Belgian couple spot the men who stole their car in Belgium on a Spanish beach

 Sometimes it a very small world. A Belgian couple who had their car stolen at gunpoint in Belgium some months ago could not believe it when they recognised their attackers when on holiday in Alicante. They saw them on the beach in Guardamar, Alicante last Monday, and made no hesitation in calling the Spanish police. While they were waiting for the police to arrive, the couple found their own car parked nearby, and the owner decided...

Major heroin haul in Algeciras

 The second largest ever haul of heroin in Spanish history has been seized at the port in Algeciras, from a container which was on route to the Ivory Coast from Pakistan. The consignment of heroin was found in three hundred cylinders, each weighing half a kilo, which had been hidden in the cargo of iron oxide powder. The Agencia Tributaria Tax Authority had tracked the container until it arrived at the port, where it was searched...

Ex Ronda Mayor released on bail in corruption case

 Antonio Marín Lara, the ex Socialist Mayor of Ronda who was amongst seven people arrested on Tuesday in an operation against alleged planning corruption, dubbed ‘Operación Acinipo’, has been released on 150,000 € bail. He was freed on Thursday after questioning by the judge and is charged with perversion of the course of justice, bribery, money laundering, misappropriation of public funds and influence peddling. It’s understood that...

UK pressure group set up to help Spanish property victims

 While there are similar groups already in existence in Spain, this group is the first of its kind in the UK and aims to raise awareness and pressure the UK Government and MEPs into taking action. Many thousands of Britons are believed to have bought property in Spain and through the actions of various levels of Spanish government, property developers and banks, find themselves unable to enjoy the rights to these properties. The Protection...

Irish expat charged with prostitutes' murder in Spain

 The 42-year-old man, who is believed to be Irish, was arrested near his home in the resort of Mijas Costa, near Marbella on Spain's southern coast on Friday. The suspect's girlfriend and her mother were also being held over possible involvement in the serial slayings. Police suspect him of stabbing two prostitutes to death, the first in August and the second a month later. The killer was dubbed the "10 murderer" because both women...

Blasts hit ex-home of Franco-era politician

 A Spanish official says two homemade explosive devices detonated outside the childhood home of Manuel Fraga, the last surviving member of the regime of Gen. Francisco Franco. No one was hurt. An official with the Interior Ministry office in Lugo province in northwest Spain says Monday's blasts broke windows and damaged the facade of the house, which is being turned into a museum by the conservative Popular Party, which Fraga founded....

Spanish police hold suspected 'Irish serial murderer'

 SPANISH police were last night reported to be holding an Irishman on suspicion of stabbing two women to death in their Costa del Sol homes. Leading Spanish TV station Telecinco described the suspect as Irish. Last night speculation was mounting that detectives were treating him as a suspected serial killer and looking to link him to a series of other unsolved murders across the country. Detectives established a link between the...

El Hierro prepares for a possible volcanic eruption

 Canary Island of El Hierro is preparing for a possible volcanic eruption as the Canaries have lifted the alert level to yellow for the first time in the recent history of the archipelago following a group of ever-stronger earthquakes. Saturday night saw a 3.4 quake among a total of 48 seen over the weekend. The fear is that there could be a possible volcanic eruption on the island of El Hierro, but the Councillor for Security, María...

Canadian gold diggers look to Coruña

 Canadian company, Edgewater Exploration, are to reopen an old gold mine in Coruña and say they will employ 100 people in Cabanas de Bergantiños in the efforts to extract a million ounces of the metal. An ounce of gold is currently 1,800 € on the market. The Las Médulas mines have a long and distinguished past, and were responsible for ten percent of the Roman empire, as 96,000 kilos of gold was taken over 250 years as the Romans...

Two British swimmers cross the Strait

 British swimmers, Edward Thedore Cox and Frazer Lloyd-Jones managed to swim across the Strait of Gibraltar on Saturday. A third Briton, Richard Woodrup Skelhorn, had to abandon his attempt halfway, being unable to keep up with the other two. The two successful swimmers, both aged 34, left La Isla de Tarifa at 0910 and arrived at Punta Almansa at 1357, helped by calm seas and weak westerly winds. A Moroccan police patrol inspected...

Arrested man admits to killings on the Costa del Sol

 An alleged serial killer, who has been operating on the Costa del Sol and who is believed to be responsible for the deaths of two women, has been arrested. The crimes were on August 11 and September 10 in Calahonda and San Pedro de Alcántara, and in both cases the women had Spanish nationality but were of Latin American origin, and both were stabbed. Preliminary reports from the autopsies show certain similarities between the crimes....

FALKLANDS war veteran went on a lavish £1million spending spree after ripping off two gangsters

 FALKLANDS war veteran went on a lavish £1million spending spree after ripping off two gangsters. Ex-Royal Navy officer Dean Priestley had been asked by the crooks to drive the used notes across the Channel to Spain. But instead of sticking to the plan the 47-year-old went on the run and set about leading a life of luxury for six months. Advertisement >> Priestley splashed out on holidays, homes, cars, boats and jewellery...

