Banco Santander SA,hit by worlds largest fraud

The $7.3 billion Fairfield Sentry Fund invested solely with Madoff, taking a cut of 1 percent of assets and 20 percent of gains, which averaged about 11 percent annually in the past 15 years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Fairfield Greenwich is one of at least 15 hedge-fund firms and private banks, including Tremont Holdings Group Inc. and Banco Santander SA, that earned similar fees for sending customers’ cash to the 70-year-old money manager. “It’s mind-boggling that people like Tremont and Fairfield Greenwich had been doing this for so long,” said Brad Alford, who runs Alpha Capital Management LLC in Atlanta, which helps clients choose hedge funds. “It’s the job of these funds of funds to be doing due diligence. That’s why they get paid.” Madoff was arrested Dec. 11 after he allegedly confessed to running a “giant Ponzi scheme” that may have bilked investors of $50 billion. That fraud escaped the notice of Fairfield Greenwich, Tremont and other funds of funds that had at least $17 billion invested with Madoff. Hedge-fund investment adviser Aksia LLC said the managers should have seen “red flags,” such as Madoff’s use of a little-known, three-person auditing firm. Hedge funds that have disclosed holdings with Madoff were due at least $290 million in fees this year, based on reported assets, fees and Bloomberg data. The calculations don’t include fees of as much as 5 percent that clients paid for some funds when they first invested. Madoff didn’t assess fees for his money-management services, getting paid instead through commissions from his brokerage business for trading the stocks in the accounts. Investors ensnared by Madoff include Fred Wilpon, the owner of the New York Mets baseball team, clients of private bankers in Geneva, wealthy Jewish families in New York and Palm Beach, Florida, and institutions including BNP Paribas SA in Paris that loaned investors money to increase their bets. Losses have been reported by a pension fund in Fairfield, Connecticut, New York hospitals and a charity in Salem, Massachusetts.
While Madoff didn’t run a hedge fund, his alleged crime may accelerate investor defections from the $1.5 trillion industry, already hit by its worst losses since at least 1990 and redemptions that may reach $400 billion this year, according to estimates by Morgan Stanley. In a Ponzi scheme, returns to early investors are paid with money from later ones, until there isn’t enough cash to go around. Madoff’s alleged scam unraveled when he received $7 billion in redemption requests that he couldn’t meet. Funds of hedge funds such as Fairfield Greenwich act as middlemen, raising money from investors and farming it out to other managers that they vet. The go-betweens manage 44 percent of hedge-fund assets, according to data compiled by Hedge Fund Research Inc. Their investments lost 19 percent on average through November, a little more than a percentage point more than single-manager funds, the Chicago-based firm says. Institutions including New York State’s $154 billion retirement system and the endowment of Baylor University have been cutting back their investments in funds of funds to save the extra layer of fees -- generally 1 percent of assets and 10 percent of profits -- that they charge on top of the underlying managers’ take. Last year, for the first time, more than half of the hedge-fund assets of the 200 largest U.S. pension plans were invested directly with individual managers, according to data compiled by Pensions & Investments magazine.

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Man driving his car against the traffic at 120 kms/hour with a woman hanging on for dear life on the bonnet.

Police in Marbella could not believe what they saw. A scene more at home in a Quentin Taratino film than on the local N340 road. A man driving his car against the traffic at 120 kms/hour with a woman hanging on for dear life on the bonnet.
It happened at 4am in the morning last Tuesday, but details have only now been released. Diario Sur newspaper reports that witnesses said the driver was zigzagging and appeared to be trying to get the woman to fall from the car bonnet. The police patrol radioed for support in an attempt to block the way of the car which refused to stop to their sirens. After a long chase with the woman hanging on to the windscreen wipers, a second patrol car managed to stop the vehicle. The 31 year old Brazilian woman told the police that the driver, a 34 year old Spaniard, was her boyfriend and that he had been trying to kill her. He has now been arrested accused of attempted murder.

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British pensioners living overseas should be stopped from raking in millions of pounds in winter fuel payments

British pensioners living overseas should be stopped from raking in millions of pounds in winter fuel payments, campaigners are insisting.Charities and OAP groups will next week protest that more than £10million a year is being paid to those who have escaped the chilly UK and retired to the sun.Some 50,000 elderly Britons who have moved permanently abroad are claiming the yearly allowance, worth between £200 and £300, which is supposed to help with winter heating bills.Campaigners have hit out at winter fuel payments made to those living in sunny climates abroad, while elderly UK residents struggle with rising energy bills
Even those living on Spain's Costas and in Portugal, Greece and some tropical islands are benefiting from taxpayers' money.As long as they register for the allowance in Britain, they are entitled to continue claiming if they move to any of 29 European countries or their overseas territories.Under European law, benefits acquired in one member state must be paid to those who move to another.

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Guardia Civil and the National Police have seized 26,199 kilos of drugs in the Campo de Gibraltar so far this year

The Guardia Civil and the National Police have seized 26,199 kilos of drugs in the Campo de Gibraltar so far this year, compared to the 25,001 kilos seized in 2006 for the same period. More facts: during the first three months of this year they have caught more than the total for 2006; the total street value of the hashish hauls alone amount to €37 million.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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."

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"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.

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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.

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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

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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."

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Equatorial Guinea’s exiled opposition leader, Severo Moto, has been arrested in Spain after allegedly trying to transport illegal weapons

Equatorial Guinea’s exiled opposition leader, Severo Moto, has been arrested in Spain after allegedly trying to send illegal weapons to the oil-rich African nation.
The arrest was the latest twist in a tangled case that has implicated figures such as Mark Thatcher, the son of the former British Prime Minister, and Simon Mann, the Eton-educated mercenary, who is facing trial in Malabo for his alleged role in a failed 2004 coup attempt. Mr Thatcher, who now lives on the Spanish Costa del Sol, was given a suspended jail sentence after he pleaded guilty to unwittingly financing the coup attempt and breaking the anti-mercenary laws of South Africa. The arrest of Mr Moto raises questions about whether a fresh coup attempt was under way.
According to Spanish court sources, he was arrested on Monday on the orders of a judge after weapons were found in the boot of a car in the port of Sagunto, near Valencia, on March 6. Mr Moto has run a self-proclaimed government-in-opposition from Spain, where he has had political asylum since 1986. He was sentenced in absentia to 62 years in prison in Equatorial Guinea for his alleged role in the failed coup against President Teodoro Obiang Nguema. His status as a political refugee was revoked by Spanish authorities in 2005 after they accused him of using the country as a base for several coup attempts against the Government in Equatorial Guinea. The Spanish Supreme Court overturned the ruling on appeal last month, stating that Mr Moto posed no danger to Spain. Mr Moto has denied any role in the attempted overthrow of the Government. Critics have accused the Spanish Socialist Government of being too close to the regime of Mr Obiang, which is considered to have one of the worst human rights records in Africa. The former Spanish colony is the third-largest African oil producer. Equatorial Guinea issued an international arrest warrant for Mr Thatcher last month, accusing him of being a prime instigator behind the plot to overthrow Mr Obiang on behalf of Mr Moto, in return for access to the oil wealth of the country. Mr Thatcher has admitted to paying $275,000 (£128,000) to charter a helicopter used in the coup attempt. He claimed he thought that it would be used for commercial purposes.
The prosecution in Equatorial Guinea said that Mr Mann implicated Mr Thatcher in the plot. It said: “Thatcher knew all about the operation. If we can gather enough evidence we will start a case against him.” Armengol Engonga, the deputy opposition leader in exile of Equatorial Guinea, urged caution yesterday over the arrest of Mr Moto.
“As long as we don’t know what this accusation is based on and the nature of the charges, we cannot say anything,” he told the AFP news agency. Mr Obiang has called parliamentary elections for May 4, about a year earlier than expected. The trial of Mr Mann, who was arrested four years ago, is expected to begin after the vote and could be embarrassing for Britain and Spain as he seeks to show he had official support for his alleged attempt to overthrow the Government.

