"Cocky" Big Brother Star Decks Dad In Boozy Attack

Big Brother bad boy Victor Ebuwa has been convicted of punching and kicking a dad in the face during a boozy late-night attack - leaving the victim scarred - after he was branded a "cocky loser" while posing for photos in a busy street.

The 30 year-old, (pic.top) of 21 Field Road, Forest Gate, East London, infamous for his role in BB5's 'Fight Night', stormed across the road and left his victim needing up to nine stitches, City of London Magistrates' Court heard.

Ebuwa denied, but was convicted, of assaulting 46 year-old Islington man Tony Tomlin (pic.bottom) of Central Street in The Minories, Aldgate, on October 15, last year and was fined £200, with £200 costs and ordered to pay a £15 victim surcharge and £100 compensation.

Ebuwa, who returned for last year's Ultimate Big Brother finale was posing for photos with fans outside the Abbey Bar just before midnight when Mr. Tomlin's son's girlfriend Sayeda Ali shouted: "You did not even win Big Brother. I don't know why you are being so cocky, you're a loser."

Ebuwa responded: "Shut up, you're fat," and confronted Mr Tomlin's son Nick, turning his attention to the victim when he tried to intervene.

"I don't watch Big Brother, but apparently someone who was on the show came across and put his head up against my son's," Mr. Tomlin told the court. "There was lot of shouting going on.

"I was kicked in the right side of the face and punched in the top lip and now I have a scar," said Mr. Tomlin. "The paramedics said I had to go to hospital to have seven to nine stitches, but I don't like needles and I refused.

"The wound took five to six weeks to heal up and I can still see a lump on the top of my lip. I remember a black shoe coming into my face. That's it."

Eye-witness Lauren Plester told the court: "He looked quite aggressive and stormed over to the group. He then hit the older man, punched him in the face, punched him to the floor and kicked him in the face.

"His friends were telling him: 'Leave it' and 'It's not worth it."

She confirmed hearing a girl from Mr. Tomlin's group shout: "Why are you being so cocky? You never won Big Brother. You're not a celebrity."

Miss Ali said: "I saw the defendant hit Tony and while he was on the floor kick him. I saw it connect. His mouth was bleeding."

A nearby PC, Jonathon Bish, told the court: "I saw a group of men pushing and shoving each other and suddenly saw an arm starting to swing.

"The shouting and flailing of arms continued and one of the white men fell to the ground.

"Whilst on the ground one of the black men kicked the white man in the face.

"I arrested him and he smelled strongly of intoxicating liquor. In my opinion he was drunk."

Insisting he only punched Mr. Tomlin in self-defence and made no contact with his kick Ebuwa said: "Completely by surprise a gentleman came out of my peripheral vision throwing a hail of punches. I was able to sidestep, to take evasive action.

"I threw one punch at him that connected once I realised this guy was not going to stop throwing punches at me. I had to defend myself. His son then attacked me and we were involved in a grappling match.

"I did swing a kick, but I did not want to hurt him and I tried to pull out of the kick and instead kicked the ground. One hundred per cent my foot did not connect with his head."

Hearing abuse levelled at him in public is something Ebuwa claims he has had to endure since appearing on Big Brother.

"On this occassion I began to hear heckling and insults thrown in my direction. They were swear words and quite vitriolic," he told the court.

"I did my best to ignore her. It is not the first time I have heard it and you get used to ignoring them.

"What I should have done is completely ignore it altogether and I should have tried to block out the insults."

He claimed Nick called him a: "fat, black cunt."

"Bringing it down to that level upset me deeply and we were squaring up, staring each other down in a show of bravado."

It is then, Ebuwa claimed, Mr. Tomlin attacked him.

Fulham FC Superfan Avoids Jail For Heathrow Theft Scandal

Fulham FC’s unofficial number one fan – who helped thieves sell valuables looted from Heathrow flights – dodged prison with a suspended sentence on Friday.

Mark Cosstick, 46, (pictured) of Burns Close, Hayes, Middlesex, a regular contributor to the Premier League club’s online fanzine Cottage Corner, lost his airside pass and was sacked.

He pleaded guilty at Uxbridge Magistrates Court on February 7, to two counts of handling stolen goods and due to the seriousness of the case was committed for sentence to Isleworth Crown Court.

The Heathrow Airport employee, who enjoyed privileged access to aircraft and their contents, helped thieves cash-in the stolen items at a local pub.

