Police smash French helicopter drug smuggling ring | Herald Sun: "Spanish police opened their investigation in July after they received a request for help in dismantling a drug ring based in Spain from their French counterparts.
Spain's proximity to north Africa, a key source of hashish, and its close ties with its former colonies in Latin America, a major cocaine producing region, have made it a major gateway into Europe for drug traffickers."
Saturday, 30 October 2010
Police smash French helicopter drug smuggling ring | Herald Sun
Police smash French helicopter drug smuggling ring | Herald Sun: "SPANISH and French police smashed a group that smuggled cocaine and hashish from Morocco into Spain by helicopter, arresting six French nationals, Spanish police said Thursday. The group would pay pilots 1000 euros ($1424) for each kilogram of cocaine which they transported from the north African country to southern Spain, from where it was then shipped by car to the French port of Marseille, police said in a statement.
French police detained three members of the group at the end of September as they were driving on a highway near the French town of Perpignan, north of the Spanish border, with 4.8kg of cocaine in their car.
The other three arrests were carried out in Paris several days later.
Spanish police carried out searches of several properties in the provinces of Cadiz and Seville following the arrests in France, seizing a helicopter used by the group from a farm near the town of Alcala de los Gazules."
French police detained three members of the group at the end of September as they were driving on a highway near the French town of Perpignan, north of the Spanish border, with 4.8kg of cocaine in their car.
The other three arrests were carried out in Paris several days later.
Spanish police carried out searches of several properties in the provinces of Cadiz and Seville following the arrests in France, seizing a helicopter used by the group from a farm near the town of Alcala de los Gazules."
Hotels in Spain want to go to law with Thomas Cook
Hotels in Spain want to go to law with Thomas Cook: "number of leading hotels in Spain, are united against one of the leaders of the world tourism market - the British travel company Thomas Cook. The reasons for the claims of Spanish hoteliers were trimmed payments that Thomas Cook has transferred to the hotels’ bills.
Among those who received partial payment for their services are hotels of Spain's top resorts such as Benidorm, Costa Del Sol, Mallorca, Ibiza, Tenerife and Lanzarotte.
The Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourism (CEHAT) notes that in total Thomas Cook paid about 5% less than the contract amount. Representatives of CEHAT called such reduction to be 'illegal' and in the near future plan to apply to court for restoration of their rights, according to ttglive.com.
CEHAT intends to provide advice to all the hotels that have suffered from the actions of Thomas Cook. In a statement CEHAT noted that violations of contractual obligations by Thomas Cook can be a dangerous precedent and that the Confederation would require the Thomas Cook compliance with prescribed conditions of the contract."
Among those who received partial payment for their services are hotels of Spain's top resorts such as Benidorm, Costa Del Sol, Mallorca, Ibiza, Tenerife and Lanzarotte.
The Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourism (CEHAT) notes that in total Thomas Cook paid about 5% less than the contract amount. Representatives of CEHAT called such reduction to be 'illegal' and in the near future plan to apply to court for restoration of their rights, according to ttglive.com.
CEHAT intends to provide advice to all the hotels that have suffered from the actions of Thomas Cook. In a statement CEHAT noted that violations of contractual obligations by Thomas Cook can be a dangerous precedent and that the Confederation would require the Thomas Cook compliance with prescribed conditions of the contract."
Thursday, 28 October 2010
Israel MP avoids Spain over arrest fears, Israel Crime - Maktoob Business
Israel MP avoids Spain over arrest fears, Israel Crime - Maktoob Business: "An aide to Israel's former internal security chief says his boss has canceled a trip to Spain for fear he could be arrested for alleged war crimes.
Avi Dichter, now a parliament member, was supposed to head an Israeli delegation to a peace conference in Spain beginning Thursday.
Dichter faced charges of crimes against humanity in Spain for his role in a 2002 airstrike that killed a Hamas commander and 14 civilians in the Gaza Strip.
The court dropped the suit, but Dichter spokesman Nisan Zeevi said Tuesday that Spain could not guarantee Dichter would not be arrested.
Pro-Palestinian lawyers have filed a number of war crimes charges against Israeli officials in European courts. No cases have gone ahead, but officials have canceled trips for fear of arrest."
Avi Dichter, now a parliament member, was supposed to head an Israeli delegation to a peace conference in Spain beginning Thursday.
Dichter faced charges of crimes against humanity in Spain for his role in a 2002 airstrike that killed a Hamas commander and 14 civilians in the Gaza Strip.
The court dropped the suit, but Dichter spokesman Nisan Zeevi said Tuesday that Spain could not guarantee Dichter would not be arrested.
Pro-Palestinian lawyers have filed a number of war crimes charges against Israeli officials in European courts. No cases have gone ahead, but officials have canceled trips for fear of arrest."
Tuesday, 26 October 2010
15 Guardia Civil (police officers) who are accused of alleged torture and cause injury during the arrest and subsequent custody of ETA terrorists
The trial starts today in Guipúzcoa Provincial Court of 15 Guardia Civil (police officers) who are accused of alleged torture and cause injury during the arrest and subsequent custody of ETA terrorists Igor Portu and Mattin Sarasola, sentenced to 1,040 years in prison for perpetrating the attack on Madrid Barajas airport, which killed two people. The prosecutor, who sees no evidence of criminal activity on behalf of five of the defendants, seeks sentences of between two and three years in prison for four of the officers and the remaining six are accused perpetrators of injuries. The judge who is dealing with the case considers that the facts could constitute an alleged crime of torture.
