Brit shootout on Sant Jordi Alfama residential estate in L'Ametlla de Mar

Cataluña regional police believe that some kind of drug-related feud may be behind a shootout on a residential estate in L'Ametlla de Mar (Tarragona) yesterday that left one man dead and two others injured. The incident occurred at a chalet on the calle Rovelló on the Sant Jordi Alfama residential estate at around 4.30pm. One of the protagonists - a 33-year-old German man - was hit four times in the chest and abdomen, and was found already dead in...

485 kilos of heroin has been intercepted by law enforcement officers in Spain.

Three Spaniards and a Turk were arrested in a dramatic swoop by police on a group of drug traffickers at a motorway toll area in Ávila. The drugs were found in the boot of a car as the traffickers were heading towards Valladolid.The group were involved in two different drug importing networks, and police also intercepted a 21.5 kilo highly pure heroin consignment which would have been worth three million € on the open market.So far this year 485...

Costa del Sol, supply has exploded and most homes have been built on borrowed money. The developers have mortgages they’ll never, ever repay.

Spanish banks’ exposure to housebuilding is higher than in the UK, ranging from 25 to 50 per cent of their balance sheets. Some 18 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product is tied up in construction and associated industries. But the real shocker is the number of new homes...

David Mead, 45, of Beckenham, south-east London, Michael Wilks, 34, of Barking, east London, Martin James Veryard, 39, Arrested 500 kilos found

David Mead, 45, of Beckenham, south-east London, Michael Wilks, 34, of Barking, east London, Martin James Veryard, 39, and a Romanian man were arrested in Benijofar and El Garruchal in Murcia. Amanda Goodwin, 48, from Brighton, was arrested after 500 kilos of the drug was found stuffed in compressed blocks in a van at Benijofar, south of Alicante. Armed officers swooped after discovering the haul, which has a street value of £1.5million. Spanish...

British teenager who fell six floors from the corridor walkway of a holiday apartment in Spain was in a "very bad" condition in hospital

British teenager who fell six floors from the corridor walkway of a holiday apartment in Spain was in a "very bad" condition in hospital.The man who fell with her - and who is believed to have been trying to save her - is expected to be released from hospital but 18-year-old Jemma France is thought to be in a much worse condition.Lee Cook, 28, and Miss France were found lying beneath the walkway in a pool of blood by hotel staff at 3am .The pair,...

David and Susan Mills it was like a scene from a horror movie, there was so much blood, then we spotted a body slumped on the stairs next to the lift.

David and Susan Mills were halfway through a week in Majorca and getting ready for a night out when they heard a raised voices from the corridor of their apartment complex, followed by a scream and a thud.Thinking it was drunken youths, the South Shields couple continued getting ready, and it was only when they stepped into the corridor 20 minutes later that they saw blood splattered across the walls and a man lying face down on the stairway."We...

Amanda Goodwin was arrested after 500 kilos of the drug was found stuffed in compressed blocks in a van at Benijofar, south of Alicante

Amanda Goodwin, 48, from Brighton, was arrested after 500 kilos of the drug was found stuffed in compressed blocks in a van at Benijofar, south of Alicante. Armed officers swooped after discovering the haul, which has a street value of £1.5million. Spanish police suspect it came from northern Africa and was destined for the UK via road with two cars driving ahead to look out for police. David Mead, 45, of Beckenham, south-east London, Michael Wilks,...

BEAR ATTACK: 73-year-old man was attacked as he was hunting wild boar with his dog in the Aran region of the Pyrenees mountains

73-year-old man was attacked as he was hunting wild boar with his dog in the Aran region of the Pyrenees mountains on Thursday morning, Spanish media said.The Bear passed within two metres (six feet) of him. He tried to scare it off, but was attacked instead, and finally escaped by firing his rifle into the air, the newspaper El Pais said.He needed stitches in his leg and arm, and was discharged from hospital.Cattle and sheep farmers in the Pyrenees,...

Bulldozers moved in yesterday morning to knock down a number of properties

hamlet of Cho Vito does not meet the requirements of the Ley de Costas, Coastal Law Bulldozers moved in to knock down a number of properties at the fisherman’s hamlet of Cho Vito in Santa Cruz de Tenerife as the homes do not meet the regulations of the Coastal Law.Crowds gathered...

Thousands of Spaniards and foreigners who have homes on the front line of beaches across the country now face losing their properties

United Kingdom and Germany have asked Spain for explanations for what they consider to be abusive expropriations of property owned by their subjects in Spain. Britain has already asked for information from both the Spanish Foreign Minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos, and the Spanish...

