LIVERPOOL: Most Wanted Cocaine Smuggler Gets 14 Years Jail

One of Britain's most wanted fugitives, who plotted to smuggle up to 40 tonnes of drugs worth £4 billion into the country, has been jailed for 14 years.

Paul Scott, 32, from Vauxhall, Liverpool, pleaded guilty at Liverpool Crown Court to conspiracy to import cocaine.

Scott had been on the run since 2010 and was captured last December when he returned to the UK from the Netherlands in a Cessna light aircraft which landed at the remote rural East Winch Airfield in Norfolk.
Passing sentence, Judge David Aubrey rejected his claim that he had come back to hand himself in and that he just wanted one more night with his family.
Scott was part of a 26-strong network which consisted of criminals from Liverpool and London working with overseas traffickers to import cocaine from South and Central America, along with heroin and amphetamine from Europe, said the National Crime Agency (NCA).
NCA officers used listening devices to monitor conversations between members of the network, carried out surveillance throughout the UK, and analysed masses of phone data.

Head of the network Paul Taylor, 58, from Liverpool, who was jailed for 22 years in 2011, told a criminal associate there was a stockpile of 40 tonnes of cocaine ready to smuggle inside shipments of tinned fish and wood pellets.

During another recorded conversation, Scott told Taylor that he and his cousin were able to provide transport for the network through a corrupt contact at a legitimate haulage firm.
NCA branch commander Greg McKenna said: "Scott was the last man outstanding in a plot to smuggle vast quantities of cocaine into the UK. Our determination to track him down and bring him to justice demonstrates our commitment to dismantling criminal networks from top to bottom."
Scott was also being sought by the Guardia Civil in Spain in connection with the murder of a British national.
The reportedly tortured body of Francis Brennan, 25, from Liverpool, who was on the run in Spain, washed up on the beach in Alicante last April after he was kidnapped by men posing as police officers.

Following today's hearing, Scott was arrested by Merseyside Police officers on a European Arrest Warrant.

CANADA: Pressure Mounts For Inquiry Into Missing/Murdered Indigenous Women/Girls

In an eagerly-awaited report on missing and murdered indigenous women in British Columbia, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)—a branch of the Organization of American States—has joined the increasingly clamorous call for a national inquiry to explore the roots and context of the problem.

“Indigenous women and girls in Canada have been murdered or have gone missing at a rate four times higher than the rate of representation of indigenous women in the Canadian population which is 4.3 percent,” the IACHR said in its report, which it researched in 2013.

The investigation was done before last year’s high-profile murders of 26-year-old Loretta Saunders and 16-year-old Tina Fontaine, and the brutal assault against 16-year-old Rinelle Harper, all of which have only increased the pressure for a national inquiry. In the absence of that, the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), along with other indigenous leaders and the provincial premiers, are convening a National Roundtable on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls on February 27.

The hope is that the federal government will send “key ministers” to meet with them and discuss the issue, according to the AFN. National leadership is indeed what is needed, said the Native Women’s Association of Canada, which called the IACHR report “groundbreaking.”

"This requires leadership from the government of Canada, since its leadership and participation is necessary in order to ensure nationwide coordinated, effective efforts," said Claudette Dumont-Smith, executive director of the Native Women’s Association of Canada, at a news conference in Ottawa on January 12, according to the Canadian Press. "This is what the government has—so far—not done."

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has repeatedly ignored calls from numerous sources to convene a national panel to study the issue.
The investigation was done solely in British Columbia, because it has the highest number of missing and murdered indigenous women in the country. But the IACHR said its results could be extrapolated to the rest of the country, and that a wider context than simply the women’s lives is to blame.

“The lack of due diligence in cases of violence against indigenous women is especially grave as it affects not only the victims, but also their families and the communities to which they belong,” said the IACHR in a statement. “The IACHR stresses that addressing violence against indigenous women is not sufficient unless the underlying factors of racial and gender discrimination that originate and exacerbate that violence are also comprehensively addressed.”

Even though the basic causes have been acknowledged, more analysis is necessary, the report said.

“Canadian authorities and civil society organizations largely agree on the root causes of this situation, which are related to a history of discrimination beginning with colonization,” the IACHR said.

The international human rights body concluded with several recommendations focused on addressing the full context in which the violence occurs, stretching from shoring up land rights to combatting poverty in order to end the marginalization of Indigenous Peoples.

“Addressing violence against women is not sufficient unless the underlying factors of discrimination that originate and exacerbate the violence are also comprehensively addressed,” the report said. “The IACHR stresses the importance of applying a comprehensive holistic approach to violence against indigenous women.”

