Donaldson enjoyed a lavish lifestyle in Marbella and Tenerife, trafficking accused found hiding in loft with £70k in cash

 A SUSPECTED drug trafficker was found by police hiding in a farmhouse loft in Scotland with a bag stuffed with £70,000, a Spanish court was told last week. Ian Donaldson, 32, is accused of helping fund an international drugs ring smuggling cocaine and speed from Spain to Scotland The former amateur racing driver – who drove a Lamborghini with the distinctive Lambo 88 plate – was tracked down to the farm by officers from the Scottish Crime and Drugs Enforcement Agency. Donaldson – who enjoyed a lavish lifestyle in Marbella and Tenerife– is one of six Brits facing court in Madrid accused of making millions from the drugs trade. Detective Inspector James Wallace of the SCDEA told the court: “I arrested him on February 27, 2009. He was hiding in a loft area in a farm building. We also found £70,000 hidden in a bag.” Eight SCDEA detectives gave evidence to the National Court in the Spanish capital last week via a video link from Edinburgh. The court heard Scottish police mounted a surveillance operation after Donaldson, from Renton, Dunbartonshire, was released on bail. Detectives watched him in a series of meetings in Glasgow and Hamilton in April 2009, as he tried to hide the origins of his fortune, prosecutors allege. Donaldson met with fellow accused Mary Hendry and Joseph Campbell and was observed discussing large sums of money and swapping paperwork for a nightclub in Gran Canaria. It was alleged they were secretly plotting to make it look like Donaldson had made some of his wealth from the club. Meetings took place at supermarkets in Glasgow and Hamilton and the Mitchell Library in Glasgow. DI Wallace told the court: “We saw he (Donaldson) was creating a defence for the Spanish charges. “I believe they (Hendry and Campbell) were both subservient to Donaldson, who instructed them on what to do.” The detective said Donaldson and his company IRD Services were also investigated for money- laundering in Scotland. He added: “There is evidence he purchased seven vehicles in Scotland, worth up to £900,000, between 2006 and 2008.” Mary Hendry told the court she only met Donaldson twice for legitimate business meetings. She said: “Joseph Campbell introduced me to Ian Donaldson because I was trying to sell my restaurant. “I met him the next day and he said he was not interested. I never saw him again.” It is alleged Donaldson was the money man for a gang of drug smugglers based in Tenerife and Marbella, led by Glaswegian Ronald O’Dea, 45. The gang are alleged to have spent millions on luxury villas, fast cars and yachts. In October 2008, police seized a a haul of amphetamines worth £660,000 heading to Scotland after stopping a lorry in Oxfordshire. Donaldson, Hendry and O’Dea share the dock in Madrid with fellow Scot James MacDonald, 62, and Londoners Steve Brown, 45, and Deborah Learmouth, 49. The gang face charges ranging from drug-trafficking to money-laundering. They deny all charges. Two other defendants – Brian Rawlings and Joseph Campbell – failed to show up at the trial. The judges will give their verdict at a later date.

Britons living overseas defrauded 43 million pounds in benefit fraud in 2011

The British Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan Smith, has been visiting the Department of Work and Pensions benefits and healthcare team in Madrid. He warned Britons living abroad not to break the strict rules on what benefits they can and cannot claim. People who are pretending to live in the UK so they can collect benefits, but in fact are living overseas cost the British taxpayer 43 million pounds last year. Most of the reports of such benefit fraud came from Spain. Iain Duncan Smith commented, “We are determined to clamp down on benefit fraud abroad, which cost the British taxpayer around £43 million last year. This money should be going to the people who need it most and not lining the pockets of criminals sunning themselves overseas. The vast majority of British people overseas are law abiding, but fraudulently claiming benefits while living abroad is a crime and we are committed to putting a stop to it.” He also encouraged Britons to use the dedicated Spanish hotline to report benefit thieves. 900 554 440 or you report a benefit fraud here. The hotline has resulted in 100 people being sanctioned or prosecuted, and 134 more cases are currently under investigation. 3.1 million pounds in over payments of benefit have been identified and will be reclaimed. Source – UK in Spain - http://ukinspain.fco.gov.uk/en/news/?view=News&id=754530182 Duncan Smith made the most of his visit to Madrid and took the chance to meet with Health Minister, Ana Mato, and the Mayor of Madrid, Ana Botella. They discussed the response to the crisis with Duncan Smith calling for an end to the culture of ‘unemployment and dependency’, increasing the control on public spending and eliminating ‘the subsidies which don’t resolve problems because in some cases ‘they trap the poor’.

