Cage Fighter Murder Conspiracy: London Thieves Sentenced After Museum Heist Leads to Shocking Attack | News | london-news-net.preview-domain.com

Cage Fighter Murder Conspiracy: London Thieves Sentenced After Museum Heist Leads to Shocking Attack

Cage Fighter Murder Conspiracy: London Thieves Sentenced After Museum Heist Leads to Shocking Attack

A group of burglars from London who pilfered ancient artifacts from a museum in Switzerland have been sentenced to prison for their scheme to assassinate a cage fighter at his opulent residence.

Paul Allen, 47, became paralyzed after being shot in the neck at his home in Woodford Green, East London, on July 11, 2019. Prosecutors claimed that the shooting stemmed from Allen’s background as a “sophisticated” career criminal.

After a trial at the Old Bailey, siblings Louis Ahearne, 36, and Stewart Ahearne, 46, along with Daniel Kelly, 46, were all convicted of conspiracy to commit murder.

In earlier proceedings, Louis Ahearne received a sentence of 33 years, while his elder brother Stewart Ahearne was sentenced to 30 years, and Kelly was given 36 years, with an additional five years under license.

“The true motive behind the shooting is still unclear,” stated Judge Sarah Whitehouse KC.

She expressed her belief that Kelly was the shooter but deemed a life sentence for him “not warranted.”

During the trial, jurors learned that a month prior to the shooting, the Ahearne brothers and Kelly had stolen Ming Dynasty artifacts from the Museum of Far Eastern Art in Geneva.

Allen had previously been convicted at Woolwich Crown Court in 2009 for his role in the UK’s largest armed robbery, which took place at the Securitas depot in Tonbridge, Kent, in 2006, resulting in £54 million in cash being stolen, much of which remains unaccounted for.

By 2019, Allen had completed his prison sentence and relocated from South London to an expansive detached home in Woodford, northeast London, where he resided with his partner and young children.

“Whether or not the motive behind that shooting is related is something we might never ascertain,” Judge Whitehouse remarked.

In July 2019, the trio made several trips from their home area in Woolwich, located in southeast London, to Allen’s residence in Woodford Green while planning and executing their murder scheme, the court heard.

Jurors were informed that, leading up to the shooting, a tracking device had been placed on Allen’s Mercedes vehicle.

The defendants used unregistered pay-as-you-go mobile phones to communicate with one another, and a car was rented by Stewart Ahearne. This vehicle was employed to follow the Mercedes in East London the day before the shooting.

Prosecutor Michael Shaw KC noted that evidence from the shooting scene indicated that the assailants positioned themselves at the back of the property and fired six shots from what appeared to be a Glock 9mm handgun.

The shots traversed Allen’s back garden and penetrated the kitchen and conservatory doors, striking him in both the hand and throat.

Following the gunfire, witnesses reported seeing one to three individuals fleeing the scene and entering a vehicle that sped away.

A DNA match to Kelly and Louis Ahearne was found on a garden fence panel near where five spent bullet casings were recovered, as presented to the court.

Additionally, a gun sight was uncovered at Kelly’s residence in Charlton the following month, jurors heard.

Only Louis Ahearne opted to testify in his defense, claiming his involvement in the Geneva museum theft was solely to repay a debt to Kelly.

He denied any role in the conspiracy to kill Allen, attributing the blame to Kelly, whom he identified as the shooter.

Louis Ahearne insisted that his purpose there was to carry out a burglary or robbery at a drug dealer’s residence.

In mitigation, Avirup Chaudhuri, the lawyer representing Louis Ahearne, referenced letters from prison staff describing him as a “model prisoner.”

Chaudhuri also mentioned, “He has seen his son once in the last half-decade. His time in prison will be doubly difficult due to the testimony he provided during the trial.

“The situation has been exacerbated by a report in a national newspaper labeling him a ‘marked man.’

“He will now serve his sentence constantly aware of potential threats.”

