Convicted crime godfather Terry Adams, 56, will be asked about the assassination of Saul "Solly" Nahome and the disappearance of Gilbert Wynter in 1998.

Detectives will question Britain's most feared gangster over the unsolved murders of two of his associates 13 years ago.

Convicted crime godfather Terry Adams, 56, will be asked about the assassination of Saul "Solly" Nahome and the disappearance of Gilbert Wynter in 1998.

Scotland Yard has announced a new inquiry into the two suspected "hits" and linked the deaths for the first time.

The men knew each other and worked for the north London-based Adams crime syndicate which is said to have amassed a £200 million fortune from racketeering and drugs trafficking.

Mr Nahome, a 48-year-old accountant who worked as a bookkeeper for Terry Adams, was shot dead outside his home in Finchley in November 1998.
Wynter, 37, an enforcer who also worked for the family, disappeared after leaving his home in Tottenham in March the same year.

He is believed to have been murdered and is rumoured to be buried in the foundations of the Millennium Dome.

Once charged with murdering former British high jump champion Claude Moseley, allegedly on the orders of Adams, Wynter walked free after the chief prosecution witness refused to give evidence.

Scotland Yard say they plan to use new forensic techniques to examine items relating to both the murder of Nahome and the disappearance of Wynter. Detectives plan to talk to about 20 associates of the Adams syndicate.

Adams was released from jail last year after serving half of a seven-year sentence for money laundering and is now thought to be living in north London.

Detective Chief Inspector David Manning said: "The cases have never been closed. Having reviewed both investigations and with advances in DNA techniques, we decided to launch a last-ditch effort to bring them to a successful conclusion.

British teen survives seventh floor fall from a hotel in Magaluf

British teenager, named by EFE as Jacqos Evans, has miraculously survived a fall from the seventh floor of a hotel in Magaluf, in what is thought could have been a new case of ‘balconing’ this season.

It happened shortly before 8.30 am on Monday at the Torrenova Playa Hotel in Calvià.

The 19 year old was admitted to the Son Espases Hospital in the Mallorcan capital of Palma after the fall, with relatively minor injuries considering the distance he fell. He is understood to have injured an ankle and broken one of his arms.

A Civil Guard spokesman commented to EFE, ‘This young man has been reborn today’.

It’s the second incident of the season after another 19 year old from Britain jumped from a fourth floor balcony in a hotel in Palma de Mallorca last month, in an attempt to reach the pool.

 

British flights cancelled as volcanic ash cloud from Iceland heads to UK

Airline Loganair became the first to cancel flights in Scotland as volcanic ash headed towards Britain.



According to the latest forecasts from the Met Office a thick cloud is likely to cover much of Scotland by tomorrow morning.
At its densest the cloud is likely to exceed the top threshold set by the aviation industry for aircraft safety.
Loganair has cancelled 36 flights on Tuesday and advised customers due to travel to contact them to rearrange flights. Only inter-island routes in Orkney are unaffected.
A statement from Loganair said: "We have taken the decision to cancel all services with the exception of our inter-isles flights in Orkney. All flights due to depart between 06:00 and 13:00 hrs tomorrow have therefore been cancelled.
"You should not travel to the airport and if you are booked on a flight departing tomorrow afternoon, you should check the website for further updates before setting out for the airport.

