Translate

Wednesday, 18 July 2012

Gangs sometimes fire first shots online

 It's been more than two years since the death of Decari Antonio Starr, an 18-year-old from St. Paul who was shot in the chest in north Minneapolis and then dumped at North Memorial Medical Center. There's almost nothing publicly known about his unsolved killing, but tucked away on the pages of Facebook, Starr, who was also known as "Pudda" or "Pudda Loc," has attained the higher profile of someone revered on the street because he was violently taken away. There, friends of his call themselves "R.I.P. Pudda Loc," and post pictures of him and his gravestone. Some vow to avenge his death on pages where others mourn. On a Facebook picture of Starr's grave, one person wrote "rip big cuzzin your killer dieing this year." Usually hidden from public view, the life of gangs weave in and out of some Facebook pages as kids wrapped up in Minneapolis gang life share their highs and lows on the social network. Posting in real time, their pages include hospital photographs after they've been shot, poses before the mirror with gang signs flashing, and a never-ending conversation rife with gang references, memorials to those who've been killed and threats to enemies. "It's probably no different than any other kids, right?" said Minneapolis police Lt. Jeff Rugel. "They're sharing stuff that they used to do face-to-face or over the phone. But there's criminal stuff." It was this sort of online back and forth between two Minneapolis gangs that helped fuel a series of house shootings last month that culminated in the killing of 5-year-old Nizzel George, according to police. He was found on a sofa in the front room of his grandmother's house, which was struck by a hail of bullets fired from outside. Two teenage boys have been charged with murder in Nizzel's death. Rugel runs the police department's Strategic Information Center, where officers use technology to track crime. One of the jobs in his office amounts to monitoring Facebook full-time. They understand the teen slang and filter through thousands of innocuous and inane comments to look for the few that could solve a crime or stop one before it happens. They try to draw connections out of the Facebook networks to help document the shifting alliances on the street. Police were aware of Facebook threats between rival gangs weeks before the shooting that killed Nizzel, but the threats weren't specific. When Rugel and his staff sees something that looks like trouble -- a known gang member says he's going to hurt someone -- they pass the information along to officers on the street. It's a poorly kept secret that the police watch Facebook, said Rugel. "You see comments every once in a while. 'Don't put that on Facebook. You know who's looking at it,' " he said. Despite some users' occasional concern, many of the Facebook users monitored by police flaunt their illegal behavior online, showing themselves smoking marijuana, posing with stolen merchandise, the security tags still attached, and making gang signs. "I have a prolific shoplifter who posts things on Facebook and says, 'Who wants one?'" said Rugel. A recent comment from one of the people police watch on Facebook had him making general threats against a neighborhood: "I get bored and just want to shoot [things] up, so for the next few days you can be my target practice," wrote the young man, who went on to name a specific neighborhood. A man who was shot Monday morning was photographed by someone who knew him as he was loaded onto the ambulance gurney. The photo appeared on his Facebook page less than an hour after he had been shot. That sort of real-time response makes it harder for police to dampen people's urge to retaliate, said Rugel. Peer-to-peer communication Peering into the gang world on Facebook reveals a sort of peer-to-peer communication that police don't see otherwise. It's a growing phenomenon that's been tracked by police departments elsewhere, according to the latest National Gang Threat Assessment from the FBI. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and specialized websites like TheHoodUp.com allow gangs to recruit and easily communicate with one another, according to the report. "The proliferation of social networking websites has made gang activity more prevalent and lethal -- moving gangs from the streets into cyber space," the National Gang Intelligence Center reported. That's likely true of highly organized gangs, but not everyone's convinced that what's going on in Minneapolis rises to the same level. The lifestyle projected in local gang members' Facebook pages shouldn't be a call to arrest, said Manu Lewis, a co-founder of Criminals and Gang Members Anonymous, Minneapolis chapter. Lewis said some of the photos might be made in jest, and those that are serious should be seen as the product of a young person looking for help.

The BBC is considering making an appeal against a court order which stopped it from broadcasting a dramatized film on last year’s riots in London.

