Spanish police seized at least 83 million euros worth of buildings and bank deposits owned by drug traffickers in 2007, the police said Sunday.

Spanish police seized at least 83 million euros worth of buildings and bank deposits owned by drug traffickers in 2007, the police said Sunday. The buildings may actually be worth much more, as the police used public registry prices and not market prices to value them, a police statement said. Buying real estate has become one of the fastest ways to launder drug money through front companies, which develop two or three buildings to get the recognition that allows them to camouflage themselves. Drug traffickers also send money abroad via small transfers from money changers, banks or individuals carrying cash. The main investment destinations for ill-gotten gains are Colombia, the Caribbean and the U.S. city of Miami. Heroin income also tends to be sent to the United Arab Emiratescity of Dubai, the main banking center in that country.

Jury took just over four hours to clear Ian Rush.

Ian Rush accused of setting up a company to continue the work of a Lowestoft couple, who supplied high speed boats to international drug smugglers, has been found not guilty.Following a four week trial at Ipswich Crown Court, a jury took just over four hours to clear Ian Rush.
The ending of the case has cleared the way for the sentencing of Ellen George, 41, from Colville Road, Lowestoft, who was one of the owners of the business which HM Revenue and Customs alleged Rush had succeeded.
George has pleaded guilty to money laundering offences after Customs investigators, working in co-operation with the authorities in Spain, searched her home in Lowestoft and discovered £1.2 million in cash stashed in holdalls, cupboards and under the stairs. During Rush's trial, the prosecution alleged that he had worked with Neil Davison and Ellen George, who ran Crompton Marine and who specialised on manufacturing high speed inflatable boats, HM Revenue and Customs claimed that after Davison and George were arrested in March 2004, Rush set up his own business, Nautexco Marine to continue supplying boats to drug smugglers. Davison, also of Colville Road, is currently on bail in Spain accused of drug smuggling offences.
Rush, a father-of-three from Brand End Road, Butterwick, near Boston pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to retain the proceeds of drug smuggling and conspiracy to acquire criminal property.
Giving evidence, Rush had earlier told the jury that he had been unaware of the activities of Davison and George, who operated from the Brook Yachts site in Lowestoft, and for who he had delivered boats to Spain.

Juan Vera, the Convergencia Andaluza Mayor of the village of Tolox, had been charged with planning crimes

Juan Vera, the Convergencia Andaluza Mayor of the village of Tolox, had been charged with planning crimes for granting building licences for more than 2,000 homes in this small village in the Sierra de las Nieves, which has a current population of just 2,400 people. Now, EFE reports that the Málaga prosecution service is charging the Mayor on 23 separate counts, and that each will be tried as a separate case. In each of them, EFE reports, he faces terms of between one and two years, and a public office ban of up to 10 years. The municipal architect and a legal assessor are also charged in some of the cases for licences granted between 2004 and 2006.

English family held at gunpoint during the attack in Sotogrande private gated community where the Duchess of York is a regular visitor

English family have been attacked during an armed raid on their exclusive home.
The family were tied up and held at gunpoint during the attack in a private gated community where the Duchess of York is a regular visitor and footballer Glenn Hoddle owns a home. During the raid, which took place at their home alongside Valderrama golf course, in Sotogrande, the thieves made off with cash, jewelry as well as numerous other valuables.Understood to be from Eastern Europe, the gang of four forced their way into the property at 9pm, when only one of the family was at home.They then laid in wait until the other three members got back a short time later, before tying them all up.Security has been stepped up in the urbanisation, which has its own private security firm and checkpoints to get in and out.
It is understood to be the first time thieves have used weapons on a raid in the estate.They had previously used gas sprays or raided when the occupants were not at home

Excita Club, Gran Canaria have smashed a prostitution ring

Police in Gran Canaria have smashed a prostitution ring which is thought to have brought at least 50 Brazilian women into the country posing as tourists. The racket is said to have earned the gang well in excess of one and a half million euros.So far seven people have been arrested in connection with running the operation but further detentions are expected.
The investigation got underway following a tip-off that numerous women of an exotic, Brazilian aspect were to be seen leaving and entering a building in Las Palmas.
Like other such establishments, euphemistically advertised as casas de contactos, it had ceased operating on an undercover basis in recent months and was now openly trading under the name of Excita. The new openness of brothels in the region has made police vigilance easier.
The Brazilian women were here illegally, having long out-stayed their tourist visas.
Recruited in their native country, they were under no illusion as to what they were coming to the Canary Islands for and most were seasoned prostitutes. They were selected through photos e-mailed to Excita.
Those chosen were given airline tickets, cash and hotel reservations to allay any suspicions of border police. On arrival in Las Palmas they were taken straight to the club and presented with a bill of 1,500 euros which they had to work off before they could start earning for themselves.
The six men and one woman involved in running the racket included three local men as well as a Swiss, a Cuban and two Brazilians.

