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.