British riot police arrive in front of a burning building in Croydon, South London on August 8, 2011. Now in it's third night of unrest, London has seen sporadic outbreaks of looting and clashes both north and south of the river Thames. Numerous buildings were set on fire in Croydon including a 140 year old furniture store as hundreds of looters plundered high street shops of their goods. (AFP Photo/Carl de Souza)

British riot police arrive in front of a burning building in Croydon, South London on August 8, 2011. Now in it's third night of unrest, London has seen sporadic outbreaks of looting and clashes both north and south of the river Thames. Numerous buildings were set on fire in Croydon including a 140 year old furniture store as hundreds of looters plundered high street shops of their goods. (AFP Photo/Carl de Souza)

 

The film, which features actors portraying anonymous rioters sharing their experience of the events, was due to be broadcast on Monday evening, but was banned by a court order hours before hitting the airwaves

Its script was written by award-winning playwright Alecky Blythe and is based on interviews from some 270 people conducted by the Guardian and London School of Economics as part of a study into the massive public disorder.

The first installment of The Riots: In their own Words focuses on rioters, while the second film of the two-part series shares the impressions of police officers on duty at the time.

Both were banned from being broadcast by a court ruling, which BBC lawyers now plan to appeal against, reports the Guardian. The newspaper says for legal reasons it cannot report the name of the judge who made the controversial ruling, the court in which it was done or the case he was presiding over.

Little detail was disclosed on the content of the ruling itself. The British newspaper cites it as saying: "It is ordered that the BBC programme 'The Riots: In their Own Words' due for broadcast on BBC 2 tonight is not broadcast by any media by any means until further order."

The ruling also ordered the BBC to remove a clip promoting the film from its website, which the broadcaster did. The clip, previously available on a blog posted last Friday, featured a BBC producer saying that the "important and illuminating" interviews in the drama would provide insight into "why and how the riots had happened".

After the court ruling arrived the BBC said it would put the program out at a later date. The film was part of the company’s package prepared for the coverage of the one year anniversary of the August 2011 riots in Britain.

What started as peaceful protest in Tottenham erupted into five nights of violence, looting and a subsequent police crackdown. Five people were killed and more than 2,500 shops and businesses damaged. Over a thousand people received jail for their part in the disorder.

Tuesday, 10 July 2012

Rival Gangs Fueling Violence on Monte Vista Street

The killing of Pedro Morales and the wounding of his brother in a shooting on Monte Vista Street Saturday evening were the latest in a string of violent incidents fueled by rival gangs that have moved into the area, according to police. Homicide detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department's Northeast Division, who on Monday morning were still in the field, investigating the shooting, confirmed that they believe the killing of Morales to have been gang related. Police have not released the name of Morales' wounded brother. No information on potential suspects has been released yet. Detective Rick Ortiz of the Northeast LAPD Gang Unit said his officers would likely cooperate in the investigation as well.  Ortiz told Patch that the increased violence in the area could be traced to the relocation of rival gang members into the area. [Editor's Note: Patch does not use the names of area gangs in our reporting, so as to not contribute to their local fame.] "What's going on is that we have a gang that for years has been located above York Boulevard and they've migrated down south, converging in that Monte Vista area with another gang," Ortiz said. "Another gang that's been inactive for many years has also had an uprising. We're not sure how they ended up in that area. Families just end up in one area or another. They migrated that way. I don't think that the gang is thinking 'We have to move over in that area;' they just ended up there and started getting active." According to the crime data tracking website CrimeMapping.com, there have been 28 reports of assault with a deadly weapon within the area bounded by Avenue 52, Avenue 59, Monte Vista Street and North Figueroa Street since the start of 2012.  Morales' killing is the first homicide of the year on Monte Vista Street. "I think it's youngsters trying to step up," Ortiz said. "It's typical gang-banging. Someone will spray graffiti, somebody else will cross it out, then it escalates from there." According to the Eastsider L.A., residents in the area had noticed the tagging sign "53" showing up recently, which they reported was new in the area. Among Patch readers who've commented on previous stories about the Morales killing, concerns have been raised about the ability of LAPD to effectively police gang crime in the area. "Actually the police are a part of the problem. LAPD's job is to police the city, and make their presence felt to prevent crime. If LAPD is seen more often, criminals of all sorts will think twice about the crimes they are committing.  Maybe LAPD would witness some of these crimes and catch these people," said Patch commenter Gill. "LAPD's budget increases every year. Yet LAPD patrol officers are being taken off the streets and promoted. The number of LAPD officers on the actual street always stays the same or just barely increases, while they continue to get a bigger budget. I think patrolling our streets is more important than building new police stations and buying new cars every two years." Gill's point about LAPD's budget increasing every year is technically incorrect, as this year's city budget cut funding to the department by $120 million, much of which will come at the expense of overtime pay for patrol officers. But, it also raises an important question about how LAPD prioritizes the allocation of its resources. Ortiz said that the LAPD Northeast Gang Unit was still fully staffed and capable of patrolling the streets of Highland Park. He said there are currently 18 uniformed patrol officers in the unit and 10 detectives. The detectives typically work daytime shifts, Monday through Friday, while the patrol officers rotate schedules seven days a week. Detectives are also available to assist in patrols on nights and weekends, Ortiz said. When asked if his unit had the necessary manpower to patrol gang activity in Highland Park, Ortiz responded: "I'd say yes. If we had more, it'd be better, though. But, our gang unit, for instance, it's not the largest in the city, but we can run seven days a week. There's always a gang officer out there." Ortiz said a bigger problem in combating gang violence in Highland Park was an unwillingness on the behalf of witnesses and victims to report crimes, for fear of retaliation from gang members. "The best thing the residents of that area can do—and they don't really like to do it—is report the crime," Ortiz said. "There's a reluctance to become involved because it's gangs. They don't want to get involved. Witnesses and victims of gang crimes are afraid to come forward." Ortiz said he understood the unwillingness of victims to come forward, but he stressed that community cooperation was an important tool in fighting gang crime, and that it often leads to arrests that take gang members off the streets. He said that LAPD also had the funding necessary to relocate witnesses, should they feel threatened. "Absolutely, when we do get victims who want to come forward, we're able to relocate them, help them out," Ortiz said. "We still get that resource from the state."