Demonstration as Santiago del Valle, the man arrested in connection with the death of five year old Mari Luz Cortés, arrived at the court in Huelva

Demonstration as Santiago del Valle, the man arrested in connection with the death of five year old Mari Luz Cortés, arrived at the court in Huelva shortly after 5 on Thursday afternoon, where a crowd of some 600 people had been waiting outside since the early hours of the morning. The angry crowd shouted "Asesino!"[murderer] and hurled bottles and stones as the detainees, Santiago and his sister, arrived in police vans. The security fences that were serving as a barrier between the public and the court were used like throwing weapons. The police, who had send to the place several intervention teams, were forced to move against the crowd, with shots to the air and using their batons, trying to keep the order and disband the crowd , who were, besides throwing stones, doing fires in the streets and vandalizing several parked cars.During the uproar, two Spanish journalists, who were covering the story, were slightly injured. Izidro Huete, a cameraman from Cuatro Television [Channel 4], was hit in the head with a stone and had to be carried to a hospital to receive medical treatment. As well, a journalist from the radio Onda Cero was injured in the arms, in the middle of the crowd clash.

The first one breaking the orders from the police was the grandfather of Mari Luz, Juan José Fernandez, a fact that gave more strength to the protesters. ‘You criminal murderer, you have to pay for what you did! The prison is not enough for you!’ this was one of the various sayings directed to Santiago del Valle the confessed killer of Mari Luz.Between the screams and pushes, the rage of the relatives and neighbours mixed with a will of provoking chaos by a group of young persons from the El Torréjon district forced the authorities to expand the perimeter of security, closing all the streets that had a connection to the court.

Spanish police fired rubber bullets and clashed with protesters gathered outside a court Thursday in the town of Huelva on arrival of two suspects

Spanish police fired rubber bullets and clashed with protesters gathered outside a court Thursday in the town of Huelva for the arrival of two suspects in the disappearance and death of a 5-year-old local girl.
The crowds shouted «murderer» and hurled bottles and stones as the suspects _ a man and
his sister _ arrived in a police van. Three police officers and two journalists were slightly injured. Two people were arrested.
«I insist in asking people to stay calm and to let the courts do their work,» Juan Jose Lopez Garzon, Interior Ministry delegate for the southern region of Andalucia, told reporters.The detained man and his sister were arrested Tuesday in the central city of Cuenca.Mari Luz Cortes vanished Jan. 13 when she left her home in the southern town of Huelva to buy sweets. After weeks of searches, police found her remains March 7 in an estuary near the city.The case was major news in Spain given that the child had disappeared in an area about two hours' drive from the Portuguese town where British girl Madeleine McCann went missing in May of last year while on vacation with her parents.
Lopez Garzon said the detained man is the main suspect. He had been a neighbor of the dead girl, Mari Luz Cortes, but had left Huelva shortly after her disappearance. He was arrested weeks later but released for lack of evidence.
The General Council of the Judiciary, an oversight board, said Thursday it had ordered an inquiry into why the suspect had been free despite having been sentenced twice in recent years for child abuse.

Santiago del Valle García has confessed to the murder of Mari Luz Cortés

Santiago Del Valle had always been the prime suspect in the case but police lacked evidence against him. According to police sources quoted in the newspaper, he had a history of child molestation, even on his own daughter, and had left the El Torrejón district of Huelva to avoid possible reprisals from indignant neighbours. His wife, whose name does not appear, was detained for questioning with her husband although she is not a suspect; his sister could be accused of collaboration in the execution of a crime.
Santiago del Valle García, 52, has confessed to the murder of Mari Luz Cortés, according to news sources. He had already been questioned in Granada but was released for lack of proof. Santiago G. and his wife and sister, who had been neighbours of the Cortés family in Huelva, were detained in Cuenca, to where they had moved well before the body of Mari Luz was found downriver from the family home.
Mari Luz disappeared on her way back home from buying a packet of crisps on January 13th and was the subject of a wide search throughout the country, with European extensions. Her body was found accidentally on March 7th by workmen at the Cepsa refinery in Huelva. Autopsy reports indicated that she had been murdered very near, or on the date she disappeared.

man, named by the Mari Luz Cortés father Juan José, as Santiago G.

