Five Moroccan men were arrested at the weekend

Five Moroccan men were arrested at the weekend and are said by the Guardia Civil to have been members of a violent group that has been using pistols in holdups at petrol stations. The arrests took place in Águilas but the crimes cover a wide area. The gang is also said to have created a climate of intimidation amongst other Moroccans. More arrests are expected as investigations continue. Finally, Murcia priests became suspicious at the number of...

Plane carrying 600 kg of hashish crash-landed in rice fields not far from Sevilla

A light-engine aircraft carrying 600 kg of hashish crashed in southern Spain on Thursday, Spanish police said in a report. "A plane carrying 600 kg of hashish packaged in 20 bags crash-landed in rice fields not far from Sevilla," the report read, adding that the plane's pilot and its sole passenger had fled the scene of the crash. Police eventually located and arrested the plane's occupants several kilometers away from the crash site. They have been...

Guardia Civil officers have arrested a 21-year-old man

Guardia Civil officers have arrested a 21-year-old man in Pego on suspicion of drug-peddling. He was reportedly caught red-handed in a street on Sunday with 22 bags of white powder. Police say that his odd behaviour attracted their attention. The powder was tested by forensics and was found to be cocai...

Tangier,Customs services at the port of Tangiers arrested, on Tuesday, two Spaniards

Tangier,Customs services at the port of Tangiers arrested, on Tuesday, two Spaniards and a Moroccan with 72kg of hashish concealed onboard a car registered in Spain.Moroccan with 72kg of hashish concealed onboard a car registered in Spain.In a separate catch, Moroccan authorities also seized some 24Kg of cannabis resin found in the dashboard of a vehicle registered in Spain. On Monday, Moroccan customs apprehended an Iranian-born Spanish national...

bound for southern Spain over 2MT of cannabis resin seized northeast

Nador, Moroccan Royal Navy on Wednesday seized 2,004 kg of cannabis resin, locally known as chira, in the region of Nador (northeast), local authorities said.resin, locally known as chira, in the region of Nador (northeast), local authorities said.The drug was found on board a powerful dinghy that was bound for southern Spain. The dealers managed to flee aboard another dinghy.This brings to 5,724kilos the amount of this drug seized over the past...

Nigerian lady with 46 capsules of cocaine in her stomach

38-year Nigerian lady living in Germany was arrested at the Mohammed V Airport in Casablanca on Monday, with 46 capsules of cocaine in her stomach, a police source told PANA here Tuesday. The lady flew into Casablanca from the Malian capital, Bamako, on her way to Madrid, Spain. On 8 February, two Nigerians and a Ghanaian were arrested at the same airport with capsules of cocaine in the stom...

Street fight that ended in the death of a 16-year-old Venezuelan girl.

Catalan regional police have arrested six Latin American youths in connection with a street fight that ended in the death of a 16-year-old Venezuelan girl. The Catalan police could not say if the 25 youths that took part in the fight early on Sunday morning were members of organised youth gangs. The main suspect of the crime is Alexis Emmanuel C.M, 20, a native of the Dominican Republic. The young man is believed to have stabbed his victim to death....

‘Expats Under Attack,’denounced

ITV programme broadcast on Monday night, ‘Expats Under Attack,’denounced the east european gangs that were targeting Northern Europeans, with a piece to camera of a reformed gang member. The chalk signs left by the gangs outside properties and the brutal violent robberies suffered...

Two drug dealers in custody and a large amount of cocaine confiscated by the officers in pursuit

National Police said in a press release on Monday that the two men, Francisco Javier V.T. and Rubén V.V., were intercepted near Vera last Wednesday night as they were returning from a drug-buying trip to Alicante. They were chased along the motorway, hitting one of the vehicles in pursuit, and throwing part of the drugs out of the car window as they tried to make their escape.125 kilometre police chase along the A-7 motorway last week ended with...

