Costa Del Crime

AMY

Our Daughter 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 to take the 10 minute walk home. Amy was 15 at the time of her disappearance; she has black hair, blue eyes and has a pale complexion. She is 1.65m tall and was wearing dark coloured 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 as she was still on her Mum’s passport. She was wearing her friend’s clothes and carrying a bag of her own dirty clothes.She turned 16 on the 7th February 2008. On the night Amy disappeared she was babysitting in her friend Ashley’s home. Ashley watched Amy walk away form her door and that was the last time Amy was seen. Amy is originally from Clare Hall on Dublin’s North side and she moved to The Costa del sol with us four years ago Her computer and phone have been checked thoroughly and nothing was found to suggest she has left voluntarily with someone.Anyone with information on what happened to Amy or her whereabouts is urged to immediately contact Amy’s Mam: 0034 617 561 319 or missingamy@live.co.ukSPANISH POLICE 0034 952 479 030If you were in Spain around the time that Amy disappeared and you saw something please if you havnt done so already go to the police. Amy needs to be found and we need your help to find her. To speak to the police in English 0034 636 079 619 FOR AMY'S OFFICIAL POSTER PLEASE CliCK The Picture. http://www.bebo.com/helpustofindamy AND LOOK IN HER ALBUMS.

Wednesday, 30 May 2012

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

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

British man arrested for having cocaine on Ibiza

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

Tuesday, 29 May 2012

ETA's military chief arrested in France

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

Cuban arrested for growing cannabis in his basement in Alhaurín

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

Friday, 25 May 2012

Gibraltarian and Spanish police clash over fishing row

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

They were sentenced at Croydon Crown Court last Thursday.

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

Wednesday, 23 May 2012

CGPJ to seek head's resignation over Marbella trips

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

Tuesday, 22 May 2012

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

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

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

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

Monday, 21 May 2012

Body found in Istán countryside

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

Sunday, 20 May 2012

Ex Mayor of Casares leaves prison after finding bail

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

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

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

Spanish police bust gang that ripped off drug dealers

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

Saturday, 19 May 2012

Traffickers paid homeless to become drug ‘mules’