Anti-Corruption prosecutors to be strengthened in Málaga

 

The State Attorney General, Eduardo Torres-Dulce, has said that there are plans to designate ‘one or two prosecutors’ more to the specialist Anti-Corruption section in the province of Málaga. He made the comment at an event where Juan Carlos López Caballero took possession as Chief Prosecutor for Málaga, a job which he was sharing with his post as Delegate from the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor, where three prosecutors work. There have been complaints from prosecutors that only 8% of civil servants who work for the administration of justice do so in the prosecutors’ office, a number described as ‘totally insufficient’.

Health Minister announces crackdown on foreigners using the Spanish Health Service

The cabinet on Friday decided to crack down on foreigners using the Spanish Health Service as part of an additional 7 billion € of cuts. They intend to toughen the conditions for inclusion on the Padrón census. Minister for Health, Ana Mato, said ‘We are going to end the abuses committed by some foreigners’. She is going to change the Ley de Extranjería which intends to put a limit to the so-called ‘health tourism’, which has seen family members of foreign residents to come to Spain ‘exclusively’ to receive health attention. Ana Mato insisted that from now it will not be so easy to come to Spain, sign the Padrón census, and obtain a health card, as it has been. ‘Just getting on the Padrón they all had the right to the health card’, said the Minister. ‘Now there will be a series of additional requirements when the Padrón is issued’. She said to guarantee the universality of the Health Service ‘for all the Spaniards’ it was necessary to stop the illegal and undue use which some foreigners have been making of this service. On Thursday the Minister met with the regions and they agreed on a new article which will ‘explicitly prohibit a person moving regions in search of health attention'. The Minister considers these measures will do away with health tourism and save 1 billion €. Ana Mato also said that she was going to revise some international conventions on the matter, given that ‘many’ countries do not repay the money they owe Spain for the health attention given here to their citizens. Among the other measures approved, the end of paying for some medicaments ‘with little therapeutic value’. A list of included medicines accepted nationally is to be prepared. The Minister said ‘We all have to collaborate with those who having a worse time’.

Ryanair threatens surcharge on flights to Spain

 

Millions of its passengers – who have already booked and paid for their flights in full – may now be asked to pay an extra fee upon departure, or be told they are not allowed to board. The airline sent an email to customers this week warning them of the backdated fare. “We may be forced to debit passengers for any government imposed increases in airport charges prior to your travel date,” its message read. “If any such tax, fee or charge is introduced or increased after your reservation has been made you will be obliged to pay it (or any increase) prior to departure”.

Warning of rise in bogus rape reports in Malaga

THERE has been a rise in false reports of rape from tourists in Malaga, according to the police. They are apparently doing this, the police say, to make fraudulent claims from their travel insurance. Doctors claim that in several cases they are convinced that the women are lying, but it is very hard to prove. “Some travel insurance policies have clauses by which tourists can get the money for their tickets back as well as compensation if they report they have been raped on holiday” one doctor told a local Spanish daily. Police and doctors report that they first saw this approximately three years ago and that on the Costa del Sol it is not a widely extended practice, whereas in areas such as Mallorca, it is seen more frequently. The police say they suspect women whose stories don’t add up, who can’t remember anything about the alleged attackers, or who do not appear to be overly upset about the ordeal. However, they rarely have enough proof to open proceedings against the alleged victims for making a false report. In most cases the women, aged between 19 and 25, have left Spain within 48 hours of making the report. Meanwhile doctors say they suspicions are raised when there is a lack of injuries or when the alleged victim wants to avoid undergoing an examination. Often no biological evidence is found.