Violence Tied to the Boylston and Mozart Street Gangs

Monday's big Jamaica Plain news, that police and prosecutors had arrested much of the leadership of the Boylston Street gang, may come as a relief to neighbors who have lived in fear. Over the years, the Boylston associates often had bloody conflicts with their rival Mozart Street gang. Police stress that while the names of the groups come from two JP streets, the feuding gang members no longer live there. Here is a review of violent incidents police have linked to the conflict between Boylston and Mozart: April 2008: Luis "Mata" Troncoso, 20, an alleged Boylston Street associate, shot and killed on the basketball court near Stony Brook T. October 2008: Garivaldis Peña killed in a shooting on Rossmore Street. August 2010: Two nonfatal shootings in Eglston Square, according to the JP Gazette. Oct. 23, 2010: Boylston Street gang member Luis "Tito" Torres mortally wounded by gunfire on Boylston Street Nov. 21, 2010: Three men mortally wounded in a gun and knife fight inside Same Old Place on Centre Street. Killed were Winsizky Soto, 27 and Johnnel "Bo" Cruz, 20, of Jamaica Plain and Ariel Dume, 20, of Dorchester. A woman going past on Centre Street was grazed by a bullet. November 2010: Amin Marte of the Mozart Street gang killed in the Dominican Republic, according to an affidavit referenced by the JP Gazette. December 2010: Members of the Mozart Street gang practice shooting at a Salisbury gun range. According to the Gazette, police and prosecutors link at least two other homicides and many drug-related crimes to the rival groups.

Tennessee communities are losing the battle against violent gangs.

That's the troubling news from state officials who say the gang problem is definitely getting worse, even in smaller towns. 
Chattanooga is getting ready for an all-out effort to shut them down. 

BOYD PATTERSON, COORDINATOR, GANG TASK FORCE "I think the real story is that in towns with 50-thousand population or less ..gang activity since 2005 has tripled." 

That state report is putting every community, large or small, on alert. 
The insidious and dangerous gangs may be right there where you live. 

BOYD PATTERSON "Progress can be measured in the amount of people, and resources, and direction ..And political will to do something about this ..in that regard..Chattanooga is on the fast track." 

The assessment phase of Patterson's initiative should be completed by August, at which time a community-wide effort, including schools, churches, police and youth leaders will launch. 
The Rev. Ternae Jordan, of the Stop the Madness campaign, is anxious for that to happen.

REV. TERNAE JORDAN, STOP THE MADNESS "Its not a one community problem..if you don't stop or address the issues where they are..they're like cancer...they are going to spread." 

One local organization called "Hope for the Inner city" is running full steam this summer.
The young people were out in force today, planting a garden to provide food for the Harriet Tubman community next fall. 
How does it work?

