Francisco Salinas

National Police officers arrested the mayor of Ojós this morning on charges of corrupting children. Francisco Salinas, who represents the Independent Group, was elected mayor in 2003, replacing Bartolomé Bermejo. He has a degree in Pharmacology and works as a pharmaceutical analyst at the Morales Meseguer Hospital in Murcia.
Ojós is the smallest town in the Murcia region with only 600 inhabitants.

José Martínez Andreo

Guardia Civil officers have arrested the current mayor of Totana, José Martínez Andreo (PP), the Local Police chief and the municipal secretary as part of the 'Totem' council corruption inquiry. The Town Hall building has been evacuated while officers search for evidence. Totana judge, María Asunción Navarro, has remanded mayor José Martínez Andreo (PP) in custody without bail
Two others also arrested last Thursday - Town Hall general secretary, Laura Bastida, Juan Francisco Casanova - were released after each posting bail of €20,000 euros.
In total, twelve people were arrested on Monday, Thursday and Friday last week on a variety of charges including: bribery, falsifying public documents, giving false testimony, fraud, influence-trafficking, money-laundering, prevarication and embezzlement - relating to the expropriation of 2.2 million square metres of farmland to build more than five thousand new residential properties.
the first six arrestees have been brought before the judge handling the investigation. The main suspect is former mayor, Juan Morales (PP), who now represents the party on the provincial council. His current girlfriend and former wife, María del Carmen Jordán, are also implicated.
During a search of Ms Jordán's home, a number of council documents were found, which, according to a source close to the inquiry, should never have been in the possession of a private individual. Similar documents were found during a search of the consultancy owned by Ms Jordán earlier this week. When asked about them, Ms Jordán claimed that she was merely a secretary, saying that her former husband, Juan Morales, was the one responsible for delegating her work.
The same sources reveal that a briefcase containing documentation highly relevant to the inquiry was found in possession of Mr Morales's lawyer, Javier Cegarra, whose company was contracted to advise the council on urbanisation issues during Mr Morales's entire tenure (2003-2007) in return for a monthly fee of €1,800 euros. However, Mr Cegarra was sacked when Mr Andreo came to office following the regional and local elections earlier this year.

36 year old man from Birmingham was found dead

36 year old man from Birmingham was found dead in the centre of Vigo on Christmas Eve. Cause of death appears to have been alcohol poisoning.
The man, whose initials have been confirmed as KT, was found lying on the pavement outside a bar in La Puerta del Sol.

Guardia Civil officers arrested two men following a high speed chase on the Costa del Sol

The chase happened at 1PM on Saturday and started in the centre of La Cala de Mijas and ended 5km down the road when the suspects car dramatically spun out of control and smashed into a lorry in Torremolinos.
The Guardia were acting on information that a grey Renault Megane on the A-7 road was used to send messages between drugs gangs and to move quantities of cocaine.
The officers ordered the vehicle to stop but the too occupants sped off and officers followed
After the crash the two occupants were ordered out of the car at gunpoint although no shots were fired. In the event no drugs were found and the two Moroccans, who have a previous record
They have been charged with serious disobedience of authority and traffic offences.

lorry registered in Germany

A Ton of Cannabis Was Seized By Civil Guard Officers In Malaga Last Friday
Four People were arrested after a routine Civil Guard control of routes into the provincial capital pulled over a lorry registered in Germany which was carrying a cargo of tinned foods and officers discovered a ton of cannabis resin hidden amongst the cargo.

Cannabis Resin

The Civil Guard Seized over a ton of cannabis resin in Cabopino port in Marbella
arresting 5 people in the operation ,Four Moroccan nationals and a Spaniard who were caught as they were unloading their cargo into a van
A van and the boat used to transport the 1.275 tons of cannabis were impounded

link between the fire and the shooting of a French man

A Fire broke out at the Visconti Restaurant in Marbella on Monday morning. The fire is being investigated by the National Police who are suspicious that there could be a link between the fire and the shooting of a French man last week at the same restaurant.The fire has gutted the terrace of the restaurant, but the interior remains practically untouched by the flames.

link between the fire and the shooting of a French man

The fire is being investigated by the National Police who are suspicious that there could be a link between the fire and the shooting of a French man last week at the same restaurant.
The fire has gutted the terrace of the restaurant, but the interior remains practically untouched by the flames.

Mother threw away a marihuana plant

Police arrested a 17 year old youngster from Málaga The attack happened after the boys mother threw away a marihuana plant . She denounced her son for domestic violence following the attack after he pushed his mother head first through a glass terrace glass during a violent outburst at the family home in the Eugenio Gross area of the city.
Neighbours called the police after hearing screams coming from the house and when police arrived they found the property a wreck with blood on the walls.

Hit and Run

A woman who was crossing the road in Estepona on Christmas Eve died instantly after been knocked down by a hit and run driver some 100 metres from the Church of Nuestra Señora del Carmen.
Following the accident in Calle Ceuta in the centre of the town police launched a intense search based on witness statements. They arrested a man shortly afterwards and he was held on Monday night in the cells of Estepona police station ahead of appearing before a judge.
The victim was a 60 year old Argentinian Woman

a two-year investigation focused on internet users in Spain using foreign websites

Sixty-three people have been arrested in Spain on suspicion of involvement with child pornography, following raids across the country, officials say.
Police said large amounts of computer-based "paedophile material" had been seized as the raids were executed over more than 10 days.
a two-year investigation focused on internet users in Spain using foreign websites.
The operation was carried out with help from US, German and New Zealand police.
Those arrested included four Russians detained in the seaside resorts of Lloret de Mar and Benidorm, suspected of making about 200,000 euros (£140,000) from selling access to pictures.
Those arrests gave investigators information which led police to arrest 59 other people. They were said to include production and distribution ringleaders and individual clients.

unscrupulous skippers had taken cash in return for letting illegal African refugees swim out to the cages and be towed into European ports, hidden amo

bluefin tuna had recently streamed from the Atlantic into the Mediterranean through the Straits of Gibraltar, following ancient migration routes to their traditional spawning grounds off the North African coast.
“In Malta last week, where local businessmen working with Japanese, Korean and Spanish partners are at the forefront of the tuna revolution, “Whoever gets to the tuna first, claims the biggest prize in fishing history. For this is no ordinary catch. Astonishingly, each haul can be worth up to £10 million.
“Small wonder, then, that these traditional fishing grounds have become something akin to a battle zone with allegations of Mafia involvement, gunfights between fishermen and stories of rival boats ramming each others’ nets.”unscrupulous skippers had taken cash in return for letting illegal African refugees swim out to the cages and be towed into European ports, hidden among tuna.”

Mafia gangster known as the Acid Man, is in a Spanish jail

Learco Chindamo, 26, is serving a life sentence for stabbing headmaster Philip Lawrence to death outside his school in Maida Vale, north London, in 1995. Learco Chindamo’s father, a Mafia gangster known as the Acid Man, is in a Spanish jail awaiting trial for murdering his ex-girlfriend.
Massimo Giuseppe Chindamo was arrested last year after the brutal stabbing of the Venezuelan woman in Gran Canaria.
He went on the run and hid out for a week in a cave, but was eventually snared by police.
It also emerged yesterday that in the build-up to the Philip Lawrence murder trial in 1996, Massimo exchanged dozens of letters with his son from his own cell at the top-security Viterbo prison north of Rome.
At the time, Massimo was serving a 15-year sentence for throwing sulphuric acid into his estranged partner’s face in 1988 - the crime that earned him his gruesome nickname.
Interviewed in the prison, Massimo tried to take some perverse credit for how his son had turned into a murderer.
“He writes to me every week - we are very close,” he said. “He is my favourite son and always will be.
“He looks up to me and he respects me for being his father and teaching him so many things. Learco is like me - he has courage.”
The 55-year-old, who has numerous convictions for assault, extortion, possession of firearms and arson, fled to the Canary Islands after the acid attack.
In his absence, a Milanese court sentenced him to 15 years.
He was eventually arrested in 1991 and extradited to Italy, where he was jailed until 2005. That year he returned to the Canaries.
But in May 2006, he allegedly stabbed Maria Elena Pedraza in broad daylight in a jealous rage after she broke up with him.
He is said to have then dumped the bloodied murder weapon and hidden in caves for a week.
Acting on a tip-off, officers spent four hours on foot searching for his hideaway before finding him.
Despite being cornered, Massimo tried to escape but was arrested and will face trial towards the end of the year.
Last night his lawyer, Javier Hernandez, said: “I am aware Massimo has a son in the UK but he has never said anything about him being in jail.
“He has never denied killing Maria Elena, but I will be insisting there was no premeditation and that he did not intend to kill her the day she died.
“If he is found guilty, I’m envisaging a sentence of between 12 and 15 years.”

Arrested at a warehouse near Castellon

two Britons and a Polish man were arrested at a warehouse near Castellon, on the east coast of Spain, accused of preparing to smuggle cannabis hidden among cheap ceramics.

