Super sports car for Italian Costa police

LAMBORGHINI officially donated its latest supercar, the Huracan to the Italian state police at a ceremony in Rome. Lamborghini has had a strong relationship with the Italian state police and has, in the past, donated a handful of its Lamborghini Gallardos. Now a brand new Lamborghini Huracan has been handed over to the head of the Italian Police, Alessandro Pansa, at the ‘’Museo delle Auto Storiche della Polizia di Stato’ (Museum of Historic State Police Vehicles) by Stephan Winkelmann, President and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini. Winkelmann said, ‘‘we have a strong and fitting relationship with the Italian State Police. The new Lamborghini Huracan stands for Italian super sports car excellence and we are proud to provide it to the Italian State Police to carry out the specialist tasks these police cars undertake.’’ The police version will be fitted with an array of gadgets to help the police carry in their duties, including a new real-time video relay system to send real-time video footage to police stations; number plate recognition, police radio and a removable screen that can immediately show offenses committed are also fitted. It also comes with a gun holster and hand-held stop sign to advise motorists to pull over.

Man has been thrown out of a window at the four-star Hotel Senator near Marbella town centre.

Police have arrested two British men and are hunting a third after a holidaymaker plunged 50 feet from a luxury fifth-floor hotel in the upmarket Costa del Sol resort of Marbella. The unnamed British tourist was seriously ill in hospital last night after the mystery incident. Local media reports said the man had been thrown out of a window at the four-star Hotel Senator near Marbella town centre.

Kevin Thomas Parle: Merseyside fugitive named as Spain's most wanted

Merseyside fugitive thought to be in hiding on the Costa del Sol was today named as Spain’s most wanted. Suspected killer Kevin Thomas Parle is wanted over the murders of Walton mum Lucy Hargreaves and Toxteth teenager Liam Kelly. The 6ft 6in, 33-year-old has been on the run since 2005 and, despite a number of public appeals by detectives in Spain and the UK, remains at large. Parle, who goes by the nickname ‘Hemp’, was today listed among ten crooks wanted by Spain’s Civil Guard. Cops hope that the appeal will spread by social media and lead to Parle being captured. A similar recent appeal led to the arrest of the suspected killer of a taxi driver and a Romanian wanted over a global prostitution ring. Privately-educated Parle is believed to be in hiding in the tourist-hotspot region of Alicante. A spokesman for the Civil Guard’s fugitive unit said: ”Kevin Thomas Parle, 33, born in the UK, is wanted by his country for homicide. “Parle has a height of 6’6”, a 1cm scar on the left side of his head and blue eyes. He could be in Alicante.” Lucy Hargreaves, 22, was under a duvet on the sofa in her front room in Lambourne Road when three men burst in, fired a shotgun at her and then torched the house. She was not the target and it is thought the intended victim was her boyfriend. Liam Kelly was 16 when he was gunned down in a Toxteth street in June 2004. After getting a number of phone calls, Liam went to a meeting point only to be met by Anthony Campbell, with whom he had been arguing over a £200 debt. A crown court trial in 2007 heard Campbell turned up with Parle, who the court was told was believed to have fired the fatal shot. Campbell was jailed for life over the teenager’s murder but Parle remains at large. Also on the list of ten wanted suspects is an undercover reporter from Lymm, near Warrington, who fled abroad following the “brutal and sadistic” of a drug dealer. Christopher Guest More, 36, has spent a decade at large since the killing of Brian Waters at a derelict farm in Cheshire. During a trial, which led to three people being convicted for murder, it was revealed that Mr Waters was tied up, hung upside down and then beaten with sticks and metal bars in a three-hour ordeal. More is 6ft tall, has a scar on his forehead, a shaved head and is of slim build. Spanish police arrested 317 fugitives in 2013 and 30 in January. Merseysiders caught hiding out in Spain include local guns-for-hire Kirk Bradley and Tony Downes, along with drug dealers Paul Walmsley, Mark Brown, Terence Shields and Dennis O’Brien. Drugs crook Mark Lilley was apprehended living the high life in the south of Spain last July. The 42-year-old bodybuilder went on the run mid-way through a trial in 2000. He was found guilty in his absence of conspiracy to supply cocaine, heroin, Ecstasy, amphetamines, cannabis and cannabis resin and possessing a firearm and jailed for 23 years.

SPANISH police have launched a major investigation after exiled drugs boss 'Fat' Freddie Thompson returned to Ireland using an illegal passport.

