Related Posts with Thumbnails

Thursday, 8 September 2011

Brit was arrested in Sant Antoni, Ibiza

Local police in Sant Antoni, Ibiza, say that a British man has been arrested in connection with counterfeit money.

Named with the initials J.G. he is charged with the crime of falsification of money and was arrested after he tried to use counterfeit notes to pay at a venue in the West End part of the town.

Local traders supplied the police with a description of the man who they finally tracked down. They recovered fake notes worth 1,100 pounds sterling and 1,310 €.

The Briton has been taken to the local police station in Sant Atoni and is expected to appear in court shortly.


Read more »

Two Britons arrested on Ibiza on charges of attempted murder

 

The two are accused of stabbing a fellow Briton five times in a drug related argument.Photo EFE Two British men, 30 year old S.D., and 22 year old D.R.S., were arrested by the Guardia Civil in Sant Antoni, Ibiza, on Tuesday afternoon on charges of attempted murder. They are accused of stabbing a 19 year old Briton on Monday afternoon when arguing about a drug-related matter. Initial reports said that the victim was Irish, but he has now been named as Jack McCarthy from Liverpool. One of the five stab wounds punctured the victim’s lung, and a third saw a cut to his cheek. The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirmed that it was aware of a British citizen in hospital in Ibiza, and said that they were providing consular assistance. On Tuesday morning the youngster wanted to discharge himself, but the doctors advised the duty Guardia and they have kept him under treatment. A search of the homes of the two arrested men found 30 grams of cocaine and other substances, and an amount of money in cash, allegedly from the sale of drugs.

Read more »

Wednesday, 7 September 2011

British man shot in Arona hold-up

 

British man, aged 58, was injured in an armed hold-up of a currency exchange shop in Arona, on the south of Tenerife, on Tuesday morning. It happened on the Paseo de Las Tosqueras in Playa de Las Américas, shortly before 9am. The injured man is named as Dennis in reports, and it’s understood that he works in the store and was shot in the right arm by the gunman. He is now under hospital treatment with an entry and exit wound in his arm from a 22 calibre weapon.

Read more »

British couple arrested for holiday rentals scam on the Costa Blanca

 

British couple resident in Mojácar have been arrested by the Civil Guard for an alleged holiday rentals scam which is believed to have brought them profits of more than 150,000 €. Europa Press reports that the pair advertised properties available for short term let on the Costa Blanca which were not in fact available for rent but were occupied by their legitimate owners. The couple, who are named as John Anthony T., aged 41, and 37 year old Amanda Jane T., advertised online on several sites with photographs and descriptions of each of the properties. Their victims, which the Civil Guard said could number more than 60 in the UK, Portugal, France, Italy and Belgium, made the bookings online and were then contacted by email by the property management company. There was however no further contact once the deposit and then the remainder of the cost had been transferred into the couple’s account. Some of those affected then travelled out to the property they had rented in good faith, only to find them occupied by their owners. The Civil Guard investigation began in February after an official complaint was presented by a French woman to officers at the barracks in Pilar de la Horadada. It was followed by other denuncias from other foreign nationals with similar stories

Read more »

Irishman stabbed on Ibiza

 

19 year old was attacked by two men, thought to be British, in what is thought to be a drug-related attackArchive Photo EFE A 19 year old Irish man, named as Jack McCarthy, was stabbed four times in the back and once below one of his eyes in an attack on Monday in Sant Antoni, Ibiza. It happened at 4pm in Calle Barcelona, and it’s thought that the man was ambushed by two others, thought to be British. One of the stab wounds perforated a lung, and the victim is now being treated in the Can Misses Hospital. The latest hospital statement says that he is making progress and is stable although serious. Tuesday morning the youngster wanted to discharge himself, but the doctors advised the duty Guardia and they have kept him under treatment. The Sant Antoni local police say that they found small quantities of drugs in the victim’s home, and materials indicating that he was dealing, and they presume the aggression was therefore drug-related.

Read more »

Tuesday, 23 August 2011

Second chance’ for drunk drivers rejected by alcohol charities

NEW PROPOSALS TO reduce the penalties for drivers just over the blood alcohol limit have been criticised by alcohol charities.
Under the new measures, motorists caught just above the new limit of 50mg alcohol per 100ml of blood will only face penalty points and a €220 fine – although if they are caught a second time, they will be banned. It will also be a three-tier system where drivers breath-tested between 80mg and 100mg will be fined €400 and banned for six months, while anyone above 100mg faces a 12-month ban, the Irish Independent reports.
Currently, anyone caught even slightly over the limit will have to appear in caught and faces a 12-month ban if convicted. The limit is currently 80mg, but will be reduced to 50mg – or less than a pint of beer – next month in line with several other European countries. It’s understood the reduced penalties are designed to avoid the courts being glutted with drink-drivers after the new limits come into force.
However, Fiona Ryan, director of Alcohol Action Ireland, rejected the new regime. “We know there are no safe levels for drinking and driving,” she told TheJournal.ie. “It is estimated that one in three crash deaths are alcohol-related.
The penalties involved in breaking the law should reflect the gravity of the situation. The message is don’t drink and drive because someone may lose their life as a result – surely the penalties should reflect this fact?
Fionnuala Sheehan, chief executive of alcohol responsibility group MEAS, also urged drivers to avoid drinking anything at all. “Even a small amount of alcohol in your system will seriously affect your ability to drive safely,” she said. “If people plan to drink I would encourage them to designate a driver or to use public transport.”
RSA chief executive Noel Brett has defended the new system, telling the Irish Independent: “We believe that these are proportionate penalties, fairly targeted and we are comfortable with them.”

 

Read more »

Saturday, 20 August 2011

Girl's father was 'never fully in favour' of relationship with Turkish teenager

teenage waiter knifed two British women to death in Turkey after one refused to let him marry her 15-year-old daughter.

The obsessed 17-year-old lured the women to a secluded wood where he cut their throats. The girl, Shannon Graham, had been dating Recep Cetin for two years. He was said to be ‘totally infatuated’ and ‘very possessive’. 

Last week her mother Marion, 53, had a blazing row with Cetin, who uses the name Alex.

Suspect: Suspect Recep Celik, left, is accused of killing the mother of his girlfriend Shannon Graham, pictured, in a frenzied attack

Suspect: Suspect Recep Celik, left, is accused of killing the mother of his girlfriend Shannon Graham, pictured, in a frenzied attack

 

Marion Elizabeth Graham in Izmir, Turkey, was allegedly stabbed to death by her daughter's boyfriend
Kathy Dinsmore was allegedly stabbed to death in Turkey over an alleged row about her friend's daughter's boyfriend

Recep Celik is accused of stabbing Marion Graham (left) and Kathy Dinsmore, both 54 and from Northern Ireland 

After he kicked Shannon during an altercation, Miss Graham ‘went ballistic’ and told him never to lay a finger on her daughter again.

The waiter apparently responded by threatening to kill Miss Graham if she came between him and Shannon.

Last night Turkey’s state-run news agency Anatolia said Cetin had confessed to killing Miss Graham and her friend Cathy Dinsmore, also 53, who both came from Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland.

 


     

    Shannon was being cared for by an Irish Embassy official. ‘She is in an absolutely dreadful state but we are doing our best to comfort her,’ a consular source said.

    For several years Miss Graham, Miss Dinsmore and Shannon have been regular visitors to Turkey, where Miss Graham’s family own a holiday home in the popular seaside resort of Kusadasi.

    Shannon and Alex started dating after she and her mother visited the restaurant where he worked.

    Like many naive British girls who find love on holiday in Turkey, she was bowled over by his attention and soon found what started as a holiday romance turned into a marriage proposal. She travelled to see him every school holiday.

