Spain organized crime is increasing

Organized crime is increasing on Spain's touristic southern coast, the Costa del Sol, where more than 700 international criminal rings operate, the far-left party Izquierda Unida (IU) said in a report released Friday. The number of criminal organizations present in Malaga province grew by almost 10 per cent in 2007.
More than 50 abductions and settlements of accounts occurred in 2006 on the Costa del Sol, where police dismantled over 130 criminal rings, detaining more than 1,200 people, over three years. The report stressed the link between organized crime and political corruption on the Costa del Sol. More than 170 people including mayors, officials and entrepreneurs have been detained in connection with scandals linked especially with the construction sector in the region in the recent years.
IU representative Antonio Romero accused regional authorities of not taking sufficient measures against organized crime.

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Drugs of all types were confiscated by the police in Almoradi

Drugs of all types were confiscated by the police in Almoradi recently . Three youths and a man were arrested on suspicion of supplying drugs .
The police discovered amphetamines , ecstacy , cocaine , crystal meths , hashish and cash . There was also the cutting agent made of a chemical compound used in such dealings .The males were all Spanish and were seen by police in a car on an industrial estate well known for drug dealing .

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military planes breaking the sound barrier have been revealed to be the cause of two loud explosions

Two military planes breaking the sound barrier have been revealed to be the cause of two loud explosions heard at 0940am this morning in Málaga and along parts of the Costa del Sol, especially in Torremolinos and Fuengirola.There was a fair amount of panic in the city as people feared that some sort of terrorist attack may have taken place.The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that two military planes on exercises were responsible.

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Marvin Herbert, head of security for a beachfront bar in the millionaires’ marina playground of Puerto Banus was shot on the terrace of Solly’s Diner

Marvin Herbert, head of security for a beachfront bar in the millionaires’ marina playground of Puerto Banus.In his mid-30s, he is said to have spent several hours drinking coffee alone on the terrace of Solly’s Diner in Puerto Banus on Wednesday.
He was joined by a second man, also thought to be British, at around 7.30pm. The pair were talking before the attacker pulled a gun from his pocket and shot Herbert five times as he walked towards his blue BMW across the road.
Despite being shot in the eye, twice in the crotch, once in the arm and once in the leg, he survived.He is said to be in a serious condition in a Spanish hospital.

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Mystery Blasts in Malaga

Two loud blasts have jolted the southern Spanish holiday resort of Malaga this morning - but baffled police said there was no sign of any explosion."They were heard practically all over Malaga. People are saying that it came from different places, but we haven't been able to find anything," a spokeswoman for the local police said.Spanish radio reported that a jet breaking the sound barrier might have caused the blasts, which rattled the city just days after the government blamed Basque rebels ETA for a bombing offensive in northern Spain.

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Fernando del Valle, who the prosecution considers to be the ‘brain’ behind the scheme which allegedly laundered money originating from drug traffickin

accused is lawyer Fernando del Valle, who the prosecution considers to be the ‘brain’ behind the scheme which allegedly laundered money originating from drug trafficking, prostitution and tax fraud. Also suspected of involvement are two notaries, two female employees of Del Valle’s Marbella office and some clients, the majority of whom are foreigners. Del Valle spent six months in prison and was released in September 2005 on bail of 600,000 euros. The prosecution is requesting that he be sentenced to 15 years in jail, ordered to pay a 37.1 million euro fine plus compensation of 610,846 euros and a guarantee of 13.8 million euros for having laundered 12 million euros, according to the prosecutor’s report. The anti-corruption prosecutor alleges that Del Valle carried out 13 money laundering offences, 141 of falsifying documents, three offences against the tax authorities and two others against the legal authorities by providing false testimony.

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Driveby shooting in Fuengirola

Residents on Calle Teba in the Los Pacos area of Fuengirola were witnesses to a drive-by shooting on Sunday night, which police suspect was a settling of scores between rival gangs. Officers say that the passengers of a passing vehicle shot at properties on the street before driving away down Calle Yunquera. Another car then set off in pursuit of the first. No injuries were reported but several properties were hit by bullets. Police hope to make arrests in connection with the incident within the next few days.

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Police are reported to be investigating possible links between the shooting of a British man in Calle Ramón Areces in Puerto Banús on Wednesday night,

Police are reported to be investigating possible links between the shooting of a British man in Calle Ramón Areces in Puerto Banús on Wednesday night, with an earlier shooting incident at the Nikki Beach discotec.They think the British victim of the latest shooting, named with the initials M.H. could be linked to those who took part in the shooting at Nikki Beach. He remains in a serious by stable condition in hospital after being shot five times including to his right eye, right arm, right leg, pelvis and to the genitals.He is from Liverpool and has been living in Marbella with his partner for some years. Government Sub Delegate, Hilario López Luna, said that he has a previous police record and has served prison time in Britain. Yesterday the victim's home was searched as police tried to establish a motive for the shooting.Speaking in Algeciras yesterday, the Minister for the Interior, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, said that it was thought the shooting was linked to a criminal settling of scores, probably over drugs.The man who is accused of carrying out the Nikki Beach shooting last August 23 is due to appear in court later today. In that shooting a 42 year old man was shot in both his legs.The day before that also saw an Irish man injured after being shot on the terrace of the Aloha Gardens bar.Puerto Banús became the scene of the third shoot out in Marbella in a month yesterday. A man in his thirties from Liverpool in England was shot in the face and the arm when he tried to get into his British registered dark blue BMW in Calle Ramón Areces at 7.30 p.m.
Witnesses in bars close by said that the man who fired the shots, some of which hit the victim in the face, spoke to the Liverpool man minutes before.
The shooter, apparently also British, made his get away in a waiting car. Police officers, who were quickly on the scene and have seized the bullet shells for investigation, believe that the shooting was a settling of criminal scores.
One witness said that: "We thought the shots were fire crackers until we saw the victim on the ground with his face blown apart and covered in blood. It was like a film, he was having convulsions although he was was able to say something."
The victim was taken to the Costa del Sol Hospital where he was being treated for two bullet wounds in the face, one near his eye, and another in his arm, and his condition was reported as being serious.

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Michael ‘Dermot’ McArdle goes on trial in Spain next week to face charges in relation to the death of his wife Kelly-Anne Corcoran in Costa Del Sol

Michael ‘Dermot’ McArdle goes on trial in Spain next week to face charges in relation to the death of his wife Kelly-Anne Corcoran in Costa Del Sol over eight years ago.Kelly-Anne (28) plunged to her death from the fourth floor balcony of a hotel in Marbella while the couple were on holiday with their two children in February 2000. McArdle, (39), from Haggardstown, who denies any involvement in his wife’s death, faces 14 years in prison if convicted of murder. The trial is set to begin on Monday in the Provincial Court of Malaga, Marbella. Members of the Corcoran family are expected to travel to Spain for the trial. Documents leaked to the Spanish newspaper ‘La Opinion de Malaga’ earlier this summer revealed that the prosecution’s case centres around evidence of an alleged struggle which appeared to have taken place in the couple’s hotel room prior to her fall. It was initially believed that Kelly-Anne died accidentally on the first day of the couple’s week-long holiday on February 12th, 2000, while trying to prevent her eldest son from toppling over the balcony. She survived the horrific fall but died of her injuries the following day, tragically leaving behind two sons aged just four and two years old at the time.

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National police are questioning a Dublin man over a €7m drug seizure

National police are questioning a Dublin man over a €7m drug seizure in the country.
The 62-year-old Irish man was arrested as he and three Spaniards berthed a boat which is alleged to have been full of cannabis. Police pounced on the vessel as it landed in Cadiz in the south of Spain. It is believed that the boat was carrying a tonne of dope. Detectives questioning the Dubliner have refused to reveal his identity except to say that his initials are DAJ. Police sources have said that this seizure was part of a major operation and have heralded it as a big success in the fight against drugs. Before the arrests, the gang is believed to have been under surveillance for two months. Gardai in Ireland say they are not aware of the man's identity, but said he may have entered Spain illegally. It is believed that the gardai were not involved with the arrests and were not asked to liaise with the Spanish police. It is suspected that the arrested man could be travelling on a false passport or may have dual nationality. The drugs that were seized off the boat will be forensically examined in the coming days, and Spanish police will be investigating who the drugs were destined for.

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Saray Tinoco disappeared going to dye her hair, she never returned for supper.

15 year old has gone missing in Andalucía with the announcement that 15 year old Saray Tinoco who vanished from Lepe, Huelva last Wednesday, a week ago.
Saray Tinoco left home last Wednesday with her I.D. but with no money.
Saray left home at 5pm with her ID card, but without any money, and the family says they had no idea that she may have wanted to run away. They say Saray said she was going to dye her hair, but she never returned for supper.
The Guardia Civil have now organised a search for the youngster.

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Pirate British satellite television group distributing signals to British clients resident in the provinces of Alicante, Murcia and Almería

The group had some 60,000 clients, most of them British, between Benidorm in Alicante and Vera in Almería.
The Judicial Police from the Torrevieja Guardia Civil has broken up an international gang which had been pirating British satellite television signals and then distributing them to British clients resident in the provinces of Alicante, Murcia and Almería in an area between Benidorm and Vera.
The group, based in an industrial estate at Algorfa, Alicante, had more than 60,000 clients, most of them British who paid 590 € for the installation of the system and then a monthly subscription of between 18 and 22 €. A total of 500 million € is thought to have been defrauded by the group which made no tax payments to Hacienda.
A total number of 14 people have been arrested, including eight Spaniards, three Britons and a Byelorussian, Rumanian and Russian.Investigations started following a complaint placed by Sogecable, the owners of the Spanish Digital Plus satellite system

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Liverpool man shot in Puerto Banus as gangwar flares

A man in his 30’s, first reported to be Eastern European by some sources, but now considered to be British by most media, has been injured in a shooting incident in a cafeteria in Puerto Banús, Marbella. At least five shots were fired in the port at 7,30pm last night, according to emergency service sources, with four of the shots hitting the man in the face after a first shot to the knee. He is reported to be seriously injured. Witnesses described the victim as a tall and athletic blonde man, and say he is British, from Liverpool, and has been living in Marbella for several years. They say the shooter, who is also thought to be British, talked to him for some time before opening fire.Police think that what was the third shooting in the town in less than a month, was a possible settling of criminal scores.
The man was shot as he left a cafeteria in Calle Ramón Areces, to walk to his car, a dark blue British registered BMW which he had left illegally parked with the windows open.

