Las Palmas rapist,found hanged

Las Palmas rapist, or the White Van rapist, Miguel Ángel M.R. who was accused on 22 counts of the crime, was found hanged in the baths of the El Salto de El Negro jail in Las Palmas on Thursday afternoon.His body was found by one of the three other inmates who are granted their exercise time together, separate from the main group of prisoners. Prison sources said they could not say whether his death was a murder or a suicide.He had been arrested on September 11 after a two year long prison investigation, and was being held on remand waiting for his trial. 11 women had identified him as their attacker.

Bank robbery at the CAM savings bank in Avenida de Novelda in Elche

Two people have been arrested by National and Local Police after a bank robbery at noon yesterday at an office of the CAM savings bank in Avenida de Novelda in Elche.They had used a fake gun and a large knife to carry out the attack at 1230. There were no injuries in the incident, save for a woman who had to be taken to a local health centre after suffering an anxiety attack.

Fernando Moreno was victim of ‘express kidnapping’ abandoned white van with British number plates found

Fernando Moreno ran a family construction business, founded some 40 years ago. He was last seen at 10am on Wednesday morning and family members reported him missing that same morning, reportedly fearing that he may have been kidnapped. They then received a phone call from a person with a Latin American accent who demanded two million € for the businessman, and throughout the day there were more calls in which the amount demanded was reduced. The final call at 1600 on Wednesday demanded 600,000 €. The phone then went silent until 2200 when the kidnappers said they had released the businessman ‘close to the Ojén reservoir’.
Police say they think he was victim of a so called ‘express kidnapping’ and were also investigating an abandoned white van with British number plates found in the area of the body, and thought to have been used by the kidnappers.76 year old Marbella businessman who died during an express kidnapping attempt last week, Fernando Moreno, did not meet his death through natural causes. His body was found, in a chair hands tied above his head, with feet and neck also tied and mouth taped up, and with his head covered up, on Thursday inside an abandoned building between Marbella and Ojen with no outward signs of violence. However the autopsy carried out on Friday indicates that he suffocated to death through swallowing a piece of the cloth which had been placed in his mouth. Sources indicate that the autopsy was a full one and lasted for seven hours, and that several samples taken could help to resolve the case.The investigators consider that he was probably still alive when his kidnappers left the scene after negotiating his release and the payment of a ransom with him and his family. Police say no money was paid, and they are interested in the statement from one of Fernando Moreno’s workers who saw an old white right-hand drive van, with British number plates in the area. The van has now been located in Marbella and forensic scientists have been combing it for prints and DNA.Government Sub-Delegate in Málaga, Hilario López Luna, has confirmed that the businessman was kidnapped. Reports say that the kidnappers were of Latin American origin. Initially in phone calls to the family they demanded two million €, a sum which later was reduced to 600,000 €. Reporting restrictions have now been imposed in the case.

