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.