Heroin 'Factory' Man Caged

A heroin producer, who left tell-tale DNA at a ‘factory’ raided by police who seized £70,000 worth of the deadly drug, has been locked-up for seven years.

Mohammed Saleh, 23, of Stepney Causeway, Stepney, East London was arrested eight months after officers armed with a search warrant swooped on a flat in nearby Ellen Wilkinson House, Usk Street, Bethnal Green.

He was convicted at Isleworth Crown Court of being concerned in the production of heroin.

Officers from the Central Task Force broke into the unoccupied property on March 9, last year discovering a hydraulic press and equipment used to produce heroin packages.

Over 1kg of the drug was seized and Saleh’s DNA was present. He was eventually arrested on November 6.

Detective Inspector Colin Stephenson said: "This seizure will undoubtedly have resulted in a reduction in the supply of heroin across east London.

“The use of forensic techniques was vital in this case and led to the suspect being identified.

“His sentence will hopefully serve as a major deterrent to people involved in the drugs trafficking trade.

“My team continue to target serious and organised crime across east London."

Footballer Fatal Stabbing: Teen In Court

A teenager accused of murdering a promising young footballer, fatally stabbed in a late-night ambush as he strolled with two friends through a park, has appeared in court.

Moise Avorgah, 19, of St. Ann’s Road, Tottenham, North London is charged with the murder of 17 year-old Godwin Lawson (pictured) in nearby Amhurst Park, Hackney on March 27.

He is also charged with attempting to murder brothers Daniel, 18, and Julian Escobar, 20, who were rushed to hospital with stab wounds after the attack at 1.50am.

Aspiring footballer Godwin, from Enfield, North London – a member of Oxford United’s academy - was visiting relatives when he and his friends were reportedly set upon by four youths.

His death - from a stab wound to the chest - is believed to be the result of a vicious local postcode war.

His weeping mother Yvonne said: "Everything I lived for has just been robbed from me in one second.

"Godwin had the whole world at his feet. He had so much talent and wanted to be a professional with Manchester United.

"He told me, 'Mummy I'm going to make it. They will definitely take me because I'm really good. I'm going to get there'.

"He came down to see family and friends and he died. He was just minding his own business when it happened. He was doing so well."

Avorgah was committed in custody by Brent Magistrates to the Old Bailey where he will appear on June 16.

Couple In Dock For Selling Illegal And Dangerous Skin-Lightening Products

A couple who sold dangerous and illegal skin-lightening creams containing banned and prescription-only chemicals from their specialist Afro-Caribbean beauty store avoided prison yesterday for the "shocking offences."

Trading Standards seized 294 products containing unlicenced pharmaceuticals and 109 that breached cosmetic safety regulations

One popular product contained over twice the safe level of a banned topical steroid and others were prescription-only and capable of causing dangerous skin-thinning, permanent colour-change and the risk of secondary infection.

Iqbal Muhammed, 36, and his wife Farahat Muhammed, 33, both of Baring Road, Lee, owners of Super Grows Cosmetics, East Street, Walworth, South-East London were prosecuted after an undercover operation by Southwark Council’s team.

The maximum sentence for the offences is two years' imprisonment.

Both pleaded guilty at City of London Magistrates' Court to selling three tubes of £2.99 'Movate' cream – containing prescription-only Clobestosol Propionate – to an enforcement officer on January 20, last year.

They were raided a week later and also admitted possessing skin-lightening creams containing further prescription-only Clobestosol Propionate; Betamethasone Dipropionate and Flucinonide, contrary to the Medicines Act on January 26.

They also admitted exposing for supply Clair Liss Genial Toning Body Lotion, Clear Essence Skin Body Milk and Skin Light la Crème, containing banned Hydroquinone, contrary to the Consumer Protection Act.

"These are shocking offences," Bench Chairwoman Vivienne Littlechild told the couple. "You have sold dangerous products to innocent members of the public to solve your financial problems."

Mr. Muhammed was cautioned in 2005 for similar offences at a Brixton Afro-Caribbean cosmetics and beauty shop.

