The Hangover News

Drug Mule Relocations
MELISSA REID MIGHT BE SENT BACK TO SCOTLAND
The girl caught trafficking cocaine into Peru could be going home

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Melissa Reid, the Scottish girl caught trying to smuggle cocaine out of Peru, might be coming home.

The Scottish Prison Service has said it is considering an application made by Peruvian authorities that would allow the 20-year-old to serve the rest of her sentence in a Scottish jail.

Reid, from a town near Glasgow, and 20-year-old Michaella McCollum from County Tyrone, were caught at Lima airport last year as they tried to board a flight to Madrid with 11 kilos of cocaine in their luggage.

The pair claim they were kidnapped at gunpoint while working in Ibiza, before being sent to Majorca and then Peru, where they were forced to carry the drugs in their luggage.

Because they pleaded guilty, their eight-year sentences were reduced to six years each, and they are expected to remain in prison until the 5th of April, 2020.

Refugee Riots
A SYRIAN MAN DIED DURING A PROTEST AT A JORDANIAN REFUGEE CAMP
The demonstration turned into a riot, which turned into police shooting at protesters

The Za'atari refugee camp (Photo by Robert King)

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A riot at Jordan's largest Syrian refugee camp left one person dead and dozens wounded.

The clashes started after a protest at the Za'atari camp – which houses over 120,000 Syrians displaced by the conflict in their home country – turned violent.

According to the UNHCR, demonstrators – who were protesting the detention of a refugee family and a driver who tried to smuggle them out of Za'atari – started throwing rocks at a police post inside the camp.

Police responded with tear gas, and there are reports that live ammunition was used.

By the end of the clashes, one refugee had been killed, three had been hospitalised with gunshot wounds and 28 policemen were left wounded.

The United Nations said it was alarmed at the violence, adding, "Tremendous efforts have been made over the past months to create an atmosphere of civility in the camp."

Rejected Lawsuits
AMERICA DENIED RESPONSIBILITY FOR THREE 'ILLEGAL' KILLINGS
Three American citizens were killed by drones in Yemen

Anwar al-Awlaki (Photo via)

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A US federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against the government by the families of three American citizens killed by drones in Yemen.

The families had tried to sue the government, claiming the killings were illegal, but Judge Rosemary Collyer said that senior officials cannot be held personally responsible for money damages for the act of conducting war.

The three US citizens killed were Anwar al-Awlaki, a New Mexico-born Muslim cleric who had joined al-Qaeda's Yemen affiliate, his teenage son and Samir Khan, a naturalised US citizen who had moved to Yemen and worked on Inspire, an English-language al-Qaeda magazine.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Centre for Constitutional Rights (CCR) represented the families.

After the case was dismissed, CCR lawyer Maria LaHood said, "This decision is a true travesty of justice for our constitutional democracy and for all victims of the US government's unlawful killings."

Mobster Media
THE YAKUZA LAUNCHED THEIR OWN RECRUITMENT WEBSITE
Because someone needs to keep extortion and trafficking alive

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It's been a lonely couple of years for the Yakuza, with the number of members slipping to an all-time low in 2013.

To remedy that – and to make sure Japan has a new generation being taught the ins and outs of extortion, white collar crime and human trafficking – the organised crime syndicate have launched a recruitment website, bearing the catchy name "Banish Drugs and Purify the Nation League".

As you might have already guessed, the website carries a strong anti-drugs message.

It also features a couple of videos, one of which (the one above) shows members making their new year pilgrimage to a shrine.

While the Yakuza are known to be involved in illegal activities, they are not an illegal organisation in Japan and have historically been tolerated by authorities.

Junior Justice
A NINE-MONTH-OLD BOY WAS ACCUSED OF ATTEMPTED A MURDER
He's out on bail, but the case continues

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A nine-month-old boy has appeared in court in Pakistan, charged with planning a murder.

Muhammad Mosa Khan, who sat on his father's lap in the courtroom, is one of 30 people facing charges after a police raid to catch suspected gas thieves in the city of Lahore.

Police claim the suspects tried to murder security officials by throwing stones at them.

Nine-month-olds are notoriously bad at throwing stones, which is likely why Khan has been granted bail and the case adjourned until the 12th of April.

The assistant superintendent who filed the charges against the baby has since been suspended.