(updated) Brit in shooting incident in Ibiza in which three people were injured has been arrested by police in Amsterdam

English man wanted in connection with a shooting incident in Ibiza in which three people were injured has been arrested by police in Amsterdam.Kevin R is wanted in connection with what is believed to have been a shoot-out between two rival gangs - one British, one Moroccan - over the sale of drugs in certain areas of Sant Antoni.A warrant for his arrest was issued by a judge in Ibiza after he skipped bail.Kevin R. was in the front passenger seat...

15-year-old Guinean girl working as a prostitute in a single’s club

National police squad has detained a 15-year-old Guinean girl in Palma who was found operating as a prostitute in a single’s club in Palma during the early hours of the morning.The police communiqué said that the girl’s mother had reported her having left home on the 29th of last month. The officers who located the 15-year-old were members of a special unit which investigates illegal immigration and the use of false documentation. During an inspection...

Man electrocuted on trying to rob copper from wiring

Man electrocuted on trying to rob copper from wiringA person walking out in the countryside, gathering wild asparagus near Establiments had a gruesome surprise when he came across the body of a 33-year-old man who police believe had been electrocuted whilst he was trying to prize the copper interior layers out of cables at a transformer belonging to the power supply company Gesa. A 15'000 volt charge put an end to his life. Investigators believe...

Channel 4's A Place in the Sun

Hi there,I am a researcher for Channel 4's A Place in the Sun. We are currently producingan hour-long special about buying property in Spain, for transmission in arounda month's time.One story we are interested in covering is that of illegal build, Ley de Costaand land-grab in Spain...

Doyle’s death was the result of rival drugs traffickers

Spanish police are investigating possible links between a massive cocaine seizure along Spain’s southeastern coast, la Costa del Sol, on 5 February 2008 and the murder of Irish drug dealer Patrick Doyle. Authorities arrested eight men, including one Irishman, following the seizure of 115kg of the drug near the location of the murder. Spanish officials say the men in custody may have links to the murder. Officials also believe that Doyle’s death was...

Professional assassination of Dublin Gangster in Estepona

Detectives in Spain probing the murder of a convicted Irish criminal are waiting to quiz two men seen with him at the time of the attack.Investigations are continuing into the killing of 27-year-old Patrick Doyle, who was gunned down in a car in a gangland style ambush on the Costa del Sol. Doyle, from Portland Row in Dublin's north inner city, was shot dead as he travelled in a car in the Cancelada district of Estepona, around 10 miles south of...

WANTED: Scott Coleman Liverpool FC crest tattooed on his right leg

drug fugitive Scott Coleman Coleman, 33, is wanted by Grampian Police for supplying heroin. He was arrested in Aberdeen in 2003 and charged with possession with intent to supply almost 3kg of the drug.Police want the public to help them trace Coleman and nine other fugitives thought to be living in the Costa del Sol region of southern Spain.Details of all 10 men have been posted by Crimestoppers on a “most wanted” website targeting the region.The...

WANTED:David Alfred Andrews,

Radlett man thought to be behind a major drug-trafficking operation David Alfred Andrews, 66, was born in the village and is accused of being behind the importing of cocaine from south America.Crimestoppers and SOCA have issued new appeals for information concerning Andrews and nine other British men thought to be on the run in the Costa del Sol region of Spain. He allegedly conspired to import large amounts of the drug by using corrupt Heathrow...

Mickey Green Wembley Mob Gangster is said to have £10 million in cash buried in hills above Spain's Costa Del Sol

Mickey Green, 62, is said to have £10 million in cash buried in hills above Spain's Costa Del Sol.Greene is said to have fled back to Spain where he owned a villa. One accomplice says he had 1m cash in French francs in a box buried under the villa's flower-bed.The truth is probably somewhere in between these figures.Green during the 90s lead a spectacular life on Spains Costa del Sol with runners arriving from all parts of the world. One who new...