VINCENT BOOZER, DIR. HOPE FOR THE INNER CITY "You can't have the "save the World" mentality. But if you teach one, maybe that one will go out and help 4 or 5 others, and those 4 or 5 others will go out and help 20 others." 

Why does that work? 

DENZEL MONFORD, HOPE FOR THE INNER CITY "I kind of want to ask them..why are you joining a gang? You can't get no money..it ain't helping you ...kind of make your family sad...destroying your family." 

VINCENT BOOZER, DIR. "We want to prevent that...by empowering kids..economically and, because I think the gang problem is about money."

The young people who volunteer at Hope for the Inner City, receive a small paycheck at the end of the season.
Funding assistance comes from donors like the Benwood Foundation and the McClelland Foundation.

Gang violence by the numbers: Murders up, aggravated assaults down

DPD statistics show the number of gang-related crimes against people -- a broad category that includes murder, aggravated assault, kidnapping, intimidation and sex offenses -- is down overall. Between January 1 and May 31, there were 113 total crimes, down from 145 in 2011, 125 in 2010, 129 in 2009 and 174 in 2008.

More specifically, the number of aggravated assaults -- which includes non-fatal shootings -- has decreased. There were 75 between January and May. The stats from previous years are as follows: 103 in 2011, 93 in 2010, 91 in 2009 and 125 in 2008.

Chief Robert White pointed to those numbers at a community meeting called to discuss gang violence at the Blair-Caldwell Library in Five Points on June 20. Though overall gang crime is slightly down, he warned, "it's not something to where we can boast about it."

In fact, in the wake of several high-profile shootings, much of the community is concerned about gang violence. A month before that meeting, on May 25, four people were shot in broad daylight near the corner of East Bruce Randolph Avenue and York Street. Two of them -- 21-year-old Justin O'Donnell and 30-year-old Deon Rudd -- were pronounced dead at the scene. The police arrested two suspects and classified the murders as gang-related.

 

rollin oliver fox 31 blurred face.jpg
 
Rollin Oliver.

On June 24, Denver police officer Celena Holliswas killed in City Park. Rollin Oliver, a 21-year-old who many suspect has gang ties, has been charged with the crime.

 

There have been several notable non-fatal shootings, as well. On May 17, an argument inside the Taco Bell on the 16th Street Mall ended when a juvenile shot a man in his thirties in the leg. The man lived, and a witness told theDenver Post that the two were from rival gangs and the altercation began with an eye roll. Five days later, a woman was shot in the wrist in an early-evening scuffle between gang members in Park Hill. And just last week, a non-fatal shooting in the Whittier neighborhood led to the arrest of a 26-year-old who the Postreports is a member of the Tre Tre Crips. That's the gang which which Willie Clark, the man convicted of murdering Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams, was associated.

The police also keep track of gang-related property crimes and "crimes against society," which include weapons and drug charges. There were 59 gang-related drug violations between January and May this year, and 47 weapons violations. Last year, those numbers were 54 and 46 for the same five-month time period. Meanwhile, gang-related property crimes have been decreasing since 2008, when there were 157 between January and May. This year, there were 87 during that time; last year, there were 85.

At that June 20 meeting, White reassured the more than 100 attendees that "things are not on pace" to become another "Summer of Violence," referring to a time in 1993 when widespread concern about gangs led to new youth programs and tougher laws. But he didn't make light of the issue, either. He said the DPD studies crime patterns, and if officers notice crime increasing in a certain neighborhood, they also increase patrols.

"We try to put the bodies where the crimes are," Whtie said.

A Russian billionaire with links to Britain’s political elite was yesterday accused of an extraordinary litany of crimes, ranging from reneging on a business deal to ordering a murder.

In a bitter £650million legal battle at the High Court, aluminium tycoon Oleg Deripaska was alleged to have ties to brutal organised crime gangs which emerged after the collapse of Communism in the former Soviet Union.

He vehemently denies the allegations – revealed in legal papers filed as part of the case – and counter-claimed that he was the victim of an ‘old-fashioned protection racket’ run by the Mafia-style gangs.

Mr Deripaska, who has links to Chancellor George Osborne and former Business Secretary Lord Mandelson, said he had been forced to pay more than half a billion dollars to the gangs over seven years and had feared for his safety and that of his family.