"We are operating additional services this evening (Monday 23 May) to assist passengers due to travel tomorrow to complete their journeys in advance of the expected flight disruption."
NATS, the air traffic control organisation, confirmed that it was anticipating disruption at three small airports: Barra, Benbecula and Tiree and said the cloud could begin to cause problems as early as 6pm on Monday.
With winds blowing from the west, the cloud is expected to drift towards the North Sea by the middle of the week.
The Civil Aviation Authority said further disruption was likely unless the cloud was dispersed by the weather.
"It depends how thick the cloud is and how big it is," said a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority.
"If it is so big that it makes it impossible to get in or out of an airport, then flights will be cancelled. But if we are talking about small thick pockets, then it should be possible to fly around them.
"It won't be until late tonight that we have a real idea what the impact will be and passengers should contact their airlines to keep up to date."
Scotlands major airports – Glasgow, Prestwick, Aberdeen, Inverness and Edinburgh – handle about 50,000 passengers a day.
However the unsettled weather predicted over the next few days makes forecasting the passage of further volcanic ash difficult.
South westerly winds would mean that Britain would escape further disruption, but if they continue to blow from the north west another cloud could drift across at least part of the country.
"We can’t rule out disruption," said Andrew Haines, the Civil Aviation Authority's chief executive.
"But the new arrangements that have been put in place since last year’s ash cloud mean the aviation sector is better prepared and will help to reduce any disruption in the event that volcanic ash affects UK airspace.”
Last year's eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano crippled aviation throughout Europe, with an estimated 100,000 flights cancelled across Europe, hitting the travel plans of around 8 million passengers.
Professor Gillian Foulger, Department of Earth Sciences at Durham University, said: “This eruption is bigger and more spectacular than the Eyjafjallajökull eruption. Its gigantic initial volcanic plume (20 km high) suggests that it may exhaust itself and cease quicker than the Eyjafjallajökull eruption, but only time will tell."
The damage caused by the latest eruption of the Grímsvötn volcano, 250 miles from the Icelandic capital, Reykjavik, is not expected to wreak the same havoc.
Not only is the ash of a different consistency and less likely to cause damage to aircraft, but aviation rules have been changed to allow airlines to continue to fly if they believe it is safe to do so.
Most leading airlines are understood to have applied to the Civil Aviation for permission to fly through ash of moderate density, following discussions with engine and aircraft manufacturers.
A BA spokesman said: "At present all our flights are operating normally. We are keeping the situation under observation."
Thomson Airways confirmed it had also put a "safety case" to the CAA to enable its operations to continue.

Jamie Dempsey, 33, of Essex, was wanted by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) for allegedly conspiring to supply 299 kilos of cocaine in spring 2009.

Jamie Dempsey, 33, of Essex, was wanted by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) for allegedly conspiring to supply 299 kilos of cocaine in spring 2009.

His arrest comes after police released the identities of 10 suspected criminals hiding out on the "Costa del Crime".

He was being questioned after officers raided a property in Marbella, police said.

Dave Cording, of Crimestoppers, said: "This is another great result which means that now 50% of the most recent batch of wanted individuals have been arrested.


"Not only is the campaign successful in tracking people down in Spain, but it displaces them as well, but as we can see, no matter where these wanted individuals run to, law enforcement will find them.

"I hope this further reinforces to fugitives, that you can run, but can't hide forever."

He was arrested as part of Operation Captura, a multi-agency campaign which identifies wanted individuals on the run in Spain

Jennifer Mills-Westley who was stabbed and decapitated in a supermarket in Tenerife had earlier sought refuge from her killer, it has been claimed

The 60-year-old Briton reportedly pleaded for help shortly before she was murdered in the town of Los Cristianos on Friday.
The Tenerife and Canary Islands website newsinthesun.com reported eyewitnesses as saying that a tearful Ms Mills-Westley feared she was being stalked.
It was claimed she entered an employment centre not far from the shopping centre and a security guard sent the man away.
Minutes later she was killed.

Ms Mills-Westley's family said they were devastated by the news of her death.
Her daughter Sarah said in a statement: "Mum retired a number of years ago and was fully enjoying her retirement travelling between Tenerife and France where she spent time visiting her daughter and grandchildren, and her other daughter in Norfolk.
"She was full of life, generous of heart, would do anything for anyone.
"We now have to find a way of living without her love and light and we would ask at this difficult time for some privacy as we try to come to terms with our loss."

Ms Mills-Westley, who was originally from Norwich, Norfolk, had two daughters and five grandchildren.
After retiring from her job as a road safety officer with Norfolk County Council, she left Britain.
Norfolk County Council issued a statement praising her warm character.
"Jenny was a popular and well respected member of staff, who during her time with Norfolk County Council worked as a road safety officer working with many schools and children to teach cycling safety training and make Norfolk's roads safer," it said.

