Seven people who were being held hostage in Lepe

A group of seven people who were being held hostage in Lepe and Cartaya, Huelva province, were freed this weekend, in a Civil Guard operation which took the seven kidnappers into custody. EFE says two of the kidnappers lived in Cartaya, itself, three others from elsewhere in Huelva province, another in Madrid and the seventh in Holland. Two of them have Moroccan nationality.
Four of the hostages were found under guard in two vehicles parked near the Marina Ocio shopping centre in Lepe following a report to Lepe local police from the son of one of those who were being held. He said his parent was being held by kidnappers in the area after being missing from home for two days.
The kidnappers were nearby and were arrested as they tried to escape.
The remaining three hostages were found near a chalet in Cartaya, four kilometres outside Lepe, after managing to escape when the kidnappers left. All seven were previously held captive in the property.
There was no indication in the report if the kidnappers had made any demands for a ransom.

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Posted in: Huelva,Lepe

Marcos J.R.C Kidnapper

A temporary construction worker has been arrested in Telde in connection with the attempted kidnap of the ten year old child, Sandra Domínguez, in the La Garita area of the town on January 4.
The 37 year old suspect who has been named only as Marcos J.R.C., is said to have a police record and was seen in a white van in the area. The victim has recognised him in a photo.
Marcos now goes before the Instruction judge 2 in Telde, Óscar Rey, accused of attempted kidnapping. Police say they are now searching for a possible accomplice in the case.

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Posted in: Canary Islands

Dean Fitzpatrick brother of Amy Fitzpatrick interviewed

Dean Fitzpatrick, the brother of 15 year old Amy who has been missing from her home in Mijas since the evening of New Year’s Day, was called to the local Civil Guard barracks on Monday, where he was interviewed for around an hour for any information which could help detectives locate his sister. It’s now been two weeks since she was last seen.

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Posted in: Mijas

Local Police demonstrate to reinstate Francisco Javier Martín

Local Police demonstrate to reinstate Inspector Francisco Javier Martín, who is accused of hiding and then removing three statement complaints from the police station on the same day that the premises were searched, March 30 2006, as part of the Malaya case. Since the time of the alleged offence, the policeman has been promoted to control traffic, plain-clothed officers and the police training school.

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Posted in: Marbella

Paco Mato head of Conil's Local Police force allegedly caught selling stolen cars

Francisco Luis González Fernández, the head of Conil's Local Police force, was arrested on Wednesday in connection with alleged fraud involving vehicles in the municipal car pound. Investigators believe that he may be involved in various crimes, such as fraud, falsification of documents, omitting to follow up offences, and robbery with the use of vehicles. The police chief, who is nicknamed Paco Mato, has been a Local Police officer for more than twenty years and has been in charge of the Conil force for the past three. He was off sick at the time of his arrest. The mayor and councillors have expressed their surprise at his detention, and have said they will cooperate fully with the investigation but stressed the importance of remembering that people are innocent until proven guilty.

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Posted in: Conil

Deaths of seven immigrants

At least 22 people have died trying to cross the precarious Atlantic waters to the Canary Islands. At least 14 bodies of attempted immigrants have been washed up on the shores of Nuakchott in the north african state of Mauritania. At the same time the security forces said that they intercepted 179 individuals of unstated ages without papers.

The bodies were washed up close to the Capital of Mauritanis without papers after their small boat became wrecked.
There has been no precise figure on the number of deaths caused by the trip of 200km to the canaries. It is thought that the figure is probably in the thousands.
Spain has repeated asked for help from the North African countries and the EU in controlling the immigration into Spain via this route. At least 17000 have entered the Canaries illegally since the beginning of this year.
It is thought that many more africans enter the EU illegally through the costas of Spain.
The Almerian coast has been quoted many times by the guardia by being used by human traffickers.
The Guardia Civil is investigating the deaths of seven immigrants whose bodies were found on local beaches recently. The first was discovered on Wednesday 2nd on the beach at Zahora, and it is possible that he crossed the Strait of Gibraltar in the same small boat as ten others who landed on that beach on New Year's Eve and were arrested hours later. However, the appearance of five more bodies on Marisucia beach, near Trafalgar, in the days between the 2nd and 6th of January could indicate that another boat had also made the crossing and that its occupants had been forced out by the crew before it reached the shore. The body of the seventh victim, a woman, was discovered among rocks at the Playa del Estrecho in Los Caños de Meca on Wednesday. None appeared to be more than 25 years old, and it is not known whether their families in North Africa have reported their disappearance.