Allegations of corruption in San Fulgencio have ended with the arrest of the Chief of the Local Police.

Allegations of corruption in San Fulgencio have ended with the arrest of the Chief of the Local Police.Bernardo Cortijo, who has only been in the post for less than a year after a motion of censure, was detained yesterday in an operation carried out on the orders of the anti-corruption prosecutor and Court number three in Orihuela. It appears that he is linked to the bribery case which has already resulted in the arrest and imprisonment on remand...

Derek Cowan body was found in his flat in Barcelona this month

Derek Cowan body was found in his flat in Barcelona this month. The body of Scottish businessman, Derek Cowan, was found bludgeoned to death in a pool of blood by his German business partner.Derek Cowan had been living in Spain for the past seven years.Detectives investigating the murder want to interview a former business associate, William Madley, who was due to meet with Mr Cowan on October 8, the last day he was seen alive.The Foreign and Commonwealth...

British couple in their 20’s has been given a six month prison sentence in Málaga

British couple in their 20’s has been given a six month prison sentence in Málaga after they were found guilty of insulting and hitting a 42 year old Spanish man, Marco Antonio Nieto, last weekend in Benalmádena. The man had intervened in an argument between the two, asking the woman if she was alright, only to be insulted and kicked by both of them. He suffered a deep gash to his head, a dislocated elbow, and other injuries.The six month prison...

National Police in Alicante have broken up a gang which gave false residency papers and sexually exploited immigrants

National Police in Alicante have broken up a gang which gave false residency papers and sexually exploited immigrants. Most of the victims came from Eastern Europe.There have been eight arrests so far in the case, with most of those arrested also from Eastern Europe, and some of them also in Spain illegally. Their activity was based in Torrevieja were a home has been searched. This was used as a warehouse where stolen goods were kept before being...

Club Class Holidays, based in Fuengirola, is reported to be taking between 3,000 and 30,000 euros to join holiday clubs offering cheap luxury breaks

Club Class Holidays, based in Fuengirola, is reported to be taking between 3,000 and 30,000 euros to join holiday clubs offering cheap luxury breaks which buyers claim fail to materialise.The company, which has links to former timeshare salesman Costa Killer Tony King, uses a training manual that teaches staff how to crudely fool customers.In a sales manual for staff, trainees are told to treat customers “as if they have the intelligence of 10-year-olds”...

Irish-linked drugs distribution network in Spain ordered two pipebomb threats carried out

Irish gangster based in Spain is believed to have ordered two pipebomb threats carried out yesterday. Detectives were last night working on the theory that the pipebombs, which were viable and packed with homemade explosive, were sent as a warning to a man who was allegedly in debt to the gangster.The man does not live at either of the west-Dublin addresses targeted by the attacker.The gangster is originally from the north inner city and is connected...

Jock Barker, had been on the run from Strathclyde Police since 1999 when he disappeared while on bail for drug offences.

Jock Barker, had been on the run from Strathclyde Police since 1999 when he disappeared while on bail for drug offences. British police tracked him down and extradited him back to Scotland so he could be brought to justice.Barker was convicted of dealing cocaine and amphetamines in Scotland. In March 1999, in a massive surveillance operation, undercover police watched as he accepted cocaine in the car park of Wellbeck Golf Club in Troon. He fled...

Irish gangster based in Spain is believed to have ordered two pipebomb threats carried out yesterday.

Irish gangster based in Spain is believed to have ordered two pipebomb threats carried out yesterday. Detectives were last night working on the theory that the pipebombs, which were viable and packed with homemade explosive, were sent as a warning to a man who was allegedly in debt...

Six members of Kosovo gang have been arrested by the Guardia Civil in Torrevieja.

Six members of Kosovo gang have been arrested by the Guardia Civil in Torrevieja. A statement from the Civil Guard barracks in Alicante said that those arrested were thought to be part of a gang which had taken part in as many as 31 burglaries from factories in the Alicante and Murcia areas, causing ‘grand social alarm’. More than 86,000 € in cash as well as other items is believed to have been taken by the gang.Investigations into the case started...

Alicante port thousand brand new mobile phones, which police believe may have been stolen, were found in the back of a van with fake British plates.

45-year-old man was arrested at Alicante port yesterday after around a thousand brand new mobile phones, which police believe may have been stolen, were found in the back of a van with fake British plates. Apart from the phones, dozens of replica display phones, external memory sticks, computer games as well as digital sound and image devices were found, leading police to conclude that they may have been stolen from at least one computer or mobile...

