Pancake the scouser, and is involved in drug trafficking and carrying out assassinations in Málaga province

Violent British gang which has been carrying out extortion of local businessmen on the Costa del Sol has been linked to several shooting incidents.The group is known as ‘Pancake’, because it is allegedly led by the known British criminal referred to as ‘Pancake the scouser’, and is involved in drug trafficking and carrying out assassinations in Málaga province. Most of the members are originally from Liverpool and Manchester.La Opinión de Málaga reports that the group controlled four houses in Urbanisation Jacaranda in Mijas, and that there are at least five members known to the authorities.The shooting at Nikki Beach last year has been linked to the gang which is under investigation by the UDYCO, organized crime and drug unit of the police. Several witnesses at the scene identified ‘Pancake the Scouser’ as the shooter there last summer.The gang is also linked to the Puerto Banús shooting last summer and to the shooting of an Irishman at the Aloha Garden bar.

Robbed 1.5 million € from a businessman at the doors of a bank in Alicante.

Five men and two women, all from Argentina, and with criminal records back home, have been arrested for taking 1.5 million € from a businessman at the doors of a bank in Alicante.The police say that the group had been following the businessman for two months and had tried to rob him on another two occasions without success.Finally they took 1.5 million € at gunpoint from the footwear entrepreneur just as he was about to pay in the cash to the bank.National Police spokesman, Blas García, explained that the robbery happened on December 15 in the San Gabriel area of the city. He said the organisers of the gang are a father and son who are very well known in Alicante as a furniture restorer and motorbike mechanic.Others arrested face money laundering charges. Five searches have been carried out and 290,000 € of the money has been recovered and three cars, motorbikes and a firearm have been impounded. It’s thought the group were trying to purchase a property on the beach for 300,000 € but the deal apparently was not completed.

17 year old Marta del Castillo, who vanished from Sevilla nine days ago

Eva Casanueva, the mother of the 17 year old Marta del Castillo, who vanished from Sevilla nine days ago, has spent most of that time in bed just waiting for news. On Monday she made the effort to attend to the questions of the media. There are no firm clues to go on, although rumours that the boy who said he dropped Marta off at her home on the Saturday night is under suspicion. An expert dog has indicated that the clues may be in the Triana part of the city, where Marta spent Saturday afternoon with friends before she disappeared.Meanwhile her uncle, Javier Casanueva, who is acting as family spokesman, has complained to the press that neither the Prime Minister, nor the Minister for the Interior have called the family.

‘Latin King’ gang have been arrested in Orihuela

Four Ecuadorians aged between 15 and 23 have been arrested in Orihuela for allegedly being members of the ‘Latin King’ gang. Among those arrested is the man thought to be the leader of the organisation in the province, a 21 year old.The arrests come after a complaint to police from a Uruguayan youngster who said he had been beaten up several times by the gang. Four homes have been searched in the town, and documents and other items impounded. More arrests have not been ruled out.

Spanish Internet Users Paying Extortionate Prices

The Spanish Association of Internet Users has made a formal complaint with regard to the slowing growth rate of ADSL and cable connections within the country, calling for price reductions. It went on to say that as such an affluent source of revenue and potential economic growth it feels that universal access to the web should be sustained by public money.

Three people have been arrested in Almonte, Huelva, for allegedly building on protected land close to the Doñana Nature Park.

Three people have been arrested in Almonte, Huelva, for allegedly building on protected land close to the Doñana Nature Park.The buildings were to have been used for rural tourism, but the German owners of the land, the two German and Austrian promoters of the project in Alto de las Niñas, are now being held. A judicial order has taped up the site and the two buildings, built to host six beds in one and stables for 14 horses in another. A neighbouring villa and warehouse are also considered to have been built illegally.

Drug smuggling gang which trafficked in hashish have been arrested by National Police and Guardia Civil in Valencia and Murcia.

Drug smuggling gang which trafficked in hashish have been arrested by National Police and Guardia Civil in Valencia and Murcia. The gang brought the drug over from Morocco using yachts and recreational boats. 25 people have been arrested Police say they started their operation in March last year and over its four phases have arrested 25 people and recovered nearly 7,000 kilos of the drug, as well as two firearms, three boats and six vehicles. The drug was usually brought into sports marinas in Spain although sometimes it was transferred at sea onto fishing boats.

Marbella businessman Fernando Moreno died during the bungled kidnapping and ransom attempt.

Marbella businessman Fernando Moreno died during the bungled kidnapping and ransom attempt. It’s taken just six days for the National Police to establish what happened, with the arrest of one of the accused on Monday and a second on Tuesday, resulting in the case being solved yesterday, according to Diario Sur newspaper. The Interior Minister, Alfredo Pérez Rubalbaba, has congratulated the force on their rapid solution of the case.One of the accused is an ex employee of Fernando Moreno, and was aware of his worth and daily routine. He made an agreement with a Colombian friend to carry out an express kidnapping to obtain money, and they joined forces with two more Colombians to carry out their plan, initially asking for two million €, an amount which fell to 600,000 €. The precise circumstances of the victim’s death remain unclear, although the autopsy revealed the 76 year old died from suffocation, it’s still unclear whether his death was intentional or accidental.

