Drugs and criminal cash worth £1m seized at Manx ports since July
Criminal cash and drugs worth more than £1m have been seized at ports on the Isle of Man since July 2024, the government has confirmed.About £150,000 in cash and more than £880,000 worth of cannabis and cocaine, have been intercepted during the period along with some instances of steroids or prescription drugs. The Isle of Man Constabulary and Customs teams have made the discoveries at Ronaldsway Airport, the island's Sea Terminal in Douglas and via postal checks.The criminal goods were found concealed in vehicles, in parcels and freight, through searches of individuals, or through a mixture of random stops and existing police intelligence.
The operations have led to a number of prosecutions or financial penalties, as well as civil forfeiture proceedings, with a number of cases still ongoing.The value of single seizures of drugs ranged from £100 to £220,000, and cash seizures were made when cash had not been declared.
'Clear message'
In September, the Department of Home Affairs launched a strategy to tighten security at the island's borders.Minister Jane Poole-Wilson MHK, said the figures showed the "multi-agency approach to preventing, detecting and pursuing crime, led by the Constabulary, is disrupting criminal networks and safeguarding our residents" was being "effectively implemented".The seizures sent a "clear message" that the Isle of Man was "not a soft target for organised crime", she said.Chief Constable Russ Foster said joint working between the constabulary and Customs was making the island a "hostile environment for organised crime". "By seizing drugs and the proceeds of crime in this way we are striking at the heart of these illicit criminal enterprises", he said.Alongside other law enforcement partners "we will continue to disrupt and dismantle organised crime groups who are blighting our island and bring the perpetrators to justice", he added.
Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
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They wed the same year as his divorce from his first wife, tying the knot in a romantic ceremony in the hospital's chapel. But it was down to Neil to look after the celebrations that followed. 'He said, what can you give me? And I just said, well, it's your day - what do you want?,' said Neil as he recalled organising his wedding feat. 'He sent me a list - on it was quails' eggs, dressed ham and jellied eels. We also did a whole salmon dressed on a blue aspic base.' Broadmoor boyfriends He added: 'There were about 14 or 15 people there, and a lot of staff. His brothers came in from various establishments. 'They came under escort, would be escorted onto the chapel, and then the reception was up in one of the rooms. 'The wedding was paid upfront - he wasn't short of money.' 15 15 Broadmoor staff even discovered a business card in 1985 which revealed that the twins, from separate institutions, were operating a 'bodyguard and protection' business for Hollywood stars while locked up. 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But when the sirens sounded one day in 1991, it wasn't a routine test - a child rapist was on the loose. James Saunders was sentenced to life in 1985 after being convicted for the rape of two girls aged 11 and 15. But he was clever - and devised a complicated plan to ensure others were distracted while he made his way to the outside. 'The one that went over the wall wanted to organise a pizza making event in the central hall, on Saturday night,' said Neil. 15 15 'All the time this was happening, he was actually planning his escape - right down to the finest details. 'So, on the Saturday night when we'd put staff members in the hall to dish out the dough so they could have this competition, he was on his way getting ready to go over the wall. 'He'd arranged it purely for the fact that it would mean most people were in the central hall.' Saunders - who was given the nickname 'Wolfman' after living in the wild for three weeks after his escape - then managed to run across the courtyard and over two 20ft high walls to make his getaway. 'When the alarms go off at four o'clock in the morning, and then you realise it's not Monday morning, you just think - oh bugger,' said Neil. 'Everybody had to go up to Broadmoor to sign in and be told where you had to go. 'I was on shift from half past four until half past two the next morning.' Notorious inmates past and present BROADMOOR is has housed hundreds of dangerous criminals over the years. Here are some of the other notorious inmates who've spent time inside its walls. Ian Ball tried to kidnap Princess Anne in 1974 while her car was on route to Buckingham Palace. He wanted to hold her for ransom and planned to donate the £3million to the NHS, apparently, he felt mental health services were not good enough. Robert Napper was convicted of murdering young mum Rachel Nickel on Wimbledon Common in July 1992 in front of her young son Alex. He was also previously convicted of the double murder of Samantha Bisset and her daughter Jazmine in 1993. Napper is thought to be the Green Chain Rapist who carried out at least 70 attacks over a four year period. Charles Bronson, also known as Charles Salvador, is often dubbed as Britain's "most violent prisoner". Infamously, while at Broadmoor he staged a three day protest on the roof, causing £250,000 worth of damage. Neo-nazi David Copeland, known as the "London nail bomber", killed three and injured 79 in a series of attacks with homemade nail bombs in the capital across three successive weekends in April 1999. On his diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia, he was committed to Broadmoor, although his plea of manslaughter by diminished responsibility was not accepted by the jury. Daniel Gonzalez, then 25, murdered four people and injured two across two days in London and Sussex in September 2004. While at Broadmoor awaiting trial, he tried to bite himself to death and was so violent that he was accompanied by officers in riot gear everywhere. He was jailed for life in 2006 and then killed himself in Broadmoor Hospital the year after. Peter Bryan from London killed three people while on release from various mental hospitals. Once detained at Broadmoor, Bryan killed fellow patient Richard Loudwell, 59, and planned to eat him. Bryan is still at Broadmoor and is unlikely to ever be released. Hundreds of cops descended on the area, with some even coming from as far as Aylesbury. But as it turned out, Saunders had in fact made it all the way to Dorset. He was eventually spotted by a policeman walking along a road, with a fishing rod and blanket in hand. Held in Broadmoor ever since, in 2010 a nurse was alleged to have had sexual relations with him in the laundry room.
