Latest news with #criminalgangs
The Independent
3 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
The government plan to halt billion-dollar small boats and immigration industry
The government have announced new plans to curb people-smuggling and illegal immigration to the UK, including those involved in the buying and selling of small boats for Channel crossings. The Foreign Secretary announced on Tuesday a raft of sanctions that will be introduced to target anyone involved in assisting illegal immigration to the UK. This ranges from those involved in supplying and financing small boats, fake passports, and 'middlemen' putting cash through the Hawala system, a legal money transfer system, which is also used in payments linked to Channel crossings. Gang leaders, corrupt police officers and companies selling small boat equipment for Channel crossings could face having their assets frozen and being banned from travel to the UK. The first wave of sanctions comes into force on Wednesday, and will publicly name anyone sanctioned, so it will be illegal for UK businesses and banks to deal with them. The measure is expected to include more than 20 designations, and could include corrupt public officials and police officers in steps to tackle the multi-billion-dollar industry. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: 'For too long, criminal gangs have been lining their corrupt pockets and preying on the hopes of vulnerable people with impunity as they drive irregular migration to the UK. We will not accept this status quo. 'That's why the UK has created the world's first sanctions regime targeted at gangs involved in people smuggling and driving irregular migration, as well as their enablers. 'From tomorrow, those involved will face having their assets frozen, being shut off from the UK financial system and banned from travelling to the UK.' It follows legislation being introduced under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill to ramp up enforcement powers for police forces and partners to investigate and prosecute people smugglers. Fresh sanctions aim to target organised crime gangs wherever they are in the world and disrupt their flow of cash, including freezing bank accounts, property and other assets, to hinder their activities. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: 'It will allow us to target the assets and operations of people smugglers wherever they operate, cutting off their funding and dismantling their networks piece by piece. 'Through the Border Security Command and key partners like the National Crime Agency, we are strengthening our ties with other nations to tackle this global problem. 'Together, we are sending a clear message that there is no hiding place for those who exploit vulnerable people and put lives at risk for profit.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Sanctions to be introduced to target people-smuggling gangs
Gang leaders, corrupt police officers and companies selling small boat equipment for Channel crossings could face having their assets frozen and being banned from travel to the UK in efforts to curb the people-smuggling trade. The Foreign Secretary announced on Tuesday a raft of sanctions that will be introduced to target anyone involved in assisting illegal immigration to the UK. This ranges from those involved in supplying and financing small boats, fake passports, and 'middlemen' putting cash through the Hawala system, a legal money transfer system, which is also used in payments linked to Channel crossings. The first wave of sanctions comes into force on Wednesday, and will publicly name anyone sanctioned, so it will be illegal for UK businesses and banks to deal with them. The measure is expected to include more than 20 designations, and could include corrupt public officials and police officers in steps to tackle the multi-billion-dollar industry. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: 'For too long, criminal gangs have been lining their corrupt pockets and preying on the hopes of vulnerable people with impunity as they drive irregular migration to the UK. We will not accept this status quo. 'That's why the UK has created the world's first sanctions regime targeted at gangs involved in people smuggling and driving irregular migration, as well as their enablers. 'From tomorrow, those involved will face having their assets frozen, being shut off from the UK financial system and banned from travelling to the UK.' It follows legislation being introduced under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill to ramp up enforcement powers for police forces and partners to investigate and prosecute people smugglers. Fresh sanctions aim to target organised crime gangs wherever they are in the world and disrupt their flow of cash, including freezing bank accounts, property and other assets, to hinder their activities. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: 'It will allow us to target the assets and operations of people smugglers wherever they operate, cutting off their funding and dismantling their networks piece by piece. 'Through the Border Security Command and key partners like the National Crime Agency, we are strengthening our ties with other nations to tackle this global problem. 'Together, we are sending a clear message that there is no hiding place for those who exploit vulnerable people and put lives at risk for profit.'
