29-08-22, 02:39
|
#5
|
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 47,635
Thanks: 27,644
Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts
|
re: Murderer of Olivia Pratt-Korbel Jailed For 42 Years
Gangsters Flee Abroad as Cops Raid Homes in Hunt For Olivia Pratt-Korbel Killer
Dr Simon Harding, director of the National Centre for Gang Research suspects "there will be a lot of sudden holidays to Spain and Turkey" as gangsters flee Liverpool
---Deadly guns can be rented for £200-a-night in Liverpool as city battles violence surge
Daily Mirror UK 29 AUG 2022
Chief Constable Serena Kennedy from Merseyside Police speaks to the media at force headquarters in Rose Hill after Olivia's death
Police have been carrying out raids across the city
Gang bosses and kingpins are thought to be fleeing to villas abroad as police crack down on organised crime following the death of little Olivia Pratt-Korbel.
Experts believe that criminals will be rushing around to export drugs and weapons out of Liverpool following a series of raids in city.
Armed police surrounded a flat in Birkdale Court, Huyton, arresting a 36-year-old man on Thursday night - before swooping on a property in Lunsford Road in nearby Dovecot to arrest a 33-year-old man, less than 24 hours later.
Both men have been released on bail pending further enquiries as cops issued another plea for people with information to come forward.
But in the meantime, Dr Simon Harding, director of the National Centre for Gang Research, told the Mail he suspected many of the city's crime bosses will be fleeing to other countries.
He said: "Right now they will be worried about having their homes raided. There will be a lot of sudden holidays to Spain and Turkey.
The devastating and tragic events that led to nine-year-old Olivia's death were made only more shocking as they unfolded on the 15th anniversary of the death of Rhys Jones.
In 2007, Liverpool mourned the 11-year-old schoolboy who was fatally caught in the crossfire of a shooting between rival gangs, as he walked home from football practice in Croxteth.
At the time, Merseyside Police faced a code of silence among criminals and residents and it was eight months before officers arrested Rhys' killer.
Olivia Pratt-Korbel, nine
Rhys Jones, 11, died in 2007
In September Rhys' mother, Melanie made a heartfelt and direct plea to her son's killer on Crimewatch, prompting 12 people to call in with the same name.
On April 15 2008, police confirmed that 11 people (all aged between 17 and 25) had been arrested in connection with the murder.
Six more suspects of a similar age were arrested the next day and another man was arrested in connection with the case on April 18.
Among the dozens of arrests were high-profile criminals, and the case exposed some of Liverpool's organised crime families.
Police are still hunting Olivia's killer
On Monday, a balaclava-clad gunman chased former heroin dealer, Joseph Nee, into Olivia's home firing "wildly and indiscriminately" at the innocent schoolgirl and her mother.
Mum Cheryl was shot in the wrist as she tried to shut the door on the attacker while Olivia stood behind her.
The same bullet struck the youngster in the chest and despite being rushed to nearby Alder Hey Children's Hospital, she died a short while later.
Olivia’s family has said in an emotional statement: "If anyone knows anything, now is the time to speak up. It is not about being a snitch or a grass, it is about finding out who took our baby away from us."
Residents at the scene of Olivia's killing told the Mirror that the people involved were known criminals.
Merseyside Police are continuing to investigate but no-one has yet been charged.
Despite the devastating parallels, city leaders have insisted that "Liverpool has changed" from the days of Rhys Jones' murder.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Bishop Tom Williams said: "The one thing that gets me is that people get the impression that we're a divided city, you know, there's criminals and everything else.
"It's not divided 50/50, there's a very small percentage, and it's them getting all the headlines all the time, I think, which upsets me most of all."
|
|
|