Bulgarian national Deyan Valentinov D - with Spanish police only providing the first initial of his surname - has been detained on suspicion of killing Ms Mills-Westley.
The 28-year-old is reportedly homeless, has a history of mental health issues and a police record.
According to local newspaper La Opinion, the suspect had received treatment at the psychiatric unit of a local hospital in February after being involved in previous violent incidents.
Spanish media reported that witnesses saw a man enter a Chinese supermarket at the Valdes Shopping Centre and without saying a word, attacked Ms Mills-Westley with a knife and then cut off her head.
He was then said to have carried Ms Mills-Westley's head out of the shop, allegedly saying "God is on earth".
A regional government spokeswoman said the killer is understood to have obtained a knife from inside the store to launch his attack.


Colin Kirby, of tenerifemagazine.com, witnessed the event. He told Sky News: "It was all a bit surreal. I was heading past the commercial centre and saw a group of people by the entrance and a medical guy going in form the health centre.
"I assumed someone had fainted, walked on, and then I could hear screaming and shouting.
"I glanced behind me and a guy was ambling down the street holding what I assumed to be a joke head, by the hair."
Mr Kirby said security guards chased the man, eventually managing to bring him down and restrain him.
"The guy did not seem completely right to me - he was a bit dishevelled, not particularly smart and as he was walking with the head he was muttering. It was a bizarre scene."

Christina Perez, a legal representative at a nearby court, said a group of lawyers saw the man sprinting out of the store, carrying the head.
"They saw the man running out of the supermarket with the head in his hands," she said.
"A security man from the complex ran after him and jumped on to him so he fell, and then he threw the head on to the road."
Ms Perez, 38, said her shocked and frightened colleagues ran indoors for safety and locked themselves in.
A UK Foreign Office spokesman said Ms Mills-Westley's relatives were being helped by consular staff who were also liaising with the Tenerife authorities.
Police are investigating the man's movements leading up to the killing and studying CCTV and witness statements to establish what happened.
Los Cristianos is a bustling tourist town on the southern tip of the island and is home to many British ex-pats.
It mainly attracts older visitors with its artificial beaches and fishing harbour where pleasure cruises and diving excursions depart.DISCLAIMER Text may be subject to copyright.This blog does not claim copyright to any such text. Copyright remains with the original copyright holder

deranged knifeman decapitated a British woman in a shop on the Spanish resort island of Tenerife on Friday and fled with her head, police said.

Police identified the man as 28-year-old Bulgarian Deyan Valentinov D. with only an initial instead of his surname.

They said he launched his knife attack on the victim in a Chinese general goods store.

"The attack culminated with the decapitation of the victim," Canary Islands police said in a statement.

"The attacker left the establishment with the head in his hand and then threw it to the pavement."

The victim was a 60-year-old British woman shopping in the market in the tourist spot of Los Cristianos beach in Arona on the southern side of Tenerife, part of the Canary Islands, police said.

She had no relation to the attacker.

Police said they arrested the man as he was struggling with a security guard and trying to escape.

"A man came running up with something full of blood in his hand and a private security guard behind him, and he threw it on the ground and it almost hit me," a witness named only as Bernardo told Cadena Ser radio.

"What he had in his hand was a head."

Britain's foreign ministry says it is "aware of the reports of the death of a British national in Tenerife" and is seeking more information.

The knifeman, who reportedly had a previous record for causing bodily injury, struck at 10.30am (local time) in the store.

Freelance writer Colin Kirby was walking past the Chinese shop when he saw a big crowd and an ambulance.

"I assumed someone had fainted or something," he said in a video interview with British expatriate news site Tenerife Magazine

"I walked on a bit, turned around, there were people shouting. There was a hispanic looking guy, very scruffy, walking behind me muttering to himself, carrying what I thought was a joke head by the hair with blood."

Further on, Chinese residents began to run towards the store and security guards chased the attacker across the street where members of the public forced him to the ground, he said.