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

Bank worker walks out with a million Euro

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

Thursday, 17 May 2012

Drug traffickers deliberately left their cocaine in Málaga airport lost luggage

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

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

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

Tuesday, 15 May 2012

Former Marbella Mayor must pay back 1.8 million Euros

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

Ex Mayor of Casares ordered to prison provisionally

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

British bomb hoaxers released from custody on Tenerife

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

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

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

Justice Minister announces tougher sentences for serious crime

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

The bodies of two pensioners found in Estepona

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

Man electrocutes his ex partner and tries to strangle her

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

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

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

Sunday, 13 May 2012

Wanted British man arrested on the Costa del Sol

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

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

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

Eight arrested in Mallorca on drug and prostitution charges

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

Saturday, 12 May 2012

Spanish police inquiry after body of man from south Wales found

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

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

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

Tuesday, 8 May 2012

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sunday, 6 May 2012

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

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

Saturday, 5 May 2012

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

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

Friday, 4 May 2012

Police break up two criminal clans in Marbella

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

Cleaner shot dead in Toledo bank robbery

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

Canadian wanted on sex offences nabbed in Spain

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

Wednesday, 2 May 2012

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

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

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

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

Monday, 30 April 2012

Spain scraps health benefits for illegal immigrants

Spain takes pride in its universal health care but Europe's debt crisis has spurred tough budget cuts that will bring sometimes life-saving treatment for illegal immigrants to an abrupt end. Carmen Maria, a 33-year-old woman from Nicaragua who arrived in the country in 2010, has no legal ID in Spain but has benefitted from free health coverage for her illness nonetheless. She has been working as a cleaner and despite failing to obtain residency she was able to enjoy the same health care as any legal Spanish citizen. Ten months ago she was diagnosed with dermatomyositis, a skin disease which can be associated with a tumour and lead to potentially fatal complications. "It's considered a rare disease and my condition requires constant medical monitoring," said Carmen Maria, whose husband and four children still live in Nicaragua. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's government, faced with soaring unemployment, rising debt and a slide into recession, has launched an austerity plan aimed at cutting the deficit from 8.5 percent of GDP last year to 5.3 percent in 2012. To achieve the package's target of cutting health expenditure by seven billion euros ($9.3 billion), only legal immigrants will retain health coverage as of September 1. Among illegal immigrants, only children, pregnant women and emergency cases will qualify for free treatment. "This will only put Spain on a par with other European Union countries," according to Health Minister Ana Mato. The measure will leave half a million illegal immigrants who have been counting on Spain's health coverage with no safety net, and several organisations have been sounding alarm bells. Carmen Maria decided to seek help from the group SOS Racismo, saying, "I'm alone here, I don't have anyone." "The economic crisis, no matter how severe it is, should not be an excuse for stripping immigrants of all their rights," SOS Racismo said, describing access to health care as "a fundamental right". "This is a very dangerous situation," said Vladimir Paspuel, who heads Ruminahui, a Spanish-Ecuadorian association that offers social and legal assistance to immigrants. "It can have life-threatening consequences in cases where a disease is not treated in time," he said. "Another thing is that it sends a subliminal message to Spanish society: 'Illegal immigrants are the ones who are pilfering the money, they are responsible for the crisis'," he explained. In a bid to defuse any surge in anti-immigrant rhetoric among the public following the conservative government's decision, groups such Ruminahui point out that immigrants are more sparing with their visits to the doctor. According to a study carried out by a health expert and published in the El Pais daily, immigrants on average go 5.05 times when Spaniards go 7.65 times over the same period. "I don't go to the doctor more than twice a year," said Wilson Quintero, a 42-year-old Ecuadorian. But scrapping health coverage for 500,000 Latin Americans, North Africans and Eastern Europeans in Spain "is a serious problem", he said. "If someone falls ill and doesn't have a steady job, what is he supposed to do? It will become very difficult," he said. Wilson has lived in Spain since 2002 and worked as a builder until the real estate bubble burst, which led him to lose first his job and then his residency. Spain's unemployment rate is the highest in the industrialised world at 24.4 percent. It is even higher among immigrants at more than 40 percent.

Spanish court clears four Scots of drug trafficking

Four Scots have been acquitted by a Spanish court of drug trafficking and money laundering charges. Ronald O'Dea, 45, from Kilmarnock, Mary Durkin Hendry, 61 from Hamilton, Ian Donaldson, 32, and James McDonald, 62, both from Glasgow, were cleared at the National Criminal Court in Madrid. Judges said there were pointers towards clandestine activities but insufficient evidence to convict. Stephen Brown, 45, from London, was convicted of trafficking amphetamines. He was jailed for six-and-a-half years and fined 8,000 euros. Cash forfeited The case followed a four-year operation by Spanish law enforcement agencies and the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency into amphetamine smuggling and money laundering. Mr O'Dea and Mr McDonald were arrested in Spain in November 2008. Mr Donaldson, who fled, was later extradited from Scotland. He forfeited £70,000 which had been found when he was arrested. The Spanish judges said there was reasonable doubt about clandestine activities between the accused, and property they owned without legitimate income to support it. But they said there was insufficient evidence to convict them and Ms Hendry, who was also charged.

Saturday, 28 April 2012

latin gang, more violent than the Latin Kings, called Las Maras, could be established in Spain within three years.

A Civil Guard sergeant, who lived for a time in Honduras, has warned that a latin gang, more violent than the Latin Kings, called Las Maras, could be established in Spain within three years. Sergeant Pedro Gallego warned that the Latin Kings and the Ñetas, who used to have a higher presence in Spain were only ‘sleeping’ now, but would see a resurgence in activity as the economic crisis bites and youth unemployment rises. Members are attracted to join the gang because of its lifestyle, status and quick access to sex and drugs. Gallego has published a book with the conclusions of his study La Mara al Desnudo. The book explains that the tattoos of the Mara gang members are important and represent secret codes between them.