The case is potentially embarrassing for politicians in Britain and Russia. Mr Deripaska, 44, has ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and in 2008 he entertained Lord Mandelson and Mr Osborne, then Shadow Chancellor, on his yacht in Corfu.

The High Court case is set against the backdrop of Russia’s bloody ‘aluminium wars’ in the 1990s, when organised crime groups struggled for control of its immense resources.

Billionaire Michael Cherney, 60, claims he struck a business deal with the young Deripaska in 1994, in which he agreed to use his political influence to help him in return for a stake in his aluminium business.

 

 

 

The company went on to become part of Rusal, the world’s largest aluminium firm, and Mr Cherney claims Mr Deripaska then offered to buy his stake in 2001 in a deal worth $1billion (£650million), but paid him only $250million (£160million).

Mr Deripaska claims the deal, hammered out at the exclusive Lanesborough Hotel in London, was a ‘sham’ to disguise his $250million payment to terminate an extortion deal imposed on him by Mr Cherney since 1995.

Lawyers for the tycoon claim he was placed under a protection deal known as a ‘krysha’, a Russian word meaning roof which is slang for protection.

Michael Cherney and Oleg Depripaska are the two men at the centre of this legal dispute

Lawyers for Mr Deripaska claim Mr Cherney is a criminal who was involved with two organised crime networks and extorted payments from businesses.

In written arguments submitted to the court, his lawyer Thomas Beazley QC said: ‘[Mr Deripaska] was a young man in charge of a major plant in Siberia, which was far away from big cities and where organised crime reigned.

‘The police were weak and Mr Deripaska was now an obvious target for gangsters and subjected to death threats. He had to take the threat from organised crime gangs very seriously.’ 

Mr Beazley said: ‘Mr Cherney explained that unless Mr Deripaska accepted the krysha, anything could happen: one cannot wear a bullet-proof vest all the time.’ 

Lord Mandelson was a guest on Mr Deripaska's yacht in Corfu in 2008

Lord Mandelson was a guest on Mr Deripaska's yacht in Corfu in 2008

Lawyers for Mr Cherney said he had never been convicted of any criminal offence and insisted he had been a legitimate business partner in Rusal. 

In their legal submissions, they said prosecutors in Israel, the US and Russia had been told that Mr Deripaska was a member of an organised criminal gang and had ordered the murder of a Russian banker in 1995.

Mr Cherney’s lawyer Mark Howard QC said: ‘Mr Deripaska has a particular status in modern life. He is one of the richest and most influential men in Russia with close ties to President Putin.’ 

In written submissions, he added: ‘His power cannot be overstated. No doubt for that reason he feels that even history must bow to his whim.’ 

Mr Deripaska and Mr Cherney have both faced criminal allegations but neither man has been convicted of any offence.

Speaking after the hearing, a spokesman for Mr Deripaska said: ‘Mr Deripaska vehemently denies these allegations.’ 

The case is being tried in Britain after the Court of Appeal backed a ruling that Mr Cherney should be protected from the risk of assassination or arrest.

He has said he would be an assassination target if he returned to Russia, and he will give his evidence by videolink from his home in Israel because of an outstanding arrest warrant relating to a money-laundering investigation in Spain, where he is wanted for questioning.

None of the key players attended yesterday’s hearing. Lawyers for both sides are expected to set out their arguments this week and the case will then be adjourned until September when witnesses will be called.

Parts of the case have been ruled so sensitive that judge Mr Justice Andrew Smith has allowed some witnesses to give evidence anonymously. 

The hearing continues.