Europa Press reports that the arrested man has now confessed, to the police but not to a judge, to his involvement in the disappearance of the five year old, but says that she died accidentally. According to his statement to police, he said that she fell and died accidentally when she was with him ‘at her own choice’. The paper reports that this man had been arrested earlier in Granada just a few days after Mari Luz vanished, and was released on a lack of any evidence.
A man, who was arrested in Spain yesterday is reported to have confessed to his involvement in the death of Mari Luz Cortés, the five year old girl who vanished in Huelva on January 13. The man, named by the victim’s father Juan José, as Santiago G., lived locally in the same Torrejón district of the city, but has recently moved to Cuenca with his wife to avoid reprisals.
The suspect, who has a previous criminal record for child sexual abuse, was arrested with his wife in Pajaroncillo, a village in Cuenca province. Canal Sur reports that his sister has also been detained by the police.
Known as the Spanish Madeleine in the British press, she vanished when going to buy some crisps on the previous January 13 in the Torrejón district of Huelva. Her body finally appeared floating in the Ria de Huelva on March 7.Reporting restrictions remain in force in the case, but the child’s father, Juan José Cortés, told the Huelva Infomación newspaper that the man is called Santiago, lived locally and has a criminal record for child and sexual abuse. He said that the family had suspected him from the very first moment in the case.
‘We know that it is him, we are sure, and this is no surprise to me’, said the father this morning.Police say that they are sure that the man is responsible for the death of the child, and they believe that the motive was sexual. He is also reported to have a distancing order in place against his own children. The analysis from the police forensic department indicates however that the man could not manage to sexually force himself on the child.

Seville drug mule was detained when about to board a plane for Dublin

The Provincial Court in Málaga has sentenced a 34 year old Sevilla man who was found at Málaga Airport with 250 grams of cocaine in his body, to three years and six months in prison. The court heard how he had ingested 87 balls of the drug and was detained when about to board a plane for Dublin in August last year. There were a further 69 balls of the drug hidden among his clothing, weighing an additional 198 grams.

Drugs hidden in the bumpers of the vehicle

The Guardia Civil have arrested a 39 year old Moroccan man in the port of Málaga after he was found to be transporting 24 kilos of hashish in his car. The find was made on Sunday when customs officers thought that the man, named with the initials M.B., was acting suspiciously. They finally found the drugs hidden under the dashboard and in the bumpers of the vehicle which had just arrived on the ferry from Melilla.

Spanish Navy in court after 250 kilos of hashish was found on a navy coastal patrol vessel

Three members of the Spanish Navy are waiting to appear in court after 250 kilos of hashish was found on a navy coastal patrol vessel in the Strait of Gibraltar. The vessel had departed from Ceuta and docked in San Fernando in Cádiz and a joint Navy and Police investigation continues. The vessel’s mission was to patrol the Spanish waters in the Ceuta area.

Mari Luz Cortés man has been arrested in Huelva

man has been arrested in Huelva in connection with the disappearance and death of the five year old Mari Luz Cortés, whose body was found floating in the Ria de Huelva last March 7. She had vanished when going to buy some crisps on the previous January 13 in the Torrejón district of Huelva.The Government Sub-delegation offices in Huelva have confirmed that an arrest was made yesterday, and that this person is now in police custody answering questions.The identity of the arrested man has not been given, and a reminder was given that reporting restrictions are in force in the case.

