British man stabs other in the Océano Beach Hotel & Restaurant in Playa Miraflores

The attacker made off in a top of the range car A British man has stabbed another in Mijas, after an argument between their wives. It happened in the Océano Beach Hotel & Restaurant in Playa Miraflores in Mijas Costa. The two couples arrived at 7,30pm. They dined, saw a show of monologues and all was well until midnight. About that time an argument started with the people on the next table, also British, and this ended in the stabbing of a 42 year old Briton. Each table had two couples, all British and Diario Sur reports that both groups had been drinking all the evening. Several bottles of Faustino V were served to the victim’s table, while those on the neighbouring table were drinking Laurent-Perrier champagne. The Guardia Civil is investigating what caused the fight and it seems an argument had developed between the women on the two tables. The men then got involved and made matters worse. At the end of the evening the two groups prepared to leave, and the alleged aggressor, thought to be in his 30’s, left the restaurant while the man who would become the victim stopped for an instant at the bar located at the entrance. Then the other man returned and stabbed the victim several times, then driving off in a top of the range car which was parked at the door. The stabbed man was rushed to the Costa del Sol Hospital in Marbella and is reported to be in a serious condition. A search is now underway for the car, and Judicial Police from the Guardia Civil are in charge of the investigation and the search for the attacker.

British man arrested for having cocaine on Ibiza

The Guardia Civil from Sant Antoni, Ibiza, have recovered 210 grams of cocaine and arrested a 30 year old British man who it’s thought was planning to sell the drug in the clubs of the island. A press release said the Guardia Civil stopped a car last Wednesday, driven by the Briton S.M.D., and found a small amount of the drug. They then decided to search the man’s home and found 210 grams of highly pure cocaine and items to adulterate the drug to increase the number of doses. The man came before the courts last weekend and the judge has ordered he be held in prison.

ETA's military chief arrested in France

The man considered to ‘Number One’ in ETA’s military apparatus has been arrested in France in a joint operation between SDAT French and Spanish police. Oroitz Gurruchaga was accompanied by his ‘right hand man’, Javier Aramburu when detained at 3,30pm on Sunday afternoon. They were found to be carrying a pistol and revolver when they were arrested, driving a stolen car with false plates, in Cauna in the SW of the country. The Spanish Ministry for the Interior considers the two could have been recruiting new members for ETA. Javier Aramburu  Guardia Civil Xabier Aramnuro fled to France in 2010 after the breakup of the illegal ‘Tontor’, and is thought to have been responsible for several attacks using explosives in Guipúzcoa and Vizcaya in 2008. It brings the number of arrests since the end of ETA violence to 19.

Cuban arrested for growing cannabis in his basement in Alhaurín

A 45 year old Cuban man has been arrested for growing cannabis in a chalet in Alhaurín. He was using electricity from the street to cultivate the drugs in the basement of his home. More than 8 kilos of marihuana was obtained, 11 hashish tablets weighting about 2.5 kilos and 191 cannabis plants, according to a statement from Málaga provincial police station.

Gibraltarian and Spanish police clash over fishing row

Gibraltarian police have confronted Spanish officers escorting Spanish fishing boats in the waters near Gibraltar for the second night running. Gibraltar's government has said fishing with large nets in the area is illegal because of an environmental law. But Spain claims sovereignty over the UK colony and its foreign ministry has said it supports the right of Spanish boats to fish in its waters. The Spanish and UK foreign secretaries are due to meet in London on Tuesday. Spain's foreign ministry has said the fishing dispute will not affect its relations with Britain, which has counted Gibraltar as a colony since 1713. 'Defending rights' On Thursday, media reported that several Royal Gibraltar Police boats had surrounded three Spanish fishing vessels after they cast their nets near Gibraltar harbour the night before. Gibraltarian news agency GBC News said several Spanish Guardia Civil boats appeared to be defending the fishermen, but were told to leave by the Gibraltarian police. The Spanish boats reportedly left the area later after a Royal Navy vessel arrived and told them again to depart. GBC news quoted Gibraltar's chief minister, Fabian Picardo, as condemning what were "obviously carefully premeditated challenges to our indisputable sovereignty, jurisdiction and control of British Gibraltar Territorial Waters and our airspace". A UK Foreign Office statement confirmed that Britain's minister for Europe, David Lidington, had met with Mr Picardo to discuss various issues, including the fishing dispute and recent incidents in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters. It said Mr Lidington had reiterated that the UK would "never enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another state against their wishes". But Spanish Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz told reporters Madrid would continue to dispatch police boats to protect Spanish fishermen in the area to defend "the fishing rights of our fishermen".

SPANISH nationals who were behind one of the biggest ever cocaine seizures of its kind at Gatwick Airport have been jailed for a total of 42 years.

The three women, Ana Palacios Expósito, 28, Estefani Pardo Puertolas, 18, Johanna Estefani Solís Jaramillo, 19, and a man, Felix Yagüe Abello, 39, all flew into the airport's South Terminal from the Dominican Republic on February 10.

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   jailed: From left, Felix Yagüe Abello, Ana Isabel Palacios Expósito, Johanna Estefani Solís Jaramillo, and Estefani Pardo Puertolas

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Each had two pieces of carry-on luggage. These were searched by UK Border Agency officers who found the drugs inside their bags, wrapped in silver foil.