Tara They think I’m on the run and they think it’s hilarious

South Wales TV presenter has solved the mystery of her court no-show – she’s stripping in Spain.Former BBC and Sky News reporter Tara Stout has been on the run in the Spain’s balmy Costa Del Sol since failing to appear in court to face harassment charges.The 36-year-old, originally...

Gas Natural equip an average home to receive piped gas normally costs between 300 and 400 euros

Gas Natural, the company responsible for taking piped gas to our homes, continues its scheme to expand throughout the province of Malaga. Last year another 6,000 new customers were connected to the gas mains after the municipality of Alhaurín el Grande joined the network. Now the firm is focusing on the western Costa del Sol, explained Andrés Membrillo, director general of Gas Natural in Andalucía. In 2008 it is expected that mains gas will reach...

Bottle of fruit juice containing a "high concentration of cocaine"

Health officials in Andalusia on Thursday confirmed that a bottle of fruit juice containing a "high concentration of cocaine" was responsible for the death of a 40-year-old man in his home in Ogíjares, Granada, on 28 January. Juan Carlos Cuadros began vomiting, passed out and died in his sister's arms half an hour after drinking a tropical blend of fruit juices of the Jugo de Noni Tahitian brand that he had apparently bought on the internet. His...

Home jackers arrested in Malaga province

Guardia Civil has broken up a large crime gang on the Costa del Sol today. 19 people have been arrested and another six are implicated in the crimes which where generally violent thefts from homes on the Costa del Sol, together with credit card fraud. Jewellery worth 800,000 € has been recovered together with 100,000 € in cash and computer material.Those detained are 14 Algerians, 6 Spaniards, 4 Moroccans and a Frenchman. Most of the arrests were...

Civil Guard officers suspected of involvement in the theft of almost half a ton of cocaine

Three of the Civil Guard officers suspected of involvement in the theft of almost half a ton of cocaine from Barcelona Port in January 2005 have now been remanded to custody, and it’s understood, according to information from El País newspaper, that another two were released with charges. Also remanded was an ex chief inspector with the National Police. A former Civil Guard who is now a local police officer was granted bail of 3,000 €, the paper...

Drugs runs from Cueta to Estepona

National Police operation against a drug smuggling gang which operated between Ceuta and the Costa del Sol, and which brought large amounts of cannabis into Spain illegally. Central government offices in Ceuta said eleven arrests have taken place in Marbella, Estepona and Ceuta, and that six of them were from the Autonomous City, two from Málaga province, and the remaining three were Moroccan.It has been a joint investigation on both sides of the...

Mattress and bedding shop murder

A 25-year-old woman died has died after being stabbed during a robbery last Thursday evening at the mattress and bedding shop where she worked in the centre of Chiclana, Cádiz province. Police said Dolores Amaya Ramírez died almost instantly but not before she rang her family on her mobile to tell them she had been stabbed. The attacker, who had his face covered, managed to escape. The local council cancelled the carnival parade which was to take...

Coin family clan Two-and-a-half kilos of high-purity cocaine, two pistols and ammunition

The Guardia Civil have arrested a gang of drug traffickers involved in two shooting incidents in Coín. They said the gang was a “family clan” in which the women did the planning and looked after the investments, while the men transported the drugs and settled scores. Operacion Fuensanta, named after the area in Coín where the two shootings took place last November, came to a head on February 13th, when searches carried out in Malaga, Mijas and Fuengirola...

black cocaine is being smuggled to Spain

Increasing amounts of black cocaine are being smuggled to Spain, with police discovering couriers of the drug which is undetectable to sniffer dogs and regular tests, the daily El Mundo reported on Tuesday.Police detained two Romanian women whose bags had inner linings made with the rubber-like substance, press reports said.Flying in from Brazil, the women made a stopover in Portugal, deliberately left their bags at Lisbon airport, and then requested...