Drugs Lab found

Drugs laboratory was broken in the suburb of Molinos Marfagones. In Muricia City it was the Guardia Civil that was in action again in a big crackdown on suspected drug traders that involved many agents and a helicopter. Again, a clan is suspected at being at the heart of the alleged network. As well as arresting suspects officers also took away a monkey that was being held illegally. Crime committed by gangs from Eastern Europe causes particular concern as their attacks are often very violent and ruthless. They attack homes, bars and businesses with great speed and efficiency, terrorizing the victims. This month National Police agents smashed one gang with the arrest of 15 people. Twelve are Romanian, Two Albanian and one Moroccan. The gang is accused of targeting homes and offices in the provinces of Alicante and Murcia. More than 20 robberies are said by police to have been committed by this gang in each province. A great deal of stolen property, including jewellery, watches, audiovisual equipment, industrial equipment and four vehicles has been recovered.

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 English women in their 50s who were being married to Nigerian men who didn't speak any Spanish. They took their suspicions to the Guardia Civil and a huge increase has been identified in the number of marriages between Nigerian males and women of Gypsy origin. Study of documentation provided for the marriages showed many common addresses and other suspicious aspects. Some of the women had only been in Murcia for a day. About 40 cases of alleged marriages of convenience, which aim to get residency for non-EU immigrants, are now being investigated and there are suspicions that an organised crime gang may be involved

Illegal hunting groups were captured in Toledo and Salamanca

Two illegal hunting groups were captured in Toledo and Salamanca last week by the Guardia Civil who arrested 12 men, amongst them Pedro Gutiérrez - “El Capea” - bullfighter son of the veteran matador, Niño de la Capea. The Salamanca ring was discovered after Guardia Civil investigators found them buying illegal silencers from the Toledo group. Spain’s national parks were favourite locations for clandestine shoots of everything from owls to wolves, with clients paying 1,000 euros to kill a stag and up to 6,000 for a mountain goat. The members of both groups were charged with endangering wildlife, illegal possession of firearms and unlawful association.

British man and his son,are to go on trial at the end of this month

British man and his son,are to go on trial at the end of this month on charges that they murdered an expat, whose body was found at the bottom of a well on the outskirts of Álora. Each of the men faces a 14-year prison sentence if found guilty.
The body of Lee ‘Alfie’ H.W., 37, was discovered inside the well on July 18, 2005, eight days after his disappearance had been reported to police. The corpse exhibited a head injury and indications that the victim’s hands had been tied.
According to the prosecutor’s case summary, the victim, who ran a tile-laying crew, fired Jason C.B. in mid-June 2005 after a dispute over an unpaid debt. A couple of days later the two had a fight in which the victim was injured. Several weeks later, according to the prosecutor, Jason C.B. and his father, Edward C.B., met with the victim in Cártama under the pretence of discussing a potential job, but instead took him to an isolated location and struck a fatal blow to his head with a blunt object. They then tied his hands and strapped a block of concrete to the body before throwing it down the well, located in the Arroyo Pedro la Torre area of Álora.
Several months later the British father and son were arrested, one of them picked up by police in England and the other in an unspecified Guadalhorce Valley town.
The prosecutor also accuses the men of robbery, saying they took 2,000 pounds and 100 euros off the victim, as well as his bankcard, which they allegedly used several times. The jury trial is scheduled to begin on March 31.

Mayor of Cómpeta banned from any public office

The former Mayor of the Málaga village of Cómpeta, the ex Partido Popular Mayor, Leovigildo López, has been banned from any public office position for the next seven years, in a sentence from criminal court No. 1 in the provincial capital which has found him guilty of planning crimes. He must also pay a fine of more than 2,000 €.It relates to a building licence granted for land classified as unsuitable for development, in the area known as El Pulido, and, according to the court ruling, in the ‘full knowledge’ that the decision contravened planning regulations in force at the time. Europa Press notes that the municipal architect had advised that the licence application should be turned down.López was Mayor of the village for 16 years until he decided that he would not be standing for re-election in the municipal elections which took place in May last year.

62 years in prison for Prostitution ring

The Supreme Court has ratified a sentence from the provincial court in Almería which gave prison terms totalling 62 years to seven members of a Romanian network based in Vera which forced two countrywomen to work as prostitutes in local clubs. Europa Press reports how two of the suspects assaulted one of the women as she was travelling by bus to Almería to look for work in September 2003, and held on to her passport to force her to work for them. She worked in their club without pay for a number of weeks before she managed to escape and ask for help from the police. The other woman was freed by the Civil Guard shortly afterwards.The network’s victims will receive 30,000 € compensation from their captors.