It has also come to light that Kelly—who was absent from the sentencing due to severe back pain—is one of three men being sought by Japanese authorities in connection with a significant extradition case.

In a recent High Court ruling, Japanese officials accuse Kelly and two accomplices of masquerading as customers to steal items valued at £679,000 (¥106 million) from a Harry Winston store on November 20, 2015.

According to Japanese police, the trio assaulted a security guard, smashed display cabinets, and made off with 46 items.

For nearly ten years, Japanese authorities have sought to extradite Kelly, along with his son Kaine Wright, 28, from Plumstead, and Joe Chappell, 38, from Belvedere.

A ruling regarding Chappell and Wright is expected next month, following various court hearings in recent years. Kelly only appeared in court at the end of March concerning the extradition due to the prioritization of the conspiracy to murder case against him.

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More flats have fire safety defects, brigade warns Текст: Hundreds of blocks of flats in London still have serious fire safety defects, according to new figures from the London Fire Brigade (LFB). More than 1,400 buildings have simultaneous evacuation plans should a fire break out in the block, indicating that they are unsafe for residents to stay put. Stay put – which was theinitial advice for Grenfell towerand which remains the fire policy in most high-rise buildings – relies on a building being properly constructed. Regulations should prevent fire spreading from one flat to another for at least 60 minutes. Edward Daffarn, of Grenfell United, said the latest figures showed that Londoners were still going to sleep in buildings that arent safe. Seventy-two people died in the Grenfell fire in north Kensington on 14 June 2017. Since then, the safety of high-rise homes across the capital has been brought into focus, with the LFB checking cladding, fire doors, windows and the compartmentation of flats. The LFB said the number of buildings with simultaneous evacuation guidance in place had risen following its most recent count to 1,448. There are 883 buildings more than 26ft (18m) tall on the evacuation list, and 565 buildings under 26ft (18m) on the list. Mr Daffarn escaped from the 16th floor of Grenfell. He said: Eight years ago, standing underneath the burning wreckage of Grenfell Tower, I was convinced it would be the catalyst for societal change; that something so awful, which resulted in the horrific loss of 72 lives, could not happen without things changing. And yet we sit here eight years later and people are still going to sleep in buildings that arent safe. We need to create a legacy for Grenfell that means that people that live in social housing, people that live in high-rise blocks, are treated with respect and live in safe buildings. Sharing his own opinion, and acknowledging the difficulty others feel in seeing the tower regularly, Mr Daffarn added: I think the anniversary is made all the more poignant by the fact that this is the last time that we will meet with the tower in situ. We havent got justice yet. It feels wrong to bepulling the tower downwhile so much remains unresolved. Mr Daffarn is hopeful a new documentary about the fire, due to air on Netflix next week, will spur government efforts to take action. He said: It needs to put pressure on the government to ensure that the companies involved are not able to access public funding, and Im hoping that this documentary will accelerate that process. The Cabinet Office confirmed in February seven companies were facing possible bans – cladding firm Arconic, insulation firm Kingspan, former Celotex owners Saint-Gobain, fire inspectors Exova, design and build contractor Rydon, architect Studio E and subcontractor Harley Facades. It is understood investigations were launched into all of them in March, looking into whether any engaged in professional misconduct for the purposes of the Procurement Act 2023, potentially leading them to be debarred from public contracts. No timeline has been given for how long it might be before the outcomes are known. Bereaved and survivors have long campaigned for criminal charges to be brought over the disaster. Police and prosecutors have previously said investigators would need until the end of 2025 to complete their inquiry, with final decisions on potential criminal charges by the end of 2026. The near 10-year wait for justice has beendescribed by families as unbearable. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: [We] have been clear that the pace of remediation has been too slow for too long. Thats why we are taking decisive action through our Remediation Acceleration Plan to fix unsafe buildings by 2029 faster, while we continue to support residents and identify buildings at risk. Additional reporting by PA Media


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