Latest news with #FlyingSquad
The Hindu
8 hours ago
- The Hindu
3 T.N. woman arrested in Idukki for attempt to sell 139 rose-ringed parakeets
The Flying Squad wing of the Forest department on Wednesday detained three women from Tamil Nadu over an attempt to sell rose-ringed parakeets (Psittacula krameri) in Idukki. According to the Idukki Flying Squad Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) M.G. Vinod Kumar, three women arrived early morning on Wednesday by bus from Pollachi in Tamil Nadu to Kattappana in Idukki carrying the birds hidden in cages. They had planned to sell the parakeets in the Kamakshi and Prakash areas near Kattappana. The arrested were identified as Pollachi residents Jaya Veeran (50), Ilavanchi Annadurai (45), and Usha Chandrasekharan (41). 'A total of 139 birds were found in cages. Six of them were found dead. They planned to sell a pair for ₹2,000. Rose-ringed parakeets are listed under Schedule II of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Any sale, hunting, or rearing of these birds is prohibited under the Act. Offenders face imprisonment ranging from three to seven years and a fine of up to ₹1 lakh,' said Mr. Kumar. The official further said that most of the people are unaware that the rearing of rose-ringed parakeets is a prohibited act. 'The women are part of a gang that sells the birds in various areas and purchases them from local bird catchers in Pollachi,' said Mr. Kumar. According to Forest department officials, the birds will be released in the forest areas of Idukki district after a health inspection. The women were detained following a tip-off received by the Idukki Flying Squad DFO. The operation was led by Flying Squad Range Officer T. Litesh, Section Forest Officer (SFO) Saji Thomas, and Beat Forest Officers (BFO) Sreekumar, Shinoj Mon, Josekutty, and Rince Antony.
The Citizen
3 days ago
- The Citizen
Operation Simama leads to multiple arrests during Edenvale crime crackdow
Operation Simama leads to multiple arrests during Edenvale crime crackdow Multiple suspects were arrested recently when law enforcement agencies joined forces in Edenvale as part of a large-scale crime prevention initiative. Conducted between July 9 and July 11, Operation Simama brought together the SAPS, the Flying Squad, EMPD, Gauteng Traffic Police, Gauteng Crime Prevention Wardens, private security stakeholders, and the Edenvale CPF. According to Edenvale Police Station's communications officer, Warrant Officer Jacob Mashile, the operation forms part of ongoing efforts to reduce crime within the Edenvale policing precinct. ALSO READ: Joint operation leads to zama zama bust on N12 Edenvale CPF public relations officer Fiona Pickett explained that the operation focused on Edenvale and surrounding areas. High-visibility patrols, stop-and-search initiatives, compliance inspections, and intelligence-led interventions were all part of the coordinated effort. 'Residents are encouraged to cooperate with law enforcement, remain vigilant, and report suspicious activity,' said Pickett. The operation led to the detention of 20 undocumented foreign nationals, who were handed over to the Department of Home Affairs for further processing. In addition, two suspects were arrested on drug-related charges, and six motorists were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. ALSO READ: Bedfordview operation nabs suspects, disrupts illicit activities As part of broader investigations, 15 South African nationals were profiled. 'This operation highlights the power of collaboration,' said Edenvale Vispol Commander Lieutenant Colonel Shadrack Magcuntsu. 'When law enforcement agencies and community structures work together, we send a strong message that criminal activity will not be tolerated.' At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
The Citizen
4 days ago
- The Citizen
Sharp-eyed flying squad recovers stolen Fortuner before owner realizes it's missing
A contractor visiting East Driefontein on July 7 had no idea his Toyota Fortuner had been stolen—until police called to inform him they had already recovered it and arrested the suspects. The man had parked his SUV in the Masakhane Shaft parking area and gone inside, unaware that criminals had already made off with his vehicle. Fortunately, three vigilant members of the West Rand Police's Flying Squad, based in Krugersdorp, were patrolling along the P111 road toward Westonaria when they spotted the Fortuner and found it suspicious—even though it hadn't yet been reported stolen. As officers tried to stop the vehicle, the suspects abandoned it and jumped into a second car. The police gave chase and managed to intercept and arrest all three men in the getaway car. Further investigation revealed that the second vehicle had also been reported stolen during a robbery in Florida earlier this year. Thanks to the sharp instincts and quick action of the Flying Squad, two stolen vehicles were recovered and three suspects are now behind bars. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Metro
6 days ago
- Metro
Model's fury at phone snatchers after they take her mobile twice in three months
