The Partido Popular have demanded that the Junta de Andalucía remove responsibility for town planning away from the Socialist controlled local council in the village of La Viñuela in Málaga province.It follows reports that hundreds of owners of illegally built properties in the municipality have been asked to pay a ‘voluntary tax’ of upto 12,000 € to make their properties legal and that their licences to build have been revoked and their homes face demolition.
The PP spokesman in the village, Francisco González, said that those affected, mostly foreign residents, built their homes with the licence granted by the Town Hall, but are now being told that such licences are no longer valid on judicial order after appeals placed by the Junta de Andalucía.González says that asking for money as the Town Hall has done is not part of any recognised judicial procedure and for this reason he has called on the Junta to withdraw town planning responsibilities from Juan Millán, who he considers is responsible for all this. The PP is also demanding that the regional government regularise the homes concerned.The Socialist Mayor of La Vinuela, Juan Millán, has meanwhile denied that he ever required a tax to be paid to regularise the homes and has blamed a third party for ‘possible fraud’ in the matter. However some owners claim that they have already made the payment in municipal offices.The Junta has meanwhile said it will open an investigation into the whole affair, which they have described as ‘unheard of’. Sources at the Junta say they want to see if the tax allegations are correct or not.


Our mission

SOHA is a newly formed group of local residents whose mission is:
the protection of the rights of Axarquia residents in accordance with article 8 or the European Convention on Human Rights
to help residents protect their homes with legal help and direct action
to actively campaign for the establishment of an amnesty for honest home-owners in Axarquia.
Save Our Homes in Axarquia was formed in January 2008. We have no ambition other than to save our homes. We have no alliances with any external group or political party.
We aim to achieve our objectives through peaceful means, through discussion and engagement at the highest levels possible. We wish to encourage our political leaders to see that the demolition of homes causes widespread negative effects not only to homeowners but the population as a whole. Depressed economic activity, fewer europeans arriving, empty houses and higher unemployment. No good can come of this other than an agreement to do things right in the future by all parties.
Should it become necessary we will engage legal services to fight our case even up to the European Court of Human Rights. This takes a lot of money and one of our most pressing objectives is the raising of funds, it is more cost effective if we all pull together than to pay for it individually.
Ultimately, though we hope it will not, we will be prepared to take to the streets to plead our case and even stand together as one between the buldozers and our homes. Stand with us.

Join SOHA now.

Environment Prosecutor for the Costa del Sol has announced that a helicopter is being used to fly over Málaga province to search for illegally built properties. Members of the SEPRONA environment department of the Guardia Civil will man the flights and take photographic and video evidence. The first flight took place on Wednesday, and Diario Sur today shows the craft over the La Viñuela area. SEPRONA is particularly concerned about illegal constructions in forestry areas because of the risk of fire they represent.

The Spanish Tax Authority, Hacienda, and the Spanish Social Security System are joining forces in a fight against Tax fraud. New computer links will interchange information to detect any possible frauds, and particular attention is to be made on real estate deals, even more so in areas of the country described as ‘the most dynamic zones’.News of the crackdown was given by the General Director of Agencia Tributaria, Luis Pedroche. The Secretary of State for Tax and Budgets, Carlos Ocaña, underlined that it was the Government’s design to crack down on fraud more each year, acting both in areas of prevention and prosecution.New computer connections between the tax and social security services are to be used, with particular attention being made on real estate deals

A large demonstration took place in Seville on Monday to call for the safe return of Mari Luz, the five year old gypsy girl who has been missing from her home in Huelva for more than four weeks. It was headed by her parents, Juan José Cortés and Irene Suárez, and they have now contracted the services of a private detective agency to help them find their daughter.Mari Luz was last seen when she left her home in the El Torrejón district of the city on 13th January to buy a packet of crisps at the local sweets kiosk. A report from Huelva Información on Monday speaks of two witnesses who say they saw her that afternoon. One, they say, who was driving by at the time, saw a girl who answers her description being put into a van near the square where she lives, where two people were waiting inside the vehicle. The paper said Mari Luz’s parents have called on any father who was in the area and could have been seen having a minor disagreement with his own daughter to come forward so that the statement from the witness can be discounted from police enquiries. The van in question was white, according to reports.

Marbella residents will soon have unlimited use of the town’s nine bus routes for only 36 euros a month once the new transport company’s pass comes into force. This means that getting around the town on several buses will cost only 1.1 6 euros a day, as opposed to the 1.15 euros it currently costs for just one bus journey.

Three friends, all of whom have moved to Essaouira in the past year, are among tens of thousands of European citizens now moving to what is becoming the hottest retirement destination in the world: the "Costa del Couscous".Moroccan port town of Essaouira, 160km west of Marrakesh.
"Once everyone spoke about the Cote d'Azur, then the Costa del Sol, now it is Morocco," said Anne Locquet, an estate agent in Essaouira. "They are pouring in. More and more every day."

Although British, Italian and Spanish immigrants are among the wave of newcomers, the vast majority are French. Attracted by the sun, cheap property and tax breaks, their numbers have rocketed in the past three years. There are cheap flights, and French is widely spoken in the former colony that retains strong cultural links - couscous was recently voted the most popular single dish in France.
Felix, a former fighter pilot who recently arrived in the city of Fez, said that he was leaving behind a "sad and expensive" France.
In Marrakesh, local authorities say that they have issued 8000 residence permits to French nationals, many retired.
The Institut Francais, the French Government's cultural centre in the city, is now tailoring parts of its programme to suit elderly citizens. In Meknes, a small industrial city near Fez, in the north of Morocco, 1000 foreigners - most of them from France - have now registered with the town hall. As only a fraction register, the total number of retired French in Morocco is not known, but some estimates put it as high as 50,000.
"It has exploded exponentially," said Laurent Paul Alteresco, director of Repimmo.com, an estate agency that offers retirement properties in Morocco. "We get 30,000 [website] visitors and 400 serious inquiries a week."
Monique Benotman, a former teacher from Jura has been in Essaouira for 18 months. She said she wanted "some sun and to do some good" and now teaches French to poor children in the streets around her flat in the old part of the city.
Evelyne Feraud, from Aix-en-Provence in the south of France, has launched a jewellery workshop, targeting her compatriots who visit Essaouira as tourists. "The problem in France is tax and all the regulation. It is much easier here. Provence is beautiful but expensive. If I could have all I have here back home, I would have stayed there - but I can't."

Spain’s Pakistani community has grown from a few thousand residents a decade ago to about 70,000 today, as immigrants have been drawn to Spain by easy entry and to Barcelona’s Raval district by cheap rents. They have injected new life into the decrepit neighborhood, opening small businesses, but law enforcement officials say some have engaged in petty crimes like money laundering and credit card fraud.Pakistanis have also sent home millions of dollars through the informal system of money transfers, some of it financing extremist groups there, the officials add.
As the terrorism suspects congregated in the largely Pakistani neighborhood here over the past few months, they were joined by a young man who called himself Asim. He had come from the Pakistani borderlands where the leadership of Al Qaeda is said to have regrouped.
The suspects, he later told Spanish investigators, envisioned a wave of spectacular attacks: Coordinated suicide bombings would start in this city’s vast subway system and then sweep through Portugal, Germany, France and Britain if certain demands were not met.
Asim had been sent to Spain to be a suicide bomber, but he also was an informant for French intelligence working in the no man’s land of Waziristan in Pakistan. After he got word to his handlers of an impending attack, Spain’s military police swooped into the neighborhood of Raval in the early hours of Jan. 19 and arrested 14 men. Now the officials unraveling the case say it demonstrates the growing threat of terrorist activities migrating to Continental Europe from Pakistan.
The largely Pakistani cell formed quickly in Barcelona with support, and perhaps direction, from the tribal areas of Pakistan, the authorities said. According to the arrest warrant in the case, three suicide bombing suspects arrived in Spain within the last four months and the bomb making suspect had recently spent five months in Pakistan.

