TWO British women were subjected to a horrific gang rape on a tropical holiday island

TWO British women were subjected to a horrific gang rape on a tropical holiday island it emerged today.
The women, aged in their 30s, were camping on an idyllic beach on the Caribbean island of St Lucia when the attack took place.

They were reportedly ambushed by a group of six masked men as they packed their belongings to move camp for the night.

The terrifying assault happened shortly before midnight on Tuesday May 10, at the isolated Grande Anse Beach on the island's north east coast.

The gang ran away when they noticed the headlights of an approaching car.

Cops were questioning six men over the attack today.

The female pals were apparently enjoying an environmental expedition on the far-flung tropical island and had been staying at the remote spot since the previous night.

It is believed that they had felt worried after returning to their campsite on Tuesday evening to find that someone had ransacked through their belongings.

It is not clear if anything had been stolen.

Police say the women started packing up when they were ambushed by the gang.

Both women were raped.

The island's Rape Crisis Centre has issued safety warnings and is advising women to be extra vigilant especially when visiting the beaches after dark.

The British High Commission in St Lucia has reportedly sent its sympathies to the victims, while expressing concern that local police had failed to alert them to the alleged attack.

British High Commissioner Karl Burrows described the incident as a "dreadful crime", adding: "We are in touch with the St Lucia police force and they are confident of a successful outcome."

Mr Burrows said that such violent attacks on tourists were rare in St Lucia, a popular holiday destination for families and honeymooning couples.

He said: " As far as all crimes are concerned, we obviously have a particular responsibility for British nationals in St Lucia.

"To put it into context, we have about 75,000 British visitors to St Lucia each year and the vast majority of visits are incident free.

"Our advice to British nationals is that common sense rules apply.

"There is crime as there is everywhere but St Lucia is a friendly and welcoming country.

"Overall crime rates are low but common sense rules do apply. We advise against being in isolated areas after dark."

Grande Anse is St Lucia's most secluded beach, known for its rougher waters and unspoilt, rugged coastline.

It is a popular spot for turtle watching, attracting organised daytime tours and smaller groups of explorers and nature-lovers.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: "We can confirm an incident involving two British nationals in St Lucia. We have offered consular assistance."

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Fraudster Lynda Smith was so successful posing as a top businesswoman that she featured on a documentary about the rich and famous – eyeing up a luxury yacht.

The programme, called That’s Rich, also showed Smith at a glitzy charity event at a premiere of the Keira Knightley film Pride and Prejudice. To friends and investors, she was every inch the company director – even if she was seen as a little eccentric.

Her Wilmslow home was littered with dozens of soft-toy frogs and frog ornaments, as well as expensive frog-shaped jewellery. But investigators from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills discovered that behind her lavish spending lay a web of lies and deception.

The judge at Manchester Crown Court accepted Smith’s Les Frogs brand had enjoyed a ‘considerable measure’ of early success. But from the middle of 2003, Smith embarked on a series of bids for funding from banks, in which the jury had found she acted dishonestly.

Smith had painstakingly compiled a portfolio that included celebrity endorsements and pictures of some of the world’s most recognisable figures wearing her clothes. She used it to deceive people into believing that her business was thriving. An analysis of company bank accounts showed outgoings of more than £1,080,000, with an income – excluding bank loans – of just £167,000.

Even romantic partners found themselves out of pocket. On one occasion she fleeced a retired merchant seaman lover out of thousands of pounds investment, which produced little in return.

When one of her firms, Les Frogs Promotions, reached its £10,000 overdraft with a bank in 2002, she never repaid it and instead passed it on to another bank. In August 2003 she obtained another overdraft of £10,000 and loans of £70,000.

As Smith’s problems spiralled, the overdraft was increased to £40,000. By 2005, the bank was demanding £150,000.

None of it was repaid. Instead, Smith went to another bank with a ‘seriously misleading’ business plan and secured an £80,000 overdraft that was later extended to £120,000. Smith also borrowed £15,000 from a friend that was never repaid and obtained a loan of £40,000 from a finance company in May 2006.

She later set up a business in north Wales and was given loans from two men totalling £300,000. Another lover, a caricaturist, gave her £115,000. The jury was told at the end of the case that she had previously been jailed for 18 months for fraudulent trading in 1993.

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Klansman' gangsters are losing their grip on business in Spanish Town, St Catherine.