 

 

BREACH: Freddie Thompson allegedly skipped bail to return to Ireland

SPANISH police have launched a major investigation after exiled drugs boss 'Fat' Freddie Thompson returned to Ireland using an illegal passport.

 

The Sunday World can reveal that the 31-year-old slipped back into the country last week despite being legally required to remain in Spain while cops investigate him. Thompson was extradited to Spain last November for questioning about his role in Christy Kinihan's drug empire. He was released without charge pending further investigations by Spanish cops, on condition that he surrender his passport, stay in Spain and sign on at a police station twice a month.

However, last week Thompson breached his bail conditions by using one of three passports he has in different names to fly into Belfast airport from Malaga. He was picked up in Belfast by a close associate and driven to Dublin, wearing a wig to disguise his identity.

Criminal

Sources say that the criminal spent four days in Dublin and stayed with a friend of drug boss Greg Lynch in the Marylands area of Dublin 8. The safe house was just around the corner from his family home and he made his way to see his mother each day by climbing through back gardens, so he would not be seen on the streets.

Greg Lynch is regarded as being a key associate of Thompson and gardai believe he is in regular contact with him in Spain and is involved in the running of Freddie's drugs gang from Dublin. It is understood that his criminal cronies held a massive party for Freddie last weekend before he travelled back to Spain last Sunday and signed in with police in Estepona the following day.

Gardai only learned of Thompson's return on the day he departed and investigations have confirmed that he was illegally back in Ireland.

 

 

DRUG EMPIRE: Christy Kinihan

If the Spanish police can confirm that Fat Freddie did leave the country then he could be jailed while the investigation into his Kinihan links is completed. This could take another year, so Thompson is facing the possibility of a long stretch in a tough Spanish jail, which would be a massive blow to him.

 

A source said: "We have confirmed that Thompson was back and spent most of his time visiting his family and, more worryingly, his close gang associates, including Greg Lynch. He was staying with a close friend of Lynch's very near to his mother's house.

"We know he has three passports, but we didn't think he would be mad enough to come back."

Freddie has been living it up in Marbella, spending days working out in the gym and organising drug shipments, while hitting the town at night. He is regularly in the company of Irish criminals Gary Hutch and his cousin Liam Byrne and several gardai on holiday in Marbella have seen Thompson partying hard in the company of several women.

The father of one was extradited to Spain last November on foot of a European arrest warrant. He was questioned on suspicion of participating in a criminal organisation, the illegal transportation of drugs and the illicit trafficking of weapons.

However, despite the seriousness of the charges, the maximum sentence that the mobster is facing is just nine years in prison. The Spanish authorities did not provide any direct evidence to show Thompson is a key member of the Kinihan gang.

They claim he is a "trusted right-hand man" of Kinihan and acted as his bodyguard and chauffeur and was a senior player in the gang. They accuse him of drug and gun trafficking, but the only evidence they cite is a vague recorded conversation between Thompson and Gary Hutch about a gun not being as "big as expected".

Spanish cops say it is possible to "infer" from this that Freddie is responsible for sourcing the gang's firearms. Spanish police also say that they have recorded conversations that reveal Freddie travelled to Amsterdam to "weigh up the possibility of preparing a
large shipment of drugs which was to be picked up in Ireland".

However there is no physical evidence linking Freddie Thompson to any drugs.

Estepona Wild Fires rage on a 2km front

Police and Ambulances hurried to evacuate as wild fires quickly spread our reporter on the scene photographer the devastation

 

Estepona on Fire

We had a tiny little fire today, which they put out.

Then an hour later, it restarted, and spread along 2 Klm of the coast.

It was horrible seeing old people being run out of their homes, and carried through the smoke by police and ambulances.

The pictures really doesn,t do show bad it really was.many houses have gone

 

 