The trial has raised passions after photos of Portu in hospital with evidence of bruises on various parts of his body were released . Left wing nationalists who do not condemn the crimes of ETA have used this case to stir up passions in the Basque Country. The Home Office attributes the injuries to the struggles that occurred during the arrest of two terrorists. The defense of all officers involved agree, and say that injuries were sustained whilst the terrorists resisted arrest and attempted to escape.
However, the shadow of the possible ill-treatment of ETA activists lost credibility from the moment when, all of them, blindly following an instruction from the terrorist organization, routinely started to report to have been tortured while in police custody. In fact, the investigating judge in this case notes the finding of a computer file located in the computerof Garikoitz Aspiazu (alias Txeroki), the contents of which reveal the existence of a manual (entitled "Facing arrest"), issued by the management of ETA to its members, in which "they are given direct orders to claim to have been tortured but refuse to testify before a judge".
Portu and Sarasola were arrested on January 6, 2008 at Mondragon by an team from the Guardia Civil. After identifying and reviewing their belongings, they found two Smith & Wesson revolvers and 50 cartridges, so they were arrested and shackled.
The Prosecution says that both were placed in official vehicles before being beaten by the officers guarding them. Whilst being handcuffed behind their backs, they were taken separately at an undetermined site, where they were punched and kicked, in addition to receiving death threats. A handcuffed Sarasola was thrown down a hillside before having a gun placed to his head and being told that he would be thrown into the river Bidasoa "just like Zabalza".
Zabalza, was a notorius ETA terrorist who died in the early 1980's. Secret police CESID agent, Pedro Gomez Nieto, revealed to his superior Juan Alberto Perote in 1985 that Mikel Zabalza died while he was being tortured in Intxaurrondo barracks. Zabalza, who had been arrested by the Civil Guard on November 20 1985, was found dead a few days later in the river Bidasoa with signs on his body of having been tortured.
The prosecutor says that it is possible that the Civil Guards were "shocked" by the assassination by ETA of two fellow officers two weeks earlier in the French town of Capbreton.
The detainees were taken to Intxaurrondo barracks in San Sebastian, and then, always separately, were taken to attend searches of their addresses, both in the town of Lesaka (Navarre). The Public Prosecutor's Office says in its indictment that Portu was then taken, after a severe beating, to the forensic medical examination and then admitted to the Intesive Care Unit of Donostia Hospital, where he remained for three days "due to the severity of his injuries" . Medical reports reveal that Portu suffered a chest injury with three broken ribs, a left pneumothorax with partial collapse of lung and pleural effusion. The prosecutor indicated that these injuries put his life "at risk".
For his part, Sarasola was also beaten and suffered numerous bruises and abrasions, as detailed by the prosecution, before being moved from Intxaurrondo to Madrid in an official vehicle under guard by three officers, "who punched and smacked him all the way." The prosecutor claimed that abuse occurred, in both cases, during transfer of the detainees, and said this showed these attacks were just for the pleasure of the officers rather than used to extract a confession about the bombing of the T-4 terminal. The Barajas bombing ended the ETA truce which started in December 2006.
A private prosecution from Portu and Sarasola complains that the fifteen Guardia Civil committed a crime of torture in aggravated form, amongst other crimes and misdemeanors, for which they seek prison terms ranging from 6 to 17 years in prison.
The trial has raised passions after photos of Portu in hospital with evidence of bruises on various parts of his body were released . Left wing nationalists who do not condemn the crimes of ETA have used this case to stir up passions in the Basque Country. The Home Office attributes the injuries to the struggles that occurred during the arrest of two terrorists. The defense of all officers involved agree, and say that injuries were sustained whilst the terrorists resisted arrest and attempted to escape.
However, the shadow of the possible ill-treatment of ETA activists lost credibility from the moment when, all of them, blindly following an instruction from the terrorist organization, routinely started to report to have been tortured while in police custody. In fact, the investigating judge in this case notes the finding of a computer file located in the computerof Garikoitz Aspiazu (alias Txeroki), the contents of which reveal the existence of a manual (entitled "Facing arrest"), issued by the management of ETA to its members, in which "they are given direct orders to claim to have been tortured but refuse to testify before a judge".
Portu and Sarasola were arrested on January 6, 2008 at Mondragon by an team from the Guardia Civil. After identifying and reviewing their belongings, they found two Smith & Wesson revolvers and 50 cartridges, so they were arrested and shackled.
The Prosecution says that both were placed in official vehicles before being beaten by the officers guarding them. Whilst being handcuffed behind their backs, they were taken separately at an undetermined site, where they were punched and kicked, in addition to receiving death threats. A handcuffed Sarasola was thrown down a hillside before having a gun placed to his head and being told that he would be thrown into the river Bidasoa "just like Zabalza".
Zabalza, was a notorius ETA terrorist who died in the early 1980's. Secret police CESID agent, Pedro Gomez Nieto, revealed to his superior Juan Alberto Perote in 1985 that Mikel Zabalza died while he was being tortured in Intxaurrondo barracks. Zabalza, who had been arrested by the Civil Guard on November 20 1985, was found dead a few days later in the river Bidasoa with signs on his body of having been tortured.
The prosecutor says that it is possible that the Civil Guards were "shocked" by the assassination by ETA of two fellow officers two weeks earlier in the French town of Capbreton.