When security and police arrived they had to hold people off to prevent them beating the suspect, he said.

Tenerife is home to around one million residents and one of Spain's most popular tourist destinations.

Spanish police has intercepted a lorry on the A-7 in Benidorm found to be carrying a ton of hashish, and made two arrests, the drivers of two vehicles.

Spanish police has intercepted a lorry on the A-7 in Benidorm found to be carrying a ton of hashish, and made two arrests, the drivers of two vehicles.

The articulated lorry was preceded a few kilometres by a van which acted as a look-out for police controls.

The load is thought to have started its journey in Almería and had Barcelona as its destination. Investigators think the gang was based in Terrassa, Barcelona, and carried out drug trafficking on a grand scale.

The investigation continues open and saw the participation of the GRECO agents from the Levante, along with Judicial Police from Alicante and Barcelona, and Crime Prevention and Reaction unit from Alicante.

naval exercise taking place off the coast of Alicante has recovered an old sea mine in waters off the Isla de Tabarca

naval exercise taking place off the coast of Alicante has recovered an old sea mine in waters off the Isla de Tabarca. The explosive device was identified as Italian and was confirmed to be inert,

It was found by the French minesweeper, the Orion, on April 29, which has been taking part in the ‘Spanish Minex-11’ manoeuvres, which is a multinational exercise for training in mine warfare which takes place annually. It’s organised by the Spanish Navy and involves boats from NATO and the European Maritime Force Euromarfor.

The manoeuvres by ships from Spain, Portugal, Poland, Germany and France involved tracking and making safe fake mines which had been supposedly planted by terrorists to disrupt maritime traffic.

Spain’s Civil Guard broke up an international drug trafficking ring in an operation in which 34 people were arrested and two tons of cocaine confiscated.

The arrested people had engaged in violence in Colombia, Spain and other countries of the European Union against other members of the network by threatening then with death or kidnapping them as a guarantee for the operations they were involved in and the losses the network had sustained due to different actions by law enforcement.

The network also dealt in money laundering, extortion and kidnapping for ransom, the Civil Guard said in a communique.

Most of the people arrested in 15 raids in the Mediterranean provinces of Valencia and Alicante are Spaniards.

Also detained were four Colombians, an Italian, a Dutch citizen and a Briton.

The investigation into the ring’s activities was accomplished with the cooperation of police in Colombia, Morocco, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Britain and so far has resulted in the seizure of 101 properties.

In addition, authorities confiscated 39 vehicles, one firearm, 500 mobile telephone cards, 35,000 euros ($51,900) in cash, 15 computers and 14 hard drives.

The arrested people had established the infrastructure necessary to smuggle large quantities of cocaine through several Spanish ports – Valencia, Tarragona and Pontevedra, among others – by hiding the drug inside computers for later distribution in Spain and other European countries.

18 arrested and two tons of drugs recovered in Dénia

total of 18 people have been arrested and two tons of drugs recovered in two police operations in Dénia. A local judge has already decided to send seven of those arrested directly to jail on remand.

The judge in Instruction Court 3 in Dénia ordered that seven people arrested with 1,300 kilos of hashish be sent to jail as part of an operation started under reporting restrictions two months ago in Instruction court 2. The judge released one of those arrested and the final eight will appear before him on Tuesday.

The operation was carried out by the EDOA anti-drug and organised crime team from Alicante, with help from the Calpe judicial police and all the 16 arrested are Spanish, most of them with previous police records.

The arrests were made in Dénia and Ondara in Alicante province, but also in Barcleona and Girona. The gang operated along the Mediterranean coast and hired yachts to travel to Morocco to load up with the drugs.

In the other operation carried out by the National Police UDCO unit 2 from Alicante, two people were arrested at the motorway toll booths on the AP-7 in Dénia accused of moving 10,000 kilos of drugs every month from Almería. Both of the two were ordered to prison by the judge on Monday. One of the two, a 55 year old Spaniard drove a lorry which transported cocaine hidden in wooden planks. The other man, a 50 year old Bulgarian drove a look-out vehicle.