Spanish press are announcing that a man has been detained in El Torrejón close to the disappearance of Mari Luz on suspicion of attempting to take a young girl from the street. The seven year old was leaving her grandmother house when the attempt was made an aunt rushed to help the child. The police were called and a man was detained.large crowds have gathered outside the National police station

Guardia Civil’s heavily armed organised crime unit yesterday mounted a major anti-drugs operation in Palma.
A series of raids were mounted simultaneously with a number of drugs swoops carried out across Spain as part of a nationwide operation.
armed officers wearing ski masks and with air support from a Guardia Civil helicopter stormed at least two properties in the Son Gotleu neighbourhood of the capital.
The operation was still ongoing but at least 13 people had been arrested.
Police sources also confirmed that over eight kilos of various drugs have been seized over the past two weeks since the operation was first given the all clear by police chiefs.
It was also revealed last night that further arrests may be made today.
Police are not ruling out another wave of raids on suspect properties in Palma.
The Guardia Civil had mounted a series of house raids in Palma and made a number of arrests as part of a simultaneous operation carried out in various parts of the country. international drug smuggling network operating in Palma, Madrid and Barcelona.
Guardia Civil chiefs debriefed the media on the exact results of Operation Lagos which has resulted in the break up of an international gang smuggling cocaine into Palma and other parts of Spain from Holland.
A total of 14 people have been arrested, one is being treated in hospital after he tried to escape by leaping from a second floor balcony in Palma, and nearly ten kilos of cocaine seized.
Guardia chiefs said yesterday that, since the gang began operating in Spain, it has smuggled between 50 and 60 kilos of cocaine in to the country.
The operation began in 2006 when the Guardia Civil caught a couple of Nigerians trying to smuggle cocaine into Barcelona from Casablanca. The subsequent investigation led police to Palma where the alleged brains behind the smuggling operation was based and since then, the organised crime squad has been monitoring the activities of a number of mules used to smuggle the drugs. Apparently, each would smuggle around a kilo of cocaine out of the Republic of Guinea, to Casablanca and then onto Amsterdam before the final stretch of the journey to Palma via Madrid and Barcelona.
The Guardia Civil explained yesterday that the tickets for the smuggling drug mules were booked in Spain and paid via international money transfer offices.
The mules were also given basic travel allowance of 500 euros, the minimum figure certain countries demand a tourist is carrying in order to enter the country.
The gang also covered hotel bills in cities such as Madrid, Barcelona and Amsterdam and also provided guarantees of financial aid should any of the smugglers get arrested and that funds would be paid to partners and family should the suspect end up in prison.
The Madrid and Barcelona operations were responsible for “retrieving” the drugs which were swallowed and smuggled inside the body as well as hiring new mules for future drug runs from West Africa to Palma.
The gang was described as being extremely well organised.
Key members used a special code the few times they used the telephone, for example.
The operation was yesterday hailed as a major success for Palma’s Guardia Civil organised crime unit which was only set up at the end of last year and for the war against drugs and organised crime in Spain.

Dublin criminals are now so frequently spotted in the Alicante city of Torrevieja where it is understood that much of the illegally sourced property investment in Spain has been directed that ordinary Dublin holidaymakers have dubbed it ‘Crumlin in the sun’.Dublin criminals moved substantial amounts of their wealth overseas, with hundreds of millions of euro of ill-gotten gains invested in the burgeoning property market in Alicante.
Spain is regarded by criminals and law enforcement agencies as the premier continental European base for organising drugs shipments via South America and eastern Europe and Asia.
Why criminals should feel freer there to conduct their illicit affairs than they do in their native countries has much to do with the perception that Spanish police are uninterested in tackling non-Spanish criminals.
Whether justified or not, Spain has a bad reputation among law enforcement agencies across Europe for failing to crack down adequately on the ease with which drug smugglers usinge the jurisdiction for doing deals.Spain’s position as a staging post for drugs from places such as Colombia and Bolivia is a symptom of its colonial past and the language ties between southern Spain and South America.
Spain’s criminal organisations also benefit from country’s massive 4,900 kilometres of coastline, from which drugs shipments can be received from South America, via Morocco or Algeria to the south, and launched to northern Europe, with little fear of detection by police or coastguard patrol boats.

Local newspapers reported yesterday that Mrs Fitzpatrick refused to turn the music down -- and allegedly struck out following a row, after telling the neighbour the song she was listening to was one of daughter Amy's favourites.
Guardia Civil called Audrey Fitzpatrick (36) in for questioning after a neighbour claimed she had been attacked for complaining about loud music coming from the Costa del Sol home .
The incident is said to have happened last Friday afternoon. Mrs Fitzpatrick was asked to attend a police station in Mijas yesterday as she made preparations to mark her daughter's 16th birthday.
A Spanish police spokesman said: "A neighbour has reported Amy's mother to police. After police have interviewed her, a report will be passed to a judge who will decide what course of action to take.
"I have not been told the nature of the complaint that has been made."
Family spokesman Franco Rey said: "Audrey has been to the police station to answer the neighbour's complaint. She made an official statement to them. There's no other comment we'll be making at this time."
Mrs Fitzpatrick has come under increasing stress since her daughter went missing on New Year's Day.
She was last seen leaving friend Ashley Rubio Rose's home near her own in the popular expat resort of Riviera del Sol around 10pm. Last night Mr Rey said that although Amy's older brother Dean (17) had organised tonight's party, their mother was unlikely to go.
"She's very upset because her only daughter will be turning 16 and she isn't here. She had been thinking of having a party for her and at the moment she is very, very, very upset."
Mrs Fitzpatrick recently travelled to the Costa Blanca on Spain's east coast to publicise her daughter's disappearance. She has also travelled to the British colony of Gibraltar with Amy's stepdad to put up pictures of Amy.
Earlier this week, Dave Mahon returned from a trip to the Moroccan port of Tangiers to hand out posters with Amy's picture on them.

Juan José Cortés spoke of his anger at the lack of progress which has been made, and confirmed that the family will be contracting the services of a private detective agency to help in the investigation. He said two have contacted him, and a third, outside Spain, is ‘interested in the case.’ The family has opened a bank account in the BBVA bank for any donations.
He also mentioned new police information that his daughter crossed the road after the leaving the kiosk where she had gone to buy a bag of crisps, and said she would not have done so alone, as she knew it was totally forbidden.
In Andalucía, hundreds supported a protest outside Málaga City Hall on Tuesday morning, with others also taking place in Granada and Cádiz. The demonstration in Huelva set off from Mari Luz’s home in El Torrejón, and three doves were released into the air when the protestors arrived at City Hall.

The search for Mari Luz meanwhile goes on, and on Tuesday, apart from Huelva itself, extended to Gibraleón and Trigueros. They will move later to the woods of Moguer and Palos de la Frontera if nothing is found, and as far as Mazagón, El Mundo said.