Passion Storm 3.4 tonnes of cannabis stashed below decks

Three Britons were arrested on a luxury yacht after drugs worth £10.2million were found on board. Spanish customs officers stopped the 43ft Passion Storm 300 miles off the north-west tip of Spain after a tip-off from police. A Moroccan crew member was also held. Police believe the 3.4 tonnes of cannabis stashed below decks were headed from Morocco to the UK.
The three Britons and the Moroccan, who have not been named, were being held last night in the Spanish port of Vigo.

4.5 metric tons of cocaine on board

Spanish police on Monday reported detaining a ship that was sailing from Latin America with 4.5 metric tons of cocaine on board.
A police official said the cocaine was presumably intended for drug dealers in the northwestern province of Galicia, and that several local residents suspected of complicity were arrested along with the ship's crew.
Galicia's mafia, one of the most powerful in Western Europe, is notorious for its involvement in drug trafficking, and deals especially in Latin American cocaine and hashish from Morocco.
More than seven tons of cocaine was seized off Spain's coast from the Russian cargo ship Tamsaar in 1999. This is the largest haul to have been seized by Spanish police so far. The Tamsaar crew were sentenced to ten years in prison for drug smuggling

organized crime group which brought young women from Russia to Spain and forced them to work as prostitutes

Spanish police have broken up an organized crime group which brought young women from Russia to Spain and forced them to work as prostitutes.
"Twelve members of the gang, mainly Russian and Uruguayan nationals, who controlled four night clubs in northeastern Spain, have been detained on charges of assisting prostitution and illegal migration, forgery, and sexual harassment," a police official said.
He said the ring, led by a Uruguayan national, sent hundreds of young women from Russia to Spain, and that gang members raped them and forced them to use cocaine.
The operation was carried out by the Spanish National Police and Barcelona city police.
This is not the first time this year that police in Spain have clamped down on international criminal gangs trafficking women from Russia and subsequently forcing them into prostitution.
In July, Spanish police busted a gang that lured Russian women with job offers and then forced them into prostitution in the province of Almeria, southern Spain. Police then arrested a total of nine people, six of them Russian nationals and three Spanish.
In April, 40 Russian women were freed from sex slavery in a special police operation in Costa Brava, a coastal region near Barcelona. Most of the women were from St. Petersburg and had been held captive under threat of physical violence.
Seven people, including the gang leader - an Albanian national - were arrested and face charges of human-trafficking and organizing a prostitution ring. The gang also included three Russians, one Kosovo Albanian, and one Armenian.
Criminal groups involved in the illegal sex trafficking normally recruit women with offers of legal work abroad, and promise to sort out their visas. The women are then forced into prostitution to pay off their debts, and their documents are stolen.

Russian national 15 burglaries in Almeria

Police in southeastern Spain have detained a Russian national on suspicion of committing at least 15 burglaries, a police department representative said Friday.
"The Russian national was arrested red-handed with a laptop computer after a theft in the town of Al-Ejido in the province of Almeria," the police spokesperson said, but declined to reveal his name in the interests of the investigation.
He said that a Spaniard, who received stolen goods in exchange for cocaine, was also arrested. A search revealed at least 100 pieces of jewelry, presumably stolen by the Russian.

Greco Organised Crime Unit for the Cadiz Costa

The Greco unit, which specialises in fighting organised crime will be based in Chiclana. It will be responsible for controlling the western part of Andalucía, as its counterpart in Málaga does on the Costa del Sol. Indeed many crime experts believe the success of the Málaga unit has been responsible for the increased presence of organised crime gangs in Cádiz as they have moved west to avoid the attentions of the Costa del Sol squad.
Sr. Alonso made the announcement during a speech at a conference on organised crime held in Jerez. He stressed that the government will not tolerate this type of activity, which includes drug smuggling, people trafficking and money laundering. He praised the work of the police and the Guardia Civil, saying that the authorities are trying to improve their resources to make their fight against crime less difficult.

Spanish Home invasion robbers fuelled by drugs

Spanish Home invasion robbers work more often at night and on weekends when homes are more likely to be occupied. The Costa home invader will sometimes target the resident as well as the dwelling. The selection process may include a woman living alone, a wealthy senior citizen or a known drug dealer, for example. It is not unheard of for a robber to follow you home based on the value of the car you are driving or the jewelry you are wearing. Some home invaders might have been in your home before as a delivery person, installer or repair vendor. Home robbers rarely work alone and rely on an overwhelming physical confrontation to gain initial control and instill fear in you. The greatest violence usually occurs during the initial sixty seconds of the confrontation and home invaders often come prepared with handcuffs, rope, duct tape, and firearms. Some in-home robbers appear to enjoy the intimidation, domination, and violence and some even claim it’s a "rush."

Cocaine now sells for as little as 60 euros

Cocaine now sells for as little as 60 euros ($80) a gram, or 5 euros ($7) a line, and it is regularly used by 1.6 percent of Spaniards, up from 0.9 percent in 1999, a government report said this month.Traces of cocaine can be found on 94 percent of banknotes in Spain, a country that has one of the world's highest rates of users, according to a study published on Sunday.

a quarter of males younger than 49 in Spain have paid for sex

the state-run National Statistics Institute show a quarter of males younger than 49 in Spain have paid for sex) is satisfied by a population of sex workers who are over 95 per cent extranjeras (of foreign nationality). These women, who are ‘owned’ by mafias here, are trafficked from all over the world - most commonly from Russia, Romania, Nigeria, Brazil and Colombia, with Romanian trafficking mafias becoming especially prolific. Spain is also a transit stop for victims en route to France, Germany and Portugal.
In 2005, a huge police operation in Andalucía and Extremadura discovered 54 Brazilian women who had been trafficked on false pretences and forced into prostitution on arrival. In this case, 11 Spaniards and three Brazilians were arrested and accused of trafficking.

sex slaves

women and girls are trafficked into the country by mafias who trap them in a form of debt bondage. Effectively sex slaves, they are forced into prostitution to pay back impossible debts which barely diminish. Traffickers have been known to hold children as ‘deposits’ until their mothers pay back what they supposedly owe.

Legal confusion regarding prostitution in Spain has created a very overt and burgeoning sex industry which draws in visitors from abroad with the neon signs of its motorway brothels. It is technically illegal to earn money by managing prostitutes, but prostitution itself is legal and brothels obtain hotel licenses in order to claim that they simply rent rooms to prostitutes. With legality has not come regulation, and many of Spain’s 2,000 or so clubs are controlled by mafia groups and worked by debt bonded immigrants.

147 women for being in the country illegally

The police have arrested 147 women for being in the country illegally since January of 2004. Not all of them have since been deported: article 59 of the Foreigners’ Law states that they can remain in Spain and obtain work papers if they co-operate with the police in tracking down the people who brought them into the country and employed them illegally in the first place. gang arranged for the procurement of women in Romania, their transport into Spain and their sale to pimps who paid 800 to 1,000 euros per woman plus a monthly rent for the right to prostitute the woman on the gang's 'turf'. The women worked 10-hour days and in some cases were also required to sell drugs to their clients, in order to increase the gang's revenues, say police. The operation is still open and further arrests could be made.

brothels on the Costa del Sol

Following an investigation of brothels on the Costa del Sol over the past eighteen months, the National Police have arrested 150 people in Malaga province accused of sexual exploitation and other crimes relating to prostitution.

all residents of Malaga

Police seized 4.3 tons (4.7 US tons) of hashish in southern Portugal, and arrested four Moroccans on suspicion of drug smuggling, authorities said Friday.
Police intercepted the suspects Tuesday, in truck heading to Spain.
A search revealed 52 bales of hashish in the truck, police said in a statement. Another 88 bales were found at a remote warehouse, it said.
The suspects, all residents of Malaga, southern Spain, were in custody, the statement said.
Police said the drugs had an estimated street value of around ¤20 million (US$29 million).

cannabis intended for the European market

Some four tonnes of cannabis intended for the European market were seized by the Moroccan Royal Navy off the coast of Nador (northeast), local authorities affirmed here Monday.
The drug was concealed in a zodiac whose occupants succeeded in fleeing, the same source said, adding that security forces has already launched an international arrest warrant against traffickers.

member of the Civil Guard has been arrested in Melilla

A member of the Civil Guard has been arrested in Melilla as he was trying to board the Málaga ferry with 56 kilos of cannabis hidden in his car.
The arrest took place on Sunday night, and was carried out by his colleagues assigned to the Civil Guard in Melilla.
It happened during a routine control of vehicles waiting to board the ferry, when sniffer dogs detected the drug hidden inside the wheels of the officer’s four wheel drive vehicle.
The drugs have an estimated street value of 81,000 €.

