Five Moroccan men were arrested at the weekend

Five Moroccan men were arrested at the weekend and are said by the Guardia Civil to have been members of a violent group that has been using pistols in holdups at petrol stations. The arrests took place in Águilas but the crimes cover a wide area. The gang is also said to have created a climate of intimidation amongst other Moroccans. More arrests are expected as investigations continue. Finally, Murcia priests became suspicious at the number of English women in their 50s who were being married to Nigerian men who didn't speak any Spanish. They took their suspicions to the Guardia Civil and a huge increase has been identified in the number of marriages between Nigerian males and women of Gypsy origin. Study of documentation provided for the marriages showed many common addresses and other suspicious aspects. Some of the women had only been in Murcia for a day. About 40 cases of alleged marriages of convenience, which aim to get residency for non-EU immigrants, are now being investigated and there are suspicions that an organised crime gang may be involved. recent string of successes by police and security forces has seen several gangs accused of committing major crimes arrested while a strong crack-down continues. The investigations and arrests have been carried out by National Police, Local Police and the Guardia Civil. Many specialist units have been involved, from those who target organised crime, to groups that investigate money laundering and officers who are anti-drug experts. Crime has become a major concern for both Spanish and foreign residents on the Costas and police and security forces resources are being significantly increased. In Murcia it has been announced that additional National Police officers are about to enter service, with 40 being assigned to Murcia City, 30 to Cartagena and 20 to Lorca. The Guardia Civil presence in the province will now stand at about 250 agents, 200 of whom will be on regular duties and another 50 on specialist tasks. These include units specializing in fighting violent crime and in special operations. The Guardia is adding 40 new vehicles to its fleet.

Every week there are reports of additional vehicles being bought for Local Police and of more officers being added in towns and cities. More police dogs are aiding the fight against crime. Recently agents of the National Police and officers from La Unión, Cartagena and Alcantarilla, participated in an intensive course in work with police dogs. Many Local Police forces are now adding dog units to their resources, including one at Pilar de la Horadada. The dogs are trained to track, chase and detain suspects and to detect drugs at places which include schools and public institutions. Drugs are the reason behind a great many crimes, from large operations involving international criminals to dealing at street level. Drug users are responsible for many of the crimes, such as robberies that cause so much suffering to law-abiding people. Out in the Mediterranean the big war against drugs continues day and night. Sophisticated electronic surveillance systems around the narrowest crossing point, the Gibraltar Straits, mean that smugglers have moved their operations northwards with the coastlines of Murcia and Alicante now being targeted.

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Plane carrying 600 kg of hashish crash-landed in rice fields not far from Sevilla

A light-engine aircraft carrying 600 kg of hashish crashed in southern Spain on Thursday, Spanish police said in a report.
"A plane carrying 600 kg of hashish packaged in 20 bags crash-landed in rice fields not far from Sevilla," the report read, adding that the plane's pilot and its sole passenger had fled the scene of the crash. Police eventually located and arrested the plane's occupants several kilometers away from the crash site. They have been accused of drug trafficking. Neither the identities of the suspected drug smugglers, nor the origin of the hashish have been disclosed. However, drugs are mostly trafficked into Spain from Morocco

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Guardia Civil officers have arrested a 21-year-old man

Guardia Civil officers have arrested a 21-year-old man in Pego on suspicion of drug-peddling. He was reportedly caught red-handed in a street on Sunday with 22 bags of white powder. Police say that his odd behaviour attracted their attention. The powder was tested by forensics and was found to be cocaine.

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Tangier,Customs services at the port of Tangiers arrested, on Tuesday, two Spaniards

Tangier,Customs services at the port of Tangiers arrested, on Tuesday, two Spaniards and a Moroccan with 72kg of hashish concealed onboard a car registered in Spain.
Moroccan with 72kg of hashish concealed onboard a car registered in Spain.In a separate catch, Moroccan authorities also seized some 24Kg of cannabis resin found in the dashboard of a vehicle registered in Spain. On Monday, Moroccan customs apprehended an Iranian-born Spanish national with 19kg of cannabis resin, locally known as chira, that he attempted to bring from Spain on board a luxury vehicle Since the beginning of January, drug seizures at the port of Tangier
are almost daily. The arrested traffickers of different nationalities are brought before court where they face sentences ranging from 5 to 10 years in prison and very heavy fines set according to the
quantity of drugs seized.

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bound for southern Spain over 2MT of cannabis resin seized northeast

Nador, Moroccan Royal Navy on Wednesday seized 2,004 kg of cannabis resin, locally known as chira, in the region of Nador (northeast), local authorities said.
resin, locally known as chira, in the region of Nador (northeast), local authorities said.The drug was found on board a powerful dinghy that was bound for southern Spain. The dealers managed to flee aboard another dinghy.
This brings to 5,724kilos the amount of this drug seized over the past 24 hours in the city.
Another 60 kilos of hashish were seized, Wednesday, in Casablanca. Three drug dealers were arrested during this operation, according to police sources. At the port of Tangier (north), customs and police services seized a total of 160 kg of hashish in three catches and arrested eight individuals. The new catches came less than 24 hours after the seizure of no less than 5.6 metric tons (MT) of cannabis products in the cities of Tangier (north)and Nador (northeast).
Since the turn of the year, the rate of drug seizures has accelerated on almost a daily basis. The traffickers face sentences ranging from 5 to 10 years in prison and hefty fines set according to the quantity seized.

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Nigerian lady with 46 capsules of cocaine in her stomach

38-year Nigerian lady living in Germany was arrested at the Mohammed V Airport in Casablanca on Monday, with 46 capsules of cocaine in her stomach, a police source told PANA here Tuesday. The lady flew into Casablanca from the Malian capital, Bamako, on her way to Madrid, Spain. On 8 February, two Nigerians and a Ghanaian were arrested at the same airport with capsules of cocaine in the stomach

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Street fight that ended in the death of a 16-year-old Venezuelan girl.

Catalan regional police have arrested six Latin American youths in connection with a street fight that ended in the death of a 16-year-old Venezuelan girl. The Catalan police could not say if the 25 youths that took part in the fight early on Sunday morning were members of organised youth gangs. The main suspect of the crime is Alexis Emmanuel C.M, 20, a native of the Dominican Republic. The young man is believed to have stabbed his victim to death. The police said that they had recovered the knife that probably caused the death of the Venezuelan adolescent. The fight took place in a suburb of Barcelona, where the youths had met at a party. Police could not say what was the cause of the fight.

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WANTED: Carol Lopez suspected in at least three Central Florida holdups

An armed gunman suspected in at least three Central Florida holdups has been identified after he accidentally left his wallet and photo identification at a crime scene, according to investigators.Police said Carol Lopez has targeted stores in and around South Orange County in recent weeks, including the latest crime at a business located on the 7100 block of South Orange County Avenue.
Police said during the crime, Lopez left behind his wallet.
"We work pretty hard to catch the unknown but this gentleman made the job pretty easy," Orange County sheriff's Detective Rob Branch said. "He is very dangerous. "He is armed and while he may have left significant clues and put a smile on your faces, he certainly a dangerous person we need to get off the street."
Lopez, 30, is from Puerto Rico and is covered in tattoos on his arms and back. He wears earrings in both ears and has several scars on his face.Investigators said Lopez may be working as a barber in Orange County.

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‘Expats Under Attack,’denounced

ITV programme broadcast on Monday night, ‘Expats Under Attack,’denounced the east european gangs that were targeting Northern Europeans, with a piece to camera of a reformed gang member. The chalk signs left by the gangs outside properties and the brutal violent robberies suffered by British expats. It spoke of foreigners, especially Brits, being targeted by criminal gangs in Spain, and one person interviewed said police in Spain are poorly paid and tend not to want to spend too much time on a specific case. In Málaga province, it noted a stabbing in Fuengirola, and highlighted the case of Gary Dunne, who was stabbed to death near Torremolinos, Málaga province, in March 2006, and whose family have been fighting for permission to bring his body home for burial.

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Two drug dealers in custody and a large amount of cocaine confiscated by the officers in pursuit

National Police said in a press release on Monday that the two men, Francisco Javier V.T. and Rubén V.V., were intercepted near Vera last Wednesday night as they were returning from a drug-buying trip to Alicante. They were chased along the motorway, hitting one of the vehicles in pursuit, and throwing part of the drugs out of the car window as they tried to make their escape.125 kilometre police chase along the A-7 motorway last week ended with two drug dealers in custody and a large amount of cocaine confiscated by the officers in pursuit. They were finally caught at the exit for Balanegra, more than 120 kilometres from where the car chase began. EFE said officers found 300 grams of cocaine in the car, and a further 100 grams in a later search of Francisco Javier’s home.

