Health, Media, Police, Politics.
Officers have uncovered signs of a major paedophile ring within the city after nearly a dozen girls in their early teens were rescued by passing motorists following their escape from what was believed to be either an auction or trade between their captors. The Constabulary won't release any further details about the victims but it is believed that one of them may well have been held captive for over six months before the rescue. Officers investigating the ring stated that two offenders had been shot during the incident, possibly by others involved in the ring, and that the girls had used this distraction to escape. All have since been returned to their families and will continue to undergo counselling.
Media, Police, Street.
It's all very hush-hush at the moment and no-one involved in the investigations will confirm either way, but the two victims at the reported paedophile ring weren't killed by gun shots. One had reportedly had his head caved in by a large, blunt object whilst another had had their neck broken 'the only puzzling thing was that none of the victims will say who was responsible, referring instead to Their saviours are these deaths linked to the violent deaths of other paedophiles last year?
Street, Underworld.
All of this talk about a paedophile ring, everyone's acting as if they didn't know these sort of things don't happen around here - I'm telling you, our entire city's economy is built on corruption. Everyone is giving everyone they can backhanders to get their next contract, the mobs squeezing everyone for money and The Constabulary might as well be fighting a bush fire with a garden hose. No, people prefer to pretend that these things aren't going on - it allows them to sleep at night. ~ Unidentified Loon, Hanley Bus Station.
Health, Police, Politics, Underworld.
The Sandernacht Group has apparently put out a reward for information that leads them to whoever is behind the paedophile ring. Whilst they have there own vice rings and brothels, the criminal organisation is keen to distance itself from anything involving those who are unable to give consent - although some have argued that this is true for all forms of prostitution. Still, the move is seen as being a turn in the current war against corruption, although one that John Winters is unlikely to endorse.
Legal, Police, Politics.
In a series of emotional scenes held far away from the glare of the media, the freed victims of the believed paedophile ring have been returned to their families. None have been named and special measures are being put in place to ensure that they remain unnamed in legal documents regarding the incident as well. Meanwhile the media continue to question the possible scale of the ring and why The Constabulary have not discovered it before.
Media, Occult, Police, Transport.
So the driver that rescues those girls from the paedophile ring says that the originally saw eight girls by the side of the road flagging down traffic, and he's got a number of witnesses who'll attest to his. The question is, if The Constabulary has rescued seven girls from this evil group, what happened to the eighth girl? Or have we got another case of guardian angels who disappears when the authorities turn up?
Health, Media, Police, Politics.
In an emotionally charged press conference, John Winters spoke about The Dark Underbelly of the city that was becoming part of daily life. Winters was speaking in response to investigations into an uncovered paedophile ring last month, although he wouldn't be drawn on whether further arrests had been made since the existence of a possible ring came to light. Winters also commented that he believed that the ring may be connected to the recently uncovered underground boxing league and that both are possibly being run by a single organisation - who may also be behind the drug Festinatio, although evidence to support this claim has still to be found.
Finance, Politics, Underworld.
If The Dark Underbelly of the city really is as vast as Winters' is hinting at, then isn't it likely that it also operates in other cities across the country, if not Europe, as well? Even a series of small scale operations working as a web would have been discovered by now, or is the organisation behind it all only now making the leap to the big time? If this is the case, have they really got the means to go up against The Sandernacht Group, or do they have backers that we don't even know about yet? Maybe they want to be discovered, or have reached this point before and are adapt at fading away into the shadows after all of the controversy surrounding them has died down.
Finance, High Society, Industry, Politics.
If there really is one all encompassing gang behind all of the city's major criminal interests - and for once we aren't talking about the Sandernacht Group - just how are they ensuring that their actions go unnoticed? Obviously they've got to be transporting goods and services into the city under the cover of legitimate businesses, which means that they've got their fingers into some big distribution companies and industrial concerns. If that is true, then they've also got clients that are rich and powerful, ones that The Constabulary are afraid to target, and that should be a concern to all of us.
Media, Police, Street, Underworld.
In a daring change of policy, The Surgeons have shown their true colours this month with a series of daring attacks against officers from The Constabulary. Four have been killed in a series of gristly hits against the officers and their families that has left over a dozen dead. All of the officers were connected to John Weide's Organised Crime Squad and may have been targeted because they had got too close to taking down the dangerous gang. Security has been strengthened around all of the remaining officers involved in the investigation.
Church, Media, Police, Underworld.
In a speech praising the bravery of his officers, John Weide vowed to bring to justice the barbaric street gang, The Surgeons. Weide, who is believed to have been the target of an attempted hit himself, stated that they were close to making a series of arrests of credible and important suppliers to the gang. Behind the scenes Weide seems to be acting with renewed vigour if the rumours of his increasingly brutal tactics are to be believed.
Finance, Street, Underworld.
Hey, whilst the world and his dog seem to be crying over those dead officers what isn't being said is that they were all as bent as a nine bob note - and if you ask me so is John Weide. Sure he's acting like he's heavy on crime, but are you telling me that he can afford that house on a policeman's salary? He's on the take and no mistake.
Street, Underworld.
So who controls The Surgeons? The most viscous gang on the street appear to being directed by someone, there certainly isn't any randomness to their actions and they are becoming increasingly effective in their choice of targets. The smart money is on neither the Sandernacht Group nor the Consortium being behind them, they seem far too vicious in their actions against none gangland targets. Most figure that they are being controlled by the rumoured third group, although no one knows much about them yet either.
Bureaucracy, Health, Politics, University.
Local authorities have requested that money be redirected from local businesses in order to fund research into the drug Festinatio. If approved by councillors, the move will be one of the first public / private partnerships in the city. No breakthrough with regard the drug has been made yet.
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