Portugal Connection

Police said Monday they had seized 3.3 tons (3.6 U.S. tons) of hashish in Portugal, and arrested a 21-year-old Moroccan man in connection with the seizure.
Police made the arrest , after chasing a van that refused to stop in southern Portugal.
"During the chase the driver tried to hit police cars several times," leading police to fire on the van's tires to stop the vehicle, police said in a statement.
The suspect then tried to flee on foot, running 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) until captured, the statement said.
Police said the man had been headed to Spain, and had tracked the suspect and van down after investigating recent shipments of illegal drugs offloaded along the Portuguese coast.

ocean rescue boat off the Spanish coast

Spanish police on Sunday said they had seized more than four tonnes of hashish on an ocean rescue boat off the Spanish coast and arrested 15 people in the latest of a series of raids on drug trafficking rings.
In a statement police said ‘4.3 tonnes of hashish have been seized in the cabins of a small boat used for ocean rescue operations.’
The 15 people arrested were Spanish, Colombian, Romanian and Moroccan nationals, police said.
Three of them were crew members, one was the suspected head of a drug trafficking ring, and eight were suspected of trying to smuggle the drugs onto the Spanish coast
A total of 13,000 euros (18,000 dollars), two kilos (4.4 pounds) of cocaine, five inflatable boats and 15 mobile phones were also seized in the police raid, according to the statement.
Spain is Europe’s main point of entry for Moroccan cannabis and for cocaine from South America.

operation "Coleta" (Ponytail) in Malaga

Spanish police arrested 17 people and seized four tons of hashish smuggled from Morocco in separate anti-narcotics operations on the island of Ibiza and in Malaga
In both cases, smugglers brought the drugs to the Spanish coasts by boat and, after hiding them away for a period of time, distributed them to other parts of Europe, the General Directorate of the Police and Civil Guard said.
operation "Coleta" (Ponytail) in Malaga, authorities netted six suspects and seized 892 kilos of hashish. The arrests were made when the drugs were about to be unloaded in an area near the sports harbor of El Candado.
According to authorities, the suspects in Malaga used sophisticated communications equipment and dark clothing to better camouflage themselves and avoid detection by police.
The organization had all the necessary infrastructure for transporting the drugs: people in Morocco to load the hashish onto the boats, drivers for the vessels, individuals to receive them at the destination points and other members of the network charged with storing and guarding the drugs.
The operation remains ongoing and therefore more arrests could be made.

Moroccan-born Dutch Amin Mrini,

Moroccan-born Dutch Amin Mrini, who was sentenced to the death penalty at the first instance court for the murder of a Dutch citizen, Ilona Nemeth, in August 2005 in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The postponement came to appoint a new chief judge to give a ruling on this case. The defendant, who was sued for a list of charges, notably murder, rape and theft, was arrested in 2006 following a Dutch police arrest warrant.
The defendant, who committed the murder during his conditional release, was serving a four-year sentence for having raped a young lady.

Cabo de Gata Nature Park

Two arrests were made as the smugglers were unloading Close to three tons of cannabis resin at San José port in the Cabo de Gata Nature Park.
Two drug smugglers were caught in the act in the early hours of Sunday.
They are 51 year old Nicolás S.M., who is from Almería and has been arrested on three previous occasions for robbery, and a Moroccan national named as Idriss B.
Ideal newspaper reports that one of the two vans seized in the Civil Guard operation turned out to be stolen from Ribarroja de Turia, in Valencia, last month.
Another two suspects managed to escape custody.

a street value of 3.7 million

A joint operation between National Police and Customs Authorities on Friday night has seized 2.5 tons of cannabis resin on a beach in Las Amoladeras, in La Manga.
Police say in a press release that ten people were arrested after a Customs helicopter spotted a suspicious-looking boat approaching the coast.
Authorities were waiting on shore, and the arrests were made at 4am: five Spaniards and five Moroccan nationals.
The drugs haul would have brought a street value of 3.7 million €.

British man is in custody after a high speed sea chase

Officers seized 109 kilos of cannabis resin carried by two jetskis when the drugs were dumped on a beach in Marbella
A British man is in custody after a high speed sea chase to the coast of Marbella on Sunday.
The Civil Guard say in a press release that the Coastguard chased two jetskis to the Río Verde Beach, and that two suspects ran off on foot after dumping their cargo of 109 kilos of cannabis on the shore.
A 35 year old Briton resident in Estepona, named as E.W. in reports, was arrested after a search by Civil Guard patrols from Estepona and Ojén.

700 million smuggled-in packs of tobacco

700 million smuggled-in packs of tobacco are sold in Spain. This merchandise comes primarily from the East through different land and sea routes, from the United States and from Andorra. It makes up ten per cent of the tobacco consumed annually in Spain, which implies a loss of 120 millions US dollars for the Spanish tobacco industry. Contraband tobacco can be found throughout Spain and is smuggled in primarily through Andalusia, Galicia and Catalonia. This tobacco traffic is controlled by large mafias dedicated to contraband goods, even of European size.

The Maltese connection

Malta is serving as a redistribution centre for drugs from South America.
Malta’s drug barons are behind bars at Kordin, cocaine worth 46 million marks destined for the Spanish market was being discovered in a container destined for the Malta Freeport.
The find included 514 kilogrammes of 90% pure cocaine and 25,000 ecstasy pills – representing a local market value of over Lm 20 million
The plan, according to German investigators, was to use yachts from Malta to ship the drugs to the Spanish mainland.
The federal criminal investigators in Germany were somehow tipped off that cocaine from Venezuela was being transhipped to Malta via Hamburg. There were 2,500 containers on the container ship Nedlloyd Kingston, The search carried out by the German and Italian police discovered 64 packages of the drug buried beneath 1,152 packs of work gloves at the rear of the container. The packages were hidden behind carbon paper, a practice that aims to render x-ray machines useless.
In a sting operation, investigators had removed the drugs and allowed the container to depart for Malta in order to apprehend those related to the case.

Michael Dugdale, 60,

Michael Dugdale, 60, was arrested two months ago at his house in the south- east of Spain, following a Europe-wide manhunt.
He is accused of six rapes and a string of sex assaults on children as young as 12.
He was extradited to Britain - but was allowed to return to his villa after Judge Robert Brown gave him bail earlier this month at a chambers hearing, from which the public were excluded.

Francisco Corbacho

The mayor of Gaucín, Francisco Corbacho, has been fined 2,700 euros and banned from holding public office for seven years after a court found him guilty of embezzlement of public funds and corruption. The judge heard how between December 2002 and January 2003 Corbacho took advantage of the absence of the municipal secretary to obtain Town Hall cheques for sums ranging between 10,000 and 22,000 euros, amounting to a total of 200,000 euros. The discrepancy in the accounts was reported by the secretary at the end of January and the then mayor later paid back the money in question.

several arrests on the Gibraltar border

The Spanish National Police made several arrests on the Gibraltar border. One of these was a 37 year old Portuguese citizen, L.F.D.O., who was wanted by a court in Estella. Another, 44 year old J. L.C., was wanted by an Algeciras court, as was a 39 year old Gibraltarian, E.J.S. These arrests were a result of the passport controls carried out by police at the border.

Richard Neil has become the 6th fatality

Richard Neil has become the 6th fatality to die as a consequence of the settling of scores in Málaga province this year. The first of them was last August at The Point bar, when a 38 year old Estonian was shot dead with a single shot to the head.
Two weeks later the burnt out body of a man was found in a car in Estepona. He had also been shot. And on September 11th three Colombians were killed in the Torreblanca del Sol Urbanisation in Fuengirola, in the settling of scores over cocaine trafficking.

living in the Fuengerola area of Spain

Northumbria Police is continuing to make enquiries to trace Allan James Foster, 31, who sometimes goes under other names including Sean Wilkinson. He originates from South Shields but has also spent time in Majorca and the Canaries.

It is believed he may currently be living in the Fuengerola area of Spain. Foster is 5'8" tall and has a mole on the left side of his face. He is wanted in connection with the murder of David "Noddy" Rice, 42, who was shot several times as he sat in his car in a car park in South Tyneside around 4pm on May 24 last year.
A father of seven, David Rice was lured by his evil killers down to the car park on the pretext of a meeting about money owed over a drugs debt. He was shot several times by two masked men at close range and died a short time later in hospital.
The area where he was shot is popular with visitors, many of whom witnessed the horrifying events of that day. Straight after the killing a Ford Mondeo was driven to a nearby lane where it was burnt out. The killers were then driven away from South Shields in a Ford Transit van. One man has already been convicted and jailed for Mr Rice's murder and a number of others convicted for their role in the attack.
Foster is featured on the Spanish Crimestoppers website and police are urging anyone who sees him or knows of his whereabouts to get in touch.

A British man has died overnight after being shot in the centre of Marbella

A British man has died overnight after being shot in the centre of Marbella by two people who managed to make their escape from the scene.
EFE news agency quotes police sources who say it happened at 10pm close to Calle Camilo José Cela and that the two people who carried out the attack passed on a moped.
The victim is reported to have been shot several times in the back.
The National Police have opened a full investigation.

840 kilos of cannabis resin in Estepona

The Civil Guard have reported a drugs haul of 840 kilos of cannabis resin in Estepona this weekend, after a suspicious boat was spotted 10 miles off shore on Saturday, and came to shore on the Playa Arroyo Vaquero. The drugs had already been loaded into a waiting vehicle when officers arrived on the beach and arrested a 28 year old man named by his initials, I.C.M. The Civil Guard said he is Spanish.

