Cash, hard drive, passport hidden in home of Amanda Todd extortion suspect: officer | Canada News Media
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Cash, hard drive, passport hidden in home of Amanda Todd extortion suspect: officer

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NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. — A Dutch police officer has described finding cash, a passport and a computer hard drive hidden inside a stereo in the home of the man accused of extorting British Columbia teenager Amanda Todd more than a decade ago.

Lt. Erik Verstraten told the B.C. Supreme Court jury trial for Aydin Coban that he found 10,000 euros in cash and a passport belonging to the man while searching the bungalow near the Dutch city of Tilburg in January 2014.

Coban has pleaded not guilty to charges of extortion, harassment, communication with a young person to commit a sexual offence and possessing child pornography.

Verstraten, who was working with the child exploitation unit at the time, says he found the items after he opened a box for a stereo system and noticed the speakers were still wrapped in plastic, while the stereo itself was not, which he thought was strange.

He says he took the stereo apart and found the items in a box wrapped with tape.

At the start of the trial last week, Crown prosecutor Louise Kenworthy told the court that Todd had been the victim of a persistent campaign of online “sextortion” from November 2009 to February 2012, before her death at age 15 in October that year.

She said one person had used more than 20 usernames to contact the Port Coquitlam teen, threatening to send her friends and family photos that showed her exposing her breasts unless she performed sexual acts in front of a web camera.

Kenworthy said the Crown expected to present evidence to show that the accounts were operated by Coban, and to call witnesses including an RCMP officer who examined the contents of computers and hard drives seized from Coban’s home.

During Verstraten’s testimony, the jury saw photos taken inside the bungalow showing a kitchen counter cluttered with unwashed dishes and bedrooms with boxes and clothing strewn around. Several photos showed an acoustic guitar lying under a bed with a pouch containing more cash tucked inside the instrument.

The jury also heard Tuesday from a man who testified that he and Coban were childhood friends in Tilburg.

Adem Gokcinar appeared remotely to testify and spoke through an interpreter, telling the court that the pair had lost touch around 2004 but reconnected in 2011.

He said they would spend time together and he helped Coban move into the bungalow several months before the accused was arrested in January 2014.

Coban was living alone and had a laptop and a desktop computer, he said.

Under cross-examination, Gokcinar agreed that Coban had created pamphlets to advertise that he could fix computers and replace old hard drives.

The witness also agreed that Coban was a neat and tidy person, who didn’t like messy and unclean places, and his home was often tidy when Gokcinar visited.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 14, 2022.

 

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Dolphins will bring in another quarterback, while Tagovailoa deals with concussion

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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Dolphins will bring in another quarterback while starter Tua Tagovailoa deals with his latest concussion, coach Mike McDaniel said Friday.

For now, Skylar Thompson will be considered the Dolphins’ starter while Tagovailoa is sidelined. Tagovailoa left Thursday night’s 31-10 loss to Buffalo in the third quarter with the third known concussion of his NFL career, all of them coming in the last 24 months.

“The team and the organization are very confident in Skylar,” McDaniel said.

McDaniel said the team has not made any decision about whether to place Tagovailoa on injured reserve. Tagovailoa was expected at the team facility on Friday to start the process of being evaluated in earnest.

“We just have to operate in the unknown and be prepared for every situation,” McDaniel said, noting that the only opinions that will matter to the team will be the ones from Tagovailoa and the medical staff.

McDaniel added that he doesn’t see Tagovailoa playing in Miami’s next game at Seattle on Sept. 22.

“I have no idea and I’m not going to all of a sudden start making decisions that I don’t even see myself involved in the most important parts of,” McDaniel added. “All I’m telling Tua is everyone is counting on you to be a dad and be a dad this weekend. And then we’ll move from there. There won’t be any talk about where we’re going in that regard … none of that will happen without doctors’ expertise and the actual player.”

Tagovailoa was 17 for 25 passing for 145 yards, with one touchdown and three interceptions — one of which was returned for a Buffalo score — when he got hurt. Thompson completed eight of 14 passes for 80 yards.

Thompson said he feels “fully equipped” to run the Dolphins’ offense.

“What’s going to lie ahead, who knows, but man, I’m confident, though,” Thompson said after Thursday’s game. “I feel like I’m ready for whatever’s to come. I’m going to prepare and work hard and do everything I can to lead this team and do my job.”

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Unifor says workers at Walmart warehouse in Mississauga, Ont., vote to join union

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TORONTO – Unifor says workers at a Walmart warehouse in Mississauga, Ont., have voted to join the union.

The union says it’s Walmart’s first warehouse to unionize in Canada.

Unifor national president Lana Payne says the employees stood up for their rights and the union is excited to get to work on their first collective agreement.

Unifor’s campaign at Walmart’s facility began in December 2023.

The vote was held from Sept. 10 to 12.

Unifor represents 315,000 workers across the country.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

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Canada to donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to combat mpox outbreaks in Africa

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The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.

It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.

Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”

Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.

Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.

A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.

On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.

Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”

But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”

“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.

Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.

Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.

Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.

“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.

“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.

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