TWO members of the Costa del Sol Drugs and Organized Crime Unit (UDYCO) are on trial for alleged irregularities in their work.

The two National Police officers are facing 19 and eight years in prison, as well as a four-year suspension in a trial which is expected to go on until July. One of them, the former head of the unit in Marbella, is accused of embezzlement, falsehood, violating a sentence and retaining a person against their will. As well as the sentence and suspension mentioned above the public prosecutor is asking for a 34-year ban from the police force. The other officer, who was Chief Inspector of the Unit, is accused of failing to perform his duties, violating a sentence, embezzlement, coercion and illegal weapons possession. The officers came under investigation in 2006, some two years after the unit dismantled a drug trafficking network in Marbella. During the arrests one of the detainees lost a gold watch worth €20,000, which was handed over to the head of the unit who failed to provide a receipt for it. According to the public prosecutor, he decided to keep it, and failed to mention it in any reports. When the detainee’s lawyer asked for it, he denied having it, but later handed it over and wrote a report claiming that he had ordered a search of the police station to find it. During another operation, he allegedly took €1,000 and a case. Meanwhile, the other officer on trial allegedly received complaints from lower ranking regarding the behaviour of their boss and despite knowing the truth about the gold watch, never reported the incident to his superiors. The first officer is also accused of setting a wanted man free in 2005 without telling his superiors after the detainee agreed to become an informer. However, when he was arrested again the officer allegedly “wanted nothing to do with him”, according to the prosecution. With the help of this man, he is accused of setting up a drugs sale to boost his reputation in 2005. He allowed his informer to “escape” with the €30,000 from the transaction, which they later allegedly shared. The other officer was approached by a Russian couple who wanted a detective so a friend could check on his wife. He allegedly pretended to pay a private detective and used resources available to him thanks to his position in the UDYCO. He is also charged with taking a TV seized during an operation home with him for more than a month, amongst other irregularities.

Arrested in Marbella father and son accused of drug trafficking in France

Two French citizens, father and son, who had complaints paths dictated by the French authorities for drug trafficking and in Spain were attributed to drug crimes and falsifying public documents, have been arrested in Marbella (Malaga). Researchers have been able to locate in the city of Marbella, where they were arrested on day 12 after checking their real identities and their claims incautarles court and through a house search, 52 kilograms of hashish and 58,340 euros in cash, plus false documents. Judicial authorities were concerned at European level arrests and delivery of AL born in Anglet (France) in 1946, and XL, 27 and son of the former, said today the General Directorate of Police in a statement. Operated drug was found in a suitcase hidden under a staircase of the residence of those arrested and the money hidden in a double wardrobe, and after the arrests of individuals have been brought to justice, according to sources.

POLICE dismantled a gang which stole cars in Alicante and Murcia and broke them up for spare parts.

Six premises were searched in and around Orihuela (Alicante) and nine people detained.

The arrests also allowed police to solve 30 outstanding thefts, said sources close to the case.

The gang came to the attention of the police in September last year after three Moroccans were found stealing vehicles in the Vega Baja.

Many were parked vans, with the keys left in the ignition while drivers made deliveries.

Investigators found that the thieves were stripping down vehicles at a country house in Los Miras, near Los Montesinos.

 

They then took the spares by road to North Africa via the Algeciras ferry, using faked invoices from scrap dealers to confirm their origin.

 

Entire vehicles were also taken to Morocco on false papers after changing their number plates for those of cars of the same make and model.

The group used additional premises in Callosa de Segura, where the most valuable spare parts were hidden.

Those of little value and most of the chassis were dumped in a ruined depot on a Crevillente (Alicante) industrial estate.

Police also intercepted a large van in Lorca (Murcia) and arrested the driver, a Moroccan heading for Algeciras.

It was loaded with spares, including Mercedes, BMW and Volkswagen engines.

