Sotogrande 600 kilos of hashish hidden in petrol cans

National Police has been involved 600 kilograms of hashish hidden in cans of petrol in a pleasure boat moored Dutch flag in the marina of Sotogrande, Cadiz who had as the final destination Palma. Three people have been arrested as alleged perpetrators of a crime against public health. Praise arrested have been identified as RB, aged 61, born in Harlen (Netherlands); RGF, a native of Madrid, 25, and DABG, 19, born in Puerto Plata (Dominican Republic) The investigation focused on an organized group of Dutch and Spanish settled on the Costa del Sol, Morocco and Holland, who were dedicated to the introduction of large quantities of hashish by pleasure craft from the Moroccan coast to Spain. Investigators found out that the group had intended to transport a large quantity of the drug until a marina on the island of Mallorca, but due to technical problems, they decided to divert its route to Sotogrande. Responsible for transporting the drug from Tangiers, aboard the yacht 'Sea Pilot' with a Dutch flag and 11 meters in length, were arrested RB and R.G.F. Departed from the port of Cadiz in the early months and 18 days the researchers found the boat and its occupants on his return to Spain, which established a monitoring device. Days later showed how one of the crew, of Dutch nationality, got inside the boat three containers of 25 liters of gasoline each and introduced into a vehicle. The next day, accompanied by another of the crew, of Dominican nationality, returned back to the boat and took it another five containers of fuel. At that time both were arrested because the gasoline containers were filled with hashish pills. In the records of the other boat were recovered Hashish twenty-six drums that contained, with a gross weight of approximately 600 kilograms.
Registration of the home of R.B. were found three revolvers and two carbines, abundant ammunition for the 22 and 9 mm, a ski mask and two tablets of hashish.

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40 year old man who was seriously injured when attacked with a baseball bat

40 year old man who was seriously injured when attacked with a baseball bat while taking a walk on the El Postuguet beach in the city, has died in the Alicante General Hospital.The emergency services were called to the scene of the aggression at 7,15am on Wednesday morning.

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Costa del Sol real estate scam 200 Brits affected

Several searches of real estate companies were carried out in Fuengirola and Mijas yesterday in connection with an alleged fraud which is thought to have affected hundreds of British citizens.The scam consisted in offering investment in what turned out to be false construction projects on the Costa del Sol, according to La Opinión de Málaga this morning.One Briton affected by this made a complaint to the British courts and they have sent a commission to the Costa to investigate. The British judiciary gave the information to the National Court in Spain, which in turn passed it on to the courts in Fuengirola.The swoops yesterday, in both homes and businesses, were carried out by the Central Operations Unit of the Guardia Civil, and it’s thought that several people will now face charges.Meanwhile in what is described as a parallel operation, the Anti-corruption Prosecutor ordered searches of two ‘little known’ lawyers in Mijas. The investigation is into allegations of money laundering, not thought to be linked to the real estate scam.
The scam consisted of offering investments in real estate projects on the Costa via companies in financial havens, with the value of the supposed projects, many of them rural, multiplied in some cases tenfold. Many of the contacts were made over the Internet. The total amount defrauded as none of the projects came to fruition is some 65 million €. The case is being instructed in court two in Fuengirola and started to be investigated by the authorities two years ago.The Spanish anti-corruption prosecutor has been working closely with the British authorities on the case, and sent several officers to the U.K. to interview nine victims there.Two people were arrested by the Guardia Civil on Tuesday as searches were carried out in businesses and homes in Fuengirola and Mijas on Tuesday and Wednesday. The judge has called 20 people of different nationalities to give evidence in the case as investigations continue.

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Arrested for trying to con his parents out of €30,000

young man from Murcia has been arrested for trying to con his parents out of €30,000 euros in ransom money by pretending to have been kidnapped. It seems that the man was detained after police traced a call he had made to his parents to inform them of the time and place they were to leave the money, and to let them know that the kidnappers had instructed him to collect it personally. When questioned, he admitted that he had wanted the cash to move out of the family home and to another city.

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British 'martial arts experts' are being questioned by police after a foiled kidnap and extortion attempt on an expatriate in Tarifa.

