing on crime and breaking news. Lyth began working under the NZ Herald masthead in 2021 as a reporter for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei.
Scoop
22-05-2025
- Scoop
Police Shut Down Drug Operations Across Kumeū
Press Release – New Zealand Police Hundreds of cannabis plants have been destroyed. Photo/Supplied. Search warrants conducted in Kumeh. Photo/Supplied. Plants located were of varying sizes. Photo/Supplied. Police have uprooted several illicit drug operations nestled amongst the community in Northwest Auckland. In the past week, Police have recovered nearly 400 kilograms of cannabis, 40 grams of cocaine and made three arrests. Waitematā North Area Commander, Inspector Mike Rickards says local Police have been targeting large cannabis grow house operations run by Vietnamese organised criminal groups around the Kumeū area. Warrants were terminated on Wednesday, 21 May, and 16 May at two properties. 'On Wednesday, our Kumeū and Helensville staff terminated a search warrant at a Station Road property where a sophisticated operation was uncovered. 'At the property, we located 931 cannabis plants weighing 237 kilograms.' Police also located a vast amount of equipment used to manufacture. It followed a previous warrant last Friday at a nearby address, where two Vietnamese nationals were arrested. Inspector Rickards says Police located 130 cannabis plants weighting up to 155 kilograms. 'Inside, we also seized a large amount of cash as well as high-end equipment used in the manufacturing of cannabis.' Cocaine was also located at the property. Two arrests were made, and a 27-year-old woman and a 32-year-old man have been remanded in custody on drugs offences. A third warrant was also conducted on 16 May, which resulted in a Head Hunters associate being arrested. 'The Waitematā Gang Disruption Unit and members of the Offender Prevention Team attended,' Inspector Rickards 'A 36-year-old man was arrested after he initially tried to dispose of illicit drugs at the address.' Police located 30 grams of cocaine as well as cannabis at the property. The man was arrested and has been charged with possession for supply of cocaine and cannabis. Inspector Rickards says Police are pleased with the outcome. 'Our team's operations over the past week have in no doubt disrupted the illegal operation and prevented harm in our community. 'It will have had an impact on drug distribution across the Rodney area. 'We're really clear that we won't tolerate this in our community, and we'll continue to target these groups who are cashing in on their offending.' Content Sourced from Original url
