Category: Metro

  • NCS hands over 659 units of illicit drugs worth N18million to NDLEA in C’River

    NCS hands over 659 units of illicit drugs worth N18million to NDLEA in C’River

    By Anthony Uwadiegwu

    The Cross River/Calabar Free Trade Zone and Akwa Ibom Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), has handed over 659 units of illicit drugs estimated at N18 million to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Cross River State.

    The controlled substances which were intercepted by Vigilant Officers of NCS, Cross River/Calabar Free Trade Zone and Akwa Ibom Area Command at Mfum Border include Pethidine 100mg (216 Units ), Morphine Sulphate (216 units), 37 packets of Phenobarbital and 37 units of Sodium Sterop.

    Others are Fentanyl 50mm (108 Units), Midazolam Mylan (33 units), Sodium Injectables (26 units) and  valued at 18 million naira.

    The Customs Area Comptroller of the Command, Comptroller Gabriel Ogbonna, disclosed this while handing over the controlled substances to the NDLEA at the Commands Headquarters in Calabar, the State capital, Tuesday.

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    Ogbonna, who said the exercise was in line with the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between both agencies added that, the handing over would serve as a testament for younger officers from both agencies to learn to work together.

    “On behalf of the Comptroller General of NCS, I hereby  hand over these items to NDLEA, this handover is in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding between our agencies.

    “Today’s event will serve as a testament to our subordinates to learn to work together and assist one another while performing their duties.

    “The collaboration and synergy between our agencies has indeed led to this significant achievement leveraging on each other’s strength and expertise to drive national development,” he said.

    On her part, the Commander of NDLEA, Cross River State Command, Commander Rachael Umebuali, lauded NCS for the collaborative effort in quality service delivery, stressing that, the synergy would go a long way in making their contributions more effective and service to Nigerians very efficient.

  • Mom who allegedly ran dog fighting operation sentenced for locking her kids in feces-covered bedroom

    SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (TCN) — A 40-year-old mother who allegedly ran a dog fighting operation and was arrested last year after her 10-month-old daughter died will spend time behind bars for locking her children in a bedroom.

    The First Circuit Solicitor’s Office announced April 7 that Sarah Shakeri-Taylor pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful conduct toward a child. A judge sentenced her to 10 years suspended to the service of nine years active prison time with three years of probation.

    According to prosecutors, in May 2014, law enforcement responded to a home in the Eagle Run Neighborhood to a report of “two minor children who were hanging out of an open second-story window.” The kids, ages 2 and 3, reportedly yelled at a passerby, claiming they had been locked inside their bedroom as punishment and couldn’t escape.

    Witnesses and law enforcement officials tried to make contact with an adult, but no one answered the door, and deputies entered the residence through a window. Authorities reportedly found Shakeri-Taylor and a man sleeping upstairs and the kids locked in a bedroom down the hall.

    Prosecutors said the bedroom was “covered in feces,” and officials described it as “dirtier than a dog kennel.” The children had allegedly been locked in the room for over 14 hours without any supervision or food. According to the solicitor’s office, the youngest child had a “fully soiled diaper duct taped to his body.”

    In 2018, Shakeri-Taylor reportedly failed to show up to court, and authorities issued a bench warrant for her arrest. However, prosecutors said the bench warrant was pending until she was charged out of Charleston County in 2024 on charges of homicide by child abuse, conspiracy, and ill treatment of animals. While Shakeri-Taylor was out on bond for the 2014 charge, she allegedly fled to Iran, and Dorchester County officials weren’t aware of her whereabouts until her baby died in 2024.

    According to a release from the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, in the 2024 case, deputies responded to a home on May 15, 2024, to a report of an unresponsive child. The defendant was at the residence with the baby’s father, 41-year-old Sandy Gathers. Deputies performed lifesaving measures, but the infant was transported to the hospital and pronounced deceased. A toxicology report later revealed the baby, identified by WCSC-TV as Aminah Gathers, had a large amount of fentanyl in her system.

    The sheriff’s office and South Carolina Law Enforcement Division also located around 15 dogs and evidence of dog fighting in the home.

