Colombian and Spanish members of a drug trafficking gang have been arrested in Elche

23 members of a drug trafficking gang have been arrested in Elche. Those arrested are Colombian and Spanish and all residents of Elche and Santa Pola. The police found the drugs hidden in cartons of wine which had been brought to Spain from Colombia on regular drug runs.24 kilos of cocaine, 4.4 kilos of marihuana and a field planted with the drug, and 200 grams of heroin were found in the police operation which started observing the gang some six months ago.The drug runners were a family clan, based in the town, and who had connections to sell in Dolores, Villena and Torrvieja. The alleged head of the group, a woman with the initials M.A.D. remains at large according to some reports.

Sales of holiday homes on the Costa del Sol have plummeted in the last year, down 89 per cent.

Only 2,500 properties for residential tourists have been sold this year |Sales of holiday homes on the Costa del Sol have plummeted in the last year, down 89 per cent. In fact we have to go back 25 years to find figures similar to this year?s thanks to the economic crisis that is affecting not just in Spain, but also the other countries whose citizens once flocked to the Costa del Sol to buy a holiday home.According to the President of the Malaga Builders and Developers Association (ACP)

Jose Oliveira e Costa, Former chief of Spain's BPN bank Banco Portugal de Negocios (BPN) between 1997 and early 2008, was arrested

Jose Oliveira e Costa, Former chief of Spain's BPN bank Banco Portugal de Negocios (BPN) between 1997 and early 2008, was arrested Thursday on charges of suspected tax fraud, money laundering, forgery, abuse of credit and illegal gains. Portuguese judicial authorities have detained the former president of financially troubled small commercial bank BPN on charges including alleged tax fraud and money laundering, local media reported Thursday. The Central Criminal Tribunal in Lisbon sentenced Costa to three months of preventive detention Friday after an eight-hour hearing, the Portuguese daily Diario de Noticias reported. The detention aims to prevent the suspect from escaping and destroying documents that may contain incriminating evidence, the paper said, quoting court officials. The court will decide whether to extend Costa's detention after the three-month period expires, said the report. The government said earlier this month that BPN had suffered losses worth about 700 million euros (880 million U.S. dollars) due to bad management and malpractice. It also decided to nationalize the bank in a bid to prevent a financial crisis chain reaction in Portugal. Following the government's announcement, local media revealed that police had long started investigations into BPN, which is suspected of being involved in money laundering. Portugal's banks have weathered the financial crisis relatively well as they hold no U.S. subprime assets and have relatively conservative lending practices.

Captain of a Spanish fishing trawler arrested off the Co Cork coast has lost a High Court bid to stop his trial on charges alleging obstruction

Captain of a Spanish fishing trawler arrested off the Co Cork coast has lost a High Court bid to stop his trial on charges alleging obstruction of fisheries protection officers by allegedly cutting nets to release the boat's catch into the sea after the vessel was boarded.The case centred on whether the State, in the context of the aims of the EU Common Fisheries Policy, is entitled to prosecute such charges on indictment and to choose a penalty of mandatory forfeiture of a boat's catch and gear.Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill yesterday ruled for trial on indictment and said the sanction chosen was appropriate.Deterrence of future offending was a requirement of the regulation, he noted. He was giving his judgment dismissing proceedings by Augustin Ferradas Martinez aimed at preventing his prosecution before Cork Circuit Criminal Court.The case arose after the MV Playa de Lagos , of which Mr Martinez was master, was arrested by the LE Eithne on May 31st, 2006, after being boarded and inspected.Mr Martinez was initially charged with two summary offences of obstructing a sea fisheries protection officer by "slipping" the nets, inferring the nets were cut to release the catch into the sea. The catch on board was valued at €27,000.
A further charge was later brought under section 11 of the Sea Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006, which may be tried summarily or on indictment. This alleged Mr Martinez contravened an EC regulation in obstructing inspection of his vessel, an offence carrying a penalty of mandatory forfeiture of all fish and gear and a fine of up to €100,000. The State opted for trial on indictment.Mr Justice O'Neill said the principal issue was whether mandatory forfeiture of catch and gear, plus the procedure whereby the charges were brought on indictment, was disproportionate and unconstitutional.He ruled that the Attorney General had discretion whether to try offences summarily or on indictment. The exercise of that discretion was non-reviewable unless bad faith could be shown and this did not arise.
On the proportionality of the penalty of mandatory forfeiture, he said this must be decided against the backdrop of the aims of the common fisheries policy. These made it imperative fisheries protection officers be able to inspect vessels without being frustrated by the kind of conduct alleged against Mr Martinez.

Police operation was mounted to smash an international organised crime ring based on the Costa del Sol

police operation was mounted to smash an international organised crime ring based on the Costa del Sol.300 officers swooped on 21 addresses in Tile Hill, Canley, Stoke, Brandon Marsh and Balsall Common yesterday morning in what police said was an "unprecedented" operation.Twenty people aged between 19 and 64 were arrested and another two are being questioned on the Costa Del Sol in Spain.Tens of thousands of pounds was seized along with a large amount of drugs, believed to be destined for the streets of Coventry and Warwickshire.Police were continuing to search homes across the Coventry area as part of the largest ever crime crack-down the city has ever seen.It began in the early hours yesterday when 320 officers were briefed before embarking on the unprecedented operation.West Midlands Police officers stormed into the homes and businesses ow ned by people suspected of being members of an international organised crime group in Tile Hill, Canley, Stoke, Brandon Marsh and Balsall Common.The 21 people arrested as part of the raid, code named Operation Closedown, were today still being questioned by detectives at police stations across the city.Two further men are being questioned by officers in Spain, while police continue to search two villas in the Costa Del Sol.Tens of thousands of pounds in cash was seized during the raids, along with a "significant" amount of drugs, which are yet to be identified.The raids follow years of investigative work carried out by West Midlands Police and further raids have not been ruled out.Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Mirfield, of West Midlands Police, said:"The arrests are the culmination of a long term investigation into an organised crime g roup trafficking drugs in the Coventry and West Midlands area."It is not just about today, this is about the long term investigation of an organised crime group.