Three armed men waved pistols as they attacked a Jewelery Store 'Boutique Tourbillón'in upmarket Puerto Banus

Three armed men waved pistols as they attacked a Jewelery Store 'Boutique Tourbillón'in upmarket Puerto Banus close to Marbella. the home of the superrich. The armed robbers overpowered the security gaurd in a well planned Hiest.They stripped the fitting of jewellery and no one has yet managed to put a figure on the theft1.5 million € worth of top name watches have been stolen from a jewellers in Puerto Banús, Marbella, according to police sources....

Mari Luz’s family are considering legal measures because of the posters showing their daughter and Madeleine

"Mari Luz’s family are considering legal measures because of the posters showing their daughter and MadeleineHUELVA, 17 (EUROPA PRESS) –Mari Luz Cortés’s family today requested the immediate halting of the distribution of posters in Portugal that show their daughter next to Madeleine McCann, they will also study possible legal measures with regard to this. In statements made to journalists after a meeting with Manuel Chaves, Mari’s father, Juan José...

‘Totana is not for sale,’ and ‘Totana is not Marbella,’ La Verdad newspaper said.

Crowds demonstrated in Totana this Saturday, in a protest against planning corruption and its effects on the town. Totana’s Partido Popular Mayor, José Martínez Andreo, was only released on bail at the beginning of February after two months in prison following his arrest in the case, and the ex Mayor, Juan Morales, is waiting to be called for questioning by the Murcia High Court of Justice. Another 12 suspects have been interviewed as part of the...

Amy Fitzpatrick family offer a substantial reward

Amy Fitzpatrick family has announced what is quoted by EFE as a substantial reward for reliable information which could lead to finding the missing teenager. The news came in a statement from Dave Mahon, the partner of Amy’s mother, Audrey, who said all information would be treated...

ex Mayor of Marbella, Pedro Román imprisoned

ex Mayor of Marbella, Pedro Román, has been granted what is known as tempory time in prison, where he is being held on remand in the Malaya and other town planning irregularity cases centred on Marbella. It means that he will only have to sleep in the Alhaurin de la Torre jail from...

Marbella Credit Card theft capital

Most credit cards are stolen in Marbella on the streets, where 62 per cent of them take place, followed by shopping centres, discotheques and bars, which account for 18 per cent of the total. Fewer cards are stolen on public transport, accounting for 12 per cent of the total. Credit...

Graham Hall was arrested on the Costa del Sol, accused of handling nearly £6m worth of cocaine,

Graham Hall was arrested on the Costa del Sol, accused of handling nearly £6m worth of cocaine.Graham Hall, 41, from Wallsend, North Tyneside, was apprehended on Tuesday, just hours after notorious Dublin drugs dealer Paddy Doyle was gunned down on the edge of the resort town of Estepona, west of Marbella.It was not clear last night whether Mr Hall had been released or if he was still being held by police.Spanish murder squad detectives are working...

Columbian sentenced to 9 years imprisonment

Columbian appeared in court last week accused of receiving cocaine cocaine smuggled from abroad. On 7th August 2006, a package addressed to the accused was intercepted at Barajas airport and found to contain a bicycle which had over a kilo of cocaine concealed inside the frame.The package was allowed to be delivered to the man who was arrested when he received it at his home. When removed from the bicycle, the cocaine was found to be 86% pure with...

Kevin J.T, has been sentenced to 9 years imprisonment for smuggling cocaine into Spain

A 37 year-old American national, Kevin J.T, has been sentenced to 9 years imprisonment for smuggling cocaine into Spain. He was arrested at El Altet airport in February 2007 when he arrived on a flight from Bogota, Colombia and a search by customs officers revealed that over 4 kilos of cocaine were concealed in a false compartment of his suitcase. The drug was found to be 86% pure, with a street value of more than 400,000€.The accused is originally...

Nicolas Yeboah, a Ghanaian resident in Spain for attempting to export eighty pellets of cocaine to Spain.

