London hunts ‘Wimbledon Prowler’

3 dead in suspected gang shooting in France

LONDON, April 3, (AFP): Cunning gentleman thieves have seduced romantics from the days of Robin Hood through to Hollywood’s heyday — and now London is transfixed by the real-life antics of the “Wimbledon Prowler”.

The prolific burglar is suspected of carrying out hundreds of break-ins around one of London’s most exclusive neighbourhoods, making off with assets worth more than £10 million ($14 million, 12 million euros).

The quaint, upscale neighbourhood of Wimbledon Village in the British capital’s smart southwest is sheltered from the hustle of city life, and known mainly for its famous tennis tournament and multi-million pound mansions.

But fear now stalks the leafy streets in the form of the “Wimbledon Prowler”, as the light-fingered criminal has been nicknamed by the British press.

In a decade of deception, the thief has committed more than 200 burglaries, making mockeries of locks, alarms and security camera systems to pilfer luxury watches, jewellery and cash, detective inspector Dan O’Sullivan told AFP.

The intruder’s high-profile targets have included German tennis legend Boris Becker and French former Real Madrid and Arsenal footballer Nicolas Anelka, who chased the burglar from his house.

His biggest single trophy is believed to be a 1955 Rolex Submariner watch

his feet with her head in her hand.

The deal, which is due to take effect on Monday, is aimed at stopping illegal migrants entering Europe in exchange for financial and political rewards for Ankara.

Schulz denied accusations it makes the EU too reliant on Turkey, a candidate for EU membership. “The EU is not dependent on Turkey,” he told Bild am Sonntag.

Erdogan has dominated Turkish politics for more than a decade and has been president since 2014. Popular at home, his valued at around £500,000.

“In the UK there is no one that gets close to him, in terms of the period of time that he’s been offending and the financial gain,” said O’Sullivan.

“The law of averages says that you’re going to make a mistake one day, but we’ve never actually got close to him, which indicates he’s very good. He’s disciplined.”

That the crook remains at large is not for the lack of trying, with media reporting that police have even hidden in trees to catch him in the act.

Starved of solid leads, Scotland Yard launched an appeal for witnesses in March after a particularly productive period for the burglar between last September and early 2016, with three to four break-ins committed per week.

“When you look back at the history of the last 10 years, that is what he seems to do,” O’Sullivan said.

“He seems to smash 20 to 30 jobs over a couple of months and then he seems to go to ground”.

From the scant evidence, police believe the crook is a man aged around 35, of medium height and is described as athletic, agile, organised, disciplined and likely knowledgeable about police investigation techniques.

The thief leaves no evidence behind such as fingerprints and is aware of the location of surveillance cameras, hiding his face with his hand.

O’Sullivan did not rule out the possibility that the hunted man could be

critics accuse him of becoming increasingly authoritarian.

Turkish state prosecutors have opened nearly 2,000 cases against people for insulting Erdogan since 2014, the country’s justice ministry said last month. Defendants include cartoonists, academics, journalists and even schoolchildren. (RTRS)

Bid to bring down govt:

Italy’s main opposition parties threw down the gauntlet a former soldier, given his self-control and attention to detail.

“This individual seems to be one of the 10 percent of burglars who plan a crime,” said retired policeman Calvin Beckford, who now operates The Crime Prevention Website, the largest open-source online resource of its kind in Europe.

“This guy is clearly very cautious, is security-aware and spends time making observations, minimising his chances of being seen and detected,” he told AFP, advising Wimbledon residents to review their security systems.

O’Sullivan believes that the felon is motivated by more than just money, saying he was probably seduced by the “kick, the thrill of doing it”.

None of the burglaries have led to physical harm, with one victim telling AFP: “He comes and goes, but so far there’s never been any evidence of any violence.”

“We don’t think he’s life-threatening, we don’t lose sleep but we hope that he’ll be caught,” the victim added — but that may be a while in coming.

“He’s now gone to ground,” explained O’Sullivan. “We’re just waiting for him to come again and when he comes again, we’ll be ready for him.

“Like him, for us, it’s the thrill of the chase because one day, we’re going to get lucky”.

MARSEILLE:

Also:

Three men were killed in a suspected gang shooting in southern

to Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s government on Saturday, with a no-confidence motion over a sleaze scandal which has already seen a top minister resign.

The centre-right Forza Italia party, led by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, joined forces with the antiimmigrant Northern League to draw up the motion of no-confidence for both the upper and lower houses of parliament to consider.

“Game over for Renzi,” said Renato France on Saturday, sources said, taking to eight the number who have died in gang violence in the city this year.

Three others were also injured in the gunfight, which broke out around 10:30 pm (20:30 GMT) in Marseilles.

The police commissioner and several investigators were on the scene at the foot of a four-storey building where the killings took place.

At least eight people have been shot dead on the streets of Marseilles since the beginning of the year, part of a growing number of gang-related murders in the city.

“It’s dramatic and desperate,” Samia Ghali, the mayor of the eighth district of the city, told AFP.

“It does not give much hope for future generations. There is real work that needs to be done.”

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said an investigation had been opened, reiterating “the government’s absolute determination to eradicate organised crime”.

At least 19 people were murdered in and around Marseilles last year, compared to 18 in 2014 and 17 in 2014, many of which authorities believe were carried out by gangs linked with drug trafficking.

On March 17, a 35-year-old man was killed by two men armed with Kalashnikovs, who ambushed him while driving then gunned him down as he tried to flee. Brunetta, head of Forza Italia in the lower house.

The anti-establishment Five Star movement (M5S) is also preparing its own motion, according to media reports.

“We all have to show we want to send Renzi packing. We will vote for noconfidence,” said Five Star member Luigi di Mario, deputy head of the lower house of parliament.

A defiant Renzi played down any threat to his government.

“And so they present the umpteenth no-confidence motion. We will go to parliament, I hope as soon as possible,” he said on his website, having refused calls on Friday to step down.

The opposition’s move followed the resignation on Thursday of Economic Development Minister Federica Guidi over allegations she tweaked the country’s 2015 budget to suit her businessman boyfriend.

Guidi stepped down hours after it emerged that her partner is under investigation for abusing his connection to the government in a suspected bid to help his engineering company win contracts with French oil giant Total.

In a wiretap recording leaked to the press, Guidi is heard telling him that an amendment to the budget law streamlining the approval process for new oilfields in southern Italy would be approved.

“Guidi’s immediate willingness to resign threw the various opposition parties into panic, so much so that — not knowing what to do — they began shouting for the resignation of the whole government, guilty of who knows what,” Renzi said.

“Once again, parliament can send us home if it wants to. But I don’t think it will happen,” he said. (AFP)