Improving education and employment, guaranteeing adequate housing and addressing the “disproportionate application of criminal law against indigenous people” are also on the list, since aboriginals comprise a high portion of prison inmates but serve on just a small number of juries relative to the portion of the overall population they represent.

Public transport should be provided along Highway 16, the IACHR said, alluding to the British Columbia stretch of road that is commonly referred to as the Highway of Tears for the number of aboriginal women who have disappeared or been killed along the route.

While acknowledging existing programs that try to address some of these underlying issues, the IACHR said those were a bit too piecemeal.

“The IACHR recognizes the existence of a wide variety of initiatives to address the situation of violence against indigenous women in Canada,” the report said. “However, based on the information received and analyzed, the IACHR strongly urges the need for better coordination among the different levels and sectors of government.
The IACHR stresses that both federal and provincial governments are responsible for the legal status and conditions of indigenous women and girls and their communities.
-----------------------
OTTAWA - The Conservative government is resisting renewed calls for an inquiry into murdered and missing aboriginal women and girls despite a media report that suggests there may be hundreds more cases than previously thought.

Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney was asked Thursday to finally call a inquiry in light of a report by the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network that Canada may be home to more than 1,000 cases of murdered and missing women.

His answer, in short: no.

Instead, Blaney launched a partisan broadside against the NDP's refusal to support the government's budget bill, which includes a five-year, $25-million renewal of money aimed at stopping violence against aboriginal women and girls.

"As a father, I'm very proud to have supported more than 30 measures to keep our streets safer, including tougher sentencing for murder, sexual assault and kidnapping," Blaney said during question period.

"And Mr. Speaker, I will stand in this house and support the $25-million strategy for aboriginal and missing, murdered women."

Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett questioned how the Conservatives can continue to resist an inquiry in the face of so many unresolved cases.

"This media report says the government's own numbers show nearly a doubling of known victims of what was already a national tragedy," she said in a statement.

"How can a government that refuses to call a national inquiry, in the face of these shocking statistics, claim that they are tough on crime or supportive of victims?"

The broadcaster cited an unnamed source Wednesday in a report that said the Mounties have now identified more than 1,000 cases of missing and murdered aboriginal women and girls — significantly more than previous estimates, which had pegged the tally at more than 600.

The RCMP arrived at the new number after contacting more than 200 other police forces across the country, APTN reported.

The Mounties would neither confirm nor deny the report Thursday.

Supt. Tyler Bates, director of national aboriginal policing and crime prevention services, referred questions to the RCMP's media relations office in Ottawa.

Spokeswoman Sgt. Julie Gagnon said the RCMP report is not finalized and it would be premature for her to comment further.

"The RCMP is currently completing a national operational review to gain the most accurate account to date of missing and murdered aboriginal women in Canada," Gagnon wrote in an email.

"This initiative will help the RCMP and its partners identify the risk and vulnerability factors associated with missing and murdered aboriginal women to guide us in the development of future prevention, intervention and enforcement policies and initiatives with the intent of reducing violence against aboriginal women and girls."

The APTN report also said the Department of Public Safety is sitting on a copy of the RCMP report, which the network says was supposed to come out March 31. Public Safety has yet to respond to questions.

Earlier this year, the RCMP said it completed a "comprehensive file review" of more than 400 murdered and missing aboriginal women and girls within its jurisdiction, and would keep looking into other outstanding cases.

Briefing notes obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act show the national police force has reviewed 327 homicide files and 90 missing-persons cases involving aboriginal females.

The Native Women's Association of Canada has said it is aware of even more cases of murdered and missing aboriginal women and girls than the RCMP tally.

President Michele Audette said her association is now looking into whether it would be feasible or possible to take the federal government to court to try to force a national inquiry.

"There's little bees at the office trying to find out if it's possible. If it is, I think we should challenge," Audette said in an interview.

"It's a human-rights issue. We do it for salmon. We do it for corruption ... how come we don't have the same thing for missing and murdered aboriginal women?"

It has long been estimated that there are hundreds of cases of missing and murdered aboriginal women dating back to the 1960s.

A United Nations human rights investigator called that statistic disturbing last year during a fact-finding visit to Canada in which he also urged the Conservative government to hold an inquiry.

James Anaya, the UN special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, said a national inquiry would ensure a co-ordinated response to the problem and allow the families of victims to be heard.