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(updated) Brit in shooting incident in Ibiza in which three people were injured has been arrested by police in Amsterdam

English man wanted in connection with a shooting incident in Ibiza in which three people were injured has been arrested by police in Amsterdam.
Kevin R is wanted in connection with what is believed to have been a shoot-out between two rival gangs - one British, one Moroccan - over the sale of drugs in certain areas of Sant Antoni.A warrant for his arrest was issued by a judge in Ibiza after he skipped bail.
Kevin R. was in the front passenger seat of a 4x4 BMW that was shot nine times during the incident. The driver of the car, Sean W. received a gunshot wound and is currently in Palma Prison awaiting trial.Another Briton, Keith D., is wanted in connection with the same incident.Though British, he is alleged to have rented the car from which the Moroccans fired at their British rivals in the BMW.BRITON suspected of being involved in a dramatic shoot-out between rival drug gangs in Ibiza has been arrested in Holland.The gun battle happened in the resort of San Antonio, on the island’s west coast, in August, two years ago.Shots were fired during a car chase through the centre of the town.The driver of one of the cars was shot and seriously injured.Two young Belfast tourists, caught in the cross fire as they left a disco, were also hit and wounded.The man, detained in Holland, allegedly skipped bail after being arrested by Spanish police.Most of those arrested were from Merseyside.Spain is expected to seek the man’s extradition from Holland.An international arrest warrant was issued for a 26-year-old Newcastle man allegedly involved in the shoot-out.

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15-year-old Guinean girl working as a prostitute in a single’s club

National police squad has detained a 15-year-old Guinean girl in Palma who was found operating as a prostitute in a single’s club in Palma during the early hours of the morning.
The police communiqué said that the girl’s mother had reported her having left home on the 29th of last month. The officers who located the 15-year-old were members of a special unit which investigates illegal immigration and the use of false documentation. During an inspection of the club in calle S’Aigua Dolca, the girl was asked to provide identification but she was only able to produce a DNI card belonging to a cousin. The police were able to see the person and the card failed to tally. They then arrested the club’s owner - a 60-year-old Spaniard, Ramón L.G. along with a second Guinean - 22-year-old Arminda O.A. who had played a key part in allowing the 15-year-old to operate as a prostitute in the club.The police have taken the case to the Balearic Under-age court who have set up special protectin measures, but the anti-illegal immigration unit have not ruled out making further arrests.

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Man electrocuted on trying to rob copper from wiring

Man electrocuted on trying to rob copper from wiring
A person walking out in the countryside, gathering wild asparagus near Establiments had a gruesome surprise when he came across the body of a 33-year-old man who police believe had been electrocuted whilst he was trying to prize the copper interior layers out of cables at a transformer belonging to the power supply company Gesa. A 15'000 volt charge put an end to his life. Investigators believe that Antonio Carrillo Redondo died on Thursday afternoon, but his body was not found until yesterday. He had parked his car near Puigpunyent and made directly for the transformer station, forcing the lock on the structure which housed the cables. In a careless moment he touched a loose, exposed wire.

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Bottle of fruit juice containing a "high concentration of cocaine"

Health officials in Andalusia on Thursday confirmed that a bottle of fruit juice containing a "high concentration of cocaine" was responsible for the death of a 40-year-old man in his home in Ogíjares, Granada, on 28 January.
Juan Carlos Cuadros began vomiting, passed out and died in his sister's arms half an hour after drinking a tropical blend of fruit juices of the Jugo de Noni Tahitian brand that he had apparently bought on the internet. His wife, who only took a sip, complained of a burning sensation affecting her throat and tongue. Regional health chief María Jesús Montero said that tests had shown the Mexican-made drink was contaminated with a large amount of cocaine. She said Spanish health authorities have ordered stores to withdraw it, and that anyone who has bought bottles should hand them in to health authorities.

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Home jackers arrested in Malaga province

Guardia Civil has broken up a large crime gang on the Costa del Sol today. 19 people have been arrested and another six are implicated in the crimes which where generally violent thefts from homes on the Costa del Sol, together with credit card fraud. Jewellery worth 800,000 € has been recovered together with 100,000 € in cash and computer material.Those detained are 14 Algerians, 6 Spaniards, 4 Moroccans and a Frenchman. Most of the arrests were in Málaga province although two did take place in Alicante.A shop which bought and sold gold has been searched and closed as part of the police investigations, in connection with the fencing of the stolen items.The group was headed by an Algerian who is reported to have crashed his car into an unmarked civil guard car at the time of his arrest.The Civil Guard are expected to release more information later.

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Civil Guard officers suspected of involvement in the theft of almost half a ton of cocaine

Three of the Civil Guard officers suspected of involvement in the theft of almost half a ton of cocaine from Barcelona Port in January 2005 have now been remanded to custody, and it’s understood, according to information from El País newspaper, that another two were released with charges. Also remanded was an ex chief inspector with the National Police. A former Civil Guard who is now a local police officer was granted bail of 3,000 €, the paper said.The charges against them are drug trafficking, corruption, unlawful association, bribery and revealing secret information, and they are believed to have helped a gang to steal the cocaine which was under guard at the port. More than a ton of the drug had come in on a container of frozen prawns, and was seized thanks to information from the US Drug Enforcement Agency.El País said the investigation into the theft reopened recently thanks to information from a reformed criminal. They also note telephone tapping which took place after the theft, and said the gang who stole the drugs knew security would be lax when they arrived at the port to break into the container.

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Drugs runs from Cueta to Estepona

National Police operation against a drug smuggling gang which operated between Ceuta and the Costa del Sol, and which brought large amounts of cannabis into Spain illegally. Central government offices in Ceuta said eleven arrests have taken place in Marbella, Estepona and Ceuta, and that six of them were from the Autonomous City, two from Málaga province, and the remaining three were Moroccan.It has been a joint investigation on both sides of the Strait, which brought information that the gang planned to make a drugs run to Estepona on the 5th of this month. The haul amounted to more one and a half tons of cannabis, and would, according to information from EFE, have brought the smugglers almost 2.5 million €.Also confiscated in the operation were the Zodiac boat the smugglers used for the trip across the Strait of Gibraltar, a stolen van and two other vehicles, satellite telephones, and GPS navigation equipment.

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35-kilogram sacks of cocaine which regularly wash up on its beaches

Over the past few years the sleepy town of Bluefields, Nicaragua, has become massively wealthy thanks to 35-kilogram sacks of cocaine which regularly wash up on its beaches. The residents of Bluefields owe their lucky twist of fortune to the town’s unique position halfway between the drug fields of Columbia and the drug fiends of the U.S. A., placing it directly on a smuggling route for “fishing” boats which transport massive amounts of cocaine between the two countries. Then, whenever one of these boats is spotted by an American Coast Guard vessel, the drugs go overboard where the unique patterns of wind and waves in that region deposit the drugs on the beaches of the now-rich Nicaraguan town. “There are no jobs here, unemployment is 85 percent,” says the mayor of Bluefields. Not surprisingly, all 50,000 residents of the town are now said to be addicted to the drug. “People here now go beachcombing for miles, they walk until they find packets. Even the lobster fisherman now go out with the pretense of fishing but really they are looking for la langosta blanca —the white lobster.”

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Matthew Boyer, Eric Livers Two fugitives from Wyoming are in police custody

Two fugitives from Wyoming are in police custody, one arrested in Exeter and the other as he was about to take a bus to the Sunshine State.
Police tracked Matthew Boyer, 19, to Exeter through the cell phone of a young woman he met at the Fox Run Mall, police said.
His fellow fugitive, Eric Livers, 20, was arrested about noon by two undercover detectives who were waiting for him at a bus kiosk.
Sgt. Frank Warchol explained police had contacted various transportation outlets to make them aware the fugitives may buy tickets to get out of the area.
An employee of a downtown chocolate gourmet shop, he said, called police when Livers bought a bus ticket there. The bus was leaving at noon for Florida, Warchol said, which gave investigators time to have undercover officers pose as travelers waiting for a bus.The detectives were sitting at the bus kiosk when Livers arrived."Hey, how you doing?" the detectives asked before identifying themselves and arresting him.
"For some reason, Portsmouth is a magnet for fugitives," Warchol said. He said that could be because of the availability of buses and the city not being far from Boston.
Livers is expected to appear in Portsmouth District Court this afternoon while Boyer is to be arraigned on a fugitive charge at 10:10 a.m. tomorrow in Exeter District Court.The two men, who police describe as dangerous, are wanted by the Laramie County Sheriff's Department in Cheyenne, Wyo.
The pair walked away from a half-way house and traveled to the Port City to visit Livers' cousin, police said.
Boyer was held in Wyoming on an aid to burglary charge while Livers has a prior weapons charge, specifically, reckless endangerment with weapons, Warchol said.
Police first learned of Livers being in the city on Tuesday. At that time, police did not know that he was traveling with Boyer or that Boyer was wanted as well.
An officer was sent "to scout out the area where the cousin lives" and came across three men. Two of them went back inside a residence.
The officer caught a brief glimpse of them and believed one of them was Livers, Warchol said.
The third man was standing across the street with a young woman. The officer stopped and talked to him but did not detain him. Warchol said the officer wrote down the woman's name and her cell phone number and allowed the couple to leave.
Police later learned Boyer was wanted and realized the man the officer had stopped - who gave him a fake name, date of birth and Social Security number - was Boyer.
"We didn't know he was wanted," Warchol explained.
Investigators contacted Sprint, the woman's cell phone carrier, and using GPS technology, tracked her to an Exeter residence. Exeter police arrested Boyer there.
Prior to their arrests, police said both were seen with two young women who they met at the mall.