Juan José Cortés, the father of the missing five year old from Huelva, Mari Luz, who vanished on January 13, said yesterday that he is optimistic for a quick advance in the investigation and that the hopes of finding her well were ever greater.
His comments to the press came after a meeting at the Provincial Police Station in Huelva with those carrying out the investigation.
Juan José Cortés said that the hopes of finding the child well were greater than everThe father, while admitting that the clues did not currently indicate any person in particular, they did go towards ‘completing the puzzle’.
‘There was an ever greater chance that she is still alive’, he said, and called for anyone who knew anything to come forward. He said that anyone who supplied information which led to the return of his daughter would be well rewarded.
Meanwhile a large new search is being organised over this weekend using quad bikes and horses across the local marshes. Juan José encouraged the public to take part.

police in Spain are searching for a family friend's Ford Fiesta, which disappeared at the same time as the teenager.
Amy had apparently been frequently allowed to drive the car.The family and friends of Amy Fitzpatrick are distributing photographs in Morocco today as part of their ongoing search for the missing Irish teenager.
The 15-year-old Dubliner hasn't been seen since disappearing in the Costa del Sol on New Year's Day
Her family say they are not following any specific lead in Tangiers today, but decided to take their campaign to the Moroccan port as it is close to their home in southern Spain.

British man is to appear in court in Alicante province after he was found to be driving at six times over the alcohol limit, EFE reported on Tuesday.
Quoting information from the Civil Guard, the news agency names him as C.R.N.K., aged 41, and says he was stopped on the N-332 road in Torrevieja last Saturday evening. Officers pulled him over for driving with the incorrect lights and tested him for alcohol after they realised that he had been drinking.

Murdered gangland figure Paddy Doyle was shot dead in Spain after falling foul of an international drugs gang.Investigators are satisfied the shooting on the Costa del Sol was linked to his drugs activities there rather than his role in a deadly feud at home.
Police hunting Doyle's killers yesterday arrested seven men after seizing an €8m cocaine shipment in Estepona
Patrick Doyle, a drug dealer from Dublin,the man who was driving the car he was in when he was shot at is Gary Hutch, also from Ireland. RTE News in Ireland gave the name of a third man who was in the rear passenger seat of their BMW jeep as Freddie Thompson, a criminal from Dublin who is now being sought by police.
Police investigating the murder have meanwhile seized more than 100 kilos of cocaine which was found hidden in a furniture lorry near Estepona. The central government delegate for Andalucía, Juan José López Garzón, told the press on Tuesday that seven people are in custody, six from Britain and the seventh from Ireland. He said one is a juvenile.Police are investigating a possible link between the killing on Monday and the seven people arrested after 100 kg of cocaine were seized.Detectives reckon that Doyle, who has been based mainly in Spain over the past couple of years, probably clashed with other drug traffickers.
Doyle, was regarded as a "heavy" in the criminal underworld.
He was closely linked to the leader of one of the feuding gangs and was believed to have acted as an enforcer for him.
He is believed to have been involved in the murder of Noel Roche, who was shot dead in the front passenger seat of a black Mondeo car by members of the rival faction near the Yacht pub in Clontarf, in November 2005.

Patrick Doyle from Portland Row in Dublin has died in a shooting incident in Estepona today. It happened at 2pm in Calle Mejorana in the Bel Air urbanisation in Cancelada, and National Police are still at the scene. The order to remove the body was granted at 3,20pm, and police found a four wheel drive vehicle at the scene with five gunshots, four in the windscreen and one in the front passenger door.
The victim, aged 25-30 was travelling in the passenger seat according to a witness at the scene who said the four wheel drive was fired at by another car. The driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a lamppost. When the passenger got out of the four wheel drive, he was shot twice in the head.
There have been no arrests in the case as yet. A suspected Irish drug dealer was shot dead Monday near the southern Spanish resort town of Estepona, police said.
The man, aged 25 to 30, was a passenger in a four-wheel-drive vehicle when it was ambushed by at least one gunman in another car that pulled alongside, according to a police detective in Dublin, Ireland.
An estimated four shots were fired into the windshield and one through a side door. When the car stopped and the passenger got out, he was shot at least two times in the head at close range, the officer said.The dead man is believed to be involved in the feuding gangs in the Crumlin / Drimnagh area of Dublin.Irish drug gangs have been blamed for the brutal murder.

The mother of Yeremi Vargas, the seven year old boy who went missing from Gran Canaria when he was playing in the street outside his grandmother’s house in Vecindario last March, says police investigating her son’s disappearance have been in contact with Spanish police investigating the disappearance of Mari Luz.
They are working on the theory that people involved in child trafficking are behind these cases.’
Yeremi was last seen on 10th March 2007, two months before Madeleine disappeared from Praia da Luz on the Portuguese Algarve. Yeremi’s mother is reported to believe that both kidnappings were ordered, and that the children were probably sold on.
Yeremi’s mother believes the families should ‘stick together’ to show a united front and to make the public understand that ‘we have not given up on our children being found.’ Ithaisa Suárez wants to arrange meetings with Kate and Gerry McCann, and also with the parents of Mari Luz Cortés, the five year old girl who went missing in Huelva on 13th January.
In Portugal meanwhile, a search is taking place of a reservoir 40 miles from Praia da Luz for any sign of Madeleine’s body. The Daily Record said the cost is being paid by a lawyer, Marcos Correia, who says an un-named source told him she was, as the paper says, ‘murdered and thrown into a lake last May.’ Jeremy Vargas vanished from his home in Gran Canaria just eight weeks before four-year-old Madeleine went missing in Praia da Luz.Police searching for a missing seven-year-old boy in Spain are linking it with the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

National police hunting for the boy have told his parents they are now working closely with police in Portugal.
The link between the cases was revealed as dive teams searched a reservoir for Madeleine's body.
Jeremy's mother Ithaisa Suarez, 24, said: "The specialist police team from Madrid have told me that they have been in contact with the Portuguese police investigating Madeleine. They are working on the theory that people involved in child trafficking are behind these cases."
Jeremy was playing on wasteground behind his home when he disappeared on March 10 last year.
Ithaisa insists both Jeremy and Madeleine, four, were snatched to order and likely sold on by a gang.
Ithaisa wants to meet the parents of missing Mari Luz Cortes from Huelva, Spain, to present a united front in drawing international attention to their plight.
She said: "We need to stick together and make sure people understand we have not given up on our children being found."
Yesterday, divers continued to search a reservoir for Madeleine's body following a tip-off from an underworld source to a lawyer.

The Fitzpatrick family are upset to hear press reports that the Spanish authorities had begun a series of digs in a stretch of land where the teenager was last seen in the Costa del Sol.
"Stories that they are digging in a field are poppycock, absolute rubbish," .
The investigation by the Guardia Civil is continuing and that Ms Fitzpatrick has received no new information from them. He also renewed the family's appeal for anyone who might have seen Amy in Spain or elsewhere to contact the authorities.
The teenager vanished on the evening of New Year's Day as she walked home from a friend's house.
Despite a high-profile publicity campaign, there have still been no confirmed sightings of Amy.
Investigators are becoming increasingly convinced Amy has disappeared voluntarily, rather than being abducted. The teenager had been off school for more than a year after being bullied and had confided in friends that she was unhappy in Spain and wanted to return to Ireland.
Police are also still searching for a white Ford Fiesta belonging to Richie O'Shea, a friend of the family, who was taken in for questioning. Detectives believe this car, which has the number plate C955 SLK, could be crucial to their investigation.
Amy is reported to have driven the car on several occasions after opening it with a screwdriver.
However, Mr O'Shea (34) has denied that she used the car in the past and insists he reported it missing to a police translator after realising it was gone two days after the teenager had disappeared.