Monday, 2 July 2012

Beware of missed call to check SIM cloning

Next time if you get a missed call starting with +92; #90 or #09, don't show the courtesy of calling back because chances are it would lead to your SIM card being cloned. The telecom service providers are now issuing alerts to subscribers —particularly about the series mentioned above as the moment one press the call button after dialing the above number, someone at the other end will get your phone and SIM card cloned. According to reports, more than one lakh subscribers have fallen prey to this new telecom terror attack as the frequency of such calls continues to grow. Intelligence agencies have reportedly confirmed to the service providers particularly in UP West telecom division that such a racket is not only under way but the menace is growing fast. "We are sure there must be some more similar combinations that the miscreants are using to clone the handsets and all the information stored in them," an intelligence officer told TOI. General Manager (GM) BSNL, RV Verma, said the department had already issued alerts to all the broadband subscribers and now alert SMSes were being issued to other subscribers as well. As per Rakshit Tandon, an IT expert who also teaches at the police academy (UP), the crooks can use other combination of numbers as well while making a call. "It is better not to respond to calls received from unusual calling numbers," says Tandon. "At the same time one should avoid storing specifics of their bank account, ATM/ Credit/Debit card numbers and passwords in their phone memory because if one falls a prey to such crooks then the moment your cell phone or sim are cloned, the data will be available to the crooks who can withdraw amount from your bank accounts as well," warns Punit Misra; an IT expert who also owns a consultancy in Lucknow. The menace that threatens to steal the subscriber's information stored in the phone or external memory (sim, memory & data cards) has a very scary side as well. Once cloned, the culprits can well use the cloned copy to make calls to any number they wish to. This exposes the subscribers to the threat of their connection being used for terror calls. Though it will be established during the course of investigations that the cellphone has been cloned and misused elsewhere, it is sure to land the subscriber under quite some pressure till the time the fact about his or her phone being cloned and misused is established, intelligence sources said. "It usually starts with a miss call from a number starting with + 92. The moment the subscriber calls back on the miss call, his or her cell phone is cloned. In case the subscribers takes the call before it is dropped as a miss call then the caller on the other end poses as a call center executive checking the connectivity and call flow of the particular service provider. The caller then asks the subscriber to press # 09 or # 90 call back on his number to establish that the connectivity to the subscriber was seamless," says a victim who reported the matter to the BSNL office at Moradabad last week. "The moment I redialed the caller number, my account balance lost a sum of money. Thereafter, in the three days that followed every time I got my cell phone recharged, the balance would be reduced to single digits within the next few minutes," she told the BSNL officials.

France brings in breathalyser law

New motoring laws have come into force in France making it compulsory for drivers to carry breathalyser kits in their vehicles. As of July 1, motorists and motorcyclists will face an on-the-spot fine unless they travel with two single-use devices as part of a government drive to reduce the number of drink-drive related deaths. The new regulations, which excludes mopeds, will be fully enforced and include foreigner drivers from November 1 following a four-month grace period. Anyone failing to produce a breathalyser after that date will receive an 11 euro fine. French police have warned they will be carrying out random checks on drivers crossing into France via ferries and through the Channel Tunnel to enforce the new rules. Retailers in the UK have reported a massive rise in breathalyser sales as British drivers travelling across the Channel ensure they do not fall foul of the new legislation. Car accessory retailer Halfords said it is selling one kit every minute of the day and has rushed extra stock into stores to cope with the unprecedented demand. Six out of 10 Britons travelling to France are not aware they have to carry two NF approved breathalysers at all times, according to the company. The French government hopes to save around 500 lives a year by introducing the new laws, which will encourage drivers who suspect they may be over the limit to test themselves with the kits. The French drink-driving limit is 50mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood - substantially less than the UK limit of 80mg.

Sunday, 1 July 2012

The number of Britons arrested overseas is on the rise, official figures have shown.

 The Foreign Office (FO) handled 6,015 arrest cases involving British nationals abroad between April 2011 and March 2012. This was 6% more than in the previous 12 months and included a 2% rise in drug arrests. The figures, which include holidaymakers and Britons resident overseas, showed the highest number of arrests and detentions was in Spain (1,909) followed by the USA (1,305). Spanish arrests rose 9% in 2011/12, while the United States was up 3%. The most arrests of Britons for drugs was in the US (147), followed by Spain (141). The highest percentage of arrests for drugs in 2011/12 was in Peru where there were only 17 arrests in total, although 15 were for drugs. The FO said anecdotal evidence from embassies and consulates overseas suggested many incidents were alcohol-fuelled, particularly in popular holiday destinations such as the Canary Islands, mainland Spain, the Balearics (which include Majorca and Ibiza), Malta and Cyprus. Consular Affairs Minister Jeremy Browne said: "It is important that people understand that taking risks abroad can land them on the wrong side of the law. "The punishments can be very severe, with tougher prison conditions than in the UK. While we will work hard to try and ensure the safety of British nationals abroad, we cannot interfere in another country's legal system. "We find that many people are shocked to discover that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office cannot get them out of jail. We always provide consular support to British nationals in difficulty overseas. However, having a British passport does not make you immune to foreign laws and will not get you special treatment in prison."

Related Posts with Thumbnails