NYPD detective suspended after kidnapping victim found in his garage

17-year veteran of the New York Police Department has been suspended without pay after a kidnapping victim was found tied up in his garage. The New York Post reports Ondre Johnson, a detective with the Brooklyn north gang unit, was being questioned in connection with the incident and was forced to surrender his gun and badge. A source tells the Post the 25-year-old victim was snatched off the street on July 26. The victim's friends then got calls demanding $75,000 for the victim's release. The call was traced to Johnson's home, MyFoxNY.com reports. When authorities arrived Friday afternoon, Johnson answered the door and identified himself as a detective with the NYPD. Investigators then found the victim tied up in the garage. Four men have been charged in the apparent kidnapping scheme, MyFoxNY.com reports. 30-year-old Hakeem Clark, who lives in the same building as Johnson, was charged with kidnapping and weapons possession along with 27-year-old Jason Hutson and 27-year-old James Gayle. 24-year-old Alfredo Haughton was charged with kidnapping.

Jamie “Iceman” Stevenson is back on the streets

Jamie “Iceman” Stevenson is back on the streets – less than halfway through his prison sentence for laundering £1million of drugs cash. Scotland’s most powerful mobster has been enjoying meals at expensive restaurants and socialising with pals after being allowed home for a week each month. Stevenson – who was also accused of shooting dead his best friend in an underworld hit – was put behind bars in September 2006 when he was arrested after a four-year surveillance operation by the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency. He was later sentenced to 12 years and nine months for money laundering. But, we can reveal, he is now allowed out of Castle Huntly open prison near Dundee – just five years and 10 months later. A source said: “He seems determined to show his face all around town to deliver the message that he’s back and, as far as he’s concerned, nothing has changed. “A lot of people are surprised that he’s being allowed out so early. Some are not too pleased about it for a number of reasons.” Stevenson, 47, has been spotted at Bothwell Bar & Brasserie, which is run by his friend Stewart Gilmore. He and his cronies have also dined at upmarket Italian restaurant Il Pavone in Glasgow’s Princes Square shopping centre. And Stevenson has joined friends at various other restaurants and hotels, including Glasgow’s Hilton Garden Inn. A Sunday Mail investigation can today reveal that the Parole Board for Scotland could recommend Stevenson’s total freedom as early as February next year. However, the final decision on his release will rest with Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill. Yesterday, Labour justice spokesman Lewis Macdonald said: “I’m surprised to hear this and that anyone in these circumstances should get out of jail before the halfway point of their sentence – far less so when the conviction is of someone involved in organised crime. “The only circumstances where that would be conceivable would be if someone completely changed their lifestyle. But even then that should not be before they’ve served half their sentence. “I’m sure the victims of these crimes – and with drugs there are direct and indirect victims – will also be surprised at this.” To prepare Stevenson for his release, prison bosses have allowed him to stay a full week each month at his modest flat in Burnside, near Glasgow. On Friday, we watched him leaving the property with his wife Caroline and driving off in a silver Audi. A prison service insider said: “The Parole Board expect the prison authorities to have allowed home visits to test suitability for release ahead of the first eligible parole date. In Stevenson’s case, that’s next February. “There are conditions attached which vary but usually include the obvious ones like not mixing with other criminals and staying only at the designated address. “For prisoners sentenced to more than 10 years, the Parole Board make their recommendations to the Justice Secretary, who then decides whether to release on licence. “Stevenson is trying to keep his nose clean to convince the Parole Board that he poses no threat to society. “But, given his high profile and significance, it’s inevitable that the authorities will be careful before making any final decision.” Stevenson headed a global smuggling gang with a multi-million-pound turnover when he was brought down by the SCDEA’s Operation Folklore, which seized £61million of drugs. He faced drug and money laundering charges along with eight other suspects, including his 53-year-old wife. But his lawyers struck a deal with the Crown Office to admit money laundering in exchange for his wife’s freedom and the drugs charges being dropped. Stevenson’s stepson Gerry Carbin Jr, 32, was also jailed – for five years and six months – but was freed in 2010. Stevenson was previously arrested for the murder of Tony McGovern, 35, who was gunned down in Glasgow’s Springburn in 2000. But prosecutors dropped the case through lack of evidence. A gangland source said: “He does not fear any kind of reprisal from Tony’s brothers, nor does he regard any other criminals in Scotland as a threat or even as rivals. He did not fear any other operation in Scotland before he was jailed. Why would he now?” Two years ago, the Sunday Mail exposed a backdoor deal when the Crown handed back Stevenson’s £300,000 watch collection, which had been seized under proceeds of crime of legislation. Last June, he was sent back to high-security Shotts jail in Lanarkshire from an open prison after a major SCDEA drugs probe, Operation Chilon. Detectives believed that the gang they investigated was controlled by Stevenson. Haulage firm boss Charles McAughey’s home was one of 11 targeted in raids. In 2009, we revealed that French police had found 684kg of pure cocaine worth £31million in a lorry owned by McAughey. Chilon resulted in the SCDEA seizing 242kg of cannabis worth £1.21million and the jailing of three men for a combined 15 years.