Other members of the group, also Moroccan, were arrested in Alicante, Algeciras and Marbella.

The operation is ongoing and police do not rule out further arrests.

Man named in Kevin 'Gerbil' Carroll murder trial 'is in Spain'

The Kevin 'Gerbil' Carroll murder trial has heard that one of the men alleged by the accused to be involved in the gangland figure's death is in Spain. Karen O'Donnell, 40, from Cumbernauld, told the High Court in Glasgow her cousin William Paterson said he was going to Spain in December 2009. Mr Paterson is one of eight people accused by Ross Monaghan of involvement in Mr Carroll's death in January 2010. Mr Monaghan, 30, denies murder in the Asda car park in Robroyston, Glasgow. He has lodged a special defence of incrimination against eight men, including Mr Paterson. Frequent visitor Advocate depute Iain McSporran, prosecuting, asked Mrs O'Donnell when she last saw Mr Paterson, who she knows as Billy. She told the jury it had been a week after her son's engagement party, which took place after the shooting of Mr Carroll. Mrs O'Donnell said Mr Paterson was a frequent visitor to her home and often phoned and texted her. Mr McSporran asked if she knew where he was, to which Mrs O'Donnell replied: "I believe he's in Spain to work in bars." She said he had told the family he was going to Spain in December 2009. Mrs O'Donnell was asked if Mr Paterson had ever gone abroad before, and replied that he had gone to Australia for a year in 2002. Murder charge The prosecutor asked if it was "obvious" that Mr Paterson had "fled the country to stay away for as long as possible". Mrs O'Donnell replied: "No, not in my opinion." She said she did not know when Mr Patterson was expected to return, and said she was aware that police were looking for him in connection with a charge of murder. It is alleged that while masked and acting with others, Mr Monaghan murdered 29-year-old Mr Carroll by repeatedly discharging loaded handguns at him, shooting him on the head and body. Mr Monaghan is accused of - while acting with others - attempting to defeat the ends of justice by disposing of a revolver, pistol and ammunition within undergrowth in Coatbridge and Airdrie, both North Lanarkshire. It is also claimed a car - bearing false number plates YF 55 EZZ - was set on fire. Mr Monaghan also faces a number of firearms charges. He denies all the charges against him and has lodged a special defence of incrimination against eight people. The trial, before judge Lord Brailsford, continues.

Spain's Royal Family Rocked by a Series of Legal Scandals

 

