Crime – Page 109 – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

Witness appeal as man falls from moving van

Police are appealing for witnesses after a 24-year-old man fell from a moving vehicle which then sped away from the scene. The incident took place on Raeburn Place at 5.25pm on Friday evening. Police said the vehicle, believed to be a Ford Transit van, was seen being driven erratically through Stockbridge streets after the incident.

The man who fell from the van was taken to hospital but did not suffer any serious injuries.

Two men are understood to have been in the van at the time of the incident – one, the driver, was wearing a white tee-shirt. Stockbridge was busy at the time of the incident and police are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

Det Sgt Bob Williamson said: “Our officers are working hard and making extensive inquiries to establish the full circumstances of what happened. The events described and the irresponsible actions of the van driver are obviously concerning and we would urge members of the public who may be able to identify the vehicle or its occupants to come forward immediately.”

“Anyone with information that could help the investigation should contact Police Scotland on 101 or, alternatively, phone the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”

Police seek ‘distinctive’ thief following Stockbridge robbery

A thief who held up an Edinburgh off-licence with a needle before stealing a three-figure cash sum is being sought by police. The robber entered Vino on North West Circus Place at 21:35 on Wednesday evening and demanded the till contents before making off in the direction of Stockbridge.

Police have a good description of the man. He is described as white, 6ft 3ins to 6ft 4ins tall and having a Scottish accent, 30 to 40 years old, with short dark hair, a receding hairline and bald on the crown. He had a small vertical curved mark or scar on his right cheek.

He was wearing a royal blue hooded jacket, dark bottoms with a single light coloured stripe down each side and red trainers, and carried a large brown holdall with a broken shoulder strap

Det Sgt Bob Richardson, of Police Scotland, said: “The suspect was wearing distinctive red trainers and a blue hoodie, and we ask that anyone who saw a man fitting that description at the time of the robbery, or who witnessed the incident, to contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”

Man detained after girl hit by motorcycle

A nineteen year old man has been detained by police following a motorcycle collision with a young girl near Marine Drive. The incident happened at around 5pm last night.

A spokesman said: “Police Scotland was called to an incident in Silverknowes, near to Marine Drive, at around 5pm on Wednesday after a motorcyclist collided with a six-year-old girl. The girl sustained minor injuries and a 19-year-old man has been traced and detained. Inquiries are ongoing and there is no further information available at this time.”

Mikaeel: mother pleads guilty to reduced charge

Rosdeep Adekoya, the mother of three-year-old Mikaeel Kular, has admitted killing her son and hiding his body in a suitcase. Adekoya had originally been charged with murder but admitted the reduced charge of culpable homicide when she appeared at Edinburgh’s High Court yesterday. She will be sentenced next month.

Advocate depute Alex Prentice said: “The basis for the plea tendered being accepted is that the Crown accepts that the accused had no intention to kill Mikaeel and that the assault perpetrated upon him, although severe, fell short of the wicked recklessness required for murder.”

However there is some anger that the Crown agreed to the reduced charges. One neighbour, who was involved in the two-day search for the little boy and was present at the High Court, said the decision was ‘a disgrace. This was murder’.

Mikaeel died two days after being beaten by Rosdeep Adekoya at the family’s flat in Muirhouse in January. She put his body in a suitcase, which she then dumped behind her sister’s house in Kirkcaldy. Ms Adekoya told police that Mikaeel had disappeared from the family home, sparking a massive major two-day search.

Adekoya also admitted attempting to defeat the ends of justice by pretending to police that Mikaeel had gone missing.

She pleaded guilty to repeatedly punching her son and causing his body to hit against a hard object or inflicting blunt injuries on his head and body between 12 and 15 January at their home in Ferry Gait Crescent.

She also admitted wrapping Mikaeel’s body in a duvet cover, putting it in a suitcase and driving to Dunvegan Avenue in Kirkcaldy, Fife, where she hid the case under a bush in woods behind a house.

She had called 999 to report her son missing to police, telling officers he got out of bed and climbed on a stool to unlock the front door of his home.

She admitted causing a major search for her son, involving police, the fire service, coastguard, mountain rescue crews and members of the public.

The court heard harrowing details of how Mikaeel died on the night of Tuesday 14 January from injuries inflicted the previous Sunday. Ms Adekoya then took Mikaeel’s twin sister to nursery at Flora Stevenson’s School before driving over to Fife with the three year old boy’s body in the boot of the car.

The court heard that Adekoya later broke down during a police interview and told officers: “It was an accident and I panicked. I am going to go to the jail.” She subsequently then took police to her son’s body in the woods, where it was found in a suitcase covered with branches.

The cause of death was found to be “blunt force abdominal trauma” – Mikaeel had more than 40 separate injuries to his body.

Sentence was deferred until 25 August.

