Coín bans the burkha

Coín bans the burkha: "COSTA del Sol village has become the first in Spain to ban the burkha in public buildings.
Coín (Málaga) announced today that Muslim women were not permitted to enter public places with their faces and heads covered.
Mayor Gabriel Clavijo (PSOE) said this move had come from 'a series of reports' from the social services, which had detected 'undesirable elements' in the treatment of women.
“Spanish law dictates that men and women are equal, so there cannot be any involuntary behaviour such as wearing a burkha,” Clavijo states."

John Disley, 43, is a Bolton-born businessman who has been travelling to Spain for 14 years. Dubbed the "King of Marbella"

John Disley, 43, is a Bolton-born businessman who has been travelling to Spain for 14 years.

Dubbed the "King of Marbella", he knows everyone and understands the area better than anyone.

Worth half a billion Pounds in property and other business interests, Disley built his empire by running security on the doors of nightclubs in Manchester. He spends his time in Marbella on his £2million yacht with girlfriend Lucy Hesketh, 19.

Disley is liked by everyone in the area and invited The Sun to a meeting on his yacht, where he explained: "This place makes perfect sense for British criminals on the run.

"The international language of anything is English, including crime. Lads can come out here with no need to learn Spanish, the full English breakfast is on every corner, the sun's shining and there's money to be made.

"It's a dangerous life they lead and most don't survive. I always say - first you're in a Cortina, then you're in a BMW, then you're in jail.

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/3032066/New-gangland-wars-in-Costa-del-Sol-prove-crime-is-booming.html#ixzz0sAxy0MT7

ESSEX gangsters tried to smuggle enough cannabis into Britain to make joints stretching from John O' Groats to Land's End.

Two shipments of resin worth £11 million – hidden inside boxes of cucumbers – weighed around four tonnes.
If made into joints and laid end to end, they would stretch more than 900 miles.The 12-strong gang were foiled by the Serious Organised Crime Agency, who tracked the shipments from Spain in a covert sting operation last summer.The gangsters were jailed for a total of 66 years at Basildon Crown Court on Thursday.Investigators mounted surveillance operations at the mob's drop-off points – a depot in Orsett and an industrial site in nearby Dagenham.The first wave of arrests were made as the gang tried to process nearly two tonnes of cannabis at the Orsett site, on June 27, last year.Driver Gary Burns, of Roding Hall Cottages, High Roding, was caught with a tonne of drugs in his vehicle, while fellow gang member Stephen Ely, of Southall, was tackled on a central reservation as he tried to flee.Just a fortnight later on July 12, ringleader Paul Gurr tried to import another two tonnes, but his gang were caught unloading from a lorry in Hounslow, west London.Gurr was arrested in a Brentwood restaurant later that day.Judge Alan Saggerson, sitting at Basildon Crown Court, described it as a "sophisticated operation" offering "significant financial rewards" for the gang.He told the defendants: "All of you played your parts in this attempt to import a huge amount of cannabis into the country."And that means that you will all receive a significant prison sentence."The racket's mastermind Gurr, 44, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess a Class B drug with intent to supply, and was jailed for seven and a half years.The gang's muscle, a 7ft, 30st giant called Robert Holden, of Canvey Island, got six and a half years for the same offence.Burns, 36, the driver from High Roding, was given five and a half years after being found guilty of possession of a Class B drug with intent to supply.The industrial unit in Orsett was controlled by John Chalkley, 53, of Nine Ashes Road, Ingatestone, who got six years and three months.Gang member David Freeman, 55, of Knights Way, Brentwood, was given four and a half years in jail for attempting to possess Class B drugs with intent to supply.The other seven gangsters, mainly from Essex and East London, got 36 years between them.