Madrid police have arrested five members of a criminal gang

Madrid police have arrested five members of a criminal gang specialised in robbing drug traffickers by disguising themselves as police officers. The arrests were made as the gang was about to confiscate 264kg of high grade cocaine being stored in a warehouse in Alcalá de Henares by four Colombians, who were also detained. During the investigation it came to light that the gang, which was led by an Italian, had been keeping tabs on their intended...

John Barker fled to Tenerife nine years ago while on bail for cocaine and amphetamine trafficking charges.

John Barker fled to Tenerife nine years ago while on bail for cocaine and amphetamine trafficking charges. The 51-year-old, from Irvine, Ayrshire, was caught earlier this year after he appeared on a list of suspected British criminals thought to be in Spain. During his trial, he had denied any involvement with drugs. Barker was wanted by Strathclyde Police under two arrest warrants. They related to trafficking drugs, valued at more than £110,000,...

David Hartley seeking a court order to allow to be transferred from a prison in Barcelona back to England to serve his sentence

David Hartley was jailed for 16 years in Spain last month after being convicted of killing his friend Paul Pedersen at a campsite near Barcelona six years ago.Hartley, who was a drug user and drinker, strangled Danish holidaymaker Pedersen as he slept on the night of 23rd June 2002 before stealing 200 euros from his victim's pocket.After the attack, Hartley fled back to Mansfield but was arrested for the murder later that year.Despite a two-year...

Four Britons arrested with half ton of of hashish in Alicante and Murcia

Five people were arrested, four Britons and a Romanian, in Benijófar, Alicante and El Garruchal, Murcia.One of the main players in the group had a chalet in El Garruchal, and it was there that the drugs were loaded into a van.The arrested men were part of the group thought to be planning to take the drug by van to the U.K., with two advance vehicles warning of any police presence.The National Police say their operation, codenamed ‘Rostel’ was mounted...

Lee Cook and Jemma France from Manchester were found outside covered in blood by the hotel’s porter.

British couple from Manchester are in hospital on Gran Canaria after falling from the sixth floor balcony of their holiday apartment.28 year old Lee Cook and 18 year old Jemma France were found outside covered in blood by the hotel’s porter. They had landed on plastic tables which...

Drug ring arrested accused of smuggling cocaine from Spain into Italy

Italian police say they have broken up a drug ring accused of smuggling cocaine from Spain into Italy and arrested 22 people.Police in the southern city of Battipaglia say police made the arrests in pre-dawn raids Wednesday across the Campania region. They also seized 11 pounds (5 kilograms) of cocaine.Police say one of the detained suspects is Spanish and the rest are Italian. Three more suspects are still being soug...

Thieves broke into a jewellery shop

Thieves broke into a jewellery shop in Las Americas in the early hours of Thursday morning, getting away with 80,000 euros worth of gold and jewellery.The thieves gained entry to the premises in Avenida Rafael Puig, through the back door leading to an inner office, after cutting their way through a wire fence.Staff arrived for work yesterday morning to find display cabinets broken and trays of gold rings and bracelets missing.The thieves appear to...

x-rays revealed they were carrying 675g of cocaine in capsules in their stomachs.

Two people were arrested this morning at Tenerifes south airport and charged with attempting to smuggle cocaine into the island.The two have been identified as F.S.G.M., a 26-year-old Colombian man and K.A.P.G., a 19-year-old woman from Ecuador.Guardia Civil officers at the airport became suspicious when the two appeared to be nervous when coming through customs.After a check of their luggage produced no illegal substances, the two were transferred...

Four Britons have been arrested in connection with the latest shooting incident in Puerto Banús

Four Britons have been arrested in connection with the latest shooting incident in Puerto Banús on September 24 of club security boss, Marvin Herbert, originally from Liverpool.Named by the police as 40 year old M.A.A., 62 year old K.A.A., 59 year old M.Z.S., and 40 year old M.L.K., all four are believed to have taken part in the attempted assassination. The victim was shot five times in his right eye, right leg, right arm, pelvis and genitals, and...

British girl saw her mother and sister swept away by floods in Spain and killed, officials said today.

British girl saw her mother and sister swept away by floods in Spain and killed, officials said today. The victims, aged 47 and 14, were crossing a gully on foot in L'Olleria, near Valencia, to get to their house yesterday evening. The mother was named as Lauren Cullen. She and her daughter had lived in Spain for the past four years, local police said. The pair were trying to cross the River Clariano to get home but were carried off by the current....

Gerard John Dutton convicted lorry had travelled across from Alicante, Spain and had hidden 1.5 tonnes of the drug in six pallets of floor tiles.