They had a wholesale value of more than £4 million, but if cut and sold on the street could have been worth in excess of £8 million.

All four were charged with importing a class A drug and they each pleaded guilty.

They were sentenced at Croydon Crown Court last Thursday.

Yagüe and Palacios, both from Barcelona, were sentenced to 11 years. Pardo, from Sant Boi de Llobregat, and Solís, from Guayas, were both sentenced to 10-year prison sentences.

CGPJ to seek head's resignation over Marbella trips

The revelation That the Chief Justice and head of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), Carlos Divar, Traveled to Puerto Banus in Marbella at least 20 times and charged Allegedly expenses, Including a seven-strong bodyguard, to the Judiciary Have Led to calls for resignation historical. Six of the 20-strong membership are expected CGPJ to table a motion for Divar to fall on sword at an extraordinary historical meeting on Thursday. Thirteen votes in behalf of the move will be Sufficient for the Committee to sack CGPJ Divar, Something That Happened since Spain has not Returned to democracy. CGPJ board member Jose Manuel Gomez Benitez filed the original complaint over the Divar's expense account and a meeting WAS CALLED ON Monday after the investigation Into the Chief Justice's trips WAS dropped by the Supreme Court. The watchdog demanded justice from STIs president Explanations - Explanations That Were not Immediately forthcoming. After the Monday meeting, Divar's chief of staff, Eduardo Menendez, an extraordinary assembly Announced for Thursday With A single item on the agenda: his boss' trips. Speaking at the meeting Monday, Divar I Learned That said Benitez Lodged HAD THE COUNTRY-through the suit and denied the prosecutor Any me picture. The CGPJ is aiming to find common ground in Thursday's session in an Attempt to limit the collateral damage Caused by Divar's weekend jaunts, Some of Which Lasted for four days or more and included dinners at luxury restaurants. Supporting Benitez's call for austerity, Divar said at Monday's meeting: "I think we are giving an image of scant Transparency in terms of expenses," adding the prosecutor's ruling That HAD been "clear and emphatic." "Whatever the prosecutor says, So Many trips to Marbella Do not have esthetic ethic or justification," Benitez said. Siding with Divar, Gemma Gallego CGPJ member asked if Benitez WAS going to resign. Her Counterpart Pio Aguirre Benitez's decision to Described lodge a complaint without consulting the CGPJ as "disrespectful." Benitez shot back: "I do not trust the Plenary."

Bancaja considering offering Chairman's position to man indicted for corporate crime

The President of Bancaja, José Luis Olivas, has called a board meeting to present his resignation. Actual vice president, Antonio Tirado, is reported to replace him. It comes a week after the Shareholders Junta of the Banco de Valencia started legal action against Tirado, claiming compensation for what they see as the prejudice done through his management. The choice of Antonio Tirado is raising more than a few eyebrows given he has already been indicted for false accounting, unfair administration and corporate crime at his time managing the Banco de Valencia. He was indicted with other administrators in the Banco de Valencia, and the case was admitted to Instruction Court Three in Valencia, in the last week of March, supported by 137 shareholders. Tirado said that he had not resigned ‘because nobody can say how much was lost’.

British man arrested in Málaga after holding his ex wife and two children hostage

A British man has been arrested by the National Police after holding his ex partner and their two children aged two hostage in Alhaurín el Grande since May 5. During the time that the hostages were deprived of their freedom the man allegedly threatened his ex wife with a pistol and caused diverse injuries. The victim had ended the relationship last January and return to England, but then she came two Spain with her sister for a few days so the husband could see the children, and that was the moment that he took her and children hostage. A European Search, Arrest and Detention Order had been issued against the man by the British authorities because it has been established that the man had fled to Spain two years ago, with the wife, taking advantage of a prison pass from a crime he committed in 1993. The man let the sister return to the UK, and when there she denounced what had happened to the Metropolitan Police, who in turn alerted investigators in Spain thanks to the regular communication channels. It was the SOCA, Serious Organised Crime Agency, which kept the British Embassy in Madrid up to date. Spanish investigators from the UDEV specialist kidnapping and extortion unit of the Judicial Police in Spain established the suspect was living in an urbanisation in Alhaurín el Grande under a false name. Police then started to watch the property in an operation which ended when the man was arrested when driving out in a vehicle. The man will be handled to the National Court which will carry out the repatriation procedures.

Body found in Istán countryside

A body in an advanced state of decomposition has been found among shrubs close to the Istán reservoir. Two foreigners found the body on Sunday afternoon and sources close to the case think the body is male. Several Police units and the Guardia Civil went to scene on the Carril Zahara de Istán. The cause and time of death remains unknown, as the identity of man. An autopsy will be carried out at the Legal Medicine Institute, and forensic scientists have been inspecting the scene.