'Eta member' arrested in N Ireland - Europe - Al Jazeera English

'Eta member' arrested in N Ireland - Europe - Al Jazeera English: "Police in Northern Ireland have arrested a suspected member of Basque separatist group Eta, who is wanted in connection with several bombings in Spain.
Spain's interior ministry identified the man as Fermin Vila Michelana, who is on a European Union wanted list and part of the 'Madrid command' linked to four car bomb attacks.
Police, who have not confirmed his identity, said they arrested the suspect on Thursday night in Belfast, Northern Ireland's capital, under a European arrest warrant seeking his return to Spain.

'A 40-year-old man has been arrested under terrorism legislation in a joint operation between the PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland) Serious Crime Branch and Spanish police,' a police spokesman said."

David William Baxendale, a 39 year old British man, has been arrested for murder

David William Baxendale, a 39 year old British man, has been arrested for murder after being indentified in Fuengirola by one of his tattoos.

The Interpol website says the man is accused of killing a 38 year mother of three, Sarah Thomas, in her home in Surrey, England last May 10, and that his arrest came in the early hours of Monday morning. Spanish, French and British police were involved in the operation and Baxendale is now awaiting extradition back to the U.K.

His arrest comes after a programme on the BBC about British fugitives which said that he had boarded a boat for France on May 11. It mentioned his tattoos of a dragon on the right arm and a scorpion on the left side of his chest, and it was thanks to the tattoos that a British person recognised him last Sunday on the Paseo Marítimo in Fuengirola and informed the local police.

Baxendale was also arrested in July 2001 for his alleged implication in the death of a 44 year old British man who was stabbed in a Torremolinos apartment.

any U.K. resident driving a U.K. registered vehicle on the continent twice in a year, more than six months apart, could have their vehicle impounded abroad

Based on an E.U. Directive and therefore will also apply on the continent. Therefore any U.K. resident driving a U.K. registered vehicle on the continent twice in a year, more than six months apart, could have their vehicle impounded abroad - indeed, possibly, in several countries, if they drive through several.

The implications are horrendous. It is going to criminalise thousands of decent people.

Police forces throughout Britain commenced "Operation Andover," aimed at ridding the roads of foreign-registered vehicles, which were being driven in the U.K.

1st January 2009, Police forces throughout Britain commenced "Operation Andover,"  aimed at ridding the roads of foreign-registered vehicles, which were being driven in the U.K. for months or even years without having been taxed or MOTed. ( Northampton is full of them - mainly from Poland.)

We were given the DVLA directive, on which impounding was based ( press release 24/2006 ) which states that "Vehicles that are properly registered and taxed in their home countries and brought into the U.K. temporarily are usually exempt from U.K. registration in the U.K. for up to six months in any twelve month period."

Any sane person would assume that this would be a cumulative process, so someone visiting the U.K. in their vehicle from 1st January 2009 to 10th January 2009 and then from 1st July to 10th July 2009 would have been in the U.K. for a total of twenty days.

Not so.

The Police's interpretation of the Directive is that the Six Month Period commences on 1st January 2009 and ends on 30th June 2009, even if the vehicle had left the U.K. within days of arriving.

This means that  "ex-pats", like us, visiting their family in Britain in a foreign vehicle for a few days in January and then for a few days in July are liable to have their car impounded for having exceeded the six months period.

This was the basis for impounding our car, which visited the U.K. from 19th June to 8th July 2008 ( 20 days ) and entered again on February 9th 2009.

So it had been in the U.K. for a total for 67 days.

Costa del Crime International: marbella- glamerous to ruthless! | Costa del Gangster

Costa del Crime International: marbella- glamerous to ruthless! Costa del Gangster: "230 British criminals on the run out their, never mind crooks with no record in the U.K the place is a gold mind to fly away too, and continue a life of crime.
There is an ongoing war between the Spanish and the British and I don’t just mean over “ Franco’s rock”! Since the introduction of linkers bar, owned by Brits, they allow British in to drink for free, but charge the Spanish 10 euros‘, and same the other way round.In away it could be looked upon as a racist war going on where two different culture just cant stand each other, that will probably be frowned upon, but believe me its happening."