    In a statement, Chief Deputy Solicitor Kelly LaPlante said, “We are devastated that these children were locked in their room for such an extended period while their mother slept completely oblivious of the desperation of her own children. We are frustrated that Ms. Shakeri-Taylor was able to avoid prosecution for so many years. However, she is living proof that you can run, but you cannot hide in Dorchester County. We will eventually find you, and we will prosecute you.”

    • Mother Sentenced in Dorchester County Child Abuse Case – First Circuit Solicitor’s Office
    • South Carolina mother accused of running dog fighting operation and killing 10-month-old daughter, 8/27/2024 – TCN
    • Ladson mother charged with Homicide by Child Abuse, 8262024 – Charleston County Sheriff’s Office
    • Ladson man facing Animal Fighting or Baiting, Conspiracy, and weapons charges, 6/7/2024 – Charleston County Sheriff’s Office
    • Deputies arrest Ladson mother in the fentanyl-overdose death of her baby, 8/26/2024 – WCSC

    Source: True Crime Daily

  • Pa. man who allegedly dug a grave hole in his garage convicted of killing his wife in 1984

    LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. (TCN) — A 70-year-old man has been convicted of killing his wife more than four decades ago.

    According to the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office, a jury found Jere Bagenstose guilty of voluntary manslaughter in connection with the death of 25-year-old Maryann Bagenstose. Senior Judge John Kuhn will sentence the defendant following an investigation.

    On June 5, 1984, Maryann Bagenstose went missing. Though her body has never been found, investigators concluded she likely died.

    Prosecutors said Marynn Bagenstose never contacted her friends or family after her disappearance. Authorities performed multiple checks and searches but didn’t find any evidence that she planned to leave her residence. According to the district attorney’s office, the victim didn’t open any bank accounts or claim income, and there wasn’t any activity on her credit or Social Security number.

    During the trial, prosecutors pointed to Jere Bagenstose as the primary suspect in his wife’s disappearance and death. Assistant District Attorney Mark Fetterman told jurors that Bagenstose “had the motive to kill Maryann.” The defendant was reportedly “facing a likely divorce,” which meant he would possibly lose the house and custody of their child.

    According to the district attorney’s office, the victim was having an affair when she went missing. Bagenstose reportedly sold a vehicle without his wife’s permission. The defendant also allegedly provided inconsistent statements to police throughout the investigation.

    Fetterman argued that in one instance, Bagenstose “dug a grave-shaped hole in his garage following Maryann’s disappearance and then gave conflicting stories as to why he did so.”

    Bagenstose never reported his wife missing or asked about her whereabouts, prosecutors argued. Police reportedly sent postcards to the defendant posing as his wife, but the defendant never reported them. Fetterman also argued that the victim told co-workers days before she went missing “that Bagenstose would be responsible if she were ever to disappear.”

    • Commonwealth Secures Guilty Verdict of Jere Bagenstose for 1984 Murder of Wife Following Jury Trial – Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office

    Source: True Crime Daily

  • Love, lies, and blood: The cartel scheme and the fight for justice | True Crime News Full Episode

    In this episode of “True Crime News,” a jealous girlfriend’s deadly plot leads to a fatal cartel catfish scheme, resulting in the death of a family and a fiery highway crash. Also, a wrongful conviction sends Kimberly Long to prison for the death of her boyfriend. Lastly, Dr. Phil sits down with “True Crime News” to discuss his support for Robert Roberson, who was on death row for killing his daughter due to “shaken baby syndrome.” Dr. Phil argues there isn’t enough evidence to convict him.

    Source: True Crime Daily

  • Woman allegedly tried to hire someone she met on Tinder to kill her police officer ex and his daughter

    GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, N.J. (TCN) — A 26-year-old woman faces charges after allegedly trying to hire someone to kill her 53-year-old ex-boyfriend and his 19-year-old daughter.

    On April 3, the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office first learned about the possible murder-for-hire plot orchestrated by Jaclyn Diiorio. According to a criminal complaint obtained by WCAU-TV, Diiorio met a confidential informant on Tinder and offered to pay him $12,000 to kill her ex — a police officer with the Philadelphia Police Department — and his teen daughter.

    Diiorio allegedly said she’d pay the informant $500 up front to carry out the slayings, and then she planned to provide the rest in installments. On April 4, Diiorio reportedly met with the informant and gave him the $500 advance. Gloucester Township Police then took her into custody. Prosecutors noted that she was also in possession of a bottle of suspected alprazolam pills.