Policeman shot in Benidorm

policeman,Fabián Torres, was injured in the early hours of Saturday in a shooting incident at the old El Molino restaurant in the centre of Benidorm. Reports indicate that the policeman was shot in the chest with a small calibre weapon by two individuals after he had asked them for identification close to the abandoned property known to be used by drug takers.The policeman is being treated in the Marina Baja hospital in Villajoyosa, where he is now out of danger. The head of the National Polce, Joan Mesquida, has said that a full investigation has been opened with the intention of arresting those responsible.

Ian Rush yesterday denied allegations that he continued the trade of a Lowestoft company

Ian Rush yesterday denied allegations that he continued the trade of a Lowestoft company after its owners were arrested for involvement in supplying boats to drug smugglers.Ian Rush, 43, told Ipswich Crown Court that while the business he set up produced the same type of high-speed craft at the same site in the town, he did nothing illegal.Rush said he had been unaware of the activities of Neil Davison and Ellen George, who ran Crompton Marine in Lowestoft and for whom he had delivered boats to Spain.HM Revenue and Customs claims that George and Davison, of Colville Road, Lowestoft, manufactured powerful boats for international drug traffickers while running a reputable boat yard at the Brook Yachts site.
George, 41, has pleaded guilty to her involvement while Davison remains on bail in Spain where he is facing drug-smuggling charges. Customs investigators, working with the auth-orities in Spain, searched George's home in Lowestoft and discovered £1.2m in cash stashed in holdalls, cupboards and under the stairs.
Yesterday, Rush, of Brand End Road, Butterwick, near Boston, denied that the arrest of Davison and George in March 2004 had been the motivation for him to start his own business, Nautexco Marine, with the aim of continuing the illegal trade.
Rush said that while he operated Nautexco Marine from the Brook Yachts site using some of the same suppliers and dealing with some of Crompton Marine's customers, he had never been involved in producing craft which he knew would be used for illegal purposes.He said Nautexco Marine had kept full records of all its financial deal-ings and a routine check by a VAT inspector had found nothing amiss.
The father-of-three told the jury it was while running his own transport firm, Rushtrans, that he carried out work for Davison at Crompton Marine but he was never involved in the running of their business.He also denied that visits he made to Spain to visit Davison in prison had been to plan continuing the work of Crompton Marine under another name.Rush has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to retain the proceeds of drug smuggling and con-spiracy to acquire criminal property.

Bimal Puri,Glen Clark Cocaine had been hidden inside the wood of the desks, which had come from Mexico via Madrid and Alicante, Spain.

Four men face long prison sentences and the possible confiscation of money and property for importing 6.5kg of cocaine hidden inside computer desks imported from Mexico Police and Interpol are still looking for a fifth man who is on the run.
Unknown to the men, officers from the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (Soca) had them under observation for three months before the drugs arrived through Heathrow on June 29 last year. The computer desks were delivered to freight handlers Southern Cross in Feltham and collected the following day. The drugs were unpacked and stored in the loft of an Edgware house, prosecutor Julian Christopher told a jury at Isleworth Crown Court.
Bimal Puri, 50, of Otterbourne Gardens, Isleworth, and Glen Clark 47, of Ramsay Close, Colindale, denied a charge of being involved in the illegal importing of 6.5kg of cocaine, of 100 per cent purity. The two other men pleaded guilty.
The drugs were said to have a street value of more than £1million.
Puri and Clark were found guilty after a two-week trial and remanded in custody. They will be sentenced, together with Jose Perdomo, 49, of Moody Road, Peckham, and Barry Hearn, of Rannoch Close, Edgware, in April.When officers went to the house in Kings Drive, Edgware, they found a rubbish clearance truck with the unpacked computer desks inside. The drugs had been hidden inside the wood of the desks, which had come from Mexico via Madrid and Alicante, Spain.The men were arrested on July 1, their homes searched and various documents and mobile phones found.