    Media reports in Turkey have named Recep Celik as the 17-year-old Turkish suspect said to have carried out the attacks
    Media reports in Turkey have named Recep Celik as the 17-year-old Turkish suspect said to have carried out the attacks

    Media reports in Turkey have named Recep Celik as the 17-year-old Turkish suspect said to have carried out the attacks

    Foreign affairs that ends in tears 

    Pictures of them together show them holding hands and smiling. But yesterday Shannon’s father, Raymond McGuinness, said her mother was terrified Cetin was abusing her. 

    Mr McGuinness, who was flying out to be with his daughter early today, said he was never fully in favour of the relationship.

    ‘There was always something that was not quite right,’ he said.

    An English holidaymaker who became friendly with Shannon and Cetin said the Turkish youth seemed to be ‘very possessive’ and ‘desperate’ to marry Shannon.

    The woman, who asked not to be named, said: ‘He used to write to Shannon on Facebook when she was back in Northern Ireland. If she didn’t message him regularly enough, he would be messaging her asking why.

    Arrest: Eyup Cetin, the father of the 17-year-old murder suspect named by Turkish media as Recep Celik is pictured being led away in handcuffs for questioning, while right, the Turkish youth and Shannon Graham are photographed together
    Accused: Teenager Recep Celik is a suspect in the double killing of the middle-aged women, whose bodies were found in a forest

    Arrest: Eyup Cetin, the father of the 17-year-old murder suspect named by Turkish media as Recep Celik is pictured being led away in handcuffs for questioning, while right, the Turkish youth and Shannon Graham are photographed together

    ‘He was even strange to people like me, just friends. If I passed him in the street without hugging him he’d hold it against me and act strangely for the next few days.’

    On Thursday, Cetin sent Shannon on a boat tour off Kusadasi while he offered to take her mother and Miss Dinsmore on a sightseeing tour of Izmir, 60 miles away.

    They travelled there by taxi. Once in the city, Cetin collected his father’s car and drove the women to a wooded area in Buca, a suburb of Izmir notorious locally as a crime hotspot, where he slashed their throats.

    Shannon raised the alarm yesterday after the two women failed to return from the trip.

    Search: Emergency crews scour the woods where the two women were discovered for evidence after the brutal killings

    Search: Emergency crews scour the woods where the two women were discovered for evidence after the brutal killings

    Frenzied attack: Officials remove the bodies of two women who have were stabbed to death in Turkey.

    Frenzied attack: Officials remove the bodies of two women who have were stabbed to death in Turkey.

    Mrs Graham's home in Newry, Co Down, after she and Kathy Dinsmore were stabbed to death in Turkey

    Mrs Graham's home in Newry, Co Down, after she and Kathy Dinsmore were stabbed to death in Turkey

    It is believed that Mrs Graham had a property in Kusadasi

    It is believed that Mrs Graham had a property in Kusadasi

    Cetin initially denied to police any connection to the women or involvement with their disappearance.

    But after their bloodstained clothes were reportedly found in a bin near his family home, he admitted driving them to the woods and stabbing them on Thursday night. He then led police to the bodies.

    Mr McGuinness said that after the women disappeared, Alex came back to Shannon saying they had all been kidnapped and he had a bad cut on his hand.

    ‘I don’t know what has gone on really. But there has been some sort of kidnap and then this tragedy has taken place and now Alex is in custody,’ he said.

    In Newry, neighbour Brian Hyland said: ‘Marion was an absolutely lovely woman, very quiet and very polite  and absolutely dedicated to her children.

    “Shannon is a lovely girl and is like any teenager really. But she’s very well behaved and polite.’

     

    It is believed that a 17-year-old has confessed to attacking the two middle-aged women in Izmir, Turkey, pictured

    It is believed that a 17-year-old has confessed to attacking the two middle-aged women in Izmir, Turkey, pictured




     

     

    Read more »

    Turkish youth is expected to be formally charged today with the double murder of two Irish women in western Turkey on Thursday night.


    Marion Graham and Kathy Dinsmore were found stabbed to death in a wooded area off a road near the port city of Izmir.

    The dead women were both 54 years old and from the Newry area of Co Down. Both were travelling on Irish passports.

    The killings followed Ms Graham’s attempts to prevent her daughter Shannon from marrying a 17-year-old youth she had met in the country.

    The youth was detained by police yesterday, and is the only suspect for the double murder. His father and a local taxi driver were also helping police with their inquiries.

    The suspect yesterday appeared at a preliminary hearing in Turkey and charges are expected to follow today.

    Yesterday it emerged the two women had been threatened in recent weeks during a dispute over a proposed wedding between one of their daughters and a Turkish teenager.

    Marion Graham had recently told family members in Ireland that an attempt had been made to assault her 15-year-old daughter in Turkey, and this led to her to put in place arrangements to bring the teenager back home.

    The Department of Foreign Affairs is offering consular assistance to the families of Ms Graham and Kathy Dinsmore, both of whom were found stabbed to death.

    Ms Graham’s daughter was yesterday being cared for by consular staff at the Irish embassy in Ankara. Her father was travelling to Turkey.

    Ms Dinsmore’s brothers, John and George Dinsmore, said – in a statement issued through Newry SDLP councillor Sean O’Hare – that they were “devastated” by the tragic loss of their “beloved sister Kathy while on holiday in Turkey”.

    Both women were killed on Thursday night. Local media reports claimed the women’s throats had been cut, but this could not be confirmed.

    It is understood that Ms Graham was separated but she continued to use a family-owned property in Kusadasi several times a year.

    Her daughter had been staying with her in Kusadasi where she had struck up a relationship with a 17-year-old boy who worked as a waiter. That relationship dated back to at least late last year.

    Reports from Turkey and sources in Dublin yesterday said it appeared that Ms Graham’s daughter and her boyfriend were planning to get married in Turkey.

    Ms Graham and her friend Ms Dinsmore strongly disapproved of the relationship and the wedding plans and were trying to frustrate those plans.

    While details of the killings were still emerging from Turkey yesterday, it appeared Ms Graham’s daughter had gone on a boat trip on Thursday.

    However, when she returned to her mother’s house she could not find her.

    By the time she had gone to the police to report her missing, they were already questioning her boyfriend.

    He had returned to his place of work, reportedly with a cut on his hands, and changed his clothes after claiming he had been on a trip with a friend and the murdered women.

    When this was relayed to the police they began questioning him about the missing women.

    Read more »

    Wednesday, 3 August 2011

    Community rallies for Montgomery man run over in Spain

    People in Montgomery are rallying around a young man severely injured on the Isle of Ibiza off the coast of Spain.  Rob McLendon was riding a moped, when he was forced into oncoming traffic.  Both Rob and a friend, Zoe Bromberg from Jacksonville, Florida, were run over.  Bromberg died from her injuries.  Friends here at home have launched an effort to help Rob recover.

    "He has cracked vertebrae, he has multiple fractures on his face, his liver, his kidneys are all damaged, he punctured lungs and he's really been in a fight for his life," said Chip Broadfoot, Associate Rector for the Church of the Ascension in Montgomery.

    McLendon grew up in Montgomery, but his career took him to Europe.  His family and close friends have flown to the Isle of Ibiza to be with him.  And those who can't make the trip have shown their support in other ways.  A Facebook page titled Rob's Recovery has more than 700 likes. 

    A CaringBridge site has more than 20,000 visits. They're encouraging people to send Rob cards for his birthday on the 14th.  But they say what's most important for the families, is prayer.

    "If we can accept the fact that we are all connected like this, we can overcome anything," Broadfoot said   "We can show our connectedness by praying in the church, we pray for one another and we can send those prayers abroad."

    The family said that Rob has opened and closed his eyes, and is making expressions.  Thursday is a key day for him, as he faces spinal surgery.