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video An Australian model is begging London to sort out the spate of phone snatching after she had her mobile stolen twice in three months. Footage shows Emma Van Der Hoek getting her phone wrestled off her by a man in a dark tracksuit who ran away after prizing it out of her hands. She was walking on the corner of Sotheby Road and Highbury Park along the path on her phone when the thief attacked her. Emma tries to chase after the man but he was able to sprint around the corner as another man followed him. She wrote: 'My phone got stolen yesterday in London!!! This is the second time in three months that this has happened – all within my so called 'safe' neighbourhood.' But she was then subject to online abuse, with trolls blaming her for the robbery. Some 78,000 people had phones or bags stolen from them on British streets in the year to March 2024. That is a rise of more than 150% on the 31,000 'snatch thefts' in the 12 months before, according to data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales. Figures also show that four in five police investigations were closed before a suspect was even found and just 0.8% of 'theft from the person' complaints resulted in a charge. The government has pledged to crackdown on the scourge, with the Home Office saying it will work more closely with tech firms and police chiefs. In this year alone, 213 phones have already been stolen in the City of London. For the same period between 1 January and 30 April last year, there were 294 phone snatching reports. Emma added: 'This video is at nearly 500k views on TikTok and the amount of victim blaming comments is actually insane. 'People have got so used to theft in London that they've started blaming the victims instead of holding criminals accountable. 'If you are one of the boys that stole my phone, return it and I'll delete the video. If anyone's knows anything, please message me!' She is one of thousands of victims in London. While the Met has made significant progress in stopping snatchers, it is clear more needs to be done. This week the Met announced they managed to arrest 10 people involved in phone snatching gangs with their new Flying Squad. On Thursday, 19 June eight men, aged between 20 and 31, and two 17-year-old boys were arrested at addresses in London on suspicion of conspiracy to commit robbery. Detective Chief Inspector Laura Hillier, who is leading the investigation from the Met's Flying Squad, said: 'Phone robbery has boomed globally, and London is not immune. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video 'There is a concerted effort by criminal gangs to steal phones and sell them overseas as part of a multi-million-pound industry. More Trending 'The Met is catching more of these criminals and operations such as this are vital to disrupting offenders who cause fear and misery to shop workers and communities.' The force also carried out a two week focus at the start of the year, leading to the arrests of 292 people. In footage released by the Metropolitan Police, one plain clothed police officer is seen spotting a phone snatcher, in a dark blue backwards baseball cap and black jacket in Oxford Circus. The thief had targeted an elderly person in the tourist hot spot, but one officer spotted the attack and tackled him to the ground in front of shocked pedestrians. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Ex-UFC fighter in fresh bid for jail pardon after role in £53,000,000 Securitas heist MORE: Dad-of-six told police he was being abused weeks before ex 'stabbed him in heart' MORE: Boy, 11, charged with first-degree murder was wanted over string of other violent crimes
Irish Independent
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
‘The Sweeney' at 50: How a brash, brutal police drama transformed British television
The Sweeney first hit screens (and also gave a good walloping to every wayward villain in west London) in January 1975. Its second series, of a total of four broadcast on ITV, followed in September of the same year. Alongside Thaw, who died in 2002, Dennis Waterman co-starred as the affable, capable DS George Carter. Waterman died in 2022, leaving few members of the fictionalised Flying Squad (the series derived its name from cockney rhyming slang: 'Sweeney Todd') still with us, let alone still working. But Nick Brimble, who played DC Gerry Burtonshaw, never stopped. Today a mainstay of the detective drama Grantchester, the 80-year-old recalls his Sweeney debut in the programme's sixth episode, 'Night Out'. 'It might have been my first day,' says Brimble, 'and we were doing a fight [scene] in a pub. I was there with Dennis, and we were running late. They said: 'OK, Dennis, Nick, make sure you don't get hurt. And go!' Suddenly, the whole place – which I thought was full of extras, turns out it was the entire stunt register – started smashing chairs over each other's heads and throwing bottles. I just stood there looking surprised!' But that's how it was, says the actor, who appeared in three series and the first of two Sweeney films (which made so much money they enabled production company EMI Films to make The Deer Hunter). During the pub fight, Brimble recalls Scottish actor Brian Coburn being knocked unconscious by a bottle that was meant to be made from toffee glass. These days, he says, projects don't come close to this level of realism – or violence. 