The Greater Accra Regional Tribunal yesterday remanded into prison custody Nicolas Yeboah, a Ghanaian resident in Spain for attempting to export eighty pellets of cocaine to Spain. Yeboah, charged with attempted exportation of narcotic drugs pleaded not guilty. He is to reappear on February 20. The facts as narrated by Mr Asiamah Sampong, a State Attorney were that, on 23 June 2005, Yeboah arrived at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) to board...

Graham Hall, was held with six others following the discovery of the drugs destined for the UK

Guardia Civil have arrested a Tyneside man in a £9.2m cocaine bust on the Costa del Sol.Graham Hall, 41, of Wallsend, was held with six others following the discovery of the drugs destined for the UK.Hall was detained hours after Dublin drugs baron Paddy Doyle was shot dead in Estepona near Marbella.Northumbria Police said they haven’t had any communications with the Spanish authorities over Hall’s arrest but are making further inquiries.Murder squad...

Country's biggest ever investigation into internet fraud

Spanish police arrested 76 people nationwide on Sunday in what is being touted as the country's biggest ever investigation into internet fraud.Investigators reckon some of the suspects made more than €3bn through auction fraud. They would apparently offer expensive goods such as...

Icelandic male in his 30s arrested last week after almost one kilo of a substance

The Spanish police arrested an Icelandic male in his 30s last week after almost one kilo of a substance, allegedly amphetamine, was discovered in the vehicle he was driving in San Fulgencio near Torreviaja in the province of Alicante. According to local police, they found the man...

€130,000 jewellery theft from an hotel in Torremolinos in November 2007, a €350,000 jewellery heist in Jérez de la Frontera, also in November 2007, an

The Guardia Civil have arrested six people, all Italian nationals, after an investigation into a series of jewellery thefts throughout Andalucía‘Operación Duelo’ began in October last year after information was received from the Portuguese authorities relating to the possible involvement of an individual in a number of crimes in that country. An investigation led to the establishment of a connection between this individual and a gang of jewel thieves...

Nigerians trying to smuggle cocaine into Barcelona from Casablanca

Spanish press reported Guardia Civil’s heavily armed organised crime unit yesterday mounted a anti-drugs operation in Palma.A series of raids were mounted simultaneously with a number of drugs swoops carried out across Spain as part of a nationwide operation.armed officers wearing...

Terrorist threat in Southern Spain

"That these people were ready to go into action as terrorists in Spain - that came as a surprise," said Judge Baltasar Garzon, Spain's highest antiterrorism magistrate. "In my opinion, the jihadi threat from Pakistan is the biggest emerging threat we are facing in Europe. Pakistan is an ideological and training hotbed for jihadists, and they are being exported here."Officials say the Barcelona case points to a more serious dynamic: Pakistanis with...

Mari Luz Cortesa :Police have detained a man who attempted to take a seven year old close to Mari Luz family home.

Spanish press are announcing that a man has been detained in El Torrejón close to the disappearance of Mari Luz on suspicion of attempting to take a young girl from the street. The seven year old was leaving her grandmother house when the attempt was made an aunt rushed to help the...

Overseas Property Investments PLC shut down.

Nightmare holiday home company Overseas Property Investments PLC has been shut down.Five investors took the firm to court after paying almost £1million for homes in Cyprus that never materialised.The company, run by John, Rhodri and Daniel Foote, of Swansea, was put into compulsory...

British child drowned in a swimming pool

An eighteen month old baby girl has been found drowned in a swimming pool on the outskirts of Órgiva, after she went missing on Sunday afternoon. The child, reported as British, was discovered in a pool in a neighbouring property five minutes after a family friend contacted the 112 emergency centre to report her missing, EFE reports.The news agency said it happened in the Malcandruna area of Órgiva, and names the child as M.M...

Paddy Doyle shot by Russian Mafia theory ?