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Mattress and bedding shop murder

A 25-year-old woman died has died after being stabbed during a robbery last Thursday evening at the mattress and bedding shop where she worked in the centre of Chiclana, Cádiz province. Police said Dolores Amaya Ramírez died almost instantly but not before she rang her family on her mobile to tell them she had been stabbed. The attacker, who had his face covered, managed to escape. The local council cancelled the carnival parade which was to take place last weekend and a demonstration against violent crime was planned for Monday lunchtime.

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Coin family clan Two-and-a-half kilos of high-purity cocaine, two pistols and ammunition

The Guardia Civil have arrested a gang of drug traffickers involved in two shooting incidents in Coín. They said the gang was a “family clan” in which the women did the planning and looked after the investments, while the men transported the drugs and settled scores. Operacion Fuensanta, named after the area in Coín where the two shootings took place last November, came to a head on February 13th, when searches carried out in Malaga, Mijas and Fuengirola provided vital information for cracking the case. Two-and-a-half kilos of high-purity cocaine, two pistols and ammunition, together with several vehicles and cash in both euros and dollars were also recovered. Three people have been sent to jail without bail, and another three have been released on bail with charges against them.

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black cocaine is being smuggled to Spain

Increasing amounts of black cocaine are being smuggled to Spain, with police discovering couriers of the drug which is undetectable to sniffer dogs and regular tests, the daily El Mundo reported on Tuesday.Police detained two Romanian women whose bags had inner linings made with the rubber-like substance, press reports said.Flying in from Brazil, the women made a stopover in Portugal, deliberately left their bags at Lisbon airport, and then requested them to be brought to a Madrid hotel, in an attempt to mislead police.
Police seized 16 kilos of the drug. The haul, which was destined for the Dutch market, was estimated to be worth a million euros.Black cocaine is a combination of regular cocaine and various chemicals, making it very difficult to detect.

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Three armed men waved pistols as they attacked a Jewelery Store 'Boutique Tourbillón'in upmarket Puerto Banus

Three armed men waved pistols as they attacked a Jewelery Store 'Boutique Tourbillón'in upmarket Puerto Banus close to Marbella. the home of the superrich. The armed robbers overpowered the security gaurd in a well planned Hiest.They stripped the fitting of jewellery and no one has yet managed to put a figure on the theft1.5 million € worth of top name watches have been stolen from a jewellers in Puerto Banús, Marbella, according to police sources. Three or four people, thought to be from Eastern Europe, took part in the attack after smashing the windows of the establishment with large hammers. The National Police in Marbella are now investigating the robbery and are waiting to see the recordings from security cameras in operation in the area.It happened around noon yesterday and the thieves were armed with pistols which may have been fake. They wore hats and large sunglasses and managed to overpower the security guard at the Boutique Tourbillon in Muelle Ribera before he could react. He was unhurt in the attack.
It all took a few minutes and the men escaped in a large car on the A7 motorway direction Málaga.

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Mari Luz’s family are considering legal measures because of the posters showing their daughter and Madeleine

"Mari Luz’s family are considering legal measures because of the posters showing their daughter and MadeleineHUELVA, 17 (EUROPA PRESS) –
Mari Luz Cortés’s family today requested the immediate halting of the distribution of posters in Portugal that show their daughter next to Madeleine McCann, they will also study possible legal measures with regard to this.
In statements made to journalists after a meeting with Manuel Chaves, Mari’s father, Juan José Cortés, confirmed that the family “had not given their permission” because “it is not the appropriate strategy to mix both cases nor that Mari Luz should have to be related to the case of Madeleine”.“They are two totally different cases with two lines of inquiry that are completely different” according to Juan José Cortés, who announced his intention of making a complaint before the British Embassy “so that a reprimand is made to the person responsible for this”.The family is planning to travel to Rumania, Portugal, France and Morocco to distribute posters of Mari Luz."

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‘Totana is not for sale,’ and ‘Totana is not Marbella,’ La Verdad newspaper said.

Crowds demonstrated in Totana this Saturday, in a protest against planning corruption and its effects on the town. Totana’s Partido Popular Mayor, José Martínez Andreo, was only released on bail at the beginning of February after two months in prison following his arrest in the case, and the ex Mayor, Juan Morales, is waiting to be called for questioning by the Murcia High Court of Justice. Another 12 suspects have been interviewed as part of the investigation.Saturday’s demonstration was called by two platforms: ‘The Murcia Region is not for sale,’ and ‘No to this development plan for Totana,’ in reference to the proposed new local development plan for the town. The protestors could be heard shouting out ‘Totana is not for sale,’ and ‘Totana is not Marbella,’ La Verdad newspaper said.The local Partido Popular said 300 people attended, while the organisers put numbers at more than 1,500.

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Amy Fitzpatrick family offer a substantial reward

Amy Fitzpatrick family has announced what is quoted by EFE as a substantial reward for reliable information which could lead to finding the missing teenager. The news came in a statement from Dave Mahon, the partner of Amy’s mother, Audrey, who said all information would be treated in the strictest confidence, and calling on anyone who may have a possible lead to contact either the family or the Civil Guard

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ex Mayor of Marbella, Pedro Román imprisoned

ex Mayor of Marbella, Pedro Román, has been granted what is known as tempory time in prison, where he is being held on remand in the Malaya and other town planning irregularity cases centred on Marbella. It means that he will only have to sleep in the Alhaurin de la Torre jail from Sunday to Thursday nights.His lawyers say he will therefore leave the prison on Friday for the first time. He has been held on remand so far for more than nine months, and has seen his bail amount reduced to 200,000 €, which he has since paid. However he was not released because of a year’s firm sentence against him in the Moansa case.

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Marbella Credit Card theft capital

Most credit cards are stolen in Marbella on the streets, where 62 per cent of them take place, followed by shopping centres, discotheques and bars, which account for 18 per cent of the total. Fewer cards are stolen on public transport, accounting for 12 per cent of the total. Credit cards are stolen in Marbella more often than in Malaga City, which accounts for 29 per cent of the regional total. By autonomous regions, Andalucía is only beaten by Madrid in this ranking. Men between the ages of 35 and 44 are most likely to become victims of credit card theft in Marbella, accounting for 61 per cent of the total, according to the study, while women represent 39 per cent of the total number of victims.It goes without saying that in any area which has a large population of wealthy people throughout the year, credid card theft will flourish, we are reminded by the CPP group, which carried out the survey among 9,500 card-holding clients. Apart from telling us which regions suffer most from credit card theft, the CPP report also analyses the profile of victims, places, seasons and times that credit card theft generally takes place.Marbella is the municipality in Andalucía with the highest rate of credit card theft, according to a recent study carried out by the CPP group, the leading international company in credit card protection and services.
The easiest way to steal a credit card is not, as we might believe, to plan a visit to one’s home in the dead of night, but to snatch a bag or briefcase during the bright light of day. And nobody is free of the scourge. According to to the report, the thieves do not distinguish between local residents, foreign residents, national tourists or visiting foreign tourists.The weekend is the most popular time for robberies (46 per cent), especially on Saturday nights between the hours of nine and eleven, when 31 per cent of them take place. This is clearly the time when most people are out and about on the streets with money in their pockets – in a manner of speaking, of course – on their way to eat out or have a few drinks with friends.
Victims are 61 per cent men, 68 per cent at Christmas and during sales, and women 39 per cent. Age: Men between 35 and 44 and women between 45 and 54.Places: Streets: 62 per cent. Shops discos and bars: 18 per cent, and public transport: 12 per cent.In fact, there is nothing special about the men of Marbella that makes them more prone than anywhere else in the country to credit card theft. Throughout the country, we are told, 61 per cent of victims are men, against 39 per cent of women. Most credit cards are stolen from most men (68 per cent of the total) around the Christmas period and during sales. The percentage figure drops to 32 per cent in the case of women, whose ages tend to vary between 45 and 54, against an age range of between 35 and 44 for men.The high season for theft of this kind in Marbella is July and August, which is hardly surprising in view of the tourism figures for the same period. Curiously, apart from the immediate Christmas period, December is not a great month for credit card thieves, although most people use credit cards to pay for Christmas gifts these days. The figure for theft during the month of December as a whole is eight per cent of the annual total.