New charges against the owner of La Cañada commercial centre

New charges against the owner of La Cañada commercial centre: "Prosecutor is accusing the owner of the La Cañada commercial centre in Marbella, Tomás Olivo, of spying on and beating his ex partner, and has called for a four year ten month prison sentence.

The private prosecution in the case is demanding an eight year sentence for the abuse which was carried out on one occasion in the street in Puerto Banús in the presence of a minor.

Olivo, who is also indicted in the Malaya corruption case in Marbella, went out with the woman from the middle of 2002 until September 2003, and they share a child in common.

Meanwhile the ‘prensa rosa’ in Spain has been taking a look at Olivo, Todo Corazón says that Isabel Pantoja had set her eyes on him before she established a relationship with the then Mayor of Marbella, Julián Muñoz."

76 people have been arrested in Spain

76 people have been arrested in Spain in connection with an international operation against a gang which cloned credit cards which has seen as many as 178 arrests in 14 countries.
It’s estimated the gang could have made profits of more than 20 million €.

84 searches have been carried out in Spain and 11 laboratories where the cards were cloned have been uncovered. Also found were 30 replacement card inserts to be placed over cash dispenser machines.
The investigation started in Valencia where one of the bosses of the gang has also been arrested by the National Police.

The same gang also carried out violent robberies, frauds and extortions, sexual abuse and exploitation and money laundering.

The other arrests were carried out in Romania (16), France (30), Italy (7), Germany (16), Ireland (12), United States (8), Australia (2), Sweden (2), Greece (2), Finland (3), and Hungary (4). Each country had its own mini-structure of the gang.

Most of those in the gang were unaware who they were working for, and those who had information did not want to collaborate with the police, fearing reprisals against them or their families.

victim was strangled with a cord and then had a plastic bag put over his head before been thrown onto the A-7 motorway in Arroyo Vaquero

The two accused were just 18 when the crime was committed
According to press reports the two young men accused of killing a man and throwing his body over a bridge were convicted on charges of murder by the Court of Malaga

It is understood from the reports that they were sentenced to 15 years in prison for the crime of murder and steeling a vehicle in which they escaped from the scene.

The case relates to the killing of a man in 2005 . In the case the victim was strangled with a cord and then had a plastic bag put over his head before been thrown onto the A-7 motorway in Arroyo Vaquero of the town of Estepona"

Costa del Sol bar stabbing: Brit held - mirror.co.uk

Costa del Sol bar stabbing: Brit held - mirror.co.uk: "Irishman Eric Wilson, 26, was in a Spanish jail last night accused of gunning down Daniel Smith, 24, of Billericay, Essex outside a Costa del Sol bar last weekend."

100 people had to be evacuated from their homes for five hours on Saturday night when a campo fire broke out

100 people had to be evacuated from their homes for five hours on Saturday night when a campo fire broke out in the area of Las Ventanicas and Puerto Marina of Mojácar.

Emergency services told Europa Press that the fire started at about 9,30pm, and the people had to be evacuated at 2am on Sunday ‘as a preventative measure’. A hotel on the Paseo was evacuated for a time, but the guests were allowed back a short time later.

The cause of the fire is still being investigated and the fire services were still on the scene during Sunday morning to check it did not restart.

arrested a British man in Rojales, Alicante, in connection with a shooting incident and threats made against another Briton.

Guardia Civil agents from Almoradí have arrested a British man in Rojales, Alicante, in connection with a shooting incident and threats made against another Briton.

The shooting happened at 11am on Thursday in a bar in Avenida Costa Azul in Urbanisation Ciudad Quesada, when the arrested man went up to the victim who was sitting on the terrace with friends. 

Información newspaper reports witnesses saying that the man had a shot gun and fired a warning shot into the ground. This caused many to flee the scene while others hid inside the bar. The man is then accused of drawing a knife and stabbing the other in the chest, before fleeing the scene in a car parked nearby.

