Gang Behind Illegal Immigrant 'College' Jailed

A disgraced solicitor and an elderly couple who ran a bogus college have been jailed for helping potentially thousands of unqualified illegal immigrants stay in the U.K.

When police raided the Academy College of Education (ACE) and Academy College of Training and Recruitment (ACTR) they found ten bedsits in a building described by a judge as: "An epicentre for the manufacture of fraudulent documents."

Solicitor Adeyinka Adeniren, 40, of Thurlow Street, West Norwood, South London (pic.3rd l.) was sentenced to eight-and-half years.

Tiamiyu Bello, 75,(pic.l.) and his wheelchair-bound wife Christina Bello, 67,(pic.2nd l.) both of South Croxted Road, Dulwich, South London were sentenced to five years' imprisonment.

The Nigerian gang specialised in helping fellow-countrymen and women fraudulently obtain leave to remain in the U.K and furnished them with worthless qualifications - mostly in the healthcare industry.

"You exposed the most vulnerable members of society to your scheme," Judge Heather Baucher told the gang at Croydon Crown Court.

"They were exposed to employees who on the face of it seemed to be trained when that was not the case.

"How many sick and ill people have been treated by people who thanks to your fraudulent acumen had no skills whatsoever?

"Only you know if it was hundreds or thousands that beat a path to your door."

Adeniren - who was admitted to the Solicitors' Roll despite being caged for fifteen months for conspiracy to obtain U.K. passports twenty years ago - boasted to police he had made £500,000 from criminal Legal Aid work.

"You were the central player. You referred clients to the Bello's for documentation," Judge Baucher told the solicitor. "There was no end to the documents you were prepared to use.

"You were a man prepared to stop at nothing. You had total disregard for your office of solicitor.

"You are a disgrace to your profession and have brought shame on the profession as a whole."

The father-of-two claimed to run Walworth-based Julius Ceaser Solicitors' alone, but employed illegal immigrant staff, who paid no tax or national insurance contributions during the four-year scam.

"You masterminded this whole operation and you were not satisfied with the half a million you made from criminal work," added Judge Baucher.

ACE based in a run-down building in New Cross road, New Cross (pic.r.) by the Nigerian-born Bello's who settled in the U.K. in 1963 and have been married 46 years.

"There was nothing to suggest it was a college.....Eight to ten people were living there, it was divided into bedsits from basement to attic.

"The purpose was to make money and help your fellow-Nigerians," Judge Baucher told the Bello's. "Your reputation spread far and wide.

"Such was the reputation of this so-called college people who did not know each other would talk on the bus about how to get not only cheap certificates, but false certificates.

"You were regularly providing certificates and courses for Home Office qualifications. They paint a truly horrific picture."

A string of employment agencies - specialising in healthcare - received applications from ACE students who held the bogus qualifications they had never studied for.

Lambeth-based Allied Health Group and Lewes-based Cooksbridge Care were just two of the companies shown certificates from ACTR.

"You gave not one jot of thought to that," added Judge Baucher. "You left a catalogue of destruction in your wake. You failed society in your greed. You did all this for money."

The Bello's provided fraudulent qualifications in care assisting, home care, food hygiene, health and safety, PR, business and computer studies, marketing and O and A levels.

These qualifications made it easier for students to gain Home Office approval to remain in the U.K. and were backed up by bogus references provided by the Bello's.

"ACE and ACTR were no more than a sham........The whole sham was an exercise in deception," said the judge."

All three defendants denied, but were convicted of conspiring to facilitate a breach of immigration law between January 1, 2004 and November 30, 2008.

The Bello's were also convicted of conspiring to possess articles for use in fraud, namely City and Guild Certificates, ACE certificates and other educational qualifications between January 16, 2007 and September 19, 2007.

Jamaican DJ Jailed For Dodgy Passport Scam

A popular local DJ on an Afro-Caribbean radio station has been jailed for twelve months after obtaining and using a U.K. passport in the name of a mental health in-patient.

Jamaican-born Wayne Gayle, 47, of St. Alban’s Road, West Bromwich was employed by Birmingham’s ‘New Style Radio’ and was also a well-known DJ at pubs and clubs in the area.

The father-of-four, who entered the U.K. on a six-month visitor’s visa in September, 2000 pleaded guilty at Croydon Crown Court (pictured) to dishonestly obtaining a passport, by deception.

He is currently also in Home Office detention and subject to deportation proceedings.

Prosecutor Mr. Hamish Reid told the court a passport application in the name of Mark Wynn, who was born in Hackney, East London in 1974, and claimed to be living in Birmingham was received in July, 2003.