Spanish police investigated more property corruption scandals in 2008 than in previous years

Spanish police investigated more property corruption scandals in 2008 than in previous years, it has emerged.They examined 164 cases, up 40% from 117 cases, figures from the Ministry of the Interior show. The number of arrests also increased from 134 in 2007 to 207 last year

Search and arrest operations were undertaken by the Spanish national police together with the economic crime and money laundering group,

SFO spokesman said: "Search and arrest operations were undertaken by the Spanish national police together with the economic crime and money laundering group, the superior chief police of Catalunia with the support of the fraud unit Udes Madrid and the local police of Elche (Alicante) alongside SFO investigators of the SFO and City of London Police last week at four residences and two business premises in Madrid, Barcelona and Alicante.
"Six people were arrested and interviewed in relation to the SFO investigation into Langbar International.
"As part of the ongoing investigation into certain individuals previously associated with Crown Corporation Ltd, now Langbar International under new management, the SFO obtained collaboration from the Cuerpo Nacional de Policia and a mutual legal assistance procedure to undertake searches, arrests and interviews. The operations were co-ordinated by Crime Court 24 of Barcelona."
When the SFO began its investigation in 2005, Langbar had already requested the suspension of its shares. Later that year, the company announced a new board.
No-one from Langbar was available to comment but a statement on the company's website reads: "The present board of Langbar International Limited is determined to discover exactly what has transpired concerning company funds and to pursue their recovery. Our aim is to restore value for shareholders to the maximum that can be achieved."

Forged Euros tracked down to Italy

Italian police have dismantled a vast network of euro counterfeiters, arresting 94 people across the country, an officer told AFP on Wednesday. We arrested 94 people in Italy, in 16 of the country's 20 regions,said police spokesman Colonel Carlo Pieroni, adding that most were inthe impoverished southern regions of Campania and Calabria.Police seized 1.23 million euros (1.6 million dollars) ofcounterfeit notes as well as forged documents and revenue stamps used for paying administrative fees, Pieroni said.The counterfeiters produced good quality euro notes indenominations of 20, 50 and 100 as well as one and two euro coins, he added.Pieroni said they had also been operating in other European countries including Germany, Spain, Lithuania and France, and that somefake euros had turned up in Latin America.Two people were arrested in Spain last year as part of the same investigation, he added.What began as a probe into drug trafficking led police to the counterfeit network, which Pieroni described as a veritable holding company made up of 11 criminal units.
Some 700 police officers took part in the operation, which involved
150 searches. They uncovered four laboratories where the fake bills and coins were made.Some of counterfeit money made its way into the illegal drug trade,
Pieroni said.The crackdown came the day after Italian police announced the
dismantling of a network operating near Naples that made fake Algerian dinars worth about 3.5 million euros.

Spanish national police have arrested six men in connection with a massive $600million shares fraud

Spanish national police have arrested six men in connection with a massive $600million shares fraud on the London Stock Exchange. Officers from the National Police Economic Crimes and Money Laundering Unit pounced in raids across the country as part of an investigation started by Britain’s Serious Fraud Office four years ago.
Four men were arrested in Barcelona and one each in Madrid and Elche, just inland from the Costa Blanca near Alicante, in south-east Spain. Five of those held are Spanish and the other comes from Argentina. Spanish National Radio reported that one of those arrested was an agent for MOSSAD – the Israeli intelligence service. Spanish police said the Serious Crime Office alleged the massive swindle began in 2003 and was rumbled two years later in 2005. It involved the fraudulent sale of shares in a fictitious company. When it started trading on the stock exchange, the company was said to have assets totalling £370million. Later various financial operations were announced in the firm’s name which led to the value of the shares in the false company going up. Adverts were also placed in specialised publications aimed at creating interest in the shares, said a police statement issued in Madrid.
As well as the arrests Spanish detectives also seized a large quantity of documents and several computers. The six were today being held at a top security prison near Madrid where the case is being handled by the National Criminal Court which deals with all extraditions. If those held agree to be sent to Britain they will be escorted to the UK within a week or two. But if they fight extradition they could spend many months behind bars before a full hearing in front of a panel of three judges at the National Court.

Spanish National Police from the organised crime group have seized eight luxury houses, a Lamborghini sports car and a yacht from Ian Donaldson.

Spanish National Police from the organised crime group have seized eight luxury houses, a Lamborghini sports car and a yacht from Ian Donaldson.
Amateur racing driver Ian Donaldson's property portfolio on Tenerife includes a £1million clifftop villa. The 30-year-old - once accused of abducting an underworld rival at gunpoint - is being probed along with Ronald O'Dea, 42, and James McDonald, 39. O'Dea and McDonald, of Glasgow, have been arrested as part of Operation Sendero by the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency and Spain's police. The pair are accused of running a huge drug-smuggling operation and last week had £12million of money and assets seized in Tenerife and on the Spanish mainland. Donaldson, who has a fortified home in Renton, Dunbartonshire, was targeted in the same probe but is not in custody. As well as having his Tenerife properties frozen, he has been hit in Scotland under similar proceeds of crime laws. SCDEA officers confiscated £47,052 of cash from Donaldson and three other men at Glasgow Airport last September. They also took 9320 Moroccan dirhams (£793) and 660 euros (£622). The Crown Office have raised a civil action at Paisley Sheriff Court to keep the cash. Spanish court documents reveal Madrid judge Eloy Velasco Nunez suspects O'Dea has a secret share in some of the homes seized from Donaldson. Assets seized in Spain and Tenerife include bank accounts, a Lamborghini Gallardo and a yacht. Donaldson's four-bedroom clifftop villa is in the exclusive Lajas de Chapin area. All his Tenerife properties were bought in the last two years.