The Judge in Instruction Court 1 in Torremolinos has ordered provisional prison without bail for a man who was arrested in Benalmádena on Wednesday.

The man had put his four year old step-daughter in the boot of his car with the presumed intention of protecting her from chicken pox. The 27 year old now faces charges of illegal detention and attempted murder with malice. Although he did not have the intention of killing the girl, his actions could have caused her death, according to judicial sources. It happened just after midnight on Wednesday in Calle Cómpeta in the centre of Arroyo de la Miel. Police were alerted by a resident who heard the cries from the child in the boot. On their arrival they broke a window of the car so air could get inside and decided to dismantle the back seat to gain access to the girl. She was not seriously injured although did show scratches and bruises on her face. As the child was being rescued the man, named as F.A.C. came out of the flat with the intention of using the car, and was promptly arrested by the Local Police. The man argued that he had shut the child in the boot so the child did not get chicken pox, because a family member suffering from the disease was in his home. The mother was not in the house at the time. Click here for related stories mobile | email this article | printer friendly page More Spain News : Andalucía : Costa del Sol Readers' comments: Please keep to the subject. Opinions published here are of our visitors, not the Typically Spanish team. Comments which go against Spanish laws or which are libellous are not allowed. We reserve the right to delete any comment we wish. Placing a comment indicates you have read our terms and conditions and privacy policy. Por favor, céntrate en el tema. Son las opiniones de los internautas, y no las de Typically Spanish. No está permitido verter comentarios contrarios a las leyes españolas o injuriantes. Reservado el derecho a eliminar los comentarios que consideremos fuera de tema. Escribir un comentario indica que has leído nuestros condiciones de uso y politica de privacidad. Leave a comment Name and location: Email (will NOT be published): Notify on replies: Comment: Verification: click on image to refresh it del.icio.us | digg | technorati | yahoo | Stumble It! Facebook | Reddit | Newsvine | Meneame | Wikio Blink | Google | Fresqui | MSN reporters | Live Spaces My Space | Fark | Mixx | Twitter Costa del Sol Man locks his 4 year old step daughter in car boot so she can't catch Chicken Pox Spanish Oddities 76 year old pensioner fined 20 € for chaining herself to her bank Spanish Oddities British Woman gets attacked by eagle as she walks her dogs Spanish Oddities Argentina paper dresses up Marino Rajoy as a butano delivery man Spanish Oddities Model mum helps rescued Beared Vulture chick Spanish Oddities The designers' loo comes to Barcelona Watch video More Spanish Oddities | | Home | About | Add a Directory Link | Contact Us | New Links | Terms | Privacy Policy | Promote Your Site | RSS | Site Map

Malaya case court secretary to continue

The Malaya case, investigating the corruption in Marbella Town Hall, opened in Málaga in September 2010. A possible obstacle which could have complicated the case considerably was solved on Wednesday when the Justice Ministry said they were extending the services of the judicial secretary who has been working exclusively on the case, Inmaculada Núñez, who original contract was set to expire on April 30. President of the Málaga court, José Godino, announced the renovation of the contract after the session on Wednesday. Meanwhile the businessman Tomás Olivo, one of the accused in the Malaya case, has been condemned to five years prison for ill-treating his ex girlfriend, with whom he had a baby daughter. Penal Court 13 in Málaga heard how he had installed cameras in the home so he could watch events when he was not there. Tomás Olivo, who is the owner of the La Cañada Commercial Centre in Marbella, is considered to have acted against his ex with ‘humiliation, aggression and control’ during the relationship and after they broke up. He has been found guilty on three counts of ill-treatment in the family environment, one of them regular abuse. The sentence says that since 2003 and until the start of 2006 he ill-treated the woman by ‘insulting her, pushing her, hitting her, telling her how she should dress, and questioning marks on her body which he thought showed that she had been in contact with another man. He also locked her in the house.

