sexual aggressions carried out on a British holidaymaker in Benidorm.

Police from the violent crime squad of the National Police in Benidorm have arrested a 42 year old Romanian man in La Vila Joiosa in connection with several sexual aggressions carried out on a British holidaymaker in Benidorm. Another two men, aged 19 and 20 and also Romanian, who allegedly took part have also been arrested.
The three are accused of holding the woman against her will in a rural house in the Galandú area of Villajoyosa, near the district hospital. She was raped and forced to have sex with the men several times over a period of more than three hours.
After the attack the woman went to the police in Benidorm, and was taken to a health centre for tests.Police say the three men resisted arrest when they were tracked down, and in one case a car chase resulted in ‘a violent crash’ which resulted in an officer in the police car being seriously injured.The three men will appear in court in Villajoyosa shortly.

largest cocaine manufacturing plant in the country, which has been located on a farm in Diamiel, Ciudad Real.

Spanish police has raided what is being described as the largest cocaine manufacturing plant in the country, which has been located on a farm in Diamiel, Ciudad Real.The facilities were capable of producing as much as 50 kilos of cocaine a week.Those running the plant camouflaged the drug with cacao from Venezuela.Members of the GEO Special Operations Group impounded more than eight tons of chemical substances, 275 kilos of substances used to cut the drug, hydraulic presses and other items in the operation which also resulted in 11 arrests, eight of whom were working in the manufacture of the drug at the time of the raid. The owner of the farm is a Colombian national.Police say the centre had only been producing drugs for a week. The Chief of the Organised Crime Anti-Drug squad, UDYCO, Eloy Quirós, said in a press conference that it was as if a grand laboratory had been lifted out of the Latin American forest and placed complete here.

International appeal to track down fugitive Allan Foster brought in just two calls

International appeal to track down fugitive Allan Foster brought in just two calls, it has been revealed.The gangster was named by police as the man behind the brutal killing of dad-of-seven David "Noddy" Rice at Marsden Lea car park in May 2007.
Mr Rice, 42, from South Shields, was gunned down at close range as he sat in his car.
Foster, of Rushcliffe, Fulwell, is said to have fled the UK soon after and is believed to be hiding out in Spain.But despite an international appeal to trace him, only two calls have been made to Crimestoppers.Last year the 37-year-old was included on a top 10 list of the UK's most wanted fugitives as part of Operation Captura – which concentrated on finding those who had fled to Spain.A photograph of him was released by Crimestoppers, in partnership with the Serious Organised Crime Agency. But despite the high-profile appeal, Foster remains at large.
A Crimestoppers spokeswoman said: "There have been two calls in relation to Allan Foster. But there has been no news of any imminent arrest."Crimestoppers is now renewing its appeal for information on the whereabouts of Foster, who is also known to use the name Shaun Michael Wilkinson.

Former head of Interpol has gone on trial in South Africa accused of corruption

Former head of Interpol has gone on trial in South Africa accused of corruption after he received gifts from an alleged gangster that were bought from Harrods and boutiques in London.Jackie Selebi, who is also South Africa's national police chief, resigned as president of the international police agency after he was charged last year.The indictment paints a devastating picture of alleged corruption at the top levels of policing in South Africa.

John Cunningham is the latest Irish gangland figure to relocate to Spain.