According to the Irish press ,Paddy Doyle picked a fight with the son of a Russian mafia boss based on the Costa. Doyle came out best in the fight but paid later with his life. He was cornered and shot close to Estepona. Doyle was in Spain to evade the bloody feud between the Drimnagh-based...

Spanish press reports the attempted abduction of british child

Spanish press reports the attempted abduction of british child on the Costa del Sol. The mother-of-two revealed how the 11-year-old stepped in when an African man tried to lure the two-year-old British holidaymaker into his van with the help of a cat.The housewife, who lives in Marbella, told how after taking photographs from his van, the man in his 30s held the animal out to be stroked.But just as the toddler started to pet the cat, her son Ben...

House burglaries arrests in the Alicante region

The Guardia Civil have arrested a group of seven people in connection with a spate of house burglaries in the Alicante region. The arrests are linked to some 20 thefts carried out in the province, the receipt of stolen property, and the trafficking of firearms. It comes as the last stage of earlier action by the security forces carried out last year which saw a previous 28 people arrested, most of them from Algeria and specialists in violent robberies...

International network which trafficked in stolen luxury cars between Spain and Italy

The Interior Ministry said in a statement that top range cars were stolen in Italy and were sold on in Spain once the Vehicle Identification Numbers had been altered. The first of the ten cars so far traced – altogether valued at 1 million € - was a Porsche tracked to a car dealer in Almería province using GPS technology, and was found to have been sold by two men from Elche in Alicante.Police have uncovered an international network which trafficked...

Large haul of Hash siezed on Marbella beach

Large haul of Hash siezed on Marbella beach by the Guardia Civil 55 bales of Hashish were siezed plus three cars, mobile phones.GPS satellite navigation equipement. The new SIVA radar which operates on the coast has been instrumental in another large drug siezu...

Audrey Fitzpatrick, was questioned by police.

Audrey Fitzpatrick, was questioned by police on Wednesday over an alleged assault last Friday. A neighbour is understood to have reported Audrey Fitzpatrick to police, and the Irish Independent said it relates to a row over loud music, during which the neighbour was allegedly struck...

Hash catch by Spanish Trawler

A trawler fishing off the coast of Mazarrón has brought up almost a ton of cannabis resin in its nets, while trawling at a depth of 70 metres off Cabo Tiñoso on Wednesday.The crew immediately informed the Civil Guard of their find and handed the drugs over to the custody of officers...

Julian Muñoz four years in prison sofar.

ex Mayor of Marbella, Julian Muñoz. He was sentenced to prison for a year at the start of this month for granting a building licence for a ten story building in a green zone, and on Wednesday he was sentenced in Penal Court 7 in Málaga to another year in prison for giving the go-ahead...

Amy Fitzpatrick who has been missing since New Years Day, turns 16 tomorrow and her brother Dean (17) has helped to organise a party for her friends

There have been no positive sightings of the teenager since she went missing. There had been reported sightings of Amy in Wexford but these have been ruled out by Irish Police.THE family of missing Amy Fitzpatrick are holding a 16th birthday party in her honour tomorrow, Amy Fitzpatrick who has been missing since New Years Day, turns 16 tomorrow and her brother Dean (17) has helped to organise a party for her friends.Last night, her stepdfather Dave...

Ann Wills Kayiwa, has been sentenced to 28 years imprisonment

A Ugandan woman, Ann Wills Kayiwa, has been sentenced to 28 years imprisonment after a Mauritian court here found her guilty of importing 625 grammes of heroin, Port-Louis, Mauritius judicial sources told PANA Tuesday.Ms Kayiwa was arrested 1 March 2003, at Plaisance airport, south of the island, with the drug concealed in her genitals.The drug was discovered after she was taken to hospital by the police for an X-r...