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Graham Hall was arrested on the Costa del Sol, accused of handling nearly £6m worth of cocaine,

Graham Hall was arrested on the Costa del Sol, accused of handling nearly £6m worth of cocaine.Graham Hall, 41, from Wallsend, North Tyneside, was apprehended on Tuesday, just hours after notorious Dublin drugs dealer Paddy Doyle was gunned down on the edge of the resort town of Estepona, west of Marbella.It was not clear last night whether Mr Hall had been released or if he was still being held by police.Spanish murder squad detectives are working with Irish officers and are trying to establish a link between the drugs haul and the death of Mr Doyle last Monday.Clues found at the scene of the brutal shooting led the Costa del Sol Drugs and Organised Crime Unit (Udyco) to set up a number of control points in the Estepona area.On Tuesday, officers approached a group of people loading furniture on to a van in the town, a popular tourist destination. On inspecting the pieces, ranging from wardrobes to sofas, they discovered the 140 kilos of cocaine hidden in secret compartments inside.Seven people, six British and one Irish, were arrested, one a youth. It is believed the drugs were to be transported back to Britain to sell on the streets, where they could be worth up to £5.8m. Mr Hall was one of those arrested along with Edward Thompson, 49, from Liverpool.Spanish police have been working in collaboration with the Irish Garda following Monday’s shooting of Mr Doyle, a known Dublin gang member and drug dealer on the Bel-Air estate in Estepona.An enforcer for a major Dublin drugs gang, Mr Doyle had to flee to Spain after being involved in a gangland feud which has claimed 10 lives since 2002.He has been personally linked with at least three shootings.
It is thought that the 28-year-old was caught in an ambush set up by a rival drugs gang, thought to be either Turkish or Russian. The shooting took place at around 2pm on Monday. The victim was travelling in the front passenger seat of the vehicle accompanied by driver Gary Hutch, also a convicted Dublin criminal, when a gunman opened fire from another vehicle.After the first shots hit the car in the windscreen, the victim threw himself from the vehicle and attempted to escape on foot. The gunman continued to fire, hitting the victim in the head and the face, apparently at point-blank range. Meanwhile, Mr Hutch lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a lamppost some 30 metres away from Mr Doyle’s body.The post mortem examination, which took two days due to its complexity, revealed that Doyle had been riddled with 15 bullets.

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Human smuggling from Cuba is up about 20 percent over

Human smuggling from Cuba is up about 20 percent over last year at this time. It is ironic that the smuggling boats leave from Cuba's attractive north coast, one of the country's most prosperous regions thanks to a boom in tourist resorts. Despite the new jobs in the tourism sector, Cubans still earn state salaries worth $15 to $20 a month. Many Cubans complain that they cannot make ends meet on these salaries. They turn instead to the black market. This economic quandary - that Cubans' lack of purchasing power pushes them to participate in the illegal economy - is at the heart of a growing internal debate in Cuba. To be sure, there is nothing new about Cubans coming to Florida. What has changed is the way in which both Cuba and the United States seek to avoid turning it into a crisis. Neither wants a repeat of the immigration crises of 1980 and 1994 when tens of thousands of Cubans poured across the Straits of Florida. The Bush administration is hoping to dent the smuggling flow by speeding up the visa application process for Cubans seeking to be reunited with relatives in the United States.
The U.S. and Cuban coast guards also collaborate closely on stopping the smugglers.
Cuba does not attempt boarding the usually dangerously overloaded vessels to avoid loss of life. Instead, its coast guard transmits coordinates of the boat, the estimated number of passengers and its direction, to the U.S. Coast Guard station in Miami. Nearly half the boats are intercepted by U.S. Coast Guard ships.
U.S. officials have tried to crack down on the smugglers with fines and stiff jail sentences. But prosecution isn't easy. The details of each voyage are closely guarded secrets. Cubans who enter the country on the speedboats are reluctant to rat on the boat captains. "We can't say how we did it," said Sixto Sanchez, who arrived on a smuggling boat on Jan. 1. "We can't harm the people who tried to help us."
The Cuban government protests that the main problem lies in a U.S. law that rewards Cubans who are smuggled into the United States. Under the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966, Cubans who enter the country illegally enjoy the right to stay.
Cubans in Miami are increasingly ambivalent about the law. Passed at the height of the Cold War, it was originally intended to assist political refugees fleeing communism - not smugglers earning up to $200,000 for each boatload of economic migrants. In an era of heightened border security, encouraging human smuggling sends the wrong message, critics say. "It's time the law was repealed," said Silvia Wilhelm, with the Cuban American Commission for Family Rights. "It's become a big business and a very dangerous business." But discussion of the law is almost taboo in Miami. "It's so difficult for someone to take the banner and say we don't want any more Cubans to enter this way," said Wilhelm. "But we should."

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John J. Long, of Alameda, California found dead in southern Mexico

78-year-old California man was found dead in southern Mexico after his yacht ran aground near shore, the U.S. Embassy said Sunday.The body of a man believed to be John J. Long, of Alameda, California, was found floating Saturday afternoon by his sailboat near the town of Puerto Madero, just north of Mexico's border with Guatemala, embassy spokeswoman Judith Bryan said.It was unclear how Long died or why the vessel ran aground. Bryan said he sent a distress signal from the boat "Culin," which bore Irish, Mexican and U.S. flags. The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed its Alameda center received an alert.Authorities in Puerto Madero told the U.S. Embassy the boat may have encountered electrical problems, she added.Meanwhile, Mexican authorities were investigating whether the boat was linked to organized crime or drug trafficking, after they discovered a false bottom, presumably for cargo, said an official with Mexico's navy who asked not to be named for security reasons. He said Long was found with bruises all over his body.Residents of a nearby town saw two people carrying suitcases leave the boat, said Saul Gomez, head of a local fishermen's group.Two people were detained in connection with the incident, state police spokesman Bernardo Gomez said, but it was not clear if they were the same pair seen exiting the boat.Long was born in Ireland but was a U.S. citizen, Bryan said.The "Culin," a 48-foot recreational boat, is registered under Long's name in Alameda


The body of a man believed to be John J. Long, of Alameda, California, was found floating Saturday afternoon by his sailboat near the town of Puerto Madero, just north of Mexico's border with Guatemala, embassy spokeswoman Judith Bryan said.
78-year-old California man was found dead in southern Mexico after his yacht ran aground near shore, the U.S. Embassy said Sunday.It was unclear how Long died or why the vessel ran aground. Bryan said he sent a distress signal from the boat "Culin," which bore Irish, Mexican and U.S. flags. The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed its Alameda center received an alert.Authorities in Puerto Madero told the U.S. Embassy the boat may have encountered electrical problems, she added.Meanwhile, Mexican authorities were investigating whether the boat was linked to organized crime or drug trafficking, after they discovered a false bottom, presumably for cargo, said an official with Mexico's navy who asked not to be named for security reasons. He said Long was found with bruises all over his body.Residents of a nearby town saw two people carrying suitcases leave the boat, said Saul Gomez, head of a local fishermen's group.Two people were detained in connection with the incident, state police spokesman Bernardo Gomez said, but it was not clear if they were the same pair seen exiting the boat.Long was born in Ireland but was a U.S. citizen, Bryan said.The "Culin," a 48-foot recreational boat, is registered under Long's name in Alameda

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Bradford men have been arrested and bailed over alleged drug offences

Bradford men have been arrested and bailed over alleged drug offences in Manningham.
The arrests occurred at around 4.45pm yesterday. Police said they had seized what they described as a substantial amount of suspected crack cocaine and heroin as a result of the arrests. Both men were released on police bail pending further enquiries.

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Columbian sentenced to 9 years imprisonment

Columbian appeared in court last week accused of receiving cocaine cocaine smuggled from abroad. On 7th August 2006, a package addressed to the accused was intercepted at Barajas airport and found to contain a bicycle which had over a kilo of cocaine concealed inside the frame.The package was allowed to be delivered to the man who was arrested when he received it at his home. When removed from the bicycle, the cocaine was found to be 86% pure with a street value of 105,000€. The accused was sentenced to 9 years imprisonment.

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Kevin J.T, has been sentenced to 9 years imprisonment for smuggling cocaine into Spain

A 37 year-old American national, Kevin J.T, has been sentenced to 9 years imprisonment for smuggling cocaine into Spain. He was arrested at El Altet airport in February 2007 when he arrived on a flight from Bogota, Colombia and a search by customs officers revealed that over 4 kilos of cocaine were concealed in a false compartment of his suitcase. The drug was found to be 86% pure, with a street value of more than 400,000€.The accused is originally from Peurto Rico in Central America. He has already been in jail for a year while awaiting trial at the court in Elche.

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Nicolas Yeboah, a Ghanaian resident in Spain for attempting to export eighty pellets of cocaine to Spain.