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Gary Glitter planning to buy a posh pad in Puerto Banus

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National Police officers received a tip off that the group was transferring ‘hashish’ in a van to the United Kingdom

The gang were stopped by National Police officers after they received a tip off that the group was transferring ‘hashish’ in a van to the United Kingdom. According to the National Police, they carried out operation ‘Rostel’ in a bid to stop the gang, after they discovered that there was an organised group based in south-east Spain who had managed to smuggle a large quantity, thought to be about a tonne, of the drug through a Murcian port. They said that they suspected the drugs were bound for the UK and that they expected it to be transferred in vehicles through France and across the Channel. Police discovered a member of the group getting ready to load a van at a villa in Garruchal, where one of the gang’s main members resides and following extensive investigation, they raided a house in the Benijófar area. They arrested three people at the house in Benijófar and found a van outside the house containing 500 kilograms of hashish. Later, following a judicial court order, the National Police raided the house in Garruchal and arrested two more people, as well as seizing a Russian manufactured pistol and removing a luxury car from the property for further investigation.

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Tamboskaya mafia organisation Vladislav Reznik being investigated on the orders of a Spanish judge

Vladislav Reznik, a deputy of Putin's United Russia party and the chairman of the State Duma Financial Markets Committee, is being investigated on the orders of a Spanish judge for alleged links to the Tamboskaya mafia organisation.The gang is accused of a series of serious crimes including murder, kidnap, arms and drugs trafficking, money laundering and racketeering and has been mentioned in connection with match fixing UEFA cup games.A luxury villa belonging to Mr Reznik in the exclusive La Toro resort on the island of Majorca was raided by the Guardia Civil who seized computers, files, and works of art including paintings and sculptures.
Cars, including a Mercedes SL 600, a Toyota SUV and a Renault Clio, were also confiscated from the property, which is reportedly protected by a sophisticated security system.Mr Reznik, who was not at his Spanish home at the time of the raids, is being investigated over his supposed connections with fellow Russian Gennady Petrov, the suspected kingpin of an international crime organisation that allegedly used a network of Spanish registered companies to launder money earned through illicit activities.Petrov, who also has a property on the Balearic Island, was arrested in June along with more than a dozen others as part of the ongoing Operation Troika, led by Spanish Judge Balthasar Garzon.It has emerged that Mr Reznik, who declared earnings of $47m in 2006, bought his Majorcan villa – named Casa Artemis – from Petrov several years ago and the pair were regular seen together on the island.According to local sources, Mr Reznik was a well known member of the island's Russian billionaire elite and regularly attended services at Majorca's Russian Orthodox Church and played alongside Petrov in golf tournaments held exclusively for Russian visitors at the local club.It is thought that Judge Garzon is seeking an international arrest warrant for Mr Reznik but is being thwarted by his immunity as a Senator of the Russian state.

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Guardia Civil is currently investigating the discovery of a body, in an advanced stage of decomposition, in waters close to sa Foradada

Guardia Civil is currently investigating the discovery of a body, in an advanced stage of decomposition, in waters close to sa Foradada, between Deya and Soller. The body was found by a fisherman who, upon making a closer inspection of a large object he had seen floating in the water, realised that it was a human corpse and immediately called the emergency services. Units from the Guardia Civil, Maritime Rescue and Red Cross all took part in the recovery operation, which lasted some hours. Initial identification has been made even more difficult due to the fact that the body is so badly decomposed. In fact, at this stage, it is not even possible to say whether the body is that of a male or female.The corpse was taken to the Port of Soller where it was examined by judiciary and a forensic doctor. It had clearly been immersed in the sea for a long time and the Guardia Civil are presently consulting their missing persons records. The corpse has been taken to Palma where an autopsy is to be carried out

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SIX Americans arrested in Torrevieja for possession of cocaine

SIX arrested in Torrevieja for possession of cocaine and for allegedly being part of a narcotics ring.According to the police, all those arrested are American and aged between 30 and 40 years. They said that the gang ringleader, known as M.V.C, had been arrested previously in 2001 for the same drug related activities. The investigation into the Americans’ activities began three months ago when two properties in Torrevieja were identified as the bases where drug operations were being conducted. When arrested, the police found several amounts of cocaine in packages of various sizes and weights, totalling over 3.5 kilograms. According to reports, it was cocaine of the purest and highest grade and worth a lot of money on the street. Once the ringleader was arrested, police carried out several more raids in the Torrevieja area, subsequently arresting five more people and several more bags of cocaine.

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Six kilos of heroin has been taken off the streets of Alicante

Six kilos of heroin has been taken off the streets of Alicante and it is one of the largest drugs hauls.It occured when a North African man was being tailed from Murcia by the police as a suspect , he was stopped and resisted arrest by dangerous driving . The drugs were discovered in his car .The last major drug bust was in 2006 when more than 20 kilos was found on a boat in Alicante . This came in from Turkey via the so called Balkan route . Heroin is now less popular than cocaine and other synthetic drugs .

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Mayor built a house on non-urban land by claiming it was just a garden shed

Residents have complained that the mayor has built a house on non-urban land by claiming it was just a garden shed. According to the village’s inhabitants, Juan Jose Puchol (PSPV) had a house built of some 40 square metres, which he said was just a storeroom for tools and a DIY room, but then later installed a small bathroom and kitchen. They say the windows of the ground floor are blanked out so passers-by cannot see that it is lived in, and the upper floor windows ‘have sea views’. Properties built on land classified as ‘rural’ or ‘rustic’ must not be residential, meaning that planning permission is not available. In this respect, residents claim the mayor’s house was built without the correct legal licence. But the mayor says the council’s architects gave the green light to the construction. Residents have also complained that the mayor has ‘illegally’ built a property in the mountains nearby. They say he did so using an existing ruin and a renovation licence, but that in practice, the building is completely new and none of the existing walls has been used in the construction. According to the mayor, ‘it was just the restoration of an old farmhouse’.

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David George Hartley, 41, from Mansfield, Notts, was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment for murder

David George Hartley, 41, from Mansfield, Notts, was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment for the murder in June, 2002, of Danish holidaymaker Paul Pedersen.
He was also sentenced to a further two years imprisonment for stealing 200 euros - then worth about £135 - from his victim after strangling him.Hartley denied the charges.The written sentence was published at the Barcelona provincial court today following Hartley's conviction by a jury of nine at the end of a five-day trial last month.Hartley met Pedersen at a campsite near Barcelona airport in June, 2002. They became friends and shared the same tent, the court heard.
"Witnesses from the campsite said they were always together," says the written sentence.On the night of June 23, the jury heard during the trial, Hartley attacked the Dane while he slept. He was strangled and 200 euros were stolen from his pocket. Hartley fled, first to Benidorm and then back to Britain.
He was arrested in Nottinghamshire in the autumn and extradited to Spain two years later. The court heard when the trial opened that Hartley had been in custody for nearly six years.
The written judgement says that the jury found it had been proved that Hartley had grabbed his tent mate's neck in a stranglehold fully aware that he was likely to kill him.The jury had also believed the testimonies of two British witnesses who said that Hartley had told them about the killing.Former girlfriend Anne Trout said that Hartley, whom the court heard was a drug user and habitual drinker, had told her he believed he had strangled a man in Spain, but was not sure.
Alan Burns told the court how Hartley confessed to him over a drink in a bar in Benidorm. Weeping, Hartley said he had strangled a man at a campsite after "an indecent suggestion" was made, Mr. Burns said.When the trial opened Hartley denied killing Pedersen and stealing his money. But he refused to testify.His defence lawyer said there was no evidence to prove the allegations and asked the jury to acquit Hartley.