Gerard John Dutton, 61, of Saddlemakers Lane, Melton, Woodbridge, Suffolk, set up two false companies in order to facilitate the importation of two separate loads of cannabis and admitted the charge at Kingston Crown Court on Wednesday 8 October.The charge was a result of Operation Cromer, an investigation run by the Met's Project Team, which spent seven months identifying an organised criminal network involved in importing and supplying cannabis...

Alhaurin el Grande ,Five people have been arrested by the Guardia Civil

Five people have been arrested by the Guardia Civil in Alhaurin el Grande for possessing over 50 marijuana plants in their houses. In one of the houses, the Guardia Civil discovered a five square metre plantation. The plants measured over 2.5 metres in height and weighed five kilograms. The residents of the house, identified only by the initials, J.V.M.R., F.A.H., and L.M.H., were arrested on suspicion of offences against public health.In the second...

House jacking Romanian and a Spaniard sentenced to total of 18 years and 6 months in jail for holding a British couple hostage

Provincial Court in Alicante has sent a Romanian and a Spaniard to total of 18 years and 6 months in jail for holding a British couple hostage in their home in Moraira, Alicante in April 2004. The two acted with two others to kidnap and rob the couple in the ‘Club Moraira’ urbanisation, threatening them with a knife and two pistols and finally leaving the wife tied up in a house in Cabo de la Nao.The two in court in Alicante this week admitted their...

British man been murdered in Barcelona

Body of the 46 year old man, who has not been named, was found by a friend on Thursday afternoon. The Catalan regional police, Los Mossos d’Esquadra, are investigating what they describe as the violent death of a 46 year old British man whose body was found in the l’Eixample area of Barcelona. Police believe he was beaten to death, although they are waiting for the full results of the autopsy. They were alerted to the case by a phone call at 4pm...

Moroccan police said they had seized a small airplane carrying 1.6 tonnes (1,600 kilos) of hashish in the north of the country

Moroccan police said they had seized a small airplane carrying 1.6 tonnes (1,600 kilos) of hashish in the north of the country, MAP news agency reported.The shipment was caught in a police air operation Thursday night after the plane had managed to escape once earlier, said MAP.Police were still searching for the plane's owners.The announcement of the bust came on the same day Spanish police announced they had broken up one of the country's biggest...

Michael Dermot McArdle found guilty of his wife’s manslaughter by Malaga court .

The jury of nine voted by a majority of 7 to 2 to convict the 39-year-old Dundalk father of causing the death of his wife Kelly-Anne Corcoran during a heated argument on the evening of February 11th 2000, the day the family arrived on holiday on the Costa del Sol. After deliberating for more than one day, the jurors delivered their verdict shortly before lunchtime in Malaga Criminal Court, with members of both families present. The jury found that,...

Freddie Thompson moved to Torrevieja in southern Spain after major traffickers told him to pay up or be killed

Thompson moved to Torrevieja in southern Spain after major traffickers told him to pay up or be killed after €6m in drugs were seized by gardai at the weekend. “They are known as Fat Freddie and Little Richard. If Freddie shouts jump, Richie says ‘how high?’,” a source said today. Gardai also rubbished weekend reports that a truce had been called between Thompson’s crew and the bitter rivals, the so-called Rastas. The feud between the two groups...

Michael 'Dermot' McArdle was given the chance of escaping jail in a plea bargain deal moments before his murder trial started.

Michael 'Dermot' McArdle was given the chance of escaping jail in a plea bargain deal moments before his murder trial started.State prosecutor Carlos Yanez offered Mr McArdle the sweetener of a two-year-prison sentence if he admitted killing wife Kelly-Anne eight years ago in a Spanish hotel room.Jail sentences of two years or less are automatically suspended in Spain in cases where defendants have no criminal records.The nine Spanish jurors set...

Verdict Michael Dermot McArdle is expected tomorrow.

verdict in the case of Michael Dermot McArdle, the Irish man who is accused of throwing his wife to her death from a Marbella hotel balcony in 2000 is expected tomorrow.After a week of evidence the case concluded in Málaga’s Provincial Court on Saturday with the final statement from the 39 year old accused who insisted that he did not kill his 28 year wife Kelly-Anne.He told the court that she tripped and fell over the balcony as she tried to stop...

Torrevieja and Alicante drug trafficking arrests

Six people have been arrested across the Vega Baja area in connection with a drug trafficking gang which dealt with large amounts of cocaine in Torrevieja and Alicante.The police operation started some three months ago and has so far recovered 3.5 kilos of the drug.All six people arrested are from Latin America and in their 30’s, and some have a record on similar charges. The head of the group has been named as 35 year old M.V.C. who was arrested...