Three years later the application was repeated after Mr. Wynn claiming the original passport had been lost.

Suspicious immigration and passport officials traced Mr. Wynn to the mental health wing at Homerton Hospital, East London and discovered he had never personally applied for a passport.

Gayle was circulated as wanted on the police national computer and was arrested by officers from West Midlands Police on October 12.

Officers from the Metropolitan Police and the U.K. Borders Agency collected him.

It emerged Gayle employed a variety of tactics to remain in the U.K. for so long.

He applied for student status in January, 2001 and when this was refused in September that year he appealed the decision.

His appeal was eventually dismissed in June, 2004 and he was ordered to leave the country.

When quizzed by immigration officials Gayle claimed he fled Jamaica, leaving his family behind, because he owed money to gangsters and was stabbed in the back when he failed to repay the debt.

He insisted he only used the passport, which others helped him obtain, so he could return home and take care of his family after their house was set on fire.

His wife and children are all now in the U.K., the youngest two born in this country.

“He fears if he goes back to Jamaica he will be killed,” said Mr. David Smith, defending.

The lawyer insisted Gayle’s wife and children did not receive the right to live in the U.K. on the strength of the bogus passport, but could not explain how their status was obtained.

“U.K. passports are valuable documents that give the right to travel and that was a right to which you were not entitled,” Judge Daniel Flahive told Gayle.

“You used that passport to come and go as you wished and this was a deliberately acquired passport.

“I am told your wife and four children are here legitimately, but I do not understand how this is.

“It is likely you will be automatically deported,” Judge Flahive told Gayle. “People have to be deterred.”

Sex Attack In WC1: CCTV Released

Police have released this CCTV image of a suspect being hunted for terrifying attacks on two young female students – one of whom he sexually assaulted.

The first victim, aged 19, was pounced on in Torrington Place, Bloomsbury, Central London on October 19 and grabbed around the waist.

The assailant tried to lead her away, but eventually fled the scene with the student’s bag.

The next day a 21 year-old woman was grabbed in nearby Ridgmount Gardens and threatened with a knife.

She was forced into Chenies Mews and sexually assaulted at knifepoint.

Officers believe the same person carried out these attacks and are hunting a black man, aged between 22 and 25 years and clean-shaven.

During the robbery he wore a baggy, dark, faded, charcoal-coloured hooded top and the following day he wore a black leather or waterproof bomber-style jacket with a hood.

Anyone with information about these incidents or who recognises the man in the CCTV is urged to contact the Metropolitan Police’s Sapphire Unit on 020 7421 0282, alternatively, to remain anonymous, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Nightclub Doorman Execution: Police Appeal

Police are still appealing for witnesses and information that will catch the killers of the head doorman of a top West End club – executed by a motorcycle gunman when returning home in the early hours.

Bogdan ‘Tony’ Paduret, 29, of Tillingbourne Gardens, Finchley Central, North London was shot in the head while sitting in a car's passenger seat at 6:00am on November 27.

The Romanian-born keep-fit enthusiast ran the door at the Mayfair Club, Dover Street and after finishing work at 5:30am was given a lift home in a silver Vauxhall Corsa.

When the car carrying Mr. Paduret arrived at his home a pillion passenger got off a motorbike that had pulled up minutes earlier.

The suspect produced a handgun and shot through the passenger window four times, killing Mr. Paduret instantly.

An incident room was opened by the Metropolitan Police Service's Homicide and Serious Crime Command (HSCC) at Hendon.

The investigation is being lead by Detective Chief Inspector Jacqueline Sebire.

DCI Sebire said: “We are doing extensive enquiries around Mr. Paduret's lifestyle.

“He was a keen member of the David Lloyd gym in Finchley, hard working and very popular. We would like to speak to anyone who knew Mr Paduret.

“We are very keen to speak to anyone who saw the motorbike, particularly in the area of Tillingbourne Gardens or perhaps in the area of Dover Street.

“We know that both the driver and the pillion passenger were dressed in dark clothing and the pillion rider may have been wearing a jacket with a reflective stripe up the zip.

“This was a cold blooded and planned murder.

“Mr. Paduret was without doubt targeted and we now need to establish why so that those responsible can be put before the courts and held to account.”

The victim's mother, Mariana Paduret, flew into London from her home in Romania and met with DCI Sebire to formally identify her son.

She said: “To me Tony meant everything. He had such tremendous love for people, he would call his friends and relatives brothers and sisters.

“He was incredibly generous and forgiving and at the same time very modest about it.

“He had an acute sense of justice and he took pride in everything he did.