A Dutch national offered an officer 50 €

A Dutch national offered an officer 50 € to let him through without problems
A Dutch national whose van was searched at the Customs point in Tarifa on Tuesday is under arrest for trying to bribe a Civil Guard. He was due to appear before Instruction Court No. 4 in Algeciras.
Europa Press said he offered the officer 50 € to let him through without any problems, and now faces charges of bribery. There was no mention if anything untoward was found in the van.

British pensioner resident in Fuengirola

British pensioner resident in Fuengirola has been taken into custody as the alleged head of the gang. He is named as A.M.T., aged 66.
The Interior Ministry said in a press release that the investigation began in Barcelona in October with the discovery of 1.2 tons of cannabis resin hidden inside computer casings. It led investigating officers to premises in Montcada i Reixac, Barcelona province, last month, where they saw a lorry being loaded up with what appeared to be industrial machinery, and also saw the suspect on site.

The Civil Guard officers found it to have a ton of cannabis resin hidden

The Civil Guard in Málaga province have released news of a drugs haul on one of the accesses into Málaga City last Friday where four people were taken into custody. Málaga Hoy newspaper said it happened during a routine Civil Guard control of routes into the provincial capital, and took place on Las Pedrizas.
The lorry pulled over was registered in Germany and was carrying a cargo of tinned foods. The Civil Guard officers found it to have a ton of cannabis resin hidden

Civil Guard swoop nets three tons of cannabis resin

A Civil Guard swoop on a warehouse in Callosa de Segura on Tuesday has seized what is reported to be more than three tons of cannabis resin and taken at least four people into custody. La Verdad newspaper said the suspects may be from Holland, and two of them appear to be the man who rented the warehouse and his father.

It’s understood he had a legal rental contract with the owner of the premises in Callosa, and had been using the premises for more than two years.
Four vehicles, two of them with Dutch plates, were also seized in the raid.

ton of cannabis resin

Four men from Roquetas de Mar are under arrest, after they were caught in the act unloading a cargo of more than a ton of cannabis resin on a beach in Balanegra on Tuesday night. The smugglers who transported the drugs to the Seto Maleno beach managed to escape out to sea.
Two of the three vehicles seized on the beach were later found to be stolen.

European arrest warrant for armed robbery

The National Police have arrested a 28-year-old Romanian fugitive wanted on a European arrest warrant for armed robbery. He was identified by police officers at a local street market. And in neighbouring Torremolinos, another foreign fugitive has been arrested. The 52-year-old German was wanted on a warrant from his home country, where he faces fraud charges

smuggling of cocaine into Ireland which passed through Alicante.

Spanish police arrested a number of people related to the smuggling of cocaine into Ireland which passed through Alicante.

The arrests came after an eight-month investigation into the gang's operations by the Irish Police, British police and the authorities in Spain and the Netherlands. Police sources said the gang were a major part of the wholesale organization for cocaine importation into Ireland. The gang is thought to have been responsible for the supply of drugs to gangs in Dublin and Limerick.

Senior sources said the arrests were a major blow to drug-dealers here who have been sourcing their cocaine from Spain. It should significantly reduce the amount of the drug available on the streets in Ireland for the near future.
The gang's ringleader a 40 year old Dubliner was one of the suspects being held by police in Alicante. Another man form Birmingham with Irish connections was also being held. A Venezuelan and a Hungarian woman were also in police custody. All the members of the gang were caught in the car park of the Holiday Inn in Alicante in two cars on Friday night. Between them they had almost €200,000 worth of cocaine and €30,000 in cash

crime wave sweeping the Costa Blanca

crime wave sweeping the Costa Blanca and other parts of southern Spain popular with foreign tourists. Hundreds of holiday villas have been attacked recently by criminal gangs, many of them Romanians and Albanians.
The criminals are not only burgling houses. A hire-car belonging to Geoff and Diane Winnard, a retired couple from Bournemouth, was rammed from behind as they drove from Alicante airport to their holiday villa.
“One man reached into my car and grabbed my wife’s handbag and drove off,” said Geoff Winnard, 58. The men made off with their passports, credit cards and £2,750 of jewellery.

fight in Playa Flamenca

A man died and four others were hospitalised following a fight in Playa Flamenca.
The incident happened in the early hours of Monday outside the Chinese restaurant on Calle Nicholas Bussi in Playa Flamenca on the Orihuela Costa. The 25-year-old, who has not yet been named, died in hospital from stab wounds following the fracas. Another man was also seriously injured and three others were slightly injured. It is thought that the altercation started in the bar next door to the Chinese restaurant and after the men were requested to leave, the fight continued outside.

Missing

Derek John Cross, nicknamed Des or Dosser, has not been seen since he was holidaying with friends in Benidorm on November 15, 1996.

Spain is going to be the largest grower of Cannabis

Spain is going to be bigger than Jamaica or Holland as a cannabis growing country.The Spanish sun is free, and the climate in some parts of the country is good for growing cannabis 10 months a year, but we see indoor growing as superior because it offers a controlled environment, and avoids the possibility of rip-offs and problems with insects and lack of water," Molina said. "Growers can combine indoor and outdoor growing, using their indoor gardens during cool weather, and also getting a head start on making plants for transplanting to outdoors. Pretty soon, Spain is going to be bigger than Jamaica or Holland as a cannabis growing and tourism destination

Judah Eleazar Binstock

Judah Eleazar Binstock, is a 78 year old British businessman and financier and is now believed to have been the person who financed trips taken by Marbella councillors the week before the motion of no confidence was placed against Julián Muñoz. He is now thought to have been hidden in the background and pulling the strings behind much of the corruption in Marbella. This information has been given to Judge Miguel Angel Torres in the declaration from the ex councillor Carmen Revilla.

Binstock, who has large real estate interests in Marbella including the Villa La Magnolia in the Camino de la Cascada de Camoján, is reported to be wanted for questioning by the British police in connection to several financial frauds including the BCCI case.
Actually born in East Germany, he grew up in Moscow where is was a member of the Communist Party. He took up British nationality at the end of the sixties. He is thought to have a large income from several casinos. United States intelligence services link him to the Syrian magnateMonzer Al Kassar and Adnan Kashogui and arms sales of missiles to Iran and possible links to Al Qaeda.

Binstock has been missing since the Malaya case broke in Marbella and there are some reports that he has travelled to his mansion in Paris. The missing and wanted councillor, Carlos Fernández, is said to have had a relationship with Binstock’s daughter.

four Madrid Lawyers have been ordered that they be held in prison pending trial

Murcia Judge Miguel Angel Torres who has been investigating the corruption scandal in Marbella has indicted four Madrid Lawyers and has ordered that they be held in prison pending trial. This follows the arrest of the Cartagena property developer Juan Antonio Roca for corruption charges. Roca is belived to be the mastermind behind a corruption ring in Marbella, Andalucia.

The four Lawyers have been involved in large projects in Los Alcazares like Nueva Ribera. All four lawyers are from the firm of Sánchez Zubizarreta-Soriano Zurita in Madrid. Police experts have confirmed it will be many months before the evidence in assimilated into a case which can be brought before the court. During the police intterogation the lawyers were questioned about the transfers of many thousands of euros during the last few weeks.

‘Malaya 2’

‘Operation Malaya 2’ new offences came to light, resulting in some 30 city councillors and business people being accused of massive corruption. These accusations were in addition to the arrests made earlier in the year. Then. 29 people were arrested, including Mayor Marisol Yagüe, her deputy, Isabel García Marcos and José Antonio Roca, who was town planning advisor. During the investigation, Judge Miguel Ángel Torres said of Mr Roca that he was the driving force in Marbella City Hall and that the Mayor performed a mere symbolic role. In September 2006, the former mayor and her deputy were released from custody on 60,000-euro bail.

Those arrested as part of ‘Malaya 2’ included the former chief of Marbella’s police Rafael del Pozo and Tomás Reñones, the city’s second deputy mayor. Mr Reñones became acting mayor after the arrest of the mayor and the first deputy mayor. However, his involvement in the scandals became clear during the following-up investigations and Judge Torres ordered his unconditional detention. Tomás Reñones was football player and captain of Atlético de Madrid, the football club owned by the late Jesús Gil, the first of the big corrupted mayors of Marbella and founder of GIL, the political party whose members included the disgraced mayor Marisol Yagüe.

hidden storage room

Police have uncovered a hidden storage room in Spain holding 1,800 pieces of pre-Colombian art, including ceremonial masks, ceramics, jewellery and a suit of 37 plates of gold - artefacts from a collection last seen in public 10 years ago.
Many of the metallic pieces, including four copper masks, four gold rattles and four gold nose pendants, derived from the ancient tomb of the Lord of Sipan, one of the most important vestiges of pre-Inca Moche culture in Peru.

torture and other ill-treatment

Spanish police are getting away with repeated acts of torture and other ill-treatment, according to a new Amnesty International report.
The report highlights cases of people who have been hit, kicked, punched and verbally abused by police officers, both in police custody and on the street. Some complainants report being being beaten while handcuffed. Others claim they were threatened with a gun or knife, whipped on the soles of their feet and subjected to death threats

Spanish drug survey

The figures released yesterday are the result of a survey carried out by the government in secondary schools. Teenagers between 14 and 18 participated in the nationawide survey. According to the results, the number of teenagers who admit to taking cocaine is now four times as high as it was in 1994, and the number of people who smoke cannabis has doubled. 87 per cent of teenagers consider that it is easy to buy alcohol, 64 per cent find it easy to buy cannabis, and 53.8 per cent have no problem in getting sleeping tablets.