The Sunday edition of El País newspaper has revealed some of the content of the part of the case summary now lifted from secrecy in investigations in Murcia into the Town Halls of Torre Pacheco and Fuente Álamo. It concerns telephone conversations recorded by court order, where the constructor, Facundo Armero, is heard saying to the Mayor of Torre Pacheco, Daniel García, ‘I want the Torre Pacheco zoning plans approved now.’
Armero is one of the 14 suspects who have been questioned by Judge Arantxa Moreno so far in the case. They also include the Partido Popular Mayors of the two towns, Daniel García, and from Fuente Álamo, María Antonio Conesa. The investigation follows a complaint from the prosecutor’s office at the Murcia High Court of Justice into alleged administrative irregularities, with a long list of alleged crimes: misappropriation of funds, influence peddling, bribery, perversion of the justice, revealing secret information, fraud, and activities prohibited to public servants. Municipal planning documents were seized from both local corporations last summer in police swoops on the Town Hall buildings.
Facundo Armero is under suspicion as the main man behind the corruption, and was previously a partner in Polaris World before he sold off his share for 300 million €.
El País said Daniel García worked as a lawyer for Armero’s companies before his election as Mayor of Torre Pacheco.

A woman who was attacked by her husband in Marbella in the early hours of Sunday, and is said to have suffered around 11 stab wounds, has now been released from Intensive Care at the Costa del Sol Hospital and her life is no longer. Her husband is in the same hospital under police custody after turning the knife on himself, and is understood to be in a serious condition, with a wound to his lung.
It happened shortly before 5am on Calle Alcornoque, in the Elviria area of Marbella, and was reported by the woman’s son. A friend who was with the victim until around half an hour before the attack said the couple were in the process of separating, but that the husband had yet to leave the family home. She told EFE there was no history of domestic abuse.
It’s understood both the husband and the wife and Spanish.

Jose Dominguez Prieto, the father of Spanish actor Antonio Banderas, died in the southern resort city of Marbella after a long illness, the actor's representatives told Efe on Sunday. He was 87.
Dominguez, who was a police precinct chief, died Saturday at his son's residence in the resort city, where he spent his last days.
He will be cremated Sunday at Marbella's Virgen del Carmen cemetery, the actor's representatives said.

Authorities raided five brothels and nine homes in the province of Almeria, arresting 13 people suspected of leading the ring.
Police in southern Spain arrested 60 people Thursday in a crackdown on a human trafficking ring that forced an estimated 2,000 Russian women into prostitution, an official said.
Authorities raided five brothels and nine homes in the province of Almeria, arresting 13 people suspected of leading the ring, said Juan Jose Lopez Garzon, the head of the Spanish Interior Ministry office in the Andalusia region, which includes Almeria.
All 13 have been charged with illegal trafficking of people for sexual exploitation, prostitution and offenses against the rights of foreign citizens and workers. Police found 34 Russian women in four of the brothels and arrested them for being in Spain without residency papers.
Investigators believe the women were brought to Spain with fake documentation and kept under strict lockdown in the nightclubs where they were forced to work.
During the raids, police found €21,000 (US$28,350) in cash, nine cars, five computers, gold, passports and plane tickets.
Investigations into the ring began in November 2006, when government authorities were alerted to large transactions with Russian money taking place in foreign currency exchange outlets.
Police estimate the total amount of money sent by the traffickers to Russia to be more than €55,000 (US$74,250). Police continue to search for more Russian victims of the ring in Spain.

Spain has cracked a number of groups smuggling Nigerian women. Two Nigerian women have been arrested in Spain accused of stealing a child and forcing his mother into prostitution to pay their ransom. The mother, also Nigerian, claims her son was snatched from her shortly after he was born four years ago. She said the women demanded 45,000 euros (£31,000) for his return and threatened her with "voodoo".
The boy was kept hidden from neighbours in a Madrid flat until police tracked him down and rescued him this week. The kidnap and blackmail came to light when the mother, who has since given up prostitution, went to the police. She said the women had got her into Spain from Nigeria illegally - which was why she owed them money. Despite being the only black child in the block of flats, hardly any of his neighbours had seen him there
After they took her son, she said she worked as a prostitute in different clubs around Spain to pay off the debt. Officers investigating the case confirmed that the woman had had a baby in 2002 and finally tracked down the suspects - identified only as Becky F, aged 27, and Faith N, aged 24. The women were known to live in a flat with an 18-month-old girl and another young Nigerian woman. Officers could not confirm the presence of a young boy until a neighbour reported hearing cries from the flat that differed from the little girl's.
On Tuesday, the surveillance teams got the breakthrough they needed when a boy appeared on the balcony. Police raided the flat and found the boy, his mother's passport and other items used in voodoo rituals which the suspects used "to terrorise the mother".
Police said the boy was healthy, although he showed signs of delayed development and had barely learned to talk. He has not been to school and has not been registered at any official institutions, such as health centres. "Despite being the only black child in the block of flats, hardly any of his neighbours had seen him there or in the local children's playgrounds," the police said. They said his captors had probably kept him hidden, alone, in the flat all day. He has now been taken into the care of social services.
In the past few years, Spanish police have broken up a number of illegal immigration networks involving Nigerian women being brought to Spain to work as prostitutes. In March, six people were arrested in Valencia, accused of running such an enterprise. Voodoo has often been found to be a way of threatening the women, but reports say kidnapping their children is less frequent.

Spain is one of the main destinations for Britons looking to move abroad or buy a holiday home as an investment. Sales of tourist property in Málaga Province have fallen to an historic low. Analysts warned that a crash could spread to the wider Spanish economy The total turnover on the sale of residential tourism property in the province fell by 50% over 2007 to 540 million €. It means that in two years the province has gone from the leader of the sector to the last place in Spain. The advance numbers were presented by the Costa del Sol Association of Constructors and Promoters at the FITUR tourism fair in Madrid yesterday, but the definitive numbers will not be known until March when they will be published at the ITB Berlin Tourism Fair.
The numbers mean that the province of Málaga has now been overtaken by all the provinces in Cataluña, the Valencia region, Murcia, the Balearics, Canaries and the rest of the Andalucian coastline. In comparison while sales have fallen 50% in Málaga, in Murcia they increased over the same time by 125%.
Fears of a Spanish property crash have increased, prompting a sell-off in real estate shares and fanning concerns that thousands of Britons will lose money.
The sell-off was triggered by worries of rising bad debts and speculation that one large company had been buying its own properties to keep prices high
The country is over-housed, households are over-indebted and the construction industry continues to churn out houses
On top of that, households now have some of the highest debt levels in the eurozone, much of which is based on variable lending rates leaving consumers open to sudden increases in borrowing costs.

