Latest news with #drugaddiction
The Sun
a day ago
- The Sun
I pinched £30m worth of goods as UK's most prolific shoplifter to get my daily hit of heroin – I've been jailed 28 times
A WOMAN who became one of Britain's most prolific shoplifters has revealed how she stole £30 million worth of goods in her 20-year crime spree. Keeley Knowles, 42, stole high value designer clothes and handbags around Birmingham to fund her drug addiction. 3 3 Now, she's lifted the lid on her criminal activities spurred on by her heroin habit. But now that Keeley is 18 months clean, she has turned her life around and is sharing her story to warn others. She said she would target shops every morning and raked in up to £8,000 a day selling on the stolen items via a WhatsApp group in order to feed her heroin addiction. Keeley, of Kings Heath, Birmingham, said: "I was known as Birmingham's most prolific shoplifter for around 20 years. "I was fully involved in the lifestyle. I could easily do seven grams of heroin in a day. When my habit finished I was spending around £1,000 a day. "Instead of going to supermarkets I would go into upmarket stores and take handbags and purses." She pinched £3.7 million worth of stock from one shop alone and is thought to have raked in around £30 million over the years as 'Birmingham's most prolific shoplifter'. Keeley has now revealed how she would fool shop staff by phoning them, pretending to be a police officer to check when security would be on the doors. "People think only gangs are organised crime and that's not right," she said. "I'd get up in the morning and ring around different stores and I would say: 'Good morning, this is PC2417, I'm calling about the theft on Tuesday.' 3 I spent 40k on ketamine and microdosed eight times a day "Because there was always a theft, it's a big store. "And then you would always get some really lovely woman who would answer the phone saying 'there's no security today'. "And I would say, 'Oh well, can you tell me when they are back in?' They would tell me they are not in Monday, Thursday and Friday. And I'd be writing all this down. I knew when people's pay days were, what size their kids were, what people's favourite designer was. Keeley Knowles And she would also fill a sleeping bag-style jacket from the 'ground to her armpit' after slicing up the material to make compartments to conceal the goods. "I wouldn't use a bag for shoplifting. I've had alarms go off and I'd let them look in my handbag and then just walk outside," she explained. "I had a WhatsApp group that had around 150 people in it, I'd take photos on the train or bus after coming out of a shop and before I even got half way home it would be sold. " Money would either go in my bank or I would go and drop it off and collect the money. "I knew when people's pay days were, what size their kids were, what people's favourite designer was." Keeley said she spent every single day shoplifting, apart from on Christmas Day and Good Friday when the shops were closed. "To make a thousand pounds you've got to steal a lot of stuff a day. Some days I'd steal £7,000 to £8,000 worth of stock," Keeley revealed. But thanks to a pioneering new treatment for addicts, Keeley is now 18 months clean having turned her life around and is now sharing her story as a warning to others. Life of Crime Keeley's life of crime began when she was just 13-years-old when she met a 21-year-old man and she was soon hooked on heroin. Speaking to the Birmz Is Grime blog, she added, "I got in trouble a lot when I was younger, firearms and drugs. "I was chosen to travel to Liverpool to pick up kilos of heroin and crack - the equivalent of todays county lines but nobody knew of that back then. I was 13. "My nan and grandad brought me up, my dad was in jail and I didn't see my mum. Because of the generation gap I don't think they knew what was going on,. "I got away with murder, I think my nan thought I had flu for years, when I was suffering withdrawals. But they were there through everything. "I got arrested and went to prison around once a year. "There's a store in Selly Oak, and their security guard once told an officer I had taken £3.7 million worth of stock. "And Loss Prevention magazine have estimated it at around £30 million. "But if you're estimating that from me going into a shop once a day, I promise you its more than that. I didn't live, I just existed. I just got up, scored, went grafting, sold it, scored, slept - and I did it all over again. Keeley Knowles "I'd steal so much I'd have to go get a trolley from Sainsbury's just to move it. "There's no rush to it, it was just what I had to do to feed