5,627 structures that are not reflected in the property register.

Using the satellite images of the town’s urban centre and outlying urbanisations and rural zones, officials have identified 5,627 structures that are not reflected in the property register. The majority of the unregistered buildings, 69 per cent of which existed prior to 2002, are in the countryside and the El Rodeo, Cortijo Benítez, Miravalle and Las Delicias districts.
Comparing images taken in 2002 and 2006, officials discovered 2.676 land-use changes.

Three Britons have been handed prison sentences

Three Britons have been handed prison sentences for their involvement in a recent late-night brawl in Ronda.Three received prison sentences of six months each for attacking two local police officers and a local resident. As they have no previous convictions, the jail terms were deferred but will be taken into account if they offend again.
In addition to the prison terms, they also have to pay 1,500 euros in compensation to one of the officers, 800 euros to the local resident, who received a face wound requiring four stitches, plus 36 euros to the second policeman.

Four prisoners who took three prison officers hostage

Four prisoners who took three prison officers hostage at Picassent jail, near Valencia, yesterday evening have been split up and transferred to different jails. The crisis began at around 6pm yesterday evening when four prisoners from the high-security wing took three officers hostage, apparently using one of their fellow prisoners as a bargaining chip.
Two of the three officers, both in their twenties, were released shortly after midnight and following all-night negotiations, the third man was set free shortly after 6am this morning.

British man, whose initials have been confirmed as AMT

A 66 year old British man resident in Fuengirola (Málaga) has been arrested accused of heading up a gang trafficking cannabis between Spain and the UK.
Two weeks ago, a suspicious trailer was intercepted on its way to a company that runs daily shipments to the UK. It was found to contain industrial-sized water purifiers, though police sniffer dogs later detected 2,500kg of cannabis resin hidden inside the machines. A further 1,500kg was found inside a warehouse on a Barcelona industrial estate from which the lorry had been spotted leaving.
The British man, whose initials have been confirmed as AMT, visited Cataluña regularly to ski, always staying in luxury hotels.
The investigation started last October when Guardia Civil officers seized 1,200kg cannabis found hidden inside a shipment of computer terminals, although they were unable to find sufficient evidence implicating AMT to arrest him on that occasion.

Ken MacIntyre from Ayrshire murdered

Ken MacIntyre from Ayrshire and his partner Bill had been drinking in bars near Plaza de la Constitución in the old town on Friday night when the attack took place.
The couple left Eros bar in Calle Santa Faz around 04.00 and headed in the direction of Plaza de la Constitución near the popular tapas strip.
They walked through Calle San Miguel and were attacked near Domino bar.
A friend told Costa Blanca News that Ken and Bill were allegedly tapped on the shoulder by two men who snatched their jewellery and attacked them until they fell to the floor.
Sadly, Ken took a severe beating and died at the scene of the crime

raping an 18 year old British tourist last Saturday night

A 39 year old taxi driver was arrested today accused of raping an 18 year old British tourist last Saturday night in Maspalomas (Gran Canaria). According to the victim's testimony, she caught the taxi at around 2am on Sunday morning in the Plaza de Maspalomas and asked the driver to take her back to her hotel. Instead, she alleges, he drove her first to a piece of waste ground where he raped her in the back of the vehicle before dropping her off at her hotel.

154 people were arrested

since the introduction of tougher penalties for dangerous drivers at the start of this month, a total of 154 people were arrested for traffic infractions, 151 of whom tested with more than 0.6mg alcohol per litre of aspirated breath.

The other three were caught speeding: one was arrested for driving at more than 60km an hour above the legal limit on an urban street, while the other two were clocked doing more than 80km an hour above the limit on the freeway.

criminal offence to drive drunk or speed

criminal offence to drive drunk or speed, and anyone caught doing so could face a prison sentence of up to six months. If they are caught committing both crimes together, the sentence could be up to two years.
The limit at which drunk driving becomes a crime is 0.60 milligrams of alcohol in exhaled air, while for speeding to be considered a crime the driver would have to exceed 200km/h on a highway or 110km/h in an urban area.

Except for people with prior criminal records, most sentences would be substituted for a fine. In the first two days of the legislation going into effect, 154 people were arrested.

Three out of every 100 Spaniards over the age of 15 paid a bribe last year

Three out of every 100 Spaniards over the age of 15 paid a bribe last year, according to figures released Thursday by anti-corruption organisation Transparency International

Three notaries have been arrested in connection with Operation White Whale.

Operation White Whale is the first time police have established a direct link between organised crime and Spain's booming construction and property industries. Half of all new construction starts in Spain take place on the Mediterranean coast.

In a boon for international criminals, established practice enables notaries to absent themselves for a few minutes when property contracts are signed, allowing the buyer to hand over “dinero B”, a substantial amount of undeclared cash. Unlike bankers, public notaries are not required to “know their clients” or establish the provenance of money exchanged in property transactions.

323 arrests in connection with organised crime

The Civil Guard,estimates that about 550 criminal groups operate in Spain, about half of them foreign. Last year, police made 323 arrests in connection with organised crime. “Criminals are businessmen these days,” says a chief inspector in a unit that fights organised crime. “They want good travel connections, an efficient banking sector, nice weather and anonymity. They get all that in Málaga.”

Seven Britons were involved in a brawl

Seven Britons were involved in a brawl with a group of Spaniards in the early hours of Saturday morning in the centre of Ronda.

nabbed a bag snatcher

Police in Benalmádena Costa nabbed a bag snatcher just moments after he had robbed three tourists on Friday afternoon. The alleged thief, identified only as a Romanian man, was picked up at 1.30pm on Calle Carril del Siroco. When police grabbed him, he was about to steal the bags of two British tourists.

crackdown on child pornography

A minor was detained in Málaga last week in a crackdown on child pornography. A Guardia Civil investigation into the exchange of images by mobile phone and the Internet has seen 40 people arrested across the country. A specialist team which deals with under-age suspects took part in the Málaga arrest.

four robberies in Sotogrande and Pueblo Nuevo de Guadiaro have been reported to the police

A further wave of four robberies in Sotogrande and Pueblo Nuevo de Guadiaro have been reported to the police. The thieves were looking for money and jewellery and used the same modus operandi as on previous occasions. They entered all of the properties while owners were asleep.

major paedophilia ring

A Malaga woman who was searching for information about babies on internet came across two files containing images of children being sexually abused by adults. She reported her find to the National Police and the resulting investigation led to the exposure of a major paedophilia ring. After tracing the origins of the files discovered on internet the police made 13 arrests, two in the province of Malaga, and thousands of files containing child pornography have been seized.

White Whale case in Marbella

Police investigators in the United Kingdom helped uncover the links between British criminals and the White Whale case in Marbella. The British police were investigating the Eprom Fraud, which is expected to have involved as much as 800,000 euros. They investigated what happened to this money, gained through a fraudulent scheme by which the owners of Jade Technologies Limited, Harvey Levin and his wife, were selling pre-paid electronic circuits to unsuspecting customers at exceptionally low cost. Jade Technologies thus accumulated a fortune with the sale of components that their customers never saw, the components never being manufactured. In the traditional way that this type of business is done, the vast profits were allegedly transferred through an Australian company to the Egremont Corporation, represented in Spain by Fernando del Valle, who in turn transferred them to the Duconte Holdings and Gainford Corporation, also run from the Marbella office. The principal shareholder of the Gainford Corporation was Harvey Levin.

Silverkey Properties, Gates Investments and Fun Fair Investments

According to the police, three of the companies run from the offices of Fernando del Valle in Marbella, Silverkey Properties, Gates Investments and Fun Fair Investments, served to launder money gained from the trafficking of hashish. The foreign connection here was with a Tunisian named Sophiane Hambli, a known drug trafficker arrested in San Pedro de Alcántara during a shoot-out last year. Hambli was on the run from the French police, after having escaped from prison in France, where he was serving time for drug trafficking and other crimes. The laundering of this drug money, it appears, was being done through the Silverkey Properties and Garden Gates Investments companies, and Hambli worked closely with his father-in-law, Mabrouk Chebicheb, who was also detained in the Marbella operation, and his wife. The other company run from Del Valle’s office, Fun Fair Investments, was allegedly linked to Ghali Lamrani and Jamal Zegzaoui, two Moroccans wanted by various police forces for their membership of a cocaine trafficking gang. They had been arrested in the possession of three thousand kilos of cocaine and a thousand kilos of hashish. The Marbella companies had allegedly been used to launder 720,000 euros of illicit gains by this gang.