Ex Mayor of Casares leaves prison after finding bail

The ex Mayor of Casares in Málaga, Juan Sánchez from IU, left prison at Alhaurín de la Torre at 7,20pm on Friday night. He had entered prison last Tuesday on the orders of the Instruction Judge in the Majestic Case being heard in the First Instance and Instruction Court Two in Estepona, Oscar López Bermejo. He faces charges of money laundering through real estate deals. The ex Mayor left the jail without making any statement, and it is unknown whether he will remain in his current position of Councillor for Housing in the Casares Town Hall. He left the prison after his family and friends amassed bail of 200,000 €. The Majestic Operation, which is being carried out jointly between the National Police money laundering squad and the Guardia Civil has led to eleven arrests so far. The latest arrests are of a German woman who was arrested in La Línea after arriving at Gibraltar Airport, accused of money laundering and belonging to a criminal organisation. She was sent to jail with bail set at 70,000 €. Secondly a South African was arrested on Thursday when he arrived at Málaga airport, when returning from Switzerland. He was sent to jail with 50,000 € bail and has until May 22 to deposit the money. Their passports have been taken and they are not allowed to leave Spain.

26 year old Scottish man, Craig Mallon, has been found dead at 7,30 am this morning, Saturday, in the street in Lloret de Mar

According to sources close to the investigation is seems that he was stabbed in a fight in the early hours of the morning between tourists visiting Lloret. No firearms have been found and Catalunya Informació says the Scot died from a heart attack after being stabbed. He was in the town to celebrate his brother’s stag party. It’s believed that alcohol was drunk by those implicated in the fight, but as yet there are no official details. The same sources told the EFE news agency that as yet there have been no arrests, although the regional Catalan police, the Mossos d’Esquadra, will only confirm the death of a person. The Mossos d’Esquadra has opened a full investigation and has introduced reporting restrictions.

Spanish police bust gang that ripped off drug dealers

Spain's Civil Guard has taken down a gang that employed extremely violent tactics in robbing drug dealers, arresting 15 suspects, officials said Thursday. The suspects - eight Colombians, two Spaniards, two Brazilians, an Argentine, a Peruvian and a Briton - may have earned "big profits" by stealing from victims who were unlikely to call police, the Civil Guard said in a statement. The gang would make contact with dealers, showing them small bits of cocaine or white substances that appeared to be the illegal drug. When it was time to seal the deal, the suspects would assault and rob the drug dealers, the Civil Guard said. The suspects were arrested during an operation conducted on the island of Tenerife and in the provinces of Madrid and Guadalajara. The 15 suspects face organized crime, drug, robbery, forgery and other charges. The gang, which was led by two Colombian brothers, operated across Spain and in other parts of Europe. The suspects usually staged the rip-offs in parking lots and apartments, some of which were rented just for the occasion. The gang's members, who would wear ski masks and carry starter's pistols, hid in the dwellings chosen for the robberies or in the trunks of cars. Drug buyers would be robbed of their money by the suspects, who used "great violence" and then fled from the scene quickly, the Civil Guard said.

Traffickers paid homeless to become drug ‘mules’

EIGHT people which recruited homeless people in Malaga to become ‘drugs mules’ have been jailed for a total of 44 years. The gang would send the vagrants to Argentina to smuggle drugs back into Spain. The fines which they have been sentenced to pay amount to €3.6 million. Since 2009, they had been transporting cocaine from South America to sell to others. Six members of the group are Spanish, including some of the ‘mules’, and the leaders are Nigerian. They would approach people in need of money in Malaga, pay for their trip from Madrid to Buenos Aires, hotel stay and passport and then get them to bring the drugs back to Spain hidden in their luggage. They were discovered in September 2009 after several of the ‘mules’ were found carrying the cocaine and arrested.

Bank worker walks out with a million Euro

Take the money and run. A worker at a branch of the La Caixa bank in Vilagarcía de Arousa, Pontevedra, has fled from the bank after taking a million €. The man, Santiago Pelayo Sanmartín, worked in the debt collecting department, chasing clients who were late paying. He escaped in a company car from an estate agent where he also worked last Tuesday. A search is underway. The bank has opened what it is calling ‘an internal audit’ to see the circumstance and details of the robbery which they says is about a million €, although an exact calculation is still to be carried out. The man’s wife and daughters say they have no idea where he is. A statement from La Caixa has said that client should not be alarmed by the robbery, because of the money has come from just two accounts.

Drug traffickers deliberately left their cocaine in Málaga airport lost luggage

Eight people, five Spanish, a Colombian, and two Venezuelans, have been arrested by the Guardia Civil in an operation which has led to the dismantling of an organisation which sent large amounts of cocaine to Spain by air and lost luggage. The operation, directed by a court in Málaga, took place in Vélez-Málaga, Seseña Toledo, and Madrid. 42 kilos of the drug was recovered. Investigations carried out in February and March were established when the EDOA, the Organised Crime and Anti-drug team in the Guardia Civil in Málaga, working with the prosecution service at the airport, discover possible drug trafficking using a new method. Members of the organisation travelled from Venezuela to Spain with their luggage although on arrival in Málaga they did not pick up their luggage, and it was left as lost luggage. Later they call the Lost Property Office, and have the luggage delivered to a hotel. To be safe they are staying in other hotel and only go to the first one to pick up the luggage when they have checked that suspicions have not been raised. The gang had several vehicles with sophisticated mechanisms to hide the drugs for their transportation across Spain, and substances with an odour to confuse police drug dogs. The Guardia Civil action has led to the complete dismantling of the group who now face charges of drug trafficking, belonging to a criminal organisation and falsifying documentation.

