METRO Friday, November 6, 2009 D Ecumenical Service Sunday, 15th November at 3.30pm St. Marys Pro-Cathedral Marlborough Street, Dublin 1. A celebration of volunteering, professionalism, remembrance and living. All welcome Refreshments will follow the service at the Gresham Hotel, OConnell Street, Dublin 1. For further information please contact Irish Cancer Society on tel: 01 2301518 or email: ehughes@irishcancer.ie METRODigest A FORMER military bodyguard has been jailed for six years for importing cocaine into Ireland hidden in a cars battery. Zoran Andjelkovic, 41, a Dutch national, but originally from Serbia, was caught with nearly 2kg of the drug, worth 125,000. Andjelkovic, of Hagandoornwag, Amsterdam, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of cocaine for sale or supply on December 13, 2008. Garda were alerted to the drugs by a confidential tip-off and, after searching his car, found 1,778g of cocaine wrapped up and hidden in the car battery housing. Garda said he had no previous convictions here but was known to the Dutch police. Six-year sentence for drug smuggler A NEW report reveals that long prison sentences for drugs offences in Ireland and other European countries is rare. The report from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction found there were no cases where the offender received the maximum sentence for supply in Ireland in 2007. In Ireland the minimum sentence of ten years imprisonment for trafficking drugs had only been applied in three of 55 eligible cases between 1999 and 2001. The bulk of the sentences fell in the range six to eight years. The report also says Ireland is one of only five EU countries that sentences drug offenders to community work instead of prison. Long sentences for drug offences rare POLICE wasted more than 20,000 on a murder inquiry after being tipped-off by the dead mans ghost, an inquest has heard. Detectives were contacted by psychics sent by the family of Carlos Assaf who was found hanged in his flat in March. The clairvoyants told officers he had been strangled by gangsters who forced him to drink petrol and bleach. But instead of treating them as cranks, Dyfed-Powys Police in Wales entertained the spectre and pursued the case. FINE GAEL will not hinder enterprise if it is elected to Government, but will help business people trade their way out of recession, party leader Enda Kenny claimed yesterday. In the first of a series of economic business forums, Mr Kenny (pictured) presented what he said was the partys pro-business menu for change. This includes cutting red tape, freezing local authority charges for three years, reviewing the travel tax and exempting businesses from employers PRSI payments in relation to new staff. Similar events will be held nationwide. Party woos business leaders PRESIDENT Mary McAleese is to cut her household budget by almost 40,000. Mrs McAleese (pictured) already took a ten per cent pay cut on her salary in October a day after the salaries of Government ministers were cut in the Budget. Now Mrs McAleese is targeting savings in day-to-day running costs at ras an Uachtarin. Its nip and tuck everywhere, including walking around the ras turning off lights, Mrs McAleese said. You cant be in a position of public leadership and be immune from what is going on, she added. President cuts ras budget E=MC2: These students from Holy Faith Secondary School in Dublin are just some of the record number to have entered the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2010. The competition is spread across all 32 counties and 329 schools have submitted a total of 1,588 projects for the January exhibition. Chris Clark, of BT said: This showcase of young talent is surpassed by none. METROE-MAIL US AT: mail@metroireland.ie What do you think of whats going on in the news? Or do you have a witty view on the bizarre little things in life? We want to hear from you for Irelands liveliest letters page TELL Tiger-kidnap fears will boost banks securityBy COn DOherty BANKS are to look into tighten- ing rules on staff access to large sums of cash to further combat tiger-kidnap plots, it was revealed yesterday. After four similar raids this year, Justice Minister Dermot Ahern raised concerns about the quantities of money stored in vul- nerable branches. Banks are going to have to look at situations where their own of- ficials are not put into circum- stances where there is available cash and therefore put under du- ress, he said. That they will have certain procedures and indeed technolo- gy to ensure that the issue of large amounts of cash are not available to a lower level of bank manager, as has happened in recent times. Mr Ahern and Garda Commis- sioner Fachtna Murphy met Bank of Ireland chief executive Richie Boucher in Dublin after the latest tiger-kidnap raid involving one of the lenders employees, former Kilkenny star Adrian Ronan. The minister also stressed the need for bank workers to follow protocols including alerting garda as soon as possible. He admitted this has not always been adhered to. In relation to those staff not di- rectly involved in incidents, there has to be an onus on those people to notify (garda) immediately and as dispassionately as possible without in any way compromis- ing the particular family in- volved, Mr Ahern said. Finance union, the Irish Bank Officials Association, which has talks on security and safety wor- ries lined up with Mr Ahern next week, urged banks to carry out a full review of their rules. There are no simple solutions, an IBOA spokesman said. We are looking at a combina- tion of measures but one of the things we will be suggesting to the minister, and have been suggest- ing to the banks is that they need to rethink what they are doing. And is it absolutely necessary to have large amounts of cash in perhaps more vulnerable parts of the banking system? Mr Boucher said he was con- cerned about the safety of staff but refused to be drawn on tactics to combat tiger-kidnap raids. Mr Ahern will also meet offi- cials from the Irish Banking Fed- eration and credit unions next week. Meanwhile, armed detectives foiled a raid on a cash-in-transit van yesterday, arresting a three- man gang in the process. The suspect gang had been un- der surveillance for some time before plain-clothed officers swooped on a stolen vehicle in Johnstownbridge, Co Kildare. The group were thought to be waiting to pounce on a security van on its way to a nearby hotel in the quiet village. ARMY bomb experts were called out to make safe a viable home-made explosive found outside a property on Cashel Avenue, Crumlin, south Dublin. Garda contacted the Army bomb disposal team, who carried out a controlled explosion at the scene. Viable bomb destroyed ronan: Latest victim index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html