Spanish crime gang used an Irish trawler to land €850,000 of cannabis

€850,000 of cannabis that was seized in Dingle last year was smuggled into the country by a Spanish crime gang using an Irish trawler.At Tralee Circuit Criminal Court on Monday Ignacio Goyeneche with an address in San Tando, Spain, and Lisa Basire of Scanlon’s Cottage, Ballyhea were jailed for their part in the massive drugs seizure in Dingle last July.Cannabis, worth €850,000 was found by gardaí in early morning raids in different locations in the Dingle area on July 8 last. The majority was found at Lisa Basire’s bedsit, the rest in Mr Goyeneche’s car.
Both pleaded guilty to ‘possession for sale or supply’ of the drugs Judge Carroll Moran sentenced Ignacio Goyeneche to seven years in prison and Lisa Basire to three years. In the course of the trial, details emerged of how the huge haul was brought into Ireland with the assistance of a major Spanish crime figure and Irish smugglers. After the haul was uncovered, thanks to an anonymous tip, Ignacio Goyeneche told gardaí how the massive consignment had been brought into the country. The Spaniard, an unemployed fisherman who lived in Dingle 18 years ago, was a key figure in the operation which began in Spain where the drugs were provided by a major Spanish crime figure. Ignacio Goyeneche said he watched as 72 kilos of cannabis was stashed in an Irish owned and operated trawler, which then sailed from northern Spain to Bantry in Cork. According to Goyeneche the drugs were successfully landed in the Bantry area in early July 2008. Once the shipment was safely ashore, Ignacio Goyeneche said he helped break up the drugs and transport them to Dingle where the majority, 65 kilos worth €785,000, was stashed in hidden compartments under a bed in the home of Lisa Basire in Ballyhea. The rest, 50 bales worth €76,000, was hidden behind panels in the boot of Mr Goyeneche’s Volvo car. Gardaí said Mr Goyeneche had refused to name the Spanish crime figure who supplied the drugs or the Irish fisherman who helped smuggle the drugs. Goyeneche said he was afraid to name the Spanish crime figure whom he described only as “a heavy.” The Kerry coastline has long been known as a haven for smugglers. The sheer scale of the waters and coastline involved, coupled with the many bays and inlets of Kerry and west Cork, has made the work of gardai, customs and the Navy extremely difficult. Even a recent US Drug Enforcement Agency Report raised concerns that the Kerry and Cork coast has become a major European drugs gateway. Meanwhile, English woman Lisa Basire, who was jailed for three years this week for her part in last summer’s €850,000 cannabis haul in Dingle, was described in court as a loner who made no profit whatsoever from the deal. Miss Basire, originally from London, spent her 38th birthday in Tralee Circuit Criminal Court on Monday where she pleaded guilty to possessing €785,000 worth of cannabis at Scanlons Cottage, Ballyhea on July 8 2008. Gardaí at the trial said they believed Lisa Basire when she said she had no part in importing the drugs, was not a drug dealer and had not benefited financially in any way from the drugs.

UPDATED:Spanish police seize fake and stolen Dalís at a hotel in the southern Costa del Sol region.

Spanish police are seeking the owner of a £1.1m bronze elephant, possibly sculpted by Salvador Dalí, that was stolen with a major haul of work purportedly created by the mustachioed master of the so-called paranoid-critical method.The three-metre-high elephant was impounded with 81 works that had been on display at a hotel in the southern Costa del Sol region. It was not clear whether the pieces were stolen, genuine or fakes.The works, which included sculpture, bas reliefs, lithographs, textiles, furniture and cutlery had been transported to the hotel in Estepona from France and were due to be auctioned there. The asking price for the elephant sculpture, believed to be a work known as the Space Elephant, was €1.2m (£1.1m) .Police said they were investigating reports from around the world that up to a dozen pieces similar to those on display had been stolen. The robberies had been reported in the United States, France, Belgium and Spain. An unidentified Frenchman was arrested and charged with fraud and faking documents, they said.frenchman was arrested yesterday for trying to organize an exhibition of works by Dali in a hotel in Fuengirola, an coastal town between here and Marbella. Yes, a hotel in Fuengirola is a likely place for a serious art exhibit. So it's pefectly normal for the works to be thrown into a truck sent here from France. And of course you'd store over sixty Dali originals in one of the hotel's rooms with no special security. Right. And exactly who did this guy think was going to buy these valuable pieces of art? Dali is one of the most forge artists in the world. I guess the guy figured he'd find plenty of suckers here who wanted to launder some money. And probably a very reasonable supposition

Neil Davison is currently at large having been arrested on a European arrest warrant in February 2008.

