Three Men Arrested In Connection With Heathrow Death

Police investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of Jimmy Mubenga in west London have arrested three men by appointment at a West London police station. The three men, aged between 35 and 49, have all been released on police bail, until December, pending further enquires. All three have been arrested in connection with the death of Jimmy Mubenga, 46, from Angola. Police and the London Ambulance Service were called at 8:25pm on Tuesday, 12 October, to reports of a man unwell on a British Airways flight preparing for departure from Heathrow Airport to Angola. Mr Munbega was taken by London Ambulance Service to Hillingdon Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. A post-mortem examination took place but proved inconclusive. Further tests will be conducted to establish the cause of death. An inquest will also be opened at West London Coroner's court in due course. Detectives from the MPS Homicide and Serious Crime command are currently investigating the death. The deceased was being deported from the UK under escort by civilian security guards. Inquiries continue to establish the full circumstances of the incident. The death is being treated as unexplained at this stage.

Men Jailed For Cocaine Supply

Three men who conspired to supply a substantial amount of cocaine have been jailed at Wood Green Crown Court for a total of 27 years.

Rivolt Hoxha, 21, of no fixed abode was jailed for seven years for possession of Class A drugs - namely cocaine. Kemal Boumnijel, 21, of Ashford, Kent was jailed for for ten years for possession of Class A drugs, also relating to cocaine. Marios Mariou, 46, of Watford, Hertfordshire was jailed for a total of 10 years for conspiracy to supply cocaine, as well as possession of a controlled drug relating to heroin, cocaine, cannibis, MDPV, with intent to supply. Both Hoxha and Mariou had previously pleaded guilty to their offences, while Boumnijel pleaded not guilty and was convicted by a jury in September 2010. On 25 March 2010 Hoxha and Boumnijel were stopped in a Peugeot car by police after Mariou was seen to hand a white plastic bag to Hoxha. Searches of the car found what appeared to be two packets covered 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 were examined and found to contain approximately a kilogram of cocaine with a purity of 62 per cent. The drugs would have been sold at a street value of approximately £340,000. Further investigations at Mariou's address recovered MDPV, heroin and cannabis.

Tax Fraud Fugitives Payback Time

A Leicestershire couple have been ordered to pay back crime profits of £333,807 or receive extended prison sentences. They were jailed in May 2010 after being on the run for a decade.

Jiva Parmar and his wife Rekha Parmar were initially sentenced to over seven years in prison for their role in a £3.9m VAT ‘missing trader’ fraud. John Kay, Assistant Director of Criminal Investigation for HM Revenue & Customs, said: “VAT fraud is a serious crime and tackling it is a top priority for HMRC. VAT fraud’s victims are the UK itself and the millions of honest taxpayers who play by the rules. HMRC is determined to bring to justice the criminals behind VAT fraud and money laundering and to ensure they do not profit in any way from their crimes.” The ‘missing trader’ fraud involved mobile telephones imported into the UK VAT free although it is suspected the phones never existed. A contrived chain of companies were set up who sold the goods on in the UK with VAT added, but went ‘missing’ without paying the VAT over to HMRC.

(BMcN)