Latest news with #Hookway
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Yahoo
Pair of soldiers who plotted to sell cannabis are spared jail
Two serving British Army soldiers who plotted to sell more than £8,000 worth of cannabis have avoided jail. When police arrested one of the soldiers, he phoned his wife telling her to get rid of a bag. But officers spotted her trying to hide a holdall full of cannabis in a hedgerow, the court heard. Sentencing the duo at Westminster Magistrates' Court, chief magistrate Paul Goldspring said their offending had been driven by 'greed'. After the judge previously ruled they could not be named because of national security concerns, the pair were referred to only as Defendant X and Defendant Y. The hearing was conducted in a closed court with the public excluded and the soldiers sat behind a screen in the dock. The duo, whose unit can also not be revealed, admit being concerned in the making of an offer to supply the class B drug between November 23 2023 and November 28 2023. Defendant Y further admitted having cannabis on November 30 2023 with intent to supply, while Defendant X pleaded guilty to being in possession of the drug on the same date. Judge Goldspring told them: 'You have led exemplary lives as soldiers. 'You have served us with great valour, bravery and fortitude. 'The reason for this offending is plain and simple: greed. 'That creates a paradox'. Defendant X was handed a 10-month suspended sentence, and Defendant Y an eight-month suspended sentence. The judge said he believed the the soldiers' remorse is 'genuine' and spared them from an immediate custody term. Frederick Hookway, prosecuting, said that after being arrested, Defendant Y, who has served for more than 20 years, asked to phone his wife from the police station, claiming that his daughter was unwell. 'He instructed his wife to dispose of a bag and not to ask any questions,' the court heard. But police were watching the house using a drone, and spotted his wife carrying a 'holdall that she then attempted to hide'. Defendant Y 'fell in with the wrong crowd' after what had been an impressive military career, the court heard. DNA profiles matching both X and Y were found on the holdall, Mr Hookway said. The quantity of cannabis found in Defendant Y's possession was 997 grams, which had a street value of £10,000, the prosecutor added. Defendant X was found with 33.47 grams, the court heard. The court was told that Defendant X's mental health had declined after he became injured. Messages between the pair showed them discussing selling the cannabis, Mr Hookway said. They spoke of selling 2.3 kilos for £8,750, the court heard. Defendant X also pleaded guilty to possessing articles for use in fraud relating to seven receipts for a Rolex Oyster Perpetual 41MM Jubilee watch. He confirmed the receipts were fake and that he had intended to use them to sell a fake Rolex. The soldiers were each ordered to pay £200 in costs.
Sky News
17-03-2025
- Sky News
Illegal immigrant who came to UK on small boat helped smuggle thousands of others into Europe from London home
An illegal immigrant, who came to the UK on a small boat, was helping to smuggle more than 1,000 others into Europe within a month, a court was told. Ahmed Ramadan Mohamad Ebid, an Egyptian, was said to have played a "vital" role from his west London home in a £12m operation to get migrants from North Africa to southern Italy. Ebid, who had worked as a fisherman in the Mediterranean, was in regular phone contact with those on the boats as they crossed the sea, said prosecutor Freddy Hookway. And a secret bug in his home, installed by National Crime Agency (NCA) investigators, caught him talking in code, speaking about fishing, and referring to boats as "cars". Mr Hookway said: "We say that at relevant points he's not talking about fishing. They show what his role was and how vital he was to the success of this conspiracy." He said Ebid had admitted helping seven fishing boats make the crossing, with a total of 3,781 migrants on board. Ebid was said to have claimed he earned €15,000 for his part in the smuggling operation, but the prosecution believed it was much more. Ebid had described it as "a living". Interviews with some of the migrants showed they paid an average of £3,273 for a place on a boat. Multiplied by the 3,781 travellers, that added up to £12,375,213, said the prosecutor. Mr Hookway said: "It gives an indication of the scale of the profit to be made from this enterprise." Ebid, 41, has admitted providing boats and crews and giving technical advice during the crossings. He has also admitted involvement in moving and accommodating migrants before their journey and dealing with paperwork. Details of the case emerged during a rare Newton hearing - a trial within a trial - where the prosecution and the defence disagree about some of the facts of the case. Mr Hookway said Ebid entered the UK illegally on a small boat in October 2022 and three weeks later helped two boats carrying a total of 1,250 migrants cross the Mediterranean in convoy. Once the vessels were in Italian waters a satellite phone on board was used to call the Italian coastguard for help and everyone was rescued and taken ashore. Ebid's mobile telephone had been in contact with the satellite phone 34 times over two days, Mr Hookway told a judge at Southwark Crown Court on Monday. The prosecutor said that in the next six months Ebid helped five more boats cross the Mediterranean in the same way, with 3,781 making the journey to Italy. "He was in contact with individuals on board those vessels. He appeared to be providing real time assistance to help them sail across the Mediterranean," said Mr Hookway. "When he was arrested, he had a notebook with pages of coordinates that showed locations in the Med that show a route from North Africa to the southern coast of Italy. "He had a maritime background; he'd worked as a fisherman. He had intimate knowledge of those waters which allowed him to give this assistance even from long distance over the phone." Mr Hookway said Ebid also advised on how much drinking water the migrants would need during the crossings. Ebid, who has a previous conviction in Italy for the attempted importation of over a tonne of cannabis, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration. The hearing is expected to last three days.