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Policewoman have been arrested by Murcia’s National Police drugs squad .

Four people , one of them a policewoman , have been arrested by Murcia’s National Police drugs squad .They have been caught for distributing and selling designer drugs . The supposed head of the gang and his policewoman wife are residents of Los Montesinos and they are thought to be responsible for acquiring and cutting the drugs before selling them on .The four people had been under investigation for sometime by the drug squad and when they were apprehended the squad couped a big haul of many types of drugs from speed to hallucinogenic mushrooms .The suspects have been reported to the courts at Orihuela and Torrevieja .

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David Oakley fled to Spain as police closed in on him.

David Oakley was today found guilty of a series of frauds and deceptions in which he cheated customers of his holiday and travel companies.A jury took just 20 minutes to decide that Oakley was guilty of 12 offences which included fraudulent trading and using forged cheques - and then heard he had fled to Spain as police closed in on him.The prosecution said Oakley, 62, was a conman who sold timeshare and holiday club memberships.Oakley, formerly of Salters Lane, Shrewsbury, was not in the dock and his trial was heard in his absence.During the six-day hearing the jury was not told Oakley had absconded three years ago. But after the verdicts the jury heard that Oakley was in Spain, as Mr David Matthew, prosecuting, made a confiscation application under the Proceeds of Crime Act.Recorder Denis Desmond was due to pass sentence on Oakley later today.Oakley was found guilty of obtaining £15,000 from Adrian Ramian by deception by claiming the money was to be invested in a holiday resort in Antigua.The jury also returned guilty verdicts on 11 other charges, including that Oakley ran Caribbean Marketing UK Ltd and Voyager International Ltd, and formed and promoted VIP Connections Ltd when he was banned from being a company director. He was also found guilty of fraudulently running two of the businesses knowing that the liabilities could not be met.He was found guilty of five specimen offences of forging cheques using Mr Ramian’s signature. And he was found guilty of perverting the course of justice by giving false evidence in a civil case to prevent his home being repossessed.He had initially denied all 14 offences which took place on dates between May 1999 and November 2002.However, he had been in contact with his barrister, Mr John Gruffydd, by fax and made admissions in connection with 11 of the 14 charges he faced.Two of allegations - of perverting the course of justice in a speeding case and fraudulent trading with VIP Connections Ltd - are expected to lie on file

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5-year-old boy is in a critical but stable condition at Málaga's Maternity Hospital after a savage attack by his family's pet Rottweiler

5-year-old boy is in a critical but stable condition at Málaga's Maternity Hospital after a savage attack by his family's pet Rottweiler in the garden of the family home on the La Alqueria residential estate in Alhaurín de la Torre. The toddler suffered serious injuries to his face, legs and back when he was attacked by the family pet, which may have been accompanied by a second dog, at around 9.45pm last Saturday evening. His life was saved by the prompt reaction of his father who pulled him free then rushed him to hospital. The Rottweiler was removed to a stray dog facility for tests while the boy's parents, who are not Spanish, have been ordered to provide proof that they have the necessary paperwork to keep dangerous animals of this type.

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63-year-old English mans charred corpse was found on the outskirts of Chrivel (Almería)

63-year-old English man whose charred corpse was found on the outskirts of Chrivel (Almería) last Saturday evening, may have set fire to himself intentionally as an empty 8-litre can of petrol was found near his body. A loud explosion shortly before 6pm alerted locals, who called in the emergency services. The totally-incinerated body was found after the resulting flames had been extinguished. No significant damage was caused to the surrounding scrub and woodland. A distinctive tattoo on the dead man's back was the key to identifying him

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Alicante rabbit chop their victims on the back of the neck as they were taking money from cash machines

A gang who amassed 150,000 euros through violent crime have been arrested in Torrevieja .These criminals attacked their victims across a wide range , from Valencia to Murcia , with more than 20 violent thefts .Four of the men are from south America and one is a Spaniard .Their modus operandi was to rabbit chop their victims on the back of the neck as they were taking money from cash machines .One of their victims was relieved of 21,000 euros as he left a bank in Alicante .They have been charged with robbery and grievous bodily harm .

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Spanish jury found 24-year-old Victor Navas guilty of homicide.

Builder Gary Dunne, 22, was attacked and stabbed to death in the street in the popular resort of Benalmadena on March 2, 2006, for no apparent reason.
Yesterday, a Spanish jury found 24-year-old Victor Navas guilty of homicide.
But they accepted the killer’s drug problem as an extenuating factor in the case.
During the four-day trial at Malaga provincial criminal court, Navas admitted stabbing Mr Dunne, who had lived with his parents at Benalmadena for four years.
But he said he could not remember doing so because that night he had consumed cocaine, designer drugs, hashish and alcohol.He also told the nine-man jury he had been a drug addict since the age of 13.When the trial started, the state prosecutor demanded Navas should be jailed for 14 years for homicide.But following his statement about his drug problem, the prosecutor reached agreement with the defence to lower his demand to nine years’ imprisonment because of temporary diminished responsibility.Returning their verdict of guilty to homicide yesterday, the jury foreman said they accepted Navas’s drug addiction was an extenuating circumstance.
The presiding judge will release a written sentence within the next two weeks.
Mr Dunne’s parents Lesley and Stephen are also fighting a long-standing battle against the Spanish authorities to bring their son’s body home.For two years, they have been prevented from bringing his body back to Merseyside for burial.
The Spanish authorities claim that for hygiene reasons, Mr Dunne must be cremated. They would then allow his ashes to be taken home.He remains in a concrete box in the resort of Benalmadena

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Corruption case on Mallorca with two people arrested for issuing fake facturas

Corruption case on Mallorca with two people arrested for issuing fake facturas in favour of the Unió Mallorquina party spokesman. One of those arrested is the manager of a real estate company with interests in Spain, Moldavia, Luxembourg, Hungary and France.

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Mario Santafede member of the Camorra, the Neapolitan mafia detained in the car park of a luxury apartment in the northeastern city of Barcelona

mafia suspect on the list of 100 most wanted fugitives in Italy has been arrested in Barcelona, Italian police said today.Mario Santafede, 55, a member of the Camorra, the Neapolitan mafia, was picked up in a joint raid carried out by Italian and Spanish police on a flat in a residential area of the city.Santafede, who is the object of an international arrest warrant, was sentenced to 14 years in prison in his absence for criminal association in connection with drug trafficking. He has been on the run since 2004.Spanish police working in cooperation with their Italian counterparts have arrested a suspected leader of Italy's Camorra crime syndicate, the Interior Ministry said Saturday.Members of Spain's elite special operations police moved in to detain Mario Santafede in the car park of a luxury apartment in the northeastern city of Barcelona on Friday evening, the ministry said in a statement.Santafede, 55, is wanted by Italian authorities for suspected cocaine smuggling from Colombia and Ecuador to the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Italy, the ministry said.
The suspect, who is thought by investigators to have close links with other Naples-based criminals, is also wanted in connection with at least three murders, the ministry said.Santafede, who was in possession of false Italian and British identity papers when arrested, had changed his appearance through exercise, the ministry said.
The suspect was expected to appear before a judge at the National Court in Madrid later Saturday prior to possible extradition to Italy, the ministry said.
Santafede is one several suspected Camorra leaders arrested in or near Barcelona in recent years.Police arrested Patrizio Bosti, who was on Italy's list of 30 most-wanted criminals, while having dinner in Girona last month. Bosti, 49, had been on the run since 2005.In February 2006, Raffaele Petrazzuolo was picked up in Barcelona and deported to Italy on suspicion of criminal activity and complicity with mob leaders.Also in 2006 a man identified only as Carmine R., 38, was detained in the seaside resort of Sitges, just outside Barcelona.

