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Crime

Charges laid in international investigation into school “swatting” incidents

Published

4 years ago

3 minute read

Charges laid in international investigation into school “swatting” incidents

November 28, 2019
Charges have been laid against three youths in Scotland and charges are pending against another youth in England after a series of shooting and bomb threats were made to schools in five countries earlier this year.

On February 11, 2019, multiple Edmonton schools began receiving phone calls threatening either a bomb or impending attack by an armed suspect. The calls were made using an online calling app, and the caller reportedly had a Scottish or British accent. The schools were placed on heightened alert, and in some cases initiated lockdown procedures while EPS patrol officers responded.

The EPS School Resource Officer Unit immediately began coordinating with all the affected schools, and it quickly became evident that these calls were part of a large-scale hoax. The EPS Cyber Crime Investigations Unit (CCIU) was able to link these calls to similar calls being made to Calgary schools, and a school in Texas, USA. In total, nine schools and one bank in Edmonton and five schools in Calgary received hoax phone calls over the course of February 11, 12 and 20, 2019.

Following an extensive investigation, the calls were traced back to the UK. After contacting their counterparts in the UK, CCIU learned that these calls had been linked to over 80 similar hoax calls made to the Netherlands, England, Scotland, and the USA.

“The amount of school and police resources these calls take up, not to mention the distress they cause to children, teachers and parents, is unacceptable,” says Det Philip Hawkins, with EPS CCIU. “We left no stone unturned in this lengthy investigation, even across international borders, and three suspects are now facing charges in their home country,” adds Det. Hawkins.

The investigation, which included collaboration from police services in Canada, the USA, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom has resulted in numerous charges against three youths, who are between the ages of 15 and 17, and thus cannot be named.

Each of the three youths are facing these charges under Scottish law:

  • Section 51 Criminal Law 1977
  • Section 127 Communications Act 2003
  • Section 38 Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010
  • Section 85 Postal Services Act 2000
  • Common law – Wasting Police Time
  • Common law – Culpable and Reckless Conduct

“While we were able to identify early on that these calls were a hoax, we take these occurrences very seriously,” says Sgt. Em Chan, with the EPS School Resource Officer (SRO) Unit. “Our SROs were able to alert and coordinate with all Edmonton schools to help mitigate the impact and keep everyone as safe, calm and reassured as possible.”

In total, the February 2019 series of hoax calls resulted in the deployment of 47 EPS vehicles and affected more than 4,000 Edmonton students, with six Edmonton schools placed in lockdown for a cumulative total of 4.75 hours.

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Crime

Ireland vows to crack down on ‘hate speech’ after knife attack by Algerian immigrant

Published on November 30, 2023

By

Senator Pauline O’Reilly

From LifeSiteNews

By Paul Bennett

‘We are restricting freedom for the common good,’ Ireland’s Green Party Senator Pauline O’Reilly told the Irish Senate

The Irish government have blamed recent unrest on the “far-right” and vowed to fast track freedom-curbing “hate speech” legislation before Christmas.

The November 23 riots were in response to a barbaric knife attack on innocent children and a daycare employee in central Dublin by a 50-year-old Algerian immigrant earlier that day. Leanne Flynn and three children were wounded.

Addressing the nation at Dublin Castle after the stabbings, Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar crudely prioritized legislating hate speech laws to tackle the growing public unrest in Ireland over key issues such as mass immigration.

“It’s now obvious to anyone who might have doubted it that our incitement to hatred legislation is just not up to date for the social media age and we need that legislation through,” Varadkar said.

“And we need it through in a matter of weeks because it’s not just the platforms that have responsibility here, and they do, it’s also the individuals who past messages and images online that stir hatred and violence. We need to be able to use laws to go after them individually.”

As a result of a coordinated government response to tackle ‘hate speech’, the Republic of Ireland’s new Online Safety Media Commission have urged the Irish public to report any “hate speech” to the Gardai (Irish police) in the aftermath of last week’s unforeseen stabbings and riot in Dublin.

The newly established Irish online media regulator approved by the European Commission, Coimisiún na Meán, is currently overseeing what is being billed as online safety in Europe in a move to tackle hate speech and disinformation.

Immediately after the November 23 riot, the online regulators made Ireland the first EU member state to activate an alert under new Digital Services Act (DSA) rules. The activation alerted the European Commission to contact large social media companies within hours of the riot in Dublin, to remind them of their legal obligations regarding dissemination of illegal online content, threats, hate speech, and “disinformation.”

