Latest news with #mule
Fox News
3 days ago
- Fox News
Kentucky man arrested for releasing raccoon into business after previous mule-riding incidents
Quite the wild situation unfolded in small-town Kentucky recently.A Murray, Kentucky, man, who was identified by the Murray Police Department as 40-year-old Jonathan Mason, was arrested for allegedly releasing a raccoon into an open business. According to a Murray Police Department's Facebook post, Mason arrived at the unnamed business around 9:18 p.m. on June 6 and released the animal. The raccoon subsequently bit a patron inside the business, police said. Mason had already previously been warned not to return to the business, according to police. After being pulled over by police, Mason allegedly refused to roll down his window for the officers, who removed Mason from his car. The reportedly rabid raccoon's release inside the business was just the latest in a string of animal-related offenses committed by Mason, police said. In December 2024, police said a "manifestly" drunk Mason rode a mule to a liquor store. When he refused to leave, the police were called. Mason was arrested after trying to ride off on his mule, police said. Some witnesses reportedly told police they saw Mason unnecessarily whip the mule at a different business. The mule was taken away by the police. A few days later, police said Mason tried to take back his mule, also while drunk. Mason was allegedly caught riding his mule down the road and refused to stop. He was arrested again and taken to jail, police said. According to the Murray Police Department, spanning his three arrests, Mason has been charged with two counts of second-degree animal cruelty, third-degree fleeing or evading police, second-degree disorderly conduct, alcohol intoxication in a public place, two counts of third-degree criminal trespassing, two counts of resisting arrest, second-degree assault and failure of owner to maintain required insurance. Fox News Digital reached out to the Murray Police Department for additional comment but has not received a response.
The Sun
21-05-2025
- The Sun
I'm a drug mule who flew from Thailand like Bella Culley & Charlotte May Lee…I've fled UK over threat to kill my family
A TERRIFIED British drug mule has told how he was left in fear of his life after his stash went missing en route to the UK - and the gang which recruited him demanded £100,000. The 32-year-old man partied for free in Thailand with traffickers who promised him £12,000 to carry a suitcase stuffed with 42lbs of cannabis to the UK via Dubai. 15 15 15 But he was horrified to learn his illicit cargo had not been loaded onto the plane from Bangkok after he boarded and his suitcase was later seized by border forces. He managed to reach the UK where he immediately smashed and threw away the burner phone he had been using to contact the gang to stop cops tracking him down. But the traffickers who recruited him are now threatening to kill him or harm his family unless he hands over the £100,000 value of their lost weed. The mule narrowly escaped arrest on a similar route to Bella Culley - the 18-year-old Brit banged up for alleged trafficking in Georgia. He lives a few miles from Bella's home in Billington, County Durham, but has been forced to flee the country to Spain after the gang started hunting him. The trafficker - whose story has been verified and has asked not be identified for his own safety - told The Sun: "I got messages from the gang accusing me of stealing the weed when it went missing. "They were saying 'we want the stuff back or you'll owe us £100,000'. They said they know where my family live and were threatening to firebomb the house. "I have no idea who they are or where they're from. These are just people working through encrypted apps. "I couldn't give them an answer where the drugs were because I had no idea myself." The mule laid bare his terror as law enforcement authorities warned Thai-based British gangs are offering free holidays, limitless booze and big cash bungs to vulnerable holiday youngsters. The Sun told yesterday how narcotics crimelords based in hot spots including Thailand's Koh Samui are offering bigger rewards than ever after profit margins rocketed. Since cannabis was legalised in Thailand in 2018 it has become so cheap on the streets that gangs who export to the UK can make an astonishing 3,000 per cent mark-up. An incredible 800 people - including 50 Britons - have been held in Thailand for alleged drug smuggling since last July, with more than nine tons of cannabis seized. Desperate Brits are being ensnared into smuggling huge quantities of drugs out of Thailand - with the promise of fast money but the risk of jail or death. 15 15 15 The mule told yesterday how gang recruiters have been active in poor communities in the north east of England preying on young people in need of cash. He said: "Ordinary people are being offered a lot of money to do this. 'I know loads of people who've done it - and there's a handful from my home town who are in jail right now. "I got approached by someone who I used to be friends with on the street who knew I was hard up for money. "He said to me 'do you want to make yourself 12 grand?' I was like, 'yeah, doing what?' "He was said I'd have to fly out to Thailand, pick up some weed and bring it back. "Obviously, at first I was like, 'nah, f*** that!' And then, money started getting on top of me a bit more over the next couple of months. "So, I got in contact with him, and he said 'right, yeah, we can go next week'. "I don't have a clue who organised it but they booked our flights.' The mule and two other couriers - one in their mid-20s and another in his mid-30s - flew out from the North West of England to Bangkok in November. They partied for two weeks in the Thai capital fr free before being sent on their perilous mission. 