Scam estimated to have netted the gang more than €65 million euros

Judge at Fuengirola court has indicted twenty individuals of different nationalities with conspiring to defraud around 200, mostly British, foreign property investors in a scam estimated to have netted the gang more than €65 million euros. They are accused of selling shares in fictitious construction properties on the Costa del Sol and face charges including fraud, falsifying documents, money-laundering, and tax evasion. Two of the suspects were arrested last Wednesday in a series of raids across Málaga province.

European Commission said Thursday that it is pursuing legal action against Spain over three breaches of European Union (EU) environmental law.

European Commission said Thursday that it is pursuing legal action against Spain over three breaches of European Union (EU) environmental law. Two of the breaches relate to obligations for the treatment of waste water, with more than 400 towns and cities listed as not having water treatment up to EU standard. The third case regards Spain's open-cast coal mining in a protected nature site. Spain will receive final warnings on the three breaches of EU legislation. In the first case, the commission considers that some 343 Spanish towns and cities are discharging urban waste water into already designated sensitive or potentially sensitive areas without appropriate treatment. This constitutes a breach of an EU directive that by the end of 1998 requires that cities of more than 10,000 inhabitants that discharge water into environmentally sensitive areas be equipped with a treatment system that meets the most stringent quality standards. A commission assessment also confirms that six potentially sensitive areas remain to be designated and an area designated as less sensitive in the Cantabria region does not meet the directive's requirements. The commission has therefore decided to send Spain a final warning letter over the case.
In the second case, the issue at stake is the lack of compliance with a separate directive concerning larger towns and cities. Under the directive, urban areas with more than 15,000 inhabitants were required to have adequate waste water collection and treatment systems by the end of 2000. The commission considers59 cities not compliant. A final warning letter has also been sent in the case. A third case concerns a long-term investigation by the commission into several open-cast mining projects in Laciana Valley in the Castilla y Len region. The projects are located inside an important nature site called Alto Sil that is home to the brown bear and the Capercaillie grouse, critically endangered species protected under EU legislation. A first warning letter was sent to Spain in February 2008. After a site inspection, the commission still considers that the mining activities are likely to adversely affect the endangered species and has decided to send a second and final written warning. Spain has two months to respond satisfactorily to the issues. The commission, the executive body of the EU and guardian of its laws, may decide to take the cases to the European Court of Justice if Spain fails to respond within the time limit or if the responses are deemed unsatisfactory.

Spanish and British journalists kidnapped in northern Somalia refused a police escort and arranged for their own security through their translators,

Spanish and British journalists kidnapped in northern Somalia refused a police escort and arranged for their own security through their translators, who are suspected of having abducted them, officials said on Thursday.
Spanish freelance photographer José Cendón and British journalist Colin Freeman, who were working on a report on piracy for Britain's Daily Telegraph, were kidnapped on Wednesday in the port of Bosasso, the capital of the semi-autonomous Somali state of Puntland.
"On arrival, the authorities warned them to take a police escort, but they turned this down and hired their own security from an unknown militia group hired by their translators, who we suspect of being the kidnappers," Puntland Information Minister Abdirahman Mohamed Bankah said in a press conference.
Puntland's authorities "are doing everything possible to obtain information on their whereabouts and taking the necessary measures to free them," Bankah said.
The journalists' driver, Liban Said Omar, told Efe that the two journalists had been in Bosasso for a week working on a story about piracy when they were abducted.
In recent months, pirates from Puntland have become more active, seizing several dozen ships, including the Saudi-owned supertanker MV Sirius Star and the Ukrainian cargo ship Faina, which was carrying arms.
The pirates are still holding the two vessels, along with about 15 other ships, and demanding the payment of ransom.
There are reports that the kidnappers have taken the journalists to a mountainous area north of Bosasso.
Puntland presidential spokesman Bile Mohamoud Qabowsade, meanwhile, said the journalists were in the region illegally.
"They were not here legally because they did not report their identity to police on arrival," Mohamoud Qabowsade told Shabelle Radio.
Mohamoud Qabowsade told Efe on Thursday by telephone that the three translators and facilitators hired by the journalists were behind the kidnapping, but he did not provide any evidence to back up his allegations.
"I have warned journalists who come here that they should not make contact with independent press facilitators because they have links to armed gangs and could kidnap them. If they come here, they should have police escorts," the presidential spokesman said.
Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba said on Thursday in Brussels that Spain and Britain had created a "crisis group" to deal with the journalists' kidnappings.
Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos, meanwhile, said Spain had not yet received any ransom demands from the kidnappers.
The Venezuela-born Cendón has won several awards for his work covering conflicts in sub-Saharan Africa, including the 2007 Oskar Barnack Leica Prize for the story "Fear in the Great Lakes," which took him to psychiatric hospitals in Rwanda, Burundi and Congo.
The 34-year-old Cendón currently works out of Addis Ababa.
The Spanish photojournalist's family is anxiously awaiting word from the kidnappers, Cendón's brother-in-law, Manuel Canedo, told Efe from the northwestern Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela.
"Up to now, we knew wherever he was, he was fine, because every few days he would call or send an e-mail ... but the situation is different now. You don't know anything," Canedo said.
Two other Western journalists are still missing in Somalia, where they were abducted in August along with a Somali cameraman, and they have reportedly been taken to a hideout in the country's southern region by an armed group.
Last December, a Spanish doctor and an Argentine nurse working for Doctors Without Borders were kidnapped in Puntland.
Spanish Dr. Mercedes García and Argentine nurse Pilar Bauza were released in January after $200,000 in ransom, according to Somali officials, was paid.

Advertising on Spanish channels regularly breaks the 12 minute per hour limit fixed by European legislation

The European Commission has decided to take Spain to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg for not taking measures to stop the amount of advertising shown on TV screens here. Advertising on Spanish channels regularly breaks the 12 minute per hour limit fixed by European legislation, often by several minutes.EU Commissioner for the Information Society, Viviane Reding, described the situation in Spain as ‘saturation’, and said that previous EU warnings, starting in July 2007, had been ignored.