Tony Montana would be displeased at the news Scarface is going to be remade again

In 2011 there have already been a slew of remakes of familiar movie favourites.So it should come as no surprise Hollywood is returning to the well again to reboot silver screen classic Scarface.Unlike examples such as the critically maligned Straw Dogs or the panned Arthur however, it will be a completely re-imagined flick based on the original concept.Say hello...

Ms Moran, 56, looked a shadow of her former self as she arrived to face 21 charges at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in central London.

 One count alleges that she falsely claimed £22,500 for dry rot on a home in Southampton more than 100 miles from her constituency.The former Labour member for Luton South sobbed throughout the brief hearing and was passed a tissue by a court official.No plea was entered and jurisdiction in the case was declined by District Judge Daphne Wickham on the grounds...

Case summary reveals the size of Astapa corruption in Estepona

 The judge in the Astapa case, regarding corruption in Estepona Town Hall, has more than 40 million € belonging to the 99 indicted in the case frozen, and Hacienda has detected a missing 20 million from appraisals on four real estate deals. These are named a El Ángel, Valle Romano, Arroyo Enmedio Este and Camino del Cerrillar. The case summary shows that as many as 1,800 properties have been impounded in the case, along with 50 vehicles,...

Mijas Fire NOT arson Bonfire

 BONFIRE not been properly extinguished near a stream in Entrerrios, Mijas, was the cause of the wildfire which started on Sunday (12th September) night destroying a vast stretch of land. This was the conclusion reached by the regional government’s fire investigation unit, Brigada de Investigacion de Incendios Forestales, on Monday (12th September). Remedios Martel, from the Junta de Andalucia, dismissed rumours suggesting the fire...

Torremolinos shooter pushed wife off Eiffel Tower

 THE man, 79, accused of killing another in Torremolinos town centre served time for pushing his wife off the Eiffel Tower in 1963, according to a Spanish daily. He was 31 at the time, she was 28, and they had emigrated to France and were working in a factory on the outskirts of Paris. Although he denied the accusations, he was sentenced to five years in prison. Last week he was arrested for shooting a man of the same age outside...

Passenger 'tried to open jet door'

 A holidaymaker who allegedly tried to open the doors of a plane at 36,000ft has been arrested. The Thomson Airways flight from Palma, Majorca, to Newcastle early on Wednesday was diverted to Gatwick. Witnesses said friends tried to restrain a man as he attempted to open the door, and he shouted: "It's OK, we are just on a simulator." Passengers and crew wrestled him into a seat and he was tied up with seat belts. A man aged 22 from...

Smuggler Tosses Passengers Off Jet Ski

 Spanish police say a human smuggler trying to sneak two Moroccans into Spain by crossing the Strait of Gibraltar on a jet ski threw them into the water when detected by coastal authorities and that one drowned. A Civil Guard statement Tuesday said the incident happened Sept. 9 near the Spanish town of Tarifa. The Moroccan driver has been charged with...

PORTUGUESE AUTHORITIES SEEK TRIAL OF ALLEGED GIBRALTAR DRUGS DEALERS

 An ongoing investigation dating back well over a year continues after a local man aged 73 was arrested last week and remanded on Friday on the strength of a European Arrest Warrant. On Thursday officers of the RGP arrested Angel Vella of No. 7 Maidstone House. The warrant issued by the Portuguese authorities is for alleged offences of conspiracy to import 6000 kilos of cannabis resin into Portugal. Vella appeared before the Magistrates...

Spanish-based Seven guilty of 'boiler-room' fraud

 Seven men were convicted today of an £8 million boiler-room fraud, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said. The Spanish-based operation targeted thousands of investors in the UK applying high pressure telesales techniques to push shares in a bio-diesel company, Worldwide Bio Refineries (WBR). In fact, the company was practically worthless. One defendant, company director Redmond Johnson, 66, pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud investors....

Spain killer bull named 'Mouse' wins fame, infamy

 3,000 fans cheering, a hulking, black-and-white fighting bull named "Mouse" chased one daredevil runner after another, trying to flip them airborne and skewer them as he did a month ago in a fatal goring that enshrined his reputation as Spain's most feared and famous beast. Mouse was greeted in the southeastern farm town of Sueca like a rock star: Everyone stood up at 2 a.m. Sunday in the bull ring's grandstands as he charged...

Rejuvenated Kinahan network 'back in trafficking'-

 AN international drug trafficking network, built by Ireland's wealthiest criminal Christy Kinahan, is back in business, gardai believe. Operation Shovel, the European police crackdown that emanated from the work of the Garda National Drugs Unit (GNDU), dismantled the multi-million euro empire. But officers say that the gang members have "re-invented"...