It is not the best moment to be King of Spain. Juan Carlos' son-in-law Iñaki Urdangarin is being investigated for involvement in a massive corruption scheme; and his eldest grandson just shot himself in the foot — literally. On April 9, the 13-year-old Felipe (who is known to the public by his nickname Froilán), was finishing up target practice at his father's estate, when he accidentally fired a bullet into his right foot. Because Spanish law prohibits anyone under the age of 14 from operating a firearm, the Civil Guard has now opened an investigation into the event. "Without a doubt," says journalist Mábel Galaz, who covers the Spanish royal family for El País newspaper, "this is their annus horribilis" — a reference to Queen Elizabeth II's description of 1992, the year the marriages of three of her children (including that of Charles to Diana) were breaking up and Windsor Castle caught fire. For decades, Spain's Bourbons avoided the kind of public scrutiny and censure that bedevils other European royals. The country's media — not even the gossip rags — made few or no coy references to mistresses or financial misdoings, nor did they whisper about unseemly meeting with Arab sheiks or a special fondness for diet pills. But that reticence is beginning to change, thanks in part to recent legal scandals. And as it does, Spain's attitudes toward monarchy in general are also changing. (MORE: Spain's Death Spiral and the Hypocrisy of the Euro) "There's been a willingness to accept a construction of the King as the savior of democracy," says Julián Casanova, history professor at the University of Zaragoza. "And as a result he was never subjected to public criticism." Despite the fact that he was dictator Francisco Franco's handpicked successor, Juan Carlos lent his support to parliamentary government — basically writing himself out of power — and in 1981 went on television to disavow an attempted military coup, an act that quickly helped crush it. Because of those events, says Casanova, "the media has protected him." Yet that protection is no longer being extended in the same degree to his descendants — or at least not his descendants' spouses. In the years following her marriage to Felipe, the King's son and heir, Princess Letizia was reported to suffer from eating disorders and to have undergone plastic surgery. Critics have also questioned her fashion sense. (Two adorable children and a more modern style have since helped ease the scrutiny.) The King's eldest child Elena's 2009 divorce from the aristocrat Jaime de Marichalar scandalized sectors of this still predominantly Catholic country. But no infractions — real or imagined — have so affected the royal family's standing as the indictment of Urdangarin. In the fall of 2011, the husband of the Infanta Cristina was officially accused of diverting millions of dollars in public funds from the Noos Institute, a nonprofit organization that he chairs, to offshore accounts. Called to testify in February of this year, Urdangarin declared his innocence. The investigation is ongoing.   The royal family has tried to distance themselves from their wayward son-in-law, a former Olympic handball champion. In December, Urdangarin was suspended from attending official functions, and in his televised Christmas speech, the King made a pointed reference that was not lost on royal watchers. "Fortunately, we live in a state of law, and any objectionable action should be tried and punished according to the law. Justice is for everyone." Although the Infanta Cristina has thus far avoided indictment, for the first time she did not join the rest of the royal family for their traditional Easter vacation last week. Clearly, the royals are feeling the hot breath of public scrutiny. In October, a regular survey by the Center for Sociological Research showed that, for the first time in the past 17 years, trust in the royal family had fallen below the halfway mark, lower even than trust in the media. Perhaps in response, in December, the royal household made its income public for the first time (they received about $11 million in 2011, of which roughly 10% went to salaries and individual expenses). And on April 11, as the Spanish government announced massive cuts in the salaries and benefits of public workers, the royals followed suit, declaring that they would reduce their own budget by $224,000. "They're feeling obligated to have more transparency," says Casanova. "Given the situation in Spain, I don't think they had choice." (For comparison, Queen Elizabeth's royal household has an annual income of about $33 million.) (MORE: Spain's Big Gamble: What Two Cities Will Give Up to Win EuroVegas) Against this backdrop, Sunday's shooting accident surely hasn't helped their image. Nor did Queen Sofia's attempt to brush off the event's significance with a grandmotherly comment: "These things happen with boys." The Civil Guard begged to differ: after calling the accident a "clamorous infraction," they have opened an investigation. If found guilty, Felipe's father, who was with him at the time, could face fines. "This was clearly an accident," says psychologist Javier Urra, Madrid's former ombudsman for youth. "But there's a sense that the royal family should set an example." (Juan Carlos was himself involved in a tragic shooting accident as a young man. While the Bourbons lived in exile in Portugal, 18-year-old Juan Carlos was cleaning a revolver when it went off, hitting his 14-year-old brother Alfonso in the forehead, killing him.) Does their at least occasional failure to set an example mean that monarchy itself is in danger? "Absolutely not," says journalist Galaz. "People here still have a ton of respect for the King who got us through [the attempted coup on] February 23." But with the King now 74 years old, and democracy firmly established in Spain, it remains to be seen whether they will transfer their loyalty to his son. Until now, the 44-year-old Felipe, who was has a master's degree from Georgetown University, has comported himself well. "The bad news is that there's a lot of noise around the monarchy these days, and that the Infantas Elena and Cristina are no longer considered trustworthy," says Casanova. "The good news is that their brother is."