15 15 15 The mule told The Sun: "We went to a warehouse near Pattaya and picked up a couple of suitcases - with 19 kilos of weed inside" "No questions asked - we headed straight to the airport." But the trip home took a disastrous turn when the smuggler was told his bags of contraband had not made the flight to London. He said: "When I was on the flight to Dubai, a steward told me my bags weren't on the plane. 'I panicked. I thought, 'S***, what the f*** does this mean?' I was thinking if I get lifted in Dubai, I'm f****d. 'They told me the hold had been full and the bags were on a different flight. "It dawned on me how much trouble I was in once I got on the plane. "I was throwing sleeping tablets down my throat just to get me through the flight. "Once I changed in Dubai, I kind of sobered up and really started to panic.' Back in the UK, the trafficker asked for his missing bags to be delivered to a British address. 15 15 But they never arrived and a baggage agent later sent him a message confirming Border Force had seized his suitcase and its illicit contents. He said: "At that point, I got rid of my phone and just f*** off to go and stay with a friend in another part of the country for a little bit. I was waiting for the police to turn up and get me. "I snapped the phone I'd been using into a million pieces and threw into different parts of the river. "I wasn't going to go chasing it up after I'd received an email saying that they'd been seized. I panicked and tried to disappear. "Then the guys who I was doing it for started accusing me of stealing it, telling me I owed them 100 grand and threatening my family. 'It got really nasty after that and ended up disappearing to Spain for while until things cooled down.' "I don't think they're going to risk their whole operation over something this small - but now I'm worrie about my family.' 15 15 Police in the former Soviet state of Georgia believe Bella used in a similar operation - but routed through capital Tbilisi to provide a back door into the EU. Former air stewardess Charlotte May Lee, 21, from Chipstead in Surrey appeared in court yesterday after being up in another suspected Thai trafficking nightmare. She appeared brought to court yesterday from a disgusting hellhole cell in Sri Lanka following her arrest with a huge stash of the superstrong drug kush. A second source in the north east of England told The Sun how social media is also being used to entice would-be smugglers. They said: "People are being offered around £10,000 to go to Thailand, pick up a load of weed, and come back. There's loads doing it from around here. "I know a mate who was picking up cannabis from a guy and got offered £10k. 'He was told that he'd have to bring back 22kg of weed. He told them straight up he wasn't interested, but there are other people who will do anything for that kind of cash. Why Brit backpackers are prime targets, Thai cop reveals By Patrick Harrington Police Lieutenant Colonel Arun Musikim, Deputy Inspector of the Surat Thani province police force, said: 'Cases involving British nationals smuggling cannabis have been around for a while. 'There is a lot of cannabis grown on Thailand's islands in the south because the climate is suitable and it is legal. A lot of gangs are attracted to this. 'There are now various smuggling methods that we have seen. Some carry it themselves, some hire backpackers, and some send it via mail. 'This year, there have been many cases we have intercepted. Most involve British and Malaysian nationals. 'It's easy for British citizens to travel as they can enter Thailand and return to the UK without needing a visa. 'Most of the smugglers are people hired to carry the cannabis, similar to how tourists might smuggle tax-free goods. 'They're usually unemployed individuals from the UK. The gangs offer them flights, pocket money and hotel stays, just to come and travel and take a bag back home with them. 'These people often have poor social standing at home and are looking for ways to earn quick money. They find them through friends or on social media. 'Many will go to festivals or parties while they are here, just like they are having a normal trip abroad. 'They are told that it is easy and they will not be caught. Then the amount the organisers can sell the cannabis for in the UK is much higher than it costs in Thailand. 'Police suspect that there are multiple employers and groups receiving the drugs on the other end. The cannabis then enters the UK market. 'We are being vigilant to ensure there are no routes out of the country.' "I reckon they sent Bella to Georgia because security's less tight. 'It's in Europe, but not in the EU — so you can get into Georgia, then slip into mainland Europe where border checks are easier. "Moldova's another one." Meanwhile, Bella Culley's anguished dad Niel (Ckd), 49, was allowed to visit her for the first time yesterday since her arrest at Tbilisi's international airport on May 11. He is believed to have ferried a food and clothing package to Bella at the grim No5 Women's Penitentiary where she will be held until her next court appearance on July 1. He spent around 45 minutes with Bella before emerging puffing nervously on a cigarette as he waited for a taxi. He declined to comment.