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The Latin Kings are the best-known among the Hispanic youth gangs that have formed in Spain among the immigrants from its former colonies.

They call themselves kings and queens. They rule over streets they have named the Inca, Aztec or Hispanic kingdom. They believe in God, honour and brotherhood. And whoever breaks the code of silence, does so at his own risk. The Latin Kings are the best-known among the Hispanic youth gangs that have formed in Spain among the immigrants from its former colonies. Gradually, Spanish police experts are beginning to understand the mentality of the street gangs born or based on models in poor and crime-infested neighbourhoods in the Americas. The Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation was initially formed to help and defend Latin American immigrants in the Chicago area of the United States in the 1940s. Its members later became involved in violent crimes. The Spanish branch of the Latin Kings was launched in 2000 by the young Ecuadorian Eric Velastegui, known as King Wolverine, who is now serving a prison sentence for rape. US leaders of the Latin Kings visiting Spain, however, have downplayed the group's violent reputation, and evidence from the north-eastern region of Catalonia suggests that such gangs have the potential of being transformed into constructive social forces. The Latin Kings' big rival in Spain are the Netas, a gang founded in the prisons of Puerto Rico in the 1970s. Other gangs include Dominican Don't Play (DDP), many of whose members come from the Dominican Republic. The Madrid DDP has begun to sell drugs and acquired firearms, the daily El Pais reported. Recently, evidence has even emerged of the presence in Catalonia of the Mara Salvatrucha and the Mara 18, Central American groups known for their extreme violence. In the Madrid region alone, the number of gang members tripled in three years to about 1,300 by 2007, police estimated. Nearly 300 of them were regarded as violent. The main gangs, which are present in several cities across Spain, are hierarchically structured, tribe-like organizations. They are characterized by mystical symbols, an ethos of religiosity and machoism, and an ideology of defending the Latin American identity against an environment perceived as racist and hostile.
The Latin Kings, for instance, wear rap-style clothes and black-and-gold bead necklaces. Their symbol of a five-point crown represents respect, honesty, unity, knowledge and love. The gangs tend to place women in a secondary role, with the Latin Kings as the only one to have a female section. Many of the gangs have a double nature, with leisure activities such as football alternating with robberies or extortion which new members can be ordered to commit as a kind of initiation rite. Dozens of gang members have been detained on charges ranging from kidnappings and threats to attacks and killings. Most of the violence takes place between rival gangs, but former members have also told courts about the beatings faced by those who break the internal rules. "We were told to pay 1,200 euros (1,700 dollars), or we'd be burned alive," two girls who had tried to leave the Latin Kings told a Madrid judge. The growth of the gangs is based on the rapid increase of Latin American immigration to Spain. The overall number of immigrants has soared from 1.8 per cent of the Spanish population in 1990 to more than 10 per cent. The largest groups include 420,000 Ecuadorians and 260,000 Colombians. "Immigrants never see their children, because they work 23 hours a day. The kids are on the street, in search of a (new) family," King Mission, a US representative of the Latin Kings, explained during a visit to Spain. Gangs like the Latin Kings also give a sense of purpose and self-esteem to youths who may come from neighbourhoods riddled with gang violence in their own countries, grew up without their parents who emigrated before them, and who are now struggling with the difficulties of adapting to a foreign culture. In 2007, Latin street gangs did not commit any killings in Spain for the first time in several years. The decline was attributed to police crackdowns and, in some regions, to attempts to integrate the gangs into Spanish society.
While the conservative Madrid authorities outlawed the Latin Kings in 2007, liberal Catalonia took the opposite approach, giving them the status of a cultural association.
Representatives of the Latin Kings and Netas even visited the regional parliament, explaining to legislators that they were planning to make joint musical recordings to bury their hostilities. International experts on street gangs have hailed Catalonia's ground-breaking approach, but it has not entirely eradicated inter-gang violence.

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Spanish police has seized seven tons of marijuana and detained five people in recent crackdowns in the southern province of Andalucia

Spanish police has seized seven tons of marijuana and detained five people in recent crackdowns in the southern province of Andalucia, provincial commissary Jose Maria Deira said Tuesday."The drug, coming from Morocco, is very pure, which has a market value of 10 million euros (about 14 million U.S. dollars),"Deira said, "it is the biggest volume seized in Andalucia this year."Deria said the marijuana was captured on two ships respectively, one ton in Cadiz on Sept. 21, and the other six tons in San Lucar de Barrameda a day later."It took several days to report the seizure because the police was trying to make more arrests and seizures," police authorities said.Deira added that all the detainees were Spanish and they would face judicial punishment.Spain is one of the main arrival points in Europe of cocaine from South America and marijuana from Africa.

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Body of a woman has been found floating on a beach of La Manga del Mar Menor in Murcia.

Body of a woman has been found floating on a beach of La Manga del Mar Menor in Murcia.Lifesavers found the body of the woman on the Galúa beach around 5pm last night and alerted the Guardia Civil. There are no details about her possible identity or nationality as yet.It comes after the body of another woman was found on Monday floating in swimming pool in a water park, also in La Manga.

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new police team is to be established in Spain which will pursue foreign criminals

new police team is to be established in Spain which will pursue foreign criminals. The decision to set up the new squad has been taken following what is described as the ‘social alarm’ which has been caused by several violent thefts and other actions carried out by foreign gangs across the country.Violent foreign criminals and re-offenders now face deportation to their countries of origin, as do those who take part in the ever increasing numbers of domestic violence.The new police squad will be called The Expulsions Brigade for Foreign Criminals BEDEX and will start operation in the autumn.
News of the new force was given yesterday by the Secretary of State for Security, Antonio Camacho, speaking to the Interior Commission in Congress.

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Three men who were shot and wounded in Marbella in Spain

Irishman is among three men who were shot and wounded in Marbella in Spain, it has emerged.Police responded to reports of an assault with a firearm in the Avenida del Prado area at 11.40pm , the Spanish newspaper El Pais reported.The three, aged 39, 45 and 73, were taken to the Hospital Costa del Sol in Malaga, the paper said.
One of the men, aged 45, has already been discharged and the older man was expected to leave hospital today.The third man, aged 39, suffered a gunshot wound to the shoulder. El Pais said the reasons for the attack were not yet known.

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As Ireland's gang war escalates, the coastal resorts of Spain have become home to dozens of Irish criminals who are on the run

As Ireland's gang war escalates, the coastal resorts of Spain have become home to dozens of Irish criminals who are on the run from Ireland for fear of their lives. Peter 'Fatso' Mitchell and John 'The Coach' Traynor are both living in Spain, and just last month Mitchell was shot outside a pub in what is believed to be a botched execution attempt. He was shot twice in the shoulder in the popular tourist resort of Puerto Banus.
John 'The Mexican' McKeown also set up home in the Spanish resort, but after vanishing in December 2006 he is feared dead. John Gilligan, who is now jailed, also has links to Alicante in Spain, where his daughter had run a pub called The Judge's Chambers. In 2003, Shane Coates and Stephen Sugg, both believed to be Westies thugs, fled to the area following a shoot-out with gardai in Co Cavan.
However, the pair are reported to have fallen out with a rival drug dealer and were executed in January 2004.

