logo
Mystery over death of Ukrainian anti-organised crime chief in Benidorm pool

Mystery over death of Ukrainian anti-organised crime chief in Benidorm pool

Metro6 days ago
A former official at Ukraine's Interior Ministry has been found dead at the very same Spanish resort where a Russian military defector was murdered.
Ihor Hrushevskyi, the ex-head of the anti-crime police unit, was discovered in the town of Villajoyosa, a few miles from the resort popular with British tourists for its packaged holidays.
The 61-year-old was floating face-down in the communal pool – no deeper than 1.5 metres – of the Cala Alta house complex, El Español reported.
Neighbours pulled him out, performing CPR, but they were unable to save him and when paramedics arrived at the scene, he was pronounced dead.
While there were no obvious signs of violence, blood was coming from one ear, so foul play has not been ruled out.
The incident happened in the morning of June 29, but the identity of the man was only revealed this week.
It was just a few months ago that Hrushevskyi had purchased a flat in one of the blocks and he was still renovating.
His death comes a little more than a year after Maksim Kuzinovm – an ex-Russian helicopter pilot, who had deserted to Ukraine – was killed there.
Police found his bullet-riddled body in the underground parking garage of that same resort.
A burnt-out car apparently used by his attackers was found near the scene of the crime.
The 28-year-old fled Russian and landed a Mi-8 helicopter in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv in August, 2023, while flying between two Russian bases.
He had reportedly contacted the Ukrainian secret service to inform them of his decision to defect and they had promised him £397,000, protection for his family and new documents. More Trending
A state TV report from October, in which Russian propagandists branded Kuzminov 'a traitor to the motherland', claimed that Russian intelligence operatives had received orders to assassinate him.
Sergei Naryshkin, Russia's foreign intelligence chief, said at the time: 'In Russia it is customary to speak either good of the dead or nothing at all.
'This traitor and criminal became a moral corpse at the very moment when he planned his dirty and terrible crime.'
Ukrainian officials have not yet commented on Hrushevskyi's death.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE: Girlfriend's tribute to 'inspirational' hockey player who died at Ibiza Rocks hotel
MORE: First look inside Putin's secret 'death' factory where teenagers build drones
MORE: Nato scrambles warplanes for 13th time in weeks after latest Putin attack
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

The ballad of broken Britain
The ballad of broken Britain

Spectator

time44 minutes ago

  • Spectator

The ballad of broken Britain

In my corner of Bristol, alongside drug dealers, shoplifters and street drinkers, we now have our very own pyromaniac. They started small – an abandoned office chair, a clothing bank and an old telephone box – before moving on to bigger things. Half a dozen cars have been torched over the past few months, including two on my road, and, most recently, a derelict pub. The other Saturday, hearing a commotion outside, my wife jumped out of bed and flung open the curtains. The scene that greeted us was apocalyptic. In daylight, on a narrow suburban street, the arsonist had set fire to three motorbikes parked in a row, which in turn had set alight a car and a hedge. It was pandemonium. People were wandering around in their nightclothes, some barefoot, having been advised by the police to leave their homes. The bikes and car were engulfed in flames, and thick clouds of black smoke billowed over the houses. The fire brigade arrived quickly and soon had things under control, but the resulting carnage was like West Belfast circa the 1970s after a mortar attack. Setting vehicles alight is a serious criminal offence, not to mention incredibly dangerous, yet the police response was sluggish. For weeks, charred motorbike frames and the blackened shells of cars sat on melted tarmac. Wandering the area felt like disaster tourism. Eventually, after mounting complaints, a meeting was called with councillors and police in attendance. However, what was meant to be a discussion about the fires quickly turned into a free-for-all on rising crime. It was a comically British affair – lots of blustering and cries of: 'Do speak up, we can't hear you at the back!' There also seemed to be a few budding local sleuths who'd uncovered some quite extraordinary goings-on that the police were unaware of. Notwithstanding our resident Miss Marples, if we'd gone looking for reassurance, we didn't get any. Although we were told we could report incidents online and expect a response within 72 hours. Amazing. You'd hope the issue would be resolved by then. Still, there were tea and biscuits – so that was all right. In effect, the mostly middle-class crowd came away with the impression that it was down to them to manage the situation: 'You can apply for a council grant to install CCTV at your house, or buy one of those camera doorbell thingies.' The police, it seems, don't have the time or resources. One thing we were promised was increased patrols, but our local 'cop shop' is only open a few hours a week, and I don't think I've seen a policeman on foot in the 20-odd years I've been here. You do see the occasional PCSO, but they engender about as much confidence as a Boy Scout left in charge of an anti-aircraft battery. Thankfully, I recently escaped to Menorca for a week. There's very little crime, no graffiti, no litter, and the sea – a major draw – is crystal clear. The overall impression is of a laid-back, prosperous, well-run place that the inhabitants are proud of. Coming back to the UK was a kick in the Balearics due to the stark contrast. It felt like returning home to find the front door bashed in, the house ransacked and someone cooking crystal meth on the stove. Within hours, we'd seen drug deals, masked youths speeding about on electric motorbikes and drunks stumbling in the road. The usual dope smoke, graffiti tagging and filthy streets completed the picture. If we lived in a more affluent part of Bristol, or some rural idyll, perhaps the return wouldn't have hit quite so hard. But I still wouldn't have been able to escape the headlines: water company bosses pocketing millions while pumping effluent into rivers and seas; polls suggesting almost half of the public think Britain is becoming lawless; a justice system in crisis; dire public finances; a government desperate to avoid another summer of rioting. The sense – to borrow one of the Prime Minister's favourite phrases – is of a country in managed decline. Except the decline isn't being managed very well. Yes, Menorca is small and sparsely populated – easier to keep pristine. And yes, coming home from holiday is always a downer. However, the overwhelming impression was of returning to a country that had lost its way. A 16-year-old boy was recently arrested in connection with the pub fire. Dozens of cars have since had their tyres slashed, and someone took a machete to a row of saplings – so, irrespective of whether or not he's the arsonist, we're not out of the woods yet. Although, thanks to the idiot with the machete, there won't now be a wood – or even a copse. In Richard II, John of Gaunt laments: 'That England, that was wont to conquer others, Hath made a shameful conquest of itself.' Hasn't it just? And, as Abraham Lincoln observed: 'A house divided against itself cannot stand.' So, while tea and biscuits may long have been a social lubricant in Britain, there are times when cohesion is so frayed, we need more than that – and I'm afraid this is one of them. To be honest, though, you'd probably get bored with Menorca after a while. All that sand – it's a bastard to get out of your shoes.