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Telegraph
Venice tourists targeted by child pickpockets
They come in all shapes and sizes and have an uncanny ability to blend in with the crowd. As thousands of tourists surge into Venice in the summer months, so do the pickpockets who shadow the holidaymakers cruising down the Grand Canal or winding through the Lagoon City's labyrinth of narrow alleys. But criminal gangs are cleverly exploiting a legal loophole and recruiting thieves as young as 12 or 13. Those under the age of 14 escape criminal prosecution. Police chiefs say gangs have turned away from using pregnant women – who can be prosecuted – and instead turned their attention on children. But even when the youngsters are caught and sent to a community centre for the night, they escape within hours, Marco Agosti, the commander of the Venice local police, said. 'They were invisible' Many of the pickpockets are known to police. Frustrated local activists catch them tailing their victims and later post their images on social media, as well as their names or nicknames such as 'Shakira', 'Mika' or 'Dodu'. 'I didn't feel a thing, they were invisible,' said one 50-year old British victim, who did not want to be named. She was targeted during the city's annual Carnevale festivities in February. 'I didn't realise my wallet was gone until I arrived at the railway station.' Local and national Carabinieri police say they have apprehended more than 150 alleged thieves since the beginning of the year and filled 15 large bags of stolen bags and empty wallets at the town hall. Despite more than 800 police cameras conducting surveillance across the World Heritage listed city, police say they are hamstrung by legal loopholes that allow criminal gangs to exploit the 'baby borseggiatori' (or baby pickpockets) as well as the transient nature of their crimes. 'Pickpocketing is only actionable on a party's complaint and if the robbed person does not show up for trial, the complaint is thrown out,' Gianni Frazoi, the deputy commander of Venice police, told the daily, Corriere della Sera. 'The victims are mostly foreigners and they hardly ever come to the hearing. And so there are no trials and no convictions.' Venice police said 41 people were caught pickpocketing or arrested between January and May this year but there were more arrests in June and July. In the first two weeks of May, police arrested 11 pickpockets. All were minors but five could not be prosecuted under Italian law because they were under the age of 14. Commandant Agostini rejected suggestions Venice was any worse than Italy's other tourist hotspots like Milan, Rome, Florence or Naples. But he did say it was sometimes difficult to get a conviction under Italian law, citing the recent arrest of an alleged Venetian burglar known as 'The Grasshopper' for leaping from one building to another and who has been in and out of jail for his alleged break-ins. In early July, Venetian activists called 'Non Distratti Stop Borseggi' (don't be distracted, stop pickpocketing) at a street march warning tourists and residents to be more attentive in the fight against pickpocketing. One of the leaders of the group, Monica Poli, known as 'Lady Pickpocket', could not be reached by The Telegraph but has been campaigning for years to fight pickpocketing and recruitment of children. She has been known to confront pickpockets on the streets when she finds them. Venice mayor, Luigi Brugnaro, is calling for an immediate change to the law and broader police powers to tackle the problem which police say has surged after the Covid-19 pandemic. 'We cannot resign ourselves to the normalisation of crimes that damage people's lives and the city's image on a daily basis,' Mr Brugnaro said this week. 'We need urgent corrective measures. The government has to listen to local communities and guarantee urban security.' Italy's national justice undersecretary, Andrea Ostellari, and interior undersecretary, Nicola Molteni, both from the far-right League Party, say they are looking at changes to the law. Meanwhile, other Italian mayors including Daniele Silvetti from the city of Ancona, and Nicola Fiorita from the southern city of Catanzaro in Calabria, have also called for wider police powers to stop pickpocketing and street robberies. The pickpocket victims reflect the global reach of Venice's allure. They include an 80-year-old British tourist, an Emirati sheikh fleeced by robbers near the Rialto Bridge, and a Chinese tourist targeted in St Mark's Square. In the past week there have been a number of targeted attacks on well-heeled tourists in Italy, including British peer and eminent surgeon, Lord Darzi. Lord Darzi was robbed of his £175,000 watch by thieves while he was on holiday on the Italian island of Capri this week. Turkish tourist, Nevzat Kaya, had his €300,000 (£224,000) Richard Mille watch wrenched from his arm by three thieves as he returned to his hotel in Milan on Tuesday. On the same day a 60-year old Milan man had his luxury Patek Philippe Aquanaut watch stolen on the street.