"You can go to prison, Mr. Muhammed, for these offences. They are extremely serious matters," added Mrs Littlechild.

"They were sold knowing it was illegal by Mr. Muhammed. He has continued to sell chemicals to people foolish enough to want to bleach their skin."

Prosecutor Mr. Christopher Foulkes told the court Trading Standards twice warned the store the previous year of the dangers of supplying products with banned ingredients.

When quizzed Mr. Muhammed claimed he inherited the rogue stock after buying the shop in 2008, but dates on the illegal products revealed many had been bought by the defendants.

The three tubes of 'Movate' cream bought in the test-purchase contained Clobestosol Propionate.

"That is a topical steroid ranked number one in the U.S.A. It is very potent, prescription-only and should only be prescribed by an experienced dermatologist," added Mr. Foulkes.

"Betamethasone Dipropionate and Flucinonide are both also potent topical steroids ranked number two in the U.S.A.

"They are prescription-only and should not be used unsupervised because of the potential risks. They are prescribed for severe inflammatory skin disease and should be never used by children."

The couple’s lawyer Mr. Stuart Frame told the court: "The products were bought from an itinerant African lady that sometimes pops into the shop and sells the products out of a suitcase.

"The products are extremely popular in Afro-Caribbean areas. There is a high demand and Mr. Muhammed succumbed to commercial pressures. Mrs Muhammed had a far lesser role.

"It is sad perhaps that people feel the need to alter their complexions, but the demand exists."

The couple were sued by the shop’s former owner and were ordered to pay £50,000.

"They found themselves under considerable commercial pressure. These offences were not committed out of greed," added Mr. Frame.

"This case has caused incredible anxiety to them. They are terrified.

"Mr. Muhammed fears he could go to prison for this and if he did the business would not survive."

Mr. Muhammed was sentenced to two months' imprisonment, suspended for 12 months and ordered to pay £500 costs.

Mother-of-two Mrs Muhammed was conditionally discharged for twelve months and ordered to pay £500 costs.

Teen Facing Custody For Gang's Gun

A Hackney teen, persuaded by a notorious local street gang to ‘mind’ a sawn-off shotgun recovered by police from his bedroom in an early-morning raid, faces at least three years behind bars after admitting his first-ever crime.

The 16 year-old, of Eastdown House, Amhurst Road, pleaded guilty at Inner London Crown Court to possessing a prohibited weapon at the address on February 10.

Along with the weapon police recovered violent handwritten gangster-rap lyrics glorifying the ‘A-Road Gang’ with lines like: “Fuck with us and you’ll see the barrels of a twin-gauge.”

Prosecutor Mr. Colin Hart told the court (pictured) officers armed with a search warrant entered the flat, which the defendant shares with his mother and sister, at 7am and found the gun hidden under clothing in the bottom of the wardrobe.

When quizzed by police the teen confessed having the Italian-made 20-bore gun for a month. “He claimed a member of the Amhurst Road Gang told him to look after it.”

He also told officers he had forgotten whether he was the author of the violent lyrics or had been given them by somebody else.

“These lyrics refer to firearms, shooting and killing people,” Judge Roger Chapple told the youth, who cannot be identified because of his age, remanding him in custody for sentencing later this month.

“You have pleaded guilty to a serious offence.”

Company In Dock After Lift Engineer Crushed To Death

A company learned it faces a date with the Old Bailey after a lift engineer they sub-contracted at a prestigious Mayfair development was crushed to death despite desperate efforts to save his life.

J Brown Services Limited of Nirvana House, London Road, West Kingsdown, Kent pleaded guilty at City of London Magistrates’ Court to a summons brought by the Health and Safety Executive.

Andrew Bates, 40, was tragically crushed to death when a lift he was fitting safety equipment to suddenly began moving at 17 Woodstock Street, a four-storey terraced office block, on December 6, 2005.

“Cables hanging from the shaft got snagged on bolts sending a rogue signal to the lift and causing it to move and then trapping Mr. Bates,” prosecutor Miss Hillary Ross told the court.