organised crime unit of the Spanish police is investigating the murder of Richard KeoghIt

It has emerged that the murder may have been ordered by a Northside criminal gang.
Organised crime unit of the Spanish police is investigating the murder of Richard Keogh (30), . Security sources in Spain say the killing is believed to be drugs related.Keogh, a father of four children aged between two and nine years, was wounded several times after at least 10 shots were fired in a drive-by shooting in Benalmadena Costa near Marbella.He was walking along a pavement with this wife at about 11.35pm on Saturday when a car pulled up and at least one occupant opened fire. Keogh collapsed on the pavement outside the Torrequebrada Hotel.The dead man is originally from Carnlough Road, Cabra, but in recent years had settled with his family in the Belfry estate, Duleek, Co Meath.On November 2nd, 2007, Keogh was putting his bin out for collection when a gunman fired at least five shots at him as his wife and two-year-old son looked on. He was wounded in the shoulder and arm but managed to run back into the safety of his home.His attacker tried to run into the house but Keogh’s partner slammed the door shut as a number of bullets hit the house.
Shortly after the murder attempt, Keogh put his five bedroom detached property up for sale and moved with his partner and children to southern Spain. Keogh has been a target of the Garda National Drug Unit for a number of years as part of Operation Rugby and Operation Banish. He was associated with a man from Cabra who was a member of an international gang caught with cocaine valued at €400 million off the coast of Spain a number of years ago.Keogh’s assets are currently being investigated by the Criminal Assets Bureau. Garda sources said they regarded Keogh a “significant player” in the drugs trade here.The deceased was one of a growing number of gangland figures involved in the motor trade in Dublin. He was a partner in a garage in the north inner city. Garda sources said that while he had addresses in Balbriggan and Duleek before moving to Spain, he remained closely associated with drug dealers from Cabra and from Dublin’s north inner city. He and was also associated with the Finglas-based gang once led by Martin “Marlo” Hyland.Gardaí suspect that when Keogh moved to Spain he began sourcing cocaine and other drugs from international gangs there for export to his contacts in Ireland. They believe his murder is most likely linked to a drugs dispute with an international cartel rather than with any Irish criminals based in Benalmadena Costa. Southern Spain is popular with Irish gangs because it is the European distribution hub for cocaine smuggled from Colombia via west Africa.Keogh’s murder is the latest in a series of killings in which Irish drug dealers have been shot after relocating to continental Europe.Peter Mitchell (39), of Summerhill in Dublin, was wounded in a shooting in Marbella last August. He was a one-time associate of John Gilligan. Drug dealer Paddy Doyle, of Portland Place, in Dublin, was shot dead near Marbella last February.The former leaders of the notorious Dublin Westies gang, Shane Coates and Stephen Sugg, were shot dead in Alicante, southern Spain, in early 2004.John McKeon, from Finglas in Dublin, has been missing presumed dead in Spain for over three years. Cork drug dealer Michael “Danser” Ahern was found dead in the freezer of an apartment in Portugal in 2005.

Banco Santander SA,hit by worlds largest fraud

The $7.3 billion Fairfield Sentry Fund invested solely with Madoff, taking a cut of 1 percent of assets and 20 percent of gains, which averaged about 11 percent annually in the past 15 years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Fairfield Greenwich is one of at least 15 hedge-fund firms and private banks, including Tremont Holdings Group Inc. and Banco Santander SA, that earned similar fees for sending customers’ cash to the 70-year-old money manager. “It’s mind-boggling that people like Tremont and Fairfield Greenwich had been doing this for so long,” said Brad Alford, who runs Alpha Capital Management LLC in Atlanta, which helps clients choose hedge funds. “It’s the job of these funds of funds to be doing due diligence. That’s why they get paid.” Madoff was arrested Dec. 11 after he allegedly confessed to running a “giant Ponzi scheme” that may have bilked investors of $50 billion. That fraud escaped the notice of Fairfield Greenwich, Tremont and other funds of funds that had at least $17 billion invested with Madoff. Hedge-fund investment adviser Aksia LLC said the managers should have seen “red flags,” such as Madoff’s use of a little-known, three-person auditing firm. Hedge funds that have disclosed holdings with Madoff were due at least $290 million in fees this year, based on reported assets, fees and Bloomberg data. The calculations don’t include fees of as much as 5 percent that clients paid for some funds when they first invested. Madoff didn’t assess fees for his money-management services, getting paid instead through commissions from his brokerage business for trading the stocks in the accounts. Investors ensnared by Madoff include Fred Wilpon, the owner of the New York Mets baseball team, clients of private bankers in Geneva, wealthy Jewish families in New York and Palm Beach, Florida, and institutions including BNP Paribas SA in Paris that loaned investors money to increase their bets. Losses have been reported by a pension fund in Fairfield, Connecticut, New York hospitals and a charity in Salem, Massachusetts.
While Madoff didn’t run a hedge fund, his alleged crime may accelerate investor defections from the $1.5 trillion industry, already hit by its worst losses since at least 1990 and redemptions that may reach $400 billion this year, according to estimates by Morgan Stanley. In a Ponzi scheme, returns to early investors are paid with money from later ones, until there isn’t enough cash to go around. Madoff’s alleged scam unraveled when he received $7 billion in redemption requests that he couldn’t meet. Funds of hedge funds such as Fairfield Greenwich act as middlemen, raising money from investors and farming it out to other managers that they vet. The go-betweens manage 44 percent of hedge-fund assets, according to data compiled by Hedge Fund Research Inc. Their investments lost 19 percent on average through November, a little more than a percentage point more than single-manager funds, the Chicago-based firm says. Institutions including New York State’s $154 billion retirement system and the endowment of Baylor University have been cutting back their investments in funds of funds to save the extra layer of fees -- generally 1 percent of assets and 10 percent of profits -- that they charge on top of the underlying managers’ take. Last year, for the first time, more than half of the hedge-fund assets of the 200 largest U.S. pension plans were invested directly with individual managers, according to data compiled by Pensions & Investments magazine.