The Sun
18-05-2025
- The Sun
Brit ‘smuggler' Bella Culley's links to Chinese ‘mule directorships' scheme as she was paid £550 to pose as firm's boss
DRUGS charge teen Bella Culley has been linked to a Chinese 'mule directorship' scheme paying £550 to dodgy directors. British backpacker Bella, 18, is in custody following her arrest in Georgia's Tbilisi airport with a suitcase of cannabis after going missing 4,000 miles away in Thailand. 6 6 She faces at least nine months on remand in a grim Soviet-era jail alongside hardened criminals after joking online of 'Bonnie and Clyde' hijinks while showing off cash wads in the Far East. But investigators have now unearthed odd business links unrelated to her alleged drug mule shame. A fellow company director has told The Sun both he and Bella were hired by a local recruiter to handover passport details and sign paperwork in exchange for more than £500. The practice allows Chinese firms to use a loophole to sell goods into the UK market via online giant Amazon. It was unclear what the nature of Bella's involvement in the Chinese company was today and her family have declined to comment. UK Government officials refer to the process of selling your identity to become a listed director as 'mule directorships'. The fellow director - who asked not to be named - said: "Someone's used my details to run a dodgy company, and now I'm being linked to a girl from Billingham who's just been arrested for drug smuggling in Georgia. "I don't even know her, but somehow our names are connected on this company. "Last year, some lads I knew were offering £550 to open Amazon business accounts. "The idea was simple – you'd give them your passport and address, they'd set up an Amazon seller account in your name, and you'd get paid. Pregnant 'smuggler' Bella Culley faces raising child in HELLHOLE prison after shock 'love' confession "What I didn't realise was that these accounts are being sold to Chinese sellers who can't open them themselves anymore because Amazon cut them off. "Once the account is transferred, they are meant to take your name off it. "Someone's clearly scraped my information from that Amazon work and set me up as a director for a company I've never even heard of. I don't even know how to get this fixed." The man claimed that hundreds of people in the Billingham and Stockton area of Teesside - where Culley is from - have been approached online and offered £550 for passport details. A man calling himself Warren Bradbury, who lived in Darlington is believed to be the head of recruitment on behalf of Chinese businesses. The man said: "He was the one who got loads of people round here signing up for this Amazon business account thing. 'He was all over Facebook, pushing it on his stories before his account kept getting banned. "He was the one who'd come round with the laptop, get you on the video call to set up the Amazon account, and then hand over the cash. I'd see him pulling this routine all over Darlington and Middlesbrough. "He'd meet people wherever they were – their mate's house, a pub, whatever – as long as they had their passport and address ready. He had it all down to a system. "He wasn't working alone. There were other lads in London involved, plus a few contacts in China who were pulling the strings. They'd all take a slice before the accounts were sold on. "I thought it was just a bit of cash on the side. I didn't realise it would come back like this." 6 6 6
Daily Mail
15-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Family of teenage British 'drugs mule' are blocked from seeing her in prison after arriving in Georgia - as her lawyer reveals she is 'depressed, confused and scared'
The family of British drugs mule suspect Bella Culley has been blocked from visiting her in prison after they landed in Georgia. Father Niel Culley, 49, and auntie Kerrie Culley, 51, touched down in Tbilisi yesterday and pushed for an emotional reunion with the 18-year-old who is accused of carrying 30lbs of cannabis into the ex-Soviet republic. Legal sources told the Mail the relatives tried to visit on Wednesday and again today, but were not allowed because the prison director has not signed relevant paperwork. It is understood they are pushing to visit tomorrow, but are reliant on officials signing it off. Culley was stopped at Tbilisi airport earlier this week in a suspected sting operation and found with 12kg of cannabis and 2kg of hashish with a street value of £200,000. She claimed in court she was pregnant and her lawyer said she had been left 'scared, confused and depressed'. The teenager has been preliminarily detained until July 1 while investigations are ongoing. She is languishing in notorious Women's Colony Number 5 on the outskirts of Tbilisi and could be facing 20 years in prison. Her father and auntie have been locked in talks with British Embassy officials since their arrival and are not speaking to the press. Culley's alleged offences have been covered by local news outlets in ex-Soviet nation, Georgia Zurab Tatunashvili, a senior customs officer, described the discovery of drugs in the bag of the 18-year-old girl. He said: 'I was inspecting luggage using an X-ray scanner. One of the bags appeared suspicious based on its contents, so I marked it with a customs sticker, which indicates that it must undergo a physical inspection in the presence of the passenger in a specially designated room.' Culley's lawyer Ia Todua said: 'The detainee says that she is pregnant. She needs special examination and attention. In addition, in my assessment, she was depressed, confused and scared.' Todua told Radio Free Europe (RFE): 'When the accusation was presented, given that it was a foreign environment for her, it was her first time communicating with law enforcement officers, we agreed on such a position that she should exercise her right to remain silent in order to develop herself.' Law enforcement is expected to contact the suspect 'in a few days' in her detention jail. 