SUV driver who caused Benalmádena coach crash sent to prison for three and a half years

The man who caused the accident on the A7 motorway above Benalmádena on April 19 2008, has been given a three and a half year prison sentence and banned from driving for five years. Nine Finnish tourists died and 26 were injured, some of them seriously, when Jesús Gil Bueno drove his Kia Sportage four-wheel-drive into the side of a coach in what were very wet conditions. The Finnish tourists were on the way to the airport for a flight home after their holidays. The victims of the accident have been compensated with the Jesús Gil Bueno insurance policy. The driver was found to be over the alcohol limit and tracked to have been driving at 152 km/h at the time of the impact.

Wednesday, 25 April 2012

Spain breaks up gang smuggling Iranians to UK

Spanish police have broken up a gang trying to smuggle Iranian migrants into Britain via the Canary Islands, arresting 22 people. The migrants, charged up to 20,000 euros (£16,300) for the journey, were transported by air or overland by lorry and in luggage compartments of buses. Once in the Canaries, usually the islands of Tenerife or Fuerteventura, they would fly to Britain, police said. Fake passports were found at the home of the alleged ringleader, they added. The Spanish authorities launched their investigation in February, with the arrest of a suspect attempting to board a flight from Tenerife to the UK with forged identification, reports say. The UK Border Agency was also involved in the case. Thirteen people are said to have been arrested in Tenerife, three in Fuerteventura and six in Madrid. While many gang members, including the alleged leader, were based in Spain, others were reportedly scattered abroad in Iran, Greece, Switzerland and Germany. Spanish police said the smugglers had referred to the migrants as cattle or sheep and instructed them how they should act on arrival in Britain. Discounts were given for children while those aged under two were said to have been allowed free passage.

British woman stabbed

The 53-year-old woman, who has not been named, was rushed to hospital after the incident in the early hours of Sunday morning, according to the Spanish news agency EFE. It is understood that she was stabbed in the stomach with a kitchen knife in her home near the small town of Pinoso, Alicante, during what is thought to have been an attempted robbery. The woman, who was alone at the time, managed to call the emergency services and was taken to a nearby hospital, where she underwent surgery. She is said to be out of danger. The mountainous Pinoso area, on the Alicante/Murcia border, has become increasingly popular with foreign buyers in recent years, with a growing British community. A local newspaper, La Verdad, said that many foreign residents chose to live in isolated countryside houses, which made them an “easy target” for crime. In 2007, a British pensioner called Janette Grocutt living in the hamlet of Paredón, just a few miles from Pinoso, was raped and murdered in her home.

Reopen Madeleine case, police urge

Scotland Yard has urged Portuguese authorities to reopen the search for Madeleine McCann as detectives said there are 195 potential leads to finding her alive. The detective leading the Metropolitan Police review said the case can still be solved before officers released a picture of what she might now look like as a nine-year-old. Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood said he believes her disappearance was a stranger abduction, as he said there are 195 "investigative opportunities". Police refused to say what evidence they had uncovered to suggest Madeleine is alive. Mr Redwood confirmed that his team of more than 30 officers involved in the case had been out to Portugal seven times, including a visit to the family's holiday flat in Praia da Luz. It will be five years ago next week since the three-year-old went missing as her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, dined with friends nearby. A spokesman for the McCanns said the family was pleased with the image. Mr Redwood said his 37 officers had dealt with 40,000 pieces of information but the "primacy still sits in Portugal" in the attempt to find her. Commander Simon Foy said: "Most significantly, the message we want to bring to you is that, on the evidence, there is a possibility that she is alive and we desperately need your help today to appeal directly to the public for information to support our investigation." Mr Redwood said "evidence that she is alive stems from the forensic view of the timeline" that there was the opportunity for her to be taken. Investigations show "there do appear to be gaps", he added. Detectives in Portugal are also understood to want the case reopened but must gain judicial approval via the courts.