“Men on the site report they heard screams and Mr. Bates was trapped between the top of the lift roof and the shaft and they were unable to free him.

“They had to call the fire brigade to free Mr. Bates who later died in hospital,” added Miss Ross.

“The prosecution’s case is that he was unfamiliar with the lift and had no formal qualifications. When someone has neither that person is unqualified to take on the job.”

The court was told the building refurbishment included the removal of the old lift and installation of a new one and J Brown took over the half-finished job when the original contractor ran out of time.

Mr. Bates was not an employee of the company, but was a sub-contractor they knew and was working with a member of the Brown family when the tragedy occurred.

The Health and Safety Executive say J Brown should have used five-core cable instead of three-core which reduces the chances of a rogue signal.

They also maintain a person should have been assigned to manually control the lift.

The company’s lawyer Mr. Angus Withington told the court J Brown ceased trading on August 31, 2007 and will be wound-up at the conclusion of the prosecution.

It’s current assess total £11,300.

“There’s no doubt this was a tragic accident,” said Mr. Withington. “The lift was travelling extremely slowly when Mr Bates attempted to jump off, but failed and was trapped.

“The tragedy is if he had stayed where he was he would have been in a safe place designated for that purpose.”

An inquest at Westminster Coroner’s Court recorded a verdict of accidental death.

The Health and Safety Executive’s expert Dr. Anthony Wray told the inquest Mr. Bates would have had only a split-second to react when the lift started moving.

The company admitted that being an employer they failed to ensure that the safety, as far as was reasonably practicable, of persons not in their employment would not be effected by their work installing a lift between November 30 and December 6, 2005.

They will appear at the Central Criminal Court on a date to be fixed.

Cocaine Courier Caught With £24,000 Worth Of Drugs

A hardworking plumber, who risked delivering £24,000 worth of cocaine to fund the next stage of his business, is beginning a two-year prison sentence today after being stopped by cops exiting the Rotherhithe Tunnel.

Father-of-three Paul Collins, 42, of Northchurch, Daws Street, Walworth, South-East London, agreed a £1,000 fee to courier the drug, in a bid to raise cash for a Kingston College gas course.

He pleaded guilty at Inner London Crown Court (pictured) to possessing 602 gms of cocaine, with intent to supply, on February 11.

Prosecutor Mr. Ben Temple told the court it was 9.30 p.m. when two police officers stopped Collins in his white VW plumber’s van as he exited the tunnel in Bermondsey.

They searched the vehicle and on the front passenger seat found the block of wrapped cocaine in a plastic carrier bag.

Collins was arrested and handcuffed and at Southwark Police Station gave a positive cocaine sample.

“He realises one stupid mistake has blown everything he has worked for,” said Collins’ lawyer Mr. Martin Goudi, describing his client as a hard-working family man trying to make a success of his business.

“It is a great shame to see you back in the dock of a criminal court,” Judge Roger Chapple told Collins, whose first drugs conviction was in the same building nearly twenty years ago.

“Class A drugs wreck lives, causes misery and chaos and engenders crime,” added the Judge, sentencing Collins to two years imprisonment as his family looked down from the public gallery.

Pianist's Child Sex Shame

A musician whose stash of child porn was discovered after his arrest for filming up a woman train passenger’s skirt with his mobile phone dodged jailed today (Monday).

Pianist Joe Paice, 39, of Brockley Road, Brockley, South-East London pleaded guilty at Croydon Crown Court to committing a lewd or obscene act outraging public decency by filming up the woman’s skirt on December 14, last year.

He also pleaded guilty to possessing a quantity of indecent photographs of children at his home address on the same day and was sentenced to an 18 month supervision order, including 150 hours unpaid community service work.

Paice, who also teaches music, was reported by a shocked passenger and British Transport Police arrested him when he arrived at East Croydon Station.

While in custody his home was searched and officers found computer files of the Level One images, which are at the lowest level of indecency.

Paice was also ordered to pay £150 costs and ordered to forfeit the offending computer equipment.

