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August 2023
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£1m worth of counterfeit notes1/21/2022 Man convicted after being found with £1m worth of counterfeit notes A man has been found guilty of possessing more than £1 million worth of counterfeit notes. Emil Bogdan Savastru, 31 (31.10.90) of no fixed address, was convicted of one count of having custody or control of a counterfeit note following a trial at Isleworth Crown Court. He will be sentenced at the same court on 10 February 2022. On 30 January 2020, detectives from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command executed a search warrant at a residential address on Shetland Road, E3. During their search, a bag was found containing one million pounds worth of counterfeit £50 and 200 euro notes in large suitcases. Officers seized the property and shared the notes with the Bank of England, who examined them and confirmed they were counterfeit. Later the same day, Savastru was arrested at London Heathrow Airport while waiting to board a flight to Japan after documents he left at the scene linked him to the crime. When questioned, he refused to explain how the notes were in his possession, where he had got them from, or what he was planning to do with them. Detective Constable Andrew Payne, who led the investigation, said: “Our proactive operation means we have been able to take a significant quantity of counterfeit notes out of circulation. Without a doubt, these notes would have been used to commit further crimes across the UK.
“This successful prosecution relied heavily on the close working between the Met and the Bank of England, leaving little doubt that Savastru was guilty of these offences. “Counterfeit currency in the UK harms the economy and has a real, significant impact on businesses who take possession of it unknowingly. As this prosecution shows, we will take action against anyone engaged in this type of criminality.” + You can find more information on how to check your banknotes on the Bank of England’s website. source
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The Met teamed together with five other police forces to target those involved in drug supply, operating on the road and rail networks near county borders.
The three-day operation, badged Operation Pandilla, saw officers from the Met work alongside with Thames Valley, Hertfordshire, Surrey, Kent and British Transport Police. Officers deployed to hotspot areas based on intelligence and used Automatic Number Plate Recognition to target vehicles which activated the technology and showed a link to violence and associated crimes. Youth workers from the charity Bounce Back, who interact with young offenders offering support and guidance to help them find ways out of criminal lifestyles, also joined the operation, working in dedicated custody suites providing immediate intervention. The operation, which ran between 11-13 January, resulted in (MPS results only):
Chief Inspector Rob Ranstead, who led the operation, said: “Tackling violent crime and the supply of drugs is a top priority, which includes targeting the drivers which fuel. “The key aim of this operation was to stop drugs and weapons being brought onto the streets. Preventing these crimes, while also safeguarding vulnerable individuals on the cusp of violence, is paramount. “As part of this operation, young people received instant support, independent of police. This type of collaborative approach can have a real impact on finding longer-term solutions reducing violent crime.” + Officers from the Met’s Violent Crime Taskforce (VCTF) were supported by the Roads and Transport Policing Command (RTPC), Met Intelligence, the Dog Support Unit and the National Police Air Service (NPAS). Op Pandilla was deployed to these specific hotspot areas across London:
+ Last year, January to December 2021 (Calendar Year), compared to the same period prior to the pandemic in 2019, saw:
If you have any information about drug crime or violence, please contact police or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 – your anonymity is guaranteed. They are a totally independent charity and you remain 100 per cent anonymous, they never ask your name and they cannot trace your call, your IP address or device you use. Alternatively, visit their website https://crimestoppers-uk.org/. the drug files
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Police in Westminster have arrested five people and seized ten cars following a weekend car meet in central London. Following hundreds of complaints from residents in the community regarding the ongoing issues of noise and dangerous driving, officers from Central West Command Unit and officers from the Road Transport Policing Command, launched an operation to tackle this anti-social behaviour (ASB). This focussed on areas around the St James, Kensington and Knightsbridge areas The operation ran from Friday 14 to Sunday 16 January. On Friday evening officers made three arrests, two people who failed roadside drug tests and one man found to be wanted for robbery. Three vehicles were seized for no insurance and a number of people reported for various traffic offences. On Saturday there was one arrest for failing a roadside drugs test and three vehicles were seized, two for no insurance and one that was reported as stolen. Where a vehicle is seen to be behaving in an anti-social manner officers can issue a section 59 warning which is recorded against both the vehicle and the driver. If either the vehicle or driver is caught committing vehicle based anti-social behaviour again, then that vehicle can be seized. One vehicle causing ASB had already received a prior section 59 warning and so was seized immediately. Thirty nine other vehicles involved either have or will be issued section 59 warnings as a result of the police operation.