The detainees were taken to Intxaurrondo barracks in San Sebastian, and then, always separately, were taken to attend searches of their addresses, both in the town of Lesaka (Navarre). The Public Prosecutor's Office says in its indictment that Portu was then taken, after a severe beating, to the forensic medical examination and then admitted to the Intesive Care Unit of Donostia Hospital, where he remained for three days "due to the severity of his injuries" . Medical reports reveal that Portu suffered a chest injury with three broken ribs, a left pneumothorax with partial collapse of lung and pleural effusion. The prosecutor indicated that these injuries put his life "at risk".
For his part, Sarasola was also beaten and suffered numerous bruises and abrasions, as detailed by the prosecution, before being moved from Intxaurrondo to Madrid in an official vehicle under guard by three officers, "who punched and smacked him all the way." The prosecutor claimed that abuse occurred, in both cases, during transfer of the detainees, and said this showed these attacks were just for the pleasure of the officers rather than used to extract a confession about the bombing of the T-4 terminal. The Barajas bombing ended the ETA truce which started in December 2006.
A private prosecution from Portu and Sarasola complains that the fifteen Guardia Civil committed a crime of torture in aggravated form, amongst other crimes and misdemeanors, for which they seek prison terms ranging from 6 to 17 years in prison.
Monday, 25 October 2010
Travel advice: the best way to travel to Spain overland - Telegraph
Travel advice: the best way to travel to Spain overland - Telegraph: "easiest option is to take an afternoon Eurostar service to Paris, then one of the two Spanish Trainhotel sleeper trains from Paris to Spain (one goes to Madrid, the other to Barcelona). For example, a 3pm Eurostar from St Pancras reaches Paris Gare du Nord just after 6pm French time. Then the Trainhotel 'Joan Miro' leaves Paris Gare d'Austerlitz at around 8.30pm and will get you to central Barcelona before 8.30am the following morning.
A Eurostar ticket to Paris starts at £69 return (but will often be more), while a bed in a tourist-class four-berth sleeper on the Trainhotel to Barcelona or Madrid starts at £67 one way."
A Eurostar ticket to Paris starts at £69 return (but will often be more), while a bed in a tourist-class four-berth sleeper on the Trainhotel to Barcelona or Madrid starts at £67 one way."
Sunday, 24 October 2010
TWELVE British nationals have been arrested in various towns in the province of Alicante.
TWELVE British nationals have been arrested in various towns in the province of Alicante.
Five vehicles, a boat, precision scales, and 53,000 ecstasy pills have been seized, and a cannabis plantation has been dismantled in Crevillente (Alicante)
The members of the group travelled regularly to the United Kingdom in order to smuggle the drugs hidden in double-bottom suitcases and vehicles from there.
During Operation ZUMO, a joint operation between the Spanish Guardia Civil and SOCA (UK Serious and Organised Crime Agency), the 12 arrested (8 men and 4 women), all from the United Kingdom are suspected members of an active criminal organisation involved in trafficking designer drugs and cannabis on the Levante coast and the island of Ibiza, where they were in contact with another organisation dismantled by the Guardia Civil last August during the course of Operation Flecha.
During the Operation, the Civil Guard searched six homes in the province of Alicante (three in Torrevieja and three in Orihuela), a six metre long boat, moored in the port of Torreviejaand a cannabis plantation in the Crevillente area.
The investigation started in May this year when the investigators heard about the establishment, in the province of Alicante, of a group of people from Liverpool who could be involved in drug trafficking in leisure centres on the Levante coast.
The organisation was put under surveillance and in June one of the members of the group was arrested, when he tried to smuggle more than 50,000 designer drug pills hidden in the doors of a vehicle that was about to embark in Denia for Ibiza.
The drugs were due to be distributed to other organisations based in Ibiza during the summer period.
The group that has just been dismantled are thought to have made daily visits to discotheques and leisure centres on the Levante coast, where they stayed and sold the drugs until closing time.
From time to time, when they ran out of drugs, some of their members travelled to the United Kingdom to purchase new supplies that they themselves smuggled into Spain hidden in double-bottom vehicles or suitcases that arrived by air.
The organisation also possessed a vehicle in an out-of-the-way place in the Crevillente area (Alicante), a cannabis plantation equipped with all necessary items (irrigation, electricity, heating, containers, etc.) where more than 100 cannabis plants were seized.
From the start of the operation the investigators were in contact with SOCA, who sent a number of officers to assist the Guardia Civil during the investigations.
The investigation was led by the Examining Magistrates Court in Torrevieja.
Five vehicles, a boat, precision scales, and 53,000 ecstasy pills have been seized, and a cannabis plantation has been dismantled in Crevillente (Alicante)
The members of the group travelled regularly to the United Kingdom in order to smuggle the drugs hidden in double-bottom suitcases and vehicles from there.
During Operation ZUMO, a joint operation between the Spanish Guardia Civil and SOCA (UK Serious and Organised Crime Agency), the 12 arrested (8 men and 4 women), all from the United Kingdom are suspected members of an active criminal organisation involved in trafficking designer drugs and cannabis on the Levante coast and the island of Ibiza, where they were in contact with another organisation dismantled by the Guardia Civil last August during the course of Operation Flecha.
During the Operation, the Civil Guard searched six homes in the province of Alicante (three in Torrevieja and three in Orihuela), a six metre long boat, moored in the port of Torreviejaand a cannabis plantation in the Crevillente area.
The investigation started in May this year when the investigators heard about the establishment, in the province of Alicante, of a group of people from Liverpool who could be involved in drug trafficking in leisure centres on the Levante coast.