Read more:
LINK:
http://www.indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2015/01/13/inquiry-missing-and-murdered-aboriginal-women-canada-needed-iachr-158674
ENDS:

Dublin: O'Hara Murder Trial Delayed For Two Days: UPDATED/Trial Report Links

The trail of the man accused of the murder of Elaine O'Hara, whose remains were found at Killakee in the Dublin mountains a year after she vanished has been delayed by two days.

 Graham Dwyer is charged with murdering Ms O'Hara at Killakee, Rathfarnham, Dublin on August 22/2012.
A jury of seven men and five women has been sworn in to hear the trial of architect Graham Dwyer for the murder of Ms O'Hara in August 2012.

TRIAL REPORT: LINKS:
www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/criminal-court/graham-dwyer-trial-elaine-o-hara-told-her-father-a-married-foxrock-architect-tied-her-up-1.2077013
-----------
www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/criminal-court/graham-dwyer-trial-my-urge-to-rape-stab-or-kill-is-huge-you-have-to-help-me-control-or-satisfy-it-1.2075399

Mr Dwyer, from Kerrymount Close in Foxrock in Dublin, has pleaded not guilty to the murder.
Ms O'Hara's remains were discovered on Kilakee Mountain in Rathfarnham in Dublin on 13 September 2013, more than a year after she was last seen.

The trial is expected to last six to eight weeks.
Mr Justice Tony Hunt told the jury members this looked likely to be a long and difficult case.
He warned them not to have their heads turned by external matters.
He said they did not need to look at court reports as they were in court and would hear everything that happened in court.
Opinion and colour pieces in the newspapers were valueless, he added.
He told them between now and the end of the trial, they should ignore all other opinions that they hear and see in the media.

They were the ones deciding the case, the judge said.
Judge Hunt said they should put aside any notions of sympathy and focus on the evidence.
He also told them not to discuss the particulars of the case with anyone else.
The jury members were previously told the case would be difficult for anyone who was particularly squeamish.
www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/graham-dwyre-trial-will-not-begin-until-thursday-1.2072415
 
Senior Prosecuting Counsel Sean Guerin is now due to outline the prosecution case to the jury on Thursday morning.
-----------
PREVIOUS RELATED ARTICLE:
THE prime suspect in the Elaine O'Hara sex game killing was arrested in a dawn raid at his plush home yesterday.

Detectives investigating the suspected brutal murder were last night questioning a dad of two after they swooped on his property in Foxrock at 6am.

The 41-year-old suspect was arrested and taken to Blackrock Garda station where he is being questioned over the murder of the childcare worker, whose body was found dumped in the Dublin mountains.

Detectives also carried out searches at the home he shares with his wife and two young children where they removed his computer and inspected his car.

A source said: "He was arrested during a dawn raid. He is the father of two young children. By all accounts he is seen by the outside world as a very happily married man.

"He works as a partner for a well-known Dublin-based firm. He is by no means the kind of person you would imagine to be arrested for murder.

"His arrest must have come as a terrible shock to those who know him."

The raid on the suspect's home was ordered after gardai trawled through murdered Ms O'Hara's phone and internet records.

Tech-savvy officers have examined the suspect's phone and now believe he was in regular contact with Ms O'Hara shortly before her disappearance.

He was previously questioned by gardai but it is believed gardai identified discrepancies in his story. The source said: "It's believed he had met Ms O'Hara on a number of occasions.

"There were a number of contacts made between him and Ms O'Hara by both phone and email. The man in question was interviewed by gardai a while ago but his account of events on the dates of Ms O'Hara's disappearance and afterwards did not match up.

"When gardai crossreferenced what he had told them with his phone records there were a number of inconsistencies in his story."

The Irish Mirror has learned the suspect had been admitted to a psychiatric hospital following the discovery of Ms O'Hara's remains and gardai had to wait for clearance from doctors before they could arrest him.

He is being held at Blackrock Garda station under Section Four of the Criminal Justice Act and can be questioned for up to 24 hours. Another source said: "This man was admitted to St John of God's psychiatric hospital shortly after Ms O'Hara's discovery where he was treated for mental health issues.

"Gardai were keen to question him further about the murder but wanted to wait until he was released."

Ms O'Hara disappeared on August 22, 2012, after visiting her mother's grave in Shanganagh cemetery, South Dublin.

Some of her remains were discovered 13 months later at Kilakee Mountain, Rathfarnham and a full-scale murder probe was launched from Blackrock Garda station.

Coincidentally, the 36-year-old's bag and a number of bondage items had been discovered in a dried reservoir three days earlier.