my addiction. "So many security know me, it's shocking. To the point one stopped me the other week, I haven't been in trouble for so long either, to say happy birthday. "I said 'how do you know its my birthday?' and he said 'Keeley I've had to fill out your date of birth constantly for how many years'. "I didn't live, I just existed. I just got up, scored, went grafting, sold it, scored, slept - and I did it all over again. "I've been to jail 28 times here and three times in Amsterdam. There's only three jails in the country I haven't been to and its the same faces each time. "Women's jail is like St Trinian's on crack - that is the best way you can describe it. 90 per cent are there for addiction. "I thought I would die a junkie." New Beginnings She said her saving grace was West Midlands Police's Offending to Recovery programme, which offers support for addicts. Keeley now works alongside the programme, doing outreach work with drug users and gives talks on the drug Buvidal, a slow-release opioid blocker. She has also won a National Business Crime Solutions Award and since reconnected with her family. She added: "It was the security guard at the £3.7 million shop who said 'you're better than this' and referred me and got me listed for help with the offending to recovery team. "I'd love to say I had a big epiphany but I just found the number in a drawer one day and I thought I'd try them. "They were telling me about this new treatment and I thought it was bulls**t, but I agreed to do it. "I was having seizures, hallucinations, it was horrific, but then I had this injection and I slept like a normal human, had no cravings. "I've now tried to make my recovery something for other people as well. "Seeing somebody who has been even lower than you come out the other end is very different to being told it by somebody who sits in an office and gets paid to do it. "I was unfixable, don't write anyone off. If I can be fixed, anyone can be fixed."
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Irish Times
Drug addict with nearly 190 convictions who twice robbed same pharmacy given seven years
A robber with 189 previous convictions who twice targeted the same pharmacy has been given a seven-year sentence with the final three years suspended. Robert Clinch (43) told the court in a letter that he wants to rehabilitate and change his life. Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard Clinch, a long-time drug addict, was previously released during the Covid pandemic with no support and within hours, had broken into a McDonald's restaurant to make himself food and steal cash. Clinch, of Millbrook Grove, Kilbarrack, Dublin, pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery of a pharmacy in Coolock on dates in February and July 2023. READ MORE Passing sentence on Monday,Judge Elma Duffy noted the same shop and the same victims had been targeted twice. She said Clinch knew the consequences of this offending for himself and his victims. She noted he had been described as being a pathetic figure doing what he needed to do to get his next fix. She took into account that he wants to change his life and has been motivated to engage with services and become drug-free while in custody. She told him that no matter what is put in place for him on his release, at some point, he must be the person who has to break the cycle. The judge imposed consecutive sentences totalling seven years and suspended the final three on strict conditions. Garda Alan Davis told Patrick Jackson, prosecuting, that in the first robbery on February 16th, 2023, Clinch entered the store through security doors as another customer was leaving. His face was covered and he was armed with a knife. He asked the staff to open the till and took €150. He also took about 300 tablets and warned staff not to press the panic button. He said sorry before he left the scene. Garda Davis said on July 4th, 2023, the same staff were working, when one of them saw a man roll a black beanie down over his face and knew he was going to rob the store. He banged the security door with his shoulder to force it open and used a rock to prevent it from closing. Staff activated the panic alarm. Clinch asked them why they had pressed the panic button and ran to the dispensary, where tablets were put into a bag. While the staff member was doing this, he leaned over and took her phone. Gardaí were able to identify Clinch on CCTV and trace him on footage walking to and from his home before and after the robberies. He was arrested and made denials. The court heard Clinch was a drug addict who was committing offences to feed his habit.
