Latest news with #criminalorganisation
BreakingNews.ie
2 days ago
- BreakingNews.ie
One of five accused in alleged 'branding stamp' Dublin gang assault enters guilty pleas
One of five men accused of falsely imprisoning and assaulting a man at a house in Dublin in an incident in which a 'branding stamp' was allegedly produced has pleaded guilty to assault causing serious harm. Devon Hennessy (29) of Edgewood Lawns, Corduff, Dublin 15, also admitted at the Special Criminal Court on Monday to assaulting the victim as part of a joint enterprise aimed at 'enhancing the ability of a criminal organisation to commit a serious offence'. Advertisement Hennessy, who appeared before the three-judge court on Monday morning wearing a black Nike-branded pullover, pleaded guilty to the false imprisonment of Barry Moore at a house on Sheephill Avenue, Dublin 15, on February 12th, 2025. Asked for his plea on a second charge of assault causing serious harm on Mr Moore in the same place on the same date 'for the purpose of enhancing the ability of a criminal organisation to commit a serious offence', Hennessy replied: 'guilty'. Fiona Murphy SC, prosecuting, had said that the pleas were on a 'full facts basis' and that the State was asking the court to take two further charges on the indictment against Hennessy into account. Hennessy has been remanded in custody to October 7th this year for a sentencing date to be fixed. Advertisement Four of his co-accused are awaiting trial in connection with the assault, and are due back before the court on Thursday. They are his brothers Jason Hennessy Jr (28) and Brandon Hennessy (22) of Sheephill Avenue, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15; as well as 45-year-old Kenneth Fitzsimons and his son Dean Fitzsimons, of Castlecurragh Vale, Mulhuddart, Dublin 15. Ms Justice Karen O'Connor has said it may be possible to fit the trial into the court's schedule for the next term. The four are charged with false imprisonment, intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm and with participating in or contributing to the activity of a criminal organisation by assaulting the alleged victim, causing him serious harm. Advertisement Ireland George Nkencho inquest to hear from up to 60 witne... Read More Jason Hennessy Jr is further charged with threatening to damage property and producing a branding stamp to intimidate another person during a dispute or a fight on the same date and at the same location. Brandon Hennessy is charged with producing a "steel breaker bar" in a manner likely to intimidate another person while committing or appearing to be about to commit an assault. Dean Fitzsimons is charged with making a threat to kill or cause serious harm to the alleged victim and producing a metal branding stamp and a steel breaker bar. Kenneth Fitzsimons is charged with producing a steel breaker bar and an axe during the course of a dispute or fight.
Telegraph
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Alleged Venezuelan gangsters released from mega jail in US prisoner swap
El Salvador has sent home 252 Venezuelans from its notorious Cecot jail in a prisoner swap for 10 US citizens. Nayib Bukele, the country's president, said in a post on X that those freed in Venezuela were en route to El Salvador from where they would continue 'their journey home'. 'Today, we have handed over all the Venezuelan nationals detained in our country, accused of being part of the criminal organisation Tren de Aragua (TDA). Many of them face multiple charges of murder, robbery, rape, and other serious crimes. 'As was offered to the Venezuelan regime back in April, we carried out this exchange in return for a considerable number of Venezuelan political prisoners, people that regime had kept in its prisons for years, as well as all the American citizens it was holding as hostages,' he said. Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, confirmed the release of '10 Americans who were detained in Venezuela' and thanked Mr Bukele for his help in securing the agreement. 'The Trump administration continues to support the restoration of democracy in Venezuela,' said Mr Rubio. 'The regime's use of unjust detention as a tool of political repression must end,' he said. The State Department posted on social media a picture of what it said were 10 Americans freed from Venezuelan prisons. The men, in matching dark blue T-shirts and jeans, together held up an American flag. The Venezuelan government confirmed that 252 Venezuelans held in El Salvador had been freed, calling the maximum security prison where they have been held, Centre for the Confinement of Terrorism or Cecot, a 'concentration camp'. The Venezuelans were sent to El Salvador in March after Donald Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang without going through normal immigration procedures. Family members of many of the Venezuelans and their lawyers deny they had gang ties, and say they were not given a chance to contest the Trump administration's allegations in court. Venezuela's government has always decried the detention of its citizens as a violation of human rights and international law. But the government's critics say the country holds activists and opposition figures in similar conditions in Venezuela.
Khaleej Times
13-07-2025
- Khaleej Times
Dubai arrests 3 Belgians: Who is Othman El Ballouti, drug lord extradited from UAE?