    Diiorio’s ex-boyfriend reportedly told New Jersey detectives that he and the suspect broke off their relationship on March 6.

    Prosecutors announced that they charged Diiorio with two counts of first-degree attempted murder, one count of first-degree conspiracy to commit murder, and one count of third-degree possession of a controlled dangerous substance. Diiorio was booked into the Camden County Correctional Facility and is scheduled for a detention hearing on April 9.

    • Runnemede Woman Charged in Murder-for-Hire Plot – Camden County Prosecutor’s Office
    • Woman accused of trying to hire guy she met on Tinder to kill ex and his daughter – WCAU

    Source: True Crime Daily

  • Texas man sentenced for fatally strangling pregnant wife on Christmas

    McKINNEY, Texas (TCN) — A 35-year-old man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for fatally strangling his pregnant wife on Christmas Day in 2023.

    The Collin County Criminal District Attorney’s Office announced April 8 that Nasib Ahsan was sentenced to life in prison in connection with the death of Nawreen Tuli after prosecutors secured a guilty plea.

    On Dec. 25, 2023, the defendant’s family members reportedly called McKinney Police because Ahsan told them over the phone that he had killed his wife following an argument. According to KDFW-TV, Ahsan told responding officers that Tuli was asleep, but they later found her deceased in a bedroom with apparent signs of manual strangulation. Prosecutors noted that Tuli was several months pregnant at the time.

    Investigators reportedly learned that Ahsan had been arrested approximately two months prior for allegedly assaulting his wife. Tuli allegedly told police the defendant “had grown controlling and violent, refusing to let her drive to work and attempting to force her into the apartment.” Neighbors heard screams and called law enforcement. Tuli said she didn’t want police to arrest Ahsan, but they did anyway.

    In a statement, District Attorney Greg Willis said, “This was a vicious, premeditated act of domestic violence that stole the life of a young woman and her unborn child. My team fought to hold him fully accountable and ensure he can never harm another woman. This life sentence reflects our resolve to stand with victims, protect the vulnerable, and — when appropriate — deliver justice in the strongest way without putting families through the agony of trial.”

    • DA Greg Willis’s Office Secures Life Sentence for McKinney Man Who Murdered His Pregnant Wife on Christmas Day – Collin County District Attorney’s Office
    • McKinney man sentenced to life for strangling pregnant wife on Christmas day – KDFW

    Source: True Crime Daily

  • Love, lies, and blood: The cartel scheme and the fight for justice

    In this episode of “True Crime News,” a jealous girlfriend’s deadly plot leads to a fatal cartel catfish scheme, resulting in the death of a family and a fiery highway crash. Also, a wrongful conviction sends Kimberly Long to prison for the death of her boyfriend. Lastly, Dr. Phil sits down with “True Crime News” to discuss his support for Robert Roberson, who was on death row for killing his daughter due to “shaken baby syndrome.” Dr. Phil argues there isn’t enough evidence to convict him.

    Source: True Crime Daily

  • Couple arrested after allegedly abandoning their teen daughter in hotel room for weeks

    SHREVEPORT, La. (TCN) — Authorities recently arrested a couple on suspicion of leaving their teen daughter alone in a hotel room for weeks.

    According to the Shreveport Police Department, on April 2, officers responded to the Royal Inn and found a 15-year-old female victim who had allegedly been “left alone and unsupervised in a hotel room for approximately two weeks.” Police called the victim’s living conditions “deplorable,” and they noticed she had a “strong odor indicating poor hygiene.”

    The juvenile reportedly told police that her mother, 50-year-old Angela Herring, left her at the hotel and said, “I love you, be back soon,” but she never returned. The victim allegedly apologized for her appearance and told officers she “had not bathed in two weeks but had managed to find food on her own.”

    According to police, the 15-year-old said her father, 52-year-old Carey Herring, was banned from the hotel, and she hadn’t seen him since. Hotel management reportedly informed officers that Herring was removed from the property on March 19 and isn’t allowed back.

    The victim also allegedly claimed she hadn’t been to school in around three weeks.

    On April 2, detectives obtained arrest warrants for Angela Herring and Carey Herring on charges of improper supervision of a juvenile and criminal neglect of family. They were both booked into the Caddo Parish Correctional Center.