On November 28, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin told the Irish parliament that online regulators are “calling for those who see hate speech or other illegal content online to report it to platforms or to the Gardai.”

In the midst of growing tension and concern about mass immigration, housing, and crime in communities across the country, the Irish government are instead planning to pass legislation to curb freedom of speech. The new Hate Speech Bill is considered one of the strictest draconian hate speech legislations in the world.

The Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022 (the Hate Speech Bill) will criminalize any speech that is “likely to incite hatred, or violence” against so-called “protected groups.”

The legislation vaguely defines “hatred” as “hatred against a person or a group of persons in the [Irish] State or elsewhere on account of their protected characteristics.” The protected characteristics includes race, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, and religion.

The radical bill outlines how merely possessing “hateful” content on your devices or having signs, posters and banners that could incite “hatred” could lead to criminal charges and upwards to five years of imprisonment.

Authorities will be allowed to seize all electronic devices, including phones, laptops, and tablets, and force individuals to hand over passwords, even if no crime has been committed.

Independent Irish Senator Sharon Keogan believes the main objective of the hate speech bill is “partly designed to keep political dissenters quiet.”

In a viral video that got international attention, a Green Party Senator called Pauline O’Reilly revealed the true nature of the radical hate speech laws during a discussion about the proposed legislation in the Irish Senate.

“When you think about it, all law, all legislation is about the restriction of freedom. That’s exactly what we are doing here,” she said. “We are restricting freedom, but we are doing it for the common good.”

On social media platform, X, Ohio Senator James David Vance reacted to the viral video of the Irish Senator by saying if this was in “Russia, or China or many other nations we would call it totalitarian and threaten economic sanctions.”

Elon Musk, owner of X has called the planned legislation a “massive attack against freedom of speech.”

The Hate Speech Bill was passed in the Irish Parliament in April 2023 and is currently now at a committee stage in the Senate.

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Alberta

Three suspects charged for allegedly sex trafficking Edmonton teens

Published on November 30, 2023

By

From the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) 

“One of the victims, a 13-year-old girl, was part of a missing persons investigation earlier in the year”

Four teens have been rescued following an ALERT Human Trafficking investigation in Edmonton. Two men and a 17-year-old face a total of 48 charges.

ALERT’s Human Trafficking unit charged three suspects on October 12, 2023 in a case that dates back several months and involved underage victims. ALERT alleges that the youths were recruited and groomed into working in the sex trade and were being sexually exploited at a local hotel.

One of the victims, a 13-year-old girl, was part of a missing persons investigation earlier in the year. ALERT worked with the Edmonton Police Service on the case, which also led to the identification of other youth victims.

“These youths met their perpetrators over social media and were lured and groomed into working in the sex industry. As is often the case, there are a bunch of false promises of money, relationships, gifts, but those never seem to materialize and these survivors endure tremendous hardship,” said Staff Sgt. Chris Hayes, ALERT Human Trafficking.

All four survivors are receiving the appropriate supports and resources with partner agencies.

Obinna Nwanekezi, 19 years old, faces 22 charges, including:

  • Trafficking a person under 18;
  • Procuring a person under 18;
  • Luring a child;
  • Sexual exploitation;
  • Material benefit from trafficking a person under 18;
  • Making child pornography;
  • Distributing child pornography;
  • Possessing child pornography;
  • Agreement/arrangement of sexual offence against child; and
  • Assault.

Jelani Ried, 19 years old, faces 21 charges, including:

  • Trafficking a person under 18;
  • Procuring a person under 18;
  • Luring a child;
  • Sexual exploitation;
  • Material benefit from trafficking a person under 18;
  • Making child pornography;
  • Distributing child pornography;
  • Possessing child pornography; and
  • Agreement/arrangement of sexual offence against child.

Five additional charges have been laid against a 17-year-old youth who cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. They have been released with conditions.

ALERT encourages anyone who believes they are a victim of sexual assault or abuse to report it to police. Victims of sexual exploitation can report it to the Edmonton Police Service by calling 780-423-4567, or 9-1-1 if they are in immediate danger. Alternatively, anyone seeking supports is encouraged to contact the Safety Network Coordinator with CEASE at 780-471-6137. There is no time limit on how long a victim has to report a sexual assault in Canada.

Members of the public who suspect drug or gang activity in their community can call local police, or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Crime Stoppers is always anonymous.

ALERT was established and is funded by the Alberta Government and is a compilation of the province’s most sophisticated law enforcement resources committed to tackling serious and organized crime.

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