Del Valle´s real estate operations were a means to launder cash for up to nine international organized crime groups

Spanish authorities claim that much of Del Valle´s real estate operations were a means to launder cash for up to nine international organized crime groups. In particular, the authorities allege that the Del Valle law firm set up anonymous trusts - possibly hundreds of shell companies - in nearby Gibraltar, but also in other places likes the Netherlands and the Isle of Man

Since news of the operation hit the press, Spanish authorities have increasingly sought to place some of the blame on Gibraltar, which "is not cooperating in the fight against money laundering," according to Conde Pumpido.

Interpol report notes

As a sign of the international crime element an Interpol report notes: "There is an exceptionally large number of Estonian and Russian professional criminals carrying out, besides a large scale hashish and cocaine trafficking, remarkable sex business in the numerous hotels and restaurants of Costa del Sol." Meanwhile, according to Online Security, "Italian crime groups' longtime investments in real estate and entertainment enterprises--particularly gambling casinos--in Germany, France, Monaco, Spain's Costa del Sol, and the Caribbean are conduits for money laundering."

town hall says it cannot afford the postage costs

Over the last 18 months fines have been imposed by the local police for driving over the alcohol limit, speeding, using a motorbike without a crash helmet, operating a mobile phone while at the wheel and so on.

However while the tickets have been issued by the police many of the fines have not been sent out because the town hall says it cannot afford the postage costs. Unless the person receives the notification by post then the fine cannot be collected although the CSI-CSIF union says that some people have paid voluntarily.

Sean Wilkinson

Northumbria police are trying to trace Allan James Foster, 31, who sometimes uses the name Sean Wilkinson.
Originally from South Shields, Mr Foster is known to have spent time in Majorca and the Canary Islands. It is believed he may now be living somewhere on the Costas.
Foster is 5’8” tall and has a mole on the left side of his face.
He is wanted in connection with the murder of ‘Noddy’ Rice, 42 who was shot several times in a car park in South Tyneside at around 16.00 on May 24, 2006.
Police say father of seven, Rice was lured by his killers to the car park on the pretext of a meeting about money owed over a drugs debt. He was shot several times by two masked men at close range and died a short time later in hospital.
The crime was witnessed by a number of passers-by.
After the killing a Ford Mondeo was driven to a nearby lane where it was set on fire, the killers were then driven away from South Shields in a Ford Transit van.
One man has already been convicted and jailed for the murder along with a number of others convicted for their role in the attack.

17-YEAR-OLD Málaga boy was stabbed to death

A 17-YEAR-OLD Málaga boy was stabbed to death in the early hours of Sunday morning in a brawl at the Kiu discotheque in Benalmádena’s Plaza Solymar nightlife zone. Two young men, aged 18 and 20, both from Mijas, were arrested shortly following incident after they crashed their car while speeding away from the scene.

Andrew Alderman, 48, fled the UK

Andrew Alderman, 48, fled the UK just before being convicted of rape and indecent assault of his 15-year-old stepdaughter. The abuse of his stepdaughter began when she was just eight-years-old and culminated in rape when she was just 15. Police believe he’s hiding in Spain, Ibiza, Majorca or the Canary Islands. If you know where this man is ring Crimestoppers NOW on 900 555 111 and bring him to justice.

attackers yelled “Gypsy s**t, you’re going to die like rats” as the attackers’

Milagros Galán was lowering the front room shutters of her first floor apartment in a block in the Fuensanta district of Coín at 1 am last Wednesday morning when the bullets started flying.

No-one was hurt in the lightening attack and police said later they thought the bullets were intended for a gypsy family living a few doors away.

Neighbours said there had been an argument between the gypsies and some people - allegedly relatives from Fuengirola - the previous day.

They also reported that the attackers yelled “Gypsy s**t, you’re going to die like rats” as the attackers’ cars sped off after the attack.

Police said at least four people were involved in the attack and at least three weapons were used, including hunting shotguns.

thefts of heavy construction-related vehicles

The police are investigating a rash of thefts of heavy construction-related vehicles such as cement mixers in Malaga province. They believe an organised gang is behind the theft of these vehicles which can weigh more than 20 tonnes, cost about 150,000 euros and are sometimes owned by self-employed people rather than companies.

The last two thefts occurred at two cement plants on the Marbella-Coin road. The owners of both vehicles left them at the plants at the end of the week, and found them gone the following Monday. One of the owners, who lives in Cártama, said it was worse than a car theft: “They’ve robbed me of my job”. There have been similar incidents in Cordoba and Sevilla and last week, police in Velez-Malaga recovered a digger which had been stolen from a construction site in Granada.

Miss Zaldivar regularly used to receive garbage bags full

Marbella. Miss Zaldivar regularly used to receive garbage bags full of what she liked most: money – to the tune of somewhere in the region of seven hundred million Pesetas, or about £3.5 million. As she used to brag about how much these garbage bags were giving her, she has now been placed in jail by Judge Miguel Angel Torres, who is now planning to hear her testimony before taking any further action. All in all, since last March when the investigation first started, some seventy people have been placed in jail as a result of Judge Torres’ investigations. Also arrested under orders from Judge Torres yesterday was Jose Maria Gonzalez de Caldas, the director of the Xativa bullring.

detained the head of the Municipal police force along with his deputy

The Guardia Civil of Torrevieja yesterday detained the head of the Municipal police force along with his deputy and two officers, after receiving orders to do so from a local judge. More arrests are expected today, and all are accused of creating a series of false documents and of failing to investigate crimes. A local judge has undertaken the current case during the last few months, and yesterday’s arrests were carried out very discreetly according to local sources. Following their arrest, the four were taken to a local court and allowed to go free on condition that they not leave Torrevieja.

Granada-based businessman and his family

The Guardia Civil yesterday announced that it had dismantled what it considered to be ‘an important gang’ of four men and two women in two apartments – one in El Campello and the other in San Juan.

In addition, members of the Corps also confiscated a considerable armory of weapons that included assault rifles, pistols and grenades.

It is believed that it was this gang that carried the armed robbery on a bank in El Campello earlier this month as well as carrying out an armed aggression against a Granada-based businessman and his family in February, making off with 60,000 Euros in cash.

It is also thought that the gang also carried out a series of high-profile robberies in France and the French Police are helping the Guardia Civil as their enquiries continue.

piracy over television signals

The National Police Force has recently undertaken a coordinated attempt to stop piracy over television signals, with the detention nationwide of some fifty people. Amongst those arrested were a couple in La Nucia and a distributor in Elche. Of the fifty arrested, ten were administrators of websites, 22 distributed pirated decoding boxes, sixteen were responsible for creating illegal networks, and two were responsible for forming companies that illegally distributed TV signals in neighborhoods.

400 prisoners held in Alicante’s jails on remand, approximately 300 are foreigners,

the majority of crime is committed by foreigners, and not by Spaniards. Of the 400 prisoners held in Alicante’s jails on remand, approximately 300 are foreigners, mainly from Romania, Croatia, Columbia and Algeria. It may come as no surprise that the charges against these people relate to drugs, violent robberies, sexual crimes and even attempted murder.

Mark Acklom had defrauded an Asian businessman out of €18million

A British man has been jailed in Benidorm for 27 months after having been convicted of serious fraud.Police also discovered that Interpol was searching for him in the UK and the name he was using was false, saying he was really called Mark Richard George Acklom. Mark Acklom had defrauded an Asian businessman out of €18million (£13million) in a property scam. He was led to believe he was investing in large property developments in Mascarat, Finestrat and Calpe.

Mark Acklom had defrauded an Asian businessman out of €18million

A British man has been jailed in Benidorm for 27 months after having been convicted of serious fraud. Mark Acklom had defrauded an Asian businessman out of €18million (£13million) in a property scam. He was led to believe he was investing in large property developments in Mascarat, Finestrat and Calpe.

Irish Police have a near permanent presence on the Costa Blanca

discovery of the bodies of 2 Irish criminals, found buried in 2 metres of concrete, it has emerged that the Irish Police have a near permanent presence on the Costa Blanca. They are continuing to assist Spainish Police to identify and prosecute criminals from Ireland who have fled to Spain. It is suspected that some of the criminals have a paramilitary history.

concrete blocks chained to his feet

The body of a 34 year old man, who was reported missing ten days ago, was found last Sunday lunchtime by a fisherman at the bottom of the River Júcar with several concrete blocks chained to his feet.

The victim, who was from Cullera, but worked in a meat processing factory in Torrent, was found in an inaccessible spot located roughly halfway between Cullera and Sueca, known locally as 'L'Astut'.