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17 tons of hashish to Denmark drugs were smuggled from the Netherlands and Spain

Danish police say they have broken up a drug ring suspected of having smuggled at least 17 tons of hashish to Denmark.Police spokesman Steffen Steffensen says nine people have been arrested across the country since May in the operation. About 484 pounds (220 kilograms) of hashish has been seized during the raids.
Steffensen said Wednesday those arrested include a 46-year-old German woman of Colombian heritage who was arrested on her way out of Denmark with 1.7 million kroner (US$323,633) in cash. He said more arrests are likely as the investigation continues.Police say the drugs were smuggled from the Netherlands and Spain.criminal organisation has imported as much as 17 tons of cannabis from Spain and the Netherlands into Denmark, police say. The turnover was enormous, and a German woman has been charged with transporting DKK 53 million to the gang’s contacts abroad.
The affair has been secretly investigated by the Copenhagen Police since the beginning of the year and a total of nine people have been arrested so far.
Both the 46-year old woman, who worked as money courier, and a man, aged 41 and presumed to be the drug baron, have been in custody since May, according to Police Superintendant Steffen Th. Steffensen. At the time of her arrest, the woman was leaving Denmark with DKK 1.7 million. One of the arrested men, a suspected principle figure, was caught south of Køge and police have found a comprehensive set of accounts that form the basis of the charge. The many transports are believed to have taken place over the past 18 months. Another principle suspect was also arrested near Køge. If the amount of 17 tons of cannabis is correct, it is the largest hash case ever in Denmark. The cannabis was sold from different places in Copenhagen, including in Christiania. There were also customers in Holstebro, Esbjerg, Horsens and Århus, and arrests have also been made in these cities, says Steffensen.
In a few cases sentences have already been passed regarding the receipt of 600 and 800 kilos of cannabis. During one of the raids in Jutland, the police officers also found a machine gun. The police believe the cannabis was smuggled into the country in cars and trucks.
But the investigation is far from over as the Copenhagen Drugs Squad suspects that a Danish man, who is already wanted in connection with another crime, has played a central role.
In the biggest case so far involving the smuggling of 13 tons of cannabis on board the ship “Atlantic Privateer”, Claus Malmqvist, 41, was sentenced to 16 years in prison last year. Police believe that the man they are looking for handled about three tons of the ship’s cannabis cargo and that he worked with Malmqvist and the latter’s partner Lars Petersen, who is serving time for hash smuggling as well as killing of another accomplice. The drugs squad apparently think he is continuing his highly profitable cannabis business from his hideout and with new partners.

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Brian Deans,Dean Hinton arrested case was linked to an operation in July in which five tonnes of hashish worth £15m were seized in Alicante city.

Brian Deans, 45, was arrested along with Dean Hinton, 41, from Northampton, at the small resort of Oliva, on south-east Spain's Costa Blanca. The drugs discovered by detectives were worth just over £1m on the streets. Police said the case was linked to an operation in July in which five tonnes of hashish worth £15m were seized in Alicante city.

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Roch Claude Tabarot and Francisco Fernández.directors of the real estate company Riviera Coast Invest bailed

National Court Judge, Fernando Grande Marlaska, has granted bail of 60,000 and 40,000 € for two of the directors of the real estate company Riviera Coast Invest, Roch Claude Tabarot and Francisco Fernández.Judicial sources say the judge has released the other four directors of the company who were being held since last Wednesday when the group was arrested when about to board a private jet at the Altet airport in Alicante on a flight to Morocco.All six had declared to the judge yesterday afternoon. Marlaska was filling in for judge Santiago Pedraz who was in Washington attending a conference on terrorism.The bail conditions mean the directors have to register every Monday and are prohibited from leaving Spain. They face charges of continued illegal enrichment in a fraud which some claim reached 17 million €.

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20 people have been arrested in a timeshare fraud on the Costa del Sol.

20 people have been arrested in a timeshare fraud on the Costa del Sol.The National Police are investigating the case which could have affected hundreds of people, most of them foreigners.The arrests are now known to have been made last week and new detentions have not been ruled out and several promoters are reported to be under investigation.La Opinion de Málaga reports that the fraud could consist of offering the purchaser a set time in the property without confirming that the time has already been previously sold. The paper says that investigations remain open and more arrests will take place shortly.

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Victor Posse Navas,killer of a Liverpool man stabbed to death in Spain is likely to be jailed for nine years.

killer of a Liverpool man stabbed to death in Spain is likely to be jailed for nine years.Builder Gary Dunne, from West Derby, was attacked with a machete in the Costa Del Sol by Victor Posse Navas, in March, 2006.At Malaga High Court yesterday, the parents of the 22-year-old were advised to accept an offer of nine years behind bars.
Gary’s parents, Lesley and Stephen Dunne, are furious and want Navas jailed for longer.Gary’s family are also fighting a battle to bring his body home.Spanish authorities say that, for hygiene reasons, Mr Dunne must be cremated first before his ashes can be taken home.

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Edgar Vallejo-Guarin aka Jairo Gomez

American and European media are reporting that Vallejo-Guarin [World-Check UID 32513]was carrying identity documents, under the assumed name of Jairo Gomez, with Venezuelan citizenship, and that he had used that false identity to obtain a residency permit in Spain. Spanish police stated that he had been living in the Barcelona suburb of Sant Cugat del Valles, and that he had been arrested with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The United States is seeking has extradition to face multiple narcotics and money laundering charges pending there. The arrest, in Spain this week, of alleged drug kingpin Edgar Vallejo-Guarin has now yielded additional details not previously released to the public. They provide the answer to the question as to how an individual, designated 'Most Wanted' by the Government of Colombia, was able to live in Europe. Vallejo-Guarin was reportedly arrested whilst staying at a luxury hotel in Madrid.

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Space nightclub in Playa d'en Bossa The doorman asked the woman if she was carrying any drugs and to his surprise she pulled a bag of pills out

Bouncers have pounced as an Irish woman tried to sneak 100 ecstasy tablets into an Ibiza nightclub in her bra.
The 23-year-old tourist was on her way into the Space nightclub in Playa d'en Bossa, outside Ibiza town with seven of her friends when the drugs were discovered.
The doorman asked the woman if she was carrying any drugs and to his surprise she pulled a bag of pills out of her bra. The bouncer then confiscated the tablets and called the Civil Guard.It is understood that the woman was really surprised by this because she claimed that she didn't know it was a serious crime to carry drugs on the party island."The doorman asked her if she was carrying any drugs and she simply put her hand inside her bra and pulled out a big bag of pills.""The girl claimed she did not know it was a serious crime to carry drugs in Ibiza," said a police spokesman.

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Marbella Colombian network of cocaine dealers arrested

Three drug-running chiefs from a Colombian network of cocaine dealers have been arrested in Marbella. The three are thought to have controlled another 13 Colombian dealers in the drug, who were arrested in Murcia and Almería.
A statement from the Guardia Civil said the group also prepared the drug ready for sale.The arrests were all made this week as part of an operation codenamed ‘Acuala’, with police also seizing computers, mobile phones, cash, firearms and ammunition and several vehicles with an estimated value of 200,000 €, as well as 2.5 kilos of highly pure cocaine.

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Nicholas Gardner has not yet revealed all the contents of his bank accounts, including ones in Jersey and Spain, and could not account for £250,000.

Nicholas Gardner, 53, persuaded his friends to loan him large amounts of cash to finance "fantasy" business projects destined to fail.Instead he spent the money maintaining his lifestyle, paying for the private education of his three children, rent on his house and keeping his wife, who is now divorcing him.Gardener, currently serving a 33-month jail term, was taken from HMP Woodhill to Northampton Crown Court yesterday for a confiscation hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.The prosecution are seeking to seize any hidden assets or savings he may have put aside, after benefiting by almost £400,000 from his crimes.
The court heard that he has not yet revealed all the contents of his bank accounts, including ones in Jersey and Spain, and could not account for £250,000.
Judge Christopher Metcalf adjourned the hearing for Gardner, of St Ives in Cambridgeshire, to declare any savings or accounts he may have hidden.

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Movers International Europe duped into drug running

Simon Ashworth, operations manager at Movers International Europe, a household removals firm, said his staff in Spain were stunned when they discovered the drugs hidden in pieces of furniture the firm was due to transport to a depot at at Longridge Road, Red Scar.The staff immediately reported the find, in June 2006, to the Guardia Civil in Alicante who mounted a joint operation with the county's Serious and Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) to track the load.It was discovered the haul had come from a sophisticated drugs network in Spain.Mr Ashworth, 38, said: "We undertook the job believing it to be furniture from a warehouse in Alicante.
"But when a man delivered the goods to our base in Alicante we were suspicious at how quickly he wanted to get away. "They were heavy, awkward pieces of furniture and something didn't add up. The police were called and the furniture was sealed back up and packed back in its bubble wrap and sent on its way as arranged so the officers could see where it ended up. At this end I helped a courier who had been sent by the person who was supposed to receive the furniture to load it into his van.
"The police struck later when it arrived at Merseyside."A SOCU officer, who cannot be named, said: "We would have been looking at roughly up to £250,000 street value."

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sixty Nigerian human traffickers are facing prosecution

sixty Nigerian human traffickers are facing prosecution in nine countries in Europe. The traffickers were arrested in Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Germany, Netherlands and Britain, following a major crackdown on traffickers in an operation tagged ‘Koovis’ which was coordinated by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and Other Related Matters (NAPTIP).
Making this revelation, Mr. Warner Ten Cate, the National Prosecutor for Human Trafficking and Smuggling of Persons in the Netherlands, who is leading a ten-man team of investigators, prosecutors, immigration and police officers on a fact-finding mission to NAPTIP and other law enforcement organisations in Nigeria, said NAPTIP has shown tremendous courage and exemplary leadership skills which are hallmarks of law enforcement organisations in the world.
According to Cate, the period of the operation was a defining moment for NAPTIP as it has earned the reputation and recommendation of international law enforcement organisations all over the world.
Cate also said that NAPTIP’s exemplary achievement should stretch to other crimes like drug trafficking, as they are working with the Dutch Ministry of justice to effectively bring the criminals to justice. He promised the collaboration of Europol and Eurojust in tackling the crime of human trafficking.
Cate reiterated the fact that no singular organisation could fight criminal networks alone without cooperation, capacity to utilise each other’s comparative advantage, exchange of information, training of investigators and learning from best practices in the field of victim protection.
Lastly, he said the team was in Nigeria to explore avenue for good agreement on information exchange on criminal groups, how to access their illegally earned profit, capacity building and expand our cooperation to other Nigerian institutions through NAPTIP.
Responding, the Executive Secretary, Mrs. Carol Ndaguba, said the success of the operation was a good example for the rest of the world and other law enforcement organisations to emulate.
According to her, “as a law enforcement organisation we must support each other’s capacity with equitable information flow and technical know-how to operate as equals.