The Greater Accra Regional Tribunal yesterday remanded into prison custody Nicolas Yeboah, a Ghanaian resident in Spain for attempting to export eighty pellets of cocaine to Spain. Yeboah, charged with attempted exportation of narcotic drugs pleaded not guilty. He is to reappear on February 20. The facts as narrated by Mr Asiamah Sampong, a State Attorney were that, on 23 June 2005, Yeboah arrived at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) to board a KLM flight to Spain. Mr. Sampong said due to his demeanour, personnel of the Narcotic Control Board (NACOB) on duty at the airport suspected him of carrying drugs. The NACOB officials arrested Yeboah and escorted him to the 37 Military Hospital where an ex-ray examination revealed he had some foreign materials in his stomach. Prosecution said Yeboah under the supervision of medical officers and security personnel expelled 80 pellets of oval shaped whitish substances suspected to be narcotic drugs. When Yeboah was interrogated, he admitted the offence and stated that he was to deliver the substance to one Yakubu for a fee of 2000 Euros. The substance is in the custody of the Ghana Standard Board where analytical examination was being conducted. In a related development, the court has remanded into police custody Issa Ibrahim for possessing a quantity of Indian hemp. Ibrahim allegedly told security personnel he had been in the drug business for five months and had his source of supply from Nkonya. He has pleaded not guilty to possessing cannabis sativa, a narcotic drug. Prosecution said on June 6, last year, security personnel had information that the accused was dealing in drugs at a house at Abofu, near Achimota. Officials from NACOB proceeded to the house and arrested Ibrahim who was in the process of wrapping dried leaves believed to be cannabis sativa. When his house was searched three big and 10 small wrappers were found. Prosecution said Ibrahim claimed ownership and stated that he had been in drug business for five months and had his supply from a man at Nkonya, but refused to mention his accomplice. When the leaves were sent to the Ghana Standards Board for examination it proved to be cannabis sativa.

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Graham Hall, was held with six others following the discovery of the drugs destined for the UK

Guardia Civil have arrested a Tyneside man in a £9.2m cocaine bust on the Costa del Sol.Graham Hall, 41, of Wallsend, was held with six others following the discovery of the drugs destined for the UK.Hall was detained hours after Dublin drugs baron Paddy Doyle was shot dead in Estepona near Marbella.Northumbria Police said they haven’t had any communications with the Spanish authorities over Hall’s arrest but are making further inquiries.Murder squad detectives are working with Irish officers and are trying to establish links between the drugs haul and Doyle’s death last Monday.Officers from Spain’s Drugs and Organised Crime Unit approached a group of men loading furniture on to a van in the town on Tuesday.And discovered the 140 kilos of cocaine in secret compartments inside the furniture.Seven men, six British and one Irish, were arrested. Hall was one of those arrested along with Edward Thompson, 49, from Liverpool.Spanish police have been working in collaboration with the Irish Garda following the assassination of Dublin gang member Doyle.A man wanted for a gangland killing on Tyneside two years ago was named last month among 10 suspected criminals hiding in the “Costa del Crime”.Police believe Allan Foster flew from his Spanish hideaway to assassinate David ‘Noddy’ Rice in South Shields in May 2006 with a silenced semi-automatic gun.It is thought he flew out of the country the day after the killing, at a seaside car park near Marsden Grotto, and has remained a fugitive since.Foster, 31, was named among 10 suspects by Crimestoppers on a most-wanted website targeting the Costa del Sol.Mr Rice, 42, was shot nine times by two masked men on the seafront at South Tyneside after being lured to the meeting by Steven Bevens, 39.Bevens worked for Foster, who police believe fired the fatal shots. Last year Bevens was sentenced to life with a minimum of 26 years behind bars for murder, while getaway driver Derek Blackburn, 51, of Humberside, who turned informer on the duo, was given four years for assisting an offender, later cut to two and a half years.A Foreign Office spokeswoman said this afternoon: "A British National was detained on February 5, however he was later released without charge."

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Country's biggest ever investigation into internet fraud

Spanish police arrested 76 people nationwide on Sunday in what is being touted as the country's biggest ever investigation into internet fraud.Investigators reckon some of the suspects made more than €3bn through auction fraud. They would apparently offer expensive goods such as plasma TVs and cars for sale online, scarpering once the deals were made without handing over the goods, according to local reports. Others allegedly used stolen banking credentials to transfer money into their accounts, possibly as a part of a wider phishing scam.
More than half of those arrested and detained are Spaniards. Five Ukrainians, four Romanians, two Russians, two Moroccans and five people from Guniea were also hauled in for questioning in the same investigation, AFP adds.
Spanish police are urging consumers to be careful when buying goods online. They have complained that a lack of resources and weak judicial penalties against convicted fraudsters is hampering police efforts to stamp out the problem

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Icelandic male in his 30s arrested last week after almost one kilo of a substance

The Spanish police arrested an Icelandic male in his 30s last week after almost one kilo of a substance, allegedly amphetamine, was discovered in the vehicle he was driving in San Fulgencio near Torreviaja in the province of Alicante.
According to local police, they found the man suspicious because he drove back and forth within the town limits and therefore stopped the car. The driver was alone in the vehicle and likely a tourist, Fréttabladid reports.
The Icelander is currently in custody and waiting to appear before the court in Guardamar del Segura.

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Alexis Bonilla shot twice in a parking lot

Alexis Bonilla, 31, was shot twice in a parking lot near The Moon Tropical Bar, 1200 Deltona Blvd., spokesman Brandon Haught said. A witness took Bonilla to Florida Hospital Fish Memorial in Orange City, which notified the Sheriff's Office about the shooting at 2:33 a.m., Haught said.
According to investigators, Bonilla was confronted by a man after leaving the bar at closing. A witness heard yelling and then two shots and saw a man jump into a car and drive off. The man looked to be in his late teens or early twenties, about 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighing 130 to140 pounds. He had buzz-cut blond hair, Haught said.
The car was an older model white four-door Pontiac Bonneville or Grand Prix. The witness also saw another young man with black hair in the passenger seat.

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Sri Lanka Navy killing of an Indian fisherman on Saturday night

Sri Lanka Navy categorically and unequivocally denies the allegations made by certain indiscriminate sections of media of Sri Lanka Navy’s involvement in the killing of an Indian fisherman on Saturday night.
Sri Lanka Navy exercises utmost care not to cross the International Maritime Boundary Line between Sri Lankan and Indian territorial waters while conducting patrolling and maritime surveillance to prevent LTTE arms smuggling and infiltration across the Gulf of Mannar and the Polk Bay.
Sri Lanka Navy maintains a cordial relationship with the Indian Navy and its Coast Guard in prevention of terrorist activities within their respective territories.
Attention is drawn on the recent incident where Sri Lanka Navy did not open retaliatory fire when the persons yet to be identified on board two Indian fishing trawlers fired on one of SLN fibre glass boats in the seas off Thalaimannar on the 4th February 2008. SLN boats did not retaliate in order to avoid other Indian fishing boats being hit in the cross fire. This was only one occasion of many where Sri Lanka Navy exercised utmost restrain not to fall prey to the LTTE’s ploy of using Indian fishing boats in creating a rift between the two countries.
LTTE has a track record of highjacking Indian fishing trawlers and boats and killing its occupants indiscriminately. The Kanyakumari massacre and the Sri Krishna incident bear ample testimony to this fact. LTTE sea tigers massacred five Tamil Nadu fishermen off the Kanyakumari coast in March 2007. They seized the Indian fishing trawler “Sri Krishna” which was subsequently destroyed by the Maldivian Defence Forces in the Maldivian waters while being used by the LTTE operatives for arms smuggling.

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€130,000 jewellery theft from an hotel in Torremolinos in November 2007, a €350,000 jewellery heist in Jérez de la Frontera, also in November 2007, an

The Guardia Civil have arrested six people, all Italian nationals, after an investigation into a series of jewellery thefts throughout Andalucía
‘Operación Duelo’ began in October last year after information was received from the Portuguese authorities relating to the possible involvement of an individual in a number of crimes in that country. An investigation led to the establishment of a connection between this individual and a gang of jewel thieves operating on the Costa del Sol.
The gang would carefully plan their robberies, gathering details about peoples movements and routines before actually making their move. However, if something went wrong, the gang were not averse to using extreme violence.
The arrests were made in Torremolinos, San Pedro de Alcántara, Málaga, Alhaurín de la Torre and Algorrobo. One of those detained is also sought by the French police under an international arrest warrant for various crimes carrying a penalty of 24 years in prison. The six men have been charged with robbery with violence and intimidation, robbery with force, crimes against the public health and conspiracy.
The gang are thought to have been responsible for at least 16 crimes, including a €130,000 jewellery theft from an hotel in Torremolinos in November 2007, a €350,000 jewellery heist in Jérez de la Frontera, also in November 2007, and a €300,000 robbery carried out at an hotel in Granada.