Forest fire outbreaks worsened by budget cuts

Wildfires in Spain this summer have so far claimed the lives of nine people and laid waste 132,399 hectares (510 square miles) of land across Spain, three times more than last year according to Environment Ministry figures. It has been the worst season for fires in a decade, with more than 8,000 individual outbreaks so far, some of which have decimated national parks and nature reserves. Recriminations have broken out between local authorities and the Popular Party (PP) government, with all blaming one other for exacerbating the destruction by imposing cuts to fire prevention and protection services and failing to respond quickly enough. The latest fires on the island of La Gomera in the Canary Islands have destroyed 4,800 hectares (18 square miles), or over 10 percent of the island. Some 5,000 people fled from their homes—a quarter of the population—have been compelled to evacuate. The Garajonay National Park, a United Nations World Heritage site and home to hundreds of plant species, many unique, has been devastated. It could take up to 100 years for the destroyed areas to recover. The fire on Gomera has raged for two weeks and could continue for weeks more. Seven seaplanes and six helicopters have been involved in dumping water on the fire, but complications have arisen because of the porous nature of the volcanic soil. “We have a front that is moving through the subsoil that is giving us much trouble,” said Garajonay National Park director Angel Fernandez. “We are studying alternatives, and have brought an expert analyst here to see how to fix this.” The Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) president of La Gomera Island Council, Casimiro Curbelo, criticised central government for following a “scorched earth” policy and delays in sending help. He said the “eight or ten” seaplanes sent to the island were “insufficient” compared to the 12 sent to Andalusia, where the threat was less and demanded “a permanent presence of aircraft” on La Gomera. Officials from the PP government denied they had been slow to help. Environment Minister Miguel Arias Cañete declared that his department had “met all requests for Canary promptly, without delay.” Cañete claimed somewhat disingenuously, that “In a year when my department’s budget was cut by 29.5 percent, the only part that was raised was the part for forest fires”—from €71 million to €74 million ($90 million). There can be few occasions when boasting of being spared the axe of an overall budget cut of almost a third is seen as a retort to criticism. Shifting the blame for the disaster on the regions, he added, “Each one decides freely where it will make cuts. Each region will have to analyse whether its fire prevention measures are sufficient.” Elsewhere, a smaller fire has burned hundreds of hectares on the neighbouring island of Tenerife, an important tourist destination. On the mainland two fires were extinguished last week in Cuenca and Cuidad Real after destroying over 600 hectares. In Alicante a forest fire claimed the lives of an environment department worker and a fireman, and left three injured. The country’s biggest fire so far this year, and the largest since 1991, started at the end of June. It has ravaged 49,000 hectares (nearly 200 square miles) in Cortes de Pallás and Andilla in the eastern region of Valencia. Around 1,300 personnel, including firemen, police, Red Cross and civil protection officers, along with 40 airplanes, participated. Thousands of people were forced to evacuate the area. Palls of smoke spread northwards along the coast, blocking out the sun above holiday resorts. In the north-eastern region of Catalonia two fires destroyed 10,000 hectares of land in La Jonquera, close to the French border and the coastal town Portbou, claiming four victims, all French, and injuring 24 others. Hundreds of cattle were killed. The ash and fumes reached the city of Barcelona over 150 kilometres away. With no defence of the cuts possible, politicians and ministers have attempted to blame the fires on arsonists, “irresponsible individuals”, strong winds, and high temperatures combined with a dry winter. Typical was Catalonian Interior Minister Felip Puig, who declared the fires the work of a human hand, “most certainly by a flicked cigarette” before ordering the police to pursue “those responsible”. There are, of course, environmental factors precipitating this disaster. This winter has been the driest in 70 years; temperatures have risen well above 30 degrees at the same time as humidity has remained less than 30 percent and winds have been blowing over 30 kilometers per hour. But a major factor exacerbating the extreme ecological conditions has been the austerity measures that have been imposed. In mid July, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced a new €65 billion ($79 billion) package of cuts, the third since his election last November. The latest measures came on top of previous cuts, amounting to €48 billion, agreed between the central government and 17 autonomous regions. The cuts, which have helped plunge Spain into the second deepest recession in its history, are being made to meet the demands of the “troika”—the European Union (EU), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Central Bank (ECB)—which act as enforcers for the global banks and speculators. In Catalonia, the regional government has cut between 25 to 34 percent of its budget for prevention of fires and firefighting, according to the two main unions, the CCOO (Comisiones Obreras—Workers’ Commissions) and the UGT (Unión General de Trabajadores—General Union of Workers). Back in February, at a public hearing (video), Catalan firefighters warned of the consequences of the cuts, saying that there was “an imminent problem” with regard to this year’s high-risk season. So drastic were the cuts that there were not enough funds to cover the cost of uniforms this year. According to Antonio del Río, UGT firefighters representative, “There were some people who couldn’t help extinguish the flames because they had no boots or gloves.” In Valencia, the regional government has cut €15 million from its firefighting budget, resulting in the loss of 700 jobs linked to firefighting and three fewer airplanes. According to Francisco Caballero, UGT secretary of the firefighting sector in Valencia, retirees have not been replaced, meaning that “at least 10 percent of the professionals have been reduced.” Valencia was the first region to ask for emergency funding, estimated to be around €3 billion, from the recently created €18 billion Regional Liquidity Fund (FLA). Finance Minister Cristóbal Montoro has made it clear that the region will “be obligated to follow new conditions”, i.e., new austerity measures. Last week, the indebted central region of Castilla-La Mancha announced plans to cut its number of firefighters by almost a third.

