Tag: united kingdom

Gang ringleader who smuggled at least 127kg of cocaine into Britain using Encrochat is jailed for 16½ years after detectives ‘hacked into’ encrypted service

The ringleader of a drug network smuggled at least 127kg of cocaine into the UK using the Encrochat messaging service that has been burst open by detectives.

Marius Bucys, 43, of Dagenham in London, has been sentenced to 16 years and six months in prison after being convicted of conspiracy to import Class A drugs.

Bucys is the latest criminal to be busted after cybercrime experts cracked open the Encrochat service and used its data to arrest hundreds of criminals who had, until then, used the app as a near-untraceable means of coordinating drug deals.

European officers blew the app wide open in 2020, and Metropolitan Police detectives used a combination of its data and old-fashioned detective work to snare the drug smuggler – whose drivers used secret compartments to hide their wares.

The Met says Bucys acted as the ringleader in a wider drug network, arranging travel and logistics for the substances to be brought into the UK.

After Encrochat was accessed by police in the Netherlands and France, data was passed to police forces in the UK via the National Crime Agency (NCA) that detectives were able to use to link Bucys to the illicit trade.

Officers also trawled through hundreds of hours of CCTV showing lorry drivers stopping at locations up and down the M25 to pick up the drugs.

When officers raided his address, they found a notebook containing details of the importations.

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Brit anti-corruption cop is found dead in his car submerged in the sea off the British Virgin Isles: Family’s fury as death is ruled ‘an unfortunate accident’

A British anti-corruption police officer has been found dead in his car submerged in the sea off the British Virgin islands, with his family saying they fear a cover-up.

Paul France, 61, was part of a team that investigated organised crime and corruption in the British overseas territory.

The father-of-four was found dead in his car on October 7, his vehicle completely submerged in sea water off the coast of Tortola, the BVI’s largest island.

According to reports, the discovery of the ex-Greater Manchester Police detective came just hours after drugs and guns were seized in raids.

Police chiefs on the island passed the case to the coroner, but the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force force told The Sun newspaper that his death was an ‘unfortunate accident’.

An inquest into the incident also appears to have been scrapped, the publication reported.

This has sparked anger among Mr France’s family, who believe there is more to his death, and has rattled his colleagues.

‘Everyone thinks the same thing. How do you end up in the ocean?’ Anne, Mr France’s niece who is from Bolton, told The Sun.

‘We are angry we have been left in the dark.’

A source told the newspaper that Mr France’s death in October has left his police colleagues rattled.

‘It has unnerved a lot of them. They’re not wanted there,’ the source said.

However, officials on the island say they don’t believe any foul play has taken place.

Instead, they suspect a ‘medical episode’ or a ‘malfunction with the vehicle’ is the most likely explanation, Police Commissioner Mark Collins said in October.

‘I have nothing that suggests any foul play has taken place,’ he said.

‘I don’t think we can rule out a medical episode and I don’t think we can rule out a malfunction with the vehicle. I’m not going to go into the investigation because the file will be made available of course to the Coroner’s Court, but to answer your question, I don’t think he’s the type of guy that would have committed suicide.’

Mr France had been a police officer either in the UK or the BVI for 40 years, according to local reports in the aftermath of his death in October.

The vehicle was found off the coast of Tortola’s capital of Road Town, in the Waterfront area, which is close to Queen Elizabeth II Park.

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GOVERNMENT-FUNDED STUDY EXPLORES WARP DRIVES AS MEANS OF FASTER-THAN-LIGHT COMMUNICATION THROUGH “HYPERWAVES”

Exploring faster-than-light (FTL) communication, a concept rooted in science fiction has intrigued scientists and engineers for years. The proverbial little brother to FTL travel, where a spacecraft is sent at warp to a distant location, FTL communication may be a promising first step, and one theorist is shifting focus to “Hyperwaves,” a method of sending messages across vast distances faster than the speed of light.

The recent paper, partially funded by the British government’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory and the Ministry of Defence, uploaded to arXiv, “Hyperwave: Hyper-Fast Communication within General Relativity,” by Dr. Lorenzo Pieri, offers a novel approach to this challenge. It suggests using “hypertubes” – structures that can manage the distribution and configuration of negative energy – to accelerate and decelerate warp bubbles, facilitating FTL communication. 

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UK porn watchers could have faces scanned

Porn users could have their faces scanned to prove their age, with extra checks for young-looking adults, draft guidance from Ofcom suggests.

The watchdog has set out a number of ways explicit sites could prevent children from viewing pornography.