Spanish police investigate how grandson of King shot himself in foot

Felipe Juan Froilán Marichalar y Borbón, 13, the eldest grandson of King Juan Carlos is recovering in hospital after misfiring a shot into his right foot during target practice with his father at their home in Soria. The accident on Monday was described as a "thunderous infringement of the law" by Civil Guard sources according to Spanish daily newspaper El Pais. A judge on Wednesday ordered the launch of an investigation into the incident and called for the questioning of the boy's father Jaime de Marichalar, as the child was in his charge at the time. Don de Marichalar, who went by the title Duke of Lugo until his divorce in January 2007, could face a fine of up to 3,000 euros (£2,475) for allowing his son to use a firearm without a license, which cannot be obtained until age 14. The shot fired at close range travelled clean through the boy's foot in the toe area. He received first aid at a local hospital before being transferred to the Quiron clinic in Madrid where doctors operated on the foot.

tourist caught in Morocco with £500k worth of cannabis is jailed

 

A tourist in Morocco has been jailed for two years after being caught with £500,000 of cannabis in his camper van. Daniel Healy, 67, from Glasgow, was arrested as he tried to cross the border from Morocco to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. Police discovered the 100-kilo stash of the drug hidden in aluminium boxes in the Spanish-registered van’s water tank. He has been held in tough Tetuoan prison since his arrest in September last year, which was revealed in the Sunday Mail at the time and he has now been sentenced. It is not known whether Healy pled guilty to the charges or was convicted by jury. At the time, his friend Graham Boszormenyi, 46, claimed Healy was unaware of the hidden drugs. Last night, Healy’s daughter Siobhan, who is a celebrated glass artist in Dennistoun, refused to comment. The foreign office said: “We will continue to provide consular assistance.” A US state department report on Moroccan jail conditions said: “They ­ generally do not meet ­international standards. “Prisons are overcrowded, resulting in poor hygienic conditions and prone to violence.”

In a big drugs haul in the early hours of yesterday morning, police pounced on a fast launch carrying over a tonne of drugs which the RGP put the street value at over £7 million

The haul was as a result of ongoing collaborative work with the Guardia Civil...the RGP Police launch started to track a vessel which was on the eastside of Gibraltar making its way to Europa Point.

Due to the nature of the information a number of police officers were placed in strategic positions around the Rock to enable to follow the direction of the said vessel which then made its way towards Rosia Bay, hidding itself behind one of the tankers anchored in the bay.

An RGP statement adds: "Due to police spotters information was passed on to the RGP launch which made its way towards the said tanker, but on being seen the said vessel, which could now be identified as a red rigid semi inflatable, started to get away from the RGP launch. A chase then ensued with beacons and sirens applied, and in the process, one of the occupants was seen to jettison what appeared to be a Cannabis Bale into the sea. The RGP vessel managed to stop this RHIB which was seen to be fully loaded with bales suspected to be Cannabis Resin."

Both occupants of the RHIB were arrested on suspicion of being in possession of the said drugs with intent to supply others. Forty Eight (48) bales were found on this vessel, each bale estimated to weigh approximately 25 kilos, thus making a total weight of 1.2 tonnes.

The vessel and both defendants, Angel SERRAN PADILLA and Mateo RUIZ FAJARDO, both born in 1984 and resident in Ceuta were conveyed to Police Marine Base.

They were then transferred to Police Headquarters where they were interviewed under caution.

They were subsequently charged jointly with the following offences:

• Possession of a controlled drug namely approximately 1200 kilos of Cannabis Resin.

• Possession of a Controlled drug, namely approximately 1200 kilos of Cannabis Resin with intent to supply another or others.

• Jettisoning Cargo

• Importing a Prohibited Import, namely a rigid inflatable boat.

They appeared in the Magistrates Court where they were remanded in custody.

This has been the largest seizure of Cannabis Resin in recent years where persons have been arrested and charged with possession of the said drugs, said police.

The estimated street value of the said seizure is £6.2 million.

National Police arrest 15 Nigerians for drug trafficking

 

National Police have arrested 15 people from an organisation which distributed drugs, mostly cocaine, across Spain and other European countries. All 15 are Nigerians who have been arrested since the start of the investigation last September. The first arrests were of people acting as drugs mules carrying ‘acorns’ (small packages of drugs) inside their bodies, intercepted at Palma de Mallorca and Almería airports. In the first arrest in Palma the ‘mule’ was carrying 1,350 grams of cocaine in 77 ‘acorns’. Investigations then revealed other people responsible based in Alcalá de Henares, Azuqueca de Henares, Valencia and Palma de Mallorca. Other arrests have been made in Roquetas de Mar.