Sinaloa drug gang had been arrested in Madrid

Spanish police officers working with the F.B.I. have halted an attempt by a major Mexican drug smuggling and distribution ring to establish a European operation, the authorities said Friday. The Interior Ministry announced that four people suspected of being members of the Sinaloa drug organization had been arrested in Madrid but offered few details. The ministry said the group wanted to make Spain a gateway for operations in Europe, even carrying out test runs using shipping containers without drugs. With information provided by an F.B.I. investigation that began in 2009, the Spanish police located the suspects and monitored them closely. In late July, investigators intercepted a container carrying 822 pounds of cocaine, and then moved in to make the arrests. One of the four suspects is said to be a cousin of the leader of the Sinaloa drug organization.

Masked Spanish police taking one of the two Chechen suspects, out of view, to a court in Madrid on Sunday.

Andres Kudacki / AP

Masked Spanish police taking one of the two Chechen suspects, out of view, to a court in Madrid on Sunday.

 

The history of terror plots is filled with unusual schemes, from an underwear bomber to model planes filled with explosives, showing how would-be attackers are constantly hatching ideas to catch authorities by surprise.

Now questions are being raised about whether two Chechens held on terror charges in Spain were planning to launch airborne attacks with paragliders.

The two Chechens took paragliding lessons this year in a southern Spanish region renowned for the sport, authorities said over the weekend. A Turkish engineer also under arrest paid for the lessons.

Spain's Interior Ministry declined comment on whether investigators believe Eldar Magomedov and Mohamed Ankari Adamov were using the paragliding lessons to train for an attack.

But Spanish television station TVE and other media outlets say the suspects had planned to drop explosives on a shopping mall in the British colony of Gibraltar during the London Olympics.

Paragliding pilots said in interviews that the Chechens probably wouldn't have raised red flags at paragliding schools because it's easy to sign up for lessons.

There are no criminal background checks for would-be paragliders.

Students generally only have to be physically fit and able to speak English or the language of the country where the courses are taught.

Europe already has at least 100,000 licensed paragliders, many using gliders that fold up and fit into car trunks.

No attacks have been carried out using paragliders, experts said.

The chances of success of such a plot would be severely limited by the difficulty handling the gliders over cities, terrorism and paragliding experts said.

However, paragliding did feature in one recent stunt by an environmentalist that must have given chills to authorities.

The activist was arrested in May after dropping a billowing smoke bomb onto the roof of a French nuclear reactor.

Video footage captured the activist on a motorized paraglider after he dropped the smoke bomb. He circled the reactor before making a wobbly descent to the ground.

His glider's parachutelike wing was emblazoned with the name of the environmental advocacy organization Greenpeace.

Paragliding was banned in and around New Delhi during the 2010 Commonwealth Games "to provide security against any sort of terror attacks," said police spokesman Rajan Bhagat.

And authorities in Denmark banned paragliders from flying above Copenhagen in 2009, when the International Olympic Committee met to pick the winner of the 2016 Summer Games.

They prevented the use of the motorized gliders the pilots planned to use because of worries the aircraft might be able to land inside the security perimeter of an opening event attended by U.S. first lady Michele Obama and the presidents of Brazil and Russia, said Rasmus Rohlff, general secretary of the European Hangliding and Paragliding Union.

"I asked if we could fly to honor them," Rohlff said. "The Danish police said no, that they were concerned that we would be able to land in a small area, leave something there and fly off."

At the London Olympics, all aircraft, including hot air balloons and paragliders, need prior approval from authorities to fly from, into or within the restricted zones of central London and the Olympic park, according to Britain's air traffic control agency, NATS.

The restrictions are monitored by Britain's Defense Ministry, which can scramble military jets or helicopters to intercept any aircraft that enters the no-fly zone without permission.

Spanish officials haven't said where the Chechens took their lessons, but the Turkish engineer was living just outside Gibraltar in the city of La Linea in Spain's Andalusia region.

Andalusia is a popular paragliding area for tourists from across Europe, said Daniel Blanco of the Andalucia Federation of Air Sports.