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Gibraltar Banks snitch to U.K.government

Britons who have a house or apartment in Spain and rent it out are advised to tell the UK tax authorities. This applies even if the amount earned just covers their maintenance costs.Gibraltar banks have been forced to disclose all the details of their accounts to U.K.government who have set up a special investigation department to prosecute all account holders who have not declared property or business holdings in Spain.
Owners are advised they should declare any extra income of this sort. If you haven't made a declaration before and hence it relates to a return outside the current tax period, then you will need to make a separate disclosure and explain the circumstances.
As with all dealing with the tax agency experts say that if you make a
voluntary disclosure this will be in your favour. They say: "Tell the tax man everything and in this way you should avoid a full-scale tax inquiry into your affairs."
Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs will advise you about the additional tax you will have to pay, including interest on any late payment, which is about 7.5 per cent a year. You are also advised to seek professional advice from an accountant before contacting the HMRC so as to avoid a penalty for negligence.

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Posted in: Gibraltar

M.E.V., who is 35 and is from Romford in Essex.

The Civil Guad have taken a foreign resident of Benalmádena into custody after an operation by the Organised Crime and Drugs Squad in Málaga over the Christmas period.
Officers seized more than one and a half tons of cannabis resin. The two suspects are named in a Civil Guard press release as M.E.V., who is 35 and is from Romford in Essex.
They have both been remanded to custody.
The drugs were found on a lorry intercepted by the Civil Guard, and were hidden amongst pallets of crockery. The cargo was bound for the UK.

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Posted in: Benalmádena

International drug trafficking and arms dealing

Dutch man wanted by police in his home country was arrested by police in Sabinillas Named as P.J.J.D.J he is wanted for money laundering and arms trafficking in the Netherlands It is thought he fled to Spain when other members of the criminal organisation he led were taken into custody Officers from a specialised squad of National Police from La Línea de la Concepción took the man into custody in Sabinillas National Police told the news agency that the suspect’s organisation was involved in international drug trafficking and arms dealing and used companies set up in fiscal paradises to launder money. The man had been tracked to Spain with investigations into properties in Cádiz and Málaga provinces, together with companies linked to his organisation and bank accounts held by known associates. Reports in Europa Press said a number of property searches and embargoes have taken place, and that more than a million € in embargoes on properties and bank accounts.

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Posted in: Sabinillas

Inspector Francisco Javier Martín

Inspector Francisco Javier Martín, who is accused of hiding and then removing three statement complaints from the police station on the same day that the premises were searched, March 30 2006, as part of the Malaya case. Since the time of the alleged offence, the policeman has been promoted to control traffic, plain-clothed officers and the police training school.Instruction judge four in Marbella is investigating a top local policeman in the town,The ex local police chief, Rafael del Pozo, has been called to declare to the court in the case on Monday.One of the statements removed related to a traffic offence allegedly carried out by Diego Arrabal, a well known paparazzi in the town, and another was a drunk driving charge against Borja Fraile, son of a Madrid businessman and a friend of the late Jesús Gil, according to a report in El País.

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Posted in: Marbella

Hotel Cano in Torrevieja unexploded bomb found

The dynamite-packed explosive were found at the Hotel Cano in Torrevieja .This unexploded bomb had been planted 17 years ago in a resort popular with British tourists has been uncovered
Workmen refurbishing a bathroom after a fire found the device inside a tube left in a false ceiling.
The area was evacuated and disposal experts removed the device.
Designed to target holidaymakers, the bomb was one of three planted in Costa Blanca in 1991 by Basque separatist group ETA.
Two exploded in a restaurant and hotel but the third failed to detonate.
A Spanish government spokeswoman said yesterday: "It was well hidden and badly deteriorated."