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cocktail of liquid ecstasy and alcohol puts policeman in hospital

local policeman who was attended to in the Nogalera area of Torremolinos on Sunday after taking a cocktail of liquid ecstasy and alcohol, remains in the intensive care unit of Carlos Haya Hospital in Málaga in an induced coma.
Sources close to the man, who is in his 30’s, are quoted by El País saying that he almost lost his life.Mayor of Málaga, Francisco de la Torre, has criticised the policeman’s behaviour
‘It’s not good that there are drug users in the security forces. They should show exemplary behaviour to all the citizens’, he said. The Municipal Police Station in Málaga say they will wait for the man to make a recovery before considering taking any action.The policeman was attended to, with two other men and a woman close to the Emporium Disco. One of the other men also remains in hospital in a serious but stable condition.

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Neapolitan Mafia chief arrested in Barcelona

Raffaele Laurenti is an alleged member of the Neapolitan Mafia.
An alleged member of the Neapolitan Mafia have been arrested in Barcelona. 31 year old Raffaele Laurenti was found in a flat in Calle Calabria. The arrest follows a similar detention of another alleged member of the Camorra in Barcelona last month.
The arrest on Tuesday was carried out in a joint operation between the Spanish Guardia Civil and Italian Carabineros.The suspect was unarmed at the time and offered no resistance.

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Covered in petrol and set alight by robbers on the San Luis industrial estate in Málaga

48 year old man is in a serious condition in hospital with second degree burns to his neck, face and arms, after he was covered in petrol and set alight by robbers. It happened on Tuesday night in the San Luis industrial estate in Málaga and came after the thieves had taken his wallet which contained 1,500 €.National Police were alerted to the case by the Carlos Haya Hospital in Málaga where police are waiting to take a statement from the victim.

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Burnt-out body of a British man found

Guardia Civil has found the burnt-out body of a British man in an area known as La Rambla in Chirivel, Almeria.The body was found last Saturday evening when a local person saw smoke from the area. A petrol can was found at the scene and it is believed that the man committed suicide. His name has not been given by the authorities, but it is believed that he was identified from a tattoo on his back. An autopsy is to be carried out.

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Sean Edwards,wants to say “thank you” to the anonymous holidaymaker who rescued him, his daughter and wife

Sean Edwards, 39, wants to say “thank you” to the anonymous holidaymaker who rescued him, his daughter and wife after they were trapped in strong rip currents in the sea off Benalmadena.Mr Edwards, who didn’t have time to get his rescuer’s name, only knows the reluctant hero came from Scarborough.
The family were enjoying a week’s holiday in the Costa del Sol town, near Malaga, when they decided to go down to the beach.Mr Edwards, his daughter Letitia, 11, and son Sam, six, went into the sea to jump waves while his wife Paula stayed on the beach.Sam left the sea to get some goggles while Mr Edwards and his daughter went further out – only to be knocked back and then off their feet by waves.
Mr Edwards, who is a sales director, said: “I came out from under the water and I couldn’t see my daughter anywhere. Then I saw her being taken away by a rip current and she was shouting. I swam out to her and we were just panicking and screaming for help.”Mrs Edwards, who had brought their son back to the edge of the sea, noticed the pair were in trouble and screamed for help.When she thought no-one was doing anything, she started swimming out to them.Mr Edwards said: “I couldn’t go anywhere because my daughter was panicking and holding on to me. The next thing I know there’s a gentleman taking hold of me. He calmed the situation and took control of my daughter.“Then a Spanish guy came with a lilo and all four of us held on to the lilo, kicking through the current to get back to shore.”During the dramatic rescue, Mrs Edwards had also got into trouble and was eventually saved by the same pair of rescuers.Mr Edwards was too shocked to properly speak to the man but would now like to trace him.He said: “The gentleman’s bravery in jumping into the sea to save three lives is something that should be honoured and commended.“He said he had heard my wife screaming on the shore and just went running. He thought nothing of it. He is a man in his late 40s and was there with quite a large family.“I would just like to thank him personally. We’re still in a bit of shock now. I dread to think what would have happened if they hadn’t made the dash into the sea.”

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Benidorm attempted kidnap of 8 year old boy by sexual predator

20 years old with a police history of sexual abuses has been stopped in Benidorm for the attempted kidnapping of an 8 years old boy in downtown Benidorm,
informed police sources.

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Peter Thomas convicted 122 kilo grams of cannabis resin, which had been destined for Preston, was seized by the Spanish authorities in the Alicante

In June 2006 a joint operation between Lancashire Constabulary’s Serious and Organised Crime Unit and the Guardia Civil Police based in the Alicante area of Spain began. Codenamed Operation Hazel, it targeted the importation of cannabis from Spain into the UK. In July 2006 122 kilo grams of cannabis resin, which had been destined for Preston, was seized by the Spanish authorities in the Alicante area.
After coming to Preston the cannabis was then delivered to an address in the Liverpool area. As a result five people, a man from Preston and two men and two women from Merseyside, were arrested in connection with the investigation. The Preston man and a man and woman from Merseyside were later released without charge. Margaret McGee, 48, of Grafton Street, Prenton, Merseyside was charged with conspiracy to supply a controlled drug. Thomas was charged with the same offence.
Peter Thomas, 47, of Upper Brassey Street, Birkenhead, Merseyside, admitted the charge at Preston Crown Court yesterday. Both appeared at court yesterday, McGee was cleared while Thomas pleaded guilty to the charge. Thomas will be sentenced at Preston Crown Court on Friday, November 7.

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Dismembered body parts found belong to at least two people, possibly a young man and woman.

Dismembered body parts found near Ferrol yesterday evening belong to at least two people, possibly a young man and woman. They were found at around 8.10pm by a local man on a steep, rocky slope next to a country path in a densely-vegetated area adjacent to the main road linking Ferrol city centre to Cobas village around 3km away. It seems that the bodies had been cut up and divided among an empty oil drum, a suitcase and a plastic sheet. A machete and a large knife were found nearby.

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leading restaurateurs arrested in Galicia accused of selling contaminated scallops illegally harvested

Ten people, including a number of leading restaurateurs, have been arrested in Galicia accused of selling contaminated scallops illegally harvested from Ferrol's busy port estuary. It is believed that the shellfish are contaminated with a dangerous toxin that can cause memory loss. A source close to the investigation, which is being handled by a judge from Ferrol municipal court, refused to rule out further arrests, and was unable to confirm rumours that celebrity chef, Toñi Vicente, is among those detained.

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Almeria Riots initially broke out early Sunday after a Romani Spaniard allegedly stabbed a 28-year-old Senegalese man to death

Riots initially broke out early Sunday after a Romani Spaniard allegedly stabbed a 28-year-old Senegalese man to death in a low-income neighbourhood. Officials linked the killing to a dispute between drug traffickers, but residents said the victim was trying to mediate in a dispute. Immigrants then set two buildings on fire, including the one housing the suspected killer, who had fled. They erected barricades, burned several cars and garbage containers, and hurled stones and bottles at police and firefighters, who managed to end the rioting only after receiving reinforcements.
The violence started again overnight after a local man fell on the street. Migrants stoned the ambulance that came to attend to him, setting up burning barricades and attacking shops. Several people, including a police officer, were stoned and slightly injured, reports said. Some passers-by were also hit by rubber bullets fired by police. The detainees were from Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Nigeria and Sudan. Roquetas de Mar has a large population of immigrants employed at vegetable hothouses. The riots were not caused by xenophobia, but the "complicated situation" in the neighbourhood where both migrants and Spaniards lived in poverty, according to representatives of the organization Andalucia Acoge, which works to help immigrants. In February 2000, about 80 people were injured in riots between Spaniards and immigrants in the nearby town of El Ejido after a Moroccan killed a local woman.

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Sojourner London,yacht sailing under the British flag loaded with 800 kilos of cocaine

yacht sailing under the British flag, Sojourner London, loaded with 800 kilos of cocaine was escorted into Cádiz port on Saturday amid high security after being intercepted by the special operations force of the Spanish National Police on the high sea close to the Azores. The cargo, from Venezuela, has an estimated value of 48 million €, and was packed into 28 bales. There were three Lithuanian crew on board, who have all been arrested.

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12-year-old South Korean girl was found dead at her house in Las Palmas

12-year-old South Korean girl was found dead at her house in Las Palmas, Spain, Aug. 30, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Friday.
The ministry said a 50-year-old neighbor who is close to her father is suspected of murdering the teenager identified only as Oh. Spanish police arrested the man identified as Lee and are questioning him to find the motive behind the crime, it added. The ministry said it ordered one of its officials stationed in Las Palmas to deal with the case as soon as it was informed of the incident and asked the Spanish police to conduct a prompt investigation.

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Audrey Fitzpatrick and her partner Dave Mahon are hoping that the Taoiseach's intervention will help in the investigation

Audrey Fitzpatrick and her partner Dave Mahon are hoping that the Taoiseach's intervention will help in the investigation into the mysterious disappearance of the 16-year-old in Spain. Mr Cowen met with the Dublin couple for about an hour to hear the latest developments in the case. Amy vanished on the evening of New Year’s Day 1st January 2008 at approximately 10pm when she left her friend’s house in the tourist resort of Riviera Del Sol on the Costa del Sol to take the 10 minute walk to her house. The Taoiseach's office promised to contact the Irish embassy in Madrid to help in the investigation. "At the end of the day, he's the pulse of Ireland and has more contacts than we have at home," Ms Fitzpatrick said, adding the couple would host a benefit in Spain next month to raise funds for their ongoing search.