“I have this great sense of loss. Words cannot express how dearly he is going to be missed by all of us.

“This tragedy could happen to anyone. I hope that whoever has any information, which might assist the authorities, will have the sense of duty, the courage and the generosity to come forward.

“Please do help us to find the person who took my son away from me.”

Anyone with information is asked to call the Incident Room at Hendon on 020 8358 0400. If you wish to remain anonymous please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Bogus Yoga Expert Jailed For Sex Attacks

A heating engineer, who sexually assaulted three women in their own homes after also claiming he was a yoga expert, has been caged for four years.

Kyno Hunt, 32, (pictured) of Chase Court Gardens, Enfield, North London was also placed on the official Sex Offenders’ Register for life.

He was convicted at Wood Green Crown Court of sexually assaulting three women in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire; Broxbourne, Hertfordshire and Enfield on February 7; April 28 and September 9, 2008.

The court heard Hunt was employed as a heating engineer who attended addresses by prior arrangement in order to fix/maintain the heating system.

On two of the three occasions he engaged the female occupier in conversation, casually mentioning that he was a yoga teacher.

He encouraged them to assume a yoga position, which required them to get down on all fours.

He used this as an opportunity to come into physical contact with the victim, sexually assaulting them in the process.

During the incident in April Hunt encouraged the second victim to crouch on her hands and knees in order to get a better view of the airing cupboard.

He then sexually assaulted her.

In September the third victim reported the incident to police and an investigation was launched by officers from the Enfield Sapphire Unit.

Hunt was identified and arrested on 3 October and as a result of further inquiries the remaining two offences came to light and Hunt was later additionally charged.

Detective Inspector Daniel Smith, of Sapphire, said: “Hunt is clearly a manipulative and brazen individual who preyed on women, abusing his position and assaulting the victims in their own homes.

“My team of officers in Sapphire are committed to tackling serious sexual assault and ensuring those responsible are held accountable for their actions.

“I would encourage anyone who believes they may have been a victim of Hunt to contact my team on 020 8345 4326.”

Cocaine Gang Caged

Three drug-dealers watched by specialist undercover cops exchanging £340,000 worth of cocaine are starting prison sentences totalling twenty-seven years.

They are: Marios Mariou, 46, (pic.l.) of St. George’s Drive, Watford, Hertfordshire; Rivolt Hoxha, 21, (pic.mid.) and Kemal Boumnijel, 21, of Downsway, Charing, Ashford, Kent.

Mariou received ten years for conspiracy to supply cocaine and possession of cocaine, heroin, cannabis and MDPV, with intent to supply.

Hoxha received seven years and Boumnijel ten years for possession of cocaine.

Wood Green Crown Court heard Hoxha and Boumnijel were arrested on March 25 in a swoop by officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Serious and Organised Crime Command.

Police had tracked the pair and moved in after Mariou handed a white plastic bag to Hoxha.

Searches of the car found two packages wrapped in silver duct tape and a small clear self-seal bag containing three small wraps of white powder.

The two packages from the Peugeot 206 amounted to a kilo of 62% pure cocaine.

Mariou was arrested two months later on May 25 in Watford.

Cocaine, MDPV, heroin and cannabis were found at his address, as well as cutting agents, scales and a large press.

All of the materials were for use in the production and supply of drugs.

Detective Constable Phil Abrahams from the Serious and Organised Crime Command said: “This operation has successfully dismantled an organised criminal network and resulted in the recovery of a large amount of cocaine destined for the streets of London”.

Wannabe Gangsta Rapper Jailed For Shooting Spree

A gun-obsessed amateur rapper, who fired eight shots into a crowd of people – hitting one terrified victim in the leg – has been caged for eleven years.

Aron Thomas, 23, (pictured) of Bramall Court, Georges Road, Holloway, North London opened fire outside busy pubs and bars near Wood Green Underground Station on February 28 after his brother was 'disrespected'.

He pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to possessing of a firearm, with intent to endanger life, and grievous bodily harm, with intent.

The court heard Thomas - known as 'Vipex' - had driven to Bullers Road, pulled out a fully-loaded 9mm and started shooting while shouting "Fuck Wood Green."

He fired eight shots towards members of the public, striking one man, 20, in the leg.

The victim was treated at Whittington Hospital where surgeons removed the lodged bullet from his lower right leg.

Thomas fled the scene before police arrived, but after local searches he was traced to his home address and arrested.

Detective Inspector Sally Jeffrey of Operation Trident – which specialises in probing violent black-on-black crime said: “The young victim had been enjoying a night out with friends when he realised someone was firing indiscriminately at members of the public.