Cashback: creating opportunities in the arts

Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop joined young filmmakers, musicians and dancers who are developing their career skills thanks to the confiscated funds from criminal activity.

Over the last three years £2.25 million has been invested in CashBack for Creativity, providing over 15,000 opportunities for young people in Scotland to participate in arts activities they would not have otherwise had access to.

Ms Hyslop said: “The real impact of CashBack on young people’s lives can’t be expressed by statistics or in stark monetary terms – CashBack changes lives.

“The CashBack for Communities Programme takes funds recovered from the proceeds of crime and invests them in back into communities, putting young people on a positive path in life by providing opportunities for them to take part in thousands of free activities and projects.”

Programme participants have included Yutsil Martinez, who began in making short films with Pilton-based Screen Education Edinburgh project in 2011. Yutsil has gone on to star in the Screen Education film, Man With No Name, and was nominated for the Chris Anderson Award for Best Young Filmmaker 2013 (sponsored by the National Youth Film Academy). He was awarded an acting scholarship at the National Film Youth Academy in London after winning a Best Actor award at the event.

Yutsil said: “Participating in these projects and shoots has allowed me to find opportunities and meet other filmmakers and professionals in the field. The CashBack for Creativity Programme has been instrumental in helping me build my confidence and really develop my passion for working in the industry, and carve a future career for myself.”

Paul Reynolds earned a placement at Edinburgh’s DanceBase through the CashBack for Creativity Programmewhere and he discovered a passion for dance and performing arts. Attending DanceBase and developing as a dancer taught Paul new skills that he believes will see him through life. He now has a love of being on stage and performing for a big audience describing the feeling and rush he gets from performing as “incredible”.

Paul said: “Only a few years ago I struggled to talk to people I’d never met before and I had little confidence and self-esteem, but with my participation at DanceBase through CashBack, I am now more confident and focused regarding what I want from life.”

Leonie Bell, Director of Arts and Engagement at Creative Scotland, said: “Providing opportunities for young people to get involved in the arts, theatre and cultural activities can help improve confidence and broaden their horizons.

“Over the next three years, the CashBack for Creativity programme will enable approximately 20,000 young would-be filmmakers, dancers, musicians, artists, actors, writers and digital enthusiasts to work in professional settings with experienced practitioners, helping to inspire them to achieve their potential in their future careers.
She added: “I was delighted to meet a number of young participants who have been given the chance to work on interesting and educational CashBack projects and develop their personal, social and career skills.”

CashBack for Creativity is part of the wider Scottish Government CashBack for Communities programme. To date over £74 million has been made available to benefit over 600,000 young people in Scotland since CashBack for Communities began in 2011.

Twitter: @CB4Creativity #CashBack4Creativity

Police warn of ‘bank’ phone call scam

Police are warning members of the public to be alert to phone calls from criminals who claim to be working for banks. The fraudsters frighten victims into believing their bank accounts have been hacked – and then persuade them to transfer their savings into new ‘safe’ accounts.

The fraud works like this:

A phone call is received from a male pretending to be from their bank’s Fraud Department. He informs the victim that there has been suspicious activity on their bank account and asks them to call the helpline telephone number on the back of their bank card in order to verify his position at the bank.

The alarmed victim does this – but unbeknown to him/her, the caller keeps the telephone line open (there will be no dial tone). The phone call is then ‘answered’ by a female and she was then ‘transfers’ the victim over to another male who claims to work in the bank’s Fraud Department.

He advises the victim that that their finances are at risk of fraud and they must transfer their money into ‘safe accounts’ immediately; he then manipulates the unsuspecting victim into transferring their savings into these new ‘safe accounts’.

A call of this nature is upsetting, and that’s what the fraudsters rely on – they stress the urgency of the need to act NOW to protect your funds and they don’t give victims the time to think.

If you have even the slightest of concerns or are suspicious in any way, hang up and use a mobile phone to call your bank – always call back from a different phone.

Tackling the scourge of modern slavery

The Modern Slavery Bill was introduced in the House of Commons this week, but local MP Mark Lazarowicz believes the legislation doesn’t go far enough.

The bill would provide law enforcement with stronger tools to stamp out modern slavery, ensure slave drivers can receive suitably severe punishments and enhance protection of and support for victims.

The bill includes provisions to:

ensure that perpetrators can receive suitably severe punishments for these appalling crimes – including life sentences
introduce new orders to enhance the court’s ability to place restrictions on individuals where this is necessary to protect people from the harm caused by modern slavery offences
create an Anti-Slavery Commissioner to improve and better coordinate the response to modern slavery
introduce a defence for victims of slavery and trafficking compelled to commit an offence
create an enabling power for child trafficking advocates
introduce a new reparation order to encourage the courts to compensate victims where assets are confiscated from perpetrators
close gaps in the law to enable the police and Border Force to stop boats where slaves are suspected of being held or trafficked

Edinburgh North & Leith MP Mark Lazarowicz‘ says the Bill is a major step forward but should be tougher. Speaking in Tuesday’s debate on the Modern Slavery Bill at Westminster, he praised the Bill as a major step forward but highlighted two areas where it needs to be strengthened significantly at UK level:

· Extension of the powers and funding of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority created by the last Labour Government, and

· Increased transparency and accountability of companies for their supply chains.