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Liverpool victim resident in Marbella for some years wounded in Banus Shooting.

Police and forensic experts inspect the scene of the shooting in Puerto Banús last night

The victim was said by witnesses to be a man in his 30's from Liverpool who has been resident in Marbella for some years. A man in his 30’s, first reported to be Eastern European by some sources, but now considered to be British by most media, has been injured in a shooting incident in a cafeteria in Puerto Banús, Marbella. At least five shots were fired in the port at 7,30pm last night, according to emergency service sources, with four of the shots hitting the man in the face after a first shot to the knee. He is reported to be seriously injured. Witnesses described the victim as a tall and athletic blonde man, and say he is British, from Liverpool, and has been living in Marbella for several years. They say the shooter, who is also thought to be British, talked to him for some time before opening fire.
Police think that what was the third shooting in the town in less than a month, was a possible settling of criminal scores.

The man was shot as he left a cafeteria in Calle Ramón Areces, to walk to his car, a dark blue British registered BMW which he had left illegally parked with the windows open.

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Justice isn't the sentence. Justice is having our Gary home Steve and Lee Dunne want to get his body repatriated so they can hold a family funeral.

Gary Dunne, 22, from West Derby, was attacked with a machete near Torremolinos in March 2006.
His killer, Victor Posse Navas, was jailed for nine years by a judge in Malaga earlier this month. Mr Dunne's parents Steve and Lee Dunne want to get his body repatriated so they can hold a family funeral. But Spanish authorities have said the body needs cremating for hygiene reasons before it can be transported. Mr and Mrs Dunne have already handed petitions into Downing Street and have asked Arlene McCarthy, MEP for the north-west of England, for help. Now they are taking their case to the European Court of Human Rights. Mr Dunne, builder and father-of-one, was stabbed when he and a friend were attacked at Benalmadena on the Costa del Sol. He was taken to hospital but later died of his injuries. Navas, a 24-year-old drug addict, admitted slashing him without provocation but told the court he did not remember very much about the attack. After he was sentenced, Mrs Dunne said: "Justice isn't the sentence. Justice is having our Gary home."

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Body of 96-year-old Severino Basalo Cid, a convicted serial arsonist, was found by fire-fighters

Body of 96-year-old Severino Basalo Cid, a convicted serial arsonist, was found by fire-fighters at the point of origin of a forest fire that destroyed 0.01 hectares (0.025 acres) of chestnut tree woods near Viana do Bolo (Ourense) last Wednesday afternoon. It appears that Cid's fellow residents had prevented him from setting the fire after spotting him behaving suspiciously earlier in the day, but nobody noticed when he returned to the scene to complete his mission after lunch. The blaze, which was reported shortly after 3pm, was extinguished by 5.45pm by four teams of ground-based fire-fighters supported from the air by one helicopter.
Cid's funeral took place at Viana do Bolo cemetery at 8pm yesterday evening.

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Dismantled a crack and powder cocaine distribution ring operating in parks and neighborhoods in and around the Allapattah area of Miami

multi-agency Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation has successfully disrupted and dismantled a crack and powder cocaine distribution ring operating in parks and neighborhoods in and around the Allapattah area of Miami from August of 2007 until the present. The twenty-one individuals charged, were indicted on August 28, 2008. The indictment charged defendants Pablo Mendez-Trenches, a/k/a "Maka," Felipe Jesus Nunez, a/k/a "Chocolaté," Silvia Maria Zayas, a/k/a "China," Ricardo Terry Domech, a/k/a "Eugenio Arguin," a/k/a "Polopui," a/k/a "Puntilla," Antonio M. Cruz-Ramirez, a/k/a "Tony," Lazaro Soto-Rodriguez, a/k/a "Charlie Chaplin,"Aris Lara Jr., a/k/a "Gordo," Gerardo Pendas-Mechado, a/k/a "Rogelio," a/k/a "Rogelito," Felix Herrera-Cartaya, Belinda Bernal, a/k/a "La Gorda," Sergio Segon, Eduardo Lopez-Hernandez, a/k/a "Rashy," Maximo L. Carriera, Felicia Triana, a/k/a "Comadre," Flor Illiana Torres, a/k/a "Mima," Carlos Albert Pujol, Yajaira Rojas, a/k/a "La Loca," Vivian Guerra, Juan Xique, a/k/a "Juanito," Martina Roman, a/k/a "Amada," and Maritza Garcia-Duartes, with conspiracy to possess crack and/or powder cocaine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 846. In addition, several of the defendants were charged with the distribution of crack and powdered cocaine. Two other defendants, Felipe Jesus Nunez, a/k/a "Chocolaté," and Silvia Maria Zayas, a/k/a "China," are charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of Title United States Code, Section 922(g)(1). If convicted, the defendants face possible sentences ranging from 20 years' to life imprisonment. The defendants will make their initial appearances in federal court on Monday, September 8, 2008.

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Acting on a tip from the DEA, police tracked Edgar Vallejo-Guarin to a luxury hotel in Madrid, police said Friday

Spanish police have arrested a suspected Colombian drug trafficker listed among the most wanted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the police force said in a statement Friday.Acting on a tip from the DEA, police tracked Edgar Vallejo-Guarin to a luxury hotel in Madrid, police said Friday, confirming a U.S. Embassy statement.Vallejo-Guarin, 47, who has a US$5 million reward posted for information leading to his capture, was arrested Thursday, the embassy statement said.Vallejo-Guarin, also known as "Beto el Gitano," has a history of violence, money laundering and corruption, the police statement said.In June 2001 the South District of Florida accused Vallejo-Guarin of being one of the principal sources of Colombian cocaine in the United States between the years 1990-1999, the statement said.Vallejo-Guarin is suspected of having transported many tons of the drug to Florida and Europe, and is also under investigation for possible involvement in several murders, the statement said.
The United States has asked for Vallejo-Guarin's extradition, the embassy statement said, adding that the suspect was using a false identity at the time of his arrest.
The police statement said Vallejo-Guarin had a house in Sant Cugat del Valles, near the northern city of Barcelona, but had been staying at many hotels in Spain and Venezuela to avoid capture.

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complex crime involving a rare and expensive Ferrari that was stolen in Marbella in 1993.

Connecticut police have helped unravel a complex crime involving a rare and expensive Ferrari that was stolen in Spain in 1993.Car smugglers falsified documents and records for the car, valued at between $4 million and $5 million, and sold it to a car enthusiast to Sharon, police said.Troopers from the State Police Motor Vehicle Fraud Task Force started their investigation in to the rare Ferrari 250 PF in June after learning that the car was registered in Connecticut. It turns out, police said, that the Ferrari was reported stolen in Spain in 1993. The original Police report identified the victim from Switzerland.
The car was then smuggled into the United States through New Jersey. It was registered and titled in New Jersey in 1994 with a false Vehicle Identification Number, police said. There were multiple paper sales and transfers over the next several years in New Jersey, police said.The vehicle was ultimately sold to an apparent unsuspecting buyer in Connecticut, who bought the car in New Jersey in 2000 for $550,000.00, police said.The buyer added the Ferrari to a collection of exotic vehicles, police said.According to exotic car enthusiasts, the 1958 Ferrari 250 PF is valued between $4 million and $5 million.Interpol and original owner assisted in the investigation.State Police investigators obtained copies of all Spanish and Swiss documents relating to the stolen Ferrari and they were all translated to English.The original owner from Switzerland never accepted the insurance claim because he believed that the Ferrari was so rare and valuable that it would eventually turn up somewhere in the world intact, police said.State Police Investigators submitted a search and seizure warrant to Superior Court for the subject’s residence in Sharon, where they located the stolen vehicle Thursday. The investigation is continuing.