Officers are continuing to review video footage captured including footage from council cameras and acoustic cameras, and further warnings are likely to be made. Furthermore all of those drivers will be issued with Community Protection Notice Warnings, which is another power available to tackle anti-social behaviour. Another arrest was made when a driver was found to be disqualified from driving. In total ten vehicles were seized during the course of the operation. Chief Inspector James Johnson, Westminster Borough said: “These are London streets but some people choose to use them as racetracks. These car meets are noisy, anti-social and often downright dangerous. People should not have to listen to cars doing doughnuts in their road in the early hours of the morning and this operation was part of our continuing plan to tackle this anti-social behaviour. "Those who participate in such events can expect to be reported for driving offences and face having their car seized. We are determined to stop this behaviour and our message is clear - if you come to central London to drive in a dangerous manner, be prepared to take the bus home.”
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A man who used a dating app to target and rob men after having sex with them has been sentenced to five years' in jail. Detectives are now appealing for others who may have been exploited by him to come forward. Anouar Sabbar, 28 (1.1.94), of Cole Street, Southwark was sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Thursday, 20 January. He pleaded guilty to robbery, theft, five counts of blackmail and five counts of fraud at the same court on 8 November 2021. Sabbar would seek out and meet men who have sex with men on Grindr, a dating app for gay, bi and trans people. After consensual sex, Sabbar would state he was an escort and demanded money from the victims. He also threatened to use violence or blackmail in order to intimidate the men, whose ages varied from 25-57-years-old. He stole a total of £2,360 between April 2019 and June 2021 from the victims. Once he got the money, Sabbar would block the victim’s profile on the app, which automatically removed the online conversation for both parties, making it difficult for him to be traced. Sabbar would swap his SIM cards and mobile phone number regularly and often changed his hairstyle so he wasn’t recognised. During one of the incidents, a victim refused to pay Sabbar so he told him someone will visit his address and beat him up. In another incident, Sabbar threatened to tell the victim’s girlfriend about their sexual encounter and disclose their chat history and photographs if he did not make payments. An officer investigating a robbery of one the victim’s in Tower Hamlets identified Sabbar as the suspect. She then compared similar offences and identified Sabbar from various phone numbers, addresses, aliases and usernames used. Once it was determined Sabbar was the suspect for the offences, a manhunt to arrest him began. On Tuesday, 31 July officers attended his home address. He was not at the address so they went to his place of work and spoke to colleagues, who provided a current phone number. An officer called him and Sabbar swore at her, telling her they would never catch him.
Later that day, officers found another address for Sabbar in Southwark through intelligence checks and he was arrested. A subsequent analysis of his phone revealed evidence of further incidents of the same nature. Sabbar gave a no comment interview and was charged with 23 offences including robbery, theft, blackmail and fraud. he was remanded into custody. Detective Inspector Arif Sharif said: “The victims in this case have been incredibly brave in coming forward and reporting the offences Sabbar committed against them. “Sabbar is a nasty and spineless individual who used Grindr to target victims and used their vulnerabilities against them. “It is with thanks to the officer who diligently carried out the investigation that this dangerous offender has been taken off the streets. “There may be others who were exploited by Sabbar who until now have felt unable to tell anyone. Please get in touch with us – we are here to listen to you and will take what you say incredibly seriously. You will be treated with sensitivity and in confidence. “In situations such as this, the Met is focused on the motive and behaviour of the offender, rather than the behaviour of the victim. I would therefore urge anyone who has been a victim of crime following a meet on Grindr or similar platforms to speak to us directly quoting Op Fardella. Alternatively contact us through a third party support group such as Galop or reach out 100% anonymously using the independent charity Crimestoppers.” Superintendent Martin Kirby the Met’s Lead for Hate Crime said: “We do not tolerate the targeting of victims based on their sexuality or gender, or perceived sexuality or gender, and anyone who does come forward to disclose an allegation of crime of this nature will be treated sensitively and in confidence. “We are working closely with the Crown Prosecution Service to protect the identities of victims in these cases, recognising that some victims may not identify as gay or bisexual or be ‘out’ to friends or relatives, perhaps because of cultural reasons. I can also fully appreciate that some victims may feel embarrassed about coming forward, or are perhaps nervous about speaking to a police officer due to other factors. We are doing all we can, by working closely with other agencies, to give victims the support that is right for them. “In the Met we have 125 volunteer LGBT+ advisers who speak to our communities, listen to their concerns and encourage them to report crime. We’re working to recruit more and reviewing their role to make sure they are working in the best way possible for our communities. We have also set up a new LGBT+ Organisational Improvement Group, with stakeholders from across London, to ensure the Met understands and meets the needs of LGBT+ Londoners.” If you believe you or someone you know has been a victim, please call 101 quoting Op Fardella. In an emergency always call 999. Alternatively, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or crimestoppers-uk.org. You can also contact the charity Galop by calling their LGBT+ hate crime helpline on 0207 704 2040 or visiting galop.org.uk. More: Women attacked in hotel rooms |