The injured man, also British, was taken to the Rojales health centre from where, after being attended to, he was transferred to the Torrevieja District Hospital. They allowed him home as the injury was not serious.

Both men are reported to be well-known locally and the Guardia Civil investigations continue.

Estepona Jetskis drug GANG

National Police and tax officials have broken up a drug trafficking network in Estepona which used the unusual method of dragging the drugs in bails to the shore underwater.The drugs, which came from Morocco, were sunk and anchored under the water at a depth of some 20 metres at pre-arranged coordinates.
Then the Spanish side of the organisation would go to the site which had been marked with a buoy and then use a diver to bring the drugs to the surface.Jet skis were then used to bring the drugs to shore.
Police say that eight people have been arrested and 1,158 kilos of hashish have been recovered, 700 kilos of which was still anchored out to sea close to the Saladillo beach in Estepona.Eight people have been arrested, but there is no detail as yet on their nationalities.

Dan Smith was killed ‘for sentimental reasons’.

The Guardia Civil in Coín on Monday arrested a man in connection with the shooting. They have said only that the arrested man is Irish, and that he has a police record, and appears to have been living in Coín. They had placed a watch on his home and when he finally left the property at 6pm on Monday, in the company of another person, arrested him. 

A search of the Coín home has also been carried out, and López Luna confirmed that some explosives had been found, although he said not enough to consider it an arsenal.

The Irish man, who is still to be named in reports, had been in police custody for 72 hours on Wednesday afternoon and was therefore passed on to appear before the judge shortly.

Meanwhile the identity of Dan Smith was confirmed by a family member at the morgue of the Legal Medicine Institute in Málaga on Monday.

Last Saturday’s shooting is the sixth homicide on the Costa del Sol this year. 

55 year old man has died after being shot in Torremolinos

The 55 year old victim is reported to be the owner of the Cafeteria in La Carihuela

A 55 year old man has died after being shot in Torremolinos. It happened at about 1pm at the Hermanos Velasco cafeteria in Calle Salvador Allende, in La Carihuela.

It’s the second violent death this week on the Costa del Sol, following the shooting dead of 26 year old Briton, Dan Smith, on a terrace in Riviera del Sol on Saturday.

Diario Sur reports that the victim was the owner of the cafeteria.
It seems that it happened when the victim tried to intervene in an argument between a woman who was a regular client of the establishment, and a man, thought to be the shooter.

Reports indicate the aggressor left the cafeteria after the argument, but returned some minutes later and opened fire on the owner of the bar, firing several shots.

Emergency services could only confirm the death on their arrival at the scene.

27-year-old man from Ireland had been arrested in connection with Mr Smith's death.

BBC News - Man from Ireland held after Essex man murdered in Spain: "man has been arrested in connection with the shooting of an Essex man on the Costa del Sol in Spain.
Dan Smith, 24, a former builder from Billericay, was shot dead at a bar in Mijas over the weekend.
Mr Smith had been wanted by Essex Police in connection with the attempted murder of Douglas Turner on 7 July 2007 at Stock, near Chelmsford.
Police in Spain said a 27-year-old man from Ireland had been arrested in connection with Mr Smith's death.
Mr Smith was shot outside a bar in the province of Malaga late on Saturday and bullets hit the walls where the shooting happened.
The Foreign Office said Mr Smith died on Sunday."

Gibraltar urges firm hand against Spanish boat incursions < Spanish news | Expatica Spain

Gibraltar urges firm hand against Spanish boat incursions < Spanish news Expatica Spain: "Incursions by Spanish boats into British territorial waters around Gibraltar must be promptly challenged, the British governor of the contested territory on the southern tip of Spain said Tuesday.
During an interview with Gibraltar radio, Sir Adrian Johns said Spanish vessels that enter the territorial waters of Gibraltar need to be 'challenged on the spot, firmly but courteously.'
'There is potential here for misunderstanding and miscalculation. What we all need to do is to get a better line of communication and perhaps even some form of protocol for operating in and around all the waters here, so that people understand what each other is doing and what our business is.'"