Insecure websites to be named and shamed after checks

Companies that do not do enough to keep their websites secure are to be named and shamed to help improve security. The list of good and bad sites will be published regularly by the non-profit Trustworthy Internet Movement (TIM). A survey carried out to launch the group found that more than 52% of sites tested were using versions of security protocols known to be compromised. The group will test websites to see how well they have implemented basic security software. Security fundamentals The group has been set up by security experts and entrepreneurs frustrated by the slow pace of improvements in online safety. "We want to stimulate some initiatives and get something done," said TIM's founder Philippe Courtot, serial entrepreneur and chief executive of security firm Qualys. He has bankrolled the group with his own money. TIM has initially focused on a widely used technology known as the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). Experts recruited to help with the initiative include SSL's inventor Dr Taher Elgamal; "white hat" hacker Moxie Marlinspike who has written extensively about attacking the protocol; and Michael Barrett, chief security officer at Paypal. Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote Everyone is now going to be able to see who has a good grade and who has a bad grade” Philippe Courtot Many websites use SSL to encrypt communications between them and their users. It is used to protect credit card numbers and other valuable data as it travels across the web. "SSL is one of the fundamental parts of the internet," said Mr Courtot. "It's what makes it trustworthy and right now it's not as secure as you think." Compromised certificates TIM plans a two-pronged attack on SSL. The first part would be to run automated tools against websites to test how well they had implemented SSL, said Mr Courtot. "We'll be making it public," he added. "Everyone is now going to be able to see who has a good grade and who has a bad grade." Early tests suggest that about 52% of sites checked ran a version of SSL known to be compromised. Companies who have done a bad job will be encouraged to improve and upgrade their implementations so it gets safer to use those sites. The second part of the initiative concerns the running of the bodies, known as certificate authorities, which guarantee that a website is what it claims to be. TIM said it would work with governments, industry bodies and companies to check that CAs are well run and had not been compromised. "It's a much more complex problem," said Mr Courtot. In 2011, two certificate authorities, DigiNotar and GlobalSign were found to have been compromised. In some cases this meant attackers eavesdropped on what should have been a secure communications channel. Steve Durbin, global vice president of the Information Security Forum which represents security specialists working in large corporations, said many of its members took responsibility for making sure sites were secure. "You cannot just say 'buyer beware'," he said. "That's not good enough anymore. They have a real a duty of care." He said corporations were also increasingly conscious of their reputation for providing safe and secure services to customers. Data breaches, hack attacks and poor security were all likely to hit share prices and could mean they lose customers, he noted.