American national was arrested Tuesday by Moroccan Customs

An American national was arrested Tuesday by Moroccan cu stoms officers at the port of Tanger (north) with 26 kilogrammes of cannabis, th e government press agency, MAP, reported.Erik B., 29, was arrested after customs officers discovered the drug concealed i n his car's chassis, MAP noted, adding that he was about to board a ferry bound for Algesiras, south of Spain.Charged with "drug trafficking at international level," Eric will be prosecuted...

Mari Luz white ballon demonstration

White balloons were released into the sky in the Plaza de los Niños Bosnios in Huelva on Tuesday, for the safe return of five year old Mari Luz, who went missing in the city on 13th January. Her parents, Juan José Cortés and Irene Suárez, were at the head of a demonstration which...

Clifford Hobbs Tracked down on Spain's "Costa del Crime" sentenced to life

Clifford Hobbs, 47, escaped from a prison van on his way to a court appearance and cost the taxpayer millions while detectives spent the next four years tracking him down to Spain. Hobbs, from Bermondsey, had only stood to serve two or three years in prison for the original crime...

The search for Amy Fitzpatrick is broadened to Tangier

Dave Mahon, the partner of Amy’s mother, Audrey, has travelled to Tangiers with a friend to hand out posters and photos of the teenager. It’s reported that the family has no leads that Amy might be there, but it is easily accessible from the Costa del Sol, just a short ferry ride...

Patrick Doyle shot twice in the head in Estepona

27-year-old Patrick Doyle from Portland Row in Dublin was shot twice in the head, after the car in which he was a passenger came under fire.convicted Dublin drug dealer has been shot dead on the Costa del Sol in Spain.The 4x4 BMW came under fire from another vehicle in the village...

Dublin drug dealer shot dead in Estapona

Patrick Doyle from Portland Row in Dublin s died in a shooting incident in Estepona today. It happened at 2pm in Calle Mejorana in the Bel Air urbanisation in Cancelada, and National Police are still at the scene. first there were unconfirmed reports in the press in Spain that a...

Audrey Fitzpatrick led a candlelit vigil

Audrey Fitzpatrick led a candlelit vigil to mark more than a month since the 15-year-old's disappearance. An emotional Audrey Fitzpatrick (39) was supported by her partner Dave Mahon (36) and a crowd of over 100 ex-pats and locals. Too overcome to speak, she broke down in tears,...

Ex-Polaris World partner faces corruption charges

The Sunday edition of El País newspaper has revealed some of the content of the part of the case summary now lifted from secrecy in investigations in Murcia into the Town Halls of Torre Pacheco and Fuente Álamo. It concerns telephone conversations recorded by court order, where the constructor, Facundo Armero, is heard saying to the Mayor of Torre Pacheco, Daniel García, ‘I want the Torre Pacheco zoning plans approved now.’Armero is one of the 14...

Brazil to the Costa del Sol Brothels

Spanish police have arrested 14 people suspected of running a prostitution ring and human trafficking, authorities said Saturday.The group recruited hundreds of women coming mainly from Brazil. Gang members arranged passports and air tickets to Spain, where the women were persuaded...

Spanish police have broken up a Romanian gang

Spanish police have broken up a gang of Romanian human traffickers who were faking identity documents and credit cards. Twenty-two people have been arrested, the majority of them Romanians, between Valencia and Alicante in southeast Spain. In the past month, police have broken a similar gang involved in prostituting Eastern European women who were brought to Spain on false pretences. The investigation began in 2003, after a Romanian girl claimed...

Bulgarian human trafficking ring "sex slaves."

Bulgarian human trafficking ring that allegedly operated a large prostitution network on Spain's Canary Islands has been dismantled by Spanish and Bulgarian police, the Interior Ministry said Tuesday.Spanish authorities have arrested and charged 33 suspects, including 15 Bulgarians, the country's top police officer, Valentin Petrov, told a news conference.The ring — allegedly led by 35-year-old Bulgarian, who was not identified by name — is suspected...