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Nikki Beach shooting Iranians have been arrested

Two Iranians have been arrested by the UDYCO Organised Crime Unit of the Marbella police, in connection with the shooting seen at Nikki Beach in Marbella last Saturday August 23. Judicial sources told La Opinión de Málaga that neither of the two men actually carried out the shooting. One of the two has now been released after making a statement to the police, while the other is still being held. It’s understood they took part in trouble between a group of Iranians and a group of Britons which broke out in the discotec ahead of the shots being fired. One 42 year old man needed surgery in the Costa del Sol hospital after being shot in both legs

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Graeme Berry, 42, of Millerstone Rise, Kirkby Thore, Penrith, was arrested.

lorry driver has been charged with trying to smuggle drugs into the UK after about 420kg of cannabis resin was found at a British port.The drugs, with a street value of more than £880,000, was discovered by UK Border Agency (UKBA) officers in Plymouth among 20 pallets of foodstuffs.The seizure was made on Tuesday after the vehicle arrived from Santander, Spain.During a search of the vehicle, officers discovered hessian-wrapped drugs hidden among the pallets.Graeme Berry, 42, of Millerstone Rise, Kirkby Thore, Penrith, was arrested.He was later charged with attempting to smuggle the drugs into the UK and was bailed to appear before Plymouth magistrates on September 17.

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Raymond Nevitt, thought to be lying low in Spain, doesn't pay up he'll face nearly 14 years in jail - when police finally get their hands on him.

fraudster on the run since 2006 has been ordered to pay back £1.6m he made through crime.If Raymond Nevitt, thought to be lying low in Spain, doesn't pay up he'll face nearly 14 years in jail - when police finally get their hands on him.
Nevitt, 43, from Whitefield, Bury, vanished on bail after being sentenced to three years and nine months for a complex business fraud involving more than £3.2m.
Now, following a proceeds of crime hearing in his absence in Manchester, Judge Martin Steiger ordered him to pay back £1.6m within six months or face a further decade in jail when police catch up with him.Police hope the prospect of a lengthy sentence will prompt him to return home to face the music. They say if he doesn't he will be forever looking over his shoulder because international arrest warrants have been issued against him.DC Julian King said: "This fraud didn't just affect banks. Dozens of staff lost their jobs as a result of Nevitt's crimes and several small companies also failed as a result of what he did. "The investigation is not closed and we are still keen to hear from anyone who may know where he is."
Nevitt ran a company called Ravelle and a series of associated businesses called PC2Go and Just Printers based in Trafford Park. The con involved getting banks and lending institutions to give out massive loans on the back of fictional business transactions.The court was told he corrupted junior members of staff to go along with the scam.Described as leading a `vulgar and ostentatious' existence, Nevitt spent the money living the high life, entertaining in top restaurants, buying cars and rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous.In 2000 he was featured in a television documentary about the Gumball Rally, giving an interview to presenter Ruby Wax after his white Ferrari somersaulted out of control in Latvia.
With money no object, he paid for the crumpled wreckage to be shipped back where it was paraded in Manchester city centre on a lorry, then parked outside one of his favourite nightspots on Deansgate.

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60 year old father and his 33 year old son have been arrested for drug trafficking in l’Alfàs del Pi

60 year old father and his 33 year old son have been arrested for drug trafficking in l’Alfàs del Pi, after marihuana plants were found in their garden in the El Patró area of the town.Police say they removed 22 of the plants which were between 1.5 and 2.5 metres tall. Two shotguns and a simulated pistol were also removed from the scene.The police were reportedly alerted to the case by neighbours and found a greenhouse covered by green fabric at the scene.

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Police discovered 200 marijuana plants when they searched a rural property just outside Almayate recently

Police discovered 200 marijuana plants when they searched a rural property just outside Almayate recently, and as one plant can be sold for 3,000 euros on the black market, the total haul was probably worth 600,000 euros. Two men have been arrested, one of whom is Spanish. This was one of the largest plantations of marijuana to be found in Málaga province, but top place goes to the discovery last year of 400 plants in the basement of a luxury villa in Marbella. Those plants were being grown in an artificial lake, with heat lamps directed at them to stimulate their growth. Investigators also discovered that the drugs which were allegedly produced there were subject to genetic modificication before being sold, to make them more addictive.

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British man who is allegedly a member of an international drug trafficking network involved in a shooting incident in Ibiza

Officers from Fuengirola's Local Police force have arrested two people who they think were involved in a shooting incident in Ibiza in July last year. The men were travelling on a motorbike which was stopped during a routine check at the Torreblanca roundabout, and although the driver produced documentation in a different name, the police suspected that he is a British man who is allegedly a member of an international drug trafficking network, and who took part in a shoot-out between gangs in San Antonio, Ibiza, last summer. The drug trafficker is wanted by the Guardia Civil in San Antonio and there is also an extradition warrant out on him, issued by Belgium.

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Expat Gangsters visiting or living on the Costas

John `The Coach' Traynor (52)
Traynor strenuously denies allegations that he set up crime reporter Veronica Guerin for her murder.Garda and criminal sources allege that Traynor travels regularly between southern Spain, Amsterdam and Brussels to organise large-scale cannabis deals. Traynor, a former fraudster and associate of `The General', Martin Cahill, is believed to have made and spent a fortune from his involvement in the hash trade between 1994 and October 1996. In a phone interview with this reporter he denied that he had any part in Guerin's death.

Peter Mitchell (33)
Mitchell, from Dublin's north inner city, was alleged during two trials to be a member of the biggest cannabis gang that operated in Ireland in the mid-1990s.
Now based in Fuengirola, Spain, Mitchell is wanted by Gardai in connection with his alleged role in the gang. Mitchell and Traynor are believed to be in regular contact.

George `The Penguin' Mitchell (51)
Ballyfermot-born armed robber-turned-cannabis and ecstasy dealer Mitchell is unlikely ever to return home, as the Gardaí, the British police and the IRA are all keen to speak to him if he returns from Amsterdam, where he allegedly continues to run his hash business.Mitchell, a suspected member of the £30 million Beit art robbery gang led by Martin Cahill in the 1980s, served 18 months in jail since he left Ireland in 1996 after being caught during a robbery of computers in Holland. He is reportedly worth €15.3 million. Mitchell was accused in his absence in a court in London of being the organiser of a botched gangland hit on gangster Tony Brindle, a rival of the infamous Daly crime clan. Sources close to Mitchell have denied he was involved.

Tommy Savage (51)
Savage phoned Garda detectives from Amsterdam four years ago and said he had no part in the shooting dead of ex-INLA man Paddy `Teasy Weasy' McDonald in 1992.
However, because of newspaper reports about his alleged cannabis dealing, he has not returned because he says he would not get a fair trial.Savage, a former member of the Official IRA -- the old paramilitary wing of the Workers' Party -- was sentenced to nine years in Portlaoise for armed robbery in the 1970s. A number of his former colleagues have suffered violent deaths. In 1983 Danny McKeown was shot dead outside a Dublin dole office. Later that year Gerry Hourigan was killed in Ballymun. Michael Crinnion was murdered in Cork in 1995. Savage is believed to be close to George Mitchell.