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Rusell Crowe Koby Abberton and The Bra Boys

*The crime wave continues with a body of a Sydney crime figure found on the 9th August. Weekly bashings and stabbing in the Lexington Place shops area continue, and a baby and its father was bashed on the 18th August 2003.Koby Abberton has told lawyers acting for their hit documentary he had resolved a complaint from one surfer, who was filmed allegedly being bashed by members of the Maroubra surf gang. Abberton said while the alleged victim, known only as Jason, was "now a friend, a great guy, real solid," they were preparing for more trouble.
"He's fine but there are a lot of others I'm hearing," he said, via email, from Hawaii.

He did not detail the potential legal risks or possible complainants.
Despite proving a box office smash when it opened in March last year, the documentary has since drawn criticism from police and social commentators for endorsing violence and territorialism. glamorous gals.While waivers were sought from many who featured in the real-life drama, executives acting for Universal Pictures, who bought the rights to make a feature film of the story, are believed to have raised concerns over any new legal complications.


Meanwhile, UK tabloid The Daily Star reported yesterday that Russell Crowe had been warned against his association with the Sydney gang.
Crowe, who narrated the documentary, has signed on to direct the feature film.
Quoting an unnamed Australian police source, The Daily Star Sunday article read: "Russell loves the idea of being a real hard man and not just a movie action star. But he doesn't know who he's mixing with.
The Brothers have a violent past. Jai, 34, admitted shooting Sydney gangster Anthony Hines three times in the head but was sensationally cleared of his murder in 2003.
Hines’ naked body was found riddled with bullets at the bottom of a cliff.
Brother Koby, 30, was convicted of perverting the course of justice over the case and was given a suspended nine-month jail term.
The brothers’ mum was a heroin addict. Her boyfriend, who Koby treated as a dad, was a bank robber who served 12 years behind bars.
Koby said his mum’s partner chased him out of the house with a baseball bat. He then formed the Bra Boys with his brothers to drive heroin out of Maroubra, a Sydney suburb where they grew up.
In 2002 a Bra Boys Christmas bash turned into a riot when it coincided with a party for off-duty police at a Sydney social club.One officer said: “The police copped an absolute flogging.” The gang was also implicated in 2005 beach race riots.Koby – who once dated Hollywood babe Tara Reid and was linked with Paris Hilton – said of Crowe: “He’s just like one of the boys. He’s risking big money and his reputation hanging out with us.”Crowe said: “It is a compelling story that deserves to be told. These guys have grown up in testing circumstances and their humour and humanity are all the more impressive because of that.”

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Palm Beach Marine Patrol Officer stopped a boat in the Intracoastal Waterway

Palm Beach Marine Patrol Officer stopped a boat in the Intracoastal Waterway Tuesday near the Palm Beach Inlet for a registration and safety inspection. The officer detected a marijuana odor, and the boat operator and passenger consented to a search. The officer found three marijuana cigarettes in a plastic bag in a cigarette box. The passenger, a 22-year-old Palm Bay man, said the drugs were his. Police gave him a notice to appear in court.

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Jose Siles Baez,Felix Hernandez case had been dropped

Jose Siles Baez, 41, and Felix Hernandez, 43, arrived in court Friday, when Collier Circuit Judge Elizabeth Krier told defense attorney Martin Beguiristain that the case had been dropped. Beguiristain had filed a motion to dismiss Monday.
Assistant State Attorney Douglas Sprotte, who said last week that he probably couldn’t disprove an affidavit that said the boat hadn’t been modified, dropped the case Thursday. He wasn’t in court Friday.
“We’re picking up the boat right now,” Beguiristain said after obtaining a certified copy of the judge’s order dropping the charges. “I’m going to drive behind them with the court order.”
Beguiristain said Collier County sheriff’s deputies damaged the boat, ripping up floorboards in an attempt to prove it had a false floor, an overly large gas tank and had been modified.
The men were arrested June 19, when a deputy stopped their Ford F250 truck for a traffic infraction, not slowing down or moving to another lane when a law enforcement vehicle had stopped in the fast lane on I-75.
They were towing a 29-foot Renegade boat that had 10 life jackets in a forward cubby and were charged with having a false floor.
“That’s a blatant lie,” Beguiristain said.
They also were charged with having additional fuel valves.
“That’s also a blatant lie,” he said.
The deputy contended an additional fuel cell in the floor of the boat wasn’t properly inspected or ventilated and was carrying 100 gallons of fuel, something Beguiristain also disputed.
Hernandez pleaded no contest to the traffic infraction in August and paid an $88 fine.
Four days after the men’s arrest, the Sheriff’s Office filed a lawsuit under forfeiture laws to seize the truck, Continental trailer, and Renegade boat.
But Beguiristain successfully fought that and the lawsuit was dropped in August by Collier Circuit Judge Charles Carlton, who found insufficient probable cause for a seizure. However, he allowed the Sheriff’s Office to hold the boat as evidence for the criminal trial.
In early January, Amed Oses, who owns Renegade Power Boats in Hialeah, provided a sworn affidavit saying the boat had a large fuel tank that extended into the boat’s bow area, immediately under the floorboard, something deputies had found suspicious.
Oses said the manufacturer modified the forward bow area to accommodate a new tank design and that the boat had been manufactured according to U.S. Coast Guard regulations.
“There are no specific regulations mandating any specific design of a fuel tank,” Oses said, noting that blueprints also aren’t required.
Oses said a U.S. Coast Guard inspector approved the layout and design, including the fuel tank, and Hernandez’s boat had been used as a demonstration vessel for prospective purchasers until he purchased it in December 2003; the sheriff’s report said the men had picked up the boat that morning.
Oses testified in his affidavit that no modifications had been made and the fuel tanks hadn’t been altered.
The men’s arrest was among several that day and was part of a continuing investigation into boat thefts, which often have been linked to the human smuggling trade.

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Human smugglers and members of organized crime rings are stealing boats from Florida and taking them to Mexico

Marco Island police officers took to the water and took notes while systematically combing the island’s maze of canals.
By that time, a number of “go-fast” boats already had disappeared from Naples docks and boat lifts, a trend that would continue through the rest of the year and into 2008.
Marco Island police wanted to take preventative measures before the trend made its way to Marco.
“Our men went out and started surveying and identifying all the different vessels that met the general parameters,” Marco police Lt. Dave Baer said.
The result was a three-page list and a map indicating the size and location of dozens of high-end boats on the island -- most with a price tag close to that of a medium-sized home.
Baer said the list and map are used to help the agency plan its patrols, and to keep in contact with the owners of boats that are potential targets of human smugglers.
Like Marco Island police, officers with other Southwest Florida agencies have been stepping up efforts to combat boat thefts in their jurisdictions.
Though none of the agencies would discuss details of their efforts, officials said they all are using every tool at their disposal to apprehend the thieves and protect the boats in their waters.
But not everything law enforcement is doing is apparent to the average resident.
“We are adjusting, I know it sounds canned ... we are adjusting our resources,” said Lt. Dave Johnson of the Collier County Sheriff’s Office’s Special Operations Group. “That doesn’t just mean marine patrols. That means other dimensions as well. We’re adjusting our resources to try to be at the right places at the right time.”
After years of decline, boat thefts in Florida began to spike in 2006 and 2007, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported.
In fact, boat thefts dropped every year from 2002, when 914 vessels were stolen, to 2005, when 735 disappeared. But in 2006 the number jumped to 1,259, and jumped again in 2007, to 1,684, the commission reported.
In addition, the theft of boat parts and boat engines also increased during that period.
Authorities believe many, if not most, of the boats are being stolen for human smuggling.
Johnson said many human smugglers and members of organized crime rings are stealing boats from Florida and taking them to Mexico, where they base their operations with less scrutiny from law enforcement. In fact, Johnson said many smugglers are bringing Cubans into Mexico so they can cross into the United States at the southwest border.
Wet-foot, dry-foot, a policy that allows Cubans who make it to the United States to stay in the country, doesn’t just apply in Florida, Johnson said.
“Now they’re calling them dusty foots,” Johnson said.
Like Marco Island police, the Sheriff’s Office and the Naples police department also have begun taking inventory of the “go-fast” boats in their jurisdiction.
“We can direct our patrol officers and marine patrol officers to pay more attention in the areas where these boats are kept,” Naples police Lt. Rob Bock said.
When officers make contact with one of the boat owners, they talk to them about preventative measures they can take to make their vessel less appealing to thieves. Crime prevention officers will examine the boat’s security, the dock, the lift and the environment, Baer said.
“I could go to a house and say 10 things and not repeat it at a second house because the parameters have changed,” Baer said. “Every single one is different.”
Since taking the first inventory on Marco Island, two boats were stolen – one in late December and one in late January. One of the boats was recovered north of Cuba.
There have been 18 boats stolen in Southwest Florida since early December, said Petty Officer Ben Townley of the U.S. Coast Guard Station in Fort Myers Beach.
Because of the seasonal nature of many Marco residents, neither of the boats stolen from Marco Island was on the agency’s first list. With the help of the U.S. Coast Guard and the Sheriff’s Office, Marco Island police recently took another inventory.
Once go-fast boats are stolen, they are difficult to recover.