The organisation was put under surveillance and in June one of the members of the group was arrested, when he tried to smuggle more than 50,000 designer drug pills hidden in the doors of a vehicle that was about to embark in Denia for Ibiza.
The drugs were due to be distributed to other organisations based in Ibiza during the summer period.
The group that has just been dismantled are thought to have made daily visits to discotheques and leisure centres on the Levante coast, where they stayed and sold the drugs until closing time.
From time to time, when they ran out of drugs, some of their members travelled to the United Kingdom to purchase new supplies that they themselves smuggled into Spain hidden in double-bottom vehicles or suitcases that arrived by air.
The organisation also possessed a vehicle in an out-of-the-way place in the Crevillente area (Alicante), a cannabis plantation equipped with all necessary items (irrigation, electricity, heating, containers, etc.) where more than 100 cannabis plants were seized.
From the start of the operation the investigators were in contact with SOCA, who sent a number of officers to assist the Guardia Civil during the investigations.
The investigation was led by the Examining Magistrates Court in Torrevieja.
Puerto Banus found packages containing 149 kilos of hashish
GUARDIA CIVIL arrested a 47-year-old man from Estepona charged with a crime against public health. A boat was detected off the coast of Puerto Banus, and patrols on land were alerted.
The occupant claimed he had simply gone for a sail, but when the officers searched the vessel, they found packages containing 149 kilos of hashish.
The occupant claimed he had simply gone for a sail, but when the officers searched the vessel, they found packages containing 149 kilos of hashish.
MALAGA court has issued an international search and arrest warrant for 41-year-old Irishman Michael Dermot McArdle,
MALAGA court has issued an international search and arrest warrant for 41-year-old Irishman Michael Dermot McArdle, sentenced in 2008 to two years in prison for the negligent manslaughter of his wife.
The warrant was issued after McArdle failed to hand himself in to serve his sentence. In February 2000 his wife, Kelly-Anne Corcoran, fell from the balcony of their room at the five-star Melia Don Pepe Hotel in Marbella.
The couple had a violent argument, which deteriorated into a fight.
In court, he claimed that his wife’s death had been accidental as she tried to stop their son from climbing the railing.
The child, who witnessed the fall, told the court “Daddy pushed mummy down”.
McArdle was ordered to pay €10,000 compensation to the victim’s parents and €60,000 to each of their two children.
The Corcoran family vowed to donate any amount of compensation they receive to charity, as they said money could not make up for the loss of Kelly-Anne.
The jury reached its decision having considered all aspects of the evidence heard and the mitigating circumstances of the case, and the fact that McArdle had made an attempt to stop his wife from falling, as a number of witnesses testified.
The jury accepted the fact that the accused had behaved in an inappropriate manner by arguing violently with his wife, but considered that he had not intended to kill her and had made an attempt to prevent her death.
However, they were equally convinced that she did not fall by tripping accidentally, as the defence had suggested.
He was allowed to return home to Dundalk after the verdict, pending the outcome of the appeals process.
However, in February 2010, with that process exhausted, the judge refused his request for the sentence to be suspended, and McArdle was ordered to return to Spain to serve his sentence.
In early March, he was given a deadline of 30 days to come up with the €220,000 compensation he owed the family and hand himself over to begin his prison sentence.
He reportedly told the court that he had not been able to pay the money, but that he intended to. He has also been ordered to pay all court costs with fees estimated to amount to €500,000 still outstanding. His lawyer, Luis Casaubon, and others from Ireland, appealed the decision on the basis that his client was being unfairly treated in comparison to other people who have been given similar sentences.
This meant that in April, the deadline was put on hold. On that occasion, he avoided court due to the travel chaos caused by the volcanic ash.
Finally, the Supreme Court in Granada rejected the appeal and ordered McArdle to return to Spain and present himself to the authorities before August 5.
He has no further options of appeal, and has failed to pay the compensation money.
During this whole process he remained in Ireland, where he has a new partner.
The warrant was issued after McArdle failed to hand himself in to serve his sentence. In February 2000 his wife, Kelly-Anne Corcoran, fell from the balcony of their room at the five-star Melia Don Pepe Hotel in Marbella.
The couple had a violent argument, which deteriorated into a fight.
In court, he claimed that his wife’s death had been accidental as she tried to stop their son from climbing the railing.
The child, who witnessed the fall, told the court “Daddy pushed mummy down”.
McArdle was ordered to pay €10,000 compensation to the victim’s parents and €60,000 to each of their two children.
The Corcoran family vowed to donate any amount of compensation they receive to charity, as they said money could not make up for the loss of Kelly-Anne.
The jury reached its decision having considered all aspects of the evidence heard and the mitigating circumstances of the case, and the fact that McArdle had made an attempt to stop his wife from falling, as a number of witnesses testified.
The jury accepted the fact that the accused had behaved in an inappropriate manner by arguing violently with his wife, but considered that he had not intended to kill her and had made an attempt to prevent her death.
However, they were equally convinced that she did not fall by tripping accidentally, as the defence had suggested.
He was allowed to return home to Dundalk after the verdict, pending the outcome of the appeals process.
However, in February 2010, with that process exhausted, the judge refused his request for the sentence to be suspended, and McArdle was ordered to return to Spain to serve his sentence.
In early March, he was given a deadline of 30 days to come up with the €220,000 compensation he owed the family and hand himself over to begin his prison sentence.