Gardai believe she came in contact with her killer on a popular fetish website and the pair had met up a number of times before she vanished.

Ms O'Hara's mother died in March 2002, aged just 52, and the death rocked their entire family.

Elaine was released from hospital where she was being treated for depression just a day before her disappearance.

Her Fiat Punto was found there two days after she vanished, leading gardai to speculate she didn't travel to Roundwood alone.

Gardai initially believed Elaine's death was a result of a personal tragedy but last September 13 there was a major breakthrough in the case when a woman out walking her dog discovered part of her remains. A tibia and a fibia, a scapula, a fragment of pelvic bone and a jawbone with some dental work were recovered in the search. Clothing was also found scattered in the vicinity of s tp the bones, including a pink sock, a size-six runner and a fragment of black tracksuit bottom.

Dozens of families of missing women were contacted to warn them about the discovery but it wasn't until September 17 that dental records confirmed they were Elaine's.

Her dad Frank and siblings Ann, Frank Jnr and John were told the news at their home in Killiney, South Dublin.

Her bones showed no sign of a stab or bullet injury and the hyoid bone - which is located in the neck and often breaks in strangulation - is missing.

One theory is that Elaine died during a violent sex game after bondage materials, including hand and ankle cuffs and ropes, were discovered dumped alongside Elaine's belongings 20km away from her body.

The items were discovered in Vartry reservoir near Roundwood, Co Wicklow three days before her remains were found.

Ms O'Hara was described by her family as a popular woman, but was understood to have been vulnerable and had been treated in hospital for depression.

She was also described as a trusted childcare assistant and worked in a newsagents in Blackrock. On the day she went missing, she had volunteered to work at the Tall Ships Festival in Dublin city centre.

The man who was arrested yesterday is an avid internet user and was in regular contact with his pals on social networking site Facebook in recent days.

It is believed he is a successful professional who previously graduated from the National University of Ireland.

Elaine's father Frank said he was aware of the arrest but declined to comment further.

Her family have also been told they may have to wait several more weeks before they can bury her.

Gardai have revealed a funeral service cannot be held until well into November, due to ongoing searches of the area where Elaine's remains were found.

Timeline of events after tragic care worker disappears

AUGUST 22, 2012

5.05pm: Elaine O'Hara is spotted near her apartment at Belarmaine Plaza, Stepaside in Dublin.

On the same day at 6.15pm Elaine was seen close to a footbridge which crosses the railway at Shanganagh Park in Shankill.

The site is a short distance from her mother Eileen's grave.

AUGUST 23, 2012

Elaine's father Frank reports her missing to Stepaside Garda station.

AUGUST 24, 2012

3pm: The woman's car, a Fiat Punto with an 05 reg, is located by gardai at Shanganagh cemetery in Shankill.

AUGUST 25, 2012

1.52pm: Gardai issue a nationwide appeal for help in locating Elaine.

She is described as being 5ft 4ins, stockily built with mousey brown hair.

SEPTEMBER 11, 2013

A caretaker discovers a bag in Knockraheen reservoir close to Roundwood, Co Wicklow.

Inside he finds anklecuffs and handcuffs, other restraints and Elaine's keys.

The bag is handed into gardai who log its discovery on the Pulse system.

SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

7.30pm: A woman walking her dog in Killakee Mountain, Rathfarnham, South Dublin, discovers skeletal remains.

Gardai are called.

SEPTEMBER 17, 2013

3.30pm: The remains are identified as Elaine's with the use of dental analysis.

Blackrock gardai take control of the investigation.

YESTERDAY

A 41-year-old man is arrested in connection to Elaine's murder.

His arrest must have come as a shock to those who knew him SOURCE YESTERDAY 20km The distance away from Elaine's body in which her belongings were found
--------
ENDS:

Hampshire: Royal Navy Veteran Killed By Lethal Cocaine Drink: Inquest Told

A Royal Navy veteran working at a food import company died after drinking a mouthful from a pear drink shipped from the Caribbean which contained cocaine in a concentration at least 20 times the lethal level, an inquest has heard.

Joromie Lewis, 33, of Kings Road, Gosport, Hampshire, became ill after trying the drink which he spat out because of its bitter taste.

Mr Lewis consumed the drink in Southampton on December 5 last year and died that night at Southampton General Hospital.

The inquest jury heard that tests showed that the drink, called Pear D - imported by his employer Kelly's Shipping UK Ltd on behalf of a client - contained an "overwhelmingly high" concentration of cocaine.