The first-time offender was sentenced to six months imprisonment, suspended for two years, was ordered to perform 100 hours community service and pay £350 costs.

Mugging In The Square Mile: Police Hunt These Men

Police in the City of London are hunting these two suspects after they mugged a man for his mobile phone in a “brutal” night time attack.

The 22-year-old victim was walking along Bishopsgate just before 1am in the heart of the Square Mile on February 18 when he was suddenly punched and his phone violently snatched.

He chased his attackers down an alleyway, but they turned and attacked him again – throwing him to the floor and kicking him in the face.

Police believe the suspects had spent the evening in nearby so-called trendy Shoreditch.

The first man is described as a black male, wearing a baseball-style, dark waist-length jacket with light coloured arms and he wore light coloured trousers.

The second man is described as a balding black male wearing dark clothing.


Detective Constable Kelly Schonhage of City of London Police’s CID, said: “The victim of this attack is fortunate not to have suffered more serious injuries, given the brutality of the attack he suffered, and all for the sake of a mobile phone.

“We would urge anybody who can help us to identify the men pictured to call us and help solve this crime.”

If you have any information about this incident contact City of London Police CID on 020 7601 2670 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Multi-Million Pound Fake-Medicines 'Charmer' Jailed For Eight Years

A "charming, clever and charismatic" fraudster, who masterminded a £4.7m fake-medicine scandal - Europe's biggest-ever - was jailed for eight years today.

Chartered accountant Peter Gillespie, 65, (pictured with his QC Daniel Janner) of Carey Close, Windsor, Berkshire imported fake Chinese-manufactured drugs for life-threatening conditions with 100,000 doses ending up in patients hands.

"They were high-value drugs that were in big demand for serious illnesses," Croydon Crown Court Judge Stephen Waller told the defendant. "They were manufactured at a factory in China and imported via Singapore and Brussels.

"They were very good counterfeits, the packaging looked just like the real thing and you knew they would go through quickly and be consumed with little trace."

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

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 and half of the 73,000 fake packs recalled.

Bankrupt Gillespie ignored a company director ban and ran Basingstoke-based Consolidated Medical Supplies (CMS) where the drugs were repackaged for the UK market and delivered to unsuspecting wholesalers.

"You are a charming, clever and charismatic man, the leader all the way," Judge Waller told Gillespie. "But you have always dealt on the edge of legality.

"Despite being a disqualified company director you set up and ran CMS and because of your bad reputation you were unable to trade honestly and resorted to the importation of counterfeit drugs."

Despite his bankruptcy Gillespie continued to live a lavish lifestyle, driving Bentley's, Ferrari's and top-of-the-range Mercedes owned by his Luxembourg-based company.

Square Mile News had the only reporter in court and saw his visibly relieved four co-defendants cleared of all charges.

They are: his accountant brother Ian Gillespie, 58, of The Green, Marsh Baldon, Oxford; Ex-Kemco boss Richard Kemp, 61, of School Lane, Y Waen, Flint Mountain, Clwyd; salesman Ian Harding, 58, of Lower Westwood, Bradford-on-Avon and company director James Quinn, 69, of Gillespie House, Holloway Drive, Virginia Water, Surrey.

Gillespie was convicted after a four-month trial that between January 1, 2006 and June 30, 2007, he 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.

He was also convicted on two counts 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.

Gillespie was additionally found guilty of one count of breaching a company director disqualification order between July, 2005 and June, 2007, following his bankruptcy.

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

"For several months you were highly successful and relied on the trust of those in this field," Judge Waller told Gillespie, who showed no emotion after being left in the glass-enclosed dock alone.

"Counterfeits are very rare in the UK market so traders were not on the look out for counterfeits and it was one person's sharp eye that led to a class one recall."

Gillespie was also disqualified from being a company director for twelve years.

Two Years For Regent Street Bomb Hoaxer

A bomb hoaxer – who shut down busy Regent Street for five hours while police negotiators urged him to give up – has been jailed for two years.

Homeless Malcolm Tripp, 46, (pictured) told officers he had planted a bomb in a building he broke into at midnight and pleaded guilty to the hoax.

Southwark Crown Court heard police were called to a security alarm shortly after midnight on January 13 and spotted Tripp inside the building.

He ordered them not to approach as he had a bomb, resulting in the building being cordoned off and other premises evacuated.