Four Dead in Gang Related Shooting

Police in Alice are investigating a shooting that occurred near Reynolds Street. According to investigators, it all started on South Nayer Street where police say Isaac Vela was standing on the side of the road waiting for a ride. A vehicle -- with four people inside passed by. One of the passengers, police say, shot Vela in the face. The vehicle fled the scene, but the driver only made it a few blocks before he lost control of the vehicle. It smashed into a nearby school. Three of the four people inside the car died. The other is in the hospital...where investigators will interview him tomorrow. Police say all of the men involved are known gang members.

Tulisa's Friend, 21, Shot Dead In Gangland Hit

Reece James, 21, a close friend of Tulisa Contostavlos has been shot dead in a reported gangland attack. The 21-year-old, who appeared with Tulisa in a video for rapper Nines, was shot in the head in a "pre-planned and targeted" hit, 100 miles from his home in London, reports the UK's Sun newspaper. Police found James' body in Boscombe, Bournemouth, at around 2.30am near where Somali drug gangs are said operate. A 22-year-old man was arrested. Reece was said to have been in the area with some friends for "a couple of months", though had filmed the video earlier this month with Tulisa and rapper Nines on the Church End Estate in Harlesden, North West London. The former N Dubz star caused controversy at the time, making a "C" symbol to the camera - the same sign that is used by Harlesden's notorious Church Road Soldiers gang. Tulisa claimed it was a reference to Camden, where she was born. Twitter tributes began flooding in last night, with one user writing, "RIP Reece James. Thoughts are with him and his family and friends". Local MP Tobias Ellwood described the killing as "a spill over from the drugs turf war in the capital", adding, "This was one London gang chasing down another, carrying out a professional hit and then going back".

Invasion of the pickpockets

Britain is in the grip of a pickpocketing epidemic as Eastern European gangs descend on London ahead of the Olympic Games.

A surge in sneak street thefts means more than 1,700 people fall victim every day – an increase of nearly a fifth in only two years, according to official crime  figures released yesterday.

At the same time, police warned that professional gangs from Romania, Lithuania and even South America who operate in capitals across Europe are heading to Britain, intent on cashing in on unwitting tourists at London 2012.

How they do it: A member of the pickpocket gang approaches a BBC reporter investigating the rise in thefts ahead of the Olympics

Keeping him occupied: The man speaks to the victim on the pretense of needing directions while another gang member approaches from behind

A BBC investigation exposed the tactics used by Romanian thieves, who were previously operating in Barcelona, to dupe their victims.

The criminals boasted of their ‘one-second’ theft techniques which leave targets unaware that anything has happened until  it is too late. They can make £4,000 a week taking wallets, smartphones and laptop bags. The goods are then shipped back to Romania and sold on the black market.

 Scotland Yard has made more than 80 arrests already and warned thieves the capital will be a ‘hostile environment’ in the coming weeks.

The Met has even drafted in a team of Romanian police officers to deal with the problem and patrol in the West End of London and Westminster during the Games. They will not have arrest powers.

Distracted: An accomplice (left) then plays drunk so he can get close enough to the target to strike

 

Sleight of hand: The 'drunk' man jostles around with the BBC reporter, making it harder for him to notice what is going on

 

 

Rich pickings: The sneering thief walks away with the wallet from the unsuspecting victim

Teamwork: The thief quickly hands the wallet to another member of the gang, who spirits it away

 

Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: ‘These Romanian officers will prove to be a huge asset in cracking down on certain criminal networks who are targeting tourists in central London.’

Official statistics released yesterday showed pickpocketing thefts rose 17 per cent in the past two years.

