Live-wire poacher killed while catching fish

Moscow – a Russian poacher was electrocuted when he tried to catch fish by putting a live electric cable into a pond, Itar-Tass news agency said. The 25-year-old from Tula, south of Moscow forgot to disconnect the wire before getting into the water to collect his booty.

Girl’s show and tell leads to mother’s arrest

Sydney – An Australian woman was arrested after her 12-year-old daughter took her mother’s marijuana to school to show her class, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. Teachers at the girls’ school contacted police who raided the mother’s home in the town of Bakers Creek on the northern Queensland coast after the girl “took mummy’s marijuana to school for show and tell”, the newspaper said. Janine Ella Kilgour, 32, pleaded guilty on June 16 to unlawful possession of a dangerous drug and unlawful possession of a pipe. She was fined $A475 (£225).

Dutch burglar hides in cupboard with victims

Amsterdam – Dutch police said they had arrested a burglar who spent 10 minutes hiding in the same bedroom cupboard as the couple he was trying to rob. The thief unwittingly roused the Amsterdam couple when he broke a window, prompting them to raise the alarm and hide in a large walk-in wardrobe, police said. When the thief heard the police arrive, he dived into the same hiding place. Only after about five minutes did he spot the pair, who were holding their breath. He asked them to tell police he was an acquaintance, but after some discussion they refused.

Doggery foils skulduggery

Tokyo – A Japanese thief’s pet dog gave its owner away by leading police back to his house, police said. The thief, a 23-year-old truck driver, tied the dog to a railing near a parking lot in Sapporo, northern Japan, while he forced a car door open and tried to steal a television inside. But the car’s owner returned unexpectedly and the thief ran off, leaving the dog behind. When police untied the dog, it led them to the man’s home several hundred metres away. They arrested him for attempted robbery, a local police spokesman said.

FBI arrests agent in mail-order heroin scheme

Philadelphia – The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested one of its own drug agents for trying to sell heroin by offering free samples through mail order to drug dealers. The FBI accused Special Agent Kenneth Withers, 33, of trying to sell nearly 45 kg (100 lb) of seized Pakistani heroin with a street value in the tens of millions of dollars. The probe followed reports from drug dealers who received identical letters offering high-quality Middle Eastern heroin for about half-price. Included in the letters were one-ounce free samples. It was, in the experience of the FBI and others, described as an extremely unusual marketing strategy.