"Any tourist can do paragliding, and it's an important source of income here," he said. "To learn, they'd just have to speak Spanish or English, and buying a paraglider is easier than buying a car or a motorcycle."

Licenses to fly are granted by paragliding federations in each European country under rules set by civil aviation authorities, with no criminal background checks, said Eugenio de Almeida, president of Portugal's Free-Flight Federation, which covers paragliding.

Learners must provide an ID, an address and a medical certificate, then just a photo to go with the license.

They spend about 40 hours in classes and at least 40 hours flying with an instructor to get a basic license.

Taking off with as much as 80 kilograms of explosives would be possible on a paraglider designed for a pilot and a passenger, de Almeida said.

He characterized the idea of terrorist paragliders as "not an unspoken issue" but "not a topic that's on our minds."

Experts said the Spain allegation shows that attacks by paragliding terrorists shouldn't be ruled out.

The Turkish suspect had also flown remote-controlled model airplanes, Spanish authorities said.

"It sounds like an innovative terrorist tactic to be taken seriously," said terror expert Fernando Reinares of Madrid's Elcano Royal Institute. "Suicide bombers using paragliders may not provoke devastating, catastrophic attacks, but [they] can still cause an important number of fatalities in crowded places and generate widespread panic."

New Chinese drug found in Madrid

National Police have arrested 67 Chinese in a network Madrid which were distributing a new drug ‘Kai Xin Guo’. The drug’s name translates to ‘happy fruit’ or ‘happy state’. The network operated in brothels and karaokes in the Chinese community. Many of those arrested live in the Parla or Leganés areas of the capital. The methamphetamine ’Ice’ and adulterated ketamine, ‘Kin’ are other drugs which are popular with Chinese residents in Spain. Nearly 2% of drivers who were killed in traffic accidents in 2011 had take ketamine. The group were introducing and distributing the drug in small quantities to as not to attract the attention of the Police. The Police say they did not detect the new drug in Spain until last year when the first quantities were found.

NYPD detective suspended after kidnapping victim found in his garage

17-year veteran of the New York Police Department has been suspended without pay after a kidnapping victim was found tied up in his garage. The New York Post reports Ondre Johnson, a detective with the Brooklyn north gang unit, was being questioned in connection with the incident and was forced to surrender his gun and badge. A source tells the Post the 25-year-old victim was snatched off the street on July 26. The victim's friends then got calls demanding $75,000 for the victim's release. The call was traced to Johnson's home, MyFoxNY.com reports. When authorities arrived Friday afternoon, Johnson answered the door and identified himself as a detective with the NYPD. Investigators then found the victim tied up in the garage. Four men have been charged in the apparent kidnapping scheme, MyFoxNY.com reports. 30-year-old Hakeem Clark, who lives in the same building as Johnson, was charged with kidnapping and weapons possession along with 27-year-old Jason Hutson and 27-year-old James Gayle. 24-year-old Alfredo Haughton was charged with kidnapping.