Sky News
20-02-2025
- Sky News
Two serving British Armed Forces members admit trying to sell cannabis
Two serving British Armed Forces members have admitted trying to sell cannabis. Identified only as X and Y, the defendants pleaded guilty to being concerned in the making of an offer to supply the class B drug between 23 November and 28 November 2023. At Westminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday, Y also pleaded guilty to having cannabis on 30 November 2023 with intent to supply, while X admitted being in possession of the drug on the same date. Prosecutor Frederick Hookway said Y was found to be in possession of 997 grams of cannabis, with a street value of around £10,000. X was also found with 33.47 grams, the court heard. Mr Hookway then told the court the pair exchanged messages discussing selling the cannabis and spoke of selling 2.3 kilos for £8,750. The Armed Forces members, who are involved in "kinetic operations", will be sentenced at Westminster Magistrates' Court at a later date. Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring told the defendants they could be jailed and said: "Custody is very much in play." Defendant X also pleaded guilty in court to possessing articles for use in fraud, relating to seven receipts for a Rolex Oyster Perpetual 41MM Jubilee watch. The court heard he confirmed the receipts were fake and that he had planned to use them to sell a fake Rolex.
The Independent
20-02-2025
- The Independent
Two serving members of Armed Forces admit trying to sell cannabis
Two serving members of the British Armed Forces have admitted to trying to sell cannabis. The defendants, named only as X and Y, pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday to being concerned in the making of an offer to supply the class B drug between November 23 2023 and November 28 2023. Defendant Y further admitted having cannabis on November 30 2023 with intent to supply, while Defendant X pleaded guilty to being in possession of the drug on the same date, the court heard. Frederick Hookway, prosecuting, said the quantity of cannabis found in Defendant Y's possession was 997 grams, which had a street value of £10,000. Defendant X was found with 33.47 grams, the court heard. Messages between the pair showed them discussing selling the cannabis, Mr Hookway said. They spoke of selling 2.3 kilos for £8,750, the court heard. Defendant X also pleaded guilty to possessing articles for use in fraud relating to seven receipts for a Rolex Oyster Perpetual 41MM Jubilee watch. He confirmed the receipts were fake and that he had intended to use them to sell a fake Rolex, the court heard. The pair, who are involved in 'kinetic operations' within the Armed Forces, will be sentenced at Westminster Magistrates' Court at a later date. Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring told the defendants that they could be jailed, saying: 'Custody is very much in play.'
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Yahoo
Two serving members of Armed Forces admit trying to sell cannabis
Two serving members of the British Armed Forces have admitted to trying to sell cannabis. The defendants, named only as X and Y, pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday to being concerned in the making of an offer to supply the class B drug between November 23 2023 and November 28 2023. Defendant Y further admitted having cannabis on November 30 2023 with intent to supply, while Defendant X pleaded guilty to being in possession of the drug on the same date, the court heard. Frederick Hookway, prosecuting, said the quantity of cannabis found in Defendant Y's possession was 997 grams, which had a street value of £10,000. Defendant X was found with 33.47 grams, the court heard. Messages between the pair showed them discussing selling the cannabis, Mr Hookway said. They spoke of selling 2.3 kilos for £8,750, the court heard. Defendant X also pleaded guilty to possessing articles for use in fraud relating to seven receipts for a Rolex Oyster Perpetual 41MM Jubilee watch. He confirmed the receipts were fake and that he had intended to use them to sell a fake Rolex, the court heard. The pair, who are involved in 'kinetic operations' within the Armed Forces, will be sentenced at Westminster Magistrates' Court at a later date.