     

    Read more »

    Monday, 1 August 2011

    Former St Andrews man jailed for killing in Barcelona

    William Madley (47) had admitted hitting Lanarkshire man Derek Cowan over the head with a bottle before strangling him with his bare hands in Barcelona nearly three years ago.

    The father of two confessed to the crime, which occurred in October 2008.

    Lawyers struck a deal where it was agreed Madley, who spent his formative years in Yorkshire, would serve 10 years in prison. He was also ordered to pay £13,000 in compensation to the family of his victim.

    The court in Barcelona heard a row, believed to have been over a failed business venture, had ended in the death of the 46-year-old Larkhall man in his apartment in the Spanish city's fashionable Eixample district.

    It is thought the two Brits had at one time been business partners but had had a disagreement over money and ended the partnership some years before.

    Mr Cowan, who had lived in Spain for seven years and had a Spanish girlfriend, was found lying in a pool of blood in his flat on October 8, 2008.

    His current business partner, concerned that he couldn't contact Mr Cowan, went to his flat where he made the grim discovery.

    Police launched a manhunt for Madley, who went on the run for five weeks and was only found during a routine police check at the city's main railway station in the middle of November.

    Madley is alleged to have said he picked up a bottle and hit Mr Cowan over the head in anger. Mr Cowan then fell to the floor where Madley strangled him.

    Madley admitted he did not know if his former business partner had been dead or alive when he left his apartment home.

    Madley was originally from St Andrews but moved at a young age to Huddersfield where he attended primary and secondary schools and sixth form college.

    He was 25 when he left the west Yorkshire town to join the Royal Navy. He served as a submarine officer aboard a nuclear vessel.

     

    Read more »

    Tuesday, 26 July 2011

    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 »

    Monday, 4 July 2011

    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 »

    Wednesday, 8 June 2011

    Lisette Lee, the Beverly Hills woman who used her family's private jet to smuggle 7,000 pounds of weed to the non-medical state of Ohio pleaded for sentencing leniency this week

    Lisette Lee, the Beverly Hills woman who used her family's private jet to smuggle 7,000 pounds of weed to the non-medical state of Ohio pleaded for sentencing leniency this week, saying in a letter to a federal judge that she is ...

    ... shocked and appalled at the devastation caused by drug usage, and cannot even begin to express how sick I feel inside for even having danced around the fringes of this world, ignorant as to its relentless destruction.
    We're going to guess the judge might not be enamored with the wording "danced around the fringes." Smoking a joint is dancing around the fringes. Being friends with Charlie Sheen is dancing around the fringes. Going to a Cypress Hill concert is dancing around the fringes.



    Flying $3 million worth of chronic is being a core part of "this world." Just sayin.'

    Lee could face 10 years to life for the smuggling operation, and she has already served about one.

    That time, she says, has opened her eyes to the "ruined victims of drugs."

    Her attorneys argue that the time she's already served is enough, especially in light of the fact that marijuana is quasi-legal in Lee's home state of California.

    They also allege that co-defendant David Garrett enlisted her in the smuggling scheme "because of her naivety and her access to her family's private jet," according to Associated Press' take.

    Read more »

    Monday, 30 May 2011

    Sex gang offered buy 10 get 1 free loyalty card

    PROSTITUTION ‘pimping’ gang which offered sex loyalty cards to customers was dismantled in Barcelona, police said. With the card, regular customers would get free sex after paying for ten ‘sexual encounters’. Twelve alleged members of the gang have been arrested.

    When the women arrived in Spain, their documentation was taken by the gang who then forced them to work as prostitutes, handing the takings over to them.

    The network provided a 24 hour service where Chinese women were forced to have sex with customers at five apartments in several neighbourhoods of the city.

    The highly organised gang advertised its services on the internet and in the local press.

    Meanwhile, 15 Romanians were arrested by La Linea National Police for allegedly forcing women into prostitution in Campo de Gibraltar (Cadiz). It is thought they also operated in Malaga Province and northern Spain.

     

    Read more »

    man has been arrested by the National Police in Torremolinos in connection with the stabbing of another man on May 17th



    It is understood from the reports a 32 year old British man was discovered by a passer by at a bus stop with a deep stab wound

    It is reported that a 48 year old British man, named with the initials P.D who works at a local bar where the victim drank was arrested within 10 hours of the attack

    According to the reports it is understood that the man allegedly stabbed the other man after accusing him of having an affair with his wife

    Read more »

    32 year old Spanish man was admitted to the Carlos Haya Hospital after receiving two gunshots to the hand and right shoulder.


    It is understood that the man was shot outside his home in an apartment block in the of Trinidad neighborhood of the city by two men who hid their faces with motorcycle helmets.

    It is reported the two men knocked on the victims door and shot the man without warning as he opened it

    The two men then fled the scene

    Read more »

    Thursday, 19 May 2011

    Civil Guard seizes 250 kilos of hashish at the Ceuta port after inspection of 4 vehicles

    - A Catalan, two Moroccans living in France and two young Belgians, to court accused of separate crimes against public health

    - The estimated market value of the narcotic which had intervened touched the 400,000 euros

     

    Read more »

    Clashes over jail conditions shake Moroccan prison

    Clashes between security forces and prisoners from the radical Salafist branch of Islam on Tuesday rocked a jail in Sale, close to the Moroccan capital Rabat, officials said.
    "The situation was brought under control at the end of the morning. One policeman was wounded and taken to hospital. His life is not in danger. About 34 Salafists surrendered at the end of the morning," a security official told AFP.
    Security forces intervened on Monday afternoon to break up a rally by Salafist prisoners who sought to protest about their conditions of detention and clashes broke out. The fighting went on overnight, but authorities said Tuesday that the situation "seems to have calmed down".
    "Tear gas grenades and rubber bullets were used this morning by police forces who confronted the detainees inside the prison and even on the roof," a witness said.
    "There is a climate of total anarchy in this prison, which houses more than 200 Salafist detainees," according to Abderrahim Mouhtad, the head of the Annassir association, which defends Salafist prisoners' rights.
    "Clearly the prison administration intends to take back control of the situation and adopt firmer tactics than before," Mouhtad told AFP.
    "These detainees sequestered prison warders yesterday and today. They took on the security forces with stones and the clashes were unusually violent," said a senior official in the ministry of the interior.
    According to a family member of one prisoner, "the prison authorities wanted to lay their hands on a detainee suspected of having recently broadcast a video on YouTube in which you see the Salafist prisoners protest, inside the prison, about their detention conditions."
    Citing eyewitnesses, the MAP official news agency said on Monday that the security forces "intervened to establish order", and added that "eight members of the security forces and prison warders were slightly wounded during the course of this intervention".

     

    Read more »

    Wednesday, 4 May 2011

    Spanish court has sentenced two Somali pirates to 439 years in jail each for their role in the hijacking of a tuna fishing boat.

     Spanish court has sentenced two Somali pirates to 439 years in jail each for their role in the hijacking of a tuna fishing boat.

    The two men have been detained in a Madrid jail since they were caught after the attack in late 2009.

    The court said government-linked bodies had paid to have the vessel freed, but the government has insisted it does not pay ransoms.

    The vessel and 36 crew members were held off Somalia for 47 days.

    The Somalis were found guilty of 36 counts of illegal detention and robbery with violence, but absolved of charges of terrorism, membership in an organised crime group and torture.

    Maximum sentence

    The National Court identified them as Cabdiweli Cabdullahi and Raageggesey Hassan Aji, according to the Associated Press.

    Under Spanish law, they will serve only a maximum of 30 years in jail, regardless of the sentence.

    They were also ordered to pay 100,000 euros to each person detained.

    During the trial, the suspects said they had been fishing and were themselves seized by the pirates who later hijacked the vessel.

    The court said "public organisations linked to the Spanish government" had paid for the release of the crew.

    Spain's Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez said the government did not pay ransoms.