Man driving his car against the traffic at 120 kms/hour with a woman hanging on for dear life on the bonnet.

Police in Marbella could not believe what they saw. A scene more at home in a Quentin Taratino film than on the local N340 road. A man driving his car against the traffic at 120 kms/hour with a woman hanging on for dear life on the bonnet.
It happened at 4am in the morning last Tuesday, but details have only now been released. Diario Sur newspaper reports that witnesses said the driver was zigzagging and appeared to be trying to get the woman to fall from the car bonnet. The police patrol radioed for support in an attempt to block the way of the car which refused to stop to their sirens. After a long chase with the woman hanging on to the windscreen wipers, a second patrol car managed to stop the vehicle. The 31 year old Brazilian woman told the police that the driver, a 34 year old Spaniard, was her boyfriend and that he had been trying to kill her. He has now been arrested accused of attempted murder.

British pensioners living overseas should be stopped from raking in millions of pounds in winter fuel payments

British pensioners living overseas should be stopped from raking in millions of pounds in winter fuel payments, campaigners are insisting.Charities and OAP groups will next week protest that more than £10million a year is being paid to those who have escaped the chilly UK and retired to the sun.Some 50,000 elderly Britons who have moved permanently abroad are claiming the yearly allowance, worth between £200 and £300, which is supposed to help with winter heating bills.Campaigners have hit out at winter fuel payments made to those living in sunny climates abroad, while elderly UK residents struggle with rising energy bills
Even those living on Spain's Costas and in Portugal, Greece and some tropical islands are benefiting from taxpayers' money.As long as they register for the allowance in Britain, they are entitled to continue claiming if they move to any of 29 European countries or their overseas territories.Under European law, benefits acquired in one member state must be paid to those who move to another.

Guardia Civil and the National Police have seized 26,199 kilos of drugs in the Campo de Gibraltar so far this year

The Guardia Civil and the National Police have seized 26,199 kilos of drugs in the Campo de Gibraltar so far this year, compared to the 25,001 kilos seized in 2006 for the same period. More facts: during the first three months of this year they have caught more than the total for 2006; the total street value of the hashish hauls alone amount to €37 million.

Colombian and Spanish members of a drug trafficking gang have been arrested in Elche

23 members of a drug trafficking gang have been arrested in Elche. Those arrested are Colombian and Spanish and all residents of Elche and Santa Pola. The police found the drugs hidden in cartons of wine which had been brought to Spain from Colombia on regular drug runs.24 kilos of cocaine, 4.4 kilos of marihuana and a field planted with the drug, and 200 grams of heroin were found in the police operation which started observing the gang some six months ago.The drug runners were a family clan, based in the town, and who had connections to sell in Dolores, Villena and Torrvieja. The alleged head of the group, a woman with the initials M.A.D. remains at large according to some reports.

Captain of a Spanish fishing trawler arrested off the Co Cork coast has lost a High Court bid to stop his trial on charges alleging obstruction

Captain of a Spanish fishing trawler arrested off the Co Cork coast has lost a High Court bid to stop his trial on charges alleging obstruction of fisheries protection officers by allegedly cutting nets to release the boat's catch into the sea after the vessel was boarded.The case centred on whether the State, in the context of the aims of the EU Common Fisheries Policy, is entitled to prosecute such charges on indictment and to choose a penalty of mandatory forfeiture of a boat's catch and gear.Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill yesterday ruled for trial on indictment and said the sanction chosen was appropriate.Deterrence of future offending was a requirement of the regulation, he noted. He was giving his judgment dismissing proceedings by Augustin Ferradas Martinez aimed at preventing his prosecution before Cork Circuit Criminal Court.The case arose after the MV Playa de Lagos , of which Mr Martinez was master, was arrested by the LE Eithne on May 31st, 2006, after being boarded and inspected.Mr Martinez was initially charged with two summary offences of obstructing a sea fisheries protection officer by "slipping" the nets, inferring the nets were cut to release the catch into the sea. The catch on board was valued at €27,000.
A further charge was later brought under section 11 of the Sea Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006, which may be tried summarily or on indictment. This alleged Mr Martinez contravened an EC regulation in obstructing inspection of his vessel, an offence carrying a penalty of mandatory forfeiture of all fish and gear and a fine of up to €100,000. The State opted for trial on indictment.Mr Justice O'Neill said the principal issue was whether mandatory forfeiture of catch and gear, plus the procedure whereby the charges were brought on indictment, was disproportionate and unconstitutional.He ruled that the Attorney General had discretion whether to try offences summarily or on indictment. The exercise of that discretion was non-reviewable unless bad faith could be shown and this did not arise.
On the proportionality of the penalty of mandatory forfeiture, he said this must be decided against the backdrop of the aims of the common fisheries policy. These made it imperative fisheries protection officers be able to inspect vessels without being frustrated by the kind of conduct alleged against Mr Martinez.