 

British couple arrested for passing counterfeit money in Puerto Santiago

The Guardia Civil from Guía de Isora on Tenerife have arrested a 41 year old man, and 40 year old woman, both British, on charges of using counterfeit money in Santiago del Teide.

Workers at a hotel in Puerto Santiago found a client drunk and passed out in a corridor with cuts to his fore-arm. It was thought he caused the injuries himself with a knife, and was taken to hospital. When he came round he acted violently with hospital staff, according to local media.

On a search of his hotel room the Guardia Civil found ten 50 € notes which were apparently fake, and arrested both the man and his partner.

 

A tourist who was mistakenly imprisoned on an Easter trip to Granada two years ago has taken his claim for compensation to the National Court.

Juan Enrique Tena Martín from Madrid spent 5 days behind bars in Semana Santa 2009 when he was mistaken for a suspect with a similar surname, a man who had in fact been in prison since February that year. He was arrested in his hotel by the National Police and sent to prison on Easter Thursday, but the public holidays and the weekend meant that it was not until the following Monday that the error could be confirmed.

EFE indicates that the Interior Ministry admitted the damages caused in January this year, and offered the unfortunate tourist 3,000 € in compensation. He considers that to be insufficient and has applied to the National Court for 50,000 €.

Al-Qaeda is among the suspects in connection with a bomb attack that killed 16 in Marrakesh

Khalid Naciri, communications minister, said that investigators would pursue all leads including possible links to al-Qaeda which operates a North African offshoot which is active in the region.
"All leads will be investigated, including al-Qaeda," he said.
"The investigation continues to find the perpetrators, but for the moment I am not prepared to point the finger."
Fourteen people, most of them foreigners, died Thursday when a suspected suicide bomb exploded at a crowded tourist cafe in Djemaa el-Fna, the main square of Marrakesh.
A total of 23 others were badly injured, two of whom died overnight, bring the toll to 16 Friday.

 

Suspect in Marta del Castillo case has another appeal turned down by the court

Francisco Javier Delgado's appeal argued there was insufficient evidence against himMarta del Castillo - EFE archive


A new appeal by Francisco Javier Delgado, brother of the main suspect in the Marta del Castillo case, Miguel Carcaño, has been turned by the provincial court in Seville.

Delgado’s lawyer had argued that his client should not stand trial as he claimed the only evidence against him was testimony from El Cuco, the juvenile who was recently found guilty of covering up Marta’s death.

It’s understood that the court did not mention the basis for Delgado’s appeal in the text of its decision, simply saying that it was ‘not applicable’, as an earlier appeal he had lodged had only recently been turned down by the same court.

Europa Press reports that Delgado’s defence is now considering an appeal to the Constitutional Court following Thursday’s ruling from Seville.

 

Network which helped drug smugglers to bypass coast controls brought down in Huelva

The National Police have made two more arrests in their investigations in Huelva into a network which helped drug smugglers to bypass controls on the coast of the province. Eight people were arrested last month, including two Civil Guard, and with these latest arrests police now say the network has been disbanded.

Detectives had been working on the case for the past seven months and discovered that the organisation had fitted tracking devices to 11 Civil Guard vehicles to control their movements. Another part of the service offered was to put the SIVE electronic surveillance system out of action in some areas, to allow the smugglers to approach the coast undetected.

The Interior Ministry said in a press release on Thursday that the two Civil Guard formed a key part of their operation, as did one of the latest two suspects taken into custody, a guard security for the Agencia Tributaria Tax Authority.

Almost two and a half tons of cannabis were seized in February during the course of the investigation.

 

Morocco frees 92 political prisoners

Morocco freed 92 political prisoners on Thursday, including a prominent anti-corruption activist and a controversial preacher, under a pardon issued by the king following street protests demanding democratic reform.

The pardon also commuted to limited prison terms death penalties for five others and life imprisonments for 37 others, officials from the National Council for Human Rights said.