Daniel Smith, from Billericay, Essex, was sitting with friends at a terrace table when he was shot three times in the face by a gunman on a motorbike.

Daniel Smith, from Billericay, Essex, was sitting with friends at a terrace table when he was shot three times in the face by a gunman on a motorbike.

Police believe Mr Smith, who has been on the run from detectives in Britain for three years, was the victim of a contract killing. 

Drinkers at the Lounge Bar, a British-run drinking spot, watched in horror as he was gunned down in Mijas, near Malaga, in southern Spain on Saturday night.

According to reports, the killer was on the back of a motorbike driven by another man and fired six shots in total. 

Mr Smith was shot three times in the face, and the gunman fired three other rounds which missed him.

A regular told The Sun: 'He kept firing at Dan even though he was on the ground. It was horrible.'

Police in Britain had been seeking Mr Smith over a shooting in 2007 of an Essex businessman, who survived but lost three fingers.

Mr Smith was the third Briton to be murdered on the Costa del Sol in the last six weeks in what was thought to be a struggle between British gangs for control of the drug trade, according to The Times. 

Spain’s Civil Guard said the murder 'had all the hallmarks' of a contract killing. No arrests have been made.

A Civil Guard spokesman told The Times: 'We received a number of calls at 10.10pm reporting gunshots. 

'Emergency services attended the scene but they were unable to save the man’s life. He died from gunshot wounds.'

He added: 'The gunman and his accomplice escaped on a motorbike. It had the hallmarks of a gangland settling of scores.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1284867/Wanted-Brit-Daniel-Smith-gunned-Costa-del-Sol-bar-assassination.html?ito=feeds-newsxml#ixzz0qFcXY6oN

English builder named as Smith has been shot in a drive-by shooting in Spain

English builder has been shot in a drive-by shooting in Spain.The 26-year-old was shot at six times after a row in a popular local pub The Lounge Bar, in Riviera del Sol, Mijas.The killer, allegedly a friend, returned on a motorbike at 10pm on Saturday night.He fired six shots at Smith who was drinking on the terrace. Two of them missed him and entered the bar, one getting lodged in a table.An ambulance was on the scene within minutes, but he was declared dead before 11pm.According to an Olive Press source, the builder had been shot just minutes after getting into an argument.It is the sixth murder on the Costa del Sol this year so far, with 22-year-old British man being stabbed on April 22 in Benalmadena.

This latest Costa del Sol killing comes just over a week after the so-called Irish Mafia, led by Christopher Kinahan, was broken up.His organisation was allegedly involved in drug and firearms trafficking and money laundering.Britisher, shot while on a street terrace, from a passing large cylinder motorbike carrying two riders in Mijas. The victim has not yet been named.Diario de Sevilla reports that it happened at 10,10pm on Saturday night at the British-run Lounge Bar, Terraza de Miraflores, in the Riviera del Sol Urbanisation, an area popular with drinkers. Reports say that at least six shots were fired in total, and that three of them hit the victim.Health workers could do nothing to save the life of the victim who died at the scene from gunshot wounds to the head.

The judicial police of the Guardia Civil have opened a full investigation, with the first hypothesis considering the killing was part of a settling of scores.

This latest Costa del Sol killing comes just over a week after the so-called Irish Mafia , led by Christopher Kinahan, was broken up. His organisation was allegedly involved in drug and firearms trafficking and money laundering. Possible links to this new killing are being investigated.

Saturday’s shooting is the sixth homicide on the Costa del Sol this year. The latest came to light on May 6 when a fishing boat caught a body in its nets near the Calaburras lighthouse in Mijas. The body, which was wrapped in plastic, is still to be identified.