Costa del Sol foreigners present a denuncia at Hacienda after equity release fraud

Diario Sur reports that retired foreign residents have denounced a number of foreign financial entities to Hacienda regarding an alleged fraud which means they could lose their homes. The group claims that a dozen banks have become accomplices in a fiscal fraud. Most of the 30 foreigners, resident on the Costa del Sol, are British and they demonstrated on Monday outside the branch offices of the Agencia Tributaria in Avenida de Andalucía in Málaga. They were led by the President of their group, 74 year old Evan Armstrong, and Vice President Ian Sherdley. They have also presented a letter to Hacienda which explains to the treasury why they consider a full-blooded fiscal fraud has taken place implicating them without their knowledge. Represented by the lawyer Antonio Flores, they carried placards which attacked some of the banks which they claim have tricked them. The banks are financial entities outside Spain which the foreign residents claim offered them equity release on part of the value of their properties without charges. They were then told that succession tax would be reduced for their inheritors in the case of their death by an arrangement which saw their money being invested in investment funds in other countries which were supposedly without risk. The reality is that many owners have lost most of their money. The foreigners say they have been victims of a fiscal fraud carried out in Spain, and that is why they are taking action at the Agencia Tributaria against the financial entities which are implicated.

King of Spain's grandchild was legally too young to use the Shotgun

There has been a new twist to the shooting accident suffered by the oldest of King Juan Carlos grandchildren, Froilán. The 13 year old accidentally shot himself in his right foot; it’s thought with a twin barrel 36 calibre shotgun. It’s a common weapon in the hunt for small game. He was on holiday with his father, Jaime de Marichalar, and his sister, Victoria Federica, at his father’s family home in Soria. Now it has been established that he was using a firearm which is not allowed for the under 14 year old; the rule is described as a ‘serious infraction’. For children between the ages of 14 and 18 year a special authorisation is needed to use firearms, obtained from the Guardia Civil. They also have to be accompanied by an adult. The National Arms Association has commented that a 36 calibre shotgun ‘is the appropriate for a child to learn’ to start this activity. Floilán’s right foot has been surgically cleaned in an unnamed Madrid hospital but he is not thought to be seriously hurt.

They killed their friend, went partying, and then back to burn to body

 

A man has admitted in court he saw how a friend killed another by 30 stabbings as they were all high on cocaine, and how the body was burned. Jorge, Ulises and David are known to have got high on the drug in a house in Torrevieja, and then started fighting between them, resulting in Jorge’s death from 30 stab wounds. After the killing, Ulises and David went out in Torrevieja, still high on cocaine, and then drove to Madrid to buy more drugs. They took money out of the victim’s credit card while in the capital. They then returned from Madrid to Torrevieja and set fire to the body and the house where it all happened. The amazing case opened in the Provincial Court in Madrid today Tuesday, and Ulises and David face more than 50 years in prison for homicide and taking out money on the credit cards. Ulises told the court, ‘We were chatting, drinking and taking cocaine. David went out to buy drink, there was an argument under the effects of the cocaine, and then Jorge came out of the kitchen with a knife and David had to defend himself. So Jorge suffered 30 stabbings including getting his throat cut’. ‘I was scared’, continued Ulises, ‘I was scared of both of them’. He admitted in court that they had taken money out of the victim’s account – ‘I knew the number because he trusted me', he said. He explained to the court how they purchased a can of petrol to set fire to the body and the house.