Prison terms for 53 others were also reduced.

The majority of those freed or whose sentences were reduced were members of the Islamist Salafist Jihad group.

Mohamed Sebbar, appointed secretary general of the Council by King Mohammed in March, said the pardon was a prelude to a thorough review of the cases of political prisoners in Morocco.

Those freed included preacher Mohammed Fizazi, who was sentenced in 2003 to 30 years in jail after he was convicted of inspiring 12 suicide bombers to kill 33 people in Casablanca earlier that year, in Morocco`s deadliest bomb attack.

Local human right groups have said hundreds, including Salafist Jihad sympathisers, were jailed after the attack in politically motivated trials, often without solid evidence.

Last month, King Mohammed announced constitutional reform to give up some of his sweeping powers and make the judiciary independent in Morocco, a staunch ally of the West.

It came after a youth-led movement called Feb 20 spearheaded some of the biggest anti-establishment protests in decades in the North African country, with demands that included the release of political prisoners.

“This pardon indicates that the king has once again picked up the streets` message,” political analyst Ahmed el-Bouz said.

Five people who were jailed in 2009 after a court convicted them of plotting terrorist attacks in the country and who were among those freed were present at Thursday`s news conference, including prominent figures of two moderate Islamist parties. “I would like to thank the youth of Feb 20 Movement,” Mustapha Mouatassim, one of them, said.

Mostly-veiled female relatives broke into tears and chanted “God is Greatest” when the group was brought to the Council venue in black cars. One woman, Houria Amer, wept in disappointment when she realised that her husband Luqman Mokhtar, who was also jailed in 2009, was not among them.

“They have all been jailed unfairly under the same sham case. How can they free some and leave others in prison?” she said.

Corruption whistleblower and human right activist Chakib El-Khiari, jailed for three years in 2009 after accusing high-ranking officials of involvement in drug trafficking, was among those pardoned and freed. Amnesty International has said Khiari was a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for his anti-corruption statements and human rights activities

 

Gangland drug haul suspect Dawes appears before Spanish judge

A MAN named as a Notts drugs "general" has appeared before a Spanish judge – nearly three years after he was first arrested in Dubai.

Robert Dawes, 39, has previously been named in court as one of three men who ran the drugs trade in north Notts.

The other two are currently serving long jail terms.

Dawes left Notts for the Mijas Costa, near Marbella in Spain, nine years ago and later relocated to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates.


He was arrested in 2008 in Dubai over the seizure of almost 200kg of cocaine – then worth around £14m – near Madrid in 2007. But Spain has no extradition treaty with the United Arab Emirates and it has taken until now for him to be taken back to Spain.

Dawes was held on an international arrest warrant last Wednesday in Dubai and was flown to Madrid on Thursday to appear before a duty judge.

A spokesman for the Guardia Civil, the Spanish police, said that Dawes was expected to be formally charged in Court 32 in Madrid over the cocaine seizure when the Spanish courts reopened after Easter.

The cocaine seizure operation was led by the UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency with the backing of the Guardia Civil.

Meanwhile, the Post understands that Notts Police have contacted the widow of Sutton-in-Ashfield father-of-two David Draycott, who was murdered in 2002, to inform her that Dawes is in custody in Spain.

A police spokesman said: "Detectives are continuing to investigate the murder of David Draycott and are following up a number of lines of inquiry."

At a recent assets recovery hearing at Birmingham Crown Court involving alleged associates of Dawes, he was named in court papers by investigators from the Serious Organised Crime Agency as a "highly significant international criminal" wanted in three countries, including the UK and Holland.

In Holland, he is under investigation in connection with the murder of schoolteacher Gerard Meesters in Groningen in 2002.

Both Mr Meesters and Mr Draycott were gunned down outside their homes. Two British men were convicted for their roles in the murder of Mr Meesters, who was killed after he refused to reveal the location of a woman who, the court was told, had been working as a drugs courier for Dawes. The two convicted men refused to state who else was involved in the killing, citing fear of reprisals against their relatives.