Two National Police fined 600 € for death of man under their guard

Two National Police who were accused of the death of Nigerian man have been fined just 600 €. It happened during a repatriation flight in 2007, when the police were guarding the man, and experts and forensic scientists told the court that the tape they used to gag the man ‘was not the direct cause of death’, but it was ‘stress and a lack of oxygen’. They said the reason the victim had problems breathing was not the gag, but the low air pressure because of the height of the flight. The case was held today, Thursday, in the seventh section of the Alicante Provincial Court, in Elche, and initial three year prison sentences were called for by the prosecutor, with a brief period out of the job without pay. But given the evidence of the experts the charges were dropped from involuntary homicide to a fault. At the end of proceedings, the instruction magistrate told some relatives of the victims who had travelled from Madrid for the case, that they could make a civil appeal provided they can prove that they are in fact related to the deceased.

Former Marbella Mayor must pay back 1.8 million Euros

The Supreme Court has confirmed Malaga provincial court decision in one of the cases against the former mayor of Marbella, Julian Munoz, which said that he must pay back over 1.8 million Euros to the municipality. . He Julian Munoz, should have usurped money by issuing false invoices were submitted by a law office that belonged to the former Chairman of the football club Sevilla, José María del Nido. Both Muñoz and share Nido has also been sentenced to 7 years in prison in the case known as the Minutes, which the municipality of Marbella between 1999 and 2003 paid some 6.7 million Euros Nido. In this case must reimburse Muñoz 3.05 million Euros, while part Nido has to pay 2.7 million Euros. . Julián Muñoz has just been in the dock in a third case, namely the associated Malaya corruption scandal in Marbella. Here he is with the main accused, former chief administrative officer with responsibility for urban planning, Juan Antonio Roca, and 94 other charges of bribery, embezzlement, abuse of power, etc. in Marbella.   Julián Muñoz denied having received money from Juan Antonio Roca that has previously stated that the initials JM in his secret accounts do not account for Julián Muñoz. He may face up to 10 years in prison in this case. .

Ex Mayor of Casares ordered to prison provisionally

The judge has ordered provisional prison for the ex Mayor of Casares, Juan Sánchez. The IU member is also the Councillor for Institutional Affairs and Housing, and faces charges of bribery, administrative perversion and others. The current Mayor, Antonia Morera, held a press conference on Monday afternoon and said the Judicial Police and Civil Guard wanted to see the documentation related to a project by Majestic, a constructor of several promotions which had previously requested in 2010. Also charged in the case the ex Mayor’s wife, who was also facing charges and has been released. A third arrested person declared on Monday and another arrest is expected today, according to the Sánchez lawyer, Juan José Simón. Sanchez declaration took some two hours in the Instruction Court Two in Estepona, and he left the court at 2am Tuesday by the back door. The prosecutor wanted 250,000 € bail, but the judge set the amount at 200,000 €. The Casares Town Hall remains closed to the public as the search to examine the documents by the Guardia Civil continues.

British bomb hoaxers released from custody on Tenerife

The two British youngsters, 20 year old Aidan-Paul Jenvis, and Mathan Levi aged 21, who were arrested at the Reina Sofia Airport last Friday after giving a false bomb alert during a Thomas Cook flight from Manchester, have now been released from custody, but they cannot leave Tenerife until the case against them comes to court. Their passports have been removed. They have been held since Friday in the cells of the Local Police in Granadilla de Abona. They are now staying at the apartment they had rented for their holiday break. The two are reported to have been drunk when they claimed to the other passengers and a stewardess that they had a bomb in their hand luggage. There was some debate as to whether they would be judged under Spanish or British legislation, given the offence happened on a British plane, considered to be British soil, but it seems they will tried under Article 82 of the Air Navigation Law in Spain. Civil Guard sources said that in all probability it will be a fast track hearing and the two will be expelled to the UK once they have paid a fine. Spanish law says there is a jail sentence of between six months and a year in prison, but it is unlikely they will go to jail as they have no previous record in Spain. A plan for Britain to ask for the extradition of the two to face terrorism charges in the UK has now been dismissed.

Briton wanted for armed robbery in the UK is arrested on Ibiza

The Guardia Civil on Ibiza arrested a Briton wanted for armed robbery. News of the arrest, which took place on Friday, has just been released. The man was arrested in the West End for drug trafficking as he was found to be carrying 27 MDMA ecstasy pills, cocaine and marihuana. They then discovered that a U.K. search and capture order was in place against the man. The Guardia Judge has granted bail of 1,500 € which the British man who is unnamed in reports has paid, and now he will be taken to the Central Instruction Court in Madrid. The National Court is the body to grant extraditions in such cases. The man will presumably be judged back in the UK on the charges armed robbery and illegal possession of firearms. Once he has responded to the charges in Britain the man must respond to Spanish justice for the alleged crime of drug trafficking. Meanwhile in a separate case a British man named with the P.D.C. is in court today in Ibiza. He faces charges of involuntary manslaughter after he jumped a red light in his car in the summer of 2006, and hit a 59 year old woman who died of her injuries.