For years, Othman El Ballouti lived like a man beyond the reach of law. That run ended when Dubai Police extradited him to Belgium, closing the net on one of Europe's most wanted fugitives. The 38-year-old Belgian-Moroccan, long known to investigators as the 'Cocaine King,' was handed over along with two other high-profile criminals, Matthias Akyazili and Georgi Faes, following a coordinated international crackdown, Dubai Media Office announced on Sunday. All three were subjects of Interpol red notices and face serious charges, including drug trafficking, human smuggling, armed robbery, and running a transnational criminal organisation. But Ballouti was the biggest catch of them all. Far from a foot soldier, he is accused of orchestrating a vast cocaine pipeline from Latin America to Europe, using Antwerp as his hub. Belgian authorities believe he played a central role in flooding the port with multi-tonne shipments, positioning himself as one of Europe's most powerful narco traffickers. In 2023 alone, authorities seized a record 116 tonnes of cocaine at the Belgian port, much of it reportedly tied to cartels Ballouti worked with. His criminal record is just as extensive. In two separate cases, Belgian courts convicted him in absentia — seven years for trafficking 840 kilograms of cocaine, and 20 years for his role in an 11-tonne shipment intercepted in 2021. Ballouti was also wanted for the violence linked to his criminal network. In early 2023, an 11-year-old girl was killed in a gang-related shooting in Antwerp. She was later identified as Ballouti's niece. Authorities believe the killing was a retaliatory strike in a turf war tied to the city's spiraling drug violence. Since mid-2022, police have recorded more than 50 grenade and firearm attacks in Antwerp, many believed to be linked to rival trafficking groups. His own family wasn't spared. In 2016, Ballouti's younger brother was kidnapped in France by a rival gang that reportedly demanded €5 million (Dh21.5 million) or 400 kilograms of cocaine for his release. He eventually escaped and named his captors to police. Ballouti, meanwhile, has maintained he is a legitimate businessman, attributing his wealth to a watch trading venture and a restaurant. His lawyers have described him as a misunderstood entrepreneur. However, European media reports say authorities gathered evidence from encrypted communication platforms, surveillance, and cooperating witnesses that contradicted those claims. In December 2024, the UAE's state news agency WAM confirmed Ballouti's arrest in Dubai and described him as 'one of the world's most wanted individuals.' His detention followed years of international coordination and intelligence-sharing. Until recently, legal constraints limited European authorities' ability to extradite fugitives from the UAE. That changed with a landmark agreement signed between Belgium and the UAE in 2021, which paved the way for swifter legal action in cross-border crime cases.
BreakingNews.ie
18-06-2025
- BreakingNews.ie
Sean McGovern changes legal team in challenge to extradition on murder and criminal organisation charges
Sean McGovern, who has challenged the legality of his extradition from the United Arab Emirates to face charges of murder and directing a criminal organisation, has made an application to change his legal team. At the Special Criminal Court on Wednesday, legal representatives for McGovern said that Michael Staines solicitors wished to withdraw from the case, with the accused to now be represented by Wayne Kenny solicitors. Advertisement Via video link from prison, McGovern confirmed that he was happy with this application, with Ms Justice Karen O'Connor putting the matter back for mention to July 28th next. The accused is to be produced in court on that date. McGovern (39), with a previous address at Kildare Road, Crumlin, Dublin 12 is charged with the murder of Noel Kirwan on December 22nd, 2016, at St Ronan's Drive, Clondalkin in Dublin. He is also charged with directing the activities of a criminal organisation in connection with the same murder between October 20th, 2016, and December 22nd, 2016. He is charged with directing the activities of a criminal organisation in connection with the surveillance of James Gately in preparation for the commission of an indictable offence between October 17th, 2015, and April 6th, 2017. Advertisement Another charge alleges that between October 20th and December 22nd, 2016, he contributed to or participated in activity intending or being reckless as to whether such activity would facilitate a criminal organisation in the murder of Mr Kirwan. He faces a similar charge of facilitating a criminal organisation in a conspiracy to murder James Gately. He was previously extradited from the United Arab Emirates to face the charges, but in June, lawyers for McGovern raised a concern about the legality of his extradition to Ireland. Olan Callanan BL said: "The fundamental concern is the legality, the propriety and the process which surrounded his arrival in Dublin."
Irish Times
18-06-2025
- Irish Times
Kinahan cartel member Sean McGovern changes legal team
Sean McGovern, who has challenged the legality of his extradition from the United Arab Emirates to face charges of murder and directing a criminal organisation, has made an application to change his legal team. At the Special Criminal Court on Wednesday, legal representatives for McGovern said that Michael Staines solicitors wished to withdraw from the case, with the accused to now be represented by Wayne Kenny solicitors. Via video link from prison, McGovern confirmed that he was happy with this application, with Ms Justice Karen O'Connor putting the matter back for mention to July 28th next. The accused is to be produced in court on that date. McGovern (39), with a previous address at Kildare Road, Crumlin, Dublin 12 is charged with the murder of Noel Kirwan on December 22nd, 2016 at St Ronan's Drive, Clondalkin in Dublin. READ MORE He is also charged with directing the activities of a criminal organisation in connection with the same murder between October 20th 2016 and December 22nd, 2016. He is charged with directing the activities of a criminal organisation in connection with the surveillance of James Gately in preparation for the commission of an indictable offence between October 17th, 2015 and April 6th, 2017. Another charge alleges that between October 20th and December 22nd, 2016 he contributed to or participated in activity intending or being reckless as to whether such activity would facilitate a criminal organisation in the murder of Mr Kirwan. He faces a similar charge of facilitating a criminal organisation in a conspiracy to murder James Gately. He was previously extradited from the United Arab Emirates to face the charges, but in June, lawyers for McGovern raised a concern about the legality of his extradition to Ireland. Olan Callanan BL said: 'The fundamental concern is the legality, the propriety and the process which surrounded his arrival in Dublin.'