Police operation was mounted to smash an international organised crime ring based on the Costa del Sol

police operation was mounted to smash an international organised crime ring based on the Costa del Sol.300 officers swooped on 21 addresses in Tile Hill, Canley, Stoke, Brandon Marsh and Balsall Common yesterday morning in what police said was an "unprecedented" operation.Twenty people aged between 19 and 64 were arrested and another two are being questioned on the Costa Del Sol in Spain.Tens of thousands of pounds was seized along with a large amount of drugs, believed to be destined for the streets of Coventry and Warwickshire.Police were continuing to search homes across the Coventry area as part of the largest ever crime crack-down the city has ever seen.It began in the early hours yesterday when 320 officers were briefed before embarking on the unprecedented operation.West Midlands Police officers stormed into the homes and businesses ow ned by people suspected of being members of an international organised crime group in Tile Hill, Canley, Stoke, Brandon Marsh and Balsall Common.The 21 people arrested as part of the raid, code named Operation Closedown, were today still being questioned by detectives at police stations across the city.Two further men are being questioned by officers in Spain, while police continue to search two villas in the Costa Del Sol.Tens of thousands of pounds in cash was seized during the raids, along with a "significant" amount of drugs, which are yet to be identified.The raids follow years of investigative work carried out by West Midlands Police and further raids have not been ruled out.Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Mirfield, of West Midlands Police, said:"The arrests are the culmination of a long term investigation into an organised crime g roup trafficking drugs in the Coventry and West Midlands area."It is not just about today, this is about the long term investigation of an organised crime group.

European Commission said Thursday that it is pursuing legal action against Spain over three breaches of European Union (EU) environmental law.

European Commission said Thursday that it is pursuing legal action against Spain over three breaches of European Union (EU) environmental law. Two of the breaches relate to obligations for the treatment of waste water, with more than 400 towns and cities listed as not having water treatment up to EU standard. The third case regards Spain's open-cast coal mining in a protected nature site. Spain will receive final warnings on the three breaches of EU legislation. In the first case, the commission considers that some 343 Spanish towns and cities are discharging urban waste water into already designated sensitive or potentially sensitive areas without appropriate treatment. This constitutes a breach of an EU directive that by the end of 1998 requires that cities of more than 10,000 inhabitants that discharge water into environmentally sensitive areas be equipped with a treatment system that meets the most stringent quality standards. A commission assessment also confirms that six potentially sensitive areas remain to be designated and an area designated as less sensitive in the Cantabria region does not meet the directive's requirements. The commission has therefore decided to send Spain a final warning letter over the case.
In the second case, the issue at stake is the lack of compliance with a separate directive concerning larger towns and cities. Under the directive, urban areas with more than 15,000 inhabitants were required to have adequate waste water collection and treatment systems by the end of 2000. The commission considers59 cities not compliant. A final warning letter has also been sent in the case. A third case concerns a long-term investigation by the commission into several open-cast mining projects in Laciana Valley in the Castilla y Len region. The projects are located inside an important nature site called Alto Sil that is home to the brown bear and the Capercaillie grouse, critically endangered species protected under EU legislation. A first warning letter was sent to Spain in February 2008. After a site inspection, the commission still considers that the mining activities are likely to adversely affect the endangered species and has decided to send a second and final written warning. Spain has two months to respond satisfactorily to the issues. The commission, the executive body of the EU and guardian of its laws, may decide to take the cases to the European Court of Justice if Spain fails to respond within the time limit or if the responses are deemed unsatisfactory.

Thousands of Nissan workers took to the streets of Barcelona in protest at the company's plan to lay off 1,680 workers.

Thousands of Nissan workers took to the streets of Barcelona in protest at the company's plan to lay off 1,680 workers. The demonstration, which began at 7pm in the Plaza Urquinaona, passed off without incident as the protesters made their way to regional government headquarters building in the Plaza San Jaume, where they were met by a representative from the Catalan government.The trade unions are calling on regional and national government leaders to intervene directly with the management of the Nissan-Renault alliance to negotiate solutions for the companies' Spanish factories. They also warn that this week's demonstrations may only be "the start of a grave social conflict" if Nissan is allowed to follow through with its plan to cut 1,680 jobs - or 40% of the total workforce - at its Zona Franca and Montcada i Reixac plants with inevitable knock-on effects for components manufacturers and other suppliers.

Monzer Al Kassar Prince of Marbella international arms dealer.

