THE TRIAL OF SOUTHALL NEWSPAPER OWNER AJIT SINGH S

THE TRIAL OF SOUTHALL NEWSPAPER OWNER AJIT SINGH SAT-BHAMBRA
ON A HEROIN SMUGGLING CHARGE, CAME TO AN ABRUPT HALT ON

WEDNESDAY WHEN THE CHIEF PROSECUTION WITNESS COLLAPSED IN THE WITNESS

BOX.

ARNOLD FUTERMAN, 62, SERVING A FOUR YEAR PRISON SENTENCE FOR
CONSPIRACY TO FORGE 50 MILLION US DOLLARS SPENT FOUR HOURS ON HIS

FEET IN THE WITNESS BOX AT ISLEWORTH CROWN COURT ON TUESDAY AND

RESUMED HIS EVIDENCE THE FOLLOWING DAY.

BUT WITHIN A SHORT TIME HE SUDDENLY COLLAPSED.

A DOCTOR
ATTENDED AND HE WAS TAKEN BY AMBULANCE TO WEST MIDDLESEX HOSPITAL.

FUTERMAN HAD BEEN TELLING THE COURT HOW HE WAS A ‘GO-BETWEEN’
FOR THE DEFENDANT AND A MAN CALLED PETER SLOWEY WHO WAS ANXIOUS TO

GET HOLD OF A LARGE CONSIGNMENT OF HEROIN.

HE UNDERWENT RIGOROUS CROSS- EXAMINATION BY MR NIGEL MILNE QC,

DEFENDING, WHO AT ONE POINT SUGGESTED THAT FUTERMAN SHOULD BE IN THE

DOCK INSTEAD OF HIS CLIENT.

FOUR AND A HALF KILOS OF THE DRUG WERE BROUGHT THROUGH
HEATHROW AIRPORT ON MAY 30 1984 AND SAT-BHAMBRA WAS ‘A PERSON WHO
PLAYED A PART IN BRINGING IT IN’, MR NICHOLAS FREEMAN, PROSECUTING,
TOLD THE COURT.

SAT-BHAMBRA 51, OF BURNS AVE, SOUTHALL, AND WHO RAN THE
SANDESH WEEKLY, AN ASIAN NEWSPAPER, FROM OFFICES IN DILLOWAY YARD,
DENIES BEING CONCERNED IN SMUGGLING THE HEROIN.

THE TRIAL WAS ABANDONED BUT IT IS HOPED IT WILL RESUME
TOMORROW, (THURSDAY).

ENDS