Holidaymakers and expats on the Costas have been asked to help track down two dangerous British fugitives believed to be on the run in Spain.

The two men escaped from a prison van during a dramatic ambush as they were transferred to court in Liverpool a week ago.
Police believe Kirk Bradley, 25 and Anthony Downes, 24, could be hiding out in Spain and have urged holidaymakers and expatriates living on the Costas to look out for them.
It is thought they may have joined known associate and fellow fugitive Kevin Parle, who appears on a Crimestoppers "most wanted" list and is wanted in connection with two murders in Liverpool.
The UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) released photographs of the pair in a bid to trace them but warned that they should not be approached.
"These are dangerous men and it is very important that nobody approaches them," said Frank Francis of SOCA. "We are asking people who think they may have seen them to call Crimestoppers, either in Spain or in the UK.

"You can do this free, and completely anonymously. Our priority is getting these two back into custody as soon as possible."
The two wanted men escaped on July 18 as they were transferred from Strangeways prison in Manchester to Liverpool Crown Court where the jury was to consider verdicts following a two-month trial.
The pair and four others were in the dock accused of conspiracy to possess firearms with intent to endanger life and conspiracy to commit criminal damage with intent to endanger life.
But as the prison van slowed in rush hour traffic on the outskirts of Manchester city centre, it was rammed by a black Saab and a gang of masked men armed with guns and wielding baseball bats beat the driver and ordered the guard to release the prisoners.
They sped off in the Saab which was later founded abandoned in Salford, less than a mile from the ambush.
During the trial the court heard how the pair were involved in a two year "campaign of intimidation and violence" and were linked to a gangland plot in which a grenade was left outside the home of Kenny Dalglish, the Liverpool FC manager.
In one alleged incident, a man had to have his leg amputated after being blasted in a phone box. In another, a grandmother had her leg blown off after a hand grenade was launched through the window of her home.
Kirk Trevor Bradley of Dovecot, Liverpool, was described by police as 5'10", of proportionate build, with green eyes and cropped black hair. He has a Liverpool accent.
Anthony Downes, of Huyton, Liverpool, also known to associates as Fat Tony, is 5'7" with blue eyes and short straight dark hair.

 

Read more »

Terrorist mastermind' accused of plot to kill King of Spain demands legal aid to fight extradition

terrorist mastermind' accused of plotting to kill the King of Spain and to blow up Madrid airport has applied for British legal aid to fight his extradition. 

Alleged explosives expert Eneko Gogeaskoetxea Arronategui is accused of planting bombs at a court house, a bull fighting ring and a town centre for terror group ETA between 1996 to 1998.

But because at the time of the offences the ETA was not classified as a terrorist organisation in the UK, the alleged terrorist can apply for legal aid.


Accused: Arronategui is suspected to trying to kill Spain's King Juan Carlos

Arronategui is believed to have fled Spain to come and live in the UK.

He lived under the alias 'Cyril Macq' and worked as a computer program designer after his alleged two-year reign of terror.

He was arrested in Cambridge this month on suspicion of being a part of a ETA cell that plotted to kill Spain's King Juan Carlos when he attended the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao on 18 October 1997. 

 

At Westminster Magistrates' Court the Spanish Authorities served six further warrants on 'Spain's most wanted terror suspect' all related to planting bombs in Spain. 

Arronategui was previously charged with the botched assassination on King Juan Carlos, being a member of the ETA, possession of ammunition, murdering a police officer and the theft of three vehicles. 

He is also wanted for the fraud of public documents, after allegedly transferring licence plates. 


Mr Arronategi is alleged to have been involved in a plot to bomb the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao in October 1997 as Juan Carlos opened it, before fleeing the country

Appearing for the Spanish Authorities Ben Watson listed a further six terrorism offences Gogeaskoetxea is accused of carrying out for the ETA terrorist arm Katu. 

From 1996 to 1998 - when he was 'forced to flee the country' - Arronategui is accused of planting bombs next to two civil guard barracks, a Madrid airport, a Basque Court House and a bullfighting ring. 

Arronategui is accused of planting a bomb in the centre of a Basque town and used a trip wire to set it off, but the lethal explosive was deactivated by police.