“After hearing the third shot he began to run but was shot in the leg from behind.

“Due to the substantial evidence gathered by Trident officers Aron Thomas had no choice but to plead guilty at the Old Bailey.”

Double Dole Dope Gets A Taste Of Work

Dopey two-time dole cheat David Henry - whose illicit wages were paid into the same bank account that received his benefits - will now have to graft for free after being sentenced to 100 hours community service.

The 32 year-old, who unlawfully received £1,249 in jobseekers allowance and housing and council tax benefit, earned cash on the side as a £6 per hour cleaner for the second time in four years while signing-on.

He pleaded guilty at Croydon Crown Court (pictured) to failing to notify a change in circumstances to the Department of Work and Pensions.

The court was told Henry had a 14-hour per week part-time job with 'Best Connection' and for six months received benefit he was not entitled to - receiving the handouts into the same bank account as his wages.

In 2006 he received an internal administrative penalty for similarly moonlighting in employment while claiming benefits.

Henry continues claiming benefits with a small amount deducted to repay the loss.

So far he has repaid £158.

"I am not going to send you down," the Recorder of Croydon Warwick McKinnon told Henry.

"There is an awful lot of benefit fraud going on, but we cannot send them all to prison. We can't afford that."

Henry was also ordered to complete twenty hours employment training and education and pay a contribution to court costs.

Gang Of "Greedy" Businessmen In Fake-Medicines Plot

Five men accused of a multi-million pound pharmaceutical plot involving bogus Chinese-manufactured life-saving drugs - Europe's biggest ever - were simply motivated by "pure greed" a jury were told yesterday.

Medicine watchdogs ordered a Class One recall of all suspected drugs - taken by heart and cancer patients and the mentally ill - resulting in shelves cleared in pharmacies all over the country.

"They were prepared to make profits by feeding duff drugs to people with serious illnesses, prostrate cancer, heart disease and psychiatric issues," prosecutor Mr. Andrew Marshall told Croydon Crown Court.

Charges were brought following a two-year investigation by the Medicines and Health Care products Regulatory Agency, part of the Department of Health into Consolidated Medical Supplies Ltd.

The company, of Unit 14, Sherrington Way, Lister Road, Industrial Estate, Basingstoke, had its Wholesale Dealers Licence revoked by the MHRA on January 8, 2008.

"This is considered the most serious breach of medicine control, the importation of counterfeit medicines into the system," explained Mr. Marshall.

"The most serious in the European Union, with far-reaching effects for pharmaceutical companies, patients and the confidence of the general public.

"The purpose is just greed. To obtain the profits of buying illegal goods cheaply."

The charges relate to 'Casodex',(pic.top) used to treat advanced prostate cancer, 'Plavix',(pic.mid) a drug prescribed to prevent blood clots and prevent heart attacks for angina patients and 'Zyprexa'(pic.bottom) a anti-psychotic drug prescribed to schizophrenic and bipolar patients.

The five defendants are: Ian Gillespie, 58, of The Green, Marsh Baldon, Oxford; Peter Gillespie, 64, of High Street, Bovingdon, Hemel Hempstead; Ian Harding, 58, of Lower Westwood, Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire; James Quinn, 69, of Holloway Drive, Virginia Water, Surrey and Richard Kemp, 61, of School Lane, Y Waen, Flint Mountain, Clwyd.

All five have pleaded not guilty that between January 1, 2006 and June 30, 2007, they conspired together and with others to defraud pharmaceutical wholesalers, pharmacists, the public and holders of Intellectual Property Rights in pharmaceuticals by dishonestly distributing for gain counterfeit medicines.

They also deny two counts each of selling or supplying the three drugs without authorisation and selling or supplying counterfeit goods, namely the three medicines, between January 1, 2006 and June 30, 2007.

Peter Gillespie alone denies one count of breaching a company director disqualification order between July, 2005 and June, 2007, following his bankruptcy.

"They are just importing danger," added Mr. Marshall. "The drugs imported are not extensively and expensively tested, but instead have been smuggled into the EU and distributed regardless of their chemical qualities."

The drugs were manufactured by the notorious Chinese pharmaceutical counterfeiter Lu Xu aka Kevin Xu, currently serving a prison sentence for a similar scam in the United States.

His bogus drugs were imported via Singapore and Belgium before being ferried and driven into the U.K and distributed by the five defendants.

"It is not just about pharmaceutical companies, but real people exposed to these drugs and their rights not to have their health interfered with," explained Mr. Marshall.

"The public have been defrauded, the system has been compromised and patients put at risk.