That is why authorities are preaching prevention, such as: moving the boat lift’s electrical power shut-off switch inside the house, securing the boat to the lift, installing an alarm system on the dock, installing a GPS enabled alarm system, installing a fuel cut-off switch, and installing exterior lighting that shines on the boat and dock.

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The Cocaine root Guinea-Bissau to Morroco to Spain

Guinea-Bissau is an ideal African springboard for Latin American mafias to smuggle large quantities of cocaine into the wealthy European Union market.
Conditions in this small former Portuguese colony in West Africa are optimal. There is minimal surveillance, not a single prison worthy of the name, a weak state and officials susceptible to bribery and corruption.UNODC experts calculate that one-quarter of the cocaine consumed in Europe is trafficked through West Africa, especially Guinea-Bissau. The trade in cocaine is estimated at $2 billion, that is to say, nearly twice the country’s GDP of just over $1 billion a year.However, in the streets of the richest capital cities in Europe its value could be as high as $20 billion, or 10 times as much.“Today, Guinea-Bissau is literally fenced in. We must entertain no illusions: the state could collapse,” said Antonio María Costa, the head of UNODC.Costa maintains that South American traffickers chose Guinea-Bissau partly because of its convenient location in West Africa, but mainly because its authorities are incapable of combating organised crime.

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Jurgen Franzke killed his landlord in Alfarnatejo

52 year old German man Jurgen Franzke arrested in connection with the death of his German landlord in the village of Alfarnatejo, has now confessed to the crime. He has now been sent to prison on remand, while his Spanish wife was released after declaring before the instruction judge. The forensic report has shown that the victim was dead before he was set on fire and the inflammable liquid used had been taken from a nearby generator.The German told police that he attacked the landlord, also German, beating him round the head with a rock before putting him in a car and setting it alight. It seems the two men had had a long running dispute over breaks in the electricity supply at the property rented by the couple.
The case of a German man who was murdered in Alfarnatejo on Christmas Day 2005 comes to court on Monday, where a countryman faces a possible 12 years in prison for the killing.Named in press reports at the time as Jurgen Franzke, he told the instructing judge at his remand hearing in January 2006 that he killed his landlord, in an argument over cuts in electricity supply to the house he and his Spanish wife rented from the victim. The landlord’s burnt body was discovered inside his car on 25th December 2006 in the Rancho Verde area of Alfarnatejo.Europa Press reports that a distancing order was in place against the accused and the victim was beaten to death with a stone.The prosecution in the case is also asking for compensation of 150,000 €.

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New Flame Sinking

high winds buffeted the Strait of Gibraltar this weekend and ferry traffic was at a standstill, there was news that the stricken cargo vessel, the New Flame, lying off Gibraltar since hitting a tanker last August, was sinking. Only the funnel and the stern mast remained above the surface on Sunday, ecologists said.
The ecologist group, Verdemar, blamed two slicks which have appeared in the Bay of Algeciras on the sinking vessel. They are understood to be between Rinconcillo and Playa de la Concha, and from the River Pícaro in Getares as far as the port in Algeciras.
Regional government offices in the Campo de Gibraltar confirmed to Europa Press on Sunday morning that the emergency plan has been put in place and said the coast has been affected, but that waters out to sea appeared to be clear. They made no comment on the origin of the pollution.
The Verdemar spokesman, Antonio Muñoz, said Titan Salvage, the company which is carrying out the recovery operation for the New Flame, had only left one of its tugs in place at the scene attempting to hold the cargo ship in place, and criticised actions by both the company and the government in Gibraltar.

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Spanish have detained 76 people acrosss the country as part of what they described Sunday as their biggest-ever probe into Internet fraud.

Police in Spain have detained 76 people acrosss the country as part of what they described Sunday as their biggest-ever probe into Internet fraud.
The suspects defrauded their victions of over three million euros (four million US dollars), police said in a statement.
Part of the suspects allegedly offered big-ticket items like television sets or cars for sale online and then disappeared with the money without ever delivering the goods.There have been 76 arrests across Spain in connection with Internet fraud in 14 of Spain’s 17 autonomous communities, as well as the Autonomous City of Ceuta. The only regions not affected were Extremadura, Murcia and La Rioja. Dubbed Operation Ulysses, it is the biggest of its type ever carried out in Spain, and it’s understood the total defrauded could be as much as 3 million €.
Forty seven of those in custody are Spanish, and the other nationalities range from Ukraine, Guinea, Romania, Russia and Morocco, as well as detainees from European countries and countries in South America.
Other suspects are believed to have illegally obtained the codes of online bank accounts and then carried out money transfers in their favour.
The majority of those who were detained, 47, were Spaniards. Five Ukrainian nationals, five Guineans, four Romanians, two Russians and two Moroccans were among the remaining detained suspects.
Police said Internet fraud was rising rapidly due to the weak penalties applied and the little equipment that is needed to carry it out and they urged great caution with online transactions and purchases.

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Nigerians trying to smuggle cocaine into Barcelona from Casablanca

Spanish press reported Guardia Civil’s heavily armed organised crime unit yesterday mounted a anti-drugs operation in Palma.
A series of raids were mounted simultaneously with a number of drugs swoops carried out across Spain as part of a nationwide operation.
armed officers wearing ski masks and with air support from a Guardia Civil helicopter stormed at least two properties in the Son Gotleu neighbourhood of the capital.
The operation was still ongoing but at least 13 people had been arrested.
Police sources also confirmed that over eight kilos of various drugs have been seized over the past two weeks since the operation was first given the all clear by police chiefs.
It was also revealed last night that further arrests may be made today.
Police are not ruling out another wave of raids on suspect properties in Palma.
The Guardia Civil had mounted a series of house raids in Palma and made a number of arrests as part of a simultaneous operation carried out in various parts of the country. international drug smuggling network operating in Palma, Madrid and Barcelona.
Guardia Civil chiefs debriefed the media on the exact results of Operation Lagos which has resulted in the break up of an international gang smuggling cocaine into Palma and other parts of Spain from Holland.
A total of 14 people have been arrested, one is being treated in hospital after he tried to escape by leaping from a second floor balcony in Palma, and nearly ten kilos of cocaine seized.
Guardia chiefs said yesterday that, since the gang began operating in Spain, it has smuggled between 50 and 60 kilos of cocaine in to the country.
The operation began in 2006 when the Guardia Civil caught a couple of Nigerians trying to smuggle cocaine into Barcelona from Casablanca. The subsequent investigation led police to Palma where the alleged brains behind the smuggling operation was based and since then, the organised crime squad has been monitoring the activities of a number of mules used to smuggle the drugs. Apparently, each would smuggle around a kilo of cocaine out of the Republic of Guinea, to Casablanca and then onto Amsterdam before the final stretch of the journey to Palma via Madrid and Barcelona.
The Guardia Civil explained yesterday that the tickets for the smuggling drug mules were booked in Spain and paid via international money transfer offices.
The mules were also given basic travel allowance of 500 euros, the minimum figure certain countries demand a tourist is carrying in order to enter the country.
The gang also covered hotel bills in cities such as Madrid, Barcelona and Amsterdam and also provided guarantees of financial aid should any of the smugglers get arrested and that funds would be paid to partners and family should the suspect end up in prison.
The Madrid and Barcelona operations were responsible for “retrieving” the drugs which were swallowed and smuggled inside the body as well as hiring new mules for future drug runs from West Africa to Palma.
The gang was described as being extremely well organised.
Key members used a special code the few times they used the telephone, for example.
The operation was yesterday hailed as a major success for Palma’s Guardia Civil organised crime unit which was only set up at the end of last year and for the war against drugs and organised crime in Spain.

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Terrorist threat in Southern Spain

"That these people were ready to go into action as terrorists in Spain - that came as a surprise," said Judge Baltasar Garzon, Spain's highest antiterrorism magistrate. "In my opinion, the jihadi threat from Pakistan is the biggest emerging threat we are facing in Europe. Pakistan is an ideological and training hotbed for jihadists, and they are being exported here."
Officials say the Barcelona case points to a more serious dynamic: Pakistanis with no apparent previous links to Europe who appear to have been sent there on a terrorist mission.
"We had 20 terrorists show up in Spain that had been trained in Pakistan that were going to be suicide bombers, fanning out over Europe," Mike McConnell, director of US national intelligence, told the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday.
Although some of the suspects had been living in Spain, McConnell's remarks underscored statements by the Spanish authorities that in addition to the 14 suspects who had been arrested, others had eluded capture.
In late 2004, the police arrested 11 Pakistani men on suspicion of plotting to attack two landmark buildings in Barcelona, financing terrorism, and drug trafficking, although only six were convicted, two for document forgery.

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Mari Luz Cortesa :Police have detained a man who attempted to take a seven year old close to Mari Luz family home.