Attempts to contact the victim by mobile phone immediately following his disappearance were unsuccessful, and his car was subsequently found parked in the nearby town of Sollana.

married couple was robbed of cash

married couple was robbed of cash, jewellery and a handgun during a break-in on the Els Tallats de Vilafortuny residential estate in Cambrils last Monday evening. The attack occurred between 8-9pm at the couple's home on the calle Salvador Dalí.
It seems that the burglars broke open the front door with a crowbar before tying up and threatening the homeowners with the crowbar and what seems to have been a fake pistol before making off with their booty.
A police spokesman explained that neither of the victims was injured in the attack and confirmed that no arrests have yet been made.

Janette May Grocutt, was stabbed to death last Friday by a gang of burglars

A 74 year old British woman, identified by the Foreign Office as Janette May Grocutt, was stabbed to death last Friday by a gang of burglars during a break-in at the home she shared with her bed-ridden husband, Douglas, who was not attacked, but who is now being treated in hospital for stress.
The results of the autopsy will confirm suspicions that Mrs Grocutt was killed when she bravely tried to fight off the gang.
It seems that the couple moved to Spain from Cornwall around six years ago, and ran a campsite.
Mrs Grucott's body was found by a close friend of the family last Friday evening at the couple's home, which is located on a small independent plot surrounded by a metal fence in the village of Paredón, close to the town of Pinoso (pop. approx. 7,350), which, in turn, is located in the Medio Vinalopó borough of Alicante province.
No arrests have yet been made, but police believe that the attack may have been perpetrated by a gang blamed for a number of similar recent attacks in the area, who appear to be targeting expat residents.

crashed through their road blocks

It was a car chase right out of the movies. When a Guardia Civil patrol tried to wave down a car in the early hours of Thursday morning, the driver stepped on the accelerator and shot off at almost 200 kph, almost knocking down one of the Guardia. The chase began at Pilas on the A-49 which joins Huelva and Cordoba, going round the outskirts of Sevilla. It ended 183 kilometres later seven kilometres short of Cordoba with several Guardia Civil patrol cars in pursuit of the 36-year-old driver who turned out to be under the influence of drugs. The Guardia said he had maintained an average speed of just under 200 kph all the way and had crashed through their road blocks, damaging several patrol vehicles in the process. He was arrested and charged with “serious disobedience” (failing to stop when ordered), attempting against the life of a Guardia Civil and reckless driving.

legal firm of Cruz Conde

police arrested 21 people, amongst them three notaries and a number of lawyers, in a new large-scale money-laundering case in Marbella the legal firm of Cruz Conde seems to be central to the investigation and police arrested the solicitor and carried out a detailed search of his offices. Investigations are also taking place at the luxury jet-set Marbella Club Hotel. The arrests were made under the direction of the Marbella court and the Málaga anti-corruption prosecutor. Over 110 officers of the organised crime squad led the sweep, backed up by 70 other National Police officers, 50 members of the judicial police and helicopter support.

A 56-year-old British woman was arrested last week in Torremolinos

A 56-year-old British woman was arrested last week in Torremolinos as one of four alleged operators of a brothel that employed illegal immigrants as prostitutes.
Rosemary O.B. and three other women – Duangjun K. (53) and Sunantha P.L. (55), both from Thailand, and Edna C.T. (59), from the Philippines – allegedly had eight to 10 women of numerous nationalities working at the club. Seven of them, two Bulgarians, a Romanian, a Moroccan, a Columbian, a Filipina and a Czechoslovakian, were in the country illegally, according to National Police officials.
During the raid on the club, officers also seized 575 euros and small amounts of cocaine and hashish. The police arrested the Briton and her four business partners for labour-related offences – irregular working hours and conditions, lack of work contracts and Social Security contributions, and the employment of undocumented immigrants – as well as sexual exploitation charges. Allegedly they kept 50 per cent of the money generated by the prostitutes’ activities.

A British couple alleged to have insulted and threatened the mayor

The mayor of Polop, Alejandro Ponsoda (PP), is still in an extremely critical condition after being shot in the head last Friday evening in his car outside his home in nearby Xirles.

A British couple alleged to have insulted and threatened the mayor over a boundary dispute last Wednesday, when they were informed of plans to expropriate part of their land, were detained shortly after the shooting. They were interrogated at Altea Guardia Civil barracks, but have since been released without charge.

377 stolen beehives valued at more than €60,000

Two people have been arrested and warrants have been issued against two others after 377 stolen beehives valued at more than €60,000 were discovered at an illegal honey farm near Cúllar (Granada) on the 17th October.

The hives had been stolen from seven bee farms in Villacastín (Segovia), Navas de San Antonio (Segovia), Honrubia (Cuenca), Puerto Lumbreras (Murcia) and Orihuela (Alicante).

Only six farmers reported the theft of their hives and as police suspected that the seventh may have been involved, they placed him under surveillance, eventually catching him and a second man at the illegal farm just before midnight last Monday.

Six containers each filled with 350 litres of honey were seized from a building near to where the stolen hives had been set up, and it later came to light that at least 21,000 litres of product had been sold to an establishment in Valencia without any kind of health certification. Following the search, arrest warrants for two other individuals were issued that are still pending execution.

Analysis of the plastic showed that it consisted mainly of polymethyl methacrylate (better known as plexiglas or perspex) laced with cocaine hydrochlo

THEY'VE tried airbags, printer cartridges and every conceivable body cavity. Now cocaine smugglers have another trick up their sleeves. Evidence from a clandestine lab in eastern Europe suggests that gangs are trying to hide cocaine by incorporating it into a host of innocent-looking transparent plastic consumer products, such as fish tanks, DVD cases or light fittings for cars. These could be imported en masse with no customs officer giving them a second look.

The trick came to light after police searched an abandoned tenement building in Ljubljana, Slovenia, where they suspected cocaine was being produced. There they found a makeshift lab complete with mixers, drying systems and containers filled with various solvents, plus translucent lumps of plastic littering the floor.

British colony of Gibraltar off Spain's southern tip. Upon entering Spanish waters, the boat was ordered to the nearby Spanish port of Algeciras for

Spain's Civil Guard said officers approached the vessel, the Odyssey Explorer, as it left the British colony of Gibraltar off Spain's southern tip. Upon entering Spanish waters, the boat was ordered to the nearby Spanish port of Algeciras for inspection, police said.

The Civil Guard said it was acting on an order from a Spanish judge who in June instructed authorities to seize two vessels belonging to Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. if the boats left Gibraltar.

Another Odyssey vessel, Ocean Alert, was seized in July and released after a week.

"At this point, we are awaiting word from the Spanish judge about the inspection," Odyssey co-chairman Greg Stemm said in Florida. "We had again invited Spanish officials to inspect the Explorer in advance of our departure and they chose not to take us up on it."

The dispute began when Odyssey, a Tampa, Florida-based company that specializes in deep-sea explorations, announced the discovery in May of a colonial-era shipwreck in the Atlantic.


The find yielded more than 500,000 silver coins — weighing more than 17 tons — and gold coins, worked gold and other artifacts, a haul worth hundreds of millions that Odyssey said it flew to the U.S. from Gibraltar..
Spain filed claims in a U.S. federal court over the find, arguing that if the shipwrecked vessel was Spanish — or removed from its waters — the treasure belongs to Spain.

Odyssey insists the shipwreck, codenamed "Black Swan," was outside any country's territorial waters — but has not given its exact location or the name of the ship.

"We are sure that the Spanish government is now well aware that the (shipwreck) was not in Spanish waters and that the disposition of the coins is now subject to U.S. federal court jurisdiction, so we're not sure what the inspection of the Explorer is meant to accomplish," Stemm said.

arrested 30 people in an operation against child pornography on the internet

Spain's Civilian Police have arrested 30 people in an operation against child pornography on the internet, an official source said Wednesday.

"It is the largest operation against child pornography in Spain's history," said Fernando Herrero-Tejedor, the prosecutor designated by the Criminality Information Service (SCI).

"Operation Santiago" ended on Tuesday with the confiscation of 81 computers which had "explicit sex" archives, including "very dense child pornography," in their hard discs, Herrero said.

Most of the cases depicted minors below 13-years of age, for which Penal Code allows prison sentences of between four and eight years if convicted.

Some 350 agents participated in the Civilian Police's action, which was also allowed to trace 1,200 sites in other countries that collaborate with the Spanish

stealing hundreds of electricity-generating solar panels worth $2.14 million

Spanish investigators arrested 20 Moroccans suspected of stealing hundreds of electricity-generating solar panels worth $2.14 million and sending them to be sold in North Africa, police said Thursday.

The suspects are accused of taking about 2,000 solar panels and shipping them to Morocco aboard ferries.

An investigation began in April when 238 panels were stolen from two solar power parks in the northern province of Palencia, a police statement said. Many Spanish cities, especially in the country's south, boost electricity generation through the use of solar parks

Police said the suspects were believed to have used violence during some of their heists.

Several more gang members were thought to be on the run, and international warrants have been issued for their arrest, the statement said.

seven dead migrants and one survivor on board

Fishermen said they discovered a boat off West Africa with seven dead migrants and one survivor on board. Spanish authorities said Thursday about 50 others were missing.
The Spanish fishing vessel found the boat off West Africa on Wednesday night, Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said at a news conference.
He said at least six migrants were dead, and that a survivor said 50 people were missing.
However, skipper Jose Maria Abreu earlier told Cadena Ser radio that he counted seven dead, with the lone survivor in deplorable physical condition.