The worry is that should the suspected property bubble burst, and some analysts estimate that house prices are overvalued by 30%, then many other industries such as banking and retail would also suffer.
Spain's government and construction industry figures tried to calm fears on Wednesday, stating that the fundamentals of the property market remained solid.
Economy Minister Pedro Solbes said that the country was not in a "worrying situation".
He argued that the outlook for household earnings, and as a result their debt repayments, was steady because there "are good prospects for employment".
The chairman of Astroc, the Spanish property firm at the heart of the recent market wobbles, has also said that the fears are unfounded.
Analysts are asking how high the building industry can go
There had been reports that Enrique Banuelos, the chairman and majority shareholder of Astroc, had bought properties from the company and rumours that a large shareholder had sold out.
However, Mr Banuelos said that there was no "determining reason" for the sell off that has wiped more than 60% off the value of the company in the past six days.
Analysts warned that while the current fears of a crash may be over amplified, the Spanish property boom that had provided strong returns for the past eight years was probably over.
"The country is over-housed, households are over-indebted and the construction industry continues to churn out houses," said Lombard Street analysts in a note to clients the biggest problem facing the market was over-supply of housing. Industry estimates show that more than 800,000 new homes were built in Spain last year, four times the number in the UK.
"That is not good news for UK investors in Spain,"
"We have had over-investment on a gigantic scale and it has already started a slowdown in house price growth," she explained.
"We will definitely see house price growth stop and falls in nominal prices are likely in Spain over the next 12 to 18 months."
President of the Association, José Prado, told La Opinion de Málaga that there were many factors in play, but without doubt the corruption in Marbella had a great deal to do with it, as it has generated a climate of distrust among purchasers.
‘If even today they are still talking about knocking down homes which obtained their construction licence, have their mortgage, and are registered at the notary, how would anybody dare to buy a house?’, he said. Prado went on to criticise what he called the enormous legal vacuum across the province.
"If even today they are still talking about knocking down homes which obtained their construction licence, have their mortgage, and are registered at the notary, how would anybody dare to buy a house?"
‘Currently there is not a single new PGOU Urban Plan approved anywhere in the province, not even in its initial phase. Even if they were started now they would not be definitive for two or three years, and by that time we would be in crisis because of a lack of designated building land’.
The number of new homes completed across the province has fallen from 41,740 in 2005 to 29,450 in 2007. The fall was most acute in the tourist muncipalities - Nerja (-30%), Vélez (-44%), Torremolinos (-74%), Fuengirola (-44%), Mijas (-31%) and Estepona (-73%).

The Guardia Civil recently raided a house in Taraguilla and arrested two Spaniards and seized the drugs, 15,540 euros and several firearms.
Gibraltar Police are trying to establish whether there is a link between the find and the drugs that went missing from the exhibits room at police headquarters.
Gibraltar detectives are checking whether 350 grams of pure cocaine seized by the Guardia Civil in San Roque came from a 10-kilo stash stolen from a storeroom at the New Mole House police station.
Spanish law enforcement agencies are working closely with Gibraltar police on this case. There is a limited market on the Rock for cocaine and it is believed it could have been taken to Spain. Hence police both sides of the border are following up all significant cocaine busts in southern Spain to see if there is any link to Gibraltar.

Last Friday, police chased him from Vecindario to the capital city Las Palmas. At one point the suspect got out of his car and fled on foot through a cemetery. He later attempted two carjackings before police finally arrested him in an industrial area, and even then he tried to grab an officer's gun, the ministry said.
The National Court in Madrid is now processing Velazquez-Armas' extradition to the United States.

Darli Velazquez-Armas, a 33-year-old Cuban citizen, was arrested last week in the Canary Islands in a raid coordinated with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Interior Ministry said.
According to U.S. court documents, Velazquez-Armas was arrested on Jan. 30 in a DEA sting operation involving 130 kilos (290 pounds) of cocaine shipped to Miami from Ecuador.
A U.S. grand jury indicted him on drug trafficking charges. He pleaded not guilty and posted a $1 million (€700,000) bond Feb. 20, and was required to surrender his travel documents. His trial was scheduled to begin April 16. Velazquez-Armas failed to appear at a March court hearing, and was declared a fugitive on May 14.
Spanish authorities caught up with him in June in a Madrid suburb, but he escaped a dragnet after ramming his car into a police car.
Velazquez-Armas was later spotted in the town of Vecindario on Gran Canaria, one of Spain's Canary Islands, where he had continued to engage in drug trafficking, and officials put him under surveillance, the Spanish ministry said.
When a drug trafficking suspect skipped out on a $1 million Federal bond, the bail bonds company traced him to Spain by going through his garbage for clues.
Just weeks after posting a $1 million bond, Darli Velazquez-Armas skipped bail. On March 10th, 2007 Federal authorities were alerted that something was wrong when Velazquez’s electronic monitoring bracelet sent a failure signal that the defendant had failed to report home. The huge bond was posted in the U.S. Southern District Federal Court in Miami, Florida. The $1,000,000.00 Federal bond was underwritten by a California bail bond insurance company.