Anti-depressants likely do more harm than good, study suggests

Commonly prescribed anti-depressants appear to be doing patients more harm than good, say researchers who have published a paper examining the impact of the medications on the entire body. See Also: Health & Medicine Pharmacology Birth Defects Mental Health Research Mind & Brain Depression Disorders and Syndromes Psychiatry Reference COX-2 inhibitor Psychoactive drug Seasonal affective disorder Anti-obesity drug "We need to be much more cautious about the widespread use of these drugs," says Paul Andrews, an evolutionary biologist at McMaster University and lead author of the article, published recently in the online journal Frontiers in Psychology. "It's important because millions of people are prescribed anti-depressants each year, and the conventional wisdom about these drugs is that they're safe and effective." Andrews and his colleagues examined previous patient studies into the effects of anti-depressants and determined that the benefits of most anti-depressants, even taken at their best, compare poorly to the risks, which include premature death in elderly patients. Anti-depressants are designed to relieve the symptoms of depression by increasing the levels of serotonin in the brain, where it regulates mood. The vast majority of serotonin that the body produces, though, is used for other purposes, including digestion, forming blood clots at wound sites, reproduction and development. What the researchers found is that anti-depressants have negative health effects on all processes normally regulated by serotonin. The findings include these elevated risks: developmental problems in infants problems with sexual stimulation and function and sperm development in adults digestive problems such as diarrhea, constipation, indigestion and bloating abnormal bleeding and stroke in the elderly The authors reviewed three recent studies showing that elderly anti-depressant users are more likely to die than non-users, even after taking other important variables into account. The higher death rates indicate that the overall effect of these drugs on the body is more harmful than beneficial. "Serotonin is an ancient chemical. It's intimately regulating many different processes, and when you interfere with these things you can expect, from an evolutionary perspective, that it's going to cause some harm," Andrews says. Millions of people are prescribed anti-depressants every year, and while the conclusions may seem surprising, Andrews says much of the evidence has long been apparent and available. "The thing that's been missing in the debates about anti-depressants is an overall assessment of all these negative effects relative to their potential beneficial effects," he says. "Most of this evidence has been out there for years and nobody has been looking at this basic issue." In previous research, Andrews and his colleagues had questioned the effectiveness of anti-depressants even for their prescribed function, finding that patients were more likely to suffer relapse after going off their medications as their brains worked to re-establish equilibrium. With even the intended function of anti-depressants in question, Andrews says it is important to look critically at their continuing use. "It could change the way we think about such major pharmaceutical drugs," he says. "You've got a minimal benefit, a laundry list of negative effects -- some small, some rare and some not so rare. The issue is: does the list of negative effects outweigh the minimal benefit?"

Madeleine McCann, the British girl who went missing while on holiday in Portugal half a decade ago, could still be alive, Scotland Yard said on Wednesday.

Madeleine McCann as she might look aged 9

Madeleine McCann as she might look aged 9 Photo: Teri Blythe

Detectives released a new “age progression” image of the toddler, which they said showed what she would look like today at the age of nine.

On Wednesday, Britain’s biggest police force said that as a result of evidence uncovered during a review “they now believe there is a possibility Madeleine is still alive”.

Officers have so far identified nearly 200 new items for investigation within historic material and are also “developing what they believe to be genuinely new material”.

Scotland Yard urged Portuguese authorities to reopen the search for her amid the new "investigative opportunities".

Police said the image, created ahead of what would have been her ninth birthday on May 12, had been created in “close collaboration with the family”.

Monday, 23 April 2012

National Police have arrested in Tenerife an Italian wanted for five homicides in Poland who has been on the run since 2009.

News of the arrest has just been released, although it happened on March 16. The police statement said he has now been transferred to the National Court for his extradition to Poland. National Police also arrested another Italian on April 11 who is wanted by the Dutch authorities for drug trafficking. He’s been on the run since 1995. And on April 17 the National Police arrested a 33 year old Polish man who was wanted by the Swedish authorities for drug trafficking. The National Police say that these arrests confirm their determination to cooperate with police forces international, and to stop delinquents taking refuge on a paradise island.

British fraudster, Michael Brown, could be in Spain for some six months

Multi-millionaire British fraudster, Michael Brown, who was deported from the Dominican Republic to Spain over the weekend could be in Spain for months before extradition to the U.K. Famous for his 2.5 million pound donation to the Liberal Democrats 2005 election campaign, the 46 year old Glasweigan posed as a bond dealer and claimed connections with royalty to embezzle an estimated 36 million pounds from clients. Among his victims the former chairman of Manchester United who was taken for 8 million pounds. He fled the UK in 2008 and has been living in the Dominican Republic under the name, Darren Nally, since then. An international manhunt arrested him in January but they are still hunting for a missing 18 million €. Brown arrived in Spain on Saturday morning accompanied by offices from the Dominican Republic. Now a European Arrest Warrent is hoped to be enough to get him to Britain, but Channel Four News reports that a London based solicitor, Nigel Richardson, who handled the extradition of a drug suspect from Spain in 2011, has said that even if Brown agrees to the extradition it could still take months. There will be a hearing to see if he does consent to extradition, and if he does it takes place in 21 days. Being such a high profile case could see the Spaniards acting quicker than normal. If he contests the extradition any decision is not likely for some six months. The Home Office and the Serious Organised Crime Office have refused to comment on the case or to say what would happen to him on his arrival in the UK. He has an outstanding seven year prison term, but that could be increased for jumping bail.