Dawes was also named in court during the trial of Gary Hardy as one of three "generals" who ran the drugs trade in north Notts, along with his brother John Dawes and Hardy himself.

Hardy is serving a 20-year jail term for conspiracy to supply heroin and amphetamines, money laundering and possessing criminal property. John Dawes is doing 24 years for money laundering and conspiracy to deal in drugs.

John Dawes was friends with Bestwood crime boss Colin Gunn, and the Post previously told how Hardy had held a "drug dealer's lottery" for a Mercedes car, with £1,000 tickets bought by both Colin Gunn and his brother David.

Colin Gunn is serving a minimum of 35 years for conspiracy to murder, while David Gunn was jailed for eight-and-a-half years for conspiring to supply amphetamines, before being released on parole and then sent back to prison to serve the rest of his sentence for breaching the terms of his parole.

John Dawes and his father, Arthur "Eddie" Dawes, were jailed in 2005, with Arthur Dawes receiving eight years in prison for money laundering.

 

12 arrested as cocaine found among the pineapples

12 people have been arrested after a massive police anti-drugs operation using both air and land resources which was carried out Monday in the provinces of Alicante, Valencia, Madrid and Toledo.

Those arrested in Valencia port have been taken to Talavera de la Reina where the traffickers were using a warehouse as a distribution point.

200 kilos of cocaine from Costa Rica was hidden among three containers in a shipment of pineapples. Five top of the range vehicles, documents and more than 100,000 € in cash have all been impounded.

National Police in Spain say the operation was carried out in coordination with the Costa Rican authorities and started seven months ago when they discovered that a Spaniard, resident in Alicante, was trafficking in cocaine using containers sent by sea.

 

Killer James Tomkins, 61, lived in exile under an assumed identity on the Costa del Sol, Spain, after the "brutal execution" of 24-year-old Rocky Dawson.

Killer James Tomkins, 61, lived in exile under an assumed identity on the Costa del Sol, Spain, after the "brutal execution" of 24-year-old Rocky Dawson.

Mr Dawson was shot several times in the back as he put the children, aged two and six, in his Fiat Punto on the drive of the family's home in Hornchurch, Essex in 2006.

After several years on the run, Tomkins, who was named as one of Britain's 10 most wanted criminals in 2008, was traced near Marbella and extradited.

He was found guilty of murder by a jury at Woolwich Crown Court.

Tomkins shot Mr Dawson from a dark-blue Land Rover Freelander vehicle which drove past as the attack took place. The children were unharmed during the incident.

Tomkins' accomplice Christopher Pearman, of Waltham Abbey, received a life sentence for the murder at the same court in 2007.

Detective Inspector Mark Lawson said: "This was a brutal execution of a totally innocent young man in what we believe to have been a case of mistaken identity.

"He was gunned down in front of his two children who were lucky to have escaped uninjured. Aged just six and two years at the time they undoubtedly still carry the scars of that fateful day in 2006.

"Despite the arrest and subsequent conviction of Christopher Pearman we knew James Tomkins was a key player in this murder.

"He sought to distance himself from the investigation by fleeing to Spain where he lived for four years. Since his extradition and return to the UK he has shown no remorse for his callous actions."

Candy Dawson, Mr Dawson's mother, added: "Rocky will always live on in our memory and our hearts."

Tomkins will be sentenced on Monday.

British man, 45 year old Thomas William Swannell, who is accused of killing another Briton, 42 year old Gary Clive Vigors, by slitting his neck with a broken bottle

British man, 45 year old Thomas William Swannell, who is accused of killing another Briton, 42 year old Gary Clive Vigors, by slitting his neck with a broken bottle during a bar fight in Magaluf, Mallorca, appeared in court in Palma on Monday.

He faces charges of intentional homicide following the attack in the early hours of Saturday in the Plaza Café in Punta Ballena. The court heard how a cut to the jugular saw the victim bleed out and die just moments later before medics could arrive at the scene.

After making a first declaration the accused was ordered to be held on remand in Palma jail.