Neil Davison, also known as Richard Neil Davison, was taken into custody almost five years ago when Spanish customs officers swooped as part of a large-scale operation with their Suffolk counterparts.The bid to smash the multi-million pound drugs racket netted 16 other suspects in Malaga, Nerja and Estepona, who were alleged to be involved in the trafficking operation.Around 70 Spanish officers carried out the raids aimed at preventing drugs being smuggled from north Africa to Spain.However, despite his arrest in March 2004 Davison, who ran a boat-building company in Lowestoft, has yet to stand trial.After being released pending further inquiries, Davison skipped bail during the intervening years. He was apprehended again last year after a warrant was put out for his arrest.Despite fleeing once before, Davison was granted bail and went on the run again. A year on he is still a fugitive.
Davison, formerly of Colville Road, Lowestoft, was originally arrested as he came out of his flat overlooking the beach at Estepona on the Costa del Sol.At the same time his home in Lowestoft was raided by Suffolk customs officers and separate amounts of cash totalling £1million were seized at the premises. Several boats at Davison's company were also seized and impounded.Davison had settled in the Costa Del Sol several years before. The flat he was in at the time of his arrest was believed to be one of at least 10 he had in eastern Spain.At first Davison was remanded in jail following his arrest and held in a prison near Malaga. However, he was subsequently released on bail, from which he absconded for the first time.
A spokeswoman for HM Customs and Revenue confirmed Davison had not returned to answer his bail on two separate occasions.She said: "Neil Davison is currently at large having been arrested on a European arrest warrant in February 2008. He was granted bail from which he has absconded."Over the years the nature of drug trafficking between Spain and Morocco, known as the 'hashish gateway' changed, leading to different types of high-speed boats being used to outrun the authorities.
Davison's boat-building firm produced powerful semi-rigid hull inflatable boats, known as RHIBS.In just over a year before his arrest around 100 such boats, worth an average of 60,000 Euros, are believed to have been seized in southern Spain.

Euro extended its fall after having dropped sharply on Monday on a ratings downgrade of Spain by rating agency Standard & Poor's and grim economic

Euro extended its fall after having dropped sharply on Monday on a ratings downgrade of Spain by rating agency Standard & Poor's and grim economic forecasts from the European Commission. "The global economy is deteriorating much faster than anticipated. As a result, losses in the banking sector are expanding and we cannot see a bottom to it," said a trader at a Japanese bank."The market is well aware of policy-makers' determination to avert more collapses of financial firms, but a guaranteed rescue is impossible," the trader said.

Seville, Spanish police seized 11 tonnes of hashish and arrested two men suspected of drugs trafficking

Spanish police seized 11 tonnes of hashish and arrested two men suspected of drugs trafficking on Tuesday in the southern city of Seville, the interior ministry said.
The operation began with the localisation on Monday afternoon of one of the two men, who was the subject of an arrest warrant, it said in a statement.The man met with an accomplice and police followed the two to a garage in the eastern part of the city where they were caught transporting sacks loaded with hashish.The authorities gave no street value for the drugs but said it was enough to meet demand for Seville, Spain's fourth largest city, and the surrounding region as well as that of several other European nations.Spain is one of the main points of entry of drugs into Europe, from hashish that has been grown in north Africa, to Latin American cocaine, which is often smuggled in via Africa.

Four killed in hotel collapse

Four construction workers, two Moroccans and two Spaniards, were killed when three storeys of the wing of hotel Son Moll in Cala Ratjada in Mallorca collapsed, burying them under rubble. Another four workers needed hospital treatment.About 80 workers had been employed on the site, but at the time of the collapse most were having breakfast or had been in the main hotel building, which was undamaged. Initial investigations suggested the collapse had been set off by heavy rains.Local Mayor Tomeu Alzina said the hotel did not have the necessary works licence; he said the company which owned the hotel, Hoteles Serrano, S. L., had failed to meet a series of requirements in order to obtain the licence, and six weeks earlier the local authority had ordered the paralysis of the works. The works continued nevertheless.
The same day the Guardia Civil arrested the architect, quantity surveyor and works manager on the renovation project on charges of manslaughter, imprudence and contravention of workers’ rights.

Camorra crime syndicate brought in cocaine and cannabis from Spain and the Netherlands and supplied markets in Rome and Naples

Italian police on Wednesday arrested 41 people as they broke up a Rome drug ring operated by Naples' Camorra crime syndicate.The gang brought in cocaine and cannabis from Spain and the Netherlands and supplied markets in Rome and Naples, recycling the profits in Roman property, officials said.Police seized tens of millions of euros' worth of laundered assets including apartments, cars and jewels.They said the operation was further proof of the Mafia's encroachment into the capital, where Mob-owned restaurants and villas have recently been found in chic locations like Via Veneto and the Spanish Steps.An anti-Mafia official said the Camorra had established a ''pact'' in Rome with Cosa Nostra of Sicily, 'Ndrangheta of Calabria and the Puglian Mob to split up turf and do business without stepping on each others' toes.
''Rome has become a crossroads for illicit affairs,'' a top police officer commented.
Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno said the operation was ''a tough blow to the criminal infiltration of this city''.

