South Korean prosecutors raid governor's home, office in defamation case
By Wooyoung Lee
Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung speaks to reporters after arriving at a regional bureau of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office in Seongnam, south of Seoul, on Nov. 24, 2018. Photo by Yonhap
SEOUL, UPI -- South Korean prosecutors on Tuesday raided the home and office of Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung in an investigation involving his wife.
Prosecutors searched for cellphones used by Lee's wife Kim Hye-kyung since 2013 that would serve as key evidence to the probe, Yonhap News reported.
Kim has been accused of spreading false information, and defamation and slander against political rivals of her husband on Twitter and other social media. Lee, the former mayor of Seongnam City, is a key political figure in liberal political circles in South Korea.
South Korean police found Kim to be the owner of the Twitter account "For the Justice" that has been active since 2013. The police handed over the case to the prosecution last week with a recommendation to indict her for slander and libel.
Some defamatory comments have been made against former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and victims of the Sewol ferry sinking incident in Tweets.
The Twitter account became known when Lee's fellow lawmaker Jeon Hae-cheol of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, who also announced a run for a Gyeonggi governor race, reported them to the national election committee for libel and slander, including some against him.
Jeon withdrew his complaint last month, but some 3,000 citizens and a lawyer made another official complaint to the police for an investigation.
Lee said he will cooperate with prosecutors' investigation.
"This is part of routine investigation activities by prosecutors," he said to reporter Tuesday. "I hope this reveals the truth behind this case so that my wife can be free from the allegations."
Camorra boss, a top Italian fugitive, arrested in Naples
By Renzo Pipoli
Italian police captured on Tuesday Antonio Orlando, wanted for 15 years over alleged organized crime associations and believed by police to be the leader of a clan of the Camorra organized crime group. The image from March 2011 shows policemen as they stand guard outside the home of another alleged Camorra boss. File Photo by EPA/Ciro Fusco
UPI -- Italian police on Tuesday captured Antonio Orlando, described as one of the most dangerous fugitives in Italy as he evaded arrest since 2003 for association with organized crime.
Police arrested Orlando, also known as Mazzolino, in an apartment in Naples, about 140 miles southeast of Rome. He was on a list of the 100 most dangerous criminals in Italy, Naples newspaper Il Mattino reported Tuesday.
He is known as the "undisputed boss" of organized crime group Marano, a clan of the larger Camorra organization that is named after the part of the city where it originated, and lived in an apartment "filled with every comfort" including a sauna and solar-powered shower, according to the report. He did not resist arrest.
Just before his capture, Orlando managed to partially burn some pieces of paper, the newspaper added. He had the equivalent of about $6,700 in euros, it reported.
Corriere della Sera TV reported that among the papers he burned were identification documents such as an identity card, a health card and a tax document, under a different name. Orlando was in his 60s, it added.
Gaspare Giardelli, who led the police unit that captured Orlando, said "he had very much power. The very fact that he tried to burn papers proves he was still operative and dominated in the Marano area."
Other reports indicated at least 80 policemen and one helicopter were used in the operation.
Police official Ubaldo del Monaco told Corriere della Sera TV he was captured after a long and complex investigation by police and the city top prosecutor.
The Camorra is a loosely organized crime group that is based in Naples and the region of Campania in southern Italy. Police have said in the past that different clans have controls over different areas as the group lacks a single vertical structure.
Mexican criminals leave human remains, messages near jails
By Renzo Pipoli
Mexican police said coolers with human remains were left near three jails, as grisly messages from organized crime groups. File Photo by EPA-EFE/Francisca Meza
UPI -- In what are believed to be grisly messages from Mexican organized crime groups, coolers containing human remains have turned up near three jails in the state of Nuevo Leon.
The findings include two coolers within 330 feet of the Cadereyta prison, and another near the Cereso de Apodaca correctional facility. A similar finding was made near the Topo Chico jail, Excelsior reported.
Mexican officials haven't divulged details of the contents, other than to say they were human remains. Accompanying messages were written on white cardboard attached to the coolers.
The finds caused "intense" mobilization by army, police and government officials near the jails, the newspaper reported. It's not known whether the remains belong to one or several people.
Earlier this month, Nuevo Leon public safety chief Aldo Fasci warned of attacks from organized crime targeting police, and authorized the use of deadly force if their lives or citizens' lives are at risk, El Universal reported.
Fasci's warning came after criminals kidnapped two police officers, a man and a woman, from their home. The kidnappers tied them up and asked about police activities. Officials said they also stole equipment and other belongings.
Excelsior reported police in Guerrero state on Wednesday found the dismembered remains of a former state police official, identified as Domingo Tlatempa, in black bags on a street in Chilpacingo. He was identified by relatives, the report said. Tlatempa had been Guerrero's police coordinator but was recently removed from the post after an attack killed three police officers and a Red Cross worker.
More than 25,000 people were killed in Mexico over the first nine months of this year, Animal Politico reported last month -- an 18 percent rise from 2017, which is on record as Mexico's most violent year of the last two decades.
No comments:
Post a Comment