Fifth largest real estate company in Spain, Habitat, has filed for bankruptcy protection. Habitat has a reported debt of 2.3 billion €.

fifth largest real estate company in Spain, Habitat, has filed for bankruptcy protection. Habitat has a reported debt of 2.3 billion €.
The company is thought to have over-extended itself when it purchased Ferrovial Inmobiliaria, before the real estate bubble burst, and can no longer sustain such a high level of debt. A statement from the company said the objective was to preserve, in the best way possible, the rights of all the creditors and to proceed to a restructuring of the financial situation, which will allow the continuation of the business.It’s the second largest company failure in Spain, behind only that of the Martinsa-Fadesa last summer. The Tremón Group also declared itself insolvent just over a week ago with a debt of 900 million.Meanwhile another large real estate company, Colonial, has warned that it too could declare itself insolvent. The company is trying to disinvest itself from its investments in FCC, SLF, and Riofisa, otherwise it too says in a statement published today that it will be unable to restructure its debt in the long term.Staying with real estate companies, Metrovacesa has proposed the sale of the HSBC head offices in London for 1 billion €. The operation would mean a loss of 97.9 million for the Spanish firm. Metrovacesa has asked HSBC to consider ‘any refinancing proposal that comes along’.
It comes as, on November 27, Metrovacesa is faced with the refinancing of a 1billion € debt it took on to buy the building.The cabinet on Friday approved as expected the new 11 billion € plan to stimulate the Spanish economy. The plan is intended to create 300,000 jobs, and most of the money, 8 billion €, goes to the local town and city halls.The fall in the Euribor rate which ends November at a monthly rate of 4.35% means that mortgages are to be cheaper for the first time in three years. The number will be confirmed by the Bank of Spain on December 10.
The daily Euribor rate has fallen in just six weeks from 5.512% to 3.951%.Spain has once again recorded the largest increase in the unemployment rate in all of the European Union. The country remains with the highest rate of men out of work, but it is the youngsters who are most affected by the labour market. In October 12.8% of the active population was on the dole, up 4.3% over the year, according to the data from Eurosat.Inflation in Spain has fallen to 2.4% for the harmonized rate, its lowest since August 2007. The fall in November is 1.2%, the largest monthly fall since 2001. Oil prices an foodstuffs led the price reductions. It’s not all good news however, experts are now warning of the very real risk of deflation in Spain.
The number in November is used to set the pensions level for next year and it means the state will have to find 624 million more than forecast for pensioners.
Car sales for November in Spain will be the second worst month of all time, with early data indicating a fall of 48.2% compared to November 2007 at just 64,800 units.
Meanwhile lorry drivers are demonstrating that diesel prices are still 11% more expensive than before the petrol price bubble and they have called on the government to force the oil companies to pass on the lower price of crude.The National Court is investigating the ex Chairman of Real Madrid, Lorenzo Sanz, for an alleged fraudulent sale. He has been called to make a statement on December 3, in a case where he faces charges of money laundering and the falsification of documents.
The National Energy Commission in Spain is proposing a price rise for domestic Natural Gas in the first three months of next year of less than 2 percent. Over tariffs will be up by 2.02%Leader of the opposition, Mariano Rajoy, has said he is to ask for a parliamentary commission to be established to investigate the Lukoil petrol company. The PP leader said he wanted to know who Lukoil are, and what is their past, ahead of their possible purchase of Repsol shares.The European Commission has decided to take Spain to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg for not taking measures to stop the amount of advertising shown on TV screens here. Advertising on Spanish channels regularly breaks the 12 minute per hour limit fixed by European legislation, often by several minutes.

Thousands of Nissan workers took to the streets of Barcelona in protest at the company's plan to lay off 1,680 workers.

Thousands of Nissan workers took to the streets of Barcelona in protest at the company's plan to lay off 1,680 workers. The demonstration, which began at 7pm in the Plaza Urquinaona, passed off without incident as the protesters made their way to regional government headquarters building in the Plaza San Jaume, where they were met by a representative from the Catalan government.The trade unions are calling on regional and national government leaders to intervene directly with the management of the Nissan-Renault alliance to negotiate solutions for the companies' Spanish factories. They also warn that this week's demonstrations may only be "the start of a grave social conflict" if Nissan is allowed to follow through with its plan to cut 1,680 jobs - or 40% of the total workforce - at its Zona Franca and Montcada i Reixac plants with inevitable knock-on effects for components manufacturers and other suppliers.

Three tornados have been filmed off the coast of the mediterranean Island of Mallorca. The eyes of the storms had winds in excess of 100kmh.

Three tornados have been filmed off the coast of the mediterranean Island of Mallorca. The eyes of the storms had winds in excess of 100kmh. Fortunately the twisters remained at sea and no damage was done.

Monzer Al Kassar Prince of Marbella international arms dealer.