British man arrested for stabbing a Senegalese man in Mijas

43 year old British resident of Mijas, named with the initials J.S. has been arrested by Local Police in connection with an aggression against a 52 year old Senegalese man, named with the initials M.N. who was stabbed with a sharp object in the Sitio de Calahonda urbanisation. It happened just after midnight on Saturday night, and the injury is the lumber region. Police called the emergency services who took the injured man to the Costa del Sol Hospital, after he had given them a detailed description of his attacker. A search was started by the patrol which saw how a man tried to flee when the police were seen. Finally the police managed to catch the Briton who refused to identify himself and who also attacked one of the police. He had to be reduced to the ground and suffered the fracture of his left shoulder as a result. Both the Local Police and the Guardia Civil, and private security guards who operate in the estate inspected the scene of the aggression to try and find the weapon used and they found a broken bottle which has been taken into evidence.

Sunday, 22 April 2012

police hunt for Michael Brown's missing millions

British police are still trying to trace £18m allegedly stolen by the Liberal Democrats' fugitive donor Michael Brown, who is expected to be extradited to Britain within the next 10 days. Brown, 46, was in a holding cell near Madrid airport on Sunday, having been deported from the Dominican Republic, where he had been on the run from UK authorities for three years. Brown, who gave £2.4m to the Liberal Democrats before the 2005 general election, is not expected to challenge a formal move to extradite him to London which has already been set in motion. He was convicted of theft and false accounting in his absence in Britain in 2008 and sentenced to seven years in jail. Detectives are still trying to trace around £18m of Brown's stolen money, which had been moved between his accounts in the US, Britain and Switzerland, the Guardian understands. Brown was estimated to have stolen more than £60m in a number of frauds. Most of his assets have been accounted for in property deals, a Bentley, a yacht and the private jet once used to fly senior Lib Dems across the UK. However, more than £18m has not yet been accounted for. "The file at Interpol on Brown and his associates remains open," a source told the Guardian. Brown's return will be another embarrassing development in the long-running saga over the Lib Dems' biggest single donation. The party has refused to compensate any of Brown's victims, claiming it received the money in good faith and spent it on the 2005 election campaign. Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg welcomed Brown's return to Britain but said on Sunday that the party would not be returning his donation because the Electoral Commission had concluded the money had been received in good faith. The deputy prime minister, who pointed out that the donation was made before he was elected to Westminster, told BBC1's Sunday Politics: "I'm very pleased he's coming back to serve his sentence. This is a convicted fraudster. "I should stress that this is something which happened as far as the Liberal Democrats are concerned before I was even an MP, yet alone leader of the Liberal Democrats. What I've been told is that the Electoral Commission in 2009 looked at this exhaustively – as far as the receipt of that money by the Liberal Democrats from one of his companies. They categorically concluded that the money was received in good faith and all the controls, all the checks that should have been made were reasonably made by the Liberal Democrats at the time. If we'd been shown wanting on those accounts then of course we should pay the money back." But Brown's return will increase focus on the Electoral Commission inquiry into Brown's donations. The inquiry failed to call the Lib Dems' former treasurer, Reg Clark, who resigned over Brown in 2005 and warned advisers to the former Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy that Brown should be treated with extreme caution. One of Brown's victims said the Lib Dems should return the money. Tony Brown, managing partner at law firm Bivonas which represents US attorney Robert Mann who lost more than $5m (£3m), said Brown may be asked to give evidence as part of his client's claim against the Lib Dems. "The Lib Dems have refused to repay this money to our client even though they know that this is the proceeds of crime. The Electoral Commission has failed to investigate this properly in our view. So now that Brown is returning to the jurisdiction, we can investigate again and establish the basis on which the Lib Dems received this money." Brown is expected to appear before a Spanish court to confirm his name and will then appear before an extradition hearing within 10 days. City of London police, who first uncovered Brown's fraud, confirmed his deportation. Detective Superintendent Bob Wishart said: "We hope that him facing justice will bring some closure to the victims who suffered as a result of his frauds." A close friend of Brown's told the Guardian on Sunday that he had arrived in Spain on Saturday after "volunteering" for deportation from the Dominican Republic, where he has been hiding for three years under the name of Darren Nally. "He asked to return to Britain. He is going home to face the music," the friend said. Brown appeared to come from nowhere when the party was paid £2.4m in the runup to the 2005 election from his company 5th Avenue Partners. A fast-talking and brash Glaswegian, he had walked into the party's then headquarters in Cowley Street and offered it money. He was not registered to vote, had no interest in politics and had never been a party member, but said he was giving the money to create an even playing field. Brown wined and dined with Charles Kennedy and other party grandees, and used his private jet to fly Kennedy across the country during the election campaign. Former Lib Dem insiders say he dazzled them with stories of Gordonstoun public school, St Andrews University and his connections with royalty and the US government. The truth was that he had attended his local school and completed a City and Guilds in catering at Glasgow College of Food Technology. He had no US government links – although he was wanted in Florida for cheque fraud. He was arrested in late 2005 after four former clients said he had duped them out of more than £40m in a high-yield fraud. His victims included Martin Edwards, the former Manchester United chairman, who had invested £8m with 5th Avenue Partners. The court would later be told that 5th Avenue Partners was wholly fraudulent and Brown had given money to the Lib Dems to give himself an air of respectability while duping his victims. The party had been used as part of his cover story, a judge said. In June 2008, while awaiting trial, Brown fled and a warrant was issued for his arrest. In the weeks before he disappeared, from his Hampstead bail address in north London, he changed his name on the electoral roll to Campbell-Brown and allowed his hair to turn grey. He travelled to the Dominican Republic where he enjoyed a millionaire's lifestyle while on the run. He lived in gated communities yards from some of the most pristine beaches in the Caribbean, drove a series of 4x4 vehicles and was a regular at exclusive golf courses. In Punta Cana, an exclusive resort on the eastern tip of the island, he could often be seen walking his dog – named Charles, after the former Lib Dem leader. He was arrested in Punta Cana in January on unrelated fraud allegations.