"No-one pretended these were cheap counterfeits, they were pretended to be real. These men are not a charity importing cheaper drugs, it is I am afraid, pure greed in order to make money, working totally outside the system.

"They are all medicines for which there is high demand and are quite expensive. All are prescription-only medicines for serious illnesses."

If the 145,000 Zyprexa patients in the U.K. bought only one 28-tablet pack per year they would pay a total of £13.8 million.

"It is the illegal importation and distribution of counterfeit medicines and the placing of them in the legitimate supply chain with the intention to shove out legitimate products," added Mr. Marshall.

The bogus drugs originally purported to be destined for the French market, but by 'parallel trading' they were altered for the U.K.

"A factory was set up to do this with expensive machinery," said the prosecutor. "They tried to get them into our system and used the fact they were French as a disguise to introduce counterfeits.

"These were lifesaving medicines designed to save the lives and help the health of patients.

"They managed to get quite a lot of medicines into the legitimate supply system before they were shut down and some made their way to patients."

The trial is expected to last four months.

College Principal Gets 15 Years For Raping Student He Threatened With Deportation

A college principal who repeatedly raped one of his student's - threatening the 30 year-old African with deportation if she resisted - was caged for fifteen years today.

Businessman James Safo, 62, (pictured) "controlled, degraded and systematically sexually abused the victim," Croydon Crown Court was told.

"She was a student at your college studying for her NVQ and an employee at one of your care homes," Judge Simon Pratt told the first-time offender.

"Your course of conduct lasted eighteen months or so and involved you abusing your position as college principal and employer to force her to have private meetings so your sexual attacks could happen.

"You threatened to make life difficult for her with the Home Office by reporting she was in breach of her visa and liable to deportation from this country."

Safo was convicted after a six-week trial on four counts of rape, one attempted rape and one sexual assault between June, 2007 and December, 2008.

He was acquitted of sex attacks on two other employees and students and a similar complaint was dismissed in 2001.

The victim told police: "Images of what this man has done to me haunt me day and night."

She was pregnant during one of the rapes and later suffered a miscarriage.

Ghana-born qualified nurse Safo was even the victim's landlord - effectively controlling her life - and was guilty of "intimidation and coercion" said prosecutor Miss Hanna Llewellyn-Waters.

Safo, of Hayes Lane, Kenley, Croydon was the principal and owner of The Secretary College, South End, Croydon and owned nearby care homes Alexandra House, Alexandra Road, Addiscombe; Waratah House, Sanderstead Road, Sanderstead; The Warren, Coombe Road, Croydon and Heathland, Dorking.

"There cannot be a more serious abuse of power, it is a serious aggravating factor," Judge Pratt told Safo. "The rapes and attempted rape were violent.

"She described one rape as brutal and whether that rape caused her miscarriage is hard to say, but she will live the rest of her life believing it did.

"She will have to carry the burden of what you did to her for many years to come. This is one of the most serious cases of rape I have ever dealt with.

"It involved a betrayal of trust by an employee and college principal and a campaign of blackmail to keep her under control with threats you could have her deported.

"The offences rely in your desire for power over others as well as sexual gratification," added the Judge.

Safo will sign the sex offenders' register for life.

Fatal Teen Stabbing: Police Looking For Killer Ten Years On

Police have made a fresh appeal to solve the ten year-old murder of a teenager – stabbed to death after being followed off a bus by a group of youths.

Tangor Gokkusu, 16, (pictured) of Heron Drive, Finsbury Park, North London was fatally stabbed in the neck in nearby Brownswood Road on October 3, 2000.

He had just exited a southbound 141 bus in Green Lanes when the gang – of Turkish appearance – confronted Tangor and one of them stepped forward with a blade and delivered the fatal blow.

The victim staggered a short distance across the road and collapsed on pavement.

He was rushed to Homerton Hospital, but died from his injuries four days later.

On the evening of the murder he was wearing a distinctive red and black Galatasaray football jacket and black trousers.

Tangor, who lived with his aunt, was an avid football supporter and enjoyed playing the sport himself.

No motive for the murder has ever been established.

Detective Chief Inspector Simon Moring of the Homicide and Specialist Crime Command, said: “It is now ten years since that fateful day when Tangor lost his life so needlessly, and I believe there are still people in the local community who know who is responsible.

“I am hoping the passage of time will have seen changes in group affiliations and that someone will do the right thing and come forward to enable justice for Tangor's family.

“I would urge anyone with information to contact the inquiry team on 020 8345 4142.

To remain anonymous call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”

Seven arrests were made at the time of the murder, but all suspects were subsequently released without further action.