Graham Short, coroner for Central Hampshire, said: "Joromie worked for a company which imported food and drink from the Caribbean and distributed them in this country. He was a driver and general assistant working mainly on a part-time basis.

"On December 5 2013, Joromie drank from a bottle at his employer's garage where he was unpacking a delivery of drinks. The bottle was labelled Pear D, a form of pear cordial not normally available in this country.

"He took only one mouthful and he felt it tasted bitter and spat it out.

"After this he started to feel unwell and he was taken to hospital by his friends. He died later the same day at Southampton General Hospital.

"Tests of the contents of the bottle showed it had a very high concentration of the drug cocaine in solution."

Basil Purdue, a Home Office pathologist, said he had been informed that Mr Lewis consumed the drink at the home of his employer and fell ill immediately.

He said the bottle was part of a consignment of 90 cases imported from the island of St Vincent but the bottle had tested for dissolved cocaine - a smuggling method for the drug.

He said Mr Lewis was a healthy man whose only medical issue had been a problem with his back which had led to him receiving a medical discharge from the Navy in 2012.

Dr Purdue said: "Joromie had inadvertently taken a swig and no more than that from one of the bottles."

He said Mr Lewis was obviously ill as he began to shake and collapse and was rushed to hospital by his friends.

Stating that the cause of death was cocaine intoxication, Dr Purdue said toxicology tests showed that Mr Lewis had a "very high" cocaine level of 21.3mg per litre of blood, with a fatal level being as low as 1mg.

The drink would have contained 1g of cocaine in 3ml of liquid.

He compared the level to that of a drug smuggler who died after four cocaine packages burst in his stomach, leaving him with a level of 4mg/l.

Dr Purdue said that as a "naive user" - someone who was not a cocaine user - the drug would have had a greater effect, and added: "We are dealing with an overwhelming overdose of the drug."

He added that one of Mr Lewis's colleagues put some of the liquid on his tongue and it caused it to go numb for three hours.

Juanette Allen, company secretary of Kelly's Shipping UK Ltd, said the firm imported drinks from the Caribbean at the request of customers.

She said: "In this case we didn't source the drink, we just facilitated the process of bringing it from St Vincent to the UK."

She explained that the van-load of drinks arrived at Portsmouth docks on November 24 and, once duties had been paid, Mr Lewis collected it two days later and took it to the garage at Ms Allen's home in Southampton where the company is based.

She said the company had not ordered any Pear D drink and she had not come across the brand before.

She told the hearing at Winchester Coroner's Court that the client paid £750 for the consignment.
Ms Allen said: "I was familiar with a drink called Pear Drops and I assumed it was linked to this drink."

She said Mr Lewis arrived at her home at about 6.30pm with a colleague, Carlos Deabreu, with a van of items collected for export.

She said he picked up a bottle to drink, which he was allowed to do, and she saw him in the kitchen drinking a mouthful from it.

She said: "When he had a sip of it he said it didn't taste right. I am not sure if he swallowed because he went out to the sink, I do not know how much he swallowed.

"He was trying to get it all out, trying to make himself sick. I asked him when he said it didn't taste right, I asked him if he broke the seal on the bottle, he said yes."

She said he complained of the bitter taste from the drink which he pointed out was not carbonated as it should have been and asked for some sugar to get rid of the taste.

She told the hearing Mr Lewis had said he wanted to get the contents of the bottle tested at a hospital and he left with her partner, Phillon Kelly, and Mr Deabreu before he began showing physical problems.

Ms Allen said she heard Mr Lewis say to Mr Kelly: "Do not let those people use you."

She said: "He was probably thinking this bottle that he had a drink from probably had come from the customer and they knew exactly what was in the bottle and the company was using the company to get them."

She added: "Probably we were a bit naive, it's not something we thought someone would try to do to us.

"Since this incident we have not imported any drinks, not for the customer, not for ourselves. We have taken the decision that any drink we have to source ourselves."

Ms Allen said she had known Mr Lewis, who was paid £10 an hour for his work, since they had both lived in St Vincent and they had joined the Navy at the same time.

Carole Willis of Hampshire Scientific Services said an examination showed the bottle contained 189g of cocaine.

Detective Sergeant Glyn White, of Hampshire Police, said Mr Lewis was taken to Royal South Hants Hospital by Mr Deabreu but because it did not have an accident and emergency department he was taken by ambulance to Southampton General Hospital.

He said: "Carlos steps around the vehicle to open the door for Joromie who by this stage already appears to be beginning to fit. He's not able to exit the vehicle and collapses."