'If she wishes to cooperate with the investigation in terms of providing certain information regarding the accusation, this will be agreed upon later,' reported RFE citing the lawyer. It is possible that a separate legal team will be hired. Todua confirmed earlier this week that Culley's father Niel was headed to Tbilisi after having flown to Thailand, where she initially went missing. The British Embassy in Tbilisi told RFE: 'We are assisting the family of the British woman detained in Georgia and are also in contact with the local authorities.' The report said that neither the Ministry of Internal Affairs nor the Customs Department of the Revenue Service of the Ministry of Finance in Tbilisi say which country the British woman entered Georgia from, nor whether Georgia was her final destination. Any onward travel plans have not been disclosed. But Todua told RFE that according to the case materials, Culley arrived in Georgia from Thailand and, according to her travel tickets, intended to stay in Georgia. The suspect is accused of carrying 34 hermetically sealed packages containing marijuana as well as 20 packages of hashish into the ex-Soviet republic. Culley sparked a massive international search operation in recent days after she was reported missing while she was believed to be holidaying in Thailand. On Tuesday night it was revealed the teen had been arrested 4,000 miles away on drug offences in Georgia. Footage shared by local broadcasters appeared to show the 18-year-old being walked into the Central Criminal Police Department in Tbilisi while in handcuffs. Culley was reportedly charged with illegally purchasing and storing a particularly large amount of narcotics, illegally purchasing and storing the narcotic drug marijuana, and illegally importing it into Georgia. The country's Interior Ministry has said the committed crime 'envisions up to 20 years - or life imprisonment,' and while she requested bail, the judge overseeing the case decided to imprison her as she posed a flight risk, local media reported. Now, the British teen could face two decades or more behind bars in the country's only female prison, Tbilisi Prison No.5, located 45 minutes away from the ex-Soviet capital. Stark photographs of the facilities sterile interior show what the life the teen could face if convicted and sentenced to imprisonment in Georgia - in a lock up reports say is decaying. When reports first emerged of Culley vanishing, it was believed she was on holiday in southeast Asia, as she was last believed to be in the Pattaya area, near Bangkok. Her phone was also believed to have been turned off. Cleveland Police have since said authorities in Georgia have confirmed that 'an 18-year-old woman from Billingham' had been arrested 'on suspicion of drugs offences and that she remains in their custody.' The teenager's family previously said she first flew out to the Philippines just after Easter this year and had then flown to Thailand around May 3. Culley had been regularly posting on social media and last shared a picture to Facebook on Monday, May 5. Her distraught family initially appealed for help to trace her whereabouts, with police in Thailand also involved in the search. Culley, who recently finished a course at Middlesbrough College with the aim of becoming a nurse, was in regular contact with her mother Lyanne Kennedy. She was scheduled to speak with her on Saturday. Her father Neil Culley and her aunt, Kerrie, had travelled to the southeast Asian country in a bid to get answers. But now, she faces time in Tbilisi Prison No.5. A Human Rights Watch (HRW) report into the lock up previously criticised the 'severely overcrowded' facility after they alongside Amnesty International and Penal Reform International urged the Georgian government to end ill-treatment in their prisons in 2006. The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment (CPT) described the conditions at No 5 as 'degrading', 'inhuman' and as such 'an affront to a civilised society' that same year. A HRW report also detailed the facility as being in a 'state of disrepair' at the time, with 'crumbling' walls and floors with some inmates having to sit on 'two tier metal bunk beds' when they were not sleeping. The bathroom were described as 'decaying and flithy', while all the cells were said to have smelled 'strongly of human sweat, human excrement, and cigarette smoke,' with garbage also found scattered near cell doors. Before police confirmed Culley's arrest, her mother Lyanne told Teesside Live: 'She flew out to the Philippines after Easter with a friend and she was there for three weeks. 'She was posting loads of pictures and then she went to Thailand on about May 3. 'The last message she sent was to me and that was on Saturday at 5.30pm saying she was going to Facetime me later. 'That was the last message anyone has received from what we can figure out up to now. 'I'm just waiting on her dad who is now in Bangkok to get back with any more information. I just want her home and safe or to hear her gorgeous little voice.' Her distraught mother had also told the Sun that she had a bad feeling about the 18-year-old's trip to Thailand. 'I really didn't want her to go to Thailand. I begged her to come home. I don't trust some of the boys over there,' she said. 'But she wanted to meet up with some friends she made over there on a previous trip. I don't know who any of them are.' When Culley's father Neil was told by officers at the Bangkok police station to contact the country's immigration bureau to figure out where she was last staying. The family previously contacted an airline, who revealed that Culley had made a request for a ticket but the payment never went through. Lyanne said: 'When she stopped answering messages I assumed it was because she was flying back to surprise me. But then nothing.' The distraught mother added: 'We think she was last near Pattaya, and was supposed to fly back from Bangkok via Frankfurt according to the itinerary.' 'But I never heard anything about picking her up.'