He reportedly told the court that he had not been able to pay the money, but that he intended to. He has also been ordered to pay all court costs with fees estimated to amount to €500,000 still outstanding. His lawyer, Luis Casaubon, and others from Ireland, appealed the decision on the basis that his client was being unfairly treated in comparison to other people who have been given similar sentences.
This meant that in April, the deadline was put on hold. On that occasion, he avoided court due to the travel chaos caused by the volcanic ash.
Finally, the Supreme Court in Granada rejected the appeal and ordered McArdle to return to Spain and present himself to the authorities before August 5.
He has no further options of appeal, and has failed to pay the compensation money.
During this whole process he remained in Ireland, where he has a new partner.
Thursday, 21 October 2010
Scot has ear, fingers & toes chopped off during drug gang kidnap ordeal in Portugal - The Daily Record
Scot has ear, fingers & toes chopped off during drug gang kidnap ordeal in Portugal - The Daily Record: "James Ross, 26, was tortured in a villa on the Algarve for 13 days after being lured to Portugal by a gang of Brits.
Dad-of-two Ross, from Wick, Caithness, was found bleeding in the street in the village of Alfontes, near Loule, by Carlos Pereira.
Carlos said: 'He came staggering towards me, asking me to stop, waving his arms in the air.
'He had no left ear and was missing two fingers on his left hand, a toe from one foot and two from the other. He also had a leg wound.'
Ross told him he had been involved in a road accident.
Mr Pereira said: 'He was very white. He said, 'Please, please, telephone'. I decided to put him in my van and drove him to a square, near a cafe, and called the police.'
Alerted Northern Constabulary had ranked Ross as a 'high risk' missing person and alerted the UK Serious Organised Crime Agency and Portuguese cops."
Dad-of-two Ross, from Wick, Caithness, was found bleeding in the street in the village of Alfontes, near Loule, by Carlos Pereira.
Carlos said: 'He came staggering towards me, asking me to stop, waving his arms in the air.
'He had no left ear and was missing two fingers on his left hand, a toe from one foot and two from the other. He also had a leg wound.'
Ross told him he had been involved in a road accident.
Mr Pereira said: 'He was very white. He said, 'Please, please, telephone'. I decided to put him in my van and drove him to a square, near a cafe, and called the police.'
Alerted Northern Constabulary had ranked Ross as a 'high risk' missing person and alerted the UK Serious Organised Crime Agency and Portuguese cops."
Saturday, 16 October 2010
Gen. González González will be in Spain on November 15.
Venezuela's Attorney General Luisa Ortega Díaz said that the Attorney General Office requested the 19th Control Court of the Caracas Metropolitan Area (AMC) the initiation of proceedings to extradite Army Major General Néstor González González.
She said that it is of public knowledge that Gen. González González will be in Spain on November 15.
Gen. González González is being investigated in connection with the alleged crime of civil rebellion, following the events of April 2002.
Ortega Díaz said that as Gen. González González will be in Spain on November 15, "we, as the Venezuelan institution guarantor of legality, and pursuant to the extradition treaty between the two countries, request (Spain) to extradite the aforementioned citizen, who is wanted in Venezuela."
She said that it is of public knowledge that Gen. González González will be in Spain on November 15.
Gen. González González is being investigated in connection with the alleged crime of civil rebellion, following the events of April 2002.
Ortega Díaz said that as Gen. González González will be in Spain on November 15, "we, as the Venezuelan institution guarantor of legality, and pursuant to the extradition treaty between the two countries, request (Spain) to extradite the aforementioned citizen, who is wanted in Venezuela."
Sean Connery - Connery Fails To Show In Spanish Court
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Sean Connery - Connery Fails To Show In Spanish Court
SIR Sean Connery failed to appear at a Spanish court on Friday (15Oct10) after a judge summoned him to testify as part of a Money-laundering investigation. The actor and his wife Micheline were asked to take to the stand, but a letter from Connery explained he could not travel to Spain because of his age and unspecified Health Problems. The former James Bond star and his wife were named in the Probe stemming from the 1998 sale of their beachfront mansion near Marbella. The couple made $8.4...
Official: Sean Connery declines to appear in Spanish court to testify in real estate deal.Actor Sean Connery is in hot water in Spain over the sale of a beach home. On Oct. 15, 2010, the 80-year-old actor claimed his age and ill health prevented him from attending a hearing at which Spanish magistrates are investigating allegations of tax evasion and money-laundering involving the sale of the Costa del Sol property.
Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/2300-207_162-10005217.html#ixzz12W20PjT3
Madrid — A Spanish court official says Sean Connery won't be appearing in court as requested by a judge investigating an allegedly shady Real Estate deal in southern Spain. The official says the 72-year-old actor sent the judge a letter explaining he cannot travel to Spain because of his age and unspecified Health Issues. Connery and wife Micheline Roquebrune had been summoned to testify on Friday. They have not been charged with a Crime in the affair known in Spain as the "Goldfinger...
Sir Sean Connery 'too old' to travel for Spanish court case
Sir Sean Connery failed to appear at a Court hearing in Spain on Friday, claiming he was too old to travel.
Sean Connery Failed to Show Up in Spanish Court
He and wife Micheline were due to stand as witness in the case of their former property but they didn't show up.
Actor Sean Connery cites health for failing to appear in Spanish court
Sean Connery and his wife Friday failed to attend a Spanish court hearing into a Corruption Probe as ordered, citing health reasons, a court source said.