June 5, 1990, Monzer Al Kassar and his wife opened an account, number 1964, at the Audi Bank in Switzerland. Al Kassar and his wife used their real names and both signed the documents, highly unusual for a bank account that would later be used in an illegal arms deal. The initial purpose of the account is unknown. The bank records from this account and others would later become evidence used by a Swiss prosecutor to freeze Al Kassar's proceeds from the illegal sale of Polish arms to Croatia and Bosnia. Subsequent events provided the necessary ingredients for an embargo-breaking arms deal: a war, an attempt by the international community to stop it, and a broker able to work around it. Croatia and Slovenia declared themselves independent from Yugoslavia in June 1991. A bloody civil war ensued. The United Nations Security Council voted on September 25, 1991, to impose an arms embargo on Yugoslavia, whose constituent republics were not yet recognized by the international community as independent countries. Bosnia declared its independence in March 1992, which was followed by an even more bloody and complicated civil war. Like many other states, the Swiss Federal Council adopted the arms ban -- U.N. Security Council Resolution number 713 -- on December 18, 1991, making the embargo Swiss law (RS 514.545). This later formed the basis for Swiss legal proceedings against Al Kassar. U.N. embargoes mean nothing unless they are adopted by the legislatures of individual U.N. member states and enforced by their respective legal systems.
Shortly thereafter, a Croatian couple, Snejana and Zeljko Mikulic, holders of an account at Die Erste Bank in Vienna, ordered $2,649,000 in bank transfers to the account of Bassam Abu Sharif, one of Yasser Arafat's closest advisors, at Arab Bank in Geneva. A Die Erste Bank document states that the transfers were for a shipment of sugar, powdered milk and tea to Croatia. A few days later, Sharif began a series of transfers, ultimately totaling $2.3 million, to account number 1964 at Audi Bank, the account belonging to Monzer Al Kassar. In turn, Al Kassar transferred $2,549,135 to the Luxembourg bank account of Cenrex, the Polish state arms company. On March 10, 1992, a Honduras-registered ship, the Nadia, docked at Ceuta, Spain (a Spanish territory in Morocco) for supplies. When port officials examined the cargo documents, they found the papers in order. The 27 containers of arms and ammunition were being sent by Cenrex in Poland to the defense ministry of Yemen. After the ship was allowed to proceed, it headed not to Yemen but to Rijeka, Croatia, where it unloaded. In 1992, Spain arrested Al Kassar on charges of piracy and providing the arms to the Abu Abbas-led PLF terrorists who hijacked the Achille Lauro cruise ship and murdered American Leon Klinghoffer. Western intelligence agencies concluded that Al Kassar flew Abbas to safety aboard one of his private planes after the hijackers surrendered. One prosecution witness, Ahmed Al Assadi, while spending time in Vercelli prison for participating in the hijacking, changed his story and refused to go to Spain to identify Al Kassar as the person who supplied the hijackers' weapons. After Al Kassar's arrest, another accuser, Ismail Jalid, fell to his death from a fifth-story window in Marbella, Spain, in what the coroner called "an alcoholic coma." During the 1995 trial, in a highly publicized standoff with police, a third witness's children were kidnapped by Colombian drug traffickers shortly before he testified. The witness blamed Al Kassar, who denied involvement and stated, "I have nothing to do with the kidnapping and I hope that it is over as soon as possible. Children are sacred for Arabs. No one, not even your worst enemy, deserves this." Al Kassar was later acquitted of all charges. While building the case, Spain requested that Switzerland seize Al Kassar's bank accounts. Swiss officials then opened their own preliminary inquiry into money laundering, lack of vigilance in financial operations, and fraudulent documents and foreign certificates. Following this inquiry, Swiss authorities began to investigate Al Kassar's arms sales using Swiss banks.Questioned on December 9, 1993, by Swiss prosecutors, Al Kassar explained that he was a diplomatic representative of Yemen in Poland and therefore could not answer questions about government-to-government affairs. A search of Al Kassar's Spanish address revealed documents confirming his relationship to the Croatian Zeljko Mikulic and containing the codes used for the ship's contents: "Tea" meant TT pistols (Tula-Tokarev pistols, developed in the U.S.S.R. in the 1930s and subsequently manufactured by other Eastern Bloc countries), and "tea bags" meant bullets. Bassam Abu Sharif was questioned by Swiss officials while passing through Geneva in 1994. He claimed that he had only met Al Kassar once in 1979 and twice thereafter. He explained that he had been asked by the Yemeni government to use his bank account to transfer money for an arms sale organized by the Yemeni ministry of defense to buy arms for Bosnia and Croatia. He said that he learned only later that Al Kassar had organized the sale.

A Determined Swiss Prosecutor Freezes Al Kassar's Millions

Geneva Cantonal prosecutor Laurent Kasper-Answermet upheld his 1992 freeze on $6 million belonging to Al Kassar, arguing that his financial investigation found the funds to have come from criminal activities. The financial side of an arms deal leaves a paper trail, whereas arms hidden in shipping containers, guerilla armies and corrupt government officials leave none. In 1998, a Geneva appeals court upheld the seizure but released $3.7 million not directly linked to the arms deal.

"If Yemen does a deal with Bosnia and Croatia, how can I control it?" asked Al Kassar, dismissing accusations that he is an embargo-busting arms dealer. Under existing legal controls, his question is reasonable. The case is the first of its kind in Switzerland and is expected to set a precedent. The arms did not touch Swiss territory and did not involve Swiss citizens or the country in any way other than through its banking system. Switzerland is not directly affected by the small-arms trade but has an interest in maintaining the respectability of its banking system. Such cases, as well as that of Leonid Minin ,an Israeli citizen arrested in Italy for selling Ukrainian weapons to Liberia and Sierra Leone, are pushing existing legislation in new directions in an attempt to discourage the illegal arms trade. Al Kassar has lost successive court appeals and has one final chance to have his $2.3 million returned in an appeal to a Swiss federal court.

