Meow Meow Seized

Officers from the Met's Central Task Force have seized a large quantity of the drug Meow Meow during a vehicle search in Wembley. During what police have described as a "proactive operation", officers stopped a Silver Vauxhall Vectra on Sudbury Court Drive in Wembley at 2.30pm on Friday October 7. Officers searched the vehicle and found four cardboard boxes containing 51 kilo's of synthetic stimulant Mephedrone, also known as 'Meow Meow'. Michael Harry, 26, of Bristol, appeared a Highbury Corner Magistrates' court on Monday 10 October charged with possession of the class B drug with intent to supply and possession of a pointed and bladed article. He was remanded in custody to reappear on a date to be confirmed.

Human Traffickers Jailed

A man and woman who trafficked young women into the UK and forced them to work as prostitutes from exclusive Chelsea addresses have been sentenced to over 12 years in prison, police revealed on Wednesday. On Monday of this week, Sergey Konart, 41, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and Ekaterina Kolesnikova, 26, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to a series of charges, including trafficking and controlling prostitution. During the hearing at Southwark Crown Court, the court heard how officers from the Metropolitan Police Service's Human Exploitation and Organised Crime Command arrested the pair in December 2010 after searching five addresses - two in Chelsea, two in Queensway and one in Earl's Court. They also searched a safety deposit box held by Konart in Knightsbridge. The pair - who were operating as part of a Russian and European based organised criminal network - recruited vulnerable young Eastern European women to come to the UK by promising them opportunities to make large amounts of money as waitresses, shop assistants or dancers, according to police. Once in the UK they took the girls' ID and travel documents. They then held the girls to a debt bond of up to £80,000, which they forced them to pay off by working as a prostitute from residential addresses in Chelsea - charging clients up to £200 a visit. They were threatened with violence and plied with ecstasy and cocaine to gain compliance. In her witness account, one of the victims stated the work she was being forced to do made her "skin crawl". She said she felt "sick" because lots of the clients were "disgusting". She "hated" her life and knew that it was very harmful for her health and having a big impact on her mental state. Another victim stated: "I felt used and thrown away."

Ban On Under 21 Non EU Spouses 'Unlawful'

The Government ban on rights to non-EU foreign spouses under the age of 21 coming to the UK is unlawful, according to Europe's highest court. The ruling by the Supreme Court has undone an immigration policy designed to stop forced marriages brought in by the Labour Party in 2008. The ban meant a foreign partner from outside the EU could not join their partner in the UK if they were under 21 years old. However, after a case was brought to the Supreme Court by two couples who said the rule had unlawfully interfered with their right to a private and family life, the court found the ban had been unlawful. The court said that the rule was unjustified because it interfered with the human rights of couples. Immigration minister Damian Green said the judgement was "very disappointing" because the policy had been judged elsewhere in Europe to be lawful.

(DW/BMcC)