Gary Glitter planning to buy a posh pad in Puerto Banus

Glitter had made plans to start a new life on the Costa Del Sol, but when gangland bosses heard of it, they vowed that they would kill him if he ever set foot in Spain.If Gary Glitter sets foot in Spain, hes dead. One of the biggest British gangsters in Spain is so concerned about...

La Casita, in Nueva Andalucía six police arrested for rape and ill-treatment

The two policemen at the centre of the matter have been held in the cells and are expected to go before the judge later today. The two are reported to have other disciplinary measures outstanding against them.number of local police from Marbella who have now been arrested in connection...

44 members of an International drug trafficking ring arrested in Málaga province

44 members of an International drug trafficking ring which operated in many European countries have been arrested in Málaga province. 34 of those arrested are Spanish, with 13 Moroccans, four French, two Dutch, a Palestinian and a Gibraltarian. In the operation the Civil Guard recovered three tons of hashish and three kilos of cocaine, together with 16 vehicles, four boats, two jet skies, two pistols and more than 6,800 € in cash with other documents.The...

Dermot McArdle state prosecutor changes his charge from murder to manslaughter.

Spanish state prosecutor changed his charge from murder to manslaughter.Carlos Yanez told the jury he now believed Dermot McArdle pushed 28-year-old wife Kelly-Anne over the balcony of their Spanish hotel during a row but tried to save her before she fell to her death.And in a shock development he asked judge Fernando Gonzalez to jail McArdle for just four years if he is convicted of the lesser crime.The lawyer opened the trial in the Costa del Sol...

When the Cocaine ran out Six Marbella local policeman have been arrested in connection with alleged sexaul agression against women in a club

Six Marbella local policeman have been arrested in connection with alleged sexaul agression against women in a club in Nueva Andalucía. The Instruction Judge One in Marbella, Ricardo Puyol, yesterday took the statements from the three women who had complained about being the victims of sexual aggression from a local policeman in a club in Nueva Andalucía. The two women told the court that when the cocaine ran out, was when the aggressions started.The...

David George Hartley, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison by the Provincial Court in Barcelona

David George Hartley, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison by the Provincial Court in Barcelona for the murder of a Danish friend of his, Paul Pedersen, at a campsite near the city six years ago. He has already been held in prison for six years awaiting trial, four years in Spain and two in Britain.The killing happened in June 2002 and the verdict was published by the court today after Hartley was found guilty by the jury of nine at the five...

Steve Waddington slipped off the hotel room balcony, at Benalmadena, on the Costa Del Sol in Spain, after a night of heavy drinking.

35-year-old Steve Waddington slipped off the hotel room balcony, at Benalmadena, on the Costa Del Sol in Spain, after a night of heavy drinking.His wife Sarah, 28, walked into the room to find Steve dangling off the balcony, calling for help – she wasn’t able to reach him.“I'm just...

Police seized millions of images, after smashing a major internet file swapping ring.

Police seized millions of images, after smashing a major internet file swapping ring. Those arrested included pilots, taxi drivers, and people from a complete cross section of society. Ages of those taken into custody range from the very old to youngsters.Spain has carried out its biggest crackdown on child pornography with raids on hundreds of homes.Spanish Police chief Enrique Rodriguez who heads a internet crime squad said 800 officers were involved...

Alicante sex shop murder

Woman has been brutally stabbed to death in an Alicante sex shop.The victim, in her 40’s, was the owner of the Alicante sex shop in the central Calle Reyes Católicos in the city.Her body was found by her husband who then made a 091 call at 11pm last night to the police. They say that she had been dead at the scene for several hours before their arrival.First indications are that this is not another case of domestic violence, but theft has also been...

‘J.C’s’ bar in Calle Saltillo Torremolinos 45 year old British man Killed

‘J.C’s’ bar in Calle Saltillo Torremolinos 45 year old British man Killed. British man, named with the initials D.S. was killed during a fight in Torremolinos yesterday morning. It happened in ‘J.C’s’ bar in Calle Saltillo around 5am where the victim is alleged to have sprayed the customers in the bar at the time with an aerosol. Report indicate that several customers then wrestled him to the ground to subdue him, but that he was pronounced dead...

Case against Michael Dermot McArdle is underway at the Málaga Provincial Court

case against Michael Dermot McArdle is underway at the Málaga Provincial Court. After a delay from Monday because of a bomb hoax at the provincial court building in Málaga, the case against the Irish man accused of throwing his wife to her death off a Marbella hotel balcony, finally...