Det Sgt White said that once the danger of the drink had been established, the Food Standards Agency issued an alert to local authorities to check for bottles which might have reached shops in the UK.

He said the rest of the consignment was not recovered, including other bottles of Pear D imported at the same time, and he believed that someone slipped the contaminated bottle into the crates being exported.

He said the customer, a Samantha McDadi, was investigated but not traced, with her telephone number and email address no longer in use, and he added that he did not believe this was a genuine identity.
-----------
ENDS:

Dublin: Crystal Meth Epidemic Threatens To Engulf Working-Class Housing Estates: *Graphic Images

An anti-drug advertisement shows the devastating physical transformation addicts experience after years of meth use. This article is not for those of you who may be faint-of-heart.The article and some of the (links) contain GRAPHIC IMAGES:

The photos, that show a shocking Dorian Gray-like deterioration, were compiled from mug shots of drug users that were arrested repeatedly over the years.
*www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2244031/the-horror-meth-before-pictures-reveal-shocking-transformation-faces-users-hooked-deadely-drug.html 
The continued drug use caused horrific damage to the drug users' skin with sores and scarring - that can be caused by uncontrollable scratching during a hallucination when the addict imagines bugs are crawling under their skin.
The-horror-Meth-Before-pictures-reveal-shocking-transformation in the faces of crystal meth abusers. *www.drugfreeworld.org & www.drugs.ie & www.drugscope.org.uk

Crystal meth is an extremely dangerous and highly addictive street drug that's widely available in certain areas of Dublin, Ireland due to the availability of over the counter products containing pseudoephedrine and much simpler methods of production today.

*www.bbc.com/news/magazine-23453028

According to RTE News some pharmacies in Dublin were seeing repeat purchases of cold medications that contain pseudoephedrine, which is a main ingredient, used to illegally manufacture crystal meth. Sudafed is a cold medication that contains pseudoephedrine and a popular medication that was being purchased over the counter in large amounts from some pharmacies in Dublin which pharmacists are now being warned about.

Crystal meth is being manufactured in small makeshift labs in domestic settings in Dublin, Ireland obviously the same as it is here in the United States which makes the illegal drug more of a serious concern. Crystal meth may produce an intense rush when the drug is abused but it leads to a devastating crash hours later which intensely drives the user to repeat their use.

Repeated use of crystal meth leads to addiction which not only destroys the user, the families and communities are also seriously affected.
-------

Gardai are investigating a rash of DIY crystal meth labs as pharmacists are put on alert to report large sales of Sudafed, the cold remedy that can be used to make the lethal drug.

AS part of an operation by the Garda National Drugs Unit, about nine kilos of a synthetic drug -- worth €800,000 -- was seized in Waterford yesterday.

A 32-year-old man was arrested and in a follow-up operation a further quantity of the drug was seized.

Gardai have warned that tablets such as Sudafed, normally taken for colds, are being used as ingredients in homemade crystal meth.
*www.crystalrecovery.com/meth/national-meth-news-and-headlines/crystal-meth-in-dublin-ireland.html

Pharmacies in Dublin, Limerick and Kerry have already reported significant purchases of the cold remedy.

Gardai believe some of the manufacturers got the idea from watching the hit US TV series Breaking Bad, in which a chemistry teacher turns to producing crystal meth after being diagnosed with cancer.

Officers here said that users of crystal meth usually die within 18 months and suffer horrendous side-effects.

The drug makes users tear their skin by constant scratching and their teeth rot.

Last month a Polish man was arrested for questioning after gardai found a makeshift laboratory during a raid in Tralee.

Purchase:

Detectives also recovered an €8,000 haul of crystal meth and a quantity of Sudafed tablets.

The man was later released without charge, but a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Unusual purchase patterns of the cold remedy have also been noted at pharmacies on the southside of Dublin and in Limerick city.

Buyers were either purchasing large quantities in one go or groups were making daily visits to the chemist to buy in smaller quantities. Most of those involved are eastern Europeans.

Sudafed contains pseudo-ephedrine, which can be used in the manufacture of methamphetamine, or crystal meth.

Chemists have been told they can refuse the medicine to a customer and to notify gardai if they are suspicious.

The Herald has warned for more than a year that a number of gangs in Dublin have been dealing and using crystal meth.

Last October, two gardai were assaulted in Ballyfermot by members of a crystal meth gang.

stabbing:

A key member of the gang is the chief suspect in stabbing electrician Kevin Kenny (32) to death outside a Ballyfermot pub in August, 2011.