The average age children first view pornography is 13, a survey suggests.

Explicit website Pornhub said regulations requiring the collection of “highly sensitive personal information” could jeopardise user safety.

Privacy campaigners have also criticised the proposals warning of “catastrophic” consequences if data from age checks is leaked.

A large chunk of the UK population watch online pornography – nearly 14 million people, according to a recent report by Ofcom.

But the ease of access to online pornography has also raised concerns that children are viewing explicit websites – with one in ten children seeing it by age nine, according to a survey by the Children’s Commissioner.

The Online Safety Act, which recently became law, requires social media platforms and search engines to protect children from harmful content online.

It will be enforced by Ofcom, who can issue large fines if firms fail to comply.

Ofcom has now outlined how it expects firms to become “highly effective” at complying with the new regulations, which come into force sometime in 2025.

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Father who built four luxury holiday cabins complete with hot tubs at a beauty spot he owns has been ordered to demolish them

A father who built four luxury holiday cabins complete with hot tubs in a natural beauty spot has been ordered to demolish them following a planning battle. 

Owner John Phillips, 38, who opened his £200-a-night chalets in the Gower Peninsula in Wales over a year ago, built them without proper permissions.

Mr Phillips said he did not believe the buildings needed planning permission because of their size when he initially put them up. But after speaking to council workers, he was advised to apply for ‘change of use’ if he intended to rent them out. 

He later applied for retrospective planning permission, which was denied. 

Mr Phillips and his partner Kerrie Garrett saw the chalets as a chance to ‘cash in’ on the beauty of the surrounding area and provide for their two-year-old daughter Darcy-Mae. 

But furious locals claimed the chalets were a ‘blot on the landscape’ of Britain’s first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and should not have been built.

The cabins in the hamlet of Landimore, about 13 miles east of Swansea, faced objections from neighbours and even the National Trust – before planning officials ruled they detracted from the Landimore Conservation Area and Gower AONB.

Council officers issued enforcement action on eight grounds, including the lack of flood and ecology reports, and potential damage to the roots of trees at the rear of the cabins.

The enforcement notice requires Mr Phillips to remove all traces of the cabins and return the land to its previous condition.

The notice was due to take effect from next week but Mr Phillips has appealed the council decision with the Welsh Government department Planning and Environment Decisions Wales.

He argued the cabins would attract visitors to the area all year round and boost the economy in an area where tourist accommodation was limited.

He built the cabins in the grounds of his home as an investment.

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England’s oldest Christmas market cancelled because it was ‘so popular that it was a safety risk’

One of the UK’s longest-running Christmas markets has been cancelled.

Lincoln Christmas Market will not be going ahead after a last minute motion to save it was rejected.

The market, which was first held in 1982, was axed earlier this year by the Labour-led council due to concerns about overcrowding.

City of Lincoln Council has replaced the event with a series of smaller offerings throughout the year.

However, residents and business owners said the new events lacked the “charm” of the event.

Rachel Whittaker, who runs a photography studio in the Uphill area, said: “It is so sad, people can’t believe it, they’re astonished.

“It’s bizarre. Other places would fall over themselves to have a December weekend where hundreds of thousands of people are walking around your city, eating, drinking, shopping, having a brilliant time – and spending their money.

“And we are saying we don’t want that? It makes no sense. This is the very thing that makes Lincoln so special at Christmas.”

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Hackers who targeted the private hospital that treated Kate Middleton are threatening to release the Royal Family’s private medical information

Hackers who targeted the private hospital which treated Kate, Princess of Wales, are threatening to release private medical information belonging to members of the Royal Family.

The gang broke into the computer systems of the King Edward VII’s Hospital and warned they aim to release ‘data from the Royal Family’ on Tuesday unless they are paid £300,000 in the cyber currency Bitcoin.

The ransom demand was made on the dark web, where the hackers posted images of what they claim are stolen files including X-rays, letters from consultants, registration forms, handwritten clinical notes, and pathology forms.

GCHQ and police are investigating the attack by hacking gang Rhysida – named after a venomous tropical centipede.

The 56-bed private hospital in Marylebone has been used by the Royal Family for more than a century. The late Queen Elizabeth II was a patient and so was Prince Philip who spent almost a month being treated there before he died aged 99 in 2021.

The Princess of Wales was admitted there in 2012 with prolonged bouts of acute morning sickness during her first pregnancy. 