Mick `The Corporal' Weldon (48)
Gardai have sought Weldon since 1993, when he fled the country as detectives prepared to bring him before the Special Criminal Court. He was found by Gardai with a gun allegedly in his possession.Weldon reportedly has his own plane and pilot's licence, and frequently flies to Colombia and Surinam. It is claimed by Garda sources that the former Irish Army corporal from Swords is one of the biggest cannabis barons in Europe.One criminal who knows Weldon insisted: "Mick is just like one of the lads who does a bit of this and that -- he's not an international gangster."Weldon's whereabouts are uncertain. He was last sighted in the Costa del Sol.

Seamus Ward
Ward was named during a trial two years ago as being a member of the same cannabis gang as Peter Mitchell. Ward, from Walkinstown, Dublin, has been missing since October 1996. Gardai believe he may be in the Costa del Sol, but criminal sources claim he is living in southern England.

Jim McCann
Jim "Just call me the Shamrock Pimpernel" McCann is wanted all over the world for a variety of crimes, and is regarded as a colourful figure in the underworld.
The reformed cannabis smuggler Howard Marks wrote in his autobiography that McCann mixed with unsuspecting IRA men and Hollywood actors like James Coburn during his heyday in the 1980s.McCann, originally from Belfast, in 1971 became the first man in decades to escape from Crumlin Road jail, where he was on remand for petrol-bombing Queen's University.
In the intervening period he linked up with international cannabis dealer Marks, while still trading on his reputation as a revolutionary. In 1977 he was arrested in France for extradition to Germany for allegedly bombing a British Army base in Moenchengladbach. A subsequent case failed, thanks largely to protests by French political radicals. Next he turned up in Naas, when Gardai caught him with nearly £100,000 worth of cannabis. When arrested, he would only say: "My name is Mr Nobody. My address is The World."McCann was later freed by the Garda on a technicality. He was last seen in Argentina.

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Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) has vowed to end its reputation as a villains' bolt hole.

Turkish Cypriot detectives are accustomed to receiving tip-offs from their British counterparts about notorious criminal underworld figures who are heading for the island. Ever since Turkey invaded the north more than 30 years ago, the sun-baked coastline has been a haven for villains happy to exploit the impotence of extradition warrants in an occupied territory.
But as leaders from both the Turkish north and Greek south prepare for next month's talks aimed at uniting the island, the self- proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) has vowed to end its reputation as a villains' bolt hole. Ferdi Soyer, the prime minister, told The Times that Britons seeking sanctuary from justice would be deported. The attempt to improve northern Cyprus's international reputation has been welcomed by the Foreign Office and by British police forces, which believe that 15 fugitives are living there. The authorities have been repeatedly embarrassed by the likes of Kenneth Noye, who laundered proceeds of the the Brink's-Mat robbery, and Sean Lupton, a suspect in the £53million Securitas robbery, both of whom were traced to the island. Mr Soyer issued a warning yesterday to criminals who consider northern Cyprus a haven. Sitting in his Nicosia office beneath a portrait of Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, Mr Soyer said: “To British criminals, I say: ‘Do not think of coming to northern Cyprus'. “Some think that they can save themselves from justice here. They are thinking wrongly. When we receive information from the British about fugitives here we will arrest them and hand them over to Britain. They are not welcome here.” A few miles away, at police headquarters, Commander Mehmet Ozdamar, first assistant to the TRNC police commander, echoed that sentiment. “Even though the TRNC is not recognised by any government and has no extradition treaty with Britain, we have identified and arrested criminals who have fled here and sent them back. There's no safe haven for criminals here.”
The words are no idle threat. In the past year, two wanted Britons were seized by Turkish Cypriot police, escorted on to flights back to Britain and handed over to Scotland Yard. Peter Roberts, 72, nicknamed “Maggot Pete” for selling diseased poultry, was deported after being spotted working at a car-hire firm. He is now serving a six-year sentence.
Miran Thakrar, 24, was returned to Britain and jailed for 42 years for murdering three men over a cocaine deal in Hertfordshire. Turkish Cypriot police traced him after he boasted in the island's British-style pubs about the shootings. This year Lupton, 47, skipped bail and travelled to the island, where he allegedly tried to launder some of Securitas's missing £32 million in the 45 casinos. The Times established that he had been living in northern Cyprus. When he heard that two Kent detectives were on their way to arrest him he fled across the UN buffer zone and on to Israel. Eight years earlier Noye, now 61, also left his retreat after discovering that diplomatic negotiations would secure his deportation. He was subsequently arrested in Spain. Brian Brendan Wright, the drug baron known as the Milkman because he “always delivered”, took a private jet to Cyprus but fled the island when the authorities realised who he was, having observed that he was moving vast sums of money through their banking system. He was picked up in Spain and jailed last year.
Some suspected criminals, however, are harder to banish. Asil Nadir, who fled to northern Cyprus in 1990 to escape criminal charges after his Polly Peck business empire collapsed, enjoys his freedom because he is a Turkish Cypriot by birth and runs much of the pro-TRNC media. Gary Robb, a suspected drug dealer, has ploughed millions of pounds into an as-yet unfinished building project. The TRNC authorities would prefer him to complete the job before considering his deportation.
Mr Ozdamar is undeterred. He flicks though a file on British criminals as he explains how his officers have testified in the British courts - and how British detectives have returned the favour. Last year a van full of exhibits from Staffordshire arrived in Nicosia to help to secure the conviction of Kemal Kemalzade, a Turkish Cypriot who set fire to his newsagent's business in Stoke-on-Trent in an insurance scam in which a man died. Knowing that he could not be deported from his homeland, he went to northern Cyprus. But judges there agreed to try him and Kemalzade is now serving a ten-year jail sentence in Nicosia. Mr Ozdamar bristles with pride, too, as he explains how intelligence given by his officers to Britain led to the seizure of 350kg of heroin and 13 convictions in British courts.
The Foreign Office, which will not recognise northern Cyprus, welcomed its attempts to clean up its reputation. “We applaud the Turkish Cypriots' determination to ensure that the northern part of Cyprus is not a haven for fugitives from justice,” a spokesman said.

A European Union diplomatic source added: “It is very positive if fugitives are returned from north Cyprus. It seems that the Turkish Cypriot community wants to improve its international reputation and demonstrate its adherence to European standards.

“With a reunification process under way in Cyprus, the Turkish Cypriot community is keen to demonstrate that it takes its international responsibilities seriously.”

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass, the Ulster Unionist and Turkophile who has had a holiday home in northern Cyprus for 24 years - and who has often helped British detectives to trace fugitives there - believes the TRNC should be recognised. “The word has got out among Britain's criminal underworld that the political situation in Cyprus means they can use the loophole in the law to their advantage. It is terribly frustrating for British police forces. But things are changing.” With prospects growing of a political solution to the Cyprus problem - Europe's most intractable dispute - the remaining British fugitives could be forced to flee if EU extradition warrants come into force.
Mr Soyer believes that the TRNC should be allowed to come in from the cold, allowing Cyprus to show the world that Muslim Turks and Christian Greeks can live side by side - to say nothing of the impact that the end of the trade embargo would have on the north's ailing economy.
But Mr Ozdamar raises a hand to block questions about how a peace settlement would affect fugitives still in the north. “There is more and more organised and international crime across the globe. So, police departments all around the world should work together against all types of crimes now. Police are not politicians.”