National Police in Madrid said in a statement the five Britons have now been formally accused of money laundering following further investigations

Five Britons being held in Spain accused of the wholesale trafficking of an amphetamine who have now been charged with money laundering.The move follows the seizure of property, luxury cars and a yacht totalling nearly £11million.Ronald O'Dea, 42, and James McDonald, 39, both of Glasgow, and Stephen Denis Brown, 42, and Brian Rawlings, 63, both from London, were arrested in a series of raids in November on the Costa del Sol and in Tenerife in the Canary Islands.It followed an operation by Spain's National Police and the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency.
The four were all accused of smuggling large quantities of speed into the UK and Spain from Holland.Lorry driver Gerard Mooney, from Dublin, had been arrested earlier when his truck was stopped near Oxford. Police claim he had 70kilos of speed in his vehicle, which he was driving to Scotland.The National Police in Madrid said in a statement the five have now been formally accused of money laundering following further investigations in which detectives uncovered evidence of millions of euros in proceeds from drug trafficking being invested in properties and land in Tenerife, Las Palmas and Marbella on the Costa del Sol.No trial date has been set.

Arrested five Britons in the Costa Del Sol and Tenerife

Police have arrested five Britons in the Costa Del Sol and Tenerife, and confiscated assets believed to be worth as much as twelve million euros after accusing the entire group of being involved in the distribution of the drug 'speed'. The investigation started after 70 Kilos of speed was found in a truck in Oxford, that had been sent by the group from Belgium. Amongst the assets confiscated were: a duplex apartment in Marbella of over 300 square metres; nineteen other pieces of real estate; various bank accounts, and several Porsches, Hummers, Mercedes and Ferraris as well as two luxury yachts. What apparently drew the attention of the police was that one of the detainees, who is not even thirty, and apparently without any job at all, managed to acquire fifteen pieces of real estate over two years.

Castellón confiscated over two kilos of cocaine

Guardia Civil in Castellón have detained some seven people - five Spaniards, a Columbian and a Venezuelan - and accused them of forming a drugs syndicate that bought, transformed and sold cocaine in the province. After the arrests, police confiscated over two kilos of cocaine as well as a large amount of acetone that is used to transform the drug for its commercial sale.

Man accused of three murders and several robberies, who has been on the run since 2004, has been arrested in Fuengirola.

Man accused of three murders and several robberies, who has been on the run since 2004, has been arrested in Fuengirola.A local police patrol from Mijas tried to identify the man who was driving a top of the range car, but before being questioned he drove off. A police car chase ensued ending with his arrest, according to a press release from Mijas Town Hall. The man was armed at the time and in the company of a woman.

Drug-related settling of scores body of a chopped up man has been found in an abandoned suitcase

body of a chopped up man has been found in an abandoned suitcase on waste ground in Benimaclet, Valencia.A passerby saw the suitcase and called the Local Police to the scene in Calle Mistral at 6pm on Tuesday night. They advised the National Police once they saw the suitcase contained the chopped up male body, which is still to be identified. Police think a drug-related settling of scores is the most likely motive for the crime.

Raids in Marbella, on the Costa del Sol, and Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, resulted in the Britons being arrested.

Ronald O'Dea, 42, and James McDonald, 39, both from Glasgow, were detained following police raids in November. Londoners Stephen Denis Brown, 42 and Brian Rawlings, 63, were also arrested in a joint operation with the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency. The men are expected to spend several months in prison before facing trial at the National Criminal Court in Madrid. The operation also resulted in the arrest of Gerard Mooney, from Dublin, in October 2008. It is alleged that a truck that he was driving to Scotland contained 70kg of speed when it was stopped by police near Oxford. The subsequent raids in Marbella, on the Costa del Sol, and Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, resulted in the Britons being arrested. The money laundering charges relate to the seizure of property in Spain along with luxury goods worth nearly £11m. These included a Ferrari F430 Spyder, a 599 Fiorano, two Hummers, a Porsche Cayenne turbo, an Audi Q7, a Mercedes 63 AMG and two BMWs. A luxury yacht was also confiscated.