Town Hall had run out of money

El País reports that the PP controlled Marbella Town Hall is looking for a bank to urgently lend it 10 million € which it promises to return next year.

The money is needed to clear part of what is described as ‘an enormous backlog‘ in payments, but has been criticized by the local Socialists who said it showed the Town Hall had run out of money. They claim 23 million € of debt has been created in the town over the past seven months alone, but the governing team say the new loan is just ‘a treasury operation’.

The main cost for the Marbella Town Hall is manpower which takes 65% of the 220 million budget for this year. The Socialists claim money is being wasted on propaganda and ‘personal marketing’ by the Mayor, and note the new Municipal Magazine is called ‘A.M’, the Mayor’s initials, although the official title is ‘Avanza Marbella’.

Coin Unicaja cash point machine was blown up

Coin Unicaja cash point machine was blown up by a gang of thieves who the Guardia Civil believe carried out earlier robberies in Nerja and Rincón de la Victoria

It is understood from the reports that the incident happened at around 4am on Thursday and that the thieves also forced the door and entered the branch"

Reasons Why Recovery in The Costa Del Sol Property May Be Slow

3 Reasons Why Recovery in The Costa Del Sol Property May Be Slow: "prospective buyers who were releasing equity from there homes in the UK have totally disappeared. Again, because of the over zealous lending policies of UK banks, many second home owners look like they could lose there main residence too.

There are currently some speculators entering into the market place, but these are far more sophisticated investors who have sufficient liquid capital to strike and buy complete developments. The previous market highs of the region relied on amateur investors and buy to let newbies who saw the Costas as a way to make a quick killing and, to be fair, some people did. The truth of the matter is that the window for 'flipping' properties was surprisingly small and most people missed the boat. Like any investment timing is crucial, the old adage 'buy low, sell high' seems so obvious that it may appear nonsensical. The truth is many people bought at the Zenith of the market and in reality had nowhere to go in terms of capital appreciation. Understanding what you are investing in and more specifically where the market is in terms of price cycle is instrumental in any form of speculation."

3 Reasons Why Recovery in The Costa Del Sol Property May Be Slow

3 Reasons Why Recovery in The Costa Del Sol Property May Be Slow: "Costa Del Sol property market is a segmented one. Clear differences are now emerging in terms of what is selling and what is not and there are several factors that are influencing this dis-parity between the various classes of homes being sold. There are three important factors that are having an impact on the market and when you look at them they are not going to change any time soon. Read Costa Del Sol property."

Lee Murray, 30, from south London, was named during the trial of other gang members as the "mastermind" of the £53m raid in Kent in February 2006.

cage-fighter has been jailed in Morocco for his part in the UK's biggest cash raid at a Securitas depot.Lee Murray, 30, from south London, was named during the trial of other gang members as the "mastermind" of the £53m raid in Kent in February 2006.Kent Police said Murray must serve 10 years in jail in Morocco for his involvement.A spokesman for the force said Murray was deemed to be Moroccan and could not be extradited to the UK.

Drunken youngsters tortured a young bull to death on the last day of the village feria

Drunken youngsters tortured a young bull to death on the last day of the village feria

Drunken youngsters on the last day of the village fair in Alhaurín el Grande have been accused of beating one of the young bulls used for running through the streets of the Málaga town, to death.

The torture was carried out in the town’s bullring where the youngsters tortured the animal with kicks, beatings and by pulling its neck.

The Caseta de la Juventud was open to the early hours of the morning and many of the drunk youngsters went directly to the bullring.

The police did nothing and the organisers merely released a second animal which soon underwent the same torture.

It was a festival of animal ill-treatment which ended in the animal exhausted and badly injured and having to be sacrificed, and the public who witnesses the butchery proud of the town’s young men.

The scene, which was caught on video, has been denounced by the Andalucian Collective Against Animal and Environment Mistreatment, who refer to the ‘lamentable mental state’ of those who took part.