British 'martial arts experts' are being questioned by police after a foiled kidnap and extortion attempt on an expatriate in southern Spain.Shoppers in the resort of Tarifa rescued the British victim as he was being bundled into a jeep by four men outside a supermarket. The suspects were arrested at a roadblock last Thursday on their way to the Strait of Gibraltar.Spanish detectives believe the group, who they describe as 'martial arts experts who belong to a criminal organisation', travelled from the UK on the orders of a criminal paymaster who had been attempting to force the victim to transfer £100,000 into British bank accounts. Spanish police said the victim was 'a law-abiding man' without criminal links, but would not say why he was targeted or release his name. A spokesman for Spain's Civil Guard said: 'The victim had been the object of a campaign of extortion. When he refused, the person demanding the money hired four British men to obtain the cash by kidnapping him.' Investigators said they believed the gang planned to fly back to Britain on Friday after carrying out the kidnap. Details of the four men, aged between 40 and 55, have been passed to British detectives.

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Five bodies have been found inside suitcases in the province of Malaga.

The latest suitcaase murder containing a human skeleton has been found in a dry river bed next to the MA-387 road in Mijas. Pathologists at the Institute of Legal Medicine are analysing the skeleton in an attempt to identify it. Whilst a preliminary examination suggests it is that of a large, middle-aged man who died about one year ago, existing environmental conditions may have delayed or accelerated the putrefaction of the body. Investigators have found what appears to be a bullet hole in the back of the skull and are investigating all disappearances reported up to one year ago. In recent years, no fewer than five bodies have been found inside suitcases in the province of Malaga.

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Depot manager at Movers International, became suspicious about a request to ship furniture from Alicante to Preston

Depot manager at Movers International, based at Red Scar Industrial Estate, became suspicious about a request to ship furniture from Alicante to Preston.
And when Spanish police checked the furniture they discovered £250,000 worth of cannabis destined for the streets of Liverpool.
This week Peter Thomas, 47, of Upper Brassey Street, Birkenhead, who had earlier pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to supply 122 kilograms of the Class C drug, was jailed for three-and-a-half years at Preston Crown Court.
Thomas' conviction follows a joint operation between Lancashire Constabulary's Serious and Organised Crime Unit and the Guardia Civil Police, based in the Alicante area of Spain, which began in June 2006 and was sparked by the depot manager's suspicions.Codenamed Operation Hazel, it targeted the importation of cannabis from Spain into the UK.Preston Crown Court prosecutor Robert Platts said in July 2006 the cannabis resin was seized by the Spanish authorities in Alicante after the manager at Movers International became "highly suspicious'' of a request to ship furniture from Spain to Preston.The cannabis would have been delivered with the furniture to Preston and was then to be delivered to an address in the Liverpool area.As a result of the investigation Thomas was arrested and later charged with conspiracy to supply cannabis.A spokesperson for the Serious and Organised Crime Unit said: "This is another excellent example of Lancashire Constabulary's Serious and Organised Crime Unit disrupting the importation of controlled drugs into the UK .
"We have developed partnerships with colleagues from enforcement agencies on the European mainland and this investigation illustrates how, by working together with the Spanish police, we were able to prevent the supply of the cannabis and disrupt a well developed network."We will continue to work with colleagues across Europe to protect the communities of Lancashire and the United Kingdom from drugs and other highly profitable organised crime."

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Paul Charleston, 45, of Leigh, was taken into custody by Majorcan police, along with another Briton – Donna Marie Messe,

Paul Charleston, 45, of Leigh, was taken into custody by Majorcan police, along with another Briton – Donna Marie Messe, 38, of Seisdon, Staffordshire – a Spaniard and a Canadian.Detectives from the National Police Economic Crime unit carried out the swoop, codenamed Operation Sofia.The four were taken into custody after detectives raided the premises of Onix Office Management in Palma. Police also raided a property in Santa Ponsa on the south-west coast.All four were accused of selling property shares through Onix at six times their real value to 30 victims, mostly British.Mr Charleston was being held in Majorca after appearing before an investigating judge at a closed door hearing. Meese was allowed bail.