Mohamed Kharraz aka Cherif Bin Louidane jailed for eight years

Casablanca court jailed Mohamed Kharraz, better known as Cherif Bin Louidane, for eight years, the government said on Thursday. It ordered 5.2 million dirhams of his fortune to be seized and fined him 500,000 dirhams.Moroccan drug baron was jailed along with the former head of Tangier's judicial police after a lengthy trial that pitted the Rabat authorities against powerful interests in the kingdom's northern cannabis growing regionJudicial police officers grabbed Kharraz in August 2006 at the Al Ghouroub (Sunset) cafe near the northern port city of Tangier, acting on a warrant issued after a separate drugs trial years earlier, newspapers said.
The arrest surprised locals for whom Kharraz had seemed virtually immune from the law and benefited from a reputation for generosity among the poor of a region neglected for decades by the central government, the papers said.He named over 30 members of the security services as being implicated in the drugs trade including Abdelaziz Izzou, head of the Tangier judicial police from 1996 to 2003, who was suspended from his job as head of security at Morocco's royal palaces.
Izzou was imprisoned for 18 months and had 700,000 dirhams seized by the state. Two others were jailed including Kharraz's brother while nine people were acquitted including another top former Tangier police official, the government said.
Those imprisoned were found guilty of offences including international drug trafficking, abuse of power, incitement to illegal immigration and failing to report crimes.Morocco had aimed to erase its cannabis industry by this year, a campaign given added momentum by suspicions that hashish was used to partly pay for dynamite that blew up trains in Madrid in 2004, killing 191 people.But the north African country is still the world's biggest hashish producer.The dark green fern-like plant grows well in poor soil of the northern Rif mountains and has come to be known as "green gold" because it staves off grinding poverty for thousands of local families.Smugglers hide the drug in containers and trucks or use powerful speedboats to ship it to Barcelona in Spain or Marseille in France.Moroccan customs said drugs with a value of 30 million dirhams were seized at the port of Tetouan near Tangier last year, up six times from a year earlier.But catching the top criminals and keeping them behind bars is still proving difficult.
Last year drug lord Mohamed El Ouazzani, known as El Nene, was allowed to stroll out of prison and probably fled to Spain to avoid serving the rest of an eight-year prison sentence. Six prison guards were jailed for allowing him to escape

Eight men charged after one of Valencia’s biggest ever drug hauls

Sentencing has been released in the trial of the eight men charged after one of Valencia’s biggest ever drug hauls, three and a quarter tons of cocaine found in a lorry-load of bananas in the El Altet area of Elche four years ago. Total sentencing in the case amounts to more than 77 years and the smugglers will also have to pay the value the drug would have brought on the black market: more than 112 million €.The longest terms went to six of the suspects, who admitted their guilt and accepted sentences of 11 years, with two of them also getting another six months each for falsifying documents. Two others claimed they had got lost looking for a car boot sale and were only at the warehouse where police swooped by mistake, but the court ruled it proved that their role in the smuggling operation was to distribute the cocaine. They received terms of five years and four months each.

Fatal shooting at the port in Algeciras

Central government offices in Cádiz have released details of a fatal shooting at the port in Algeciras on Monday evening when a Civil Guard officer was firing at the tyres of an escaping car and one of the shots hit the driver of the vehicle. He died in hospital around an hour later.EFE said the car had been reported as suspicious by staff at the port, who said they had seen one of the three occupants armed with a gun. It’s understood that the driver repeatedly ignored Civil Guard orders to pull over, and on one occasion drove straight at the officers, forcing them to jump out of the way. The shooting happened while the officers were in pursuit and one of the bullets fired at the tyres went into the vehicle, hitting the driver.
#He was carrying documentation in the name of a 27 year old man with a lengthy criminal record, but EFE said his identity has been put into doubt with statements from the two other occupants of the car, and it will be confirmed with fingerprint analyses.

Two armed robberies in Malaga

Police in Málaga are investigating two armed robberies which took place in different parts of the city on Tuesday morning, both of them shortly before 10 am. The first assault was at a branch of Unicaja on Camino del Suárez, and involved one suspect, Diario Sur reports.Two suspects armed with a sawn-off shotgun carried out the second robbery on Calle Frigiliana, where the target on this occasion was a branch of the Banesto bank. The newspaper said the thieves fled the scene on a moped.There were no reports of any injuries in either of the two robberies, nor of the amount stolen.

Alfredo Marijuán and Carlos Farré have been detained in custody and Isaac Pacheco Suárez and Eusebio Vázquez Fernández were released on bail.