Jamie “Iceman” Stevenson is back on the streets

Jamie “Iceman” Stevenson is back on the streets – less than halfway through his prison sentence for laundering £1million of drugs cash. Scotland’s most powerful mobster has been enjoying meals at expensive restaurants and socialising with pals after being allowed home for a week each month. Stevenson – who was also accused of shooting dead his best friend in an underworld hit – was put behind bars in September 2006 when he was arrested after a four-year surveillance operation by the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency. He was later sentenced to 12 years and nine months for money laundering. But, we can reveal, he is now allowed out of Castle Huntly open prison near Dundee – just five years and 10 months later. A source said: “He seems determined to show his face all around town to deliver the message that he’s back and, as far as he’s concerned, nothing has changed. “A lot of people are surprised that he’s being allowed out so early. Some are not too pleased about it for a number of reasons.” Stevenson, 47, has been spotted at Bothwell Bar & Brasserie, which is run by his friend Stewart Gilmore. He and his cronies have also dined at upmarket Italian restaurant Il Pavone in Glasgow’s Princes Square shopping centre. And Stevenson has joined friends at various other restaurants and hotels, including Glasgow’s Hilton Garden Inn. A Sunday Mail investigation can today reveal that the Parole Board for Scotland could recommend Stevenson’s total freedom as early as February next year. However, the final decision on his release will rest with Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill. Yesterday, Labour justice spokesman Lewis Macdonald said: “I’m surprised to hear this and that anyone in these circumstances should get out of jail before the halfway point of their sentence – far less so when the conviction is of someone involved in organised crime. “The only circumstances where that would be conceivable would be if someone completely changed their lifestyle. But even then that should not be before they’ve served half their sentence. “I’m sure the victims of these crimes – and with drugs there are direct and indirect victims – will also be surprised at this.” To prepare Stevenson for his release, prison bosses have allowed him to stay a full week each month at his modest flat in Burnside, near Glasgow. On Friday, we watched him leaving the property with his wife Caroline and driving off in a silver Audi. A prison service insider said: “The Parole Board expect the prison authorities to have allowed home visits to test suitability for release ahead of the first eligible parole date. In Stevenson’s case, that’s next February. “There are conditions attached which vary but usually include the obvious ones like not mixing with other criminals and staying only at the designated address. “For prisoners sentenced to more than 10 years, the Parole Board make their recommendations to the Justice Secretary, who then decides whether to release on licence. “Stevenson is trying to keep his nose clean to convince the Parole Board that he poses no threat to society. “But, given his high profile and significance, it’s inevitable that the authorities will be careful before making any final decision.” Stevenson headed a global smuggling gang with a multi-million-pound turnover when he was brought down by the SCDEA’s Operation Folklore, which seized £61million of drugs. He faced drug and money laundering charges along with eight other suspects, including his 53-year-old wife. But his lawyers struck a deal with the Crown Office to admit money laundering in exchange for his wife’s freedom and the drugs charges being dropped. Stevenson’s stepson Gerry Carbin Jr, 32, was also jailed – for five years and six months – but was freed in 2010. Stevenson was previously arrested for the murder of Tony McGovern, 35, who was gunned down in Glasgow’s Springburn in 2000. But prosecutors dropped the case through lack of evidence. A gangland source said: “He does not fear any kind of reprisal from Tony’s brothers, nor does he regard any other criminals in Scotland as a threat or even as rivals. He did not fear any other operation in Scotland before he was jailed. Why would he now?” Two years ago, the Sunday Mail exposed a backdoor deal when the Crown handed back Stevenson’s £300,000 watch collection, which had been seized under proceeds of crime of legislation. Last June, he was sent back to high-security Shotts jail in Lanarkshire from an open prison after a major SCDEA drugs probe, Operation Chilon. Detectives believed that the gang they investigated was controlled by Stevenson. Haulage firm boss Charles McAughey’s home was one of 11 targeted in raids. In 2009, we revealed that French police had found 684kg of pure cocaine worth £31million in a lorry owned by McAughey. Chilon resulted in the SCDEA seizing 242kg of cannabis worth £1.21million and the jailing of three men for a combined 15 years.

Tulisa's Friend, 21, Shot Dead In Gangland Hit

Reece James, 21, a close friend of Tulisa Contostavlos has been shot dead in a reported gangland attack. The 21-year-old, who appeared with Tulisa in a video for rapper Nines, was shot in the head in a "pre-planned and targeted" hit, 100 miles from his home in London, reports the UK's Sun newspaper. Police found James' body in Boscombe, Bournemouth, at around 2.30am near where Somali drug gangs are said operate. A 22-year-old man was arrested. Reece was said to have been in the area with some friends for "a couple of months", though had filmed the video earlier this month with Tulisa and rapper Nines on the Church End Estate in Harlesden, North West London. The former N Dubz star caused controversy at the time, making a "C" symbol to the camera - the same sign that is used by Harlesden's notorious Church Road Soldiers gang. Tulisa claimed it was a reference to Camden, where she was born. Twitter tributes began flooding in last night, with one user writing, "RIP Reece James. Thoughts are with him and his family and friends". Local MP Tobias Ellwood described the killing as "a spill over from the drugs turf war in the capital", adding, "This was one London gang chasing down another, carrying out a professional hit and then going back".

British tourist thrown out of Ibiza disco, and then punches out a tooth of a passer by.

violent 19 year old British tourist, named with the initials C.J.H., had to be expelled from a discotheque in Platja d'en Bossa. Once outside in the street he created a disturbance and attacked several people. One of them he hit so hard the victim lost a tooth, and tried to attack one of the local policemen from Sant Josep who went to arrest him. The police have accused him of public disorder and acting against authority, and he also possibly indictment for causing injuries. Local Police say it happened at 4am and the British Tourist was completely out of himself, probably under the influence of drugs. He was on the dance floor of the disco when, with any cause, he started to throw bottles into the air. Three members of the disco’s security team were needed to expel him.