Settling of scores between drug dealers

While out walking in Novelda a man came across the body of a man of around 30 years . The man had been dumped at the side of a pathway close to the castle and alongside the river Vinalopo.The police were called and the man was quickly identified who was a known criminal and had a police record for drug trafficking .The body showed signs of violence and he had also been shot in the face .Early indications point to a settling of scores between drug dealers as a motive for the murder.The victim was well known to the police and the GuardiaCivil in the area . Three years ago he was arrested while driving a van containing 100 kg of hashish . He was also part of a gang who kidnapped a nightclub owner in Sax .

Police have found 11 tons of hashish hidden in two garages in the Avenida de la Innovación in Sevilla.

Police have found 11 tons of hashish hidden in two garages in the Avenida de la Innovación in Sevilla. It’s the largest amount of drugs to be found in the city for the past decade, one of the largest found in Spain, and is valued at 16 million €.
National Police say the drug was packed into 361 bales, and was found after they were in chase of a member of a drug-trafficking organization.Named as 32 year old Benjamín R.R he was arrested along with one other who is thought to have been purchasing some of the drug although its thought the main destination for it was the countries of the north of Europe.

Drug Smuggling gang 28 years and nine months prison has been handed down in total

Prison sentences have been confirmed against nine people who were found guilty of transporting as much as 2,000 kilos of hashish to Dénia. A total of 28 years and nine months has been handed down in total to the none, most of them serving some three years inside. The group brought a haul of 2,000 kilos of the drug from Melilla to Dénia in an operation which was organized from Málaga, and intercepted by the police on the Dénia beach.

Malaga University carried out 1300 ” victimisation Surveys ”

Malaga University has done a piece of research into the reporting of crime by members of the public and compared the results with the statistics which are published by the authorities .The team carried out 1300 ” victimisation Surveys ” on 2005 asking members of the public if they had been the victims of crimes such as car theft , having something stolen from a car , being threatened , sexual assault and having their homes burgled .Sixty six percent or two out of every three said that they had been victims of such crimes but only 41% said that they had reported the incidents.The reluctance to report them might be that they didn’t trust the system , were embarrassed or they might have been too scared to do so .Damage to vehicles was the most common crime , yet it was the least reported while car thefts and burglaries were the most reported and yet occurred less often , maybe because of the insurance connection .Published statistics are based on the crimes that are reported and what the survey discovered is that this is not always a true reflection of what is actually happening .

Salvatore Zazo leader of the Mazzarella crime family captured in Barcelona

Italy's paramilitary Carabinieri police working with Spain's Civil Guard arrested Salvatore Zazo as he was making a phone call in a shop in Barcelona on Saturday.Italian police say a Neapolitan fugitive wanted on drug trafficking charges has been captured in Barcelona.Italian police official Angelo Mazzagatti said on Sunday that an arrest warrant had been issued for Zazo a few months ago. He said Zazo, 52, was suspected of international trafficking in cocaine.Investigators say they believe Zazo has been leading the Mazzarella crime family in the historic center of Naples. It is part of the Camorra criminal syndicate.Police say authorities will ask for Zazo's extradition to Italy to stand trial.

Local man has been sentenced by the Málaga Provincial Court to 18 years in prison for killing another in a bar in San Pedro

Local man has been sentenced by the Málaga Provincial Court to 18 years in prison for killing another in a bar in San Pedro de Alcántara in September 2006.It apparently started when the two men collided by mistake in the bar, with the aggressor then going to his home to get a knife and returning to the bar to stab the other man who died the following day.The aggressor was also found guilty of attempting to kill the victim’s friend, stabbing him from the back. After the aggression the man went back home and then went to the Local Police with his mother. He had claimed he only wanted to frighten the other men with his knife. The court heard that the man was considered to be emotionally unstable and also ordered him to pay 250,000 € in compensation.