Sean Connery refuses to show in Spanish court, citing age and health
Sean Connery, 80, citing his age and unspecified Health Issues, declined a judge's request today for him to testify at a court in Spain. Connery, who lives in The Bahamas with wife Micheline, was summoned to court as part of an investigation into Tax Evasion and Money-laundering involving a Vacation property the actor used to own, reports AP . He sold the property called Malibu in Marbella, Spain, in 1999 and the site was later redeveloped - and rezoned - into an apartment complex. Connery...
Sir Sean Connery 'too old' to travel for Spanish court case
Sir Sean Connery failed to appear at a Court hearing in Spain on Friday, claiming he was too old to travel.
Sean Connery and Micheline Roquebrune Fight Costa del Sol Case
Los Angeles (LALATE) – Sean Connery and Micheline Roquebrune’ fight in the Goldfinger case, the Costa del Sol development deal of Casa Malibu, has taken an unlikely turn. Sean Connery is now ignoring summons to appear, claiming he is too old to travel. Yet, as the Telegraph reports, Sean Connery was not too old in June to fly to the Edinburgh Film Festival (and even dance for the cameras during a news briefing), and he was not too old to fly to New York in April. The couple have...
Sean Connery Scared Michael Caine Off Golf!
Sean Connery ’s fowl temper has struck again! Veteran actor Sir Michael Caine has revealed how he swore off golf following a lesson with the former Bond star. Caine says Connery flew into a rage and snapped his club in half! “Sean has a terrible temper and when he tried to teach me golf he was so incensed by my performance that he grabbed my club and broke it in two,” Caine says in his Autobiography, The Elephant to Hollywood. “I have never played golf...
O-No-7! Sean skips hearing
Citing Health Issues, Sean Connery, 80, and his wife yesterday failed to attend a Spanish court hearing into a house-sale Corruption Probe as ordered.
Connery a no-show at Spanish 'Goldfinger' hearing
Madrid — Sean Connery declined to appear in a Spanish court Friday as requested by a judge investigating an allegedly shady Real Estate deal involving property the actor used to own.
Connery a no-show at Spanish Goldfinger hearing
Madrid - A Spanish court official says Sean Connery won't be appearing in court as requested by a judge investigating an allegedly shady Real Estate deal in southern Spain. The official says the 72-year-old actor sent the judge a letter explaining he cannot travel to Spain because of his age and unspecified Health Issues. Connery and wife Micheline Roquebrune had been summoned to testify on Friday. They have not been charged with a Crime in the affair known in Spain as the Goldfinger Case....
Connery a no-show at Spanish "Goldfinger" hearing
Madrid – Sean Connery declined to appear in a Spanish court Friday as requested by a judge investigating an allegedly shady Real Estate deal involving property the actor used to own. The 80-year-old actor sent the judge a letter explaining he cannot travel to Spain because of his age and unspecified Health Issues, a court Official said. Connery and wife Micheline Roquebrune had been summoned to testify on Friday. They have not been charged with a Crime in the affair known in Spain as the...
Connery a no-show at Spanish 'Goldfinger' hearing
Madrid - A Spanish court official says Sean Connery won't be appearing in court as requested by a judge investigating an allegedly shady Real Estate deal in southern Spain. The official says the 72-year-old actor sent the judge a letter explaining he cannot travel to Spain because of his age and unspecified Health Issues. Connery and wife Micheline Roquebrune had been summoned to testify on Friday. They have not been charged with a Crime in the affair known in Spain as the "Goldfinger Case." The...
Connery a no-show at Spanish "Goldfinger" hearing
A Spanish court official says Sean Connery won't be appearing in court as requested by a judge investigating an allegedly shady Real Estate deal in southern Spain.
Connery a No-Show at Spanish "Goldfinger" Hearing
Madrid-- A Spanish court official says Sean Connery won't be appearing in court as requested by a judge investigating an allegedly shady Real Estate deal in southern Spain. The official says the 72-year-old actor sent the judge a letter explaining he cannot travel to Spain because of his age and unspecified Health Issues. Connery and wife Micheline Roquebrune had been summoned to testify on Friday. They have not been charged with a Crime in the affair known in Spain as the "Goldfinger Case."...
Connery a no-show at Spanish "Goldfinger" hearing (AP)
Madrid – A Spanish court official says Sean Connery won't be appearing in court as requested by a judge investigating an allegedly shady Real Estate deal in southern Spain. The official says the 72-year-old actor sent the judge a letter explaining he cannot travel to Spain because of his age and unspecified Health Issues. Connery and wife Micheline Roquebrune had been summoned to testify on Friday. They have not been charged with a Crime in the affair known in Spain as the "Goldfinger...
Damien Ramsey, 39, playboy lifestyle of luxury flats, racing horses, designer jewellery and yachts, which was paid for entirely by selling Cocaine
cocaine-dealing friend of boxing star Ricky Hatton, who led a flamboyant, champagne lifestyle in the West, was yesterday stripped of more than £500,000 by a Bristol Judge.
Damien Ramsey, 39, led a playboy lifestyle of luxury flats, racing horses, designer jewellery and yachts, which was paid for entirely by selling "vast" amounts of cocaine and cannabis.
He even splashed out £1,000 on a ten-man Jacuzzi which was installed in a purpose-built shed in the back garden of his home in Bristol.
Officers raided Ramsey's house in April 2009 and recovered Gucci and Breitling watches, diamond rings and an array of other jewellery.
Police also uncovered a secret drugs factory at the address which included 30 cannabis plants, with a street value of £27,500, and 121g of 62 per cent purity cocaine worth more than £4,000.