WITH the recent conviction of leader Tesha Miller and the deaths of several of their more notorious cronies, police say 'Klansman' gangsters are losing their grip on business in Spanish Town, St Catherine.
"Klansman is disappearing more and more and what we are seeing is a rise in the confidence and security of consumers and businesses," said Deputy Police Superintendent Victor Hamilton, one of the commanders in the St Catherine North police division.
Members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force on patrol in Spanish Town, St Catherine. (Observer file photo)
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"Persons, bus operators and store owners, are breathing a sigh of relief because they can operate their businesses better and safer. That is the feedback we are getting, and we have been getting a lot of praises for it," Hamilton told the Observer.
According to the police officer, a series of police operations and curfews in the old capital have forced many Klansman gangsters to flee previously safe havens.
At least nine curfews have been implemented in Klansman-controlled communities in Spanish Town since Friday. The curfews encompassed sections of March Pen, Corletts Road, Rivoli, Railway Premises, Dallas Lane, Damhead and Crescent District.
"They (gangsters) have taken to the bushes and river banks," said Hamilton, noting that the police remain vigilant and committed to maintaining their periodic searches of these areas. Their task is far from easy, however, as thickly vegetated areas abound in St Catherine, the island's third largest parish.
Earlier this year, divisional head, Superintendent Anthony Castell said that the Klansman gang was crumbling under the pressures of an internal power struggle. The rivalry, he said, resulted in its members fleeing to other parishes.
"Right now, there is no war between them (Klansman) and members of the 'One Order' gang (The other major criminal network operating in Spanish Town)," said Castell.
"They are fighting amongst themselves, it is an internal or intra-gang conflict. That is the reason they have shifted their operations to places like Portmore," he said.
The police theorise that the gang will continue to disintegrate without its leader, Tesha Miller, who was earlier this month sentenced to 15 years in prison for gun-related offences.
Since Miller's arrest last December, at least seven alleged members of the gang have been killed; five by the security forces and the others by their cronies, police said.
Those killed by the security forces were Donovan Topping, Joel Jennings, otherwise called 'JJ'; 24-year-old Amal Roman, otherwise called 'Satan'; and two unidentified men.
Gunmen, in the meantime, shot and killed Jermaine Morrison, alias 'Speedy', 31; and a man whom police identified only as 'Pazzam'. He was among five persons shot dead on January 24, a week before Morrison's murder.
Their killings have not only fuelled brazen attacks on police personnel in Spanish Town but have also resulted in the murders of several residents, including two women said to be Morrison's relatives.
While the Klansman gang "implodes", police say they are keeping a keen watch on their rivals, the 'One Order' gang, which they claim is also showing signs of weakening.
"There are persons in the Homestead community (one of the stomping grounds of 'One Order' gangsters in St Catherine) who say they are not 'One Order' and that they are not taking any orders from 'One Order' leadership. So, they have separated from the main group and have called themselves 'Unity,'" Hamilton said.
"But, what is happening is that some members of 'Klansman' are seeking refuge in communities controlled by 'Unity' members. And you know that once that happens there is always going to be very serious conflict between the groups," he said.
Hamilton said that as a result, police presence had also been increased in Homestead, as well as in sections of John's Road, Tawes Pen, and Elleslie Pen, which are some of the other areas frequented by 'One Order' gang members.
While Hamilton declined to say whether the fact that the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) — of which 'One Order' members are staunch supporters — is currently in power has contributed to the lull in criminal activity by that faction, a recent study by anthropologist Dr Herbert Gayle on social violence, has indicated that there may be some merit to that view.
"Our Government is in power. I do not expect any attacks right now. Tivoli is enough," a young man from a JLP-based community was quoted as saying in Gayle's study.
President of the St Catherine Chamber of Commerce Dennis Robotham confirmed the claim by the police that life in the old capital had become safer and more comfortable for business owners in the parish.
"There is a distinct decline in extortion. What has happened is that the fellows that would normally target the businesses have grown wary," Robotham said.
"Ever since the (Tivoli Gardens) incursion, and with the many operations in Spanish Town, extortion has declined. Without question we have to give high marks for the efforts of the police.
"Sometimes their (police) measures seem draconian but one would have to understand exactly what we are up against to fully understand why they have to operate in the way they do," he said.
On Friday, two operators in the public transportation system also confirmed an increase in comfort and safety inside the Spanish Town Bus Terminal; once the prime feeding ground for Klansman and One Order extortionists.
"Extortion? It not so bad like one time. Now you can eat a food," said a taxi driver who plies the route between Spanish Town and Linstead, also in St Catherine.
"You just have to pay your $150 for the day in the office and you good. Is not like one time when the boy them use to full up out here," he said.
A minibus operator who plies the Old Harbour route offered: "Apart from the loader-men (touts) who pressure you for money on every trip, we good. Is just dem alone come in like ticks out here."
But things were not as kosher for one taxi driver who operates from a service station at the intersection of Young Street and Burke Road.
According to him, extortion is still rampant in that area, where thugs demand upwards of $200 per day from taxi operators.
"Police don't know what they are talking about. Maybe in the bus park which is gated they don't have that problem, but out here they make life miserable," he said.
"Every day dem (extortionists) out here; we can't work in peace... and they come from both Klansman and One Order," he said.

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