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Jeffrey Michael O'Shaughnessy is alleged strangler of a woman in a lift

Jeffrey Michael O'Shaughnessy (32), from Limerick, is alleged to have indecently assaulted the woman in a lift, before trying to strangle her as she attempted to escape. The 45-year-old Spaniard was on her way to work in a law firm, when the alleged attack happened on Wednesday morning in Malaga on the Costa del Sol.
She has told police that Mr O'Shaughnessy followed her into the lift as she headed to the lawyer's office where she works, grabbed her by the neck and indecently assaulted her. Colleagues heard her cries for help as the lift reached the third floor of the building in central Malaga – and have told detectives they raced out to find the Irishman trying to strangle her with one hand and forcing her mouth shut to stifle her screams with the other. A police patrol which was near the scene arrived minutes later to take O'Shaughnessy away in handcuffs. The alleged victim has told investigators she had never seen the Irishman before. Today O’Shaughnessy was in custody pending a court appearance before an investigating judge who is now probing the incident. The court hearing will be closed to the press and the public and is expected to conclude with O'Shaughnessy's remand in custody. A spokesman for Malaga's National Police said: “A 32-year-old Irishman is currently being held in custody on suspicion of indecent assault and attempted murder.” A source added: “If it had not been for this woman's colleagues hearing her screams and coming to her aid, we could have had a murder on our hands.
“The attack took place in daylight in a public place. It defies logical explanation.
“We're not sure if the attacker had been following his victim or was an opportunist who struck when he got his chance. “An investigating judge will now try to get to the bottom of what has happened.”

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George Menzies Campbell has a number of convictions for sexually abusing minors in the U.K. and has been on the run for several years

George Menzies Campbell has a number of convictions for sexually abusing minors in the U.K. and has been on the run for several years. He is thought to have been living in Villajoyosa for some two years, and indications are that his trail was followed by reporters from a British newspaper.
The Daily Mail says the man lived alone in Villajoyosa, but was popular with other ex pats and sometimes babysat for some of them
He is now being extradited back to Britain.

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most wanted Vallejo-Guarin is suspected of having transported many tons of the drug to Florida and Europe,has a US$5 million reward posted

Spanish police have arrested a suspected Colombian drug trafficker listed among the most wanted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the police force said in a statement Friday.Acting on a tip from the DEA, police tracked Edgar Vallejo-Guarin to a luxury hotel in Madrid, police said Friday, confirming a U.S. Embassy statement.
Vallejo-Guarin, 47, who has a US$5 million reward posted for information leading to his capture, was arrested Thursday, the embassy statement said.Vallejo-Guarin, also known as "Beto el Gitano," has a history of violence, money laundering and corruption, the police statement said.In June 2001 the South District of Florida accused Vallejo-Guarin of being one of the principal sources of Colombian cocaine in the United States between the years 1990-1999, the statement said.
Vallejo-Guarin is suspected of having transported many tons of the drug to Florida and Europe, and is also under investigation for possible involvement in several murders, the statement said.The United States has asked for Vallejo-Guarin's extradition, the embassy statement said, adding that the suspect was using a false identity at the time of his arrest.The police statement said Vallejo-Guarin had a house in Sant Cugat del Valles, near the northern city of Barcelona, but had been staying at many hotels in Spain and Venezuela to avoid capture.Spanish police said Friday that they have arrested top Colombian drug lord Edgar Guillermo Vallejo Guarin, also known as "Beto the Gypsy," from outside a luxury hotel in central Madrid.Spanish police said in a statement that Guarin's arrest was carried out with help from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and added that he was carrying false identity papers when arrested."Vallejo Guarin has an extensive history of violence, money laundering, and the corruption of high-level government officials," the statement said. "He is responsible for the shipment of a multitude of tons of cocaine via ship to the United States and Europe."Guarin is wanted in many countries, including the U.S., on various drug related offenses and is also suspected of being responsible for various assassinations wordwide.Guarin figured in the U.S. State Department's Most Wanted list and the American government had offered a $5 million reward to anyone who helped bring about his capture.

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Málaga police have arrested a man who is accused of trying to strangle a woman in a lift

Málaga police have arrested a man who is accused of trying to strangle a woman in a lift in a building in the central Calle Larios in the city. The victim was on her way to work in a lawyer’s office when the attack took place and told police that she had never seen the alleged attacker before. Her screams alerted people in another lawyer’s office at 10am yesterday morning, and they managed to catch the attacker who was handed over to the local police.

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Murder-suicide pact British couple have been discovered in their holiday home

Bodies of a British couple have been discovered in their holiday home in the French Basque country, in a case which authorities have described as a murder-suicide.
Officials believed that 76-year-old Jon Ortuzar strangled his wife, Carlotta, 60, then drowned himself in the pool at the villa in Urrugne, near the Spanish border.
According to eitb, a Basque news channel, the bodies were discovered by a cleaner on Tuesday morning. the husband was found in the pool, weighed down with a sports bag. The wife was discovered dead in a bedroom with bruises on her face and a cord around her neck. A hammer was found next to her, and a letter, believed to have been written by Ortuzar. Its contents have not been revealed, but a local official described the letter as “explanatory”.The French newspaper Sud Ouest said Ortuzar was the son of a senior member of the PNV Basque nationalist party who had fled from Franco’s regime in the 1930s and come to the UK.Born in London, Ortuzar was a businessman in the City of London for most of his career, the newspaper reported. Later, he and his wife moved to Madrid, but retained their British nationality. They did not have children. Ortuzar and his brother both bought homes in Urrugne, where the two families were well known.Odile de Coral, mayor of Urrugne, told Sud Ouest: “I went to the house straight away to offer my support to the brother and the nephews of the victims, who have also made Urrugne their second home. Jon and Carlotta came very often to the Basque country, where they bought this house just after the war.”Police found no evidence of a struggle at the house, and nothing appeared to have been stolen, leading them to the murder-suicide theory. A friend of the couple, Daniel Poulou, said: “They were charming people, who loved having guests round and knew how to treat them.”

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Tattoo on the right hand of a naked body found in Orihuela Costa

The tattoo was on the right hand of a naked body found in Orihuela Costa in August.
The Guardia Civil has asked for help from the public in identifying a strange tattoo found on the body of a man, thought to be aged between 25 and 35 whose body was found on August 19 between the Cano de Punta Prima and Roig in Orihuela Costa.
The tattoo is on the right arm of the body and consists of a text written in Spanish copperplate lettering. The Guardia Civil say the body was found naked and is of a muscular man, about 1m 85 tall, who removed the hair from his legs.

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Nikki Beach shooting in Marbella Two Iranians arrested

Two Iranians have been arrested by the UDYCO Organised Crime Unit of the Marbella police, in connection with the shooting seen at Nikki Beach in Marbella last Saturday August 23.Judicial sources told La Opinión de Málaga that neither of the two men actually carried out the shooting. One of the two has now been released after making a statement to the police, while the other is still being held.
It’s understood they took part in trouble between a group of Iranians and a group of Britons which broke out in the discotec ahead of the shots being fired. One 42 year old man needed surgery in the Costa del Sol hospital after being shot in both legs.

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2.2 tons of hashish recovered gang brought the drugs into the Campo de Gibraltar area from the north of Morocco.

Guardia Civil have made 22 arrests, a policeman on practice duty in Los Barrios among them, and recovered 2.2 tons of hashish in the breaking up of a gang which brought the drug into the Campo de Gibraltar area from the north of Morocco.A statement from the Civil Guard said that their investigations started in May and ended with the arrests made last Friday. The case was being handled by Instruction Court Four in Algeciras.The operation was codenamed 'Congreso' and also saw the impounding of two boats, two outboard motors, a trailer, motorbike and 11 vehicles, three of which are known to have been stolen.

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Orihuela Police have detained two people for growing cannabis in their garden.

Orihuela Police have detained two people for growing cannabis in their garden. The plants were thriving in plastic boxes on the patio of the house. A man of Arabic origin was also detained after a chase of two hours around the fields of Los Dolores, when found to be carrying 4.7 kilos of hashish. The detainee was carrying an imitation gun, with which he tried unsuccessfully to intimidate police.

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Drug trafficking gang used Torrevieja port as a point of entry into Spain

National Police have uncovered an international drug trafficking gang which used Torrevieja port as a point of entry into Spain. Eight people were arrested in the raid, which uncovered 2,500 kilos of hashish. Three of the detainees were traveling onboard a yacht and the rest were arrested on land. The gang was multinational, with members from Lithuania, Morocco, Italy and Spain. The investigation started before the summer when drug trafficking activity was detected among recreational boats transporting huge quantities of drugs. After months of hard work the leader of the ring could be identified and the arrest was planned.

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Nine people were injured when an apparently mentally unstable driver deliberately drove into a pedestrian zone in the southern Spanish city of Malaga

Nine people were injured when an apparently mentally unstable driver deliberately drove into a pedestrian zone in the southern Spanish city of Malaga, police said Saturday.They said the 50-year-old kept driving through the Costa del Sol city's busy precinct until officers stopped him. The injured included two Italian and two German tourists.Nine people were injured and two German and Italian women tourists, aged 62 and 42, are in a critical condition in hospital after a driver, a 42 year old man from Alhaurín el Grande, named with the initials A.B.M., took his black Rover car down the pedestrianised central Calle Larios in Málaga on Saturday just before noon, it seems by error. All the other injured are recovering well. Witnesses say the driver went down the street and then reversed back. He has been arrested by the National Police after his way was blocked by a refuse lorry and public pounced on the car to get him to come out. He is being attended to by a psychologist after giving a statement to police which reports indicate ‘lacked sense’.