“The stench was unbearable. They must have been dead six or seven days,” Abreu told the radio station.

The boat was trying to reach Spain from Cape Verde, Perez Rubalcaba said.

He said the number of would-be migrants caught this year trying to sail from Africa to Spain, either to the mainland or the Canary Islands, is down sharp

30 bundles of marihuana weighing, in total, around 1,000kg,

28 year old Dutch man was arrested on Saturday evening after 30 bundles of marihuana weighing, in total, around 1,000kg, were found in the back of the stolen car he was driving.

The man was stopped at 8pm on the AP-7 toll motorway near Orihuela in Alicante rovince after a police traffic patrol realised that the BMW X5 he was driving, had been reported stolen from Guadalajara last February.

Following a short chase during which several other vehicles were superficially damaged, the driver stopped and was arrested soon afterwards once the drugs had been found.

56th domestic violence murder in Spain so far this year and the 8th in the Andalucía region.

33 year old woman was found dead at her home on the calle Enamorados in Sevilla's Bellavista district yesterday morning.

The woman, who had spent the night with a former lover, appears to have been strangled to death.

Her ex-boyfriend, who is an Argentinian of around the same age, took the dead woman's car and remains at large.

A spokeswoman from the Andalucía Women's Institute (IAM) said that the couple had separated some time ago.

If confirmed, this would be the 56th domestic violence murder in Spain so far this year and the 8th in the Andalucía region.

Fernando del Valle, 57, a Chilean citizen, who is said to have set up a network of property and front companies whose traces disappear into offshore a

Fernando del Valle, 57, a Chilean citizen, who is said to have set up a network of property and front companies whose traces disappear into offshore accounts in the nearby British territory of Gibraltar, press reports said.

Some of the welter of documents seized by police since the weekend are understood to implicate an array of companies who have their fiscal base in Gibraltar. The tiny territory has just 30,000 residents but 80,000 companies.

Police said they suspect his law firm of having connections with various groups allegedly involved in narcotics, prostitution and other organized criminal activities.

Fernando del Valle

Fernando del Valle arrived on the Marbella real estate scene in the late 1970s - early 1980s, after a brief stint practicing law in Madrid. In the coming years Del Valle, an aficionado of fine food and classical music, would become a key player in the booming real estate market in the southern coast of Spain.

According to Per Stangeland, head of criminology at the University of Málaga, in a recent Financial Times article said there is a direct link between the construction sector and real estate with organized crime. Around half of all Spanish real estate promotions are said to be on Spain's Mediterranean coastal areas.

"It is a driving force, perhaps the most important driving force, behind the construction industry ... How else is there to explain that (Málaga), with one of the highest unemployment and lowest incomes in Spain, can sustain a 1,600 per cent growth in the construction of private housing in five years, " said Per Stangeland, according to Financial Times.

Spanish authorities claim that much of Del Valle´s real estate operations were a means to launder cash for up to nine international organized crime groups. In particular, the authorities allege that the Del Valle law firm set up anonymous trusts - possibly hundreds of shell companies - in nearby Gibraltar, but also in other places likes the Netherlands and the Isle of Man

Since news of the operation hit the press, Spanish authorities have increasingly sought to place some of the blame on Gibraltar, which "is not cooperating in the fight against money laundering," according to Conde Pumpido.

Interpol report notes

an Interpol report notes: "There is an exceptionally large number of Estonian and Russian professional criminals carrying out, besides a large scale hashish and cocaine trafficking, remarkable sex business in the numerous hotels and restaurants of Costa del Sol." Meanwhile, according to Online Security, "Italian crime groups' longtime investments in real estate and entertainment enterprises--particularly gambling casinos--in Germany, France, Monaco, Spain's Costa del Sol, and the Caribbean are conduits for money laundering."

an associate of Stephen Sugg had contacted his family to say he was safe.

ONE doubting detective has called it The Spanish Job. The rumoured abduction of the notorious Westies in Alicante could be a con job.That’s the fear among a number of gardaí who have had long dealings with Shane Coates and Stephen Sugg, the two leaders of the Westies crime gang.

“It could be an elaborate hoax, something set up by a couple of them to take pressure off Coates, who, if he comes back here, will be arrested. If he disappears, he doesn’t exist,” said one senior garda source.

Last night, an unconfirmed report suggested that an associate of Stephen Sugg had contacted his family to say he was safe.

Irishman Tony Armstrong

The Guardia Civil yesterday arrested 36 year old Irishman Tony Armstrong, implying that he was involved with the deaths of two fellow Irishmen whose bodies were uncovered in Catral

Sources stated that Armstrong had rented the warehouse where the bodies of Shane Coates and Stephen Sugg were discovered In Spain they hooked up with other Irish and British criminals on the run and became involved with Moroccan thugs in drug running operations from North Africa via Spain to Ireland.

They started to throw their weight around, as they had in Dublin, but there were soon mutterings that instead of being an asset to their new cronies they were becoming a liability.

Other expatriate criminals feared the high-profile swaggering duo were threatening to upset their low-key but lucrative lifestyle.

According to well-informed expat sources on the Costa Blanca the pair had written their own death warrants.

They vanished suddenly in January 2004. Initially, there were suspicions they had staged their own disappearance because they had been threatened by rival gangsters.

But whispers started reaching the ears of detectives back home that they had been murdered

discovered two tons of hashish on board

The Spanish Customs Service yesterday stopped and searched a yacht some 60 nautical miles off Torrevieja and discovered two tons of hashish on board. Consequently, they demanded that the craft follow them to the nearest port, when it was deliberately set on fire by the four people on board, with two of them jumping overboard, but were rescued by a Zodiac from the Customs service, who also managed to extinguish the blaze. The partially burned yacht is now under police guard in Alicante Port, whilst the four men on board – two Spaniards and two Moroccans – are being interrogated by police

drug traffickers to get away

Police sources yesterday were said to be ‘furious’ that due to a lack of coordination between two Ministries – Interior that controls the Guardia Civil and Finance that controls the Customs Police – enabled drug traffickers to get away. It was last Tuesday when a group was discovered unloading more than a ton of Hashish on Bonmati beach between Santa Pola and Elche, and placing the cargo inside a powerful BMW car. The customs service had already raised its suspicions as the launch carrying the drug was traveling without any lights, and advised the specialised department of the Guardia Civil. However, the Customs patrol did not wait for the Guardia Civil to attend the scene, but instead, not only revealed their position to the traffickers, but also gave chase, which resulted in the gang abandoning their cargo on the beach and easily avoiding detention by the customs service as their launch was considerably more powerful than their pursuers. Meanwhile, the Anti Drugs division of the Alicante branch of the Guardia Civil apparently decided to send a patrol down to the area without previously advising their colleagues in Santa Pola, which resulted in the patrol turning up at the wrong beach as they did not have sufficient knowledge of the local terrain. The Finance Ministry yesterday issued a statement to the effect that it was ‘highly pleased’ over the confiscation of the drug shipment, but made no mention of the traffickers’ escape.

bodies are of Stephen Sugg and Shane Coates

Members of the National Police and the Guardia Civil have revealed that they have come across two bodies in Catral in Alicante Province. Members of the Gardai – the Irish Police Force – who are in Spain and collaborating with the security forces have expressed the belief that the bodies are of Stephen Sugg and Shane Coates, two members of the notorious Westies Drug Gaming that went missing from their homes in Torrevieja more than two years ago. The pair were last seen alive at the end of January 2004, when they told their respective girlfriends that they were ‘going out for a while’ and left in Mr. Sugg’s car. Insiders have expressed the view that the pair tried to establish a cocaine smuggling operation based in Alicante and in the process crossed an international gang of drugs dealers, who could have abducted the two men and had them killed.

petty theft, such as bag snatching is commonplace

petty theft, such as bag snatching is commonplace, particularly in tourist resorts and big cities. Most of this can be avoided with a little forethought - carry valuables under your clothes if possible and watch for people who get unnecessarily close to you at airports, at stations, on trains or buses or on the street. Never leave baggage unattended and avoid crushes. Also be cautious with people who come up to offer or ask you something for no good reason. This could be a ploy to distract you, especially as many petty thieves work in gangs.

Watch out for burglars

A friend of mine had a really bad experience recently. He has a villa in the Mijas area and in the early hours of the morning whilst he was sleeping, some young foreigners broke through the bars of one of his windows and got in the house.

The really scary thing was that they jumped on his bed, put a knife to his throat and then tied him up. They were really after money and after spotting a safe in the house demanded that he open it. The problem was that the safe had come with the house when he bought it and he didn't have the key!

Anyway, he managed to convince them that he really didn't have the key so they took his cash, an expensive watch and then drove off in his car (which was recovered the next day).

This is a truly frightening experience. Imagine if it had been a woman on her own? My friend is no small man himself, he's about 6 foot 5 and built like a brick....you get the idea.

Crime Scene