Commenting after the debate, the local MP said: “Modern slavery can see people desperately seeking a better life trapped and exploited in ways as varied as sex trafficking, domestic servitude or agricultural workers whose meagre wages are docked to pay for sub-standard food and accommodation leaving them with debts they can never pay off.

“Vulnerable people, often with very few language skills, may simply not know where to seek help even if they get the chance and be fearful that they may be deported if they do escape.

“The last Labour Government first set out to tackle this modern evil by creating the Gangmasters Licensing Authority to root out abuse in agriculture and related industries: it’s been widely praised and its funding and remit should be increased.

“Companies should also be accountable for how their goods are produced in supply chains with annual reports setting out steps they took to verify and audit suppliers.

“Whilst enabling the prosecution of traffickers and slave-masters, the Bill must also advance the protection of victims: too often companies and consumers do not know and in the worst case may not even care how workers are exploited in producing the food we eat, the clothes we wear.”

Police appeal following Pier Place attack

Police are appealing for witnesses after a woman was injured during a break-in at her Newhaven home. The incident happened last Friday at around 12.15pm at an address in Pier Place.

The 19-year-old victim was in the house when she became aware of a male’s presence, and a short struggle between the pair resulted in the young woman sustaining a dislocated elbow and an injury to her face.

She managed to get away from the suspect and ran to a neighbour who contacted emergency services.

Police are now conducting local enquiries to trace the male responsible and anyone who can assist in identifying him is asked to come forward.

He is described as white, just under 6ft tall with a skinny build. He was wearing a black tracksuit with the hood up and spoke with a local accent.

Detective Sergeant Mike Leask said: “The victim sustained painful injuries to her arm and face, which required medical attention and left her incredibly shaken.

“Anyone who was in or around Pier Place on Friday afternoon and remembers seeing anything suspicious is asked to contact police immediately.”

Those with information can contact Police Scotland on 101 or alternatively, the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Mikaeel: mother due in Court today

Rosdeep Kular, the mother charged with murdering her three-year old son Mikaeel, will appear for a preliminary hearing at Edinburgh’s High Court this morning.

Kular, who is 34 and has four other children, is accused of beating him to death before putting his body in a suitcase and dumping him, STV News reported last night. She is also accused of failing to seek medical attention for Mikaeel.

Rosdeep Kular – who is appearing in court under her married name of Rosdeep Adekoya – is said to have punched her son Mikaeel on the head and body, hit his body against a hard object and caused blunt-force trauma injuries to his head and body at the family’s flat in Muirhouse.

She is then said to have put him in the boot of her car and driven his body first to his school, Flora Stevenson Primary, and then on to a relative’s home in Kirkcaldy where she is said to have hidden the suitcase under a bush in woodland behind the house.

Ms Kular is further accused of reporting Mikaeel missing from their home in Ferry Gait Crescent in Muirhouse on 16 January, allegedly saying her son had disappeared from the home.

Thousands of members of the public turned out to help search for Mikaeel when he was reported missing earlier this year, but the toddler’s body was discovered in Fife late on Friday 17 January.

Appeal for witnesses following Leith assault

Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward after a man was assaulted in Leith earlier this month. They are particularly keen to speak to anyone who came to the aid of the man during the vicious attack – which took place in board daylight.

The 29-year-old victim was subjected to an unprovoked attack while walking south on the bridge crossing the Water of Leith at the north end of Great Junction Street.

He was punched and kicked by three teenagers during the incident, which took place at around 3pm on Tuesday 17 June.

It’s understood that members of the public intervened to stop the assault and Police Scotland are very keen to trace those people.

Police Constable Iona McWilliam said: “This was a terrifying and unprovoked attack on a man and enquiries are underway to identify the three men responsible.

“It took place in the middle of the afternoon and we would urge anyone who witnessed the event or who may know something that would help our investigation to come forward immediately.”

The first suspect is described as white, aged between 16 and18, of slim build, and wearing a grey hooded top and grey jogging bottoms.

The second man is also described as white, aged between 16 and 18, of slim build, wearing a grey hooded top and grey tracksuit bottoms, and he was carrying a black drawstring sports bag at the time.

The third suspect is described as white, aged between 16 and 18, and of slim build, and he was wearing a black top with a white Adidas logo on side.

Anyone with information on this incident can contact Police Scotland on 101 or, alternatively, the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.