Justice Minister announces tougher sentences for serious crime

The Minister for Justice, Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, has announced an up to ten year prison increase on current terms for serious crimes. It will affect sexual crimes, serious crimes where violence or intimidation were used and drug trafficking. It could also apply to those a previous record of serious crimes, or those who are repeat offenders. Gallardón is calling the new measure ‘custodia de seguridad’. It means that a person’s liberty can continue to be lost after the prison term is over, although this could be a more attenuated regime. Also in the new legislation is the concept of ‘reversible life in prison’ for the most serious and socially rejected crimes, such as rape, torture and killing a child. The Minister made the announcement today, Monday, after meeting the father of the 17 year old Sevilla girl, Marta del Castillo, who was killed in 2009 and whose body has still not been found. He was given a text by Marta’s father which asked him to comply with the election manifesto and the promises made during the campaign, because ‘society cannot consent to more broken promises’.

The bodies of two pensioners found in Estepona

Two pensioners, a 77 year old man and his 75 year old partner have been found dead in Estepona in what is thought to be a case of macho violence. Both the man and the woman had been widowed, and first indications are that the woman had been hit on the head by her new sentimental companion who then committed suicide. He had a cut on his arm. Any third party has initially been ruled out. National Police were called to the property in Calle Maspalomas on Saturday afternoon when neighbours said they had not seen the couple for several days. The police found two bodies. Autopsies will be carried out to confirm the cause of the deaths and the time when it happened. If is domestic violence by the National Police investigation, this will be the first woman to die at the hands of her partner in Málaga so far this year.

Man electrocutes his ex partner and tries to strangle her

A man has tried to strangle his ex partner after stunning her with an electric shock. It happened in a service station on the A-49 in Huelva, and later the woman who was unconscious woke up and injured walked to some houses where she asked for help. She was taken to hospital with diverse injuries. It’s reported the woman who is in her 40’s had been in an abusive relationship with the man, identified with the initials J.A.S. for two years. It was on May 11 last year that the attack happened in Bollullos Par de Condado. The woman said she got into her ex-partner’s car willingly, but then he drove to the service station and without saying anything attacked with a device similar to a Taser. He then tried to strangle her, and she only remembers coming round on her own. The following day the Judicial Police of the Guardia Civil arrested the alleged attacker and charged him with attempted homicide. They also recovered the device which they believe had electrocuted her. The suspect will appear in court shortly.

Sahil Saeed's kidnap in Pakistan was 'plotted in Spain'

A married couple plotted the kidnapping of a five year-old UK boy in Pakistan from a Spanish town, a court has heard. Sahil Saeed, of Oldham, was visiting his grandmother's home in the Punjab region when he was snatched during a robbery on 4 March 2010. He was released after 12 days when a £110,000 ransom was paid by his family. Appearing in Tarragona, Spain, Muhammad Zahid Saleem, his wife Gianina Monica Neruja and flatmate Muhammad Sageiz denied charges of kidnap, conspiracy. The trio also deny charges of robbery and trespass as well as eight charges of unlawful arrest in connection with the case. Mr Saleem and Mr Sageiz, from Pakistan and Ms Neruja, from Romania, lived in Tarragona before their arrests. They have been in custody awaiting trial since 16 March 2010. Prosecutor Maria Jose Osuna said: "Together with at least four other people of Pakistani origin, Muhammad Zahid Saleem, Gianina Monica Neruja and Muhammad Sageiz designed, organised and carried out the kidnapping of the British minor Sahil Saeed. "The whole operation was directed by the defendant Muhammad Zahid Saleem, who had gone to his country at the end of 2009 and in February for that purpose." Rifles and grenades Ms Osuna told the court that Sahil and his father, Raja Saeed, had been saying farewell to their family when four masked men carrying assault rifles and hand grenades struck. She said they beat members of Sahil's family - including his grandmother and cousin - "without distinction of age". "At one point they turned to Mr Raja Saeed and said they knew he was a businessman and they knew he and his father had a business in the United Kingdom," she said. "They said, 'You are going to pay us £100,000, we are taking your son with us now'. "They pointed a gun in his face and, when he told them they were making a mistake, they pounced on him, filled his mouth with cloth and tied it behind his head, telling him, 'If you try to contact the police or involve them we will kill him [Sahil]'." The prosecutor told the court the men then left with Sahil in the taxi that had been meant to take the boy and his father to the airport from where they had been due to return to Manchester. She said the men also stole 1,9000 rupees, two phones, a laptop, two watches and a gun. The court heard that Sahil's uncle had been called from a phone box in Constanti, near Tarragona on the afternoon of 4 March, 2010. Two days later Sahil's father received another call from Spain informing him that the gang knew that he had contacted the police. Mr Saeed was told that the ransom had doubled because of this contact, although the amount was later settled at £110,000. The gang told him to return to the UK. Mr Saeed was told the ransom would increase if it was not paid by 15 March and that he would have to pay an additional £100,000 if he wanted to speak to his son to confirm that he was alive. The case continues.