Do You Know This Pervert?

Police have released this Internet image of an unknown paedophile who filmed himself sexually abusing young boys in a bid to identify the monster.

The fat bald-headed pervert is believed to be from Northern England, possibly the Manchester area, and committed the offences while abroad.

He posted homemade footage online for other paedophiles and is now being hunted by the Metropolitan Police’s Paedophile Unit.

The footage has been recovered by officers conducting pro-active covert inquiries on the internet and show the suspect sexually assaulting a number of victims, who are thought to be between six and ten years old.

While the image of the suspect is not very clear, officers are confident that anyone who knows him would recognise him.

The man is described as white, aged about 40, and of large build.

He is thought to have visited a number of countries, including Egypt, Malaysia and Italy, and has strong links to Dubai.

Anyone with information which can assist the investigation is asked to contact the Met's Paedophile Unit on 0207 161 2780, or to remain anonymous Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Medical Equipment Firm Fined

A company that supplies specialist diagnostic medical instruments has been hit was a £4,500 bill after flouting safety rules designed to protect patients giving tissue samples.

Cellpath Limited, of Mochdre Enterprise Park, Newtown, Powys, Wales supplied microtome blades – used to take biopsy samples – that did not carry the CE safety mark.

They admitted three summonses at City of London Magistrates’ Court of supplying the Royal Preston Hospital, Preston, Lancashire, the Medway Maritime Hospital, Gillingham, Kent and City Hospital, Birmingham in contravention of the Medical Devices Regulations between April 1 and May 31, 2007.

“We accept no patient was put at risk by these three supplies,” prosecutor Miss Deanna Heer, representing the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, told the court.

The agency’s senior device specialist Dr. Khalid Razak said the regulations were in place to ensure no blunted blades were used to obtain tissue samples from patients.

“The danger, if you have a very small piece of tissue, is that you waste a lot of it due to the blade not functioning and may have to go back for more.

“If the condition varies you may miss vital information that is lost,” added Dr. Razak. “It should be sharp from the start and if the next blade is faulty because of manufacturing problems you may have lost quite a bit of tissue.”

The prosecution agreed none of the blades supplied to the three hospitals were faulty.

“These are safety regulations and the breach arises from the fact this defendant became the manufacturer by attaching it’s own label and was responsible for the quality of the blade,” explained Miss Heer.

The company boasts it has a reputation for “innovation, novel product design and quality of both its products and service.”

Cellpath was fined £500 on each summons and ordered to pay £3,000 costs.

The prosecution dropped similar summonses regarding Beaston Institute for Cancer Research, Glasgow and all summonses against company director Philip Webber, 43, whose family founded the business were also withdrawn.

Canada's Next Top Model Robbed Bosses To Fund Cocaine Spree

A wannabe model blew a chunk of the £10,000 she stole from a top venture capital company on a cocaine and booze binge in a desperate bed to win friends after splitting with her boyfriend, a court heard yesterday (Thursday).

Canadian-born Courtney McMath, 25, of Hurlingham Square, Fulham, made out company cheques to herself while employed as a temp at West End-based Delin Capital U.K. to impress friends she was living the high-life in the capital, jumping in and out of cabs as she toured the clubs and bars.

She was eventually sacked by the firm for constantly taking days off with hangovers and weeks later her crime spree was discovered.

McMath, who modeled for the Jalouse Catwalk Show at London Fashion Week in February pleaded guilty to stealing £10,746 from Delin between November 5 and December 18, last year and received a twelve-month community order, plus 200 hours unpaid work and was ordered to pay £250 costs.

"She split up with her boyfriend and that led to the destruction of her entire social life. She used cocaine and was binge-drinking," Miss Judith Benson, defending, told Southwark Crown Court. "She was using the money to buy drugs and alcohol."

Prosecutor Mr. Nick Rimmer said first-time offender McMath, who sobbed in the dock throughout, forged signatures on the five cheques, making out sums to herself of between £75 and £6,220.