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Andrew Alderman,one of the10 most-wanted British criminal suspects hiding in southern Spain handed himself in

Andrew Alderman, who was sentenced to 10 years in jail for indecent assault and the rape of a girl under 16, handed himself over to Britain's Consulate General.He is the fourth person on the "most-wanted" list to be tracked down since it was launched two weeks ago."This is excellent news," said Denise Holt, Ambassador to Spain. "This is another good example of the close cooperation between our two countries."Crimestoppers and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) started Operation Captura on November 6, publicising details of suspects they believed were on the run in the Alicante region.Within 24 hours of its launch, two of those on the list, Anthony Kearney and Donna McCafferty, who are both accused of fraud, had been apprehended.A third suspect, Alan Gordon who was wanted for drug offences, was found in prison in Majorca for separate offences he committed in Spain.
Mick Laurie, Crimestoppers' chief executive, said Alderman had been forced to hand himself because of the publicity the scheme had attracted.
"This is yet another great success for Operation Captura. Due to Alderman's face being so widely circulated, the pressure became all too much and he decided to give himself up," Laurie saidAndrew Alderman, 49, from Maidstone, fled this country before he could be sentenced in August 2006 after being convicted of the rape and indecent assault of a 14-year-old girl.He was placed on a list of top ten Most Wanted criminals on the run in Spain earlier this month in a joint operation launched by Crimestoppers and the Serious Organised Crime Agency and an appeal was made to the British ex-pat community on the Costa Blanca to shop him.
As a result of the pressure put on Alderman he handed himself in to the British consul in Madrid at 10am this morning (Tuesday).He will go in front of a Spanish court in the next two weeks before he is sent back to Kent to be re-sentenced.
A judge at Maidstone Crown Court gave him a ten-year prison sentence in his absence, but he is now facing longer behind bars for trying to cheat justice. It is believed he moved between France and Spain to escape capture.His victim’s mother this afternoon said she was struggling to accept that Alderman was in custody after being told by phone 30 minutes after he gave himself up.She said: “I just couldn’t believe it, I keep taking deep breaths and pinching myself to make sure it is all really happening and that I did actually get that call.“I called my daughter straight away to tell her, she just laughed and cried, and kept laughing and crying, it really hasn’t sunk in yet.“It is amazing news, we are going on holiday next week to Tenerife together for the first time since my daughter told me everything, that will be a brilliant way to celebrate.”She added: “When he is back on British soil – I want to see him sent down. I hate him, I will never feel anything but hate for him.”
Detective Inspector David Berry, who worked on the rape case as part of Kent police’s child protection team, said: “This is a major thing and shows other criminals that our police system does work, and that the world is not a small place anymore, it’s harder to hide from justice.
“Being on the Most Wanted list is a huge pressure on someone, and I think he decided he couldn’t hide from it anymore

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British man laundering some 200,000 € from the sale of heroin daily

38 people have been arrested across Spain of a gang of drug runners who were allegedly distributing heroin from Turkey though a centre in La Cañada Real in Madrid.The arrests were carried out in Oviedo, Gijón, La Felguera in Asturias, Unquera in Cantabria, Arganda del Rey in Madrid, Sevilla and Fuengirola in Andalucía and El Ferrol in Galicia in an operation which was opened in April.13.5 kilos of heroin, 1.8 kilos of cocaine, more than 14 kilos of material to cut the drugs, money, jewellery and other items have all been recovered. Police say the group was laundering some 200,000 € from the sale of the drug daily using a British man to do so. The others arrested are Spanish, Turkish, Pakistani, Bulgarian and Greek.

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Sixteen year old youth was stabbed

sixteen year old youth was stabbed in the early hours of Saturday morning in a street fight on the promenade in Fuengirola. The emergency services received a call at 1.45 a.m. this morning informing them that a young man was lying on the ground with a knife wound which was apparently inflicted during a fight. He was taken to the Costa del Sol hospital in Marbella for treatment.

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Sixteen year old youth stabbed

sixteen year old youth was stabbed in the early hours of Saturday morning in a street fight on the promenade in Fuengirola. The emergency services received a call at 1.45 a.m. this morning informing them that a young man was lying on the ground with a knife wound which was apparently inflicted during a fight. He was taken to the Costa del Sol hospital in Marbella for treatment.