Alfredo Marijuán and Carlos Farré have been detained in custody and Isaac Pacheco Suárez and Eusebio Vázquez Fernández were released on bail.Forty officers have been questioned in connection with the case, which relates to alleged payments received by Inspector Marijuán from Russian nationals for reports on police surveillance operations.The officer was also alleged to have delivered an envelope containing details about the girlfriend of a Russian who was arrested for cocaine smuggling in the US.The Costa del Sol gained its nickname after British criminals took advantage of the ending of an extradition treaty in 1978 to escape Scotland Yard's reach. The likes of Ronnie Knight and the drug dealer Clifford Saxe, both wanted in connection with a Security Express robbery in east London, set up home there. Kenneth Noye, who helped to launder the Brink's-Mat gold, fled to the Costa del Sol in 1996 while on the run for murder. More recently, however, it has become the base for a more dangerous breed of gang, from the UK, Russia, Colombia and eastern Europe. The Russian mafia are known to have a major presence on the Costa del Sol, exploiting lax property laws and lack of police resources to launder millions from arms dealing, drug dealing and prostitution. A Spanish interior ministry report said nearly a third of organised crime in Spain is based in the area, with 102 known gangs.Three years ago, Spain launched a major crackdown there, forming specialised units to combat the problem.Two of the four National Police UDYCO anti-drugs and organised crime chiefs who were arrested on Tuesday accused of corruption, were ordered to prison without bail on Friday evening. They are the UDYCO chief from Marbella, Carlos Farré and the organised crime chief from Málaga, Alfredo Marijuán. Instruction judge number 5 in Marbella, Julián Cabrero, also granted bail with charges remaining for the other policemen. Two translators, one based at the National Police station in Marbella, and the other the wife of an ex Russian official based in Madrid and allegedly linked to the case, were granted bail, as was the director of the Marbella Clinic, who had bail set at 30,000 €.The arrested policemen spent all of Friday in the court building in Marbella, finally leaving with heads covered around 6pm.
They are charged following a Police Internal Affairs investigation which began two years ago into alleged misappropriation of items seized in the course of police operations from mafia-type criminal gangs.The investigator in the case considers that the Chief Inspector Marijuán received payments from Russian citizens in exchange for information on security procedures in Málaga province, although the defence is reported to say there were only the normal regular contacts with the Russian Ministry of the Interior.
Spanish Minister for the Interior, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, on Thursday asked for respect for the four arrested police chiefs, reminding his audience about the presumption of innocence.
Meanwhile unions have criticised what they describes as the ‘systematic ill-treatment’ of the arrested policemen. They accuse the man who is the assistant operations director, Fernández Chico, of not respecting the presumption of innocence, and they have called for his resignation. They also say the men were given no food or water for a 24 hour period.The internal affairs unit is reported to have questioned some 40 other National Policemen in the province as their investigations proceed.

William McFarlane arrested suspected drugs distribution and gambling den

Five men arrested in a swoop on drugs and illegal gambling in Spain yesterday.
William McFarlane, 56, from Glasgow, was taken into custody along with four Englishmen when police targeted a suspected drugs distribution and gambling den in the centre of Benidorm. Officers recovered £77,000 as well as a quantity of illicit drugs, prescription drugs and cigarettes.

50-year-old man from South Shields, Tyneside was being held in Spain last night after £21.5million worth of cocaine destined for the UK was seized.

50-year-old man from South Shields, Tyneside was being held in Spain last night after £21.5million worth of cocaine destined for the UK was seized. 50-year-old man from South Shields, Tyneside, was arrested when cops swooped on a warehouse in Vilajoyosa on the Costa Blanca. They found 514 kilos of the drug. It had arrived by lorry from Lisbon after being shipped from West Africa in a load of paper handkerchiefs. Police say they have cracked a new route for drugs from Colombia.

Man Kills Flatmate

A man from Ukraine has confessed to murdering his German flatmate at the home they shared on the Intur Urbanisation on Playa de San Juan in Alicante City this weekend.
It happened at around 2.30pm on Saturday in a flat on the fifth floor of a block on Avenida de Bruselas, and it appears the victim was beaten on the head with a stick before he was strangled with a belt and officers found blood on the walls when they arrived on the scene. The suspect is said to have immediately confessed to police, and put up no resistance to arrest.