Spanish press are announcing that a man has been detained in El Torrejón close to the disappearance of Mari Luz on suspicion of attempting to take a young girl from the street. The seven year old was leaving her grandmother house when the attempt was made an aunt rushed to help the child. The police were called and a man was detained.large crowds have gathered outside the National police station

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Overseas Property Investments PLC shut down.

Nightmare holiday home company Overseas Property Investments PLC has been shut down.
Five investors took the firm to court after paying almost £1million for homes in Cyprus that never materialised.
The company, run by John, Rhodri and Daniel Foote, of Swansea, was put into compulsory liquidation after the High Court heard that furious investors had "completely lost faith" in it.

Pinares de Mijas is located in one of the best areas on the Costa del Sol. It is situated between the new racecourse of Mijas and within walking distance to the beach at El Chaparral.


Golf Girona These high quality golf resort villas are designed to the highest quality and overlook the excellent golf course and nearby mountains. The whole panoramic view is breathtaking. Costa Brava.Peralada The Golf Peralada resort is truly exclusive and peaceful, everything you would expect from this idyllic setting. The villas are built to the highest quality in true Catalonian style. Two of the many developments advertised in spain by Overseas Property Investments PLC .Overseas Property Investments (OPI) is the exclusive choice for the sophisticated property investor seeking high returns with a reduced element of risk.
With over £50m in asset end-values, and controlling around £100 million in project value, this dynamic, profit focused company is a pioneer in overseas land and property investments, specialising in the funding of fast-track property developments in Croatia, Cyprus, Spain and France. OPI are constantly searching the globe for outstanding opportunities and are currently evaluating possible ventures in Bulgaria, Dubai, Canada, Florida, Turkey and the Caribbean.
From our roots as a successful UK Property company, OPI has achieved remarkable success by perfecting our project funding model. Whenever possible we take full ownership of the development and negotiate the best possible payment terms, or, alternatively we buy the whole development on an "Off-Plan basis".
Whichever funding strategy we implement, we always seek to limit the initial deposit and look to the local banks and financial institutions to carry the rest of the financing.
This strategic approach substantially reduces the risks traditionally associated with Off-Plan developments and gives OPI's dedicated property sales division sufficient time to sell the projects onwards for substantial profit.
OPI’s capital base has come by way of investment from the public purchasing shares in our UK Plc. By combining our resources we are able to negotiate the purchase of either whole developments or large parts thereof, which allows us to secure the best discounts, unavailable to the individual investor.
OPI’s sister company Property in Britain Plc, was formed 5 years ago, has 195 private investors, and enjoying significant growth in its U.K. and overseas projects. Property in Britain has several large developments in the UK with projects end values of £6 million.
OPI was formed to emulate Property in Britain in the overseas market, utilising our investment modules, knowledge and expertise.
The company has successfully used this initial capitalisation on medium term deals, but is now looking to fund shorter term investments through other vehicles. Hence the launch of Fifty : Fifty Gold & Fifty :Fifty Silver.
Given our prominence in the market, we are constantly offered opportunities from various sources. On every potential deal we carry out our due diligence and if it does not reach our benchmark parameters the deal is rejected.

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British child drowned in a swimming pool

An eighteen month old baby girl has been found drowned in a swimming pool on the outskirts of Órgiva, after she went missing on Sunday afternoon. The child, reported as British, was discovered in a pool in a neighbouring property five minutes after a family friend contacted the 112 emergency centre to report her missing, EFE reports.
The news agency said it happened in the Malcandruna area of Órgiva, and names the child as M.M.C.

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Paddy Doyle shot by Russian Mafia theory ?

According to the Irish press ,Paddy Doyle picked a fight with the son of a Russian mafia boss based on the Costa. Doyle came out best in the fight but paid later with his life. He was cornered and shot close to Estepona. Doyle was in Spain to evade the bloody feud between the Drimnagh-based gangs in Dublin and, gardai believe, to establish a new drugs base there. Doyle was named in connection with at least three murders in the feud and had been in Spain since 2006 after he was suspected of involvement in the shooting dead of gang rival Noel Roche in Clontarf, Dublin in November 2005.
Doyle's associate, 'Fat Freddie' Thompson, is believed to have been spending most of his time in Spain to avoid assassination by his rivals in Dublin. His whereabouts were unknown but he is believed to have been in Doyle's company shortly before Doyle and Gary Hutch were ambushed in Estepona.
Paddy Doyle, it seems, was not smart enough to live by the rules that have kept the older and wiser criminals rich and at liberty in the sun. According to gardai, Doyle picked a fight with the son of a Russian mafia boss based on the Costa. Doyle came out best in the fight but paid later with his life. He was cornered and peppered with shots, possibly fired from an assault shotgun, on Tuesday night in the town.
The killing was a professional hit. The Russians normally keep a low profile,living in gated developments.The Russians are a force on the Costa del Sol and don't take insults lightly. After Doyle crossed them, his end was swift and savage. The assassination bore all the hallmarks of the Spetsnaz, the Russian special forces, many former members of which now work for the crime bosses on the Costa del Sol.Doyle was one of a generation of young Irishmen who have taken their chances in southern Spain. His death is a tragedy for his family, which has been active in the anti-drugs movement in central Dublin for years. Past events, however, show that Doyle’s murder was no surprise.
Doyle joins an infamous list of expatriate Dublin criminals who left the capital, in the expectation that they could apply the same tactics they did here - terror and physical violence - but who found that the rules of engagement were different when dealing with gangs from former Russian and eastern European states.
The nature of Doyle’s murder is perhaps the only surprise, in a region where organised crime gang ‘hits’ are more frequently preceded by kidnapping, torture and the disposal of remains in an undisclosed location.

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The immigration card

The Leader of the Opposition has decided to play the immigration card, which may or may amount to a race card as well. Like Sarkozy in France, he’s suggested that immigrants sign a binding contract and, more importantly, that they be expelled from Spain after their first crime. Provided they’re not from the EU, of course. Say, Rumania, for example.

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Spain's opposition conservatives say they will not soften their tough stance on immigration

Spain's opposition conservatives say they will not soften their tough stance on immigration with just a month to go before elections.The centre-right Popular Party (PP) has stepped up its rhetoric on immigration over the last week, saying it wants to restrict the use of the Islamic veil and make sure immigrants speak Spanish and respect the laws and customs of the country."We must expel from Spain those people who commit crimes in Spain and come from abroad," PP leader Mariano Rajoy told a cheering crowd as he presented his manifesto for the March 9 election."I want to remind people that in Spain sexual mutiliation is a crime along with polygamy and false marriages to obtain citizenship," he added.In San Sebastian, meanwhile, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero used his first address in the Basque Country to concentrate on ETA violence and the Supreme Court's decision on Friday to ban two Basque separatist parties from taking part in the elections:"Those who use violence, those who protect and support them or do nothing to stop those carrying guns - they cannot be allowed to participate in democracy," he said.Zapatero did touch on immigration, but only to say the opposition's proposals have a "whiff of xenophobia".Polls suggest most Spaniards agree as they are now more worried about the economy.

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Spanish press reports the attempted abduction of british child

Spanish press reports the attempted abduction of british child on the Costa del Sol. The mother-of-two revealed how the 11-year-old stepped in when an African man tried to lure the two-year-old British holidaymaker into his van with the help of a cat.
The housewife, who lives in Marbella, told how after taking photographs from his van, the man in his 30s held the animal out to be stroked.
But just as the toddler started to pet the cat, her son Ben pulled him away.
“He is pretty clued up and realised what was going on,” she revealed.
“He grabbed the little boy’s hand and said ‘no, no, no’ before running back to us.
“You can say he has became a bit of a hero.”
While police have not been able to identify the culprit, a Nigerian man was charged last week with the attempted snatch of a Spanish two-year-old in Málaga a fortnight ago.
In the terrifying incident in the Rosaleda shopping centre, the 32-year-old man, whose name was given as Oduwa O, tried to grab the toddler out of his grandmother’s arms.
Incredibly, there have already been 22 reported abduction attempts of children across Spain so far this year, with Amy Fitzpatrick in Mijas and Mari luz in Huelva still missing.
“It is terrifying that there are people out there operating on the Costa del Sol,” said the British housewife, who has asked not to be named.
“My daughter is so pretty with blonde waist-length hair. I am now obviously very careful to never let them out of my sight.”
She and her husband, who commutes back to the UK to work, had been dining with friends on the terrace of Rosmarino restaurant in June, 2007.
While they ate, their son, 11, and daughter, 8, ran around playing in the square with half a dozen other British children.
It was about 10pm and still light, when a man had driven up in a white locksmith’s van and parked just out of sight of the square and fellow diners.
“This man, an African in his 30s had a camera and started taking photographs of the children, and in particular tried to get this two-year-old to come over to the van,” said the mother-of-two from London.
“He was using a cat to get the kids to come closer.

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