BBC News
17-07-2025
- BBC News
West Midlands PCC calls for tougher e-bike and e-scooter powers
The West Midlands police and crime commissioner (PCC) has asked for extra powers to tackle the "growing threat posed by e-bikes, e-scooters and other vehicles being used recklessly and unlawfully on the region's roads".Simon Foster said he wanted "urgent changes to the law" to allow police to destroy the vehicles within seven days, rather than the current said some e-bikes had been modified to reach speeds of up to 70mph (113kmph) and were "increasingly being used by criminal gangs and networks". He said their "speed, agility, and lack of registration make them ideal for evading police and intimidating the public". The PCC also said he would make the case for "strict regulations on the weight, power and speed of privately-owned e-scooters", if it became legal to use them in public spaces in the is currently illegal to use privately owned e-scooters on public roads, pavements and cycle lanes in the UK, but they can be used on private land with the landowner's e-scooters that are part of approved trials are legal to use in designated proposals were submitted as part of a national consultation and he said he made the suggestion after talking to West Midlands said he had been told the electric bikes and scooters were "often used without insurance, registration, or safety equipment, and were frequently involved in dangerous group riding, off-road activity, and pavement use".He said the proposed change would also reduce police storage costs and send a clear deterrent message. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Al Arabiya
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Cambodia Makes 1,000 Arrests in Latest Crackdown on Cybercrime
Phnom Penh, Cambodia–Cambodia on Wednesday said that an order by Prime Minister Hun Manet for government bodies to crack down on criminal cybercrime operations being run in the country had resulted in the arrest of more than 1,000 suspects so far this week. Hun Manet issued the order authorizing state action for maintaining and protecting security, public order, and social safety. The government has observed that online scams are currently causing threats and insecurity in the world and the region. In Cambodia, foreign criminal groups have also infiltrated to engage in online scams, Hun Manet's statement dated Tuesday said. The United Nations and other agencies estimate that cyberscams, most of them originating from Southeast Asia, earn international criminal gangs billions of dollars annually. More than 1,000 suspects were arrested in raids in at least five provinces between Monday and Wednesday, according to statements from Information Minister Neth Pheaktra and police. Those detained included more than 200 Vietnamese, 27 Chinese, and 75 suspects from Taiwan, and 85 Cambodians in the capital Phnom Penh and the southern city of Sihanoukville. Police also seized equipment including computers and hundreds of mobile phones. At least 270 Indonesians including 45 women were arrested Wednesday in Poipet, a town on the border with Thailand notorious for cyberscam and gambling operations, the minister said. Elsewhere, police in the northeastern province of Kratie arrested 312 people including nationals of Thailand, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Vietnam, while 27 people from Vietnam, China, and Myanmar were arrested in the western province of Pursat. Amnesty International last month published the findings of an 18-month investigation into cybercrime in Cambodia, which the human rights group said point toward state complicity in abuses carried out by Chinese criminal gangs. 'The Cambodian government is deliberately ignoring a litany of human rights abuses including slavery, human trafficking, child labor, and torture being carried out by criminal gangs on a vast scale in more than 50 scamming compounds located across the country,' it said. Human trafficking is closely associated with cyberscam operations, as workers are often recruited under false pretenses and then held captive. 'Deceived, trafficked, and enslaved, the survivors of these scamming compounds describe being trapped in a living nightmare – enlisted in criminal enterprises that are operating with the apparent consent of the Cambodian government,' Amnesty International's Secretary General Agnes Callamard said. Cambodia's latest crackdown comes in the midst of a bitter feud with neighboring Thailand, which began with a brief armed skirmish in late May over border territory claimed by both nations and has now led to border closures and nearly daily exchanges of nationalistic insults. Friendly former leaders of both countries have become estranged and there have been hot debates over which nation's cultural heritage has influenced the other. Measures initiated by the Thai side including cutting off cross-border electricity supplies and closing crossing points have particularly heightened tensions with Cambodia claiming they were churlish actions of spite to retaliate for its intention to pursue its territorial claims. Thailand said its original intention was to combat long-existing cyberscam operations in Poipet.