June 5, 1990, Monzer Al Kassar and his wife opened an account, number 1964, at the Audi Bank in Switzerland. Al Kassar and his wife used their real names and both signed the documents, highly unusual for a bank account that would later be used in an illegal arms deal. The initial purpose of the account is unknown. The bank records from this account and others would later become evidence used by a Swiss prosecutor to freeze Al Kassar's proceeds from the illegal sale of Polish arms to Croatia and Bosnia. Subsequent events provided the necessary ingredients for an embargo-breaking arms deal: a war, an attempt by the international community to stop it, and a broker able to work around it. Croatia and Slovenia declared themselves independent from Yugoslavia in June 1991. A bloody civil war ensued. The United Nations Security Council voted on September 25, 1991, to impose an arms embargo on Yugoslavia, whose constituent republics were not yet recognized by the international community as independent countries. Bosnia declared its independence in March 1992, which was followed by an even more bloody and complicated civil war. Like many other states, the Swiss Federal Council adopted the arms ban -- U.N. Security Council Resolution number 713 -- on December 18, 1991, making the embargo Swiss law (RS 514.545). This later formed the basis for Swiss legal proceedings against Al Kassar. U.N. embargoes mean nothing unless they are adopted by the legislatures of individual U.N. member states and enforced by their respective legal systems.
Shortly thereafter, a Croatian couple, Snejana and Zeljko Mikulic, holders of an account at Die Erste Bank in Vienna, ordered $2,649,000 in bank transfers to the account of Bassam Abu Sharif, one of Yasser Arafat's closest advisors, at Arab Bank in Geneva. A Die Erste Bank document states that the transfers were for a shipment of sugar, powdered milk and tea to Croatia. A few days later, Sharif began a series of transfers, ultimately totaling $2.3 million, to account number 1964 at Audi Bank, the account belonging to Monzer Al Kassar. In turn, Al Kassar transferred $2,549,135 to the Luxembourg bank account of Cenrex, the Polish state arms company. On March 10, 1992, a Honduras-registered ship, the Nadia, docked at Ceuta, Spain (a Spanish territory in Morocco) for supplies. When port officials examined the cargo documents, they found the papers in order. The 27 containers of arms and ammunition were being sent by Cenrex in Poland to the defense ministry of Yemen. After the ship was allowed to proceed, it headed not to Yemen but to Rijeka, Croatia, where it unloaded. In 1992, Spain arrested Al Kassar on charges of piracy and providing the arms to the Abu Abbas-led PLF terrorists who hijacked the Achille Lauro cruise ship and murdered American Leon Klinghoffer. Western intelligence agencies concluded that Al Kassar flew Abbas to safety aboard one of his private planes after the hijackers surrendered. One prosecution witness, Ahmed Al Assadi, while spending time in Vercelli prison for participating in the hijacking, changed his story and refused to go to Spain to identify Al Kassar as the person who supplied the hijackers' weapons. After Al Kassar's arrest, another accuser, Ismail Jalid, fell to his death from a fifth-story window in Marbella, Spain, in what the coroner called "an alcoholic coma." During the 1995 trial, in a highly publicized standoff with police, a third witness's children were kidnapped by Colombian drug traffickers shortly before he testified. The witness blamed Al Kassar, who denied involvement and stated, "I have nothing to do with the kidnapping and I hope that it is over as soon as possible. Children are sacred for Arabs. No one, not even your worst enemy, deserves this." Al Kassar was later acquitted of all charges. While building the case, Spain requested that Switzerland seize Al Kassar's bank accounts. Swiss officials then opened their own preliminary inquiry into money laundering, lack of vigilance in financial operations, and fraudulent documents and foreign certificates. Following this inquiry, Swiss authorities began to investigate Al Kassar's arms sales using Swiss banks.Questioned on December 9, 1993, by Swiss prosecutors, Al Kassar explained that he was a diplomatic representative of Yemen in Poland and therefore could not answer questions about government-to-government affairs. A search of Al Kassar's Spanish address revealed documents confirming his relationship to the Croatian Zeljko Mikulic and containing the codes used for the ship's contents: "Tea" meant TT pistols (Tula-Tokarev pistols, developed in the U.S.S.R. in the 1930s and subsequently manufactured by other Eastern Bloc countries), and "tea bags" meant bullets. Bassam Abu Sharif was questioned by Swiss officials while passing through Geneva in 1994. He claimed that he had only met Al Kassar once in 1979 and twice thereafter. He explained that he had been asked by the Yemeni government to use his bank account to transfer money for an arms sale organized by the Yemeni ministry of defense to buy arms for Bosnia and Croatia. He said that he learned only later that Al Kassar had organized the sale.

A Determined Swiss Prosecutor Freezes Al Kassar's Millions

Geneva Cantonal prosecutor Laurent Kasper-Answermet upheld his 1992 freeze on $6 million belonging to Al Kassar, arguing that his financial investigation found the funds to have come from criminal activities. The financial side of an arms deal leaves a paper trail, whereas arms hidden in shipping containers, guerilla armies and corrupt government officials leave none. In 1998, a Geneva appeals court upheld the seizure but released $3.7 million not directly linked to the arms deal.

"If Yemen does a deal with Bosnia and Croatia, how can I control it?" asked Al Kassar, dismissing accusations that he is an embargo-busting arms dealer. Under existing legal controls, his question is reasonable. The case is the first of its kind in Switzerland and is expected to set a precedent. The arms did not touch Swiss territory and did not involve Swiss citizens or the country in any way other than through its banking system. Switzerland is not directly affected by the small-arms trade but has an interest in maintaining the respectability of its banking system. Such cases, as well as that of Leonid Minin ,an Israeli citizen arrested in Italy for selling Ukrainian weapons to Liberia and Sierra Leone, are pushing existing legislation in new directions in an attempt to discourage the illegal arms trade. Al Kassar has lost successive court appeals and has one final chance to have his $2.3 million returned in an appeal to a Swiss federal court.

Attempted robbery a supermarket near Antonio Machado Promenade in Malaga

Attempted robbery a supermarket near Antonio Machado Promenade in Malaga, went wrong. Wearing a motorbike helmet, he entered the supermarket, wielding a kitchen knife. He approached the cashier and demanded money but, when she refused, he grabbed the till and ran away with it.As he made his way to a 125cc motorbike, which he had parked at the entrance, the actions of a customer, who blocked his way with a shopping trolley and a supermarket employee who was chasing him, caused him to drop the till and the motorbike keys. Not prepared to leave his motorbike, he hid the number plate with a piece of cardboard and pushed the vehicle up the street.Police later found it parked nearby, together with a wallet containing his identity card. They arrested the owner and have also charged him with two other robberies.

Human skeleton has been found in a dry river bed next to the MA-387 road in Mijas.

|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.

Members of the Chinese community, were told by friends and family to carry a 50-euro note in their hand in order to avoid possible problems with their luggage at the airport.