James Walter TOMKINS – aged 58 (place of birth: London) – Metropolitan Police ServiceOffences: It is alleged that Tomkins murdered Rocky DAWSON in Hornchurch, Essex on 2May 2006. He is also wanted for the possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.There is a £20,000 reward for information leading to Tomkins’ arrest.Description: M1.73 tall, medium to stocky build, scar close to left eye, scar on brow,scar on right side of neck, sometimes wears a close cut beard. Has links to Marbella,Fuengirola, Porto Banus and Benidorm.Aliases and nicknames: Raymond John FARMER, O’FLYNN, “Jimbles”David Alfred ANDREWS – aged 66 (place of birth: Radlett, Herts - HMRC)Offences: Accused of being the principal figure of a drug-trafficking organisation thatbetween 2000 and 2003 conspired to import commercial quantities of cocaine into theUK from South America through the use of corrupt Heathrow Airport employees.Description: 5’11” tall, grey collar length hair, large build, clean shaven.Jason Richard GULLIFORD - aged 36 (place of birth: Lincoln – Nottinghamshire Police)Offences: On 30 April 2003 it is alleged that Gulliford stabbed Neil James Dodd with ascrewdriver over a suspected drugs debt – wounding with intent contrary to Section 18Offenses Against the Person Act 1861 – life imprisonment.Aliases and nicknames: John ANDREWS; Jason Culver PRICE
Description: 6’ x 3” tall (m: 191), heavy build, dark brown hair, tattoo on right arm of ablack panther, tattoo on left shoulder of a black pantherNoel Francis CUNNINGHAM – aged 46 (place of birth: London) Metropolitan PoliceOffences: Conspiracy to rob, conspiracy to steal, having an offensive weapon, handlingstolen goods, escape, wounding/inflicting grievous bodily harm, wounding/inflictinggrievous bodily harm with intent, possessing firearm with intent.Description: M1.78 tall, white European appearance, blue eyesDaniel Paul JOHNSTON - aged 27 (place of birth: Burton on Trent) – DerbyshireConstabularyOffences: Between September 2004 and January 2006 Johnston is wanted for carryingtwo robberies, one attempted robbery and one theft in licensed stores in Derbyshire,usually armed with a knife.Description: White male, M175 tall, medium build, blue eyes, short mousey hair, tattooon left arm of a Celtic band, tattoo on left arm of a tribal band, tattoo of letters‘KAINE’ in Celtic writing on abdomen. Johnston is believed to have links in the Malagaregion.Allan James FOSTER – aged 31 (place of birth: South Shields)- Northumbria PoliceOffences: It is alleged that Foster murdered David “Noddy” Rice in Marsden Bay CarPark, South Shields on 24 May 2006. Foster is also wanted for two offences of conspiringto supply controlled drugs and also for the theft of a diamond ring.Description: White European male of mixed race, 5’ x 8” tall, slim build, brown eyes,short black hair, no distinctive marks known. Has links to Canary Islands and Majorca.Scott COLEMAN – aged 33 (place of birth: Liverpool) Grampian PoliceOffences: In 2003 in Aberdeen, Coleman was arrested and charged with possession withintent to supply 2.87 kg of heroin.Description: 6’ x 2” tall, medium build, short brown hair, blue eyes, tattoo of bulldogtattooed on centre of back, Liverpool FC crest tattooed on right leg, lips tattooed onbuttocks. Has links to Benidorm.Keith Brian BURKE – aged 47 (place of birth: Halifax) South Yorkshire PoliceOffenses: Burke was involved in a violent assault that took place in the toilets of “TheTop Club” bar in Edlington, Doncaster on 8 July 2001. He was convicted and sentencedto three years imprisonment for affray.
Description: M173 tall, blue eyes, bald head, dark brown goatee beard, tattoo on rightneck of a devil, tattoo on left side of neck of a swallow.Nicknames: Tattooed KeithJohn BARTON – aged 52 (place of birth: Mansfield) - HMRCOffences: Barton was sentences to 20 years imprisonment in 2003 after being convicted,in his absence, in relation to an offence of conspiring to import a commercial amount ofheroin into the UK between 1999 and 2000.Description: White male, 5’8” tall, medium build, receding dyed brown hair, naturalgrey colour, Midlands accentJohn Cearney BARKER – aged 50 (place of birth: Irvine, Ayrshire) - Strathclyde PoliceOffences: Barker is wanted under two European Arrest Warrants for trafficking incocaine and amphetamine to the value of over £110,000 in 1998 and 1999 withinScotland.Description: 5’11” tall, stocky build, fair hair, blue eyes with a squint to the right eye.Has links with Tenerife.Aliases and nicknames: John Cairney BARKER; John Clearney BARKER, “Jock”Operation Captura arrests to dateJames HURLEY – convicted killer of a police-man who escaped custody in 1994. He wascirculated in the crimestoppers release in Spain and was eventually arrested last year inThe Netherlands for drug offences. (Herts – Metropolitan Police Service)Ian WHITE – tobacco smuggler who masterminded a £6million VAT scam, arrested inSpain. He was tried, convicted and sentenced to six years imprisonment in his absenceon the 11th March 2004. He was also ordered to pay confiscation in the sum of£6,151,841.19 or serve ten years imprisonment in default. He was returned to the UKon the 20th September 2007 and appeared before Maidstone Crown Court on the 21stSeptember 2007. From there he was sent to prison to start serving his sentence. (Essex- HMRC)Anthony SIMMONDS – wanted for importing large quantities of cannabis from Spain andcheating VAT of £4million. Arrested in Spain in December 2006. He was returned to theUK 3 Jan 2007. He was produced at Maidstone Crown Court on 4 Jan 2007 and hissentence of 3 years imprisonment was confirmed. He was given a 3 monthimprisonment in respect of the absconding, which is to be served consecutively. He wassent to prison to start serving his sentence. (Birmingham - HMRC)
Clifford HOBBS – escaped in custody on his way to court in London where he was tostand trial for the theft of £1.25million from a security van. Arrested in Spain andreturned to the UK in August 2007. Trial commenced. NB Not for publication orbroadcast - reporting restrictions in place regarding the jury, please check withWoolwich Crown Court if any questions. (London – Metropolitan Police)Dante LATRECHE – wanted for credit card fraud. Arrested in UK in 2007. Receivedsuspended prison sentence. (Luton – Metropolitan Police Service)John DOWDALL - wanted for importing large quantities of cannabis from Spain in 2003.He was tried, convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment in his absence on the17th May 2005. Arrested in Spain. He was returned to the UK on 27th September 2007.He then appeared before Canterbury Crown Court, where he pleaded guilty to a Bail ActOffence. He was sentenced to a further four months imprisonment, which is to runconsecutively to the sentence of five years imprisonment. (Surrey - HMRC)Markcus JAMAL – wanted for conspiracy for murder of Nageeb El Hakem in 2005.Arrested in Spain. Returned to the UK in January 2007. Trial currently underway atSheffield Crown Court. NB Not for publication or broadcast – no reporting restrictionsin place. (Sheffield – South Yorkshire Police).John SETON – wanted for the murder of Jon Bartlett in March 2006. Arrested in TheNetherlands. Returned to the UK in May 2007. Trial due in Spring 2008.(Kent – Metropolitan Police Service).Notes to editors1. Crimestoppers is an independent charity dedicated to solving crimes and takingcriminals off the streets. Around 17 people are arrested and charged every day asa result of information given to Crimestoppers. One person every five days ischarged with murder.Since Crimestoppers began in 1988, it has received 960,000 actionable calls,resulting in nearly 83,000 arrests and charges. Over £100 million worth ofproperty has been recovered and over £144 million worth of drugs.Crimestoppers UK was founded by Lord Ashcroft KCMG, Chairman of Trustees. In1988, he launched Crimestoppers in the Metropolitan Police area. Crimestoppersis built on a three-way partnership between the business community, the policeand the media.2. The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) is an intelligence-led agency formed inApril 2006 to tackle Class A drugs and organised immigration crime as toppriorities. Other priorities are fraud against individuals and the private sector, hitech crime, counterfeiting, the use of firearms, serious robbery and recovery ofthe proceeds of crime.

The Law Lords have published their Judgment which overturns the writ of habeas corpus ad subjiciendum which had been granted to Farid Hhilali.
Hilali was the first person to be arrested in the Uk under the new, allegedly rapid, European Arrest Warrant extradition procedure under Part 1 of the controversial Extradition Act 2003.
See also the Press Release from his solicitor, the controversial Muddassar Arani.
This case is of interest to us, partly because of the European Arrest Warrant, and also because the evidence seems to be rely on mobile phone intercept evidence and voice recognition evidence, in an alleged terrorist plot case, a topic which politicians and pundits should be debating here in the UK, if the secret Privy Council review under Sir John Chilcot, of Intercept Evidence is actually published before the relevant clauses of the new Counter-terrorism Bill are debated.
Essentially, the Law Lords have decided that the 8 pages of evidence or allegations which the Spanish authorities and the then National Criminal Intelligence Service submitted, when they issued this first European Arrest Warrant in the UK is all irrelevant, and excessive, and should not have been used in the subsequent appeals.
All that the Extradition Act 2003 and the European Framework law behind it requires is a brief description of the alleged offence and proper identification that it is the right person being sought by a court in another European Union country.
There is to be no examination of any actual prima facie evidence, whatsoever.
Interestingly, they have rejected the idea that Hilali should be extradited to Spain to face the charge of belonging to an illegal terrorist orgamisation, so the Spanish authorities will have to try him only on the conspiracy to murder people in the USA and endangering aircraft charges, which stem from his alleged links to the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks in the USA.
However, since the person with whom he is supposed to have had mobile phoen call conversations with, Barakat Yarkas has been cleared of such charges, because of illegally obtained telephone intercepts, which were not properly transcribed or translated from Arabic, it will be astonishing if Farid Hilali is convicted of such charges. Neither he nor even Yarkas are sought by the US authorities for any such direct involvement in the September 11th 2001 attacks.

The important aspects of this case for all the rest of us , is the ease with which you can now be arrested and held in prison awaiting Extradition to another European Union country, without any actual evidence being examined in a British Court.
It is possible to be accused of the most serious terrorist crimes, solely on the basis of easily faked digital mobile phone intercept evidence, which is not admissible in a British Court..
When you then find that there is no actual physical link between the UK end of the mobile phone conversations with the alleged Al Quaeda leader in Spain, it gets even more worrying.
The calls seem to have been traced to South East London locations, but no actual mobile phone handsets, with any financial records or fingerprint or DNA evidence linked to Farid Hilali seems to exist. The actual mobile phones, are probably not even in the possession of the UK authorities.
The coded or simply obscure Arabic phrases which have been revealed as part of the phone conversations, are not exactly hard "smoking gun" evidence of any sort of plot.
All the mobile phone evidence involving Barakat Yarkas was rejected as unsafe by the Spanish Supreme Court, either because it was obtained illegally or it had been badly transcribed and translated from Arabic.
What exactly is the scientific basis for matching the voice of Farid Hilali with that of the mysterious Shakur ? How many False Positives and False Negatives does the technique produce ?
When was a comparison sample of Hilali's voice obtained ? Was it from bugging or intercepting his conversations whilst he was held in a British Prison on immigration charges, or was it from previous interviews with the Spanish authorities ?
How can someone accused on such purely digital evidence, ever hope to prove that some or all of it was faked or selectively edited, something which can be done without detection ?
We have no sympathy for extremist Muslim fanatics, but the
Farid Hilali case frightens us.