CBC
5 days ago
- Health
- CBC
Portage opens satellite centre in downtown Moncton to help youth with drug addiction
A new centre to help young people suffering from drug addiction has officially opened in downtown Moncton. Portage Atlantic — a non-profit that helps youth with addictions — already operates a live-in centre near Sussex, on the shore of Cassidy Lake. On Friday morning, the organization announced its new satellite office in downtown Moncton, which will open its doors on July 28 for youth aged 14 to 21. The new satellite office on Church Street will operate five days a week and is designed to help young people explore whether residential treatment is for them. It's also intended to provide a smoother transition into the Cassidy Lake program. "Youth who have completed the program at Cassidy Lake prepare an exit plan ... and make suggestions about what they feel could be done better," said Carol Tracey, director of development for Portage Atlantic. She said the April 2024 survey revealed that 21 per cent of them wished they had been better prepared for the program before committing to it. Tracey said the new satellite office will allow youth seeking help to experience the first two weeks of what is offered at the live-in facility at Cassidy Lake. Those deemed eligible for the program will be transferred, while the others will be paired with resources that serve them better, she said. "We landed on Moncton because of the fact that we have an increased number of people from this region who are looking for help." Tracey was not able to provide a statistic about the increase in demand. She said the new centre is a walk-in model with no commitments. WATCH | 'No stigma, no judgment,' Portage director says of new program: New program lets youth learn about life in addictions centre before they go 16 minutes ago Portage Atlantic is running a new program in Moncton to teach potential clients what to expect of life at its live-in addictions centre at Cassidy Lake. Those visiting will learn about the residential program's expectations, what items they can bring with them, the program's school system and more, she said. Portage Atlantic's Cassidy Lake facility offers a maximum of 64 beds, she said. "Youth who are prepared to go right away, they can go that route." "There's other youth that maybe are unsure. This is a good program for them to figure out if rehab, live-in rehab, is what they're looking for," said Tracey. Rob McKee, New Brunswick's minister responsible for addictions and mental health services, said there's a demand for the service in the province's major centres. "It's very, you know, alarming when you see youth in those situations of crisis," he said. Suzanne Boucher has worked as a counsellor with Portage Atlantic for the last eight years. She went through the program at Cassidy Lake in 2005 and then through their adult program in Quebec in 2016, before starting to work for the organization. Boucher said the motivation to join the live-in program can waver for many through the first two weeks. She said the first two weeks are full of workshops to help identify fears, remove anxiety and get the youth comfortable by answering their questions and concerns. It also includes a tour of the Cassidy Lake facility to allow them to experience the environment, she said. "It's a therapeutic community, so the teenagers in therapy ... they're helping each other, they have responsibilities, they're going through the day-to-day and the staff are there to really guide them."
The Herald
6 days ago
- The Herald
Former Northern Cape cop who stole to feed his drug addiction jailed
The De Aar regional court has sentenced former police constable Thanduxolo Kwindla to an effective eight years of direct imprisonment after convicting him on four counts of housebreaking with intent to steal and theft. Kwindla, 38, who resigned from the police shortly before committing the offences, carried out the housebreakings between August 2021 and April 2023 in Nonzwakazi location, where he lived. His modus operandi involved breaking into homes during the evening and stealing valuable items to support his drug addiction. The stolen goods were worth about R35,000, said Northern Cape NPA spokesperson Mojalefa Senokoatsane. Kwindla was arrested in April 2023 and remained in custody until the finalisation of the matter. In aggravation of sentence, prosecutor Xolisa March emphasised the seriousness and prevalence of housebreaking and theft in the area. She argued that as a former officer of the law, the accused had betrayed public trust and acted with full awareness of the unlawfulness of his actions. The court also considered two victim impact statements, facilitated by court preparation officer Trott Manghana, which outlined the emotional and financial toll on the victims. In delivering the sentence, the court acknowledged Kwindla's circumstances but stressed the severity of his crimes and their impact on both victims and the broader community. He was sentenced to three years' imprisonment on each count, with the court ordering that, in terms of section 280 of the Criminal Procedure Act, the sentences run concurrently, amounting to an effective eight-year sentence. TimesLIVE
National Post
6 days ago
- National Post
Christopher Dummitt: The drug-addict zombies are coming for your neighbourhood