Instruction Judge, number 13, has denounced 19 Guardia Civil officers for alleged bribery offences. The officers are alleged to have taken money from Malaga airport passengers to speed up or skip the customs process. An Asian passenger has also been accused of paying the officers to allow him to take food through customs.The defendants were all arrested in February, 2006. Some of the officers are charged with allowing the transit of foodstuffs which are banned due to security measures implemented to prevent the spread of foot and mouth disease and bird flu.It has been revealed that some passengers, especially members of the Chinese community, were told by friends and family to carry a 50-euro note in their hand in order to avoid possible problems with their luggage at the airport.

Arrested eleven young men, aged between 16 and 23 years, who assaulted a 25-year-old Moroccan passenger on a bus travelling from Malaga to Torremolinos.

Local Police officers have arrested eleven young men, aged between 16 and 23 years, who assaulted a 25-year-old Moroccan passenger on a bus travelling from Malaga to Torremolinos. When the gang, who have been described as skinheads, wearing jackets emblazoned with nazi emblems and military boots, threatened the victim, he got off the bus at the next stop and started to run, but ten of the eleven young men chased him, assaulted him and attempted to stab him with a pocket knife.Meanwhile, the bus was hijacked by another of the gang members, who threatened the driver and forced him to wait. When the gang re-boarded the bus and it was on its way once again, the gang broke the seals of the emergency hammers and removed them. They also sprayed tear gas inside the bus, forcing passengers to move to the front of the vehicle.
Local Police from Malaga eventually intercepted the bus and, having identified and searched the gang members, took them all into custody.

Monzer al-Kassar argued Wednesday that he was merely helping Spanish intelligence when he explored a deal to sell weapons to Colombian terrorists for use against the United States.

Syrian arms dealer argued Wednesday that he was merely helping Spanish intelligence when he explored a deal to sell weapons to Colombian terrorists for use against the United States.The attorney for Monzer al-Kassar, 62, told a Southern District of New York jury in closing argument that his client never intended to sell weapons to the Colombian rebel group FARC and was only continuing his long history as an intelligence asset to Spain."There is no case here," attorney Ira Sorkin told the jury in Judge Jed Rakoff's courtroom. "This was a sting against an individual in Spain created out of whole cloth by the [Drug Enforcement Administration] using paid informants to get al-Kassar."But prosecutor Brendan McGuire came back in rebuttal to call the defense of aiding Spanish intelligence a "cat-and-mouse claim.""Al-Kassar and Moreno are guilty of all the charges in the indictment," McGuire said. "This is not a close case. The evidence is overwhelming."McGuire and Boyd Johnson, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the Southern District, have spent 2 1/2 weeks trying to prove that al-Kassar and co-defendant Luis Felipe Moreno Godoy, 59, conspired to provide support to foreign terrorists and kill Americans. The pair allegedly agreed to sell millions of dollars in weapons to two undercover informants posing as rebels with the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, or FARC.According to the government, they agreed to arrange the delivery of weapons purchased in Eastern Europe and shipped to Suriname for transport overland to Colombia. The weapons in the alleged deal included anti-aircraft missiles to be used by FARC against U.S. helicopters in Colombia as well as grenade launchers, machine guns and millions of rounds of ammunition.Their cover was a purportedly legitimate sale of arms brokered between Romania and Nicaragua.During the sting, more than $400,000 was wired from New York to Spain as down payment, but no weapons ever changed hands.Al-Kassar has been described by prosecutors as one of the world's most prolific and shadowy arms dealers. The government says that since the 1970s he has provided military equipment to violent factions in Nicaragua, Brazil, Cyprus, Bosnia, Croatia, Somalia, Iran and Iraq.The alleged conspiracy took place between February 2006 and May 2007, and culminated with al-Kassar's arrest in Spain and the arrest of Godoy in Romania on June 7, 2007.The evidence at trial included a tape recording by an informant of a December 2006 meeting in a Beirut hotel room and accounts of three days of meetings in February 2007 with the two purported FARC representatives, Carlos and Luis, at al-Kassar's house in Marbella, Spain. The Marbella meetings were not recorded -- a fact the defense tried to exploit as a hole in the prosecution.The evidence also included conversations between al-Kassar and his high-level contact with Spanish intelligence in the first three months of 2007 and two recorded phone calls on June 7, 2007, the day he was arrested with a briefcase full of incriminating materials.The conversations and the calls were painted by the defense as evidence that al-Kassar was keeping the intelligence officer informed as to the progress of a deal he never intended to complete.But the prosecutors said that testimony and the recordings show al-Kassar was lying to the official because he never mentioned FARC and continued to present the deal as a legitimate one between Romania and Nicaragua."It's about al-Kassar protecting himself," McGuire said Wednesday, adding that the calls were all "about his risk of arrest."Johnson, in his closing on Tuesday, said the "cat-and-mouse" defense, in which the defendants say "they were trying to investigate the informants themselves for Spanish intelligence, is a defense that makes absolutely no sense.""Al-Kassar lied to the very intelligence officer he claims was working on the deal," Johnson said. "They were working for themselves."The motive, Johnson said, was that the two men "were obsessed with the money" -- more than 3 million euros in exchange for providing missiles, rifles, explosives and other material.And the two men, he said, "knew that the weapons were going to be used to shoot down the Apaches, the Hawks" -- U.S. helicopters in Colombia.Sorkin, of Dickstein Shapiro, tried to turn it around in his closing, saying the materials in al-Kassar's briefcase were so extensive that his client must have been planning to turn them over to his intelligence contact on the day he was arrested, for there was no reason he would otherwise be carrying them.The materials included end user certificates for the shipment of materials, correspondence with the Romanian arms maker and a company brochure, photographs of the alleged arsenal, a map showing Suriname and Colombia, and a schematic of the ship that would carry the arms and even a picture of the ship."The government would have you believe he would be running off to show pictures of the ship to the No. 2 FARC guy" in Bucharest, Sorkin said."We know also that this whole thing was developed by the DEA," he said. "It was a sting operation. It wasn't real and, at no time in this case ... did Godoy or Kassar ever say they were out to kill Americans or blow up Americans or harm Americans."Roger Stavis of Gallet, Dreyer & Berkey represents Godoy. In his closing on Tuesday, Stavis said that "al-Kassar was not an informant and Moreno was not an informant doing the bidding of Spanish intelligence -- they were assets. They provided information over the years."By contrast, Stavis said, the government informants were former narcotics traffickers themselves who "were paid millions of dollars over the years" to do the DEA's bidding, including "hundreds of thousands of dollars in this case.""The DEA's investigation of this case was an absolute disgrace," Stavis said. "You can't trust it and if it's the foundation for this prosecution, then their case is crumbling."The two men are charged with money laundering, and four conspiracies: conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization; conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals; conspiracy to kill U.S. officers or employees; and conspiracy to acquire and use an anti-aircraft missile.
If convicted the pair face possible life sentences. After being charged by Judge Rakoff, the jury began its deliberations and had yet to reach a verdict by the end of the day.