A candlelit demonstration for Amy Fitzpatrick safe return takes place in Mijas this Sunday, to, as Mijas Town Hall said in a press release, keep alive the hope that she will be found. It comes at the instigation of a number of local residents of differing faiths, including Catholic, Evangelical and Baptist, the Town Hall said, and it’s understood that Amy’s family will be there at the demonstration. It takes place at 7pm on Sunday 3rd February on the Bulevar de La Cala in Mijas Costa.

The South American Connection ,Argentine police seized 1.1 metric tons of cocaine destined to be smuggled into Spain by a drug gang led by a retired Argentine military intelligence officer, officials said Saturday.
The bust disrupted a US$67 million operation, making it one of Argentina's "most important" achievements in the fight against drug trafficking, Justice and Security Minister Anibal Fernandez told the C5N television channel.
Police arrested 18 people on Saturday, including retired army intelligence officer Ernesto Lorenzo, who served during Argentina's 1976-83 dictatorship and is believed to be leader of the gang, Fernandez said.
The cocaine had likely been smuggled into Argentina from Bolivia, and was destined for Spain, police chief Hector Roncaglia said.

Trevor Collenette, 51, was arrested in Gibraltar in June after customs found £8m of cocaine on the yacht he was on.
He was with three other people delivering the yacht from the Caribbean to Gibraltar.
He was freed on Tuesday after no links were found between him and the drugs.
183 drug slabs
James Neish, a journalist in Gibraltar, who has spoken to Mr Collenette, said: "He spent almost two months in prison and he has described the whole experience as a nightmare.
"As far as he is concerned he just wants to resume his normal life."
Mr Collennette and the others, skipper Jonathan Kelway and crew Martin Genocchio and Kathryn Burman, set sail in May on the yacht from St Lucia in the Caribbean with the aim of delivering it to Gibraltar for its owner.
They had been brought together through the established agency Crewseekers.
The crew arrived in Gibraltar on 4 June and soon afterwards customs found 183 slabs of cocaine valued at £8m in a concealed compartment on the yacht.
All four of the crew were arrested and accused of possession, possession with intent to supply and importation of drugs.
The yacht is reported to be registered to a Gibraltar company and owned by a Croatian national.
Mr Genocchio and Ms Burman have also been released and Mr Kelway is on bail.

Owners of illegally built homes in Marbella, are a little less worried after a court ruling gave a temporary stay of execution on demolitions in the town.
The Regional Supreme Court (TSJA) ordered that all demolitions of illegal buildings in Marbella be put on hold until the new local development plan (PGOU) is approved.
The region’s highest court says it wants the new PGOU to determine the exact legal status of each building and if the demolition order should be carried out or not. Indeed, it appears the court is passing responsibility to the regional government, saying that as this body has to approve the new PGOU, it should also decide what happens in many of the illegal developments.
The TSJA’s statement has been welcomed by the mayor of Marbella, Ángeles Muñoz. She said that it gave her “great satisfaction and relief” that the court was supporting the stance that has consistently been taken by the Marbella administration.
Marbella now has a draft PGOU that is at the consultation stage. Incredibly, the municipality has not had a clear planning law since 1968. The 1986 development plan was approved but was not published and hence it did not come into effect until 2000, by which time Marbella had descended into planning chaos.
The court’s decision has been widely welcomed by officials in Marbella. The municipality’s spokesperson on town planning had argued for such a course of action, as had those who drew up the new PGOU. It also appears that the regional government’s Department of Public Works backs the proposal.
However, at least one group, Plataforma 29 de Marzo, which represents an array of citizen and environmental associations, spoke out against the court ruling, saying it was merely another example of indecision over what to do about the illegal buildings. The platform wants the teardown orders to be carried out.
Mijas town hall has also announced possible relief for the owners of many of the several hundred illegal homes in the town. The Mijas cases are not large illegal developments, but rather individual homes built on small plots of land in rural zones like La Alberquilla, Entrerríos, La Alquería and Valtocado.
The property owners have banded together to form an action group, which held a protest outside the Auditorio Municipal on Sunday. Now the mayor of Mijas, Antonio Sánchez, has promised that at the next council meeting he will present a proposal that will enable the majority of the properties to be legalised. He acknowledged that there are many cases where the house in question is the owners’ only home, and that the owners would be left in a very difficult situation in the event of demotion.
However, the mayor also stressed that the law must be complied with, and that homes built on public ways or in protected rural zones cannot be legalised and may face the possibility of eventual demolition.