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Refusal of people to demolish their illegal homes in Mijas is leading some of them to see their assets embargoed.

refusal of people to demolish their illegal homes in Mijas is leading some of them to see their assets embargoed. El País reports that at least 20 people have been affected so far out of the estimated 8,000 irregular homes in the municipality. Some 2,000 owners have been served with demolition orders, and if they do not comply they face a fine of 10% of the value of the property.Most of the demolition orders have been issued against rural properties, often handed down in inheritance.
The socialist Mayor of Mijas, Antonio Sánchez, called an extraordinary meeting at the end of July to discuss the problem, with those affected demanding that the fines be suspended until the new PGOU Urban Plan is drawn up for the municipality.
Last Wednesday the Mayor agreed that working groups be set up to investigate the problem, but PP spokesman in the town, Angel Nozal, described that as a smoke screen.

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Grupo Mirador construction group charged

A judge has charged the Grupo Mirador construction group after the company held on to deposits paid for properties which have not been constructed. Under Spanish law such monies should have been kept in a separate bank account. El País reports that the judge was responding to a new denuncia placed by a group of six clients of the company, each of whom paid between 32,805 € and 48,600 € as first payments for properties at the Mirador de la Fortaleza in Vélez-Málaga, which according to the contracts signed in 2004 and 2005, should have already have been completed but where in fact no construction has started. They are claiming fraud. The company has other promotions in Benalmádena, Rincón de la Victoria, Villanueva del Rosario, Fuente de Piedra and Loja in Granada.

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Judge Francisco Javier de Urquía, who had presided over Marbella's second court, was found guilty of bribery and dereliction of duty

Judge Francisco Javier de Urquía, who had presided over Marbella's second court, was found guilty of bribery and dereliction of duty in a case stemming from Operation Malaya, a far-reaching police investigation that led to the arrest of former mayors, councillors and businessmen in the Costa del Sol resort in 2006.The Andalusian High Court concluded that Urquía had accepted EUR 73,800 from Juan Antonio Roca, an urban planning aide at Marbella City Hall, in exchange for legal favours, including assisting Roca in preventing a local television station from airing a report about his vast - and illicitly earned - wealth.In the same trial, Roca, who confessed to paying the bribe money "in two envelopes," received a one-year prison sentence and was ordered to pay a fine of EUR 73,800 - the same amount as the bribe. Prosecutors had originally sought a three-year sentence but lowered their demands to one year in the wake of Roca's surprise confession in July. Arnaud Fabrice Albouhair, a French associate of the two men who apparently acted as an intermediary in their illicit dealings, was acquitted.Urquía, who had been struggling financially, accepted the money from Roca as payment toward a house in Marbella. After Roca was taken into custody in March 2006, the judge enlarged his mortgage, changed the payment conditions and reversed his decision to stop the TV documentary from being broadcast in a bid to cover his tracks.

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2,500 Kilos hashish have been seized from a launch in Torrevieja.

2,500 Kilos hashish have been seized from a launch in Torrevieja.
The hashish traffic international network used the Torrevieja marina as a entrance point for the drugs into the country. The operation finalised with the arrest of eight alleged drug dealers and the seizure of 2,500 kilos hashish.
Among the people arrested, there are people from different nationalities, i.e. Spanish, Lithuanian, Italian and Moroccan. After several investigations and wire taps, the operation was started after it was known a several tones drug cargo was coming this week. The agents stopped the boat when it docked in the Torrevieja marina. This way, 2,500 kilos hashish were seized and eight suspects were arrested on board and another five in solid ground, where they were providing the other ones with coverage.

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French cosmetic surgeon accused of having mutilated or endangered the lives of dozens of patients has been arrested in Spain.

French cosmetic surgeon accused of having mutilated or endangered the lives of dozens of patients has been arrested in Spain.
Michel Maure had gone missing after standing trial in Marseille in June, accused of false advertising, deception and causing involuntary injury.He was arrested in Rosas, north-eastern Spain, on Tuesday. An international arrest warrant had been issued for him.Prosecutors called for four years' jail and a 75,000-euro (�59,000) fine.
He was struck off the French medical register in January 2007 after numerous complaints about his procedures. He had practised illegally since 1995, investigators say.There were 96 complaints from former patients against Dr Maure, 59, including allegations that he had carried out painful procedures under local anaesthetic, in a dirty clinic.He had claimed to be "one of the best plastic surgeons in the world".
The verdict was planned for September and he was subject to a French court order restricting his movements. He had been told to report to police every week. He now faces extradition from Spain.

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13.8kg of cocaine was discovered concealed beneath a false suitcase bottom.

27-year-old German man was arrested at Barajas airport in Madrid yesterday after 13.8kg of cocaine was discovered concealed beneath a false suitcase bottom. The man arrived on a flight from Lisbon. A Guardia Civil spokesman explained that the drugs were found using a hand-held scanning device.

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Amy Fitzpatrick:Revealed a camera could have recorded Amy on the track she is thought to have taken on New Year's Day, the day she disappeared

Revealed a camera could have recorded Amy on the track she is thought to have taken on New Year's Day, the day she disappeared.
Amy Fitzpatrick disappeared on the evening of New Year's Day 1st January 2008 at approximately 10pm when she left her friends house in the tourist resort of Riviera Del Sol on the Costa Del Sol, Spain to take the 10 minute walk to her house.
Amy was 15 at the time of her disappearance; on 7th February Amy turned 16, Amy has black/Brown hair, blue eyes and has a pale complexion. She is 1.65m tall and was wearing brown crushed velvet tracksuit bottoms and a black T-shirt with the word "DIESEL" in various different colours when she was last seen. She had no money, phone or passport. Amy is originally from Clarehall Dublin but was living in Spain the last few years. Tuesday 26th August 2008 Amy will be 34 weeks missing. We have discovered a sighting that was reported to Christine Kenny Amy's Aunt of Amy in Portugal was never followed up that Christine reported to both the Spanish and Irish police. Christopher Fitzpatrick Amy's father needs to raise funds to hire a private detective to help with the search for Amy. To be honest not for one second did he ever think he would need to trouble anybody for help with funds but Spain is so far from Ireland and the costs to get anything done is crazy. Please note this is the first time Christopher has asked for help with funds and it will only be used to hire a private detective and any funds left over will go to the missing organisation in Ireland Miss.ie to help other families going through this situation.

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Nikki Beach Club man shot twice in the legs

Nikki Beach in Marbella in the early hours of Saturday morning. Two people were injured in the incident which happened at 0205, with one of them, a 42 year old man, being shot twice in the legs. There are no details as to the extent of the other victim’s injuries.

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Peter Mitchell was shot outside a bar at the Aloha apartment complex in Puerta Banus near Marbella. A masked gunman fired at least five shots

Peter Mitchell (39), who is originally from Summerhill in Dublin's north inner city, was wounded when a masked gunman opened fire outside a bar on Thursday night. News of the shooting reached gardaí in Ireland yesterday. Mitchell was shot outside a bar at the Aloha apartment complex in Puerta Banus near Marbella. A masked gunman fired at least five shots at Mitchell wounding him twice in the arm and shoulder.
Two other men, one in his 40s and a pensioner, also sustained minor injuries in the shooting. It was unclear last night if the two injured men were with Mitchell or if they were shot in the crossfire during the suspected gangland attack.
However, the Garda's inquiries with Spanish police indicate Mitchell was the target of the shooting and the incident is being treated as an attempted murder. The Irishman was taken to hospital after the attack and he was still undergoing medical treatment last night. His injuries are not life threatening and he is expected to make a full recovery. The nationalities of the other two injured men had not been established by gardaí last night. It is understood Spanish police have already spoken to Mitchell about what happened. Mitchell had been running a bar in southern Spain until it closed recently. In 2004 he was questioned by police in Holland in connection with the discovery of heroin and ammunition in an apartment in the city. Mitchell was one of a number of young criminals who worked for John Gilligan before their gang was targeted by gardaí following the murder in 1996 of crime journalist Veronica Guerin. Mitchell left Ireland shortly after the murder of Ms Guerin and the inception of the Criminal Assets Bureau. However, he had bought a number of modest properties which were targeted by the bureau in its early days. He has until recent months kept a relatively low profile in Spain and seldom returns to Ireland. Mitchell was named in court as a member of Gilligan's gang during Gilligan's original drugs trial and his subsequent appeal. The Supreme Court in a judgment in 2005 held there was evidence before Gilligan's Special Criminal Court drugs trial to justify its conclusions that Gilligan, Charles Bowden, Paul Ward, Brian Meehan, Shay Ward and Peter Mitchell were "a gang" engaged in drug trafficking; that Gilligan was the "prime mover" in the importation of cannabis resin into the country; and that he was the "supreme authority" among the gang members and "the largest beneficiary" of the proceeds of the sale of cannabis resin. Once known as a playground for the rich and famous, Puerto Banus still attracts plenty of wealthy tourists, but these days it is also home to Russian oligarchs, Arab royalty and a number of west Dublin drug barons. Billed as Europe's answer to Las Vegas, the port complex, which is located some 6km outside of Marbella on the Costa del Sol, was built by local developer Jose Banus in 1970 as a luxury marina and shopping haven for the jet-set and super-rich. Over four million people are estimated to visit the resort of Puerto Banus every year. But while it once attracted the likes of King Juan Carlos of Spain, Hugh Hefner and Julio Iglesias, it has now lost much of its glamour and with it many of the celebrities who used to flock to the port. In recent years, Irish, British and Russian gangs have vied with local Spanish criminals for command of the lucrative drugs trade which has flourished in the Costa del Sol, with much of it based in or around Puerto Banus.