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Posted in: Torrevieja

local police chief sells stolen cars

local police chief in Conil, who was arrested on Wednesday for charges including fraud and falsifying documents. The paper says it relates to the sale of stolen cars, which were allegedly sold on after they were recovered by police, instead of being returned to their owners.
Also under investigation by the court in Chiclana is a territorial planning crime. La Voz says they have been unable to confirm if that relates to a property built by the police chief, who they name as Francisco Luis González Fernández, on land classified as unsuitable for development, and if the money from the alleged car sales was used to fund it. They mention the possibility of more arrests in the case.
The local Mayor, Antonio Roldán, noted that González is in the position as acting chief as none of the applicants for the job last year met the requirements for the vacant position. His predecessor was suspended from the job in 2004.

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Posted in: Conil

Alicante Car Surfers

The Alicante newspaper, Información, reports on the case of two men who were arrested in Alicante city centre this Tuesday night, with one of them at the wheel of the car, speeding and zig zagging along the street, and the owner of the vehicle on the roof. He was standing up, pretending to surf.
Both had been drinking.
The driver is charged with reckless driving and causing a danger to others, and could face at least five years in prison. The proceedings at the speedy trial held on Wednesday – where the duty prosecutor asked for two years or a fine - were called off, with the length of the possible sentence meaning the case must now be heard by a higher court.

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Posted in: Alicante

Amy Fitzpatrick :Search Party

Terra España quoted information from the EFE news agency that the Civil Guard have organised a search party with the help of volunteers and emergency services, which meets at the Cala de Mijas football ground at 9am on Wednesday. They continue to investigate if there is any truth in a number of phone calls they have received about the case which are understood to have come from many different areas.
They are also investigating known British paedophiles who live in the area.

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Posted in: Costa del Sol

Bodies of three skiers

The bodies of three skiers have been recovered by rescuers in Formigal after they were all buried by an avalanche at the Spanish ski resort at 1030am on Friday morning. The avalanche happened in the Anayer region of the resort when the three skiers were off-piste. The weather forecast earlier in the day had warned of a high risk of avalanches at level four.The Mayor of Sallent de Gállego, the municipality where the Formigal resort is found, José Ignacio Urieta, said that local rescue teams from the resort had taken part in the search with the Guardia Civil high mountain teams using dogs and scanners, together with a 112 helicopter and local volunteers.

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Posted in: Formigal

Amy Fitzpatrick:a stranger driving a white van had been spotted targeting children in the area

Amy Fitzpatrick, 15, has not been seen since the evening of New Year’s Day, when she left the friend’s home on the Riviera del Sol complex. It is understood that the missing teenager does not have her mobile phone or passport with her.