Spain's anticorruption prosecutor has opened an investigation into Bernard Madoff's alleged fraud

Spain's anticorruption prosecutor has opened an investigation into Bernard Madoff's alleged fraud, which may cost clients of Banco Santander, the nation's largest lender and the owner of US-based Sovereign Bancorp, $3.1 billion.The probe began last month, said an official at the prosecutor's office who asked not to be identified.Santander said on Dec. 14 that customers were at risk from investments with Madoff through its Optimal Investment Services hedge fund unit.Madoff's New York-based firm collapsed in December after he told his sons it was a $50 billion Ponzi scheme, according to a complaint filed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
"Santander has been very transparent about its exposure to Madoff," said Luis Benguerel, a trader at Interbrokers Espanola SA in Barcelona. "Santander is a victim in this case."The Wall Street Journal reported that Spanish prosecutors are investigating how Santander lost client money through Madoff's alleged fraud. A spokesman for the bank declined to comment. The official at the prosecutor's office said Santander wasn't a target of the probe.The anticorruption prosecutor will be examining the relationship between Santander, the investment fund Fairfield Greenwich Group, and the Madoff funds, the Journal reported. Fairfield had $7.5 billion with Madoff.About two-thirds of losses incurred by Santander clients were borne by investors in Latin America, the Journal said.

Sir Steve Redgrave invested in a £2million off-plan villa on Royal Marbella Group in return for a discount on the property

Trio of sporting stars who backed property developments in Spain with their own money and persuaded other British Fly to Let investors to do the same, are now counting the cost after the schemes were scrapped.The Daily Mail carried the story of how five-time Olympic champion Sir Steve Redgrave, 1966 World Cup hero Sir Geoff Hurst, and former England World Cup rugby star Tony Underwood were all endorsers and investors in the Royal Marbella Group, which later became the Royal Duja Group.
Some of Royal Duja's projects, such as Royal Cabanas in the Algarve, where other well known names, such as Spurs manager Harry Redknapp, invested, did go ahead. But the newspaper reported that another of the investment projects, Lince Sanctuario near Seville, will never be built. It was said that Redgrave invested in a £2million off-plan villa on this site and in return for a discount on the property had allowed his face and name to be used to promote the development on Royal Duja Group's billboards. He is now seking legal advice over the issue.In an interview with the Daily Mail, Redgrave said: “It's been a disaster, with the planning permission revoked. I have lost my investment. I've done promotional work for the developer and that was half the payment for the plot I had. I've lost a hell of a lot of time and image.“I've been talking to Geoff Hurst and he has similar problems. He has invested and he has friends who invested,” added Redgrave.The newspaper report explained how Hurst's and Underwood's off-plan flats at the former Royal Marbella development at Aldea Beach in Manilva on the Costa del Sol were issued building licences illegally by local mayor Pedro Tirado.Tirado has now been imprisoned for accepting bribes and Hurst is leading a group action to try to get back money he and other investors put into the development which are now unlikely to materialise.

Guardia Civil officers arrested two people caught trying to smuggle 6.5kg of cocaine

Guardia Civil officers at Tenerife’s north airport arrested two people caught trying to smuggle 6.5kg of cocaine into the island. 

The couple, identified only by their initials, have been charged with crimes against the public health.

The man, 24-year-old D.A.M.B and his female companion, 35-year-old D.R.A., both Uruguayan nationals, arrived on a flight from mainland Spain.

After police became suspicious of the pair they were questioned, which raised suspicions even more and led to a body search, which revealed the drugs strapped to their bodies.

Police also discovered a large quantity of money and the pair have been detained without bail pending a court appearance.

Guardia Civil officers arrested two Estonian men

Guardia Civil officers arrested two Estonian men, aged 23 and 24, at TFS on Friday for carrying 1,793 grams, almost 2 kilos, of cocaine inside their bodies. Agents became suspicious at the high level of nervousness in the two at routine airport clearance checks, and they were even more suspicious when searches of the men’s luggage found nothing. The pair were taken to have X-rays, and both were found to be carrying capsules. After these were evacuated, it was discovered that the first man was carrying 92 capsules containing 1,012 grams of cocaine, and the other 71 containing 781 grams. They are now being judicially processed.

