UK: Alleged mercenary arrested in London over Albanian gang boss kidnap plot


An alleged mercenary has been arrested in London over a plot to kidnap the boss of an Albanian crime gang in revenge for a multimillion-pound drug theft. Latvian national Ainis Balodis, 45, was one of four men held in an international operation led by German police earlier this month.

The group, some of whom are former French Foreign Legion soldiers, are said by police to be highly trained and were equipped with professional equipment.They were allegedly hired by an organised crime group to kidnap the leader of a rival drug trafficking gang.

Read more…
Source: Sky News


Sign up for the Counter-IED Report Newsletters
The latest news and insights delivered right to your inbox


Related:

  • Fans warned to expect ‘overt’ anti-terror measures at football stadiums

    August 10, 2018

    Police are seeking the help of football fans in tackling terrorism and are asking them to be vigilant at matches. Officers say stadiums could be targeted as extremists seek out crowded places to attack. Chief Superintendent Nick Aldworth said: “We know from what we’ve seen on the ground, and also from terrorist rhetoric, that they are interested ...

  • Faslane bomb squad gets new commanding officer

    August 9, 2018

    Faslane-based Royal Navy bomb disposal experts have a new Commanding Officer. Lieutenant Commander Chris Stephenson, who has previously served as Mine Counter Measures Staff Officer to the Faslane Flotilla, takes over from Lieutenant Commander Tony Hampshire as CO of Northern Diving Group (NDG). Tony commanded the unit from January 2016 to July 2018 and now it’s time ...

  • Afghanistan: UK to send 440 more non-combat troops

    July 10, 2018

    The commitment to Nato’s mission in Afghanistan will take the total number of UK troops in the country to 1,090. Around half of the troops will deploy from the Welsh Guards in August and the remainder will follow by February 2019. They will help “bring the stability and security that the Afghan people deserve,” Theresa May said. Read ...

  • Powders to be banned from hand luggage at UK airports

    July 9, 2018

    Powders such as make-up, coffee and spices are to be banned from hand luggage on flights leaving the UK in a new effort to improve airport security. The move, which raises the prospect of more queues and disruption for travellers, would follow in the footsteps of Australia, New Zealand and the US, where passengers were told last ...

  • Wiltshire novichok poisoning investigated by UK counter-terror police

    July 5, 2018

    An urgent investigation is under way to discover how a British couple have been left critically ill by the nerve agent novichok, the same military grade poison that nearly killed a former Russian spy and his daughter four months ago. Britain’s top counter-terrorism officer, Neil Basu, announced that expert scientists in chemical warfare at the world ...

  • New Competition: ‘Airport Vehicle Checkpoint Screening’

    June 29, 2018

    The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) is launching a new competition on behalf of the Future Aviation Security Solutions programme (FASS) focusing on vehicle checkpoint (VCP) screening at airports. This competition is focusing on new solutions to the challenge of vehicle checkpoint (VCP) screening at airports, in order to prevent explosives, weapons and other threats from ...

  • Khalid Ali: British Taliban bomber guilty of Westminster plot

    June 26, 2018

    Khalid Ali, 28, was arrested on 27 April 2017 in Parliament Street, where he was caught carrying three knives. Prosecutors said Ali, from Edmonton in north London, had planned a “murderous attack” on politicians and police. In a police interview, Ali said he wanted to deliver a “message” to British authorities, but claimed the knives were for ...

  • Bomb squad detonates shell found at Oswestry building site

    June 6, 2018

    Police were called to the scene after construction workers found the shell while digging on the site off Artillery Road, in Park Hall, at around 1pm on Tuesday. Tools were downed and the site was shut, as officers waiting for EOD officers to arrive. The officers came from Hereford, arriving at the scene at around 6.53pm. Read more… Source: Shropshire ...

  • Two men are arrested on suspicion of terror offences in Manchester

    June 4, 2018

    Two men have been arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences after police raided a home in Manchester. Officers went to the property in Whitefield, Greater Manchester, following reports of suspicious items being found made shortly before 11.25am on Monday. Examinations at the scene, which has been cordoned off, have not revealed anything which appears to be explosives but two ...

  • Armed police seize hand grenades, guns and ammunition as bomb squad descends on lorry in Sussex business park

    May 18, 2018

    Explosives were discovered attached to the underneath of a lorry in Sussex on Thursday. Two plastic cases containing guns, grenades and ammunition were found underneath the HGV, held on by magnets, at Rosier Business Park in Sussex. Armed police and military bomb disposal teams swooped on the area in dramatic scenes. The area was surrounded by officers and ...

  • UK airports to add explosive detection dogs to screen cargo

    May 6, 2018

    British officials say dogs trained to detect explosives are being deployed at airports to screen cargo for possible devices. The Department of Transport said Sunday that each dog has been trained for 12 months to be able to detect small traces of explosives. They will be based in airport cargo sheds to screen large volumes of ...

  • WMCTU: Man arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences

    May 3, 2018

    A Coventry man has been arrested today (Thursday 3 May) on suspicion of committing terrorism offences. The 20-year-old had previously been detained under the Explosives Act last Tuesday (24 April) before being released pending investigation. Today’s arrest is on suspicion of being concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism under section 41 of ...

  • Terrifying arsenal of weapons – including IEDs – seized from city gang targeted in raids

    May 3, 2018

    A terrifying arsenal of weapons – including two Improvised Explosive Devices – have been discovered by police in a gangland investigation which led to a series of raids this morning. The crudely made IEDs, believed to have been stashed for use against criminal rivals, were among a haul of 13 guns and more than 200 rounds ...

  • Ammunition boxes washed up on beaches

    April 18, 2018

    Police are urging the public to be vigilant following two incidents where members of the public discovered several boxes of Navy ammunition believed to have washed up in East Cornwall. Inspector Rick Milburn said: ‘Over the weekend, we received two reports that ammunition was located on Porthbeor beach in Roseland and on Vault Beach in Gorran ...

  • UK, Nigeria pledge to continue strong partnership

    April 17, 2018

    The leaders of Nigeria and the UK met Monday in London to discuss bilateral relations. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and British Prime Minister Theresa May agreed that the UK and Nigeria were “strong and enduring partners” and would continue to champion their shared values of democracy, including the fight against corruption, the British government said in ...