'And obviously, you want to be safe,' adds Brimble, 'but sometimes you feel that things are a bit restricted. The Sweeney was flying by the seat of your pants – fights, action, the whole thing.' Cast members frequently arrived on set before seeing a script, and the wardrobe department would often call actors the night before filming to ask if they had a spare leather jacket for the shoot tomorrow. 'I had suede. 'That'll do!' they said,' Brimble recalls. 'Even now, the show has a great energy,' he adds. 'And people still respond to it, watching reruns all these years later. It doesn't feel like some dusty old show. It feels, in a way, more lively than many things on TV now.' There's a reason for that. The Sweeney began life as 'Regan', a 1974 episode of anthology series Armchair Cinema. And, for all its envelope-pushing and convention-smashing, the show started off as something of a composite, borrowing elements from other crime dramas. Producers picked Thaw after seeing him play a military policeman in the drama series Redcap, while Waterman was chosen after he guest-starred in ITV's crime saga Special Branch. Writer Ted Childs was inspired by Gene Hackman thriller The French Connection. Series creator Ian Kennedy Martin looked to films including the Michael Caine vehicle Get Carter, Sitting Target with Oliver Reed, and the gangster movie Villain, starring Richard Burton, to inform the show's style. As such, when The Sweeney first aired – multiple influences under its belt, and a pilot in its pocket – it arrived fully formed. And there wasn't any laborious world-building to do, because this wasn't a far-fetched, fantastical London. This was the real thing – violence, hardship and all. 'The Seventies was a tough time. A gritty time,' says Tony Jordan, a seasoned writer and the creator of programmes including Hustle and Beyond Paradise. 'It can feel like it was quite shiny, polished and pop-arty. But it wasn't really like that. Everything was in economic decline, crime was rising – particularly in cities – and it was all a bit fractious. Television didn't truly represent that. Our crimefighters were things like The Avengers, all a bit nonsensical. There were exceptions, of course, but general mainstream television felt like a fantasy world. Heroes were heroes, and that's the way it worked.' Then came Jack Regan. 'He lived in the world we all lived in. He had moral ambiguity; he worried. He was a flawed hero, but he was on our side. He did terrible things – like kidnapping people – but he'd never take a bribe for himself. There wasn't a holier-than-thou reverence to it. He clearly had his demons, but still he did the right thing.' And Regan, says Jordan, more closely resembled the police he knew as a rebellious teenager. In fact, many of the show's catchphrases – 'We're the Sweeney, son, and we haven't had any dinner'; 'Get your trousers on, you're nicked!' – were borrowed from real-life, off-duty Flying Squad members whom producers spoke to in pubs around Scotland Yard. Regan and co may have been fictional, but they were real: human, fallible, and capable of making mistakes. 'It was aware of other TV,' Jordan explains. 'At one point, Regan has a lollipop and George says, 'Who loves ya, baby?', referencing Kojak. He'd say stuff like 'Life isn't like Z-Cars' or whistle the theme tune to Dixon of Dock Green. So audacious! How could you not love the audacity of that?' The Sweeney resonated across culture. Both Squeeze and Kate Bush namedropped the series in their lyrics. 'It wasn't about dissecting your lines or finding your character's motivation, says Brimble. 'It was about turning up and doing stuff. I think half of the show's realism comes from the fact it was done very fast. Energy is the word that comes to mind – lots of testosterone flying about. If there was a fight in a pub, you went and had a fight in a pub.' Brimble later played Little John in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. On set, that film's star, Kevin Costner, would constantly ask Brimble about London gangsters and his work on shows like The Sweeney. 'I had to say, 'I'm not one, Kevin – I'm just pretending, love.'' But The Sweeney attracted A-listers itself. Among the guest stars were John Hurt, Brian Blessed, Richard Griffiths – even Morecambe and Wise. Ray Winstone made his acting debut in series three, and went on to star in a flimsy cinematic reboot that bore little resemblance to the original show. That film, released in 2012, spawned a French remake in 2015 starring Jean Reno, which has itself produced a sequel. In the Nineties, Nissan spoofed the show in an ad campaign, and Matt Berry recently described his short-lived sitcom Year of the Rabbit as 'The Sweeney, but set in Victorian times'. The Sweeney lives on, then – not least in every hard-edged, hard-drinking copper on television today. 'Well, they'd like to be The Sweeney,' says Brimble. 'But that realism and action and energy is hard to reproduce these days. It was the first one that felt real – that's why people still aspire to it. But drama today is often too complicated. The Sweeney worked because it wasn't complicated. It was an adrenaline-fuelled rush.' (© The Independent)