She was arrested on January 27 and said nothing when quizzed at Charing Cross Police Station, but later admitted everything on February 11 after requesting a second interview.

McMath told police she moved to the U.K. two years ago to settle down with her boyfriend, but after the split found herself homeless and friendless.

"She said she also blew the cash on meals and taxis entertaining new friends," added Mr. Rimmer. "She said she was trying to buy new friends with stolen money."

She even twice took cheques home and made them out to herself using the company director's signature, always paying them into her own bank account.

"It was inevitable she would get caught," said Miss Benson. "The cheques were made payable in her name.

"This woman had a promising future and is now aware she has damaged that. She has now stopped drinking and taking drugs, has new flat-mates and a family friend has come over from Canada to support her."

Recorder Jeremy Donne QC told McMath: "You took a fairly substantial sum of money over three or four weeks on a number of occasions. This was an unsophisticated scheme, cheques were made out to yourself, discovery was inevitable.

"Your relationship with your boyfriend had come to and end and I accept that effected you emotionally and socially in that his friends were your friends and you found yourself isolated."

Telling McMath he would not send her to prison Recorder Donne added: "You are a young woman starting out in life and it would be a shame if your foolish conduct blighted your life for several years."

None of the money has been recovered and the Recorded added: "It is unrealistic to order compensation."

Smuggler's Cocaine-Laced Rum Kills Unsuspecting Cabbie

A father-of-two died in front of his terrified son after innocently drinking pure liquid cocaine dissolved inside a bottle of rum, which a smuggler duped a pal into carrying into the U.K. a court heard yesterday (Wednesday).

Mini-cab driver Lascelle Malcolm, 63, of Rutland Gardens, Haringey, North London, was given the St. Lucian 'Bounty' rum as a gift for picking up a friend from her holiday trip to the Caribbean island.

She was given the bottle by a holiday friend who the prosecution say was persuaded to carry it through Customs by 50 year-old Martin Newman, of Wadeville Avenue, Romford, Essex.

He has pleaded not guilty at Croydon Crown Court to the manslaughter of Mr. Malcolm (pictured) and importing class A cocaine.

"In the early hours of May 26, last year Mr. Malcolm rang the emergency services because of chest pains and a headache, informing the doctors at the Whittington Hospital he had drunk Guinness and a shot of rum the night before," prosecutor Mr. Oliver Glasgow told the jury.

Tragically Mr. Malcolm was discharged because doctors could not find anything seriously wrong with him.

"The true nature of the illness had yet to be discovered and at home he suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed in front of his terrified son," added Mr. Glasgow.

Friends and family paid their respects the next day and two mourners, including the dead man's 40 year-old nephew, toasted Mr. Malcolm with the cocaine-laced rum and were rushed to hospital after collapsing with seizures.

"The bottle they poured alcohol from was the same bottle of rum. They noticed an unpleasant taste and spat it out.

"It was a horrifying turn of events and the family asked: 'How could three men fall ill'."

Police analysed the bottle of rum. "Pure cocaine had been dissolved into the alcohol. The cocaine within it was lethal. A teaspoon could cause an overdose," explained Mr. Glasgow.

Mr. Malcolm's friend, Antoinette Corliss, who he had collected from the airport told police the bottle of rum was given to her by friend Michael Lawrence, a native St. Lucian, who she had travelled back from the Caribbean with.

She confirmed it had been given to him by the defendant at the airport.

"The defendant approached Mr. Lawrence and explained he needed help with taking rum back to the U.K. He had ten bottles and could not take that many in.

"Mr. Lawrence agreed and said he would return the bottles to the defendant back in the U.K," said Mr. Glasgow.

When Mr. Lawrence's bags showed excess weight Newman allegedly claimed he worked in St. Lucian immigration and could get the charges waived.

Tragically Mr. Lawrence did not hand the bottle over to Newman in London, but gave it to Ms. Corliss, who presented it as a gift to the Mr. Malcolm.

"The defendant was involved in the importation of liquid cocaine and the death of Lascelle Malcolm was a result of his gross negligence," Mr. Glasgow told the jury.