Ciggie Man Jailed

A convicted cigarette fraudster from Co Tyrone has been jailed for three years for failing to pay a £500,000 confiscation order. Aiden Francis Grew (55) from Benburb Street in Blackwatertown had pleaded guilty in 2008 to evading duty on almost five million cigarettes. He was sentenced to three years imprisonment suspended for two years. He was also ordered to pay £500,000 with a default sentence of a further three years if payment was not made within 12 months. John Whiting, Assistant Director, Criminal Investigation for HMRC, said: "Grew failed to pay the confiscation amount and will now serve the three year default sentence. We are determined that this money will be restored to the public's finances and we will continue to pursue this debt to reclaim the proceeds of crime."

Derry On Learning Curve

The NI Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness has spoken of his hope for greater employment and learning prospects for his home city of Derry. At the launch of the Derry 2020 Project, which aims to create and develop a collaborative, community based model for employment and learning he said: "Unemployment affects people on a very personal level and this city has suffered from high levels of it throughout its history. This is a new and innovative approach aimed at helping some of the most disadvantaged people within our local community - those most at risk from social exclusion through unemployment," said the Sinn Fein politician. The project aims to add value to existing government initiatives and to target and recruit up to 2,250 participants from across the City Council Area.

On The Line

The NI Enterprise Minister, Arlene Foster, has met with a delegation of councillors and businesses to discuss telecoms provision in the Cookstown area. "I have heard of the concerns from elected representatives and local businesses of the difficulties they face in getting reliable broadband and mobile services in the Cookstown area. Broadband services in the area are provided by a number of technologies and a range of providers. We agreed it was important to ensure that adequate advice and information is provided to consumers so that they can make the best choice based on their circumstances," the DUP Minister said afterwards. "My Department has invested considerably in not just the Cookstown area but across all of Northern Ireland. Cabinets have been fibred, radio broadband transmitter sites constructed and a satellite broadband solution available for those particularly remote customers. However, there is only so much my Department can do and I have advised the Council that my Department will examine the issues raised during the meeting and suggested that they should urgently talk to the First Minister's Office regarding some of the difficulties they were facing."

(BMcC/CD)