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Ronald O'Dea, 42, and James McDonald, 39, both of Glasgow, and Stephen Brown, 42, Brian Rawlings, 63, and Debra Learmouth, 45 were arrested

Six people arrested in raids on a suspected drug smuggling gang based in Spain.
Police seized 70kg of speed, thought to be destined for sale in Scotland, after stopping a lorry near Oxford. A Spanish police spokeswoman said the arrests - five in Marbella, southern Spain, and Santa Cruz, Tenerife - followed an intelligence operation which lasted months. Cops seized around £84,000 in euros and £6000 in Scottish banknotes in the Spanish raids. They also confiscated two Ferraris, a Hummer, a Porsche, an Audi Q7 4x4, a BMW, three quad bikes, four jet skis and a 30ft boat. Ronald O'Dea, 42, and James McDonald, 39, both of Glasgow, and Stephen Brown, 42, Brian Rawlings, 63, and Debra Learmouth, 45, all from London, were arrested in the raids in Marbella and Santa Cruz. Trucker Gerard Mooney, of Dublin, was arrested in Oxford.

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Fuengirola attempted security van robbery

National Police have arrested six people, four men and two women, from a gang of jewellery thieves who had been acting in Málaga province. The arrests came just as the gang were about to assault a security van in Fuengirola.A police statement that the arrested men were five Argentineans and a Paraguayan and that following two searches a large amount of jewellery had been recovered. The leader of the group has been named with the initials J.F.G. and is known as Joe.The gang has been linked to two violent robberies in Málaga and Torremolinos, but they could later be linked to other incidents. Police investigations were started last September, and it’s thought the gang could also have acted elsewhere in the country. They were professional thieves who planned their operations to the letter.

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Jose Ignacio International arrest warrant has been issued for a terrorist from the Basque separatist group ETA who is believed to be in Ireland.

International arrest warrant has been issued for a terrorist from the Basque separatist group ETA who is believed to be in Ireland. The warrant was put out by a Spanish judge today after Jose Ignacio de Juana Chaos failed to appear at the National Criminal Court in Madrid. De Juana was released from prison this summer after serving 21 years for the murder of 25 people in the 1980s. He was due to answer questions from the Spanish judge over an alleged case of exalting terrorism - which is a criminal offence in Spain.

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Christopher Wiggins, of Apartment Six, Block 10, Mirador de Costalita, Cancelada, Estepona, Malaga

Christopher Wiggins (42)Philip Doo (52), and David Mufford (44) were brought before a special sitting of Clonakilty District Court on Saturday night amid tight security. A force of up to 30 gardaí, including detectives armed with Uzi submachine guns, surrounded the courthouse.The three men, all from Britain, were charged that on November 5th, 2008, on the vessel Dances with Waves , a ship not registered in any country or territory, they had possession of cocaine knowing it was intended to be imported illegally.The offence, which is contrary to Section 34 (2) (4) of the Criminal Justice Drugs Trafficking Act 1994, carries a maximum penalty upon conviction at Circuit Court level of a a fine or seven years in jail or both.
Det Garda Ronan Cowley of the Garda National Drugs Unit gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution in relation to Mr Doo, of Rocklands House, Higher Manor Road, Brixham, Devon, and told the court that Mr Doo did not wish to reply to the charge after caution.Det Garda David Kennedy of the Garda National Drugs Unit gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution in relation to Mr Wiggins, of Apartment Six, Block 10, Mirador de Costalita, Cancelada, Estepona, Malaga.He said Mr Wiggins made no reply to the charge.

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Guardia Civil have broken up a car-theft gang suspected of 17 forced robberies in the La Orotava area

The Guardia Civil have broken up a car-theft gang suspected of 17 forced robberies in the La Orotava area. The four arrested, males of 46, 23, 22 and 21, are charged with break-ins to cars and building sites, as well as other burglaries, especially in La Perdoma. Two were caught in the act of a burglary of building materials from a construction site. The arrests follow months of surveillance.

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Mark Stephens guilty of conspiring to import 7,100 ecstasy pills and 3 kilogrammes of cocaine

Briton was on Wednesday jailed for 25 years and fined €60,000 after a panel of jurors found him guilty of conspiring to import 7,100 ecstasy pills and 3 kilogrammes of cocaine in 2003. After just over 4 hours deliberating, the jurors returned a guilty verdict of 7 votes to 2, announcing Mark Stephens guilty of conspiring to import 7,100 ecstasy pills and 3 kilogrammes of cocaine in 2003.
Defence counsel Joe Brincat asked the judge to take into consideration the fact that the verdict was not a unanimous one and that Mr Stephens had spent about a year in preventive custody in Spain. Gregory Eyre, a key witness in the trial, was arrested on court orders and investigated on perjury charges after saying one thing during the compilation of evidence and another during the jury trial. Last Monday, he said that Mark Stephens was not his supplier but named another person, Andrew Woodhouse.

