Latest news with #forensicinvestigation
News24
02-08-2025
- News24
SA man with 56 000 child abuse images arrested as international operation nets major bust
Police found over 56 000 videos and images depicting child sexual abuse during a raid at the man's Standerton home, along with 15 licensed firearms and digital devices. The arrest was part of Operation Bad Vibes, a joint initiative between SAPS, US Homeland Security Investigations, and the US Embassy launched in 2023. The man appeared in court on Thursday after his Wednesday arrest, with a bail application on Monday. A 59-year-old man from Mpumalanga who was arrested with over 56 000 child abuse videos and images is expected to make a formal bail application on Monday. The man was arrested on Wednesday at his home in Standerton during a police operation, as part of Operation Bad Vibes, a joint initiative between the South African Police Service, US Homeland Security Investigations, and the US Embassy. 'During the operation, the team also seized 15 licensed firearms and several digital devices,' said police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Amanda van Wyk. While police were processing the scene, Van Wyk said, forensic experts uncovered more than 56 000 videos and images depicting child sexual abuse. She said the operation was led by the Serial and Electronic Crime Investigations unit in Mpumalanga, with support from Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), US Embassy, the Local Criminal Record Centre, and designated firearm officers in Standerton. 'Initiated in 2023, Operation Bad Vibes is a joint initiative between the SAPS, HSI, US Embassy, aimed at tracing and arresting individuals in South Africa who are linked to accessing, possession, manufacturing, and distribution of child sexual abuse material on a global scale,' Van Wyk added. The man appeared in the Standerton Magistrate's Court on Thursday. The case was postponed to Monday for a formal bail application.
News24
01-08-2025
- Business
- News24
IDT CEO Tebogo Malaka suspended after R836m tender scandal probe
IDT website The Independent Development Trust (IDT) has placed its embattled CEO Tebogo Malaka on precautionary suspension with immediate effect. This comes three days after a forensic investigation recommended disciplinary action against her and IDT's general manager Molebedi Sisi. Audit company PricewaterhouseCoopers found irregularities in a R836 million oxygen plant tender that the IDT awarded to several unqualifying companies. According to Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson who briefed the media about the investigation's findings on Tuesday, Malaka failed to exercise oversight. The report found that she relied entirely on internal supply chain management staff to assure her that the process had followed proper procurement protocol. 'She did not verify any of the documentation. She did not act on the red flags raised by the Department of Health. She did not convene the necessary risk committees to assess the matter. In this, she was not alone,' Macpherson read from the report.
Telegraph
25-07-2025
- Telegraph
Mystery as ‘multiple bodies' found in woods
Multiple dead bodies have been found in woodland in Cornwall, a police and crime commissioner has claimed. Devon and Cornwall Police have been searching Paramoor Woods, near Sticker, since the body of missing man Daniel Coleman was found there earlier this month. On Friday, Alison Hernandez, the police and crime commissioner for Devon and Cornwall, said multiple bodies had been found at the site. She added that officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) and other police forces were involved in the investigation. However, the claims were denied by Det Supt Jon Bancroft, of Devon and Cornwall Police, who said only one body had been found in the woodland. Ms Hernandez told a policing panel: 'We've got a huge forensic tent down there, lots of forensics officers. Obviously, we've found dead bodies in that wood. 'We're just trying to establish how many there may be at this point in time and whether we are aware of who they are or what might have happened to them. So we also don't know how long they may have been there, some of them.' 'Some of the elements of that operation I can't speak about, but some of the things are very obvious. 'As you know, there is a large crime scene that has been identified in Cornwall that is requiring a lot of effort to even scene guard the area. 'The level of expertise, some of the mutual aid we've brought in, is expertise in specific types of investigations that we didn't have. The National Crime Agency is supporting the organisation at the moment. 'I want to thank all the other forces that are coming in at a very busy time for themselves to offer mutual aid. It's largely investigative mutual aid that we've brought in. Until some of those elements have been established of exactly what we're dealing with there, it will be made public at that time.' But Det Supt Bancroft rebutted the claims, saying: 'I can categorically state that we have recovered remains believed to be those of Daniel Coleman only from an area of woodland in Sticker. No other remains have been located at this scene to date. 'It is imperative that we continue to respect the integrity of the formal court process and ensure the administration of justice is not compromised in any way. We hope members of the public understand that, for this reason, we cannot comment further on the defendant or the investigation.' James Desborough, 39, was charged with the murder of Coleman earlier this month and is due to appear before Truro Crown Court on Aug 8. It is alleged that Coleman, from St Austell, was killed between June 2 and July 7. He went missing on June 1. A large crime scene was in place at the woodland on Friday. According to Cornwall Live, the police force has put private security, a 'temporary air exclusion zone' and a large cordon in place to protect the scene. An area was also cordoned off by red tape, which is usually used to demarcate dangerous or high-risk scenes that need to be preserved. However, an officer from Staffordshire Police told Cornwall Live that the tape was in place to mark an area for 'officers' training'. A spokesman for Staffordshire Police confirmed that its officers were assisting the investigation. West Mercia Police previously confirmed that its officers are also assisting at the scene. Det Supt Kev Till, of Devon and Cornwall Police, has also said Home Office-approved scientists and NCA experts were involved in the investigation. Police are also investigating the discovery of the body of Lee Hockey, 50, who was found in woodland between Truro and Probus on July 1. A third murder inquiry is under way following a fatal fire at a residential property in Newquay on July 22. The body of a man in his 30s was found at the property, and a 33-year-old man from Bolton was arrested on suspicion of murder.