Two of the six bombs exploded causing extensive damage to the back of the court house and another exploded near a Spanish bullfighting ring causing one injury. 

He used grenades and anti-tank grenades as explosives for his bombs, the court heard. 

Appearing by video link from Belmarsh prison, where he is on remand, Arronategui spoke only to deny consent to extradition and ask the court for time to speak to his lawyers. 

Defence barrister Mark Sumers said at the time of the offences the ETA was not classified as a terrorist organisation and he was allowed to apply for legal aid. 

He said: 'There is a legal issue in that ETA was not classified as a terrorist organisation in this country when the offences were alleged to have taken place.'

In a previous hearing before Westminster Magistrates' Court acting on behalf of the Spanish Authorities, James Stansfeld said during the attempt, Gogeaskoetxea had been spotted in the museum gardens filling window boxes with ammunition and grenade launchers.

Mr Stansfeld said: 'The requested person was stopped while he was in the Guggenheim gardens filling garden window boxes with ammunition and grenade launchers.

'The police officer who stopped them was shot and killed.

'In order to effect his escape throughout the city he hijacked three cars to evade capture.'

He will next appear by video link on August 22 at Westminster Magistrate Court before a full review of all the extradition warrants on September 7.

 

Read more »

Spanish police dismantle a money laundering ring Tuesday run by the girlfriend of a Colombian drug lord.

The police arrested nine suspects, four of which were Colombian, four Spanish, and one Armenian. Authorities claimed that the ring was run by the girlfriend of Luis Augustin Caciendo Velandia, alias "Don Lucho," a convicted Colombian drug lord who is currently serving time in a U.S. prison.

The arrests marked the culmination of a year-long investigation that discovered a money laundering network of shell companies that received drug money from Colombia, Mexico, and Panama and white-washed the money in Spain.

The money was used to buy gold jewelry that was then smelted down into ingots and disguised as copper to fool customs inspectors. They also used the money to buy 30 properties across Spain valued at $17 million and 15 luxury cars worth more than $2 million.

Don Lucho ran a cartel that specialized in money laundering prior to his arrest, and was thought to have laundered $1.5 billion between 2005 and 2009. He was arrested on drug charges and extradited to the U.S. in 2010.

Read more »

Estibaliz Carranza, a dual Spanish-Mexican citizen accused of dismembering her ex-husband and a former boyfriend in Austria

Estibaliz Carranza, a dual Spanish-Mexican citizen accused of dismembering her ex-husband and a former boyfriend in Austria, is asking her current boyfriend not to abandon her and to take custody of the baby she is carrying, the Austrian press reported on Thursday.
Carranza sent several letters from prison to her 47-year-old boyfriend, identified only as Roland R., asking for his help, the weekly News said.
"Please, don't abandon me; don't think that I'm a monster; please think of our child, who I am carrying under my heart," the accused double-murderer said in a letter published by the magazine along with an interview with her boyfriend.
Carranza, who is nine weeks' pregnant and awaiting trial in Vienna, assures her boyfriend that the killings were committed by "a disease" and not by her.
The woman had been undergoing psychological treatment and took medications for insomnia and panic attacks, Roland R., an Austrian who knew both victims, told the magazine.
There was nothing unusual, however, about Carranza, who was "the best person in the universe," Roland R. said, adding that he had found "complete happiness" with her and wanted to get married after learning she was pregnant.
"I am out of sorts, I don't know what to think or what I feel," Roland R. told News.
The letters are "small explanations for the fathomless," the man said, adding that his world came crashing down when he heard that "Esti," as he refers to his girlfriend, had murdered two men.
The 32-year-old Carranza revealed in her letters that she planned to write an autobiography with a happy ending, enjoying a good family life in a few years once they found a doctor who knew "what's inside my head" so she could gain her freedom little by little.
Carranza is suspected of having killed her German husband in 2008 and her Austrian ex-boyfriend last November.
The victims' bodies, which were dismembered, packed in plastic bags and covered with concrete, were found by construction workers on June 6 in the basement of the Vienna building where Carranza, who was born in Mexico, ran an ice cream shop.

 

Read more »