The man, in his early 20s, was linked to Tallaght drug dealer Stephen O' Halloran (20), who was shot dead in January.
-------
A CRYSTAL METH addict responsible for a spate of burglaries in upmarket Dublin 4 is the chief suspect for the brutal assault on a woman who was seriously injured when her car was hijacked in Ballsbridge last week.
Liz Turley, 59, was left in a serious condition in hospital after the assault at the gates of her apartment complex last Tuesday morning. She was knocked to the ground and suffered head injuries. She was unconscious when neighbours came to her help.

Her car was later found abandoned in the Kevin Street area of south inner Dublin. One of the main suspects is a 28-year-old man who is suspected of a series of burglaries in the Dublin 4 area over the past two years. He is known to travel in the company of his girlfriend, also a drug addict, on his raids.

Both are said to be addicted to methamphetamine – known as crystal meth, the drug that featured in the Breaking Bad US television series – which gardai say is becoming increasingly prevalent across the country, particularly in Dublin.

The drug is highly addictive and causes erratic and sometimes violent behaviour when overused. It has already been linked to one killing here which is before the courts.

Gardai believe the drug is being (imported into Ireland) *MADE IN IRELAND by eastern Europe and African gangs. Cheaper than crack cocaine, meth has become popular with Irish addicts because of its intense "high".

The quality and purity of "traditional" addictive drugs being sold here has declined in recent years. Less heroin is reaching Ireland, say sources though there have been record crops of opium in Afghanistan, the main supplier of heroin.

The boom in opiate use in China and India has meant that less of the drug is reaching Western countries. Tests have shown that the average purity in heroin sold here is now 10 per cent or less.

Addicts are increasingly turning to drugs like crack and meth and inevitably turning to burglary and other crimes to pay for their habits. The upturn in burglaries throughout Ireland is associated with drug addiction.

The main suspect in the Ballsbridge car hi-jacking is described as violent and has a severe drug addiction. His girlfriend, in her mid-20s, is also seriously addicted. The man has multiple convictions for burglary, public disorder and other offences.

After stealing the car, the pair abandoned it in the south inner city and it is being examined by forensic officers for fingerprints and DNA.

Gardai believe the woman was targeted because the couple wanted to get to one of the drug-dealing locations in south inner Dublin in a hurry to buy more meth.

Gardai appealed for assistance from anyone who saw the grey 03 Ford Focus from when it was stolen in the Serpentine Road area and when it was abandoned in Kevin Street. The thieves made no attempt to disguise themselves, neighbours said. Gardai asked anyone with information to contact Irishtown Garda Station (01) 666 9600.

ENDS:

Dublin: Grey Power Wisdom Can Prevent Discrimination In Old Age

We need to tackle age discrimination and recognise the valuable contribution of older people, writes Bette Browne

Grandparents can take heart in the growing clout of one the world’s most powerful clubs — that of global grandparents who run economies, captain industries and wield political power across the world from Ireland to Iceland.

Bill and Hillary Clinton are the latest to join the club even as the former US secretary of state eyes a presidential bid, while here in Ireland grandmother Mary Robinson is busy playing a global peace role and German Chancellor and grandmother Angela Merkel is Europe’s most powerful leader.

Such examples of grandparent power should inspire the older generation, said Eamon Timmins of Age Action Ireland, the organisation behind Positive Ageing Week.
*www.ageaction.ie & www.alone.ie 

“What those examples of Mary Robinson, Hillary Clinton, Angela Merkel and others show is that older people have a key contribution to make in bringing to the table experience and knowledge.

“There is an element of age discrimination that associates old age with less activity and less influence and less importance but I think older people are playing a key role. What we’re doing in Positive Ageing week is focusing on the fact that we are all growing older and ageing is something to be celebrated rather than feared.

“We are trying to highlight the contribution that older people have made and are continuing to make to their communities and their families. Much of their contribution in many cases is not paid for; therefore it’s not valued because unfortunately we’re a society that doesn’t value what we don’t pay for.

“This afternoon, if you go out to any national school gates, the number of older people collecting grandchildren, as carers or as neighbours or as friends, are playing a very, very important role in the economy. Those children’s parents in many cases are both working, so grandparents are enabling families to get through the recession and pay big mortgages while knowing their children are being well cared for.”

Ireland could make greater strides by tapping the skills and experience of older people to a much greater extent and this would also help to boost the nascent recovery, Mr Timmins said. He cited the approach to older workers of German carmaker BMW.