Tripp eventually left the building voluntarily at 5:15am, following a negotiation process, which lasted almost five hours,

He was immediately arrested and it was quickly discovered his bomb threat was a hoax.

Detective Sergeant Matt Fields, said: “Malcolm Tripp effectively shut down an extremely busy part of central London for over five hours.

“He was also responsible for taking up the time of many officers who were unable to deal with real policing incidents during this period.

“This sentencing is reflective of the impact this incident had on the area and highlights the fact that we take any type of hoax extremely seriously.”

Lithuanian Drinking-Session Ends In Deadly Stabbing

A Lithuanian who stabbed a fellow countryman to death at the West London house they shared during a heavy drinking-session – then fled to France – has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Eineris Olsevicius, 27, (pic.bottom) was convicted of murdering 21 year-old Tomas Lapsevic (pic.top) at 12 Hyde Way, Hayes in the early hours of August 30, 2009.

Olsevicius, who headed north to Scotland then caught ferry to France after the stabbing, will serve a minimum of fourteen years after his Old Bailey conviction.

Police were called at 3:00am and found the lifeless body of the victim slumped in the hallway.

He had been stabbed in the chest with a six-inch kitchen knife.

Olsevicius and Lapsevic had been out drinking with friends on Saturday night and continued boozing “heavily” when they returned home.

Suddenly a fight broke out between the victim and the defendant, and Lapsevic was fatally stabbed with a knife taken from the kitchen.

Another man received a serious stab wound to his arm as he attempted to break up the fight.

The defendant was driven north by a friend and despite being stopped on the M6 for no car insurance he was able to continue his journey to Glenrothes and on to Frances.

In October 2009 a BBC ‘Crimewatch’ appeal led detectives to Nice, where French officers arrested Olsevicius on a European Arrest Warrant on August 31, last year as he sat in an internet café.

He was extradited on September 16 and officers met him at Gatwick Airport and charged him with murder.

Detective Inspector Tony Bishop of the Homicide and Serious Crime Command said: “Once again we have seen the appalling consequences of young men going out, consuming vast quantities of alcohol and then becoming involved in violent, meaningless arguments, where the use of a knife has produced the death of one young man and a serious injury to another.

“Tomas Lapsevic was an only child and no-one could have been unmoved by his Mother's impact statement in which she described not only losing her son but also the fact that she now faced a very uncertain and lonely future in Lithuania where, by tradition, children bear the responsibility of looking after their elderly parents.

“I would also like to pay tribute to my team who used their specialist skills and knowledge to track and ultimately arrest the suspect, despite him fleeing initially to Scotland and then onto France”

Olsevicius’s friend who helped him escape, 26 year-old Viktoras Shecharas, admitted perverting the course of justice and was jailed for two-and-a-half years.

He will be deported to Lithuania on his release.

The victim’s mother Leokadija Lapsevic, 52, said: “The death of my only son Tomas has changed my life, both, mentally, emotionally and financially.

“The sudden and brutal death of my son left me unable to realize and believe what had happened until his remains reached Lithuania.

“It took about a month and half and during that time I was not myself, living unconscious of what I was doing and how I was doing things.

“During that period, I was so baffled that friends and acquaintances had to help me with all the solemnities.

“I did not know how to get the money for transportation of my son’s remains to Lithuania and for the funeral.

“I have borrowed some money from friends and have taken a bank loan. I have still been in debt.

“It has ruined my health. I became insomniac and depressed. After the funeral, spells of depression have occured again and again, I have started losing my hair and have been suffering from high blood pressure.

“I have to take sedatives and medicine against hypertension all the time. I have been seeing a counselling psychologist. I have not been able to put up with the loss of my son yet.

“I have been preoccupied with ideas about him only. Whatever I do, it seems to me he is still around. I rush home but when I open the door I can see only an empty space, just a speechless picture of Tomas meets and greets me.

“Tomas would take care of me in all ways, he helped with the housework, supported me emotionally and financially as his income was higher.

“I am worried about my future. I had brought up my son by myself and now, having lost him, I am alone.

“I do not have anyone to support me now and in the future either. My life is no longer meaningful. I am not going to hear my son’s voice. I am not going to have growing grandchildren.

“I am afraid to look ahead. I do not know what may happen in future years and whether I will be able to survive on my pension.