Two die and three are arrested in family shoot-out in Almería

A father and his son have died in a shoot-out in the Costa Cabana area of Almería. The National Police has arrested three people in connection with a brawl in which two men, aged 58 and 35 and father and son, died. Two firearms, a pistol and revolver, had been used in the brawl. They have now been recovered. First indications are that the shooting could have been a row over a business between the dead and the arrested, all of the same family. The National Police are maintaining security controls in the zon

Gangs of highway robbers are targeting British tourists on holiday in Spain.

Hundreds of visitors in British-registered vehicles or hire cars have had their possessions, passports and money taken in ‘quick and slick’ distraction muggings.

The thieves typically trick their victims with loud noises, apparent accidents, supposed vehicle problems or pleas for help – before stealing bags and belongings from their vehicles. 

Thieves: Hundreds of visitors in British-registered vehicles or hire cars have had their possessions, passports and money taken in 'quick and slick' distraction muggings

As millions of families begin their summer breaks, the Foreign Office has warned British-registered cars are ‘an easy target’ for motorway thieves. 

The number of British tourists ambushed on Spanish roads has soared as the euro crisis has deepened, with the British Embassy in Madrid reporting a 10 per cent rise in the first quarter of this year.

 This is likely to increase further as the peak holiday season begins. 

A spokesman for the embassy said:  ‘Motorists may be driving along the motorway and not notice there’s a car close up behind. 

‘Someone in the other car throws a stone at their vehicle which creates a loud bang. The British drivers pull over to see what has happened and the gang is behind them. 

‘They cause a distraction to steal from them or simply mug them. It’s a growing problem.’

Warning: As millions of families begin their summer breaks, the Foreign Office has warned British-registered cars are ¿an easy target¿ for motorway thieves

A hotspot for the gangs is the AP7 motorway between the French border and the Alicante region in southern Spain. 

More than 140 cases of theft on this route were reported to British Consulates last year. 

However, a spokesman said there were likely to be ‘hundreds more’ attacks going unreported across Spain because victims usually contact a British consulate only if they have lost their passport. 

Dave Thomas, consular regional director for Spain, said: ‘Be on your guard against anyone who attempts to stop you or ask you for help.

‘They may well be part of a  gang operating a scam in which an unseen accomplice will rob you of your things.’ 

Stephen and Helen Robinson, from Desford, Leicestershire, had their bags stolen from their Audi Q5 as they stopped to walk their labrador retriever Polly at a service station between Barcelona and Valencia. 

The couple, who are in their 50s, were standing at the boot of their car when a man on a mobile phone asked them how to say something in English. 

While he distracted them, their belongings were taken from the front of the car, despite Polly being inside. 

Mrs Robinson said: ‘It was quick and slick. You may be more tired and therefore more vulnerable when you’ve been travelling, so separate your valuables into different places in the car, and when you stop be aware you may be being watched. You won’t see the accomplice of the person who is distracting you.’ 

In a separate incident, Joy and Alan Horton, from Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, were driving a Ford Focus hatchback through Spain when they heard a loud bang and pulled over.

A car that had been travelling close behind them also stopped, and while the driver talked to them, his accomplice stole their possessions without them noticing.

Mr Horton said: ‘If you think your car may have been in a collision and you pull over, lock the car as soon as you get out and mount a guard on both sides of the vehicle. Keep all bags and valuables in a locked boot.’ 

Professor Stephen Glaister, of the RAC Foundation, said: ‘Drivers need to remember to stay alert and be ready for unwelcome surprises just as they would be at home.’

The biggest fines in British maritime history were handed down to a group of Spanish fishermen on Thursday, for illegal fishing in UK waters.

 Photograph: Robert Ghement/EPA

Some of the biggest fines in British maritime history were handed down to a group of Spanish fishermen on Thursday, for illegal fishing in UK waters.

Two companies owned by the Vidal family were fined £1.62m in total in a Truro court, after a two-day hearing, in which details emerged of falsified log books, failing to register the transfer of fish between vessels, false readings given for weighing fish at sea, and fiddling of fishing quotas.

Judge Graham Cottle said the family were guilty of "wholesale falsification of official documentation" that amounted to a "systematic, repeated and cynical abuse of the EU fishing quota system over a period of 18 months".

He said: "[This was a] flagrant, repeated and long term abuse of regulations. The fish targeted [hake] was at that time a species of fish on the verge if collapse and adherence to quotas was seen as crucial to the survival of the species."