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Spanish connection in a cocaine trafficking case shootout

37-year-old man involved in a cocaine trafficking case was killed in a shootout Wednesday at dawn in Voula, Athens while attempting to avoid arrest. The victim, who was the recipient of 4.5 kilos of cocaine, was fatally wounded by police while trying to get away. The case came to the attention of the Greek Police when a 40-year-old Bulgarian national, who arrived in Athens from Romania, declared his luggage lost in Athens' "Eleftherios Venizelos" International Airport. His suitcase was later found in the airport in Romania and Romanian police discovered 4.5 kilos of cocaine hidden inside. The Bulgarian was arrested in Athens and confessed that he had undertaken to deliver the cocaine, which came from Spain via Romania, to a Greek. The shootout happened when the man arrived in a prearranged place in Voula to supposedly pick up the drugs and realized that he was being trapped by police. He was fatally injured by police gunfire while trying to speed away in his car.

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Cannabis Palm in Orihuela Costa

National police have arrested a man in the Vega Baja who was selling cannabis which he had grown himself. The man had tried to hide his small plantation of 119 plants by placing palm trees in the same area where he had also installed a sophisticated automatic watering system. He is also said to have improved the quality of his crop by using specialist fertilisers and fungicides.The 37 year old Spaniard has been named with the initials S.V.R. and will appear shortly in court in Orihuela.

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Arsonists in Lago Jardin

Peugeot 405 SRD Turbo was burnt out at around 7.30am in the quiet secluded streets of the urbanisation – just metres from an occupied home. The owner was visibly shocked and upset by the events as she awoke to find thick dark smoke billowing outside her bedroom window. She was one of many residents who quickly contacted the fire department whose prompt response undoubtedly prevented further disaster.
The car was parked between two others – one received some damage whilst the other, thanks to the quick thinking action of two African gentleman who managed to move it and locate the owner, remained intact.
One resident told us, “They are saying the fire was down to an electrical fault, but the car was parked there just after midnight and an electrical fault does not take seven hours to ignite in to flames – it was a deliberate attack – you can see the accelerant used on the bonnet.”It is not the first time cars have been targeted on this pretty, yet divided, urbanisation and residents are coming together to make a stand against the vandalism. “It is simply a thoughtless act of violence by someone with a very sick mind.” Another resident added, “If that car had exploded the results could have been so much worse. Why do they do it and what do they hope to prove?
Residents in Lago Jardin I are now being asked to be on the look out for suspicious activity in the area and to be aware of the spate of attacks.

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Benalmadena ,Daniel Whelan died at the weekend

Daniel Whelan died at the weekend while in Benalmadena on the Costa del Sol.
Early reports suggested that the 18-year-old, who was celebrating the end of his A-level exams, had been struck down by meningitis. But the Health Protection Agency has now said it was unlikely his death was caused by the infection. Hugh Lamont, a regional spokesman for the agency, said: “We understand there is currently no evidence the illness was caused by an infection of any sort. We are awaiting the results of further tests." It is understood Daniel was taken ill while on a night out with friends on Saturday. They took him back to where they were staying in the resort and called an ambulance when his condition deteriorated. He died later in hospital. His friends, all pupils at Bolton School, flew home on Monday.
His parents, Mike and Catherine Whelan, who live in Culcheth, have flown out to Spain. Daniel was due to beginning studying at Loughborough University in the autumn.

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Lewis Hamiltons driver was cleaning the wing mirrors when two men ran up to the open boot and pinched a rucksack and leather holdall

The World Championship leader was leaving the Malaga Palacio on the Costa del Sol with girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger, of music group Pussycat Dolls, when two men snatched a pair of bags from their car."Lewis's driver was cleaning the wing mirrors when two men ran up to the open boot and pinched a rucksack and leather holdall," an onlooker told the English media."The one carrying the rucksack dropped it but the other guy kept hold of his."Hamilton, 23, had attended an MTV concert in Malaga at which Scherzinger, 30, performed.The Formula One season resumes after a break this weekend with the European GP in Valencia. Hamilton is five points clear of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen in the drivers' standings.

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authorities seized 80 bundles of cocaine on board the fishing boat RÍo Manzanares, registered in Venezuela but flying no flag

The boat was intercepted in the mid-Atlantic off the Canaries and there were eleven arrests. The total weight of the cocaine was 2,500 kilograms or 5,506 pounds.
The investigation was part of Operation Hurricane, said the head of the police’s organised-crime unit, Eloy Quiros.
“We’re talking about an organised group that already has much experience; about communications in code, via Internet; about continual changes in telephones and use of foreign telephones to make the police work harder,” said Quiros. In all, authorities seized 80 bundles of cocaine on board the fishing boat RÍo Manzanares, registered in Venezuela but flying no flag, making the vessel a so-called “pirate boat,” and on which were five crew members, who were arrested.
The shipment was unloaded at the Las Palmas Military Arsenal..
Quiros said that the seizure of the drug was the first phase of the operation and that the second phase ended in the north-western Spanish region of Galicia, where another six people were arrested, including both high-level traffickers and people involved with transporting the cocaine.
The “narco-transporters” who were arrested include four Galician businessmen and shipowners linked with the fishing industry.
“They own companies and boats whose ultimate aim was the importation of fish and they used them (for drug smuggling) because they’re going through serious economic difficulties. That means that they were tempted ... with quick and enormous profits” in exchange for supporting the drug operation with their infrastructure, “ Quiros said.
Among the drug traffickers who were arrested were representatives of South American cartels, the police official said.
Quiros did not rule out more arrests in South America as the operation continues.

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Bombs had been placed in Guadalmar, Benalmadena and on a highway linking Malaga to its international airport.

Two small bombs blamed on Basque separatist group ETA exploded at tourist resorts in southern Spain yesterday. No injuries were reported, but more than 10,000 people were evacuated from a harbour area. It is the height of the summer tourist season in Spain. The first blast occurred on a beach in Guadalmar and a second device exploded at a tourist marina parking lot in Benalmadena Costa. Both towns are around 550km south of Madrid in the Costa del Sol resort area on a stretch of coastline popular with foreign tourists, especially the British.A caller who said he spoke in the name of ETA warned the fire department in the beach resort of Benalmadena that three bombs would explode, the ministry said. He said bombs had been placed in Guadalmar, Benalmadena and on a highway linking Malaga to its international airport.

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Guardia Civil in Huercal Overa have arrested two local residents for dealing cocaine.

Guardia Civil in Huercal Overa have arrested two local residents for dealing cocaine. The attention of the Guardia Civil was drawn to the unusual number of people from outside the area coming and going from the home of the two suspects. Agents watching the dwelling observed the transit of various people to and from the house, where they stayed only brief periods of time. They also observed the suspects frequently leaving the house for brief periods and deduced from the behviour that the dwelling could be a distribution point for drugs, using a method commonly known in Spain as ‘Tele-coca’, that is, ordering cocaine by means of telephone calls between the dealers and trusted customers.As a result of investigations, one of the two suspects, identified by the Guardia Civil as Pierre Pablo H.V., was stopped in the street and, when he was found to be in possession of seven wraps of cocaine, with a total weight of 5.2 grams, he was arrested on suspicion of drug dealing. His partner, identified as Francy E.D., was arrested while waiting for him outside their home. As a result of their arrests a search warrant was granted and, in the couple’s home, agents found wraps of cocaine ready for sale with a total weight of 20.1 grams, together with precision scales and 1,800 euros in cash.

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Portuguese businessman was detained in Spain accused of being the “main supplier of super-boats” to organized drug trafficking rings

Portuguese businessman was detained in Spain accused of being the “main supplier of super-boats” to organized drug trafficking rings following a joint effort between Spanish and Portuguese police.An investigation carried out by the Guardia Civil de Pontevedra (Galiza, Spain) and the GNR of Valença (Portugal) resulted in the detention of the man who is believed to have supplied powerful boats which were used to ferry drugs between the Iberian Peninsula and Northern Africa.Four Spanish citizens were also arrested in connection with the investigation.
Identified as Carlos A.P., the Portuguese businessman has a factory in Cerdal, Valença, and is also believed to be involved with supplying vigilance transportation used during the trafficking and its respective distribution.During the year-long investigation the individual, who has no previous criminal convictions, was responsible for producing and supplying 25 vessels.Equipped with four or five engines, the speedboats were designed to travel between Morocco and Barcelona, at high speed, generally carrying up to three tones of hashish.

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Caught ‘red handed’ with 73 packages of hashish, almost 5 million individual doses, that were to be delivered to Spain.

Judiciary Police arrested three men suspected of drug trafficking in Silves last week, in connection with two tonnes of hashish seized, in the ‘Dom Rodrigo’ operation.According to Judiciary Police, the men, caught ‘red handed’ with 73 packages of hashish, almost 5 million individual doses, that were to be delivered to Spain.Three cars were also seized from the three foreign individuals in their thirties. The men had connections with Seville and were responsible for bringing the hashish into Portugal for distribution throughout Europe.
The three detained were still in custody after their first interrogation in Lagos.

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Spanish police have arrested D.O.M Team five people suspected of hacking into or outright disabling thousands of Internet pages

Spanish police have arrested five people suspected of hacking into or outright disabling thousands of Internet pages, some of them run by government agencies in the U.S., Latin America and Asia, authorities said Saturday.The National Police said the suspects belonged to one of the most active hacker groups on the Internet and said two of the suspects are 16 years old. The others are 19 or 20.
On the Internet, the group calls itself D.O.M Team, police said.One of the group's techniques was to infiltrate Web sites and insert a page of its own, police said.
The group attacked some 21,000 Web pages over the last two years, police said in a statement. The five were arrested this week in Barcelona, Burgos, Malaga and Valencia.The statement did not identify which government Web sites the suspects are accused of tampering with.The Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported in March that the group had infiltrated NASA's Web page. A police official said Saturday she could not confirm this, and she refused to specify which sites had been hit. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with department rules.The newspaper said the group also hacked the Venezuelan national telephone company's page and that of the Spanish telephone operator Jazztel, among others.El Mundo said it had contacted the group in March and that members described themselves not as delinquents, but as computer-lovers who raided Web sites to show system administrators the pages' vulnerabilities.The Spanish investigation began in March after the Web page of a Spanish political party, Izquierda Unida, was disabled shortly after Spain's general election March 9.The five suspects did not know one another personally, but rather just over the Internet, police said. They were in contact with other members of the hacking group, mainly in Latin America, police said.