“In Ireland older people tend to take the brunt of early redundancies so we are losing a lot of experience. By contrast, BMW have adapted one of their production lines in Germany to cater to older people. About 18% or 19% of the German population is over 65; ours is about 12%, so they are desperately trying to hang on to their older workers.”

Older BMW workers now sit on specially designed ergonomic seats and the plant has enhanced lighting, while mobile trolleys make accessing tools easier. Germany knows it desperately needs its older workers and BMW is painfully aware that the number of its employees over the age of 50 will increase to 40% in the next decade from 25% today.

And the approach has worked out well. Workers on the newly adapted production line have been outperforming the younger workers on other lines, producing as many parts but with fewer faults than those produced by the younger workers. This pattern was borne out in a study by the Max Planck 

Institute for Human Development in Berlin that found workers aged 65 and over are more productive and more reliable than their much younger colleagues.

“Older workers do have a key value and as a society in Ireland we are slowly coming round to that but there is still quite a lot of age discrimination in Irish society,” according to Mr Timmins. “We are also moving the retirement age out much faster than other European countries, so there is also going to be a need for older workers to continue working.”

No doubt to the amusement of many grandparents, some US commentators have wondered how Hillary Clinton would be able to juggle the roles of president and grandmother if she were to run for the White House in 2016. But they needn’t have lost sleep over it. The first President Bush, for example, had 14 grandchildren.

“Hillary Clinton would be a role model if she runs [for the White House] and being a grandmother she would bring extra talents like wisdom and expertise,” says Third Age founder Mary Nally, whose organisation designs programmes and services for the elderly. “Age should never be a barrier for older people.”

Certainly, it was never a barrier to statesmen like the late Nelson Mandela. While he was busy shaping a democratic South Africa, he was both a grandfather and a great-grandfather. Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, now a great-grandmother, at 88, is often seen as the glue holding this often turbulent family together.

Former Icelandic prime minister Jóhanna Sigurardóttir, who resigned last year after steering the country towards economic stability, was grandmother to six grandchildren when she came to power in 2009, the same year that Forbes magazine listed her among the 100 most powerful women in the world. Some world leaders have also been raised by their grandparents, most notably Barack Obama, and their world view has been profoundly influenced by the older generation.

The elder set has also blazed a trail in the media and entertainment industries in the person of such figures as Rupert Murdoch and, closer to home, Gay Byrne. In the world of literature, some of Ireland’s best works have come from writers like Brendan Kennelly as they moved into their later years, while some of Seamus Heaney’s most moving poems were inspired by his grandfather.

Grandfather Michael Smurfit remains a driving force in Irish industry, while in the United States Warren Buffett, dubbed “America’s grandpa investor,” continues at the age of 84 to make his clients billionaires. But, at the other end of the scale, ageing for large numbers of people in Ireland can be a nightmare.

After a lifetime of working hard and raising families they face grinding poverty in their later years and sometimes even the horror of elder abuse. Their choices are often as bleak as deciding between eating and keeping warm and if they end up in hospital they must wait for hours on cold, uncomfortable trolleys.

“None of these conditions should be acceptable in a wealthy country like Ireland in 2014,” says Age Action CEO Robin Webster.

--------------

ENDS:

Dublin: 130,000 'More' Children In Poverty, As Families Loose Ten Years Of Income: UNICEF

The UNICEF report looked at the impact of the economic crisis on child well-being

A new study from UNICEF on the impact of the recession on children in 41 developed countries places Ireland close to the bottom of the list.

The report has ranked Ireland in 37th place in the league table measuring relative changes in child poverty.

Only Croatia, Latvia, Greece and Iceland finished below Ireland in the UNICEF league table.
The report looked at the impact of the economic crisis on child well-being.

It found Irish families with children have lost the equivalent of ten years of income progress.
The child poverty rate rose by over 10% to 28.6% between 2008 and 2012.

This corresponds to a net increase of more than 130,000 poor children in Ireland.

Comparatively, poverty among older people has increased by 2.5% during the same period.
Of the 41 countries surveyed, 18 recorded a reduction in child poverty, including Chile, Australia and Poland.

UNICEF said the data showed a strong correlation between the impact of the financial crisis and a disproportionate decline in children's well-being.

UNICEF Ireland Executive Director Peter Power said: "Countries should place the well-being of children at the top of their priorities during economic recessions.

"Not only is this a moral obligation, but it is in the long term self-interest of societies.

Children living in poverty are more likely to become impoverished adults and have poor children, creating and sustaining intergenerational cycles of poverty."

Keywords: unicef, child poverty

Related Files

• UNICEF report media summary
• UNICEF report card