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Yahoo
RCMP forensics examining pink blanket found during search for missing N.S. children
Nova Scotia RCMP say they are forensically examining items found during the search for two young children who went missing from a rural Nova Scotia community 2½ months ago, as units from multiple provinces work to find out what happened to the siblings. Lilly Sullivan, 6, and Jack Sullivan, 4, were reported missing on the morning of May 2 when police received a 911 call saying they had wandered away from their home in Lansdowne Station, about 140 kilometres northeast of Halifax. The disappearance sparked days of extensive searches of the property and surrounding woods. Two boot prints were located on the driveway of the property and on a nearby pipeline trail, and a piece of a blanket was also found on a nearby road. In a news release Wednesday, RCMP said the major crime unit is leading the investigation with help from units in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Ontario, along with the National Centre of Missing Persons, Canadian Centre for Child Protection, and provincial and municipal police agencies from other parts of the country. The release said a pink blanket that was seized on Lansdowne Road during the search is being forensically examined. The children's stepfather, Daniel Martell, previously told CBC News that the blanket belongs to Lilly. The Mounties said they are reviewing about 5,000 video files obtained through a video canvass of Lansdowne Station and the surrounding areas. They have formally interviewed more than 60 people, some of whom were given polygraph tests. Martell has confirmed he participated in a polygraph test last month, and that he was told he passed. The Mounties are also following up on more than 600 tips from the public, and are "submitting judicial authorizations to seize and examine materials and devices that may provide information useful to the investigation." "Right now, there are more than 800 tasks associated to this investigation," Staff Sgt. Rob McCamon, the acting officer in charge of major crimes and and behavioural sciences. "A tremendous amount of careful, deliberate investigative work is underway by people here at home and in other parts of Canada. Our collective efforts will continue every day until we determine with certainty the circumstances surrounding Lilly and Jack's disappearance." MORE TOP STORIES
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Yahoo
RCMP forensics examining pink blanket found during search for missing N.S. children
Nova Scotia RCMP say they are forensically examining items found during the search for two young children who went missing from a rural Nova Scotia community 2½ months ago, as units from multiple provinces work to find out what happened to the siblings. Lilly Sullivan, 6, and Jack Sullivan, 4, were reported missing on the morning of May 2 when police received a 911 call saying they had wandered away from their home in Lansdowne Station, about 140 kilometres northeast of Halifax. The disappearance sparked days of extensive searches of the property and surrounding woods. Two boot prints were located on the driveway of the property and on a nearby pipeline trail, and a piece of a blanket was also found on a nearby road. In a news release Wednesday, RCMP said the major crime unit is leading the investigation with help from units in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Ontario, along with the National Centre of Missing Persons, Canadian Centre for Child Protection, and provincial and municipal police agencies from other parts of the country. The release said a pink blanket that was seized on Lansdowne Road during the search is being forensically examined. The children's stepfather, Daniel Martell, previously told CBC News that the blanket belongs to Lilly. The Mounties said they are reviewing about 5,000 video files obtained through a video canvass of Lansdowne Station and the surrounding areas. They have formally interviewed more than 60 people, some of whom were given polygraph tests. Martell has confirmed he participated in a polygraph test last month, and that he was told he passed. The Mounties are also following up on more than 600 tips from the public, and are "submitting judicial authorizations to seize and examine materials and devices that may provide information useful to the investigation." "Right now, there are more than 800 tasks associated to this investigation," Staff Sgt. Rob McCamon, the acting officer in charge of major crimes and and behavioural sciences. "A tremendous amount of careful, deliberate investigative work is underway by people here at home and in other parts of Canada. Our collective efforts will continue every day until we determine with certainty the circumstances surrounding Lilly and Jack's disappearance." MORE TOP STORIES Solve the daily Crossword