Officers from the Spanish Civil Guard searched waste ground yesterday in the tourist resort of Riviera del Sol, near Fuengirola, as part of their hunt for the Irish teenager. The land is close to the route that Amy would have taken on her ten-minute walk back to the home she shares with her mother, brother and stepfather.
She spent New Year’s Eve at her friend’s house, babysitting for the girl’s younger brother, and stayed the night before the pair headed to a local shopping centre on January 1. Amy then returned to the friend’s house before heading home at about 10pm.
Her mother, Audrey, 39, said last night that she had not heard anything from her daughter since a telephone call early on the day she vanished.
“The last time we spoke was on New Year’s Day morning when she rang to wish me happy new year.”
Mrs Fitzpatrick, from Dublin, said that she was starting to fear the worst. “I’ve racked my brains for a reason as to why Amy might want to go off on her own and I can’t think of one. She’s never done anything like this before. We’ve traced the route we think she would have taken but found no clues as to what might have happened to her. It’s a route she knows well and involves a walk of about two minutes down a dirt track.
“All I want is for Amy to pick up a phone and ring me or a friend and say she’s OK but at the back of my mind is that horrible fear that something’s happened to her and she can’t.”
The disappearance has shocked Riviera del Sol’s expatriate community. Police have spoken to the couple that Amy had been babysitting for on New Year’s Eve, an English woman and her Spanish husband. They have also questioned the teenager’s school friends, including a dozen British expatriate families who live in the area.
Mrs Fitzpatrick was preparing last night to distribute hundreds of appeal posters showing her daughter’s face. The teenager’s brother, Dean, 17, had spent the day taking police officers to see friends in the hope that someone had heard from her.
Ritchie Harris, a family friend, said: “Amy is a very pretty girl and although she’s mature for her age and likes to mix with an older crowd, she’s only 15 and still very much of a youngster.” Mr Harris, originally from London, said that he had been helping in the search for Amy, and had spent Thursday night scouring her e-mails and speaking to her friends via the online MSN Messenger service for clues as to her whereabouts.
A police helicopter spent part of yesterday flying over waste ground close to Amy’s home. The land, sandwiched between a motorway running along the Costa del Sol and houses leading down to the Mediterranean, is popular with dog walkers. Amy, who has dark, shoulder-length hair, was wearing a black jacket, dark tracksuit bottoms, a black Diesel T-shirt and black furry boots when she was last seen.
She moved to the Costa del Sol with her mother 3½ years ago. Her step-father, Dave McMahon, is an estate agent in the Spanish resort. It is understood that her natural father lives in the Irish Republic.
A spokesman for the Civil Guard in Málaga was unable to comment on local reports that a stranger driving a white van had been spotted targeting children in the area.

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Posted in: Amy Fitzpatrick

Guardia Civil working undercover in Gibraltar ?

The Guardia Civil was giving evidence in the trial , which sees nine Guardia Civil officers and a number of civilians facing charges of smuggling cigarettes from Gibraltar across the border into Spain. The officer said he worked in a shop owned by an Indian businessman. That covers a five or six-month period although the accused claim he was working there for 18 months. He said he worked in the shop and every 15 days made a report on what he had seen to his commanding officer. Héctor Manuel S M has admitted in court that he worked in a shop in Gibraltar selling cigarettes as part of the investigation. He added that he did not know whether the Spanish Ministry of Defence had notified the British authorities that he was on assignment outside of Spain.
This contradicts the testimonies given by the accused. They claim that the agent helped them hide the cigarettes in their crash helmets and in their clothing.

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Posted in: Gibraltar

Fake Spanish Traffic Cops

Wearing police uniforms and carrying fake identification they passed themselves off as police officers to prey on drivers of cars on foreign licence plates has been broken.carrying fake identification, the gang is believed to have targeted northern Europeans on the two ring roads around Madrid and the main road between the capital and the country’s southern coast.
In simultaneous raids around Spain, police arrested 28 Pakistan and Iranian immigrants who posed as bogus police officers.
Victims of the gang were forced to pull over onto the hard shoulder of either the M30 or M40 roads before being physically attacked and robbed.
In the last known case before the gang was arrested, a car of French holidaymakers was targeted near the satellite town of Getafe.
In a white Alfa Romero, the fake police officers pulled alongside the tourists as they were driving along the A4 Madrid-Andalucía road and asked them to pull over onto the hard shoulder.

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Posted in: A4 Madrid-Andalucía

Confidential information passed to a drugs gang.

officer of the Guardia Civil has been arrested for allegedly passing on confidential information to a drugs gang.
Police claim the un-named civil guard, who belonged of the traffic division of the Salobreña Guardia Civil, told the gang the locations of random police road checks and the best methods of avoiding the SIVE marine patrol to transport cannabis from Morocco to the Costa Tropical.
Five other people, all believed to be members of the drugs gang, were also arrested after the year-long investigation.
All six were released after being charged with public health offences

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Posted in: Costa Tropical

Spanish Soldiers were arrested from the Regulars Division of Ceuta

Police in Almuñecar believe the un-named servicemen, who belong to the Regulars Division of Ceuta, were travelling from the North Africa enclave to Motril to sell the drug. soldiers were arrested after police found four kilograms of cannabis in their car. Aged 19 and 22, were arrested in La Herradura

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Posted in: La Herradura