During her stay, two Australian radio DJs placed a hoax call and obtained private medical information about Kate – then the Duchess of Cambridge – which they then broadcast, forcing hospital bosses into an embarrassing apology. 

The nurse who unwittingly took the call later took her own life over the prank.

Last night, Philip Ingram, former British military intelligence colonel, said: ‘Given the highly sensitive nature of the patients, there will be a degree of pressure on the hospital to try to stop any of this data being released. 

And therefore I would expect them to explore the possibility of paying the ransom.

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Could YOUR neighbour report your illegal Amazon Firestick? Warning to law breakers streaming content on ‘dodgy’ devices as experts say officers might turn up at your door

People using Amazon Firesticks and other illegal streaming devices could soon face a knock at the door from police officers warning them they could be prosecuted, experts have warned.

According to data from cybercrime specialists Fact-UK, there has been a significant increase in the number of viewers using their Firestick to illegally watch subscription TV.

The copyright-protection organisation says these illicit streams could be funding organised crime and allowing gangs to profit off their personal data – as retailers crack down on the practice. 

Some households use the devices to watch content from subscription services such as Netflix or Sky Sports illegally for a fraction of the price. 

Intelligence unit officers working with Fact-UK have sent out ‘Cease and Desist’ letters and are conducting nationwide ‘Knock and Talks’ with those who take part in the illegal practice, informing individuals they face further action or prosecution if they do not stop.

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No proof face masks ever worked against Covid, claims UKHSA boss who warns they may have even had OPPOSITE effect on spread through ‘false sense of security’


There is no solid proof masks ever slowed the spread of Covid, England’s former deputy chief medical officer said today.

Professor Dame Jenny Harries, who now heads up the UK Health Security Agency, said the evidence that coverings reduced transmission is ‘uncertain’ because it is difficult to separate their effect from other Covid curbs.

She also told the UK’s Covid inquiry that government advice on how to make a mask using two pieces of cloth was ‘ineffective’.

Studies showed at least three were needed for even a small effect on the spread of viruses, Dame Jenny said. 

Meanwhile, she warned advice for the public to wear masks during the pandemic may even have given people a ‘false sense of security’ that they could reduce their risk of becoming infected if they wore one while mixing with others.

Dame Jenny wrote in her witness statement that the evidence base for using face masks in the community ‘was, and still is to some degree, uncertain’. 

She noted that the evidence for mask wearing varied depending on what materials it was made from. For example, a ‘one or two layer cloth covering’ is ‘not particularly effective’, she said.

And if someone doesn’t wear it properly – fully covering the mouth and nose – ‘it won’t work’, Dame Jenny added.

The inquiry was shown guidance on how people can make their own face masks from the first wave of the pandemic.

In response to the proposals in May 2020, Dame Jenny wrote that advice to use one or two pieces of fabric was ‘ineffective’.

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Preacher who sold £91 ‘divine plague protection kits’ he said could cure Covid after he was visited by God loses appeal against fraud conviction

A preacher who sold £91 ‘divine plague protection kits’ as a cure for Covid-19 has lost his appeal against his conviction for fraud today. 

Bishop Climate Wiseman, 47, offered a package, containing a small bottle of hyssop, cedarwood and olive oil along with a prayer card and piece of scarlet yarn. 

The head of the Kingdom Church in Camberwell, south London, said he had a visitation from God and told jurors he had performed miracles. 

Wiseman denied he was a conman and insisted he was a ‘man of God’, despite being convicted of fraud at Inner London Crown Court last December after telling members of his flock that the kits could ward off and cure infection.

Southwark Trading Standards officers were alerted to his scam on 24 March 2020 – the day after the country was plunged into lockdown. 

Wiseman was sentenced to 12 months jail suspended for two years and ordered to complete 130 hours unpaid work. 

He was also ordered to pay £60,072 in costs to Southwark Borough Council and given three months to pay.  

Wiseman appealed against his conviction on the grounds the trial judge directed the jury inadequately on essential questions of knowledge and dishonesty.

Hyssop is mentioned in the Bible as a means of warding off plague, specifically leprosy, and has a history of use in remedies for nose, throat, and lung afflictions. 

However, the only modern use for the aromatic garden herb is for the flavouring of foods and beverages due to its sweet scent and bitter taste. 

He also claimed an error in his defence counsel’s closing speech should have led the judge to discharge the jury.

Wiseman also renewed his application for leave to appeal against the costs order.

But Lady Chief Justice Carr, sitting with Mr Justice Goose and Mr Justice Foxton, threw out his appeal at the High Court.

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