Eight years and six months for House Jacking Gang in Alicante

Two members of the violent gang this week began jail sentences of eight years and six months each after admitting armed robbery and kidnap in a plea bargain deal.A third was sentenced to a year and a half in prison by a court in Alicante after being convicted as an accomplice.Two men involved in the April 22 2004 kidnap are still on the run.Mr and Mrs Yarwood were playing cards as they relaxed after dinner at their home in Moraira on Spain's southeastern coast when the gang burst in.The couple were threatened with pistols and a knife and told they would be killed unless they paid 600,000 euros - the equivalent of £400,000 at the time of crime. The pair, from Frodsham, Cheshire, were terrorised overnight and the following morning, Mr Yarwood, 72, a retired electrician was driven to the local bank and told to withdraw all the money in his account.But he wrote a note on the back of a cheque begging for help and the bank manager alerted police who called in a specially-trained kidnap response unit.Speaking of their ordeal at the hands of their Romanian and Spanish kidnappers, Mrs Yarwood who ran a guest house in Cheshire for 27 years, said afterwards: "They terrorised us all night, constantly pointing the guns at us and cocking them."When my husband tried to escape out of the back door they punched him in the face and kicked him repeatedly."I was convinced we were going to die.Her husband added: "I was praying the bank would try and help and I wrote a note on the back of a cheque saying, 'Please give me the money because someone has kidnapped my wife."The gang leader kept saying that if he didn't see the money by the following day I would never see Pat again."

Rafael Gómez Sánchez told the court on Saturday that he has no links to Juan Antonio Roca

The Córdoba builder and businessman, Rafael Gómez Sánchez, known as Sandokán, told the court on Saturday that he has no links to Juan Antonio Roca, the ex Municipal Real Estate Assessor in Marbella. Gómez is implicated himself in the Malaya case, facing charges of bribery, and last week some 410 works of art were found on his premises in Marbella, which investigators think belong to Roca or the businessmen Carlos Sánchez or Andrés Liétor.Sandokán claimed he has collected the artworks so he could face the debts of his Arenal 2000 construction company has with the taxman. He had been paying 1.5 million € a month to Hacienda, but El País reports those payments stopped in September.The raid took place on the outskirts of Cordoba city, in Parque Joyero de Córdoba, where police officers discovered around 410 paintings in warehouses belonging to Rafael Gómez, who known as 'Sandokán' and is the owner of the construction company Arenal 2000. Gómez is involved in the 'Malaya' case and is a partner in Marbella Airways of Juan Antonio Roca, alleged ring leader of the corruption.

80 per cent of money laundering cases uncovered in Europe are linked to the town of Marbella

According to the president of the Malaga Provincial Court, Francisco Javier Arroyo, 80 per cent of money laundering cases uncovered in Europe are linked to the town of Marbella. Speaking at the inauguration of the new term at the Escuela de Seguridad in that municipality, he told the press that the number of cases of money laundering in the town requires judges to “establish greater links with foreign authorities” and demonstrate a level of complete professionalism in their duties. “Money is laundered in places where the benefits are greatest, and because of its services, climate and proximity to Gibraltar, Marbella is seen as an ideal location,” said Arroyo, who called for greater collaboration between authorities to combat corruption. He also explained that since March this year, judges in Marbella have been able to specialise in dealing with this type of corruption, something which does not occur anywhere else in the country.

Anthony Kearney, 43, and his partner Donna McCafferty, were held after an anonymous call from a neighbour.

Anthony Kearney, 43, and his partner Donna McCafferty, were held after an anonymous call from a neighbour.Both are wanted for a string of fraud offences.
Nabbed: Anthony Kearney and his partner Donna McCafferty have been arrested in Spain just hours after Crimestoppers issued the above photographs.They were held in the Costa Blanca town of Benissa, 45 miles north east of Alicante, on Thursday evening.
Kearney was carrying false documents in the name of James Murray, one of nine aliases police knew him to use, when he was detained at 5.30pm.
His partner McCafferty was held two hours later.Armed officers swooped on the town after the Civil Guard received an phone call on Thursday lunchtime.

"It was like a scene from a gangster movie."Darren Coupland, 41, has been arrested over claims that he killed German Oliver Johaht and shot the other

Civil engineer Darren Coupland, 41, has been arrested over claims that he killed German Oliver Johaht and shot the other man in a row over a drug debt.
Johaht, 33, was found bleeding to death in the street outside the Briton's luxury home on the Costa Dorada. Italian Carmelo Mazara had been beaten with an iron bar and shot in the neck but managed to escape to a nearby health clinic, where he was found by police.Coupland was found bleeding heavily at the nearby property business he ran with his wife and sister-in-law in the seaside town near Barcelona.
The married father-of-two from Southend-on-Sea, Essex, had been stabbed in the throat. A police source said: "It was like a scene from a gangster movie."Coupland was taken to hospital where the stab wound was treated and he was arrested. Police are hunting a second Briton who they believe may also be involved.