Attempted robbery a supermarket near Antonio Machado Promenade in Malaga

Attempted robbery a supermarket near Antonio Machado Promenade in Malaga, went wrong. Wearing a motorbike helmet, he entered the supermarket, wielding a kitchen knife. He approached the cashier and demanded money but, when she refused, he grabbed the till and ran away with it.As he made his way to a 125cc motorbike, which he had parked at the entrance, the actions of a customer, who blocked his way with a shopping trolley and a supermarket employee who was chasing him, caused him to drop the till and the motorbike keys. Not prepared to leave his motorbike, he hid the number plate with a piece of cardboard and pushed the vehicle up the street.Police later found it parked nearby, together with a wallet containing his identity card. They arrested the owner and have also charged him with two other robberies.

Eight years and six months for House Jacking Gang in Alicante

Two members of the violent gang this week began jail sentences of eight years and six months each after admitting armed robbery and kidnap in a plea bargain deal.A third was sentenced to a year and a half in prison by a court in Alicante after being convicted as an accomplice.Two men involved in the April 22 2004 kidnap are still on the run.Mr and Mrs Yarwood were playing cards as they relaxed after dinner at their home in Moraira on Spain's southeastern coast when the gang burst in.The couple were threatened with pistols and a knife and told they would be killed unless they paid 600,000 euros - the equivalent of £400,000 at the time of crime. The pair, from Frodsham, Cheshire, were terrorised overnight and the following morning, Mr Yarwood, 72, a retired electrician was driven to the local bank and told to withdraw all the money in his account.But he wrote a note on the back of a cheque begging for help and the bank manager alerted police who called in a specially-trained kidnap response unit.Speaking of their ordeal at the hands of their Romanian and Spanish kidnappers, Mrs Yarwood who ran a guest house in Cheshire for 27 years, said afterwards: "They terrorised us all night, constantly pointing the guns at us and cocking them."When my husband tried to escape out of the back door they punched him in the face and kicked him repeatedly."I was convinced we were going to die.Her husband added: "I was praying the bank would try and help and I wrote a note on the back of a cheque saying, 'Please give me the money because someone has kidnapped my wife."The gang leader kept saying that if he didn't see the money by the following day I would never see Pat again."

"It was like a scene from a gangster movie."Darren Coupland, 41, has been arrested over claims that he killed German Oliver Johaht and shot the other

Civil engineer Darren Coupland, 41, has been arrested over claims that he killed German Oliver Johaht and shot the other man in a row over a drug debt.
Johaht, 33, was found bleeding to death in the street outside the Briton's luxury home on the Costa Dorada. Italian Carmelo Mazara had been beaten with an iron bar and shot in the neck but managed to escape to a nearby health clinic, where he was found by police.Coupland was found bleeding heavily at the nearby property business he ran with his wife and sister-in-law in the seaside town near Barcelona.
The married father-of-two from Southend-on-Sea, Essex, had been stabbed in the throat. A police source said: "It was like a scene from a gangster movie."Coupland was taken to hospital where the stab wound was treated and he was arrested. Police are hunting a second Briton who they believe may also be involved.

Spain, has been deemed unsafe by international watchdogs

Spain, has been deemed unsafe by international watchdogs. a car bomb, thought to be the work of terror group ETA, injured 17 people in a university car park in northern Pamplona, a town which attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors to its annual bull-run every year. According to the British Foreign Office, the threat to foreign travellers from terrorism in Spain is high. Since July, there have been at least 11 explosions in well-known tourist towns around the country including Torremolinos, Malaga and Benalmadena. Last week, the quiet medieval streets of Lucerne in Switzerland, one of the safest tourist destinations in the world, witnessed a savage assault on a British man who died of severe head injuries. Meanwhile, the once-peaceful island of Bali is back on high alert exactly six years after terror blasts on a nightclub killed 202 people. Although tourist numbers have recovered reaching an all-time high this year, there are acute fears that the Indonesian island could be targeted by terrorists again when the bombers responsible for the attacks are executed by firing squad in the coming weeks. As peak season in the Caribbean approaches, tourist numbers to the palm-fringed island of Antigua have plummeted since the brutal murder of British honeymoon couple, Catherine and Ben Mullany, in July. The ferocity of the crime, the tenth murder on the island this year, left many questioning the West Indies' reputation as a safe haven for holidays. Two vicious attacks on tourists in the last month have further damaged the region's tranquil image. In an ordeal that lasted more than an hour, a masked man sexually assaulted and robbed two British women a fortnight ago on the tropical island of Tobago. Earlier in the month, a Swedish couple were killed on the island in an apparent robbery. Travellers are being urged to be cautious when renting villas on the island and stay in hotels with tight security measures such as a 24-hour guard. A recent report by the Economist Intelligence Unit revealed that the English-speaking Caribbean, stretching from the Bahamas in the north to Trinidad and Tobago in the south, has one of the highest murder rates in the world, with an average of 30 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants per year. By comparison, the murder rate in Ireland is 1.5 per 100,000. Another part of the world whose image as a dream destination has been shattered in recent weeks is India's most famous tourist hotspot, Goa. The recent rape of a 14-year-old German girl in the beach resort has rocked a country already marred by the rape and murder of British teenager, Scarlet Keeling, at Anjuna beach earlier this year. Police in Goa are also investigating the death of a 65-year-old Australian tourist who was violently killed after complaining of poor service in a restaurant at Calangute.