    • SPD Arrest Two for Child Neglect After Teen Found Abandoned in Hotel Room – Shreveport Police Department
    • Caddo Parish Jail

    Source: True Crime Daily

  • Doctor allegedly tries to push wife off cliff before trying to inject her with mystery substance – TCNPOD

    This Week on True Crime News The Podcast: A nature hike on Oahu’s Pali Puka Trail allegedly took a near-fatal turn when prominent doctor Gerhardt Konig attempted to push his wife, Arielle Konig, off a cliff. According to police, when the mother of two didn’t fall to her death, he attempted to use a syringe to inject her with something before bashing her with a rock. Miraculously, she survived, and police apprehended the doctor after an hours-long search.

    Luis Bolaños joins host Ana Garcia.

    Source: True Crime Daily

  • Mexican Border Crossings Lowest in History, from 155,000 a Month under Biden to 7,180

    After years of getting hammered by the Biden administration’s catastrophic—and inconceivable—open border policies, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is delivering much-needed good news; in March the United States experienced the lowest southwest border crossings in history thanks to new measures put in place by President Trump to finally secure the famously porous Mexican border region. The new government figures show a remarkably quick turnaround for an administration that inherited an extraordinary crisis in which a ghastly 7.6 illegal aliens entered the country, nearly 2 million of them from nation’s that Biden’s own DHS determined pose a national security threat to the U.S.

    In a matter of weeks, the Trump administration took control of the situation, with a dramatic drop in illegal crossings, around 7,180 a month compared to the monthly average of 155,000 from the previous four years. Daily southwest border apprehensions have also decreased an incredible 95%, to about 230 daily from an astonishing 5,100 per day under Biden. This marks a pivotal achievement in the nation’s border security efforts, according to an announcement issued recently by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). “This milestone demonstrates that operational control is becoming a reality — which seemed impossible just a few months ago under the Biden administration — as enforcement measures continue to yield significant results,” the DHS agency writes. Border Patrol agents have finally been empowered to shut down unlawful entry and protect American lives, CBP Commissioner Pete Flores confirms. He says the message is clear: “The border is closed to illegal crossings, and for those still willing to test our resolve, know this — you will be prosecuted, and you will be deported.”

    It is a vastly different message than the one sent by the Biden administration, which proudly rolled out the welcome mat for a record number of illegal immigrants, including droves of violent gang members, Islamic terrorists, tens of thousands of Chinese nationals and a myriad of criminals. The former president’s own DHS determined that over 1.7 million illegal aliens from countries that pose a national security threat entered the U.S. during his tenure and dozens that appear on the terrorist watchlist were released into American communities, according to government figures reluctantly provided to Congress. The migrants from countries that pose a security threat to the U.S. are labeled Special Interest Aliens (SIA) by the government and they come from some 26 nations, including Afghanistan, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria, Syria, and Turkey, China, North Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Mauritania, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Venezuela.

    The previous administration also released over half a million criminal aliens inside the U.S. by putting them on a “non-detained docket” that allowed them to live in communities throughout the nation. Over 435,000 had criminal convictions and another 226,847 pending charges, according to DHS figures made public by a congressional committee. Nearly 15,000 of the freed illegal aliens were convicted of or charged with murder, more than 20,000 with sexual assault, 60,268 with burglary, larceny, or robbery, 105,146 with assault, 16,820 with weapon offenses, 3,971 with commercialized sex crimes and 3,372 with kidnapping. Over 126,000 committed traffic offenses, more than 70,000 are in the system for drug crimes, 21,106 for fraudulent activities and 12,000 for obstruction of justice. As a parting gift in early January the Biden administration shielded nearly a million foreign nationals from deportation with Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a humanitarian measure designed to help undocumented aliens avoid removal during emergencies.

    Fortunately, the Trump administration revoked Biden’s eleventh-hour TPS, though a series of lawsuits were quickly filed by leftist groups in the name of the illegal aliens, who are mostly from Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti, and Nicaragua. The new administration’s message is clear and has been spread in Spanish-language media throughout Latin America. It warns illegal aliens not to come to America and break its laws. “If you are a criminal alien considering entering America illegally: Don’t even think about it,” said DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. “If you come here and break our laws, we will hunt you down.” Criminals are not welcome in the United States.”

    Source: Judicial Watch