Seized 4,400 kilos of hashish from a yacht flying the British flag

Seized 4,400 kilos of hashish from a yacht flying the British flag off the coast of Torrevieja early last Friday morning and arrested the two crew members. Antonio L.R., aged 37, is a Spaniard with previous convictions for drug smuggling, and Daniel D.D., 28, is a North African who was carrying French identification and a British passport as well. Customs had spotted the craft during the afternoon on New Year's Day sailing 12 miles out to sea and considering it ‘suspicious', sent the Arao patrol boat to investigate. Provincial customs and excise department chief Arturo Marcos said that it had been sailing very slowly with its lights turned off. The yacht, a 12-metre-long vessel called the Masquerade, changed course and officers decided to carry out a search when it entered Spanish waters. Three officers boarded without resistance at 07.00 and immediately saw the contraband in several packages on the deck of the boat. They obtained a search warrant and took the crew and cargo to Alicante port, arriving at around 11.00. The drugs were unloaded on the quay, attracting the attention of several passersby, and the suspects were taken to the National Police headquarters. The investigation into the intended destination of the shipment, valued at 18 million euros, remains open.

Arrested by police on the Costa del Sol Rolf Dieter-Glaetzner

Rolf Dieter-Glaetzner absconded prior to a scheduled Edinburgh High Court appearance and spent more than six years on the run before his re-arrest in Spain.47-year-old German national accused of sexually abusing two young girls in Scotland, skipped bail in the UK and has been arrested by police on the Costa del Sol, Spain, it was confirmed on Thursday.Detectives indicate that the fugitive will now face extradition proceedings. Charges against him in Scotland include a series of violent sexual assaults on two girls, aged six and seven at the time.Dieter-Glaetzner appeared initially at Stirling Sheriff Court in October of 2001, and was granted bail.He subsequently broke conditions of his bail, returning to his native Germany where he remained for about one year.When he returned to Scotland in July 2002, he was rearrested, and brought before the Edinburgh High Court.Once again, Dieter-Glaetzner was granted bail, pending a trial at Forfar High Court in Forfar in October of 2002. He left the country, however, for the second time, and remained at large until his capture in Spain was announced on Thursday of this week.
A Central Scotland Police spokeswoman confirmed reports that a suspect had been arrested by Costa del Sol police.

Leónidas Vargas Vargas has been shot dead in his bed of a Madrid hospital

Colombian drug trafficker has been shot dead in his bed of a Madrid hospital. Leónidas Vargas Vargas received four shots from a pistol with a silencer after an individual entered his room in the 12 de Octubre Hospital at 8pm last night.
There were two people in room 543 and the assassin asked first which one was Vargas.
Police consider the shooting is almost certainly a settling of scores, with Vargas known as ‘El Viejo’ and to be linked to the Medellín drugs cartel. He was arrested in 2006 but was now granted release because of a lung problem. Police are now studying security tapes to see if the assassin has been caught on camera.Leonidas Vargas, a once powerful Colombian drug trafficker, has been shot dead in his hospital bed in the Spanish capital, Madrid. Police said that a gunman entered his room and fired four shots at Vargas, who was being treated for lung disease.
Vargas, 59, was the head of the Caqueta cartel which ran vast cocaine laboratories in Colombia in the 1980s. After serving a prison sentence in Colombia, he was arrested in Spain in 2006 and was on bail awaiting trial. The Spanish authorities stopped him up for carrying a fake Venezuelan passport, and he was later charged in connection with a 500kg (1,100lb) cocaine haul. His trial was delayed and he was admitted to the Doce de Octubre hospital for treatment in early January. Witnesses say two people entered Vargas' room on the fifth floor of the hospital. One man took out a pistol with a silencer and fired four shots at Vargas, who was asleep. His killing is believed to be part of a settling of accounts between rival drug-trafficking organisations, says the BBC's Jeremy McDermott in Colombia. Vargas assumed a low profile after being released in Colombia, but in the 1980s he was allied with the powerful Medellin drug cartel of Pablo Escobar. An idea of the scale of his wealth at the time was revealed after the Colombian state seized $29m worth of properties from him.

32 year old drug mule who came over a bit poorly at Reina Sofia last night.

32 year old drug mule who came over a bit poorly at Reina Sofia last night. He told the medical services at the airport that he was feeling unwell. A couple of hours later and 78 capsules of cocaine lighter, the Guardia Civil are now keeping him company at the hospital in Santa Cruz.