    Piracy is a highly lucrative trade in Somalia, where gangs can often demand millions of dollars in ransoms.

    Read more »

    Thursday, 28 April 2011

    Police break up enforced prostitution ring in Andalucía

    gang of 13 people have been arrested in a National Police operation which has uncovered a criminal network which recruited women from abroad to put them to work as prostitutes in alternative nightclubs in Andalucía.

    The Interior Ministry said in a press release on Wednesday that the Romanian-Spanish network was led by a clan known as ‘Los Cortés’, whose leaders were a married couple who recruited their staff on regular trips to Brazil and Romania with the false promise of a respectable job. Once in Spain, the women were kept shut up in a warehouse in Córdoba until they could be provided with false identity documents.

    They were then put to work in nightclubs in Sevilla, Córdoba and Málaga under the threat of extreme violence.

    The criminal organisation also had a network of ghost companies which it used to launder their profits.

     

    Read more »

    Friday, 11 March 2011

    Former television hypnotist Martin Smith, 45, who used violence to groom and sexually abuse a young girl

    A paedophile whose partner is accused of murdering their two children in a Spanish hotel was jailed for 16 years today.

    Former television hypnotist Martin Smith, 45, who used violence to groom and sexually abuse a young girl, carried out the attacks over a nine-year period.

    While he waited to go on trial his partner Lianne Smith suffocated their two young children just days after he had been extradited back to Britain.

    She has admitted asphyxiating the youngsters with a plastic bag and is due to go on trial for murder.

    Her partner's victim, who is now in her 20s, told the jury during his case how he would try to hypnotise her and hit and bully her to ensure she complied with his demands.

    He was found guilty of 11 specimen charges of rape, attempted rape, indecency with a child and indecent assault, spanning nine years from May 1995 to May 2004, in December.

    As he waited to go before the judge, his daughter Rebecca, five, and Daniel, 11 months, were found lifeless on the bed in the Hotel Miramar in Lloret de Mar on May 18 last year.

    Hilary Manley, prosecuting, told Liverpool Crown Court today that Martin Smith began the abuse by forcing the girl to touch him intimately.

    On occasion he would turn violent, act in a 'domineering and bullying manner' and use hypnotism in an effort to bend her to his will, the court heard.

    Read more »

    Tuesday, 15 February 2011

    Egyptian officials' assets to be traced by Serious Organised Crime Agency

    Charlie Rose - Hosni Mubarak, President of Egypt (August 17, 2009)Egyptian officials' assets to be traced by Serious Organised Crime Agency | World news | The Guardian: "Officers from Britain's Serious Organised Crime Agency are expected to begin tracing the bank accounts of Hosni Mubarak's cabinet after the Egyptian government made a formal request for a freeze on the assets of the ousted president and his former colleagues.

    The foreign secretary, William Hague, said Soca would take charge of the hunt for accounts in London, although the timing and extent of the investigation would be decided by EU finance ministers following discussions in Brussels. Hague said UK rules prevented the police from freezing bank accounts without 'evidence of illegality or misuse of state assets'. He said if evidence became available, the government would take 'firm and prompt action'.

    Egypt's state prosecutor meanwhile launched corruption investigations against three former government ministers and a member of parliament from Egypt's ruling National Democratic party. They are the former minister of commerce, Muhammad Rachid, the former tourism minister, Zoheir Garranah, the former housing minister Ahmed Maghrabi, and member of parliament Ahmed Ezz."
    Read more »

    Crime gangs may be fighting with guns on Sydney's streets


    Crime gangs may be fighting with guns on Sydney's streets but the city isn't a crime capital like New York or Los Angeles, NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione says.
    Speaking after two shootings in western Sydney, Mr Scipione said it was important to remember that gun crime trends in the state had been falling.
    "This isn't a place like Los Angeles or New York, if you look at the gun crimes, the number of homicides in those place," Mr Scipione told reporters on Tuesday.
    He cited figures showing there were 513 crimes involving any type of gun in the year to September 2010, down from 1,128 offences in 2004.
    Most events were related to drugs, personal matters or organised crime.
    Wideview See Thru Scope - Side Mount for the Winchester 94 and 96 firearms"My greatest concern is the propensity of organised crime to rely on the use of a firearm to resolve an issue seems to be increasing," Mr Scipione said.
    A search of AAP news archives shows that in the six months to February 15 this year, there were 24 shootings - an average of one a week - and mainly in western Sydney.
    Many of the shootings resulted in leg wounds and this week there have been two separate shootings in western Sydney, putting four men in hospital.
    The issue became political on Tuesday, as the coalition promised an extra $20 million for hi-tech equipment for police, if it wins the March 26 state election.
    Premier Kristina Keneally said gun crime was falling and vowed police would clamp down on bad behaviour by a small number of individuals.
    Read more »

    WOMAN had a gun pulled on her and was told she would be killed as thieves carjacked her Maserati in broad daylight

    Concerns that gun crime in Sydney is on the rise: "WOMAN had a gun pulled on her and was told she would be killed as thieves carjacked her Maserati in broad daylight yesterday, just hours after police sought to allay concerns about gun crime being rife in Sydney.

    Two men in a red Holden swerved in front of the 35-year-old mother's car at 1.30pm after she turned off the City West Link at Haberfield, forcing her to stop.

    MASERATI PARKING ONLY sport car street signOne man armed with a gun then walked up to her silver 2009 Maserati Quattroporte, which cost $300,000, and told her: ''Get out or I will kill you.''"
    Read more »

    Friday, 4 February 2011

    No funds for coastal train expansion | Costa del Sol | News | The Largest English Language Newspapers in Spain

    Euro Weekly News | No funds for coastal train expansion | Costa del Sol | News | The Largest English Language Newspapers in Spain: "Costa del Sol residents have waited for a train service that would one day be provided from Malaga to Marbella and Estepona. For the first time the Junta de Andalucia has admitted that it is having problems finding money to fund the project, estimated at €4 billion.

    Councillor for Public Works, Josefina Cruz, said that more private investors are needed, as well as the creation of a joint society which can present the project and request funding, from bodies such as the European Investment Bank.

    Cruz said the authorities were well aware of the importance of creating the rail connection."
    Read more »

    Tuesday, 1 February 2011

    WikiLeaks' Julian Assange Likes to Make Banks 'Squirm' - Deal Journal - WSJ

    WikiLeaks' Julian Assange Likes to Make Banks 'Squirm' - Deal Journal - WSJ: "Last night, a “60 Minutes” interview with Julian Assange, the man behind WikiLeaks, tackled the question of whether the anti-secrecy organization is turning its Klieg light to Wall Street.

    Assange was asked about the speculation that WikiLeaks has a cache of internal Bank of America documents.

    “I won’t make any comment in relation to that upcoming publication,” Assange said.

    There would be a “process of elimination” if we “denied some [banks] and admitted others,” he said. “I think it’s great to have all these banks squirming thinking maybe it’s them,” Assange said."
    Read more »

    Four Spanish Savings Banks To Transfer Financial Operations - WSJ.com

    Four Spanish Savings Banks To Transfer Financial Operations - WSJ.com: "Four Spanish savings banks said Monday they have decided to transfer their financial operations to Banco Mare Nostrum"
    Read more »

    Monday, 24 January 2011

    Tottie Goldsmith Busted At BBQ

    Undercover News: Tottie Goldsmith Busted At BBQ: "Chantoozies singer and Neighbours star Tottie Goldsmith is alleged to have been busted in a drug operation at the Hot BBQ music festival outside Melbourne on Saturday.

    Goldsmith was in the VIP Beach Club marquee during the festival when police swooped with drug sniffer dogs and nabbed the singer/actress.