PETERBOROUGH, ONT. — I've come to think that we Canadians are so polite that even though we now find ourselves living inside a real-life zombie movie, many seem afraid to raise a fuss for fear of offending the zombies. Article content 'Sorry, sir, but I think you're gnawing on my arm.' Article content In our case, the zombie apocalypse is the epidemic of drug addiction that fills our streets with addicts. Contemplating their next fix — or in the temporary delirium granted by the last one — they shuffle in front of our cars, defecate on our sidewalks, and break into our cars and houses. Article content Article content We all have our stories of zombie run-ins. Article content Article content Last week, while visiting my local ER, I met someone I'll call 'Dwight.' I was there to help my child. Dwight was there to get access to drugs. Article content I shouldn't have known Dwight's name — I certainly didn't know the name of any other patient in the small curtained off 'rooms' where we found ourselves. But Dwight was hard to miss. Loud rock music was blaring from his room. It's not normal in an ER but apparently Dwight needed to be calmed down and he had an iPad and this is all the nurses had to work with. Article content It wasn't enough. Soon Dwight was demanding drugs. Like RIGHT NOW. The nurses couldn't help. He'd just been given drugs. Article content That's when he began to smash things. Article content When he smashed the computer next to his bed, the security guards came. But they didn't approach Dwight. As the nurse kept telling him, security was just there to keep everyone else safe. Article content 'Please sit back down Dwight. Go back to your bed Dwight.' Article content Dwight didn't go back to bed. The shouting got worse. So did the swearing and then, randomly, the accusations of racism against the non-white security guards who had just shown up. It wasn't until the police came and restrained Dwight to the gurney that things began to settle down. Though not until they had sedated him. Article content Article content In the meantime, my own child, who was in immense pain, didn't get attention. The nurses and doctors couldn't get near us. Article content Article content But don't worry, Dwight was OK. Article content Over the past year I've almost killed addicts several times. Not that I wanted to. But when you're driving along the street and they randomly walk out in front of your car, it's a little tricky not to become an accidental killer. Article content Recent trips to the library have included such highlights as watching one man defecate beside our car even as, a few feet away, a group of people huddled in a group and injected drugs. Then there was the time I entered the library only to find a couple spreading out their things in the library foyer, including drug paraphernalia and large bottles of booze. Article content If you went by what it is mostly used for, you might think the library toilet in the basement — right next to the children's section — is meant to be a homeless person's French-shower location and possibly a place to shoot up (if the sounds in the stalls are anything to go by). Article content There's nothing like a little drug addiction to go with your Harry Potter. Article content Perhaps the most egregious case is the fate of the Silver Bean café, a charming little gem of a spot housed in a water-side building that was a local millennium project. It's advertised as everyone's 'cottage in the city' and it is genuinely a magical place. Of course, it's also very much a cottage in the city for the region's drug addicts. Article content Do you have to go to the washroom after your latte? You might think you'd go to the purpose-built public toilets only a few feet away from the café. But you'd be wrong, or just stupid. The entrance to the washrooms is a garbage dump continuously occupied by hordes of men and women who are only partly aware of what is happening in the world and who think 9:30 a.m. on a Tuesday is a perfectly good time to enjoy a bit of beer and meth, thank you very much. Article content Article content Instead, the café, which is tiny and has almost no inside space, allows customers to go around back and through its kitchen into a tiny washroom. At least the zombies at the public toilet aren't disturbed. Article content There are more stories — everyone has them. There was the woman who I saw last winter stumbling through downtown without any pants on. Or underwear either. Article content Then there are the women who linger on street corners on the edge of downtown, bedraggled, drug-skinny, and haggard. If only you'll meet their eye as you drive by, they can offer you some sexual services. Article content Peterborough isn't unique. My zombie apocalypse is probably your zombie apocalypse, too. Article content All of this has happened while the so-called 'harm reduction' programs have expanded. And even though the 'housing first' advocates did build a new community of tiny homes for the homeless just a couple of years ago, somehow, for some inexplicable reason, the problem has only gotten worse. Article content I won't pretend to have any elaborate plan or solution. This seems to me to be one of those things that social scientists call a 'wicked problem.' Article content