Wanted British man arrested on the Costa del Sol

34 year old British man who was one of the most wanted criminals in the U.K. for being allegedly implicated in a kidnapping and drug trafficking, has been arrested by the Guardia Civil in Manilva, Málaga. A European arrest warrant had been issued against 34 year old Martin Wolstenholme in the court in Stoke on Trent in Staffordshire, according to a Guardia Civil statement released on Friday. He is thought to have been one of the drug traffickers in Newcastle under Lyme in 2010 and alleged took part with another three people in the kidnapping of a 22 year old man and demanded a ransom from the family. He fled from the UK in 2011 after discovering that the British police were searching for him, and then came to the Costa del Sol where he tried to disappear in the British community. During the investigation, carried out in conjunction with the Agency against Organisation Crime in the U.K., SOCA, and Crimestoppers, the Guardia Civil located his residency in Manilva, where he lived under a false the name in the company of a woman, who it’s reported did not know his real name, as she just called him Tony. He led a discrete life and did not go out much, except at night. The Guardia saw him leave the house and following him to inside of a Chinese Bazaar. When he saw the Guardia he tried to escape after hitting one of them. El Mundo says the Guardia was injured in the scuffle.

Two Britons arrested for bomb hoax on flight from Manchester to Tenerife

The Guardia Civil has arrested two British men, aged 19 and 20, in the Reina Sofía Airport in Tenerife, after they caused a false alarm saying that they were carrying a bomb in their hand luggage. They have been named as Aidam-Paul Jenvis and Mathan-Levi Tripicn. It happened at 12.25 on Friday afternoon when Gran Canaria air traffic control got a message from the plane requesting priority landing at Tenerife Sur. Emergency protocols were put into action. The 802 squadron of the SAR search and rescue service was put on alert, and the local and general Canaries police were alerted with Tedax explosives experts from the Guardia Civil. After landing the Boeing 757-200 was a Thomas Cook flight from Manchester taxied to gate 26. It was 1.20pm when the plane captain requested the presence of the Guardia Civil, and the two men were arrested on the plane. A large Guardia took part in the operation and it appears that the two Britons were then frightened and one of them started crying, realising the size of the problem they had created. The plane was then disembarked and the two men taken into the Reina Sofia airport.

Eight arrested in Mallorca on drug and prostitution charges

Eight people have been arrested by National Police in Mallorca for drug offences and prostituting several women. It seems the gang introduced the girls to drugs to create an addiction and then forced them to prostitute themselves, sometimes without condoms, to get their drugs. The women hid their situation from their families out of fear of revenge. Those arrested, some of them aged over 60, have been ordered to prison by Instruction Court Six in Palma. They face charges of drug trafficking, sexual abuse and corruption of minors. Several youngsters were released during the police operation. Three properties in Palma have been searched and a video camera and porn films have been found, with 3,000 € cash, more than 600 grams of cocaine, 1 kilos of substances to cut the drug and other items for its mixing and sale. The investigation started after the death of a 16 year old adolescent in Palma de Mallorca from a cocaine overdose eight years ago. It continues open and more arrests have not been ruled out.

Spanish police inquiry after body of man from south Wales found

The body of a man thought to be from Newport in south Wales has been found in water near his yacht off the Costa del Sol, say Spanish police. The man, who has been named locally as Denis Manley and thought to be in his 70s, was found on Wednesday afternoon. He was spotted in the marina at Estepona at the western end of the southern Spanish coast, near Gibraltar. The man, who had a head injury, is believed to have been staying on the boat. Police think it was an accident. Officers think he probably slipped on board the vessel, hit his head, and then fell into the water. "All indications point to an accident," said an officer of the paramilitary Civil Guard.

Richard Branson says Spain can solve its economic problems by legalizing marijuana

Sir Richard Branson believes that the ideal way for Spain to get out of its current morass of national debt, savage austerity cuts, and social turmoil would be to legalize and tax marijuana. The billionaire founder of the Virgin Group suggested at the opening of the world’s largest cannabis museum in Barcelona on Wednesday that this policy “would help get the country back on its feet.” Branson is a member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, a body “which includes five ex-presidents and Kofi Annan, the former United Nations secretary general, and which concluded last year that the war on drugs had failed and called for experiments in decriminalisation.” Other members of the commission include former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz and former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso. Branson was invited to Barcelona to receive the Cannabis Culture Award 2012 on behalf of the commission and in recognition of its ground-breaking report. In his speech, his praised the nearby town of Rasquera, whose inhabitants voted to rent land to a Barcelona cannibis-growers’ society as part of an “anticrisis plan.” The town’s mayor, Bernat Pellisa, explained that the idea to use marijuana to help get the town out of recession was inspired by the global commission’s report. “It seems like a great idea to me,” Branson stated enthusiastically. The Hemp Museum Gallery Barcelona was officially opened on Friday. According to ThinkSpain, it “will exhibit paintings, photos and drawings illustrating the use of cannabis throughout history, as well as some antique objects, like tools and instruments used to transform the hemp plant into rope, paper and fabric.”

A blonde girl identical to Madeleine McCann was seen at a campsite in Spain just three days after the British toddler went missing five years ago

A blonde girl identical to Madeleine McCann was seen at a campsite in Spain just three days after the British toddler went missing five years ago, it has emerged.

The groggy-looking child appeared alienated from the German family she was staying with at the resort on the Costa del Sol, according to a witness.

The potential sighting came three days after Madeleine was abducted from Praia da Luz in Portugal, a few hours drive away.

Sighting: A blonde girl identical to Madeleine McCann was seen with a German family at the Cabopino campsite on Spain's Costa del Sol (pictured) just three days after the British toddler went missing five years ago

Missing: Madeleine was abducted from Praia da Luz in Portugal, a few hours drive away from the Spanish campsite, in May 2007

British detectives investigating her disappearance have been told the German family paid extra after arriving at the campsite with one more child than expected on May 6, 2007, reports The Sun.