The 57-year-old, who first came to prominence for his role in the kidnap of businessman's wife Jennifer Guinness in the 1980s, moved to the Costa del Sol earlier this year.Gardai now believe that Cunningham, who has served time in the Netherlands and Ireland for drugs offences, is associating with younger Irish expat criminals.Security sources confirmed that the Ballyfermot-born gangster is a target of the Garda National Drugs Unit, liaising with their Spanish counterparts.He was released from prison here in February 2007 and returned to a home address in Tallaght. But sources say he has now relocated to Spain.One source said: "The information is that Mr Cunningham is back to his old tricks, and has opted to base himself in Spain this time." The criminal is known as 'Gentleman John' for his well- spoken manner, and lived a life of luxury in the Netherlands prior to his arrest there in March 2000. He served four-and-a-half years of an eight-year prison term in the Netherlands for trafficking and possession of ecstasy, amphetamines and cannabis. He was then transferred to Ireland, where he spent the remainder of the sentence at Limerick Prison. Cunningham first came to public attention in the 1980s, when he was jailed for 17 years for his part in the 1986 abduction of Jennifer Guinness, wife of John Guinness, a director of Guinness and Mahon bank. While awaiting early release for that crime, Cunningham escaped from Shelton Abbey and fled to the Netherlands in late 1996. There he managed to build a drugs empire worth €50m.A former associate of both Gilligan and Martin 'The General' Cahill, Cunningham developed a multi-million euro drugs empire. After he was caught in 2000, Cunningham was convicted of trafficking over €10m worth of drugs between Holland and Ireland.
At his Dutch trial, the public prosecutor noted: "This man looks like everybody's favourite neighbour, but don't be deceived by his friendly face and tidy appearance."
Investigators discovered how Cunningham had established a life of luxury in the Netherlands, renting a luxury home with its own swimming pool close to Amsterdam Airport, where he lived with his family.

Brutal Marbella crime syndicate plotted to snatch and ransom the family of a top UK TV presenter.

Law agencies across Europe fear any celeb is at risk in the Spanish resorts where Britons flock for sunshine holidays.The player, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was targeted while visiting the area at the end of last year's football season. But the plan was aborted at the last minute.Ex-British intelligence agent Paul Grimshaw, now a security consultant in Marbella, said: "Crime gangs from Eastern Europe and Russian are moving in. The area is teeming with wealth."They don't care who they target as long as there is money to be earned. The footballer was picked out for that reason."They got cold feet. But reliable sources are adamant that a highprofile celebrity kidnapping is only a matter of time. Footballers, especially wealthy ones, should be vigilant at all times."Grimshaw revealed the threat of kidnap is scaring the wealthy away from Spain. He said: "Former England manager Steve McClaren sold his villa last year over fears about the rising crime rate. The Qatar royal family has not visited its 14-bedroom home in Marbella for nearly five years and will probably never return."A personal security officer for Spanish-based CCS24Gibraltar said: "I've worked on the Costa del Sol for ten years and crime has never been worse. It's dangerous and frightening. Kidnappings, drug-trafficking and robberies happen all the time."High walls and cameras don't deter these criminals. If they want to get you - they will."Leeds-born Grimshaw, 46, alerted the Football Association and the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) to the soccer star plot. He wrote in August: "An England player was the target of a kidnap plot after the Champions League Final in Moscow in 2008. It is believed the player was pinpointed at either a training camp or during a vacation in southern Spain."Anybody travelling abroad should review their security arrangements. This threat was not limited to one player."Pfa chief executive Gordon Taylor said: "We can't afford not to take information like this seriously in this day and age.

"Liverpool's Steven Gerrard and Everton's Phil Jagielka were targeted by burglars. Spurs player Wilson Palacios' brother Edwin was kidnapped in Honduras in May. Wilson paid a £125,000 ransom but Edwin was murdered."There is precedent for snatching soccer stars. Manchester United ace Dimitar Berbatov was kidnapped in his native Bulgaria while an 18-year-old with CSKA Sofia. He was freed unharmed but recalled yesterday: "It was a horrific ordeal."Grimshaw, who has lived in Spain for 20 years, warned: "Abduction worries have rocketed, particularly in Marbella."The Russian Mafia has been gaining ground in Spain since the last property boom made it an attractive place to launder money. They prey on the rich - and will stop at nothing.In June, four Russians grabbed a man in the street in Estepona and told him he would die within 24 hours unless he paid them £12,000. He escaped after being tortured for two days. Some gangs are Kosovan Albanians, often ex-soldiers. Others are Romanian and Lithuanian.The family of property developer Frank Capa - a pal of Rod Stewart - paid a £1 million for his release after he was kidnapped in Marbella in 2004.Ian Watmore of the FA confirmed they were reviewing player security after Grimshaw's tip. A security officer added: "Famous footballers and celebrities are sitting ducks. I advise them to choose their friends carefully."