“Our social services have not been developed yet. In our country, children traditionally support their aging parents and take care of them. I took care of my ill and ageing mother as my father died many years ago. Pityingly, I am not going to have such care at the end of my days.

“It took a month to screw myself up to write this letter. Recollections and the experience hindered me. Only someone who lost their only child themselves might be able to understand how I felt then, how I am feeling now and how I see my future.

“It is against nature. Parents are not supposed to bury their children.”

£20,000 Reward To Solve Mystery Thames Death

A £20,000 reward is up for grabs in a bid to solve the riddle of a young East London man, who suspiciously drowned in the Thames a year ago.

Ibrahim Gharib, 20, of Tarling Street, Poplar drowned in Shadwell Basin in nearby Garnet Street on March 18, last year.

Detectives from the Homicide and Serious Crime Command (HSCC) are appealing for witnesses to come forward with information.

Eight suspects have already been arrested and are currently on bail, but nobody has been charged with any offence.

Detective Chief Inspector Larry Smith said: “A lot of work has gone into this investigation but we still do not know exactly what happened immediately before Ibrahim fell into the water or what caused him to fall.

“We are hoping that this appeal might jog someone's memory or encourage people to come forward with information.”

Ibrahim's family said: “As a family, not a day goes by that we don't think about Ibrahim and wish that he was still here with us.

“We hope that the reward will prompt someone to share information about who is responsible for the incident at Shadwell Basin that caused Ibrahim's untimely and unnecessary death”.



Officers were called at 9:37pm to reports a man had fallen into the Thames.

The fire brigade, ambulance service, police and the Marine Policing Unit all attended the scene. 



It is believed Ibrahim, and a 17-year old female friend had been on the waterside and may have rowed with some other people.



A post-mortem examination gave cause of death as drowning.



The HSCC are asking for witnesses to call them on 020 8345 3734 or to remain anonymous, Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Police arrested two men, aged 22 and 20, last year soon after the tragedy on suspicion of murder and a 22 year-old woman on suspicion of perverting the course of justice.

Eight months later five young men aged 24, 20, 18 and two 19 year-olds were arrested on suspicion of murder and bailed pending further enquiries.

Slavery In The Suburbs

A housewife who kept a Tanzanian ‘slave’ in her Harrow bungalow for over three years – forcing the woman to work from 5am and sleep on a mattress on the kitchen floor – has dodged jail.

Widow Saeeda Khan, 68, (pictured) was ordered to pay £25,000 compensation to the victim, plus £15,000 costs after her conviction for trafficking people for exploitation, contrary to the Asylum and Immigration Act.

She was sentenced to nine months imprisonment, suspended for two years, following an investigation by the Metropolitan Police’s Human Exploitation and Organised Crime Command.

When they arrived at the property in Whitemore Road, Harrow, North-West London on February 11, last year they rescued the 47 year-old woman.

Later, after a search of the address they found a thin folded up mattress (pictured) in the hallway with sheets that looked like they were being used as a duvet cover.

The victim met Khan when she worked for her at a Tanzanian hospital before 2005 and after she was made redundant they put her in touch with the defendant.

She was told that there was one role working for Khan as a domestic help and assisting in the care of her grown-up children. 



The victim accepted the contracted job at 120,000 Tanzanian shillings per month - £38 – to be split between her daughter’s school fees, a bank in her home country and a £10 personal allowance.

She began working in October, 2006 and Khan immediately confiscated her passport and visa documents, locking up the rest of her belongings in the garden shed.

Every day the victim was given a long list of household chores, which included cooking, cleaning, gardening and caring for Khan’s grown up children and regularly worked through the night without sleep.

The victim was not given one of Khan’s three bedrooms and she was never allowed to eat with the family, often simply being given a portion of bread.

Khan controlled everything the victim did - she was rarely allowed out of the house alone, not allowed to make phone calls without the defendant’s presence and was forbidden time off.

On one occasion the victim wished to return to Tanzania to see her dying parents - she was prevented from doing so by Khan, and never saw her mother or father alive again.



From October 2006 until October 2007 the victim received the £10 monthly payments she expected, but suddenly they stopped.

A year later her daughter was unable to pay for her school fees as the money which she had previously been collecting from the hospital in Tanzania, was suddenly not available to her any more.



Whenever the victim attempted to ask for payment or enquire why she was not receiving the money she was owed, she would be shouted at or told that she should stop complaining and that she would be rewarded in the afterlife for her hard work.