Teen rushed to hopsital in critical condition after incident at Tenerife hotel
Teen rushed to hopsital in critical condition after incident at Tenerife hotel

Daily Mirror

time2 hours ago

  • Daily Mirror

Teen rushed to hopsital in critical condition after incident at Tenerife hotel

A 19-year-old man was pulled from a hotel swimming pool in Arona, Tenerife by a lifeguard after showing signs of drowning, he was rushed to hospital in critical condition for further treatment A teenager has been rushed to hospital in critical condition after an incident at a hotel swimming pool in Tenerife. ‌ The horror incident happened on Saturday, July 26 at shortly after 5pm. Emergency services were called to Rafael Puig Lluvina Avenue in Arona following reports a young man was in need of medical assistance. ‌ Canary Islands Emergency Service (SUC) sent one medicalized ambulance and one basic life support ambulance. Officers from both the national and local police were also in attendance. ‌ The emergency call, which was made by a lifeguard at the hotel, suggested a man was in cardiorespiratory arrest and had symptoms of drowning from the pool of a hotel complex. Upon arrival medics found a 19-year-old man unresponsive so SUC personnel continued the CPR begun by the lifeguard. ‌ After stabilising the victim, he was evacuated in critical condition and rushed to Hospiten Sur hospital. It is not known if the tenager was a tourist or a local. It comes just days after Stan-Lee Connor, 20, from Birkenhead, died while on holiday in Ibiza with his friends. He had jetted off to the Spanish island with a mate on Tuesday, July 1, for a six-night break but became unwell on his second evening. Stan, as loved ones knew him, was enjoying a night out at Amnesia in San Antonio when he appeared to take ill, his sister Ellie McSherry said. His friend took him back to their accommodation at Aparthotel Vibra Monterrey. But when his friend awoke the next morning, he discovered Stan had passed away. The 20 year old's death is now being investigated by police. In a heartfelt tribute shared with the Liverpool Echo by sisters Ellie and Sally, they said: "We lost our beautiful younger brother and son, Stan-Lee Connor, a kind-hearted soul whose heart overflowed with love, and whose life held so much promise. His sudden and heartbreaking passing in Ibiza at just 20 years old has left an immeasurable void in our lives. "Stan wasn't just our brother, he was the light in our family. He brought warmth, laughter, and kindness wherever he went, and his presence made everything brighter. "Stan was a proud and passionate supporter of Everton Football Club, loyal through every win and every heartbreak. He also found deep comfort in music, especially the timeless sounds of Pink Floyd. Their lyrics became a lifeline, especially after the heartbreaking loss of our dad last year. Music gave Stan strength, and in those melodies, he began to find his way back to peace."

Iraqi businessman granted asylum in UK ‘led billion-dollar oil smuggling plot to help fund Iran's terror state'
Iraqi businessman granted asylum in UK ‘led billion-dollar oil smuggling plot to help fund Iran's terror state'

Scottish Sun

time7 hours ago

  • Scottish Sun

Iraqi businessman granted asylum in UK ‘led billion-dollar oil smuggling plot to help fund Iran's terror state'

Trucks full of cash made from the scheme have allegedly been sent to Iran to finance the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps TERROR PLOT Iraqi businessman granted asylum in UK 'led billion-dollar oil smuggling plot to help fund Iran's terror state' Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) AN IRAQI businessman granted asylum in the UK has been accused of running a billion dollar oil smuggling plot to finance global terrorism and domestic tyranny by Iran. The Trump administration claims Salim Ahmed Said, 47, has been running a network of firms passing off Iranian oil as a product of Iraq to avoid sanctions for at least five years. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up Trucks full of cash made from the scheme have allegedly been sent to Iran to finance the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Iraqi Kurd Said became a British citizen after seeking refuge from the Saddam Hussein regime in the UK in the early 2000s. He owns a £27 million hotel in Kensington, West London, and runs two British companies blacklisted by the US Treasury. Said was placed under US sanctions on July 3 but UK authorities so far do not appear to have taken action against him. The US government said that some of the money from the plot had benefited the IRGC's elite Quds Force, a designated terrorist organisation which leads Tehran's overseas operations. The Quds Force is suspected of kidnapping and assassination plots in Britain, the US and Europe and supports terror groups including Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthi movement, and Shia militias in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. US Treasury documents state: 'Salim Ahmed Said runs a network of companies that have been selling Iranian oil falsely declared as Iraqi oil since at least 2020. 'Said's companies use ship-to-ship transfers and other obfuscation techniques to hide their activities. 'Said's companies and vessels blend Iranian oil with Iraqi oil, which is then sold to Western buyers, via Iraq or the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as purely Iraqi oil using forged documentation to avoid sanctions.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store