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42-year-old man was arrested in Málaga yesterday three hours after phoning to warn that a bomb had been placed on a Swiss International Airbus 321

42-year-old man was arrested in Málaga yesterday three hours after phoning to warn that a bomb had been placed on a Swiss International Airbus 321 travelling from from Zurich to Málaga. None of the 141 passengers were injured as they were made to evacuate the plane at Geneva airport using the emergency escape chutes. As a result of the incident, the runway was closed for around ninety minutes, forcing eight other flights to be either cancelled or diverted to Lyon.
The man, who was seized at his home on the Avenida Salvador Allende, has been charged with public disorder

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Murder inquiry after a man was shot dead in Finglas last night.The shooting follows a gun attack in Marbella

Murder inquiry after a man was shot dead in Finglas last night.The shooting follows a gun attack in Marbella in Spain last Thursday night in which Peter Mitchell, a former associate of convicted drug dealer John Gilligan, was shot and injured. Two bystanders were also hurt in the attack.
Two masked raiders armed with handguns burst into a busy pub and opened fire as mourners attended a function following a funeral.Gardai said they singled out their victims in the upstairs of the Jolly Toper bar before shooting them a number of times.The dead man was named locally as Paul Martin.Detectives believe the attackers fled the scene in a dark coloured car driven by a third man who had been waiting on Church Street before making off towards the Finglas Road.Superintendent John Harnett, Finglas Garda station, said a car was later found nearby and is undergoing a technical examination.The two men were rushed to the Mater hospital where Mr Martin, who was in his late 30s, died a short time later.The second man, aged 33, is in a stable condition after undergoing emergency surgery at the Mater.A post-mortem examination is due to be carried out on the dead man at the Dublin City Morgue.
Gardai said one attacker was just over 6ft while the other was just under 6ft.
Both men were slim and wearing dark coloured clothing.Supt Harnett refused to say whether the shooting was linked to drug crime or if the dead man had previous criminal convictions but it is understood the attack was linked to a local gangland dispute.Gardai have received information from people in the pub at the time, he added.“We have received great co-operation so far and we are appealing for anyone with information to contact us,” Supt Harnett said.

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Gangland Warfare hits the Costas Russian mafia and British gangsters, have fought for control of the lucrative drugs trade in southern Spain

Gangland war against Dublin criminal John Gilligan has shifted to Spain’s Costa del Sol. Gardai believe that the attempted murder of a former member of Gilligan’s drugs gang in Andalusia was linked to threats against the crime boss. Peter Mitchell was shot outside a bar on a complex in Puerto Banus, near Marbella.Two other people wounded in the shooting were innocent bystanders from Ireland, says the Republic’s Department of Foreign Affairs. One of the two other victims was a 73-year-old Irishman.Spanish police were waiting yesterday to interview 39-year-old Mitchell, who is expected to make a full recovery from his injuries. Mitchell, who fled to Spain in 1996, had been one of a number of gangsters targeted in a major state operation against the Gilligan gang.Security sources in the Republic last night linked the murder bid on the Spanish coast to a new campaign by rival Irish criminals against Gilligan and his associates.Earlier this month it was revealed that Gilligan was receiving 24-hour protection inside Portlaoise to safeguard him from other prisoners.Rival criminals are angry over his recent interview in Irish pop magazine Hot Press, via a mobile phone. This contributed to a security crackdown, which has affected the operations of other gang leaders inside.A Gardai source said: ‘Up until then, a number of jailed criminals were still able to run their empires from inside. Now they can’t communicate with their teams and they blame Gilligan for that.‘Gilligan was badly beaten up by a young Dublin criminal in front of other inmates. And these rivals are not just prepared to go after him it seems; they have the team and the firepower to hunt down the remaining members of his old gang, most of whom are now in Spain.’In recent years the Irish underworld, alongside the Russian mafia and British gangsters, have fought for control of the lucrative drugs trade in southern Spain.

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Nikki Beach shooting possible links to Peter Mitchell hit.

Police in Spain are investigating if an overnight shooting in Marbella is linked to a gun attack on an Irishman in the Costa del Sol this week.A 42-year-old man and one other person were shot in the early hours of this morning, outside a disco bar.
On Thursday night 39-year-old Peter Mitchell, a former associate of convicted drugs dealer John Gilligan, was shot in a bar in Puerto Banus by a masked gunman.
He remains under guard in hospital in Spain after narrowly surviving the assassination attempt, while two other men caught up in the shooting received minor injuries.

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Shots were fired as fighting broke out at the Nikki Beach disco

Shots were fired as fighting broke out at the Nikki Beach disco, near Marbella, where guests included the British actress Jennifer Metcalfe from the soap opera HollyoaksA 42-year-old man received hospital treatment after being shot in both legs, while the extent of the injuries to the second victim remained unclear. A third was believed to have needed treatment for a cut hand.One witness said: 'It was absolute pandemonium. People ran for their lives. Chairs and bottles were flying all over the place. Some people ran for cover as it all kicked off, and others just dropped to the ground and covered their heads as best they could to protect themselves. 'The minute they realised someone had been shot there was a mass surge for the door, as people tried to get out of the club as quickly as possible.'
It was the second shooting incident in 48 hours in the area. Last Thursday Peter Mitchell, 39, who has connections to the jailed Dublin gangland criminal John Gilligan, survived after being shot outside a bar on a complex in Puerto Banus, near Marbella. Two bystanders, including a 72-year-old Irishman, were also hit after a masked gunman burst into the bar and fired four shots before escaping in a white BMW. Irish police believe the attempted murder of Mitchell is linked to threats against Gilligan inside Ireland's Portlaoise jail. Mitchell fled to Spain after the 1996 murder of the investigative journalist Veronica Guerin

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'Fat' Freddie Thompson, who has been lying low in Spain for the last number of weeks, has returned to his inner city stronghold

'Fat' Freddie Thompson, who has been lying low in Spain for the last number of weeks, has returned to his inner city stronghold, no doubt to organise the next phase of a bloody feud that has already claimed 13 lives.It seems unbelieveable that this drug mastermind, who has so much blood on his hands, has now the temerity to attempt to sue gardai for an alleged security breach. With almost breathtaking affrontery, this criminal would use the law he so despises to protect his life and blame it when it's under threat. What is not being denied is that a security dossier with the names and addresses, car registrations and other details has been stolen by an opportunistic thief from a garda car. Thompson has been made aware that the file could be in the hands of his deadly enemies in the long-running feud. As the violence has escalated, many of Thompson's henchmen, fearful of an assassin's bullet, have sought refuge in some of the more affluent parts of south County Dublin. News of the stolen dossier of course will send shivers up their spine and will further enflame an already tense situation. The idea that this gangster could be contemplating an action against the gardai because of a threat to his own life is beyond a joke and highlights the need for the State to take the gloves off and take on these drug barons. When the Government returns after their summer holidays, they should bring in new laws to deal with these organised criminals. Anti-racketeering laws, like the RICO laws that brought organised crime gangs to their knees in the US, are needed. The Government must realise that Freddie Thompson and his ilk represent a deadly menace to the wellbeing of the State.