    Tottie Goldsmith is alleged to have been caught with cocaine."
    Read more »

    Beauty Queens | Mexican Drug Trafficking | ARRESTED | Styleite

    Beauty Queens | Mexican Drug Trafficking | ARRESTED | Styleite: "Juliana Sossa (pictured) is the latest stunner to be arrested in connection to the Mexican drug trade. She won several Colombian beauty pageants before relocating to Mexico City and shacking up with alleged drug lord Jorge Balderas Garza.
    This comes a few months after Colombian model Juliana Lopez Aguirre was arrested along with her narcotics gang member boyfriend Harold Mauricio Poveda, which came a few months after Venezuelan Miss Universe Alicia Machado was linked to drug kingpin/potential baby daddy Gerardo Alvarez Vazquez and Colombian beauty pageant winner Angie Sanclemente was arrested for managing “young women ferrying cocaine to Europe via Mexico” in Argentina. Sanclemente is married to Mexican drug lord “El Monstruo” (yes, “The Monster”). And the list goes on.
    According to the Mexican National Institute of Women, the number of women arrested for trafficking-related charges has increased four-fold in the last three years alone."
    Read more »

    High court affirms life term for 6 Chinese in shabu case -- 2011/january/24

     High court affirms life term for 6 Chinese in shabu case -- 2011/january/24: "THE Supreme Court has affirmed the life sentence a lower court imposed on six Chinese nationals for drug trafficking.

    The court found the Chinese in possession of 364 kilos of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu, with an estimated value of P1.6 billion.

    In an en banc decision, the high tribunal, through Associate Justice Presbitero J. Velasco Jr., upheld the judgment of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court finding Ng Yik Bun, Kwok Wai Cheng, Chang Chaun Shi, Chua Shilou Hwan, Kan Shun Min, and Raymond S. Tan guilty beyond reasonable doubt of possession of illegal drugs.

    The six Chinese nationals were also ordered to pay a total of P30 million.

    They were arrested by police while preparing their drug shipment at a resort in Sariaya, Quezon on Aug. 24, 2000.

    A total of 25 heat-sealed transparent plastic bags containing 364 kilos of the illegal substance were recovered from the group on board a white Mitsubishi L-300 van.

    The accused said their arrest and the search of the shipment were"
    Read more »

    ZAMBIAN businesswoman arrested in Ethiopia for drug trafficking | UKZAMBIANS MAGAZINE, WEBSITE, VIDEOS, TV

    ZAMBIAN businesswoman arrested in Ethiopia for drug trafficking | UKZAMBIANS MAGAZINE, WEBSITE, VIDEOS, TV: "ZAMBIAN businesswoman has been arrested in Ethiopia for alleged drug trafficking. Izalo Kalenda, 31, was arrested at Addis Abba international airport on her way from Pakistan via Dubai to Zimbabwe.


    Woman Arrested
    This is according to a statement released on January 22 by Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) public relations officer, John Nyawali.

    Mr Nyawali said Ms Kalenda allegedly swallowed the heroin weighing over half a kilogramme.

    She is detained in Ethiopia awaiting trial.

    Meanwhile, the DEC has arrested a 24-year-old man of John Laing Township in Lusaka for allegedly trafficking in pure grade cocaine.

    Joseph Mwamba was allegedly found with 16 sachets of cocaine powder after a DEC search at his house.

    And 94 people were arrested in the last seven days for trafficking in different quantities of cannabis weighing a total of 428kgs.

    Among them are two Somali nationals resident in Ndola who were found in possession of 34 bundles of Mirra, weighing over 12kgs.

    Meanwhile, Police in Kitwe have arrested three suspected conmen, including a foreigner, for allegedly swindling businessmen out of huge sums of money on the pretext that they supplied pharmaceutical seeds.

    Copperbelt Police commanding officer Martin named the suspects as Keith Musonda, 36, Lameck Katongo, 18 and Person Brian Gordon, a foreigner from unknown country."
    Read more »

    10 dead after a clash between military and drug traffickers in Mexico

    10 dead after a clash between military and drug traffickers in Mexico: "10 suspected drug traffickers killed after encountering with the government forces in the state of Tamaulipas in Mexico.Mexico Defense Department have announced, that soldiers were patrolling when they found the camp of armed men.A shot had been fired on the soldiers which have caused the said encounter.The authorities have also confiscated a rocket launcher, 20 grenades, two grenade launchers and 24 guns from the said camp.It was found out that there's a chronic drug trafficking in Tamaulipas due to competition of two drug cartels namely Zeta and Gulf Cartel."
    Read more »

    Late cyclist's father on drug charges - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

    Late cyclist's father on drug charges - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation): "The father of the late world champion cyclist Jobie Dajka has faced the Adelaide District Court accused of being involved in drug trafficking and money laundering.

    Stanley Bruce Dajka pleaded not guilty to six counts of laundering money and two of trafficking cannabis in February and March last year.

    Jobie Dajka's uncle, Frank Peter Dajka, and another accused man, Wayne Bruce Edwards, also pleaded not guilty to the same charges.

    Jobie Dajka, 27, died in April 2009. The former kierin world champion spoke publicly about his battle with alcoholism and depression before his death.

    A cause of death has never been stated publicly.

    A courts official said the coroner released a finding of 'medical cause of death' to the family and did not hold an inquest.

    Tags: law-crim"
    Read more »

    Monday, 10 January 2011

    International swoop on drug traffickers nets three in Dubai

    International swoop on drug traffickers nets three in Dubai: "The Dubai Police on Monday announced the arrest of three alleged drug traffickers, including the leader of an international drug gang whose members were nabbed in South Africa, the UK and the Netherlands.
    A South African and two Asians were arrested from the emirate after almost a year of coordination with several countries, including where the other arrests took place, Major-General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Dubai Police, said at a press conference here. The coordination started after the Dubai Police received information that an international gang of drug traffickers was operating in the UAE too, besides South Africa, the UK and the Netherlands."
    Read more »

    Niger kidnappings show terror's spread

     Niger kidnappings show terror's spread: "With stunned diners looking on, the turbaned attackers burst through the metal door of the open-air restaurant and went straight for their targets: two Frenchmen whom they brazenly dragged at gunpoint into a vehicle waiting outside.
    The kidnapping, blamed by French authorities on al-Qaida's North Africa branch, ended with the pair's tragic deaths during a failed French-led rescue attempt over the weekend. The bold hostage-taking showed in the most chilling way that abductions like these are no longer limited to the distant, lawless deserts of northwestern Africa where smugglers and bandits have long held sway.
    This abduction on Friday happened right in Niger's capital, Niamey.
    David Zounmenou, a senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria, South Africa, said it shows the kidnappers 'have the capacity to operate freely wherever they want.'
    'They are no longer limited to looking for victims in places without state authority,' he observed. 'They can go anywhere.'"
    Read more »

    Eta ceasefire: 'A step forward but a slow one' | World news | The Guardian

    Eta ceasefire: 'A step forward but a slow one' | World news | The Guardian: "The words of peace uttered by three Eta leaders hiding behind white silken masks sounded promising, but hopes that they would turn into anything concrete were dim today.

    'It is a step forward, but a slow one,' said Kepa Aulestia, an Eta expert at the Vocento media group. 'Eta's end is inevitable. It is now trying to justify its own place in history.'

    The key words used by the men with the raised fists were that they now considered the ceasefire to be 'permanent' and 'general', while also offering a vague promise it would be 'verifiable'.

    Spain has been down this road before. The ceasefire Eta called in 2006 was also deemed 'permanent'. Carlos Palate and Diego Estacio disovered that December that the description was not literal when Eta planted a bomb at Madrid's Barajas airport.

    Both men died. Not only were hopes of peace buried in the rubble, so was much of Eta's credibility."
    Read more »

    Tunisia closes schools and universities over unrest | Reuters

    Tunisia closes schools and universities over unrest | Reuters: "Tunisia's government on Monday ordered the indefinite closure of all schools and universities in response to a wave of unrest, the official news agency reported.