Spain, has been deemed unsafe by international watchdogs

Spain, has been deemed unsafe by international watchdogs. a car bomb, thought to be the work of terror group ETA, injured 17 people in a university car park in northern Pamplona, a town which attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors to its annual bull-run every year. According to the British Foreign Office, the threat to foreign travellers from terrorism in Spain is high. Since July, there have been at least 11 explosions in well-known tourist towns around the country including Torremolinos, Malaga and Benalmadena. Last week, the quiet medieval streets of Lucerne in Switzerland, one of the safest tourist destinations in the world, witnessed a savage assault on a British man who died of severe head injuries. Meanwhile, the once-peaceful island of Bali is back on high alert exactly six years after terror blasts on a nightclub killed 202 people. Although tourist numbers have recovered reaching an all-time high this year, there are acute fears that the Indonesian island could be targeted by terrorists again when the bombers responsible for the attacks are executed by firing squad in the coming weeks. As peak season in the Caribbean approaches, tourist numbers to the palm-fringed island of Antigua have plummeted since the brutal murder of British honeymoon couple, Catherine and Ben Mullany, in July. The ferocity of the crime, the tenth murder on the island this year, left many questioning the West Indies' reputation as a safe haven for holidays. Two vicious attacks on tourists in the last month have further damaged the region's tranquil image. In an ordeal that lasted more than an hour, a masked man sexually assaulted and robbed two British women a fortnight ago on the tropical island of Tobago. Earlier in the month, a Swedish couple were killed on the island in an apparent robbery. Travellers are being urged to be cautious when renting villas on the island and stay in hotels with tight security measures such as a 24-hour guard. A recent report by the Economist Intelligence Unit revealed that the English-speaking Caribbean, stretching from the Bahamas in the north to Trinidad and Tobago in the south, has one of the highest murder rates in the world, with an average of 30 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants per year. By comparison, the murder rate in Ireland is 1.5 per 100,000. Another part of the world whose image as a dream destination has been shattered in recent weeks is India's most famous tourist hotspot, Goa. The recent rape of a 14-year-old German girl in the beach resort has rocked a country already marred by the rape and murder of British teenager, Scarlet Keeling, at Anjuna beach earlier this year. Police in Goa are also investigating the death of a 65-year-old Australian tourist who was violently killed after complaining of poor service in a restaurant at Calangute.

WANTED Adam Hart, 29, who is suspected of conspiracy to supply cocaine and who escaped arrest in August 2007 as police officers searched his workplace

Adam Hart, 29, who is suspected of conspiracy to supply cocaine and who escaped arrest in August 2007 as police officers searched his workplace

Costa Blanca hideaway for British criminals

Crimestoppers, the UK crimefighting charity, together with the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), issued a new list of ten most wanted British suspects, including their photographs, details of their crimes and their aliases.British and Spanish authorities are targeting the Costa Blanca in southeastern Spain in a bid to round up those notorious villains thought to have fled to the tourist haven which has become a favoured hideaway for British criminals.Law-abiding citizens who recognise those on the list are being urged to ring the dedicated hotline and provide anonymous tip-offs on their whereabouts. Any information deemed useful will be passed on to Spanish police, who will execute the arrest warrants and send the suspects back to Britain to face trail.Bill Hughes, Director General of SOCA, said the campaign, part of Operation Captura, was "delivering a simple message to criminals; you won't escape to the sun, we will find you and bring you back."
The latest appeals include individuals wanted for murder, sex offences, drug trafficking, fraud and kidnap. The initiative follows the success of an earlier operation on the Costa del Sol which led to the arrest of 13 criminals on a list of thirty most wanted. Denise Holt, the British Ambassador to Spain, said: "Both British and Spanish residents on the Costas did a fantastic job in 2006 in helping Crimestoppers track down some notorious criminals. We're appealing for your help again. There are ten new names and faces of dangerous people that you can help put behind bars."

30kg of cocaine with a street value of around €1.3 million euros, was found hidden on board the British-registered 'Venturer'

Two fishermen from Galicia are under arrest in the Falkland Islands after nearly 30kg of cocaine with a street value of around €1.3 million euros, was found hidden on board the British-registered 'Venturer' during a search in Port Stanley harbour last Friday. Three other Spaniards and a Chilean national, who were arrested at the same time, have since been released after questioning. 'Venturer', which is adapted for squid fishing, has a total crew of forty, around half of whom are from Galicia. It had been due to return to Spain some time this week.The identities of the two men that remain in custody have been confirmed as Rogelio CP (41) and Jaime CM (26), both of whom are from Cangas (Pontevedra).

National Police have arrested four people in connection with a local cocaine trafficking gang

The National Police have arrested four people in connection with a local cocaine trafficking gang. They also dismantled a laboratory and recovered half a kilo of the drug, some cash and two cars, one of which had allegedly been used to bring the drug to Elche from Madrid.

Vall de Gallinera, Alicante growing 130 marihuana plants

27 year old man has been arrested for allegedly growing 130 marihuana plants in Vall de Gallinera, Alicante. He was discovered as he was pruning the plants. The Civil Guard said the weight of the uprooted plants was more than 25 kilos.

Paxi C 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.

France's most wanted criminal was arrested in Salou

One of France's most wanted criminals was arrested in Salou last Saturday. Emile F (56) had been on the run since his conviction in 2004 for a kidnapping and murder committed in August 1995 in Jouy en Josas, near Paris, in a feud between rival drug trafficking gangs. In a joint operation involving French police, the man was arrested along with his son, who has since been released on provisional bail after questioning. Both were using false IDs, but were identified using forensic records supplied by the French investigation team.

