A Turkish gangster known as “Fingers” plotted to kill criminal rivals in the UK in a series of planned operations so extraordinary they sounded like movie scripts, a London court has heard.
Five men are accused of having roles in the reported plot to kill three rivals of Kemal Eren, who earned his nickname because he lost some of his fingers before he fled from the UK to Turkey, a jury was told.
London’s central criminal court heard that the proposed murders, which were planned using encrypted telephones, were uncovered after police placed a secret listening device inside the home of one of the accused.
Warwick Burrows, 48, Leon Smith, 40, Matthew Watson, 33, Dario Barnaby, 29, and Courtney Reid, 38, are facing charges following an investigation into the covert messaging platform Encrochat, which revealed the reported murder plots planned in 2019.
Mr Eren is not on trial.
Prosecutor Benn Maguire said the accused “wanted to kill their rivals and competitors in the criminal underworld”.
They used the Encrochat system to encrypt their messages in the hope of stopping police from realising what they were doing, he said.
But the listening device placed in the home of Mr Smith meant law enforcement agents were able to follow their coded conversations.
“These were classic contract killings and there are parts of this that sound so extraordinary, it sounds like a film script,” said Mr Maguire.
Police later recovered two handguns from a taxi and a second car that were said to be linked to some of the accused.
All five men have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder and the case is ongoing.
The most expensive investment mistake you will ever make
When is the best time to start saving in a pension? The answer is simple – at the earliest possible moment. The first pound, euro, dollar or dirham you invest is the most valuable, as it has so much longer to grow in value. If you start in your twenties, it could be invested for 40 years or more, which means you have decades for compound interest to work its magic.
“You get growth upon growth upon growth, followed by more growth. The earlier you start the process, the more it will all roll up,” says Chris Davies, chartered financial planner at The Fry Group in Dubai.
This table shows how much you would have in your pension at age 65, depending on when you start and how much you pay in (it assumes your investments grow 7 per cent a year after charges and you have no other savings).
|
Age
|
$250 a month
|
$500 a month
|
$1,000 a month
|
|
25
|
$640,829
|
$1,281,657
|
$2,563,315
|
|
35
|
$303,219
|
$606,439
|
$1,212,877
|
|
45
|
$131,596
|
$263,191
|
$526,382
|
|
55
|
$44,351
|
$88,702
|
$177,403
|
Gran Gala del Calcio 2019 winners
Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Best Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta)
Best Referee: Gianluca Rocchi
Best Goal: Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria vs Napoli)
Best Team: Atalanta
Best XI: Samir Handanovic (Inter); Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Joao Cancelo (Juventus*); Miralem Pjanic (Juventus), Josip Ilicic (Atalanta), Nicolo Barella (Cagliari*); Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Duvan Zapata (Atalanta)
Serie B Best Young Player: Sandro Tonali (Brescia)
Best Women’s Goal: Thaisa (Milan vs Juventus)
Best Women’s Player: Manuela Giugliano (Milan)
Best Women’s XI: Laura Giuliani (Milan); Alia Guagni (Fiorentina), Sara Gama (Juventus), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Elisa Bartoli (Roma); Aurora Galli (Juventus), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus); Valentina Giacinti (Milan), Ilaria Mauro (Fiorentina), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus)
