Latest news with #drugden
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Daily Mail
The tragic love triangle that allegedly sparked a gruesome murder is revealed in court - as 'jilted girlfriend' is accused of brutally stabbing her cheating boyfriend to death
A woman living under the same roof as her two-timing lover denies stabbing him in the chest and killing him. Linda Lee Falzon, 44, is accused of murdering James McColgan, 61, inside his home at Sunbury, on the north-west fringe of Melbourne, where the pair lived in a 'chaotic' drug den. On Tuesday, a Supreme Court of Victoria jury sitting in Melbourne heard Falzon denied killing Mr McColgan, who was found with a knife sticking out of his chest by his other lover Samantha Attard. In opening the Crown case, prosecutor Patrick Bourke SC told the jury it should accept Falzon was not guilty of murder by way of mental impairment. On November 19, 2022 Mr McColgan had been in the process of painting the Sunbury house his mother was evicting him from when he died. The jury heard his mother had rented the property to him under the condition he stayed off drugs and lived there alone, but he could not adhere to those conditions. Mr Bourke told the jury a man named Nathan Glasgow had been inside the home when he got into an unusual conversation with Falzon, Ms Attard later told police. 'He handed her a screwdriver and said to her "you know what to do",' Mr Bourke said. 'Ms Falzon started hitting herself in the head with the screwdriver and the evidence we expect from Ms Attard is that Mr Glasgow then said to her "not to yourself. You know what to do". That's the day before he's killed.' Police believe Mr McColgan was killed about 9am on November 20 and his body was found at the front door of the property. Ms Attard had remembered the distinct green-handled and green-bladed knife stuck in his chest from Mr McColgan's kitchen the day before. Ms Attard had moved into the home some five months earlier and soon became romantically involved with Falzon's lover. The jury heard she and Mr McColgan had painted into the early hours of November 20 while Falzon slept before Ms Attard had to leave about 5.30am to pick up a friend whose car had run out of fuel. 'She says in her evidence, I expect, that she reminded Mr McColgan to lock the door behind her as she leaves and he did so,' Mr Bourke said. The jury heard Ms Attard phoned Mr McColgan about 8.30am, but he did not answer. She discovered Mr McColgan's body on her return home and immediately called triple-0 to report the incident. Falzon was later discovered by police in the backyard of the filthy property after an initial search found no-one else inside. The jury heard it was not until after midday when Falzon was spotted by a sergeant 'hiding' behind a shopping trolley. Mr Bourke said Falzon told police she had been 'praying' and claimed not to not know the man inside with the knife protruding from his chest. The jury heard the prosecution case against Falzon was 'circumstantial', with no person witnessing the actual death of Mr McColgan. 'That doesn't mean it's a weak case. Circumstantial cases can be very strong and we say this one is,' Mr Bourke said. Mr Bourke described Falzon's relationship with her lover as 'volatile' leading up to the incident. 'Arguing, sometimes physical, very often verbal, in both directions,' he said. In defence, top Melbourne barrister Adam Chernok said that by the end of the trial the jury would be convinced Falzon was not guilty of the murder. 'Linda Falzon was in a relationship with the deceased James McColgan around the time of his death and that indeed at times that could be a somewhat volatile relationship,' said Mr Chernok. He also said it was agreed Falzon had lived with Mr McColgan and that he died from a knife wound to his chest. But he told the jury it was not Falzon who stabbed Mr McColgan. 'She denies having killed the deceased,' Mr Chernok said. The trial continues.