It is also believed that their vehicle had fake number plates to avoid detection.

The alarm was raised by holidaymaker Karen Sisson, 49, who was staying at the Cabopino campsite near Fuengirola.

Ms Sisson, from Gibraltar, told police at the time that the girl was wearing a pink T-shirt, shorts and a beige hat and seemed 'out of it'.

She said that the girl seemed out of place with the German couple and their two curly-haired children.

The mother-of-two's suspicions were further raised when she saw the girl wearing the same outfit the following day.

Ms Sisson left the next day but records show the German family stayed at the campsite for two weeks.

Brink's Mat the reason that Great Train Robber was shot dead in Marbella

The Brink’s-Mat curse even touched on the Great Train Robbery gang of 1963. One of them, Charlie Wilson, found himself in trouble when £3 million of Brink’s-Mat investors’ money went missing in a drug deal. In April 1990, he paid the price when a young British hood knocked on the front door of his hacienda north of Marbella and shot Wilson and his pet husky dog before coolly riding off down the hill on a yellow bicycle.

Man jailed for five years for trying to smuggle £800,000 of drugs through Birmingham Airport

PORTUGUESE man who tried to smuggle more than £800,000 of heroin through Birmingham Airport has been jailed for five years. Mamad Chagani, 57, arrived at Birmingham en route from Islamabad, via Karachi and Dubai, on January 21. He was stopped and questioned by Border Force officers who became suspicious and took him to a private area where he was searched. He was found to be wearing a vest and shorts with sewn-in pockets which had 3.87 kilograms of concealed high purity heroin, with an estimated street value of £816,000. Chagani was born in Mozambique but currently lives in Portugal where he is registered as a Portuguese citizen. He told investigators that he was a businessman who dealt in the import and export of leather goods. Chagani said he was forced into being a drugs mule after he got hooked on heroin. After his business ran into financial difficulties and his mother became ill, he built up debts in Pakistan and became a heroin user. To repay the debts, he told investigators that he agreed to act as a drugs courier. Chagani pleaded guilty to the importation of a Class A drug and was sentenced to five years prison at Warwick Crown Court. Dawn Cartwright, UK Border Agency Criminal and Financial Investigation senior investigating officer, said: “This sentence should serve as a warning to anyone tempted to try and smuggle drugs. “Our officers are in the frontline of the fight to stop drugs, weapons, contraband and illegal immigrants entering the UK. Using the very latest technology, they are on constant alert to keep them out of the country. “There is no doubt that this Class A drug would have ended up on the streets of the UK, causing damage to local communities and people, if our officers had not intercepted it.”

Police break up two criminal clans in Marbella

27 arrests, and the clans took part in durg trafficking, money laundering and cock fighting.Archive Photo of a fighting cock - Ministry for the Interior Two matriarchal family clans of drug traffickers, a total of 27 people, have been detained by the National Police in Marbella. The two families were also engaged in money laundering and cock fighting. Those selling the drugs were, in the majority, hooked themselves and worked in exchange for their daily dose, which was highly adulterated. The Police operation took place in March, but details have only today been released. They registered twelve homes, and recovered five kilos of cocaine, four kilos of gold, eight vehicles, eight mopeds, 75 fighting cocks and a ‘ring’ in the form of a corral. Those arrested form part of an organisation led by two women, whose sons and boyfriends occupied subordinate positions in its structure. Bottom of the pyramid were the people selling the drugs and keeping an eye out for the police. They also had to clean the cars, paint the properties, do the shopping and put out the rubbish. Police say the two families had perfected their techniques to evade both the police and the courts, and had constructed sheds in common areas of blocks of flats which they used to store elements of the crimes. In this way if they were affected by a police investigation they could say that the evidence was in the community area. They also engaged in selling property to each other for some 30,000 € but without a contract or legal registry, which has made it difficult to identify the owners or those renting the property where the drugs were being distributed. The Police say they changed accommodation frequently. One man had installed an iron gate to protect himself and when the police raided his house it gave him time to flush part of the drugs down the toilet. The group are also thought to have given drugs to stimulate the metabolism of the fighting cocks to increase their chances of winning. The Judicial Police, Seguriad Ciudadana, and the Scientific Police from Marbella took part in the operation with collaboration from the Special Operations Group, and the Police Intervention, Subsoil, and Air Unit from the Málaga Police Station.

Cleaner shot dead in Toledo bank robbery

A cleaner has been shot dead today, Friday, during a bank robbery in Santa Cruz de Retamar, Toledo today. It happened in a branch of the Caja Rural Castilla-La Mancha. Three individuals with their faces covered were waiting for the bank employees in the office at 8am. The three staff and the regional director of the Bank, were guided at gunpoint into a side room. It seems the cleaner came in just afterwards, as the thieves were gagging the staff, and shots were fired, killing the woman. The thieves then panicked and left without the money. One of the three thieves has now been detained and the search continues for the other two.

