Crime in Newham so far - for January

NEWHAM is just 14 square miles in area, not the 600 sq. miles on the Cambs/Norfolk thrad.

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http://www.newhamrecorder.co.uk/news/crime-court/forest_gate_man_in_court_over_death_threats_1_3909216

A Forest Gate man who was arrested by Counter Terrorism Command on Tuesday January 6 has been charged with possession of an offensive weapon and making threats to kill.

Duane Alexander, 32, will appear at Thames Magistrates’ Court today.



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http://www.newhamrecorder.co.uk/news/crime-court/shisha_lounge_shut_down_1_701863

An illegal shisha lounge (whatever that is) has been shut down in East Ham after complaints from residents.

Council investigations revealed that the marquee in Barking Road was also breaking planning laws and the smoking ban, writes Melissa York.

The venue was trading on land set aside for housing, and local homeowners accused the customers of causing a public nuisance late at night.

Cllr Unmesh Desai, executive member for crime and antisocial behaviour, believes that shisha lounges are a growing social problem.

He said: “These places are unsupervised, pose potential health and safety problems and cause antisocial behaviour, noise and disturb residents living close by.”

The Barking Road lounge was served with a closing order in March which the owners appealed against.

They lost their appeal in August but ignored the council’s closing notice.

The council have now begun legal proceedings against the owners because they failed to comply with orders and to compensate for the cost of removing the lounge.

Cllr Desai added: “We are working with our partners and the police to take action against venues like these and reassure the local community.”

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http://www.newhamrecorder.co.uk/news/crime-court/newham_pcso_guilty_of_blackmailing_brothel_workers_1_3907032

Snaresbrook Crown Court heard how Kabeer Yousaf, 31, was working for Green Street Safer Neighbourhoods Team in 2012 when he arranged to have sex with a woman in her 40s at a brothel in Corporation Street.

Afterwards, he returned wearing uniform and demanded £2,000 to remove her details from the Metropolitan Police’s data systems.

The woman handed over £1,500 to Yousaf, of Barley Lane, Ilford.
In October that year, he investigated anti-social behaviour at a brothel in St Stephen’s Road, and returned a week later to demand the woman running it pay him money or he would shut it down.
The frightened woman agreed to pay £500 a fortnight, with Yousaf sometimes having sex with women at the brothel in lieu of payment.
The same woman was also blackmailed by Ionut-Viorel Motruc, 35, of no fixed address and Bogdan-Stefan Gherghel, 30, of Keogh Road.
They visited in September 2013 and demanded the women there worked at one of Motroc’s brothels or paid £10,000.
Motroc sexually assaulted another woman at the St Stephen’s brothel and she was so frightened of him he worked for him in Ranelagh Road for one night.
It was there that she met Motroc’s wife, Monica-Olimpia Motroc, 35 of Romford Road who was running a brothel.
When the woman refused to keep working for Motroc, a fight broke out in St Stephen’s Road and police were called.
Gherghel received a neck injury and both she and the woman running the brothel were arrested, plus a male friend.
During the investigation, detectives identified two victims of trafficking, with the police’s trafficking and kidnap unit becoming suspicious that Motroc and Gherghel had given false names and addresses.
They were traced and arrested, with search warrants carried out at a number of brothels linked to Motruc.
At one in Vansittart Road, Forest Gate , a Romanian woman was found locked in a room.
Police also found video footage on Motroc’s phone showing Yousaf knew him and Gherghel and had colluded with them.
Yousaf was arrested in January 2014, with Motroc’s wife arrested the following month.
Following a trial which began on October 6 and finished on December 29, Yousaf was found guilty of two counts of blackmail, conspiracy to commit misconduct in a judicial or public office and committing misconduct in a public office.
Gherghel was found guilty of conspiracy to blackmail, pervert the court of justice and commit misconduct in a judicial or public office and three counts of conspiracy to control prostitution for gain.
He was also found guilty of acquiring or possessing criminal property and two counts of controlling prostitution for gain.
Monica-Olimpia Motroc was found guilty of three counts of controlling prostitution for gain, false imprisonment, acquiring or possessing criminal property and removing criminal property from England and Wales.
Her husband, Ionut-Viorel Motroc, was found guilty of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, blackmail, to commit misconduct in a public office and to traffic persons within the UK for sexual exploitation, as well as three counts of conspiracy to control prostitution for gain.
He was also found to have committed sexual assault, people trafficking, false imprisonment, acquiring or possessing criminal property and removing it from England and Wales, plus four counts of controlling prostitution for gain.
A sentencing date for all four has not yet been set.


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http://www.newhamrecorder.co.uk/news/crime-court/plaistow_man_denies_false_identity_document_charge_1_3911304

Hamzah Safdar, 24, of Cecil Road, was one of five men to appear at the Old Bailey today on terrorism related charges.
Zagum Perviaz, 35, of Frinton Road, East Ham, did not enter a plea to the same charge.
Michael Coe, 33,.of Central Park Road, East Ham, Simon Keeler, 43, of Solander Gardens, Shadwell, and Anthony Small, 33, of Southend Lane, Sydenham, all appeared charged with preparation for acts of terrorism.

They did not enter a plea, but a plea and case management hearing is said to be scheduled in due course.
A trial date has been set for June 8.



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http://www.newhamrecorder.co.uk/news/crime-court/beckton_car_gang_boss_has_sentence_extended_after_failed_appeal_1_3894304

The head of a Lithuanian crime gang who challenged his conviction has been ordered to serve extra time behind bars for his “totally unmeritorious” appeal.
Raimundas Matulevicius, of Firbank Close, Beckton, was in charge of a “multi-million pound” racket involving chopping up hundreds of cars in “slaughterhouses” before shipping the parts to eastern Europe.
The 29-year-old was jailed for six years in July last year after Wood Green Crown Court found him guilty of conspiracy to handle stolen goods.
On Tuesday, December 16, three senior Appeal Court judges rejected his appeal for his conviction to be quashed and added an extra three months to his sentence for wasting the court’s time.
Matulevicius was one of two members of the 11-strong gang who denied being involved in the conspiracy, claiming the evidence against him was circumstantial.
A previous bid to clear his name was rejected on seeing the papers.
Matulevicius’s lawyers argued that his conviction was “unsafe” and that the “biased” trial judge had misdirected the jury.
Mr Justice Gilbart, sitting with Lady Justice Sharp and Mr Justice William Davis, rejected the appeal.
He said: “This was an immensely strong circumstantial case against Matulevicius and, considering all the grounds individually and cumulatively, it is not arguable that the conviction is unsafe.
“This always was a totally unmeritorious application, which has wasted the time of this court.”
Matulevicius will also face an additional 18 months in prison if he fails to hand over £75,000 of his ill-gotten gains



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