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Shot two Moroccans in Calle Carretería in Málaga

Police in Málaga have arrested another person in connection with the shooting of two Moroccans in Calle Carretería in Málaga on Tuesday night. Both the victims also face charges. One of the two victims remains in a serious condition in hospital after being shot , while the other has been allowed home. The third arrest is also Moroccan with all three of the men being aged between 26 and 42. Police investigations in the case are ongoing.

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Captain was killed in a fight with one of the crew

crew of a Guardia Civil coastal patrol boat has boarded an Italian merchant vessel - the 'Paxi C', sailing from Alexandria (Egypt) to Gijón anchored off Fisterra since its captain was killed in a fight with one of the crew. They were sent to take charge of the investigation after an SOS message sent at 6.20am by the ship's first officer, who was ordered to drop anchor and prepare to be boarded after explaining what had happened.

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Ferry from Tangiers seven Portuguese have been arrested

Seven Portuguese have been arrested in Tarifa port after they were found to be carrying a total of 4.2 kilos of hashish hidden in their internally.A statement from the Civil Guard said the group were given a scan when they arrived on a ferry from Tangiers yesterday. 600 small pellets of the drug were found in the travellers aged between 18 and 47.

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Gary Dunne,body is being kept under local hygiene laws.

Gary Dunne, 22, was killed by a machete-wielding thug on Spain's Costa del Sol in March 2006. His body is being kept under local hygiene laws. A heartbroken family have won the support of Sports Secretary Andy Burnham in their battle to bring home the body of their murdered son. But Mr Burnham, who has met Gary's parents Stephen and Lesley, told officials in Spain last month: "The return of Gary's body is crucially important to his family." Killer Victor Posse Navas was recently jailed for just nine years after a court heard he was under the influence of drugs.
But Gary's dad Stephen, of Liverpool, said: "Gary is not going to walk in, in nine years and say, 'Hi Dad, fancy a pint?'. Yet his killer will be free by then."
The parents presented a 50,000-strong petition to Downing Street in July.

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Double murder and attempted suicide

Two women have been stabbed to death in Abarán, Murcia. Next to the bodies the police found a seriously injured man who was also suffering from stab wounds to his neck. It appears that the man had tried to commit suicide after presumably killing the women.The Guardia Civil say that the 74 year old Spaniard had a sentimental relationship with one of the women, a 40 year old from Honduras, who spent her time looking after the other, a 75 year old Spanish woman.The alleged aggressor is now in a critical condition in hospital in nearby Cieza. There were no previous reports of domestic violence against him. Local Mayor, Antonio Gómez, said the village was considerably upset by what had happened.

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Robber has died in a shoot out with police in Seville.

Robber has died in a shoot out with police in Seville. It happened at a supermarket in the Nervión area of the city at 8,30pm on Friday night, and a 54 year old off duty police commissioner was also injured in the groin. Witnesses say the two robbers arrived on a moped which they left with the engine running outside the store. The commissioner was shopping inside with his wife and daughter, and realising that a robbery was underway, tried to intervene. He announced his presence only to see the robbers take out and use their weapons.In the following shoot out, one robber was shot twice and has died, while the other made his escape.

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Not guilty.two Romanians and a Moroccan, accused of torturing and killing a German couple in their home in Chilches, Málaga,

Provincial Court in Málaga has found the three men, two Romanians and a Moroccan, accused of torturing and killing a German couple in their home in Chilches, Málaga, not guilty.Inconsistencies in witness statements and the lack of DNA evidence were deciding factors in the verdict.The attack which also saw the theft of 60,000 € and jewellery took place on January 22 2007, and the three accused have been held in prison since then. The group was however found guilty of the theft of a Volkwagan Polo in Granada, and sentenced to 23 months in prison on that charge. Conflicting witness statements as to the presence of that car at the scene of the crime was key to the verdict.

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