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Peter "Fatso" Mitchell and two other men received bullet wounds as they sat drinking beer on the pub terrace near the Costa del Sol

Peter "Fatso" Mitchell and two other men received bullet wounds as they sat drinking beer on the pub terrace near the Costa del Sol resort of Puerto Banus. Four shots were fired by a masked gunman, two of which hit 39-year-old Mitchell in the shoulder and arm. He was last night recovering in hospital. Spanish authorities said his injuries were not life threatening. The shooting happened around 11.40pm on Thursday night outside the El Jardin bar in the Aloha Gardens complex, a popular tourist area in the upmarket residential suburb of Nueva Andalucia. The two other men shot -- aged 45 and 73 -- received flesh wounds to the arm and leg respectively. Both have already been discharged from hospital. Local reports said that the two other victims were Irish nationals. However, Spanish authorities refused to confirm this last night. Spanish authorities said a gunman wearing a balaclava fired the shots after running up to where Mitchell was sitting. He then jumped into a white getaway car, which sped away from the scene and was later discovered abandoned a short distance away. The identities of the other two injured men were unknown last night. However, Spanish officials described them as innocent holidaymakers who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Mitchell, originally from Summerhill in Dublin's north inner city, is a former lieutenant of jailed drug baron John Gilligan. He fled Ireland in 1996 amid the unprecedented garda crackdown following the assassination of journalist Veronica Guerin. Mitchell was a close friend of another Gilligan gang member, Brian Meehan, who is the only man to have been convicted of Guerin's murder.
The Special Criminal Court, which jailed Gilligan for 20 years for drug trafficking, heard evidence that Mitchell was part of a gang which imported vast amounts of cannabis into the country. Detectives believe Mitchell remained heavily involved in drugs rackets after fleeing to Spain. He had also been running the Paparazzi bar in Puerto Banus until it closed earlier this year after failing to secure a music licence. One witness, Sara Lopez (23), said: "I heard four pops like fire crackers and the next minute I heard screaming and looked up to see an old white car racing away from the scene. "A man was lying on the floor of the terrace outside the bar and writhing around in agony with blood coming from his shoulder as the first of the police cars turned up." All three shooting victims were rushed to the Costa del Sol Hospital in nearby Marbella. Spanish police said the elite Malaga-based Anti-Drug and Organised Crime Unit were assisting local officers in the investigation. Recent reports said Mitchell was selling his €1.2m villa in Puerto Banus following the closure of his pub and a falling out with associates. His bar had been frequented by Dublin hitman Paddy Doyle, who was himself shot dead in the nearby Costa del Sol town of Cancelada near Estepona in February. Doyle, who was originally from Dublin, died after he and his friend Gary Hutch were ambushed in his 4x4 outside an apartment complex. Hutch survived the shooting. Nueva Andalucia is a residential area behind the upmarket Puerto Banus port where thousands of Irish and British expats and holidaymakers party every summer alongside multi-million-euro yachts and expensive sports cars. High-profile summer residents include British PR guru Max Clifford. The area is also home to a string of golf courses, a casino and a bullring. But Irish, British and eastern European criminals behind shady drugs deals and prostitution also frequent its bars and restaurants. And the street where Thursday's shooting happened has been the scene of several violent shootings in recent years.

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Convicted drugs smuggler Anthony Cyril Spencer, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire has helped his son Jason Wilson to write Him & Hers Smuggling Vacation.

COMIC book with top tips on drug smuggling from a Midland supercriminal is being circulated at HMP Birmingham.Convicted drugs smuggler Anthony Cyril Spencer, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire has helped his son Jason Wilson to write Him & Hers Smuggling Vacation.Spencer was sentenced to six years in jail for importing cannabis in 2003 and has spent more than 20 years in prison.The book is based on a married Coventry couple who try to smuggle a large cannabis stash from Spain into the UK.
It features crime tips, including the best way to transport cannabis from the sea to dry land and safest way to communicate plans.It also describes in detail how police undertake surveillance operations.Jason said the book has proven a big hit at Winson Green where it is being widely read by inmates.And said he hopes it will be contained in prison libraries in the future.
But last night Birmingham Perry Barr Labour MP, Khalid Mahmood, said he was shocked that prisoners have been allowed to read the book.“I’m absolutely appalled,” he said. “I don’t want to stop former criminals writing about their experiences.“But to actually put information into a book like this which will only increase the criminal knowledge of inmates is highly dangerous.
“Prison authorities should have stopped this from getting into the wrong hands.
“We don’t want our prisons turning into universities of crime.”British police named the 59-year-old Spencer was the ‘most wanted’ criminal in Britain while investigating a multi million pound drugs factory in a remote farmhouse in the Midlands.Spencer fled to Holland in 2000, on suspicion of taking part in the plot to produce amphetamine sulphate and Ecstasy on the farm.And in 2006 he was cleared of killing 37-year-old David Royle, who was shot dead on May 26 2001 in Amsterdam, Holland.It was understood at the time that Spencer’s plea of self-defence was accepted – he was shot in the chest during the incident.
Jason, 37, who previously worked as an animator at Birmingham’s Custard Factory, said friends and relatives of Winson Green inmates have sent them copies of the book.
He said: “It’s selling incredibly well and is very popular in Winson Green
“I’m really glad about that, as that’s the audience I wanted to reach, since dad’s spent over 20 years of his life in prison.
“Also, the project started as a prison comic.
“It went from wing to wing in dad’s jail in Spain.“Now we’re getting great feedback from Winson Green. They say it’s ‘F***ing brilliant.’
“My ambition is to get loads of them into prison libraries around the country.”
Spencer, who now lives in Ireland and helps convicts receive legal representation, is also pleased his former inmates are able to read the book and believes it could prove very useful for them.He said: “I’m really glad this is proving to be a big hit with all my old pals in jail.“I wanted to make sure all the technical information was spot on, otherwise the book would have had no credibility.
“We’ve put the kind of authentic criminal detail into the comic that you’ll never get in crime movies
“This comic will be like the bible for inmates. Although it’s also great for youngsters, who can look at the pictures.”
But Jason said he doesn’t want his book to make the criminals look like heroes.He said: “I don’t want to glamourise them, like one of these Guy Richie movies. Criminals are very hard people to envy.
“They have all been to prison. They all have bad backgrounds. They are all dysfunctional.“But they certainly aren’t ignorant or dumb.
“The ones I’ve met through my father are all passionate about crime, and are more intelligent than they are given credit for.“That’s what can make them terrifying.”
Spencer changed his family name from Wilson to avoid police pressure.
And Jason admits being raised by one of the Midland’s most notorious criminals was a traumatic experience.“I didn’t realise what dad did for a living when I was a young kid,” he said. “When dad was in prison when I was seven, I was told that he was going off to college.
“But when I was 10 he was imprisoned for armed robbery, then it was explained to me what had actually happened.“It was a stressful life. With my dad going in and out of prison, the family was in turmoil.“My parents ended up getting divorced, and we moved houses and schools.“When I didn’t know anybody in a new area, that’s really when my passion for drawing took off.”Jason said he now wants his father to steer clear of gangsters.He hopes that crime capers will permanently be replaced by comic capering.“Parents are always meant to worry about their kids,” said Jason. “Instead it’s always been me worrying about dad.“I’d much rather that he was helping me write comic books all the time.“If this one really takes off, hopefully it will keep dad away from all the bad stuff.
“He’s 59 now, and still suffers from infections because of the bullet shrapnel that exploded in his body in Holland, and is still there.“I definitely think it’s time he retired for good.”
It took the two men a couple of years to complete the comic. Jason devised and wrote the story, about a foolish young Midland couple, who stumble into a world of depraved drug smuggling while on holiday.
He then posted pages of script to his father in his Spanish prison cell, who ensured the criminal activities were accurate.
“If dad didn’t know any of the details, he was surrounded by people who did know,” Jason said.Finally, the younger man provided the colourful cartoons.
One of the characters – a grey haired master-criminal – has been sketched to resemble his dad.During the project, over 2,000 letters were sent between father and son.They have always been close.Both West Midlands Police and the Prison Service declined to comment.

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