    'Following violence in universities and lycees, and while awaiting an investigation to establish who was responsible for inciting students, we have decided to stop all the lessons in all educational establishments ... from tomorrow, Tuesday, until further notice,"
    Read more »

    Iran: 'Mossad assassin' reveals training methods - Israel News, Ynetnews

    Iran: 'Mossad assassin' reveals training methods - Israel News, Ynetnews: "A man suspected of spying for Israel and assassinating an Iranian nuclear scientist was exposed on Iranian television Monday.

    The suspect, Majid Jamali Fesh (28), said he had visited Tel Aviv and met with senior Israeli security officials. He also said he was trained in explosives.

    The man, who Iran claims is a Mossad agent, did not say in the television interview when he visited Tel Aviv. 'I was taught how to follow people, avoid being followed myself, and how to plant bombs on the bottom of under cars,' he said.

    The suspect, who was referred to as a 'terrorist' by Iranian TV, said, 'We traveled from Tel Aviv along the fast highway to Jerusalem, and a half-hour later we reached the headquarters.'

    The suspect described the facility as being surrounded by a 3-4 kilometer (1.9-2.5 mile) wall with numerous cameras installed on it. He did not specifically mention Mossad during the interview.
    "
    Read more »

    Iran: 'Mossad assassin' reveals training methods - Israel News, Ynetnews

    Iran: 'Mossad assassin' reveals training methods - Israel News, Ynetnews: "A man suspected of spying for Israel and assassinating an Iranian nuclear scientist was exposed on Iranian television Monday.

    The suspect, Majid Jamali Fesh (28), said he had visited Tel Aviv and met with senior Israeli security officials. He also said he was trained in explosives.

    The man, who Iran claims is a Mossad agent, did not say in the television interview when he visited Tel Aviv. 'I was taught how to follow people, avoid being followed myself, and how to plant bombs on the bottom of under cars,' he said.

    The suspect, who was referred to as a 'terrorist' by Iranian TV, said, 'We traveled from Tel Aviv along the fast highway to Jerusalem, and a half-hour later we reached the headquarters.'

    The suspect described the facility as being surrounded by a 3-4 kilometer (1.9-2.5 mile) wall with numerous cameras installed on it. He did not specifically mention Mossad during the interview.
    "
    Read more »

    Fresh clashes break out in Tunisia amid EU criticism

    AFP: Fresh clashes break out in Tunisia amid EU criticism: "Fresh clashes broke out in Tunisia Monday as the European Union condemned a government crackdown on weekend protests over food and jobs that killed at least 14 people.
    Police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse demonstrators in Kasserine, Thala and Regueb, while security forces were on alert in the capital after the weekend violence, the deadliest since protests erupted mid-December.
    EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in Brussels she was concerned about events in Tunisia and called for the release of detained protesters.
    A union member died Monday in a hospital in Kasserine, 290 kilometres (180 miles) south of Tunis, after being shot in protests on Sunday, said Sadok Mahmoudi from the regional branch of the UGTT workers union.
    A 'great number' of people wounded in the unrest were being treated in the hospital, which was put under army control, he said."
    Read more »

    France Blames Al-Qaida for Killings of French Hostages in Niger | Europe | English

    VOA | France Blames Al-Qaida for Killings of French Hostages in Niger | Europe | English: "The French government says al-Qaida was probably behind the kidnapping and killing of two young French men in the Sahel. The pair were found dead Saturday near Niger's border with Mali following a failed rescue attempt by French and Nigerian forces.

    French President Nicolas Sarkozy has called the incident a 'barbaric and cowardly act.'

    After his arrival in Niger, France's defense minister warned French living there to be vigilant.

    In a TV interview Sunday, Juppe said the estimated 1,700 French expatriates in Niger should take precautions and French tourists should refrain from traveling to the West African country.

    The killing of the two young men has shocked France. It is especially poignant since one of them, an aid worker, was about to be married. The other man was to have been his best man."
    Read more »

    Dogs maul Irish tourist to death in Malaysia | News

    Dogs maul Irish tourist to death in Malaysia | News: "Two dogs mauled an Irish tourist to death at an organic farm on the Malaysian island of Penang.

    Maurice Sullivan, 50, was reportedly staying at the farm with a Polish friend to take photos.

    The farmer kept the dogs to protect his property from wild boars and pythons.

    State veterinary department director Wan Mohamad Kamil Wan Nik said it was the first fatal dog attack in the region."
    Read more »

    Friday, 19 November 2010

    60 million bond set for Sean Connery and associates in Marbella urban corruption case

    60 million bond set for Sean Connery and associates in Marbella urban corruption case: "judge investigating the 'Goldfinger' case has set a bond of more than 60 million euros liability to the principal accused in the case, including the actor Sean Connery, his wife and major law firm partners who have the legal representation of the actor.
    The Judge of the Court of Instruction No. 1 of Marbella (Málaga) gives processed 10 days to deal with this bond and ordered the seizure of property if they can not respond. In addition, if any are declared insolvent, he has directed the Judicial Police and the Tax Office to investigate whether there may have been operations by the defendants to hide assets since April last year."
    Read more »

    Saturday, 2 October 2010

    While visiting Simon Cowell's villa in the exotic resort of Marbella, singer Louis Tomlinson is taken to hospital

    X Factor Group hopefuls 1Direction have their Judges' Houses performance thrown into chaos after a band member cuts his foot on a sea urchin.

    While visiting Simon Cowell's villa in the exotic resort of Marbella, singer Louis Tomlinson is taken to hospital after his foot swells up from an encounter with the local sealife.

    1Direction member Zain Malik says: "We’re all panicking a little bit 'cause we’re not sure what’s going to happen or when he’s going to get here."

    Fellow singer Liam Payne adds: "For us that’s really bad as we haven’t had that much time to practice as we’ve only just got together as a group. I hope he’s back as we really do need him."

    Following Louis's return to the group, they bravely battle on with a version of Natalie Imbruglia's 'Torn', earning praise from Simon as a "cool" band.

    Other highlights from the Group category include Diva Fever's version of 'Love Machine' by Girls Aloud, FYD's performance of 'Beggin' by Madcon, and Princes & Rogues' 'Video Killed The Radio Star'.
    Read more »

    Royal Gibraltar Police has asked for help from Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to help investigate the alleged multi-million pound fraud

    Royal Gibraltar Police has asked for help from Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to help investigate the alleged multi-million pound fraud at Marrache & Co. A team including a case manager and a forensic accountant is expected to arrive on the Rock next month. The RGP's decision to call in the SFO stems from complications in unravelling the case in preparation for prosecution, and the agency's considerable resources and expertise.>
    While the Serious Fraud Office is no longer part of the British police, it is nevertheless a government agency that investigates and prosecutes complex fraud and corruption in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Working closely with law enforcement agencies, it has teams of specialists that include forensic accountants, investigators, lawyers and IT experts in its ranks and works closely with law enforcement agencies.
    Read more »

    HM Queen's Bankers RBS Coutts Bank "created" dummy Carroll Trust Bank Accounts in this one billion dollars offshore tax evasion fraud case.

    HM Queen's Bankers RBS Coutts Bank "created" dummy Carroll Trust Bank Accounts in this one billion dollars offshore tax evasion fraud case. It is understood that Coutts Bank officials N R Jackson and Robin Bennet have been "named" in the compelling criminal evidence dossiers which are held in custody by the FBI Washington DC field office and Scotland Yard concerning the ongoing criminal investigation surrounding the Carroll Trust Global Corporation's rapid break up and co-ordinated criminal liquidation and seizure operations executed by HSBC Holdings "in concert" with Britains most dangerous white collar crime syndicate.