An investigation found Ramsey also owned a race horse called Oscar and a Fairline Phantom 40 £220,000 yacht, which he moored in Spain. Ramsey, who was pictured holidaying in Spain with his long-standing friend Ricky Hatton, also had 45 diazepam tablets, a knuckle duster and two cans of CS pepper spray.
But his high-life came crashing down in August 2009 when he was jailed for five years for a string of drug offences.
Yesterday's confiscation order hearing at Bristol Crown Court, now means the drug dealer will leave prison unable to capitalise on his life of crime.
Ramsey was ordered to pay back £551,044.96 in total over the next six months, or face a further five years in prison.
Judge Mark Horton said: "This defendant has made crime his business and it is the job of this court to strip him of the receipts of his criminal conduct. It's plain that this criminal conduct has afforded this defendant a very comfortable lifestyle."
Ramsey's house was raided by Avon and Somerset police as part of Operation Atrium on April 8 last year.
As well as his drugs factory police also found a stash of cocaine in his £8,000 Audi A3, which had his £7,000 private plate number plate, D3AME.
A financial investigation found that more than £300,000 in cash payments had been paid into a range of bank accounts in his name.
It is thought Ramsey, who refused to take the stand to explain his assets, had been selling large quantities of cocaine for more than six years.
Dr Kirstie Cogram, the manager of Avon and Somerset Financial Investigation Unit, said: "We are committed to seizing all assets that criminals have gained as a result of crime. It is not acceptable that criminals benefit from illegal activities."
Damien Ramsey, 39, led a playboy lifestyle of luxury flats, racing horses, designer jewellery and yachts, which was paid for entirely by selling "vast" amounts of cocaine and cannabis.
He even splashed out £1,000 on a ten-man Jacuzzi which was installed in a purpose-built shed in the back garden of his home in Bristol.
Officers raided Ramsey's house in April 2009 and recovered Gucci and Breitling watches, diamond rings and an array of other jewellery.
Police also uncovered a secret drugs factory at the address which included 30 cannabis plants, with a street value of £27,500, and 121g of 62 per cent purity cocaine worth more than £4,000.
An investigation found Ramsey also owned a race horse called Oscar and a Fairline Phantom 40 £220,000 yacht, which he moored in Spain. Ramsey, who was pictured holidaying in Spain with his long-standing friend Ricky Hatton, also had 45 diazepam tablets, a knuckle duster and two cans of CS pepper spray.
But his high-life came crashing down in August 2009 when he was jailed for five years for a string of drug offences.
Yesterday's confiscation order hearing at Bristol Crown Court, now means the drug dealer will leave prison unable to capitalise on his life of crime.
Ramsey was ordered to pay back £551,044.96 in total over the next six months, or face a further five years in prison.
Judge Mark Horton said: "This defendant has made crime his business and it is the job of this court to strip him of the receipts of his criminal conduct. It's plain that this criminal conduct has afforded this defendant a very comfortable lifestyle."
Ramsey's house was raided by Avon and Somerset police as part of Operation Atrium on April 8 last year.
As well as his drugs factory police also found a stash of cocaine in his £8,000 Audi A3, which had his £7,000 private plate number plate, D3AME.
A financial investigation found that more than £300,000 in cash payments had been paid into a range of bank accounts in his name.
It is thought Ramsey, who refused to take the stand to explain his assets, had been selling large quantities of cocaine for more than six years.
Dr Kirstie Cogram, the manager of Avon and Somerset Financial Investigation Unit, said: "We are committed to seizing all assets that criminals have gained as a result of crime. It is not acceptable that criminals benefit from illegal activities."
Monday, 11 October 2010
Nirvana head shop in Benalmadena was designed to attract clubbers from the town's busy Sol y Mar 24-hour square
Head-shop baron shuts outlet on Costa del Sol - National News, Frontpage - Independent.ie: "Nirvana head shop in Benalmadena was designed to attract clubbers from the town's busy Sol y Mar 24-hour square -- where several nightclubs stay open until dawn catering for masses of young revellers.
It stocked many of the same legal highs that caused dozens of Irish youths to be hospitalised.
The store sought to exploit the same legal loopholes it targeted so successfully here by selling products that had not been legislated against.
It is thought to have traded with a licence granted to the previous tenants of the premises"
It stocked many of the same legal highs that caused dozens of Irish youths to be hospitalised.
The store sought to exploit the same legal loopholes it targeted so successfully here by selling products that had not been legislated against.
It is thought to have traded with a licence granted to the previous tenants of the premises"
Head-shop baron shuts outlet on Costa del Sol - National News, Frontpage - Independent.ie
Head-shop baron shuts outlet on Costa del Sol - National News, Frontpage - Independent.ie: "MILLIONAIRE head-shop baron James Bellamy has suffered a setback in his hopes of opening a chain of the controversial stores in Spain.
The businessman has closed down his first Nirvana head shop in the Costa del Sol resort of Benalmadena less than three months after opening.
Mr Bellamy vacated the premises near a notorious clubber's paradise after pressure from local authorities.
Town hall inspectors and local police are thought to have swooped on the shop and taken away dozens of products for analysis a few weeks after its opening at the end of June.
The closure has left Mr Bellamy's dreams of expanding his multinational empire after a clampdown from the Government here in disarray.
He is now thought to have postponed plans for a string of new shops in neighbouring Fuengirola and the Costa Blanca resorts of Alicante and Benidorm."
The businessman has closed down his first Nirvana head shop in the Costa del Sol resort of Benalmadena less than three months after opening.