BBC News
17-07-2025
- BBC News
Police shut down drug den after community concerns
A home which was being used as a drug den and caused concern among neighbours has been shut down, police have said. A court ordered the closure of the house on Whinfield Place in Ashton-on-Ribble, Preston. The order prevents anyone from staying overnight at the address and anyone other than designated cleaners from entering the house over the net three Weronika Wallis of Lancashire Police said there had been a number of incidents of anti-social behaviour and drug use reported at the property in the residential area. "This behaviour won't be tolerated, and this action demonstrates that we will take the appropriate action to safeguard people and deal with criminality," she said. The closure order application was supported by Preston City Council. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
The Sun
13-07-2025
- The Sun
I busted county lines gang that exports school kids like slaves…I've seen desperate kids leap from windows
AFTER bashing down the door to a drug den on the third floor of a tower block, police officers were surprised to see a window open and a burner phone on the ledge. One of the 17-year-old dealers using the gloomy property in Dunstable, Bedforshire had jumped 40ft in a bid to escape capture. 12 12 They were shocked to see the youngster survived the potentially fatal leap - but he didn't get away. The savvy officers were able to track him down and the mobile device led them to the kingpin behind an extensive county lines network. But a new episode of Channel 4's 24 Hours in Police Custody, titled Lost Boys, reveals the fear of gangs that is driving children to such extreme actions. Gary Hales, an investigating officer from Bedfordshire Police's Boson guns and gangs unit at the time of the arrests, tells The Sun: 'When you are going into a top floor flat you don't expect someone to be jumping out of the window. "It was amazing he didn't break his legs. 'There is fear. A way the gangs keep these children street dealing is to threaten them and show a bit of force. 'When you are on a lower rung, you have the elders threatening you, you are around the knives, you are around the violence that goes on.' In the show, which airs on Sunday at 9pm, we see some of the messages sent to a 15-year-old boy called Gavin, not his real name, who has been roped in by the ruthless criminals. There are threats to stab his mum, including 'wil shank up u mum'. Officers believe that Gavin has been told he has a drug debt and constantly has to work to pay it off otherwise they will face violent consequences. They will be told, 'Where is the rest of the money? You had more drugs.' In fact the teenagers haven't lost any drugs, they are just being told they have in order to keep them in debt. Adult mob members recruit school children because they are less likely to be sent to prison due to their age. Gavin's mum has called the police in a desperate state, because he keeps going missing, sometimes for 10 days at a time. The police suspect he is being sent around various 'trap houses', an American term for a drug den, in different English counties. 'Saturated' Luton has become so 'saturated' with drug lines that dealers send children far afield. Gary says: 'In terms of drug lines there are over 100 listed that are Bedfordshire based. "But then you have county lines going to places like Essex and London trying to muscle in. 'Luton is exporting drug deal lines to places where they are not known to police. We have rescued children from Swindon. 'Drug lines in Luton are saturated, they are known to police.' Access to Gavin's phone leads the detectives to the flat in Dunstable which is part of a network selling class A drugs including crack cocaine. Inside the flat is a 14-year-old boy, who has also been recruited by the county lines gangs. The flat is rented by a 23-year-old former heroin addict who says he allows the dealers to use his property because he doesn't want 'to get my head kicked in'. He warns: 'Drugs get you involved with stupid people.' Criminal control 12 12 12 The pay as you go burner phone found on the window ledge has been topped up in various shops. By studying the CCTV of those businesses, the police are able to identify an adult higher up in the operation. When they arrest Jamal Andall in 2020 they find more burner phones and SIM cards in his home, plus crack rocks in his Ford Focus car. After being questioned, Andall is told he has been given bail and can go home. But the gangster says: 'I'm not walking home. It's not safe around here. I've been shot. I've been stabbed.' Remarkably, the police accede to his request and agree to drive him home. It's not safe around here. I've been shot. I've been stabbed Jamal Andall Andall and his fellow drug dealer Alex Anderson, both 30, became the first members of a county lines gang to be convicted of modern slavery offences by Bedfordshire Police. In February last year Andall was jailed for seven years for being concerned in the supply of heroin, with Anderson receiving six years and four months for the same offence. They were also sentenced to six years for exploitation and three years for being concerned in the supply of cocaine, but those will be served concurrently. The court heard that the two men trafficked a 15-year-old boy from Bedfordshire to Lowestoft in Suffolk, where officers found the boy with £3,000 worth of crack cocaine. Saving the 'lost boys' 12 12 12 Gary, though, says that 'there is always someone higher up', and that dealers keep finding new recruits. He says: 'They go to schools and care homes to slip them some cannabis and form a relationship with them. 'They might give you a top up for your phone, you'll think it's free, but nothing is free, there is going to be a pay day for that. 'They pull them into what is an organised crime group." The key to disrupting their business model is to stop children getting so entangled they don't think they can escape. A parent will notice a change in their child, whether they have got new clothes they can't afford or they are missing school Gary Hales He says: 'As a police force we are about protecting the community, and that means safeguarding these youngsters who have become dissociated and get pushed into these paths.' Bedfordshire police launched a Lost Boys campaign to inform parents, teachers and pupils about the warning signs. Gary says: 'Generally, a parent will notice a change in their child, whether they have got new clothes they can't afford or they are missing school.' If they can't be pulled back from the drugs underworld, the consequences can be fatal. As Gary points out: 'Many of the murders we see in towns like Luton are drug-related.' The lad who jumped out of the window was lucky - he might not be so fortunate next time. 24 Hours in Police Custody: Lost Boys, stream or watch live on Channel 4 from July 13 at 9pm. 12 12 12