Vinnie Jones heads to Marbella

Vinnie Jones is heading to Marbella for a role as a twisted garrotte killer. The British actor and ex-footballer – who was once given a yellow card after just three seconds on the pitch – will play a lead in gangster movie Shill, to be filmed entirely on the ‘Costa del Crime’. “Jones plays Branch, a guitar-playing nutter who chokes his victims with his strings,” said Shill writer and producer Paul Grimshaw, who based the film on his own experiences. The Shill actors will meet investors at Marbella Film Festival in October this year, with filming set for spring 2013. “We’ll be filming over a six-week period which will be a chance for some real star-spotting in Marbella,” said Grimshaw, who has worked as an estate agent in Marbella for 20 years. The film – also likely to star Tom Hardy – focuses on ‘shill bidding’, online fraud which involves falsely inflating prices of goods sold on auction sites such as eBay. Having made ten million pounds in cash, the team embark on a spending spree to Marbella to hide the money from the law. But after Shill makes a deal with crime baron Drake, a bloody and brutal mutiny is unleashed

Salou, the northern Spanish town where thousands of British students flock every spring for four nights of drunken debauchery.

It was a case of deja vu last night for the long-suffering residents of Salou, the northern Spanish town where thousands of British students flock every spring for four nights of drunken debauchery.

For the twelfth time, the Costa Dorada resort has been overrun by Saloufest, the notorious annual sports tour returning for another round of hard drinking, half-naked partying - and the odd day of volleyball or hockey.

The first pictures released from this year's event paint a familiar picture: packs of fresh-faced revellers in proudly ridiculous fancy dress, their flesh largely bare and arms aloft as they stagger and bellow through the streets.

On the march: British students wrapped in flags as they head out for the first night of parties at SalouFest in Salou, Spain

Fireman's lift: A British student makes off with a fellow reveller as the drunken Saloufest parties spill out on to the streets

Culture clash: Two young women match geisha-style makeup with pink bum bags for a night out in the Costa Dorada resort

The first 5,000 of a total 8,200 people are said to have made the trip from Britain's universities yesterday, marking an increase of 1,000 on last year.

Police say the first night of the tour passed without any arrests being made - but past form suggests they won't be holding out much hope for an easy ride.

 

Last year's event saw officers launch a crackdown on any students caught drinking in public, putting an end to the days when the locals would turn a blind eye to those flouting Salou's alcohol bylaws.

The town also decided to uphold rules preventing the Saloufest partiers from roaming around town half-naked.

The 2011 tour saw two toga-wearing students hauled off to a police station and fined £265 for breaking the alcohol laws.

This year the local authorities have handed out leaflets warning British visitors not to drink on streets and beaches, while those found stumbling around shirtless can expect to face the consequences.

 

Riot of colour: There's no missing these Brits abroad as they pull on garish tones and leggings for a debauched night in the Catalan village

Rowdy: Four students holler from the terrace of a nightclub during the first night of booze-soaked parties

Sitting comfortably? A show of bravado sees one British student doing a press-up as another sits on his back

Spanish media reports that ILoveTour, the firm that organises the festival, has some 30 supervisors on hand to babysit the horde of 18-to-23-year-olds.

One account, from Spanish newspaper El Pais, talks of streets streaked with vomit and urine, disoriented youths, deafening noise and riot vans on standby.

Despite local opposition, hoteliers in the area support Saloufest because it extends the holiday season and is timed so as not to interfere with the influx of Easter tourists. 

In an effort to keep the peace, some of the seven hotels set aside for the event have opted to separate their British guests from other holidaymakers.

The basic festival package sees students shell out £189 for coach travel and four nights in two-star accommodation, with optional extras including day trips to nearby Barcelona and Port Aventura.

Shameless: A passerby cheers as two partygoers get up close and personal outside an Irish-themed bar

 

In the gutter: The week-long tour has barely begun, but Saloufest seems to have taken its toll as these two huddle on the pavement outside a nightclub

Sin city: Dog collars and a novelty cross pass for fancy dress on the streets of Salou

 

Tribes: Clusters of UK students stagger through the village in fancy dress. A vague cavewoman theme finds this pair draped in animal print

Bookish? A mob of Saloufest drinkers in 'geek' fancy dress, one of the go-to costume themes for student union club nights up and down the UK