The Spanish fishing vessels had been sailing under UK flags and were landing fish based on quotas given to British fishermen under the EU's common fisheries policy. Two vessels were involved, but the companies own several other large vessels, capable of industrial-scale fishing.

The offending fishermen, who admitted their guilt earlier this year, were not in court to hear him, having been given leave to return to Spain last night. The offences, dating from 2009 and 2010, relate to two companies, Hijos De Vidal Bandin SA and Sealskill Limited, both owned by the Vidal family. They were fined £925,000 on a confiscation order, plus £195,000 in costs, and an additional fine of £250,000 levied on each of the two companies. Two skippers who were acting under the family's instructions were fined £5,000 each.

Ariana Densham, oceans campaigner at Greenpeace, who was present for the trial and judgement, said that the fines, while welcome, did not go far enough. "This group of people should never be allowed near UK fishing quota again," she said. "The Vidal's right to fish should be removed completely."

She said the offences showed the vulnerability of the EU's fishing quota system to fraud. "The system that allowed this to happen needs to be fixed," she said. "This case is not a one off. It's a symptom of Europe's farcical fishing rules. The Vidals were permitted to fish under UK flags, using UK quota, and receive huge EU subsidies, with none of the proceeds ever feeding back into the UK economy. The system is skewed in favour of rich, powerful, industrial-scale fishing companies, when really it should be supporting low-impact, sustainable fishermen."

There are currently moves under way in Brussels by the fisheries commissioner, Maria Damanaki, to reform the EU's common fisheries policy. The proposed reforms – which include the ending of the wasteful practice of discarding healthy and edible fish at sea – have met stiff opposition, particularly from the French and Spanish fishing industries. Spain has the biggest fishing fleet in Europe and receives the lion's share of the subsidies available for fishing within the EU. A historic agreement was reached among member states last month on the proposals, but they must now pass the European parliament, which is expected to consider the proposals later this year.

It will cost two million € to connect the electricity, and nobody wants to pay.The empty Guadalhorce Hosptial in Cártama

The Guadalhorce Hospital has been completed in Cártama on the Costa del Sol, but it has been empty for several months with no opening date planned.

To continue installing the equipment in the hospital it has to be accepted as meeting requirement, and to show that hospital is as planned, but for that to take place it must be connected to the electricity supply.

The problem is that will cost two million €, although the originally quoted price was 300,000 €, to install the electrical connection required. Endesa say the problem is that to supply the hospital an electrical substation at Villafranca del Guadalhorce will have to be expanded.

Cártama Town Hall has said they cannot meet the extra cost, which has put the budget up five fold. Mayor Jorge Gallardo says he thinks the electricity company is ‘making the most of the circumstances’. 

However the Junta say they think the 2 million bill should be met by the Town Hall. They say the electricity contract was undertaken by Cártama Town Hall.

The Guadalhorce Hospital has been built thanks to an agreement between the Málaga Diputación, the Junta de Andalucía and the Cártama Town Hall, to give the district its long-wanted hospital. Many foreigners live in the inland area and have complained about the time to get to a hospital in Málaga.

Spain wildfires: Three killed

 

Officials say the flames have been fanned by strong winds

Forest fires raging in Spain's north-eastern Catalonia region have left three people dead, officials say.

Two French nationals drowned in the sea close to the border with France while trying to escape the flames, Catalonia's interior minister said.

Strong winds gusting up to 90km/h (55mph) have rendered one fire "out of control", he said.

All residents of the county of Alt Emporda - about 135,000 people - have been ordered to stay indoors.

The area is a main link for holidaymakers travelling to and from southern France. Traffic on the cross-border AP-7 motorway was reported to have been severely disrupted on Sunday.

Cardiac arrest

The two French victims were among several people who were trapped by fire as they travelled along the N-260 main coastal road near the town of Portbou and tried to reach the sea by climbing down cliffs, according to Catalan Interior Minister Felip Puig.

The victims were a 60-year-old man and his 15-year-old daughter, Spanish media reported.

A 75-year-old man died after suffering a cardiac arrest in Llers, north-west of the area's main town, Figueres.

At least another 19 people have been wounded, including a French national who suffered burns on 80% of his body when he was caught in his car by the flames.

The fire near Portbou has been brought under control, according to media reports, while a much larger blaze further inland, around the border town of La Jonquera, was still spreading late on Sunday, Felip Puig said.

The fire, travelling at about 5-6km/h, came within 10km of Figueres, Mr Puig said.

A total of about 13,000 hectares (32,000 acres) of forest are estimated to have been devastated in the area, according to the authorities.