Mr Bellamy vacated the premises near a notorious clubber's paradise after pressure from local authorities.
Town hall inspectors and local police are thought to have swooped on the shop and taken away dozens of products for analysis a few weeks after its opening at the end of June.
The closure has left Mr Bellamy's dreams of expanding his multinational empire after a clampdown from the Government here in disarray.
He is now thought to have postponed plans for a string of new shops in neighbouring Fuengirola and the Costa Blanca resorts of Alicante and Benidorm."
Plane Loaded with Drugs Crashes in Costa Rica | Manila Bulletin
Plane Loaded with Drugs Crashes in Costa Rica | Manila Bulletin: "Costa Rica's security authorities said Sunday that a light plane with two people aboard and loaded with drug crashed near Torres River, west of San Jose.
The Costa Rica's Public Security Ministry said that it was a Guatemalan light plane with some 100 kilograms of cocaine.
Director of Public Forces' Air Sections, Oldemar Madrigal told a local radio station that the plane had two Guatemalan people aboard, the pilot and copilot, who survived and were taken to a hospital in San Jose.
According to Madrigal, the drug packs were hidden in the engine and were meant to be taken to Aurora region in Guatemala.
Madrigal added that the plane had a four-hour flight schedule but it had fueled for six hours flying"
The Costa Rica's Public Security Ministry said that it was a Guatemalan light plane with some 100 kilograms of cocaine.
Director of Public Forces' Air Sections, Oldemar Madrigal told a local radio station that the plane had two Guatemalan people aboard, the pilot and copilot, who survived and were taken to a hospital in San Jose.
According to Madrigal, the drug packs were hidden in the engine and were meant to be taken to Aurora region in Guatemala.
Madrigal added that the plane had a four-hour flight schedule but it had fueled for six hours flying"
12 Britons arrested in Spain on suspicion of drug trafficking - CNN
12 Britons arrested in Spain on suspicion of drug trafficking - CNN: "Surveillance showed that the suspects regularly visited nightclubs -- often staying until closing time -- to sell drugs, the statement said. When supplies ran low, the suspects allegedly traveled to Britain to bring back drugs hidden in vehicles or in checked luggage on airplanes.
British police were deployed to Spain to assist the Civil Guard in the investigation."
British police were deployed to Spain to assist the Civil Guard in the investigation."
The Press Association: Britons held in Ibiza drug raid
The Press Association: Britons held in Ibiza drug raid: "dozen Britons have been arrested on the holiday island of Ibiza accused of selling drugs in nightclubs.
The eight men and four women were detained in Alicante.
The Civil Guard said the group sold ecstasy and marijuana, regularly returning to Britain to restock and smuggle the drugs back by car or plane.
Police seized 53,000 ecstasy pills and 100 marijuana plants in raids in the towns of Torrevieja, Orihuela and Crevillente.
The arrests stem from investigations that started in May into a group from Liverpool."
The eight men and four women were detained in Alicante.
The Civil Guard said the group sold ecstasy and marijuana, regularly returning to Britain to restock and smuggle the drugs back by car or plane.
Police seized 53,000 ecstasy pills and 100 marijuana plants in raids in the towns of Torrevieja, Orihuela and Crevillente.
The arrests stem from investigations that started in May into a group from Liverpool."
Sunday, 10 October 2010
Illegal car network broken up in Alicante
Illegal car network broken up in Alicante: "National Police have broken up an international network and arrested five Hungarians and a Spaniard, for the illegal trafficking in top of the range vehicles. The arrests were made in Orihuela and Torrevieja.
The vehicles were stolen in Hungary, or obtained at a low price from the owners with the later defrauding of insurance companies claiming a false theft, and then brought to Spain and registered using false ID documents.
The network altered chassis numbers to place the vehicles on sale in Spain at very competitive prices of about 30,000 €, around half their real price.
So far police have recovered ten vehicles and located some 30 more, in an investigation which has lasted more than a year, and which got underway in April last year when a vehicle from Hungary was intercepted in Murcia on false plates and with a changed chassis number."
The vehicles were stolen in Hungary, or obtained at a low price from the owners with the later defrauding of insurance companies claiming a false theft, and then brought to Spain and registered using false ID documents.
The network altered chassis numbers to place the vehicles on sale in Spain at very competitive prices of about 30,000 €, around half their real price.
So far police have recovered ten vehicles and located some 30 more, in an investigation which has lasted more than a year, and which got underway in April last year when a vehicle from Hungary was intercepted in Murcia on false plates and with a changed chassis number."
Gang of seven violent British bank robbers arrested in Alicante
Gang of seven violent British bank robbers arrested in Alicante: "National Police have arrested seven members of a British gang of robbers who specialised in taking money from bank cash dispensing machines. They made their violent attacks on staff as they were refilling the machines, either attacking with large hammers from the street or inside. The thefts rarely lasted more than a minute in total.
The police first arrested two men who were caught ‘in fraganti’ when attacking a bank branch in Benissa, Alicante, and five more were arrested shortly afterwards at a petrol station at Torrente when they were trying to flee along the AP-7 motorway.
The Police say the group always chose banks where the dispenser was not built into the wall, and where it was placed in an entrance hall away from the main bank public customer room.
SOCA, the British serious organised crime agency has collaborated in the investigation, given that two of the accused already have European warrants issued against them after they had taken part in similar thefts in the U.K.
One of them, wanted for causing a fire which resulted in damage of more than a million pounds, escaped from a British police van which was assaulted on his way to court in Salford."
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