WANTED Adam Hart, 29, who is suspected of conspiracy to supply cocaine and who escaped arrest in August 2007 as police officers searched his workplace

Adam Hart, 29, who is suspected of conspiracy to supply cocaine and who escaped arrest in August 2007 as police officers searched his workplace

Costa Blanca hideaway for British criminals

Crimestoppers, the UK crimefighting charity, together with the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), issued a new list of ten most wanted British suspects, including their photographs, details of their crimes and their aliases.British and Spanish authorities are targeting the Costa Blanca in southeastern Spain in a bid to round up those notorious villains thought to have fled to the tourist haven which has become a favoured hideaway for British criminals.Law-abiding citizens who recognise those on the list are being urged to ring the dedicated hotline and provide anonymous tip-offs on their whereabouts. Any information deemed useful will be passed on to Spanish police, who will execute the arrest warrants and send the suspects back to Britain to face trail.Bill Hughes, Director General of SOCA, said the campaign, part of Operation Captura, was "delivering a simple message to criminals; you won't escape to the sun, we will find you and bring you back."
The latest appeals include individuals wanted for murder, sex offences, drug trafficking, fraud and kidnap. The initiative follows the success of an earlier operation on the Costa del Sol which led to the arrest of 13 criminals on a list of thirty most wanted. Denise Holt, the British Ambassador to Spain, said: "Both British and Spanish residents on the Costas did a fantastic job in 2006 in helping Crimestoppers track down some notorious criminals. We're appealing for your help again. There are ten new names and faces of dangerous people that you can help put behind bars."

National Police have arrested four people in connection with a local cocaine trafficking gang

The National Police have arrested four people in connection with a local cocaine trafficking gang. They also dismantled a laboratory and recovered half a kilo of the drug, some cash and two cars, one of which had allegedly been used to bring the drug to Elche from Madrid.

Vall de Gallinera, Alicante growing 130 marihuana plants

27 year old man has been arrested for allegedly growing 130 marihuana plants in Vall de Gallinera, Alicante. He was discovered as he was pruning the plants. The Civil Guard said the weight of the uprooted plants was more than 25 kilos.

Paxi C captain was killed in a fight with one of the crew.

Crew of a Guardia Civil coastal patrol boat has boarded an Italian merchant vessel - the 'Paxi C', sailing from Alexandria (Egypt) to Gijón - anchored off Fisterra since its captain was killed in a fight with one of the crew. They were sent to take charge of the investigation after an SOS message sent at 6.20am by the ship's first officer, who was ordered to drop anchor and prepare to be boarded after explaining what had happened.

France's most wanted criminal was arrested in Salou

One of France's most wanted criminals was arrested in Salou last Saturday. Emile F (56) had been on the run since his conviction in 2004 for a kidnapping and murder committed in August 1995 in Jouy en Josas, near Paris, in a feud between rival drug trafficking gangs. In a joint operation involving French police, the man was arrested along with his son, who has since been released on provisional bail after questioning. Both were using false IDs, but were identified using forensic records supplied by the French investigation team.

Mark Lewis has been left in charge of the town hall in San Fulgencio after the mayor, deputy mayor and four senior councillors were arrested

A British expatriate who speaks only a smattering of Spanish has become the "accidental mayor" of a town on Spains Costa Blanca after a wave of corruption arrests. Mark Lewis, 58, has been left in charge of the town hall in San Fulgencio after the mayor, deputy mayor and four senior councillors were all taken into police custody following allegations of real estate corruption. Mr Lewis, who lives in Spain with his wife and daughter, was given the title by default on Wednesday on the grounds that he is one of only two councillors from the ruling coalition not to be arrested.
"Mr Lewis has taken charge of the council on the grounds that he is the fourth deputy mayor. Everyone above him in the pecking order has been arrested," the source added. "Everything is in a state of chaos since these arrests and we are left with someone who speaks only a few words of Spanish," said a source at the town hall.
Mr Lewis refused to comment on his new position except to say: "It's only temporary I hope. I'm sure this will all be sorted out very quickly and everything will return to normal." The town hall was thrown into disarray when deputy mayor Manuel Barrera Garcia, 61, was detained by the National Police on October 20 after a video showed him allegedly accepting a 5000 Euro bribe from a property developer. Socialist mayor Trinidad Martinez, and councillors Juan Antonio Gamuz, Juan Antonio Gonzalez Palenca, Mariano Marti and Fina Reme were arrested on Wednesday lunchtime as the corruption probe widened. Police raided the town hall and seized documents, in a move that mirrors the investigation into the Marbella scandal of March 2006 when the entire planning committee were arrested.
Mr Barrera was allegedly caught on camera saying: "It's better if you give me big bills, they take up less space". He denies any wrongdoing and claims he was set up by political rivals. "I am completely innocent. The video was manipulated to make it look like I accepted a bribe," he said after being released on bail.
The Spanish government have vowed to clamp down on corruption by town officials and rid the nation of its reputation for underhand dealings.