In 2011/12, a total of 625,000 people fell victim, the Crime Survey of England and Wales showed.

That is an increase of more than 102,000 since 2009/10.

The vast majority of the total are classified as ‘stealth thefts’, but in 83,000 cases the victims’ possessions were ‘snatched’.

Seven days before neighbourhood watch volunteer Soraya Nordien was gunned down in Lavender Hill

 a known gangster approached her outside her home and pointed a silver gun at her head. During the following days, Nordien, 49, a mother of three who dedicated two decades to helping those in her community, had been uncharacteristically scared to leave her house. Last week she was shot in the chest in her boyfriend’s home. The gang violence has reached such high levels that neighbourhood watch members have been told to cancel street patrols as it has become too dangerous. On Wednesday, Nordien’s closest friend, Aysha Davids, also a neighbourhood watch member and community worker, said she believed Nordien had been targeted. A resident had since warned Davids she was “next on the list”. “Are the gangsters fighting the community organisations now? Soraya wasn’t scared to talk to the gangsters. She’d go up to them, tell them to stop the fighting and say she’d pray for them,” Davids said. Nordien is one of at least six people killed in the Lavender Hill area in a week. Three days before Nordien was murdered, eight-year-old Zunaid McKenzie died when he was shot in the head in front of his Steenberg home. On Wednesday police spokesman Frederick van Wyk said a 31-year-old man, suspected of being linked to a Steenberg gang, was arrested on Tuesday for Nordien’s murder. He said three other suspects, all possibly linked to a local gang, were arrested on Wednesday and a 7.65 CZ pistol with eight rounds was confiscated. The four were expected to appear in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday on charges of murder, house robbery and illegal possession of a firearm. On Wednesday Nordien’s youngest child Zainab Nordien, 22, said a week before her mother was murdered they had been standing together on the pavement opposite their home. Nordien had been holding Zainab’s six-month-old son Nathier Jacobs. “One guy was standing on the corner with three others. Suddenly he walked towards my mom and pulled out a silver gun. He pointed it at her head,” Zainab said. Nordien had handed Nathier to Zainab and walked to the gunman, who Zainab said was a known Junky Funky Kid gang member. It was not clear what Nordien and the gangster said. “That gangster knew my mom. She worked more for the community than for her own kids. She was completely anti-gangsters and would patrol the streets until 4am,” Zainab said. She said the gangster was arrested three days later for an unrelated matter regarding a gun, and he had been in jail at the time of her mother’s murder. On Wednesday, standing in a group outside Nordien’s home, her friends described her as selfless. She had helped start the organisation Women Hope for the Nation, which included a feeding scheme, mentoring of school drop-outs and helping abused children. Nordien’s boyfriend, Trevor Jonas, said she had been with him and a friend in his shack on Friday when the shooting happened. “Two guys broke down the door. They rushed past me, stole my friend’s cellphone and wallet. Soraya was in bed. I just heard the shot, then the men ran away. Soraya was just lying there,” he said. Jonas, who was living in Nordien’s home, was too traumatised to return to his shack and asked Davids to show the Cape Times team where Nordien had been murdered. The shack, a few kilometres into the Village Heights settlement, was closed up. “Why come distinctly to this place? Why not rob the shop down the road? To me this wasn’t a robbery. Soraya’s cellphone and money were still in her pockets,” Davids said. She said after the gangster had pointed the gun at Nordien, Nordien had changed from strong and outspoken to introverted. “(On Tuesday) someone came to tell me my name’s next on the list. I’m okay, but my 18-year-old son is traumatised,” Davids said. On Wednesday Steenberg Community Police Forum chairman Kevin Southgate said in one week six people had been killed in gang shootings in the Lavender Hill area. “We don’t need police statistics to prove to us that the situation is out of control,” he said. Southgate said as a result of Nordien’s murder, it was decided that: “Neighbourhood watches will not patrol until police stabilise the area.” There were 12 neighbourhood watches in the area, with a total of 160 members. Southgate had asked sector managers to tell members not to wear their reflective jackets as this made them “very vulnerable”. He said police were planning to set up a satellite station in Lavender Hill. Provincial police commissioner Arno Lamoer said gang violence was a major concern. He said Lavender Hill and Hanover Park were currently the areas worst affected, and enough police officers had been deployed. Detectives and intelligence operatives were also tackling the gang problem.