It was only when the victim required urgent medical attention on February 1, last year that her dire living situation was uncovered.

The doctor demanded to see her without Khan’s presence and she revealed for the first time her living conditions and was rescued by officers and offered support by a number of different charitable organizations.

When quizzed by police Khan attempted a desperate cover-up, insisting the victim was happy and even transferred a lump sum to the Tanzanian account in a bid to show wages had been paid.



Detective Chief Superintendent Richard Martin said: “Human trafficking is one of the biggest generators of criminal finance in the world.

“Forcing people to work as slaves is a deplorable part of this immoral trade and one that we will do everything we can to stop.



“This particular case highlights the lengths that traffickers will go to when trying to avoid prosecution.

“I would like to commend the victim who has shown incredible strength and courage by coming forward to the authorities to relay her terrifying and degrading ordeal.


“We continue to work closely with charitable organisations involved in this sensitive area of crime and hope to rescue other women, men or children who are being exploited by these despicable criminals.”


Where's Wally?: Prat In Hat Wanted For Bottle Attack

Police are hunting this New Year’s Eve suspect after a 17 year-old boy was slashed with a broken bottle during a midnight attack in a fast-food takeaway.

The victim was with friends in Carolina Chicken, Harrow Road, Paddington on December 31, last year when the man entered with a broken glass bottle in his right hand.

In an unprovoked attack the suspect assaulted the victim, leaving him with serious chest and arm injuries. 



The assailant was backed-up by eight thugs, who joined in attacking the victim and his friends before fleeing the scene.

Earlier the same day, the wanted man is suspected being involved in a separate incident where a 23-year-old victim was injured at a shop in Westfield Shopping Centre, Shepherd’s Bush.

Following this incident, the suspect was seen on CCTV travelling on a bus towards north Westminster.



Detective Constable Jorden Brewster from Westminster Police said: “Police wish to speak with this man urgently regarding these incidents.

“He is a black man aged around eighteen wearing a very distinctive striped hat and dark clothing.”



Anyone with information on the assault or who knows the whereabouts of this man are asked to call police on 0200 7321 6717 or to remain anonymous call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Dapper Thief On The Run

A former employee of gentleman outfitters Moss Bros. – on the run since he vanished from two North London stores along with a large amount of clothing – has been identified by police.

Ifham Mohamed Farook Ali, 30, (pictured) of College Road, Harrow has not been seen since his last day at work on Friday October 26, last year.

He was employed at the company’s Harrow and Muswell Hill stores and police believe he also has links with Milton Keynes, York and Watford.

He is described as Sri Lankan, with an angular face, short black spiky hair and of slim build.



If anybody has any information or know the whereabouts of Ali, Detective Constable Talbot at Harrow CID wants to hear from you on 0300 123 1212, or if you wish to remain anonymous, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Window Cleaner Caged For Stabbing Pensioner To Death

A money-hungry window cleaner who repeatedly stabbed an 88 year-old regular customer to death – ripping the rings from her fingers – has been caged for life.

Daniel Franklin, 34, (pic.bottom) of Felixstowe Road, Abbeywood, South-East London must serve a minimum of 32 years for murdering pensioner Irene Barrett (pic.top) at her flat in nearby Valient House, Sam Bartram Close, Charlton.

Franklin was allowed in at 7:00am on May 15, last year and when Irene either refused to give him cash or caught him stealing he launched a vicious knife attack.

She died of multiple stab wounds, receiving injuries to her chest, neck and groin area and was struck so hard to the mouth by Franklin her dentures were dislodged and fractured.

He ransacked her flat, also taking a packet of Mirtazapine tablets and other items, before hiding Irene’s body under bedclothes, where neighbours and carers found her a few hours later.

Two days later police arrested Franklin and he concocted an alibi with his girlfriend, 31 year-old Victoria Cordice of Littleheath, Charlton, that the couple were sleeping at the time of the murder.

She was sentenced to eighteen months imprisonment after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice and assisting an offender.

After the Old Bailey verdict Detective Chief Inspector Cliff Lyons said: “This was a horrific crime that saw the death of an elderly woman in her own home.

“Irene's family has been left absolutely devastated and I only hope that seeing Daniel Franklin brought to justice will provide some sense of relief.”

Irene's son said: “My mother had lived a good life and she deserved a better ending than the one which Daniel Franklin decided to inflict upon her.

“What he did was cowardly and cruel.”