    The criminal allegations explicitly state that the Coutts banking institution incorporated fraudulent "Dummy Carroll Trust Bank Accounts" with the "named" crime syndicate to impulse the criminal liquidation and embezzlement of over $1,000,000,000 (one billion dollars) of Carroll Foundation Charitable Trust world wide assets and funds which included the criminal seizure of the HM Ministry of Defence Carroll Trust civilian and military aviation establishment interests at the Farnborough Airport Hampshire together with over $600,000,000 (six hundred million dollars) of commercial real estate and military-industrial complex stock holdings world wide"linked" to the criminal seizure break-ins and burglary operations of the Carroll Trust multi million dollar residences in Belgravia and Westminster London.
    Lord Home the Chairman of Coutts Bank is also implicated in this major criminal conspiracy case with further serious allegations of conspiracy to defraud racketeering money laundering offshore tax evasion and obstruction offences.


    The Carroll Foundation Trust $1,000,000,000, (one billion dollars) "cross-border" international criminal syndicate case is currently being retained within a complete - LOCKDOWN - at the US Department of Justice FBI Washington DC field office "in concert" with the Metropolitan Police Scotland Yard Specialist Operations Directorate Westminster London under the supervision of the Assistant Commissioner John Yates who it is understood has an intimate knowledge of this affai
    Read more »

    monopolies have come under threat from Web sites based in offshore locations like Gibraltar

    highest court in the European Union ruled Wednesday that Germany’s efforts to protect state-run gambling monopolies violated E.U. laws. The ruling gives a boost to private betting companies that are eager to break into the lucrative German market.

    Germany, like a number of other European countries, has been trying to keep sports betting, lotteries and some other kinds of gambling under the control of state-run operators, saying this protects consumers from fraud and addiction. But lately these monopolies have come under threat from Web sites based in offshore locations like Gibraltar and from hundreds of sports betting shops that have taken advantage of gray areas in the law to open their doors in cities across Germany.

    The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg said Wednesday that Germany had undermined its consumer-protection argument by letting state-run operators engage in “intensive advertising campaigns” and by permitting a proliferation of automated gambling machines, which the court said were highly addictive.

    “In such circumstances, the preventive objective of that monopoly can no longer be pursued, so that the monopoly ceases to be justifiable,” the court said.
    Read more »

    Madoff judge asks Gibraltar to hand over $73.1 mln | Reuters

    Madoff judge asks Gibraltar to hand over $73.1 mln | Reuters: "U.S. judge overseeing the liquidation of Bernard Madoff's investment firm has asked Gibraltar's supreme court to transfer $73.1 million so it may be used to compensate victims of the imprisoned Ponzi schemer.
    In a letter dated Monday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Burton Lifland said the money would be used to partially satisfy a $180 million default judgment entered on Aug. 3 against the Vizcaya Partners Ltd hedge fund and other defendants.
    In an April 2009 lawsuit, Irving Picard, the trustee liquidating Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, accused Vizcaya of profiting improperly from Madoff's fraud.
    Lifland entered the judgment against Vizcaya after the British Virgin Islands-based fund failed to plead its case or otherwise respond properly to Picard's complaint.
    The judgment also applies to three other entities: Asphalia Fund Ltd, Siam capital Management and Zeus Partners Ltd."
    Read more »

    Gibraltar have called in experts from Britain’s Serious Fraud Office [SFO] to help investigate the alleged multi-million pound fraud at Marrache

    Gibraltar Chronicle - The Independent Daily First Published 1801: "Police in Gibraltar have called in experts from Britain’s Serious Fraud Office [SFO] to help investigate the alleged multi-million pound fraud at Marrache & Co.

    A team from the SFO will arrive in Gibraltar next month to assist detectives here to examine documents and accounting records seized as part of the investigation.

    The two-man team will include a case manager and a forensic accountant.

    The Royal Gibraltar Police, which has its own specialist Financial Crimes Unit, approached the SFO to tap into its extensive skills base and resources.


    The SFO is not part of the UK police but rather an independent British government agency that investigates and prosecutes complex fraud and corruption in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

    It has specialist forensic accountants, investigators, lawyers and IT experts in its ranks and works closely with law enforcement agencies.

    The allegations surrounding Marrache & Co. rocked Gibraltar’s legal and financial community earlier this year. Although the initial shock has now subsided, the criminal investigation remains open.

    Prosecutors believe senior executives at Marrache & Co., formerly one of Gibraltar’s most prominent law firms, plundered funds from the firm’s client accounts."
    Read more »

    Gibraltar Court of Appeal will decide next week whether $1m of disputed funds linked to the Madoff financial scandal

    Gibraltar Chronicle - The Independent Daily First Published 1801: "Court of Appeal will decide next week whether $1m of disputed funds linked to the Madoff financial scandal should be used to cover costs in a legal row over the fate of a larger $73m pot held in Gibraltar.

    Irving Picard, the US trustee tasked with recovering the assets of disgraced financier Bernard Madoff, wants to claw back the money and use it to compensate victims of Madoff’s fraud.

    But the action in Gibraltar is being contested by four firms which also lay claim to the funds.


    Two of those firms – Vizcaya Partners and Zeus Partners – secured a ruling from the Supreme Court earlier this year to release a total of $1m to cover their legal costs.

    It is this decision that lawyers for Mr Picard will appeal next week.

    The $73m is what is left in Gibraltar of a $150m wire transfer made by Bernard Madoff Investment Securities to a local bank in 2008.

    The money is now under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court while lawyers argue who gets to keep it. That question has yet to be resolved before the Gibraltar court."
    Read more »

    Superintendent; a Chief Inspector; a Detective Inspector; two Detective Sergeants and three Detective Constables

    "Superintendent; a Chief Inspector; a Detective Inspector; two Detective Sergeants and three Detective Constables.

    We know the names but we are not publishing them at this stage.

    All the above have been moved from the positions they held at the time of the search in Spain. And we can further disclose that the Gibraltar Police Authority is overseeing the investigation, with an acting Deputy Commissioner heading the investigation.When the news broke out last weekend regarding an unauthorised search, only two RGP officers were mentioned as having been involved in the search of the house. But it would appear that others may have links of one sort or another with the dramatic developments that unfolded then.

    As we have mentioned above, the internal police investigation initiated earlier in the week on the instructions of Louis Wink,the Commissioner of Police, has already taken serious action against a number of officers, this includes senior ranking officers.

    As many as 8 officers of various ranks have been served with disciplinary investigation notices informing them that they are under investigation regarding the internal inquiry in hand."
    Read more »

    Real-life Hustle conman faces jail for 2012 fraud | News

    Real-life Hustle conman faces jail for 2012 fraud | News: "millionaire retired advertising executive who helped a gang based on the TV drama Hustle to swindle dozens of pensioners out of their life savings was facing jail today.
    Derek Voysey, 63, was nicknamed Albert Stroller by his fellow fraudsters, after the conman played by Robert Vaughn in the hit BBC series.
    Voysey played a central role in the crime, a Southwark crown court jury heard. Teams of cold callers rang victims and offered them a chance to invest in what they claimed was a lucrative property portfolio near the 2012 Olympic Games site. The gang backed up their promises of high returns with glossy brochures and fake share certificates, making £286,000 during 2006 and 2007."
    Read more »

    Gibraltar Chronicle - The Independent Daily First Published 1801

    Gibraltar Chronicle - The Independent Daily First Published 1801: "La Linea’s controversial mayor Alejandro Sánchez has reworked his frontier toll plans to try and get round the growing reality that he would breach EU and Spanish national law. And he is seeking both Spanish and Gibraltar government participation for a radical series of works which he claims will ease the flow in and out of Gibraltar.

    The near to bankrupt municipality yesterday declared that it would not have a compulsory toll but instead provide alternate routes one of which would be toll free.