Canadian wanted on sex offences nabbed in Spain

A former Manitoba man wanted on sex abuse charges has been nabbed by police in Spain after an international manhunt. Iain Kenneth Smy, 49, was initially arrested in Ontario in 2009 on nine counts of sexual assault. The allegations date back to 1984 and involve boys who were between 11 and 15 at the time in two youth organizations in Brandon, Man. Smy was in a position of authority within the organizations, which police have declined to name. The assaults allegedly happened during group outings, police said. Not long after his October 2009 arrest, Smy was released on bail with court approval to live in Sarnia, Ont., but return to Brandon for court dates. Police said Smy's passport was seized when he got bail, but that didn't stop him from missing a court appearance in July 2010, they said, and then disappearing altogether. "We certainly do have information to support that he was able to obtain further travel documents," said Const. Jason Michalyshen. Police allege the man somehow got his hands on a British passport. Police said Smy's parents live in Britain, though they declined to say where. A joint investigative squad made up of RCMP and Winnipeg police confirmed Smy had skipped the country and made his way to Europe. Several different police forces, including officers in London, England, and Ireland, got involved in the case. Investigators tracked Smy to Malaga, Spain, where he was arrested Monday morning by local police. Smy is being held in Madrid as efforts to extradite him unfold, police said. It's not often police in Manitoba are forced to go to these lengths to retrieve an accused. "It does happen from time to time. There is a uniqueness to this, not something we do on a daily or weekly basis. Unique, but something we're not afraid to do," said Michalyshen.

Acquitted six Britons accused of 'cleaning' drug money in the South of Tenerife

The High Court acquitted six Britons residing in the South Island of the alleged crimes of drug trafficking, money laundering and forgery. The prosecution asked for them twelve years in prison and fines totaling EUR 63,948,712.14. The facts date back to October 23, 2008 when Stephen Dennis Brown, British resident in Portugal, only convicted of a crime against public health, engaging in frequent trips to Spain, Tenerife and Marbella in particular was under Gerard Mooney driving a truck with a load of cleaning cow udders and camouflaged within 46, 801 kilos of amphetamines and two kilos of hashish. The vehicle was intercepted by British police on the highway A-40 in Oxfordshire. The drug had reached a market value of 806,662.04 euros wholesale. The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), British agency responsible for investigations into major criminal organizations alerted the National Police UDYCO that British subjects are used to transport cocaine were located in southern Spain and Canary Islands. Within this operation was mentioned about the shipment of vehicles from the Canary Islands in a ferry to Cadiz, which ultimately was never produced. Heritage investigations have uncovered that James Mac Donald, alias Jim and his wife appeared as owners of a bungalow located in Las Mimosas in Adeje, with two parking spaces. According to the police was in charge of transport and logistics. Another defendant Robert Ian Donaldson, aka Ian Small or owned nine homes in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Las Palmas and Santiago del Teide, with a value of 1,974,000 euros. In addition, your company Ians Sports Cars also appeared as owner of two houses in San Miguel de Abona and three rustic farm in Granadilla de Abona, as well as two Ferraris, a Porsche Cayenne, a Mitsubishi L200, a Hummer, Audi Q7, two motorcycles water and a speedboat valued at 3,300,000 euros. This according to the researchers dealt with the accounting and organizational management. The National Police discovered that several of the defendants also maintained in Gran Canaria societies through a company Scruffy Murphy and the club Fibber Magee and Scroti. The National Court ruled that you could only convict Stephan D. Brown, for an offense against public health, and sentenced to 6 years and 6 months imprisonment and a fine of 808,253 euros. While James Mac Donald, Ian Donaldson Robert, Ronald and Deborah O'Dea Tamara Learmouth, aka Debbie, who took advantage of his job at a travel agency to provide the tickets, were acquitted of the crimes of drug trafficking and money laundering. In addition, acquitted of the same offense to Mary Durkin and Stephen Hendry D. Brown.

The Marbella Court has been waiting 18 months to question Sean Connery

The court in Marbella has been waiting 18 months for Sean Connery and his wife Micheline to respond to questions regarding an alleged money laundering operation related to sale of the Connery villa. The possible participation of companies linked to the couple in an allegedly irregular real estate deal involving the sale of their Marbella home ‘Malibu’ is under investigation in the case, which results from a complaint presented to the anti-corruption prosecutor in 2006. It has been estimated that Marbella Town Hall lost out to the tune of 2.7 million € because of the deal which has been estimated to have generated profits of 53 million as 72 luxury apartments were built on the site of the villa, previously owned by the Connerys. The actor and his wife face money laundering charges, with reported transfers of more than 37 million € abroad, to the U.K. and Uruguay reported to be under investigation. Now the case has lost its second instruction judge in Marbella, Manuel Jaén Vallejo, who has been promoted into the Ministry for Justice. That means that Instruction Court 1 in Marbella has been left in the hands of a support judge until a new one can be appointed. There are three parts to the case, a deal signed between ex Mayor of Marbella, Julián Muñoz, and the Malibú S.A. company, the owner of the Connery villa, and two others regarding adjoining property owned by the company, ‘By the Sea’. 80 year old Sean Connery claimed reasons of poor health for his lack of an appearance in October 2010 despite being told, by letter to his house in Nassau, that ‘all legal measures available, both in national legislation and international legislation would be used’ to oblige Connery and his wife to declare. Bail was set at 3.3 million € for the couple in terms of civil responsibility.