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"Fat" Freddie Thompson has been disguising himself against assassination

"Fat" Freddie Thompson has been disguising himself against assassination.
Thompson has been wearing a wig based on Oasis star Liam Gallagher’s distinctive mop, sources said. Separately, gardai said today they seized four Glock handguns when they stopped two cars in Dublin. The automatic pistols, which are becoming increasingly popular among city gangs, were found in a search by officers in Clondalkin. Officers said the find was unconnected with recent feuding in the city.
Meanwhile, sources today told how Freddie Thompson, whose associates have been involved in the murderous feud in the capital, has also been wearing the wig around his Spanish hideaway. The unusual Oasis-style wig has caused much bemusement in Garda ranks. “He has been keeping what’s left of his hair completely cropped so it’s easier to wear the wig and look anonymous,”said a source today. “He can wear what he wants on his head, but there is no mistaking his face,” the source added.
Gardai were first alerted to the strange dress up routine when they stopped Thompson and one of his hoods in March 2005. Officers noticed a passenger and his driver wearing bullet proof vests while travelling close to the Dail on Dublin's Kildare Street. On closer inspection, gardai realised that the passenger was in fact Freddie Thompson.
Gardai described Freddie as a "Noel Gallagher look-alike" with a heavy wig and dark glasses.
Since then he has been spotted on further occasions donning the Oasis-style look.
Thompson is living in constant fear of his life from other crime rivals in the Crumlin/Drimnagh feud which has so far claimed 13 lives. Thompson left Ireland following a flurry of gangland tit for tat style incidents. Garda intelligence shows that a number of attempts had been made on his life. His name was also regularly appearing on 'hit lists' of rival gangs.
Thompson was travelling with his associate Patrick Doyle when he was murdered in Marbella on February 4 this year.
Since that date Thompson has remained in Spain where he is surrounded by friends and fellow criminals.
Recent gun and grenade attacks on the home of his grandparents in the Coombe and on the homes of a number of his partners-in-crime have contributed to his decision to remain in Spain. Rumours of his death last month were quashed and described as an "elaborate ploy". The gang boss was later pictured alive and well in his Spanish retreat.

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Cocaine was found in a van near a Barcelona

According to the police, cocaine was found in a van near a Barcelona. shopping center. It's the third major cocaine bust of the summer in Spain. and the biggest carried out in the country on land in all of 2008.
Authorities say the drugs would have fetched up to $120 million if peddled by street dealers, or $68 million if sold wholesale.
Spanish authorities said last week they seized 2.5 tons of cocaine in a high-seas raid in international waters of the Atlantic on July 26th and arrested 11 people. Spanish police acting on a tip-off from U.S. authorities have seized 1.4 tons of cocaine and arrested eight South American suspects, officials said Tuesday.
The drugs were found in a van near a Barcelona shopping center, in the third major cocaine bust of the summer in Spain and the biggest carried out in the country on land in all of 2008, the National Police said in a statement.
The investigation began in June when the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration told Spanish authorities about a drug trafficking gang that wanted to smuggle cocaine from South America to Spain, police said.
Spanish agents tracked two members of the ring that traveled from Venezuela to oversee delivery of the drugs.Earlier this month, authorities seized the cocaine and arrested four people as they tried to collect it. The other four suspects were arrested in a Barcelona hotel, the police statement said without giving any dates.
Six of them are Colombian and the other two are from Venezuela, it added.The drugs would have fetched up to euro80 million ($120 million) if peddled by street dealers, or euro45 million ($68 million) if sold wholesale, the statement said.
In another big drug bust, Spanish authorities said last week they had seized 2.5 tons of cocaine in a high-seas raid in international waters of the Atlantic on July 26 and arrested 11 people.

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Discovered a major factory producing illegal drugs near Barcelona

Spanish police said they had discovered a major factory producing illegal drugs near Barcelona, and arrested six people from three countries.It said the lab, in the northeastern town of Hospitalet de Llobregat "had a major production capacity since, in one single day" for example, "they had sent 24 000 euros" (about R276 000) in profits to Colombia, police said in a statement,It said the six people arrested were from Colombia, Morocco and Bolivia.Officers seized 4,2 kilogrammes of cocaine, 120 kilogrammes of hashish pollen and a "lot of equipment for producing the drugs," the statement said.

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Spanish police have freed around 600 Russian sex slaves during a series of raids on brothels across the country

Spanish police have freed around 600 Russian sex slaves during a series of raids on brothels across the countryThe women had been lured to Spain by human traffickers promising lucrative work as fruit pickers, but instead had been forced to work in the sex industry, police sources said.“They were fooled into believing they were coming to work in the greenhouses or to pick strawberries,” Jose Nieto, chief inspector of the specialized immigration and criminal networks unit of the national police, told the Spanish newspaper El Pais.But once in Spain, the girls were put to work in the brothels. “The girls were told that the ring would go after their families in Russia, and also put the false notion in their heads that the Spanish police had been bought off and would laugh if they filed a complaint,” said Mr Nieto.
Under Operation Zarpa, the biggest police operation against prostitution to date, 26 establishments were raided, the majority in the Almeria region of southern Spain, and 99 people were arrested.But sources told local media that the busts were the “tip of the iceberg” and that the crime ring possibly had as many as 10,000 women working against their will.

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Three Spanish men have been arrested on suspicion of burglary in Guardamar del Segura .

Three Spanish men have been arrested on suspicion of burglary in Guardamar del Segura .The Guardia Civil have been on their trail for some time . Jewellery , audio equipment , money were all taken on July 4.During a search of the premises in which they lived , many stolen items were discovered , including a plasma screen TV.
They also discovered some quantities of hash and cocaine as well as equipment for preparing the drugs .The police believe that the thefts and the drug business were inter linked .

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50 year old man died after suffering indigestion when swimming at Cabopino near Marbella

A 50 year old man died after suffering indigestion when swimming at Cabopino near Marbella, and a 75 year old drowned on a beach in Mojácar, Almería. In this last case the efforts of his son who was with him on the beach and of the Protección Civil could do nothing to save his life.A body, thought to be of a four to six year old was found on Saturday floating off the Carchuna beach in Calahonda Granada, but decomposition was such that the child’s sex could not be confirmed.An 11 year old boy drowned after rescuing his younger brother who had fallen into a irrigation pond in Orihuela, Alicante, and a seven year old boy drowned in a swimming pool in a summer camp at San Martín de Valdeiglesias in Madrid.

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Allen Heard appeared before magistrates in the U.K.

A British man has been charged with the murder of his wife, 58 year old Patricia Heard, who was reported missing in Olivia, Valencia in July 2006.63 year old Allen Heard appeared before magistrates in Nuneaton today charged with perverting the course of justice and was remanded to appear in Crown Court in Warwick on August 15.
British and Spanish police have been working together on the investigation. The couple had moved to Spain at the start of 2006.Allen Heard is accused of murdering his wife Pat, who disappeared two years ago.Heard, who used to live in The Raywoods, Nuneaton and also in Leicester Street, Bedworth, before emigrating with his wife to Spain, is also charged with perverting the course of justice. He appeared before magistrates in Nuneaton for the first time yesterday. The couple emigrated to Oliva, near Valencia, in 2004 and Mrs Heard was reported missing two years later. A massive public appeal was launched to find her but no trace was found.Now detectives in England and in Spain, who are working together on the case, believe her body may be buried in a shallow grave near Valencia.Allen Heard made a brief appearance at the Nuneaton Justice Centre yesterday afternoon.Heard, who returned to England from Spain recently, was arrested after voluntarily walking into a police station in Warwickshire.He faces charges of the murder of his 58-year-old wife Patricia on or before July 30, 2006, and perverting the course of justice by reporting her missing and concealing her body in a grave.He was remanded in custody to Blakenhurst Prison to appear again at Warwick Crown Court for a plea and direction hearing on August 15.
Heard, wearing a suit, spoke only to confirm his address in Spain and his date of birth.Neil Bannister, prosecuting, said he would oppose any application for bail.
He said: "The police still have a number of inquiries to make in England and Spain and now, of course, the most important one is to recover the body and repatriate it for a post-mortem examination. The police have a delicate and sensitive task to recover the body."No application for bail was made.Mrs Heard's disappearance in 2006 shocked her family and friends in the Coventry and Bedworth area.Before they moved abroad Mrs Heard had been popular at the Black Horse pub in Exhall where she was a member of the ladies' darts team.At the time of her disappearance in 2006, an appeal for information was posted on a website run by the UK charity Missing People. It read: "Her family and friends are extreme-ly worried for Patricia's welfare as her disappearance is completely out of character. They just want to know that Patricia is okay and urge her to make contact with someone to reassure them of her well-being."In a desperate attempt to find out what had happened, Mrs Heard's daughter Linda Jones, of Nuneaton, also spoke to the Telegraph. She described her mother as "confident and sociable". She said: "We just want to know she is safe. This is completely out of character... She has missed two grandchildren's birthdays - that's the bit I can't get over, I just can't see why she's done that.
"We've got in touch with everyone we know but there might be other friends we're not aware of. Someone may be talking to her not knowing she is missing - it's our last chance. We don't know what else to do."Today, murder squad detectives in Nuneaton were liaising with police in Valencia as a grim search for a body was continuing.

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