    The statement declared that the move will improve traffic flow, including into Gibraltar, and have a beneficial impact on the environment. He also said this new idea will meet the requirements of free movement of people and goods and that the charge will not be discriminatory."
    Read more »

    Thursday, 9 September 2010

    ‘The Cold Light of Day’ Shooting has started for the latest Bruce Willis action film on the Alicante coast.


    Shooting has started for the latest Bruce Willis action film on the Alicante coast.

    The thriller has the title ‘The Cold Light of Day’ and also stars Henry Cavill from The Tudors, and Sigourney Weaver.

    It tells the story of an American whose family is kidnapped when on holiday in Spain. Bruce Willis only has a few hours to find them, and discover the connection between their disappearance and the secrets of his father.

    The film will be shot entirely in Spain and is produced by Galavis Film, Summit Entertainment and Intrepid Pictures. It is directed by Mabrouk El-Mechri, and based on an original screenplay by Scott Wiper and John Petro, with revisions by Richard Price. Much of the production team is Spanish in what is a joint Spanish/United States project.

    Ten weeks filming is expected in the Valencia region, as well as in Madrid and in the Ciudad de la Luz studios in Alicante.

    Shooting started on Monday this week in Dénia, and continued Tuesday on the Cala de la Granadella beach in Jávea where some of the action scenes were shot.

    Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_27121.shtml#ixzz0z1f4faYc
    Read more »

    Thursday, 17 June 2010

    Porn star claims to have had Tiger Woods' son

    Porn star claims to have had Tiger Woods' son: "29-year-old prostitute turned adult film star has claimed that she had golfer Tiger Woods' baby when she was 19 years old.
    Porn actress Devon James, the last of 14 alleged mistresses to be linked to the golfer, has come forward to claim that Woods is the father of her nine-year-old son.
    James, who earned thousands of pounds selling her story about alleged sex with Woods, named the boy Austin T and said the initial 'T' is a tribute to his father, Daily Mail reported.
    She said Woods hired her again for a $2,000 night of sex six years later, and when she told him about the boy, he said he did not want to meet his son.
    'She showed him pictures of Austin, and told him he was his son. He didn't want to meet the boy, but he did send gifts for the child,' a friend of James told the New York Daily News.
    James, however, has never had a DNA test to prove her claim. But she is the second woman to have claimed to have had a child with the 34-year-old golfer after a television channel showed a documentary on claims by 47-year-old Theresa Rogers having Woods' baby in 2004."
    Read more »

    Go after the gunrunners | Gus John | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

    Go after the gunrunners | Gus John | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk: "Operation Trident, the Metropolitan Police's unit for tackling street violence and gun and knife enabled crime within the African/Caribbean community, reports frequently on the levels and types of gun and knife activity within that community. One hears much less from the Met about the number of suppliers of illegal guns whom they arrest and prosecute.
    Even if, as a result of Cumbria, the government were to make it virtually impossible for farmers and other rural folk to own guns, it would have no impact whatsoever on our efforts to tackle gun crime in urban areas. We would succeed in widening the divide between the two societies, but we would fail in keeping more of our young people alive. And we would only lend credence to those who suggest that the gang members who make guns their weapon of choice are simply congenitally prone to commit violent crime.
    Grief has no bias: the sudden, violent death of a friend or relative is deeply traumatic to families and communities whoever they are and wherever they live. To me, the question of whether or not more measures are introduced to regulate the ownership of guns in rural areas is a distraction. It is the failure to deal with the illegal supply of guns that the government should focus upon."
    Read more »

    B92 - News - Crime & War crimes - Extradition of K. Albanian gangster requested from Belgrade

    B92 - News - Crime & War crimes - Extradition of K. Albanian gangster requested from Belgrade: "Slovakia's Justice Ministry has asked Belgrade to extradite a suspected leader of the Kosovo Albanian mafia in Slovakia.

    Baki Sadiki is believed to be in Kosovo, and his extradition was requested from Belgrade rather than from the EU mission in Kosovo, EULEX, said reports.

    A spokesman for the Slovakian Justice Ministry said the request went to Belgrade since Bratislava country does not recognize the unilateral independence declaration made by Kosovo's Albanians two years ago.

    But Slovakia's Foreign Affairs Ministry warned that the extradition request should have been sent to EULEX instead.

    Slovakian police, said reports, have no reliable information that Sadiki is still in Kosovo, “where he did not worry that he might be arrested because the extradition request was sent only to Serbia, and where he moved freely although Kosovo police knew exactly where he was”."
    Read more »

    marbella- glamerous to ruthless! | Costa del Gangster

    marbella- glamerous to ruthless! | Costa del Gangster: "230 British criminals on the run out their, never mind crooks with no record in the U.K the place is a gold mind to fly away too, and continue a life of crime.
    There is an ongoing war between the Spanish and the British and I don’t just mean over “ Franco’s rock”! Since the introduction of linkers bar, owned by Brits, they allow British in to drink for free, but charge the Spanish 10 euros‘, and same the other way round.In away it could be looked upon as a racist war going on where two different culture just cant stand each other, that will probably be frowned upon, but believe me its happening.
    Its not just British criminals that earn a living out their, the majority of the place is run by mafia’s mainly Russian, people who are not to be messed with, believed to even have the police under their belt.'"
    Read more »

    Tuesday, 8 June 2010

    'Dapper Don' Arrested On Spain's Costa Del Sol: British Gangsters Targeted In Armed Police Raid | World News | Sky News

    'Dapper Don' Arrested On Spain's Costa Del Sol: British Gangsters Targeted In Armed Police Raid | World News | Sky News: "Police hunting British criminals on the Costa del Sol are hoping to make more arrests after capturing the alleged leader of an international drugs and guns empire known as the Dapper Don."
    Read more »

    The gamblers betting on Britain going bust - Telegraph

    The gamblers betting on Britain going bust - Telegraph: "A small band of hedge funds is now building up a series of sizeable bets on Britain defaulting. In the past few weeks, they have placed more than $3 billion worth of bets on that precise outcome in the credit default swap market. History – three centuries without default – suggests that they will be proved wrong. But these are unprecedented times. Had Britain joined the euro, it would certainly have shared Greece's fate, and would have been too big to be bailed out.
    Avoiding euro membership, however, will not guarantee that Britain avoids default. We cannot afford to be smug for ever."
    Read more »

    Spanish funeral for two British children killed by mother - Telegraph

    Spanish funeral for two British children killed by mother - Telegraph: "bodies of Rebecca Smith, five, and her 11-month-old brother Daniel, were found three weeks ago in a hotel in Lloret de Mar on Spain's Costa Brava.
    Lianne Smith, 43, admitted suffocating them with a plastic bag because she feared they would be taken into care by social services.
    In a letter written before the murders, Mrs Smith said there had been an attempt to take her children away.
    'Fortunately I got out of the city with them and gave them a short and wonderful holiday before the events you will start to hear about in the press,' she wrote.
    She is currently on remand in Girona prison awaiting trial for the double murder and it is not thought that she will be allowed to attend the funeral at the Sant Roma church in Lloret de Mar.
    It is thought that the two bodies will then be transferred to a cemetery on the outskirts of the resort for cremation."
    Read more »

    Brussels, Civilized E.U. Capital, Rattled by Crime Wave - TIME

    Brussels, Civilized E.U. Capital, Rattled by Crime Wave - TIME: "local Brussels police arrested the alleged killer, Abdollazim Fathi Valmi, a 47-year-old homeless man, originally from Iran, who promptly confessed that he was taking revenge because the judge, Isabelle Brandon, evicted him three years ago. And though Belgians may be tempted to dismiss the episode as an isolated case involving a disturbed individual, it has further dramatized a run of violent incidents that have Belgians and non-Belgians alike concerned about a collapse of law and order in both Brussels and Belgium."
    Read more »

    Link within

    Related Posts with Thumbnails