Trial starts of Monzer al-Kassar, 62, a longtime Spanish resident known as the "prince of Marbella" for his rich lifestyle in the glitzy seaside town

Jury was picked on Monday for a trial of a suspected Syrian arms dealer extradited from Spain on charges of planning to supply arms including surface-to-air missile systems to Colombian rebels.Opening arguments in the trial of Monzer al-Kassar, 62, a longtime Spanish resident known as the "prince of Marbella" for his rich lifestyle in the glitzy seaside town, are due to start on Wednesday.He is accused of planning to sell millions of dollars worth of weapons to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to protect a cocaine-trafficking business and attack U.S. interests.
Kassar, whom U.S. prosecutors call one of the most prolific arms dealers in the world, sat in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Monday as his lawyers and prosecutors picked a jury of twelve from a pool of more than 120 people.He has pleaded not guilty to charges including conspiring to kill American nationals and officers, conspiring to acquire anti-aircraft missiles and providing support to a terrorist organization.Kassar was extradited from Spain in June after Spain received assurances from U.S. authorities he would face neither the death penalty nor a life sentence without chance of parole.He was arrested at the Madrid airport in June 2007 after his U.S. indictment said he knew the FARC kidnapped U.S. citizens to dissuade American efforts to disrupt the cocaine trade.The U.S. government has designated the FARC as a foreign terrorist organization. The rebels have been fighting for socialist revolution since 1964 and have at times run large swathes of Colombia.
At the time of his arrest, prosecutors said Kassar had met with two confidential sources working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration at his home in Marbella and discussed the sale of weapons, including assault and sniper rifles and rocket propelled grenade launchers, to the FARC.Kassar also offered to send 1,000 men to fight with the FARC against U.S. military officers, prosecutors allege.
The U.S. Embassy in Madrid said Kassar has been selling weapons since the 1970s to the Palestinian Liberation Front and clients in Nicaragua, Bosnia, Croatia, Iran, Iraq and Somalia.Questions asked to the jurors included what concerns they had about terrorism, if they had ever heard of the FARC and whether they could give a fair trial to people whose business involved the sale of military weapons.Two other men charged in the same case, Tareq Mousa al Ghazi, 61, of Lebanon and Luis Felipe Moreno Godoy, 59, of Marbella, pleaded innocent in October 2007 to terrorism charges.
They were arrested in Bucharest, Romania but only Moreno Godoy will be prosecuted with Kassar after Ghazi's case was moved to a later date due to medical reasons.

British man, spent an entire night next to the body of his wife

41 year old British man, named with the initials G.P.F. spent an entire night next to the body of his wife after their car came off the windy A-7207 road between Cómpeta and Torrox in heavy rain around midnight. The car fell down a drop of some 70 metres and was completely destroyed. The husband was seriously injured and had to be rescued by the fire service, and taken by helicopter to the district hospital in Torre del Mar.There was another fatality on the roads of the province on Sunday in Casabermeja, where a car carrying three men came off the A45 road close to the first tunnel and crashed into a barrier. The man who died had been sitting in the back of the car, without a seat belt. Two other occupants in the car were only slightly hurt.
Nationally there were 17 deaths on Spain’s roads over the weekend, seven more than seen this weekend last year, with the weather playing its part in many of the accidents.

Mark Lewis has been left in charge of the town hall in San Fulgencio after the mayor, deputy mayor and four senior councillors were arrested

A British expatriate who speaks only a smattering of Spanish has become the "accidental mayor" of a town on Spains Costa Blanca after a wave of corruption arrests. Mark Lewis, 58, has been left in charge of the town hall in San Fulgencio after the mayor, deputy mayor and four senior councillors were all taken into police custody following allegations of real estate corruption. Mr Lewis, who lives in Spain with his wife and daughter, was given the title by default on Wednesday on the grounds that he is one of only two councillors from the ruling coalition not to be arrested.
"Mr Lewis has taken charge of the council on the grounds that he is the fourth deputy mayor. Everyone above him in the pecking order has been arrested," the source added. "Everything is in a state of chaos since these arrests and we are left with someone who speaks only a few words of Spanish," said a source at the town hall.
Mr Lewis refused to comment on his new position except to say: "It's only temporary I hope. I'm sure this will all be sorted out very quickly and everything will return to normal." The town hall was thrown into disarray when deputy mayor Manuel Barrera Garcia, 61, was detained by the National Police on October 20 after a video showed him allegedly accepting a 5000 Euro bribe from a property developer. Socialist mayor Trinidad Martinez, and councillors Juan Antonio Gamuz, Juan Antonio Gonzalez Palenca, Mariano Marti and Fina Reme were arrested on Wednesday lunchtime as the corruption probe widened. Police raided the town hall and seized documents, in a move that mirrors the investigation into the Marbella scandal of March 2006 when the entire planning committee were arrested.
Mr Barrera was allegedly caught on camera saying: "It's better if you give me big bills, they take up less space". He denies any wrongdoing and claims he was set up by political rivals. "I am completely innocent. The video was manipulated to make it look like I accepted a bribe," he said after being released on bail.
The Spanish government have vowed to clamp down on corruption by town officials and rid the nation of its reputation for underhand dealings.

David and Victoria Beckham can't sell their mansion in Madrid dropped the asking price to £3m

David and Victoria Beckham can't sell their mansion in Madrid. The Beckhams have been trying to sell their luxury villa for 17 months but have yet to find a buyer.
The Beckhams' five bedroom villa in Madrid was put on the market last year when they left Spain for the US, according to the Daily Star.Posh and Becks were asking £5m for their property, dubbed 'Casa Beckham', but there have been no offers. As a result they have dropped the asking price to £3m."The house is incredible, but the market is in such a terrible state right now and the Beckhams have had no offers....They're going to have to take a lot less than the original price to have a realistic chance of selling the house," a source told the paper.The Madrid mansion is set in two acres and has an outdoor heated swimming pool, tennis courts, a small football pitch and a play area. The property is located in the suburb of La Moraleja.
The Beckhams paid £4.5m for the villa in May 2005 and spent £500,000 refurbishing it. The home was put up for sale when David signed a £125m contract with football team LA Galaxy."It's a lovely place with lots of charm, beautifully and tastefully decorated," the source continued."But even the super rich have been hit hard by the credit crunch."