Freddie Thompson has spent most of the previous 15 months in England, returning only for brief visits to Dublin and the gang violence in the south city had reduced

 Freddie Thompson has spent most of the previous 15 months in England, returning only for brief visits to Dublin and the gang violence in the south city had reduced. It is believed he was concerned that he would be arrested and extradited to Spain after Spanish police said they had issued a warrant for his arrest and extradition at the time of a series of high- profile raids in May last year on the mainly Irish gang led by Dubliner...

Forest fire burns out of control in Mijas

 official in southern Spain says a forest fire burning out of control in the picturesque town of Mijas forced the evacuation of 300 homes. Andalusian regional government spokesman Agustin Perez said Monday the fire broke out Sunday evening, and most of the evacuees have since been able to return because strong winds fanning the flames have shifted. He said...

200 evacuated as forest fire spreads to Marbella

 FIREFIGHTERS are battling a blaze which has so far led to the evacuation of over 200 people. The forest fire – which is threatening parts of Marbella and Ojen – broke out at around 8.30pm on Sunday evening in the Entrerrios area of Mijas. Efforts to tackle the fire – which has so far led to the evacuation of La Mairena and La Bugancilla urbanisations – are being hampered by high win...

Irish drug gangs change tactics as downturn ruins their fortunes

 Drug traffickers and other organised gangsters have lost millions of euro as a result of the recession. A huge fall-off in demand for cocaine, allied to a series of dodgy investments in property and shares, have devastated the lucrative nest eggs they had built up during the boom times. Now the criminals are switching their focus in a bid to recover some of their losses and tap into new areas. Dozens of Irish gangsters have become...

Three Britons face a total of 27 years in prison for drug trafficking

 Málaga Prosecutors’ Office has asked for a total of 27 years in prison for three British men who are accused of trafficking in cocaine. The three, who also face a 3.6 million € fine each, were found with some 15 kilos of the drugs, and one of them is also accused of document falsification for being found with fake passports. The value of the drugs intervened has been estimated at 900,000 €. Europa Press reports that the provisional...

Alleged smuggler busted with cocaine-stuffed clams

In a decidedly unique twist on drug-smuggling, a Central American man was arrested for trying to sneak cocaine through Dulles International Airport by stuffing 15 bags of the illicit substance into clams, authorities reported Thursday. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials, David Pocasangre Vaquiz, 26, of El Salvador, was caught Saturday while going through a routine security inspection after arriving on a flight from...

Rapist of British girl gets two year prison sentence

 22 year old Bolivian man, Hernán Jesús V.A. has been given a two year prison sentence for the rape of a British woman on January 27 2007. The Murcia provincial court also ruled that he must compensate the victim with 12,000 €. Hernán Jesús admitted his guilt to the court which must now decide whether to replace the two year prison sentence with extradition from Spain. The rape took place in the doorway of the woman’s home, and the...

Body found in car boot in Vilalba, Lugo

 The Guardia Civil found a body in the boot of a parked Seat Toledo car in Vilalba at 10pm on Friday. They had been alerted to the body by a local resident who noticed the strong smell, and the body was found to be in an advanced state of decomposition. The car was parked close to the bus station in Vilalba, Lugo, and locals have said it had been there for some time. First indications are that the body is male. A full investigation...

Pensioner shot dead on a bench in Torremolinos

 man in his seventies is under arrest after shooting a 79 year old man dead while he was sitting chatting with a friend on a public bench in Torremolinos. It happened in broad daylight at around 7 on Wednesday evening in the Plaza Costa del Sol in the town centre. The victim, 79 year old from Ciudad Real who Málaga Hoy newspaper said has a holiday apartment in Torremolinos, was shot at point blank range in the back of the head. His...

£40m cocaine smuggling gang convicted

 drugs gang responsible for smuggling cocaine with a street value of up to £40m into the UK has been convicted at the High Court in Glasgow. They were involved in importing the drugs from Spain between 2007 and 2009. The ringleaders were Keith Blenkinsop, of Annan, and Lindsay Harkins from Helensburgh. Three men who acted as mules - Andrew Burns, of Helensburgh; Robert Dalrymple, of Gretna; and James Elvin, from Clydebank - were...

The STR6 livery as well as the Toro Rosso drivers' suits will carry Cepsa branding for the rest of the season after the team signed a sponsorship deal with the Spanish oil company.

Toro Rosso sign deal with CepsaThe Faenza-based squad confirmed on Tuesday that it has strengthened ties with the Abu Dhabi-backed Cepsa. Abu Dhabi government fund International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), which also owns stake in Daimler through state-owned subsidiary Aabar Investments, owns Cepsa. Aabar and IPIC in turn own Swiss-based Falcon Private...

Southend men held in Spain moved to new prison wing

 TWO men who are being held in Spain on suspicion of attempted murder have been moved to a new prison wing with better conditions. Kyle Thain, 24, of Sandringham Road, Southend, and James Harris, 29, of Pelham Road, Southend, have been moved to a new wing of Fontcalent prison, Alicante. The pals, who have been held without charge since July 8, have been relocated to Modulo Respecto, a part of the jail which should make life a little...