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

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

Saturday, 21 April 2012

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

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

Anti-Corruption prosecutors to be strengthened in Málaga

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

Health Minister announces crackdown on foreigners using the Spanish Health Service

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

Ryanair threatens surcharge on flights to Spain

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

Thursday, 19 April 2012

Warning of rise in bogus rape reports in Malaga

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Puerto Banús

A trip to Marbella wouldn’t be a trip to Marbella without visiting this legendary port. Dubbed the ‘Port of Abuse’ by many of its heavy-drinking insiders, Puerto Banús is named after its designer (and legendary playboy) Jose Banús, who can be credited for single-handedly putting Marbella on the map. Row after row of designer shops, hip restaurants and trendy bars, the port is where the town’s super-rich moor up their megayachts and pose for their adoring public on the decks. Aside from the boats, the one-way road is like a supercar showroom, too, with every high-end marque you can think of polished to perfection and parked up outside hip and happening places. Whether you visit the port to inflict some damage on your credit card, to dine on fresh seafood or to dance like its 1969, you’re sure to have yourself a very good time. Highly recommended is an Indonesian dinner and rum cocktails at the nearby Trader Vic’s, followed by drinks at the world-famous Sinatra’s bar, which is like a who’s who of the movie industry on a Friday and Saturday night. After that, you can move onto the nearby Suite nightclub, hidden underneath the very posh Puente Romano Hotel.

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