Bulgarian-Spanish organization plans his serial hit with coca. "Such well equipped and structured Bulgarian organization in Spain we detain for the first time.", Eloy Alvares, Director of Drug traffic department in Judicial police in Madrid comments for 168 hours weekly. The project started with the investigation of the Bulgarian group in Barcelona. We discovered that some of their members had taken on houses and offices by the side of the port located between Malaga and Cadis. The rent contracts were signed on behalf of a company headquartered in Gibraltar. We used to watch the group. We understood they are ready to transfer with a yacht a huge quantity of cocaine from Columbia to the sea cost of Costa del Sol. The itinerary, chosen from the Bulgarian is unusual. The seacoast of Costa del Sol is used mainly for trafficking of hashish coming from Morocco through the strait of Gibraltar towards Spain. "Cocaine" yachts sail mainly from Venezuela to Martinique Island, but the fishing ships loaded with a larger quantity of drugs turn to Galicia."
"We've expected the cocaine to move from Malaga towards Barcelona and after towards another European country.", a participant in the police action comments. "All men on the yacht were from Varna. Several times the yacht had changed its name in the open sea.", the same source adds.
The cops loose the yacht's traces. It is discretely laid at Soto Grande, located at 70 kilometers from Marbella.
On February 13 2005 starts
"Portimar" operation
BWM a property of the group is stopped for a check up. The car is with a Spanish registration number and transfers 80 kilos of cocaine from Soto Grande toward Barcelona. Georgi Kosev from Sofia and the Spaniards Juan Palasin and Arantaso Amoros were at the car, all of them are arrested. Later on at 65 Buena Vista Str. 741 kilos of cocaine are detained. According to the Spanish police this apartment had been used many times as a drug depot. The police arrest many people in Barcelona. Five Bulgarians are detained the in the city - Vasil Ugrinov, Violeta Tzekova, Ivailo Haselbart, Ivan Vladimirov and Ivo Andonov. During the same police raid are detained also the Spanish citizens - Ricardo Himenes, Pedro Meliado and Rashid Belgazi who has an Arabic origin. They are caught at different addresses. Some of them are nabbed at cafes, others in their accommodations and on the street. The cops continue the operations also around the port in Soto Grande. They break in a house at Ribera del Emperador Str.
"During the search we found some 137 kilos of cocaine.", Eloy Alvares, Director of Drug traffic department in Judicial police in Madrid says. "We also found keys marked "Esperite", he adds. The accommodation is at 15 meters from the port. At this place has stopped "Esperite" yacht, sailing under English flag. The yacht turns out to be empty, but secret place for drug concealment is discovered. About ten days later on February 21 in Barcelona the cops arrest some other members of the group - Juan Alaval, Alfonso Rees and Maria Segura. In a search at the house more 79 kilos cocaine, 700 thousands Euro and pistols are found out. The arrested in the operation "Portimar" wait and see the lawsuit at
the arrests in Malaga and Marbella.
More 5-6 Bulgarians are still inquired as participants in the cocaine contraband. The main body of the organization is still under investigation both from the Bulgarian and the Spanish police. "We suspect that the main players are shared out in three organized groups from Sofia, Varna, Pleven and Blagoevgrad.", a high positioned police source comments for "168 hours" weekly. "They are engaged with traffic of cocaine, cars, arms and forge of documents. The organizations have stable positions in Madrid, Malaga and Barcelona.", he adds.
"Higher in the hierarchy are positioned Ivan Paunov - Giovanitto from Varna and Petiu Penukov from Pleven.", a top police official says specially for "168 hours" weekly. "They partner with Radoslav - Radeto from Blagoevgrad, who lives in Spain. Radeto had been very close with Vasil Gorchev - The bad-eyed, killed in Blagoevgrad last year. One of the versions for his killing leads to failed shipments of cocaine, as well."
Bullets for Giovanitto
Right after "Portimar" operation in February, Giovanitto incognito comes back in Varna. He appears there after 6 months absence and with a changed name. On March 13 unknown man opens fire on him through the window display of Soho caf? in Varna. Giovanitto's chests, stomach and legs are covered with holes. Slightly injured is also his girlfriend.
After a long treatment Giovanitto rises to his feet. "The main version for the attempt on Giovanitto's life is a hit of the Columbian organization because of 819 kilos of detained cocaine.", a high positioned official from the internal Ministry comments.
On May 14 in front of "Taj Mahal" restaurant in Sofia shoot dead Konstantin Dishliev - a leasing boss, old friend of the late drug smugglers Dimo Jelev and Kuzman Guslekov. The businessman Dishliev had been at the top of the pyramid, where the financial spates come. It is possible that he had not been aware about this specific operation and its failure. "The police operation "Portimar" caused loss to a large Columbian organization. Obviously its partners are not engaged to pay back the money", Eloy Alvares, Director of Drug traffic department in Judicial police in Madrid explains. The killing of Konstantin Dishliev in Sofia is probably part of settlement of partners' accounts.
It is not impossible through Dishliev;s killing the Columbian to try to comer people of his circle to the wall. They demonstrate them what will happen if they do not pay back the money. Despite the police suspicions that the coordinator of the cocaine action is Dishliev's brother in law - Brendo, the investigation hardly will lead to him. Brendo is not arrested at the time of the operation. Some assume that part of the organizers had kept their money in off-shore zones in Caribbean Sea. The investigation for the money laundry marks no significant progress. Just for the time being.
In a square: A brigade
They are brother in arms still in Bulgaria
"The key players in Spain are Giovanitto, Ivo - The Box and Petiu Penukov from Pleven, Ivo - The Little One from Balchik and Nikolay - Radeto from Blagoevgrad", a specialist from the Internal Ministry reveals.
Giovanitto from Varna, Ivo - The Box and Petiu from Pleven know each other from the middle of 90's. Their group finds points of intersections in car trafficking from Bulgaria to the former Soviet Republics, state criminologists working on the case. Ivo - The Box and Petiu Penukov come to live with "their colleagues" in Varna. In the end of 90's they all leave for Spain. Giovanitto, Ivo - The Box and Petukov become leaders of criminal groups in Spain, claim specialist in Spain. In Spain the Bulgarians work together with Englishmen, Frenchmen and Spaniards, positioned on higher levels in the organized criminality. The westerners organize and finance the deals. The Bulgarian bosses assure the escort and the security, the transport and part of the distribution of the good. Close to the core, gravitate satellite groups with floating structure that fulfill the orders. These are boys that travel regularly between Bulgaria and Spain. The bosses replace them every two or three months. Most of the mules do not have police records and their past is clear. "Ivo - The Box is a very powerful and well known person.", says a criminologist from Malaga for "168 hours weekly" and adds: "We were shadowed him. He left for Bulgaria together with his right hand Petio Penukov, investigated for car thefts. They change their residence replacing Pleven with Varna and vise versa. At the present their organization in Marbella takes care about other people."
Ivo - The Box has a forwarding company with 25 trucks for international transport and official and legal business.
Just to the very start of "Portimar" operation Giovanitto is in Spain and controls the business from Marbella and Malaga. For him works one of the strongest groups for car, hashish and cocaine trafficking, police sources claim.
As a main partner of Giovanitto, Ivo- The Box and Petiu Penukov the cops point out Radoslav Radev from Blagoevgrad. He is also with strong positions among the Bulgarian groups in Barcelona and Madrid. At present he is in Spain. Radeto is very close with Vassil Gorchev - The blind one, the financial boss shot dead last years in Blagoevgrad. According to police information the group of Radeto in Spain has received financial support from The Blind one, who from his side has worked with a boss of VIS force group. Part of the investments made by The blind one, comes back legally to Bulgaria as a luxury cars.
Along with the work on "Portimar" operation one more Bulgarian lights up - Ivo - The Little one from Balchik. He lives in Madrid from 10 years. He is an ex culturist. They describe him as a smart man, the split and image of Tom Cruz. Prior his departure to Spain he works at the sports hall of a popular Bulgarian culturist. In Spain he creates a group of 50-60 bodyguards. He fights to take under his control the security of a disco clubs. After a round of street scrimmage with hand to hand fighting he manages to thrust upon the Spanish gypsies, who used to guard the night clubs by then. Under his guidance the Bulgarians takes control over the security of popular disco clubs in Madrid and Costa del Sol. "The Bulgarians have the image of one of the most powerful securities. They groups consist of fighters, judo fighters, boxers, karate players. This is important because at the disco clubs mass beatings often happen provoked by Moroccans, Algerians and Columbians.", says a Bulgarian in Spain.
"The disco clubs in Spain are used as a market and for distribution of drugs.", a police from the department for organized criminality in "Guardia civil" in Madrid says for "168 hours" weekly. Ivo - The Little one buys the drugs wholesale from Bulgarian groups and resell it to the security in the night clubs. Thanks to the connections with the underworld Ivo - The little one makes bigger deliveries to more significant clients. People from his closest circle have bough houses in Madrid, Ibiza and Palma de Majorca.
Part of the drugs detained during "Portimar" operation had to be distributed on the home market in Spain.
In a square: Eloy Alvares, Director of Drug traffic department in judicial police in Madrid:
The Bulgarians are involved in all types of crimes
- Mr. Albares, what is the role of the Bulgarian organized criminality in the cocaine trafficking from Latin America to Europe?
- The Bulgarians are involved in all types of crimes, but less with cocaine trafficking for the time being. During "Portimar" operation we detained a serious organization of Bulgarian criminals with big quantity of drugs. The operation took place thanks to the coordinated work with Bulgarian Internal Ministry and General- Lieutenant Boyko Borisov. For a long time we watched the group in Barcelona with a special devices. We've ascertained that they are preparing to transfer 819 kilos of cocaine from Columbia. Unfortunately the two main Bulgarian organizers escaped before the start of the operation. At the moment they are investigated for drug trafficking. This is the first case when a serious quantity of cocaine is cornered in the region of Malaga and Marbella, ferried with a yacht. Still at the seaside of Costa del Sol come a lot of hashish and little cocaine. Marbella and Malaga are The Mecca of hashish, because they are closely located to Morocco. From here passes the big part of the traffic of joint from Africa to United Kingdom. Usually the hashish is reloaded and stored in Malaga. Recently during a specialized operation we detained a boat with 8 tones of hashish coming from Morocco and going to UK. The drug enters on the territory of Spain mainly with fishing ships or containers. That is why we were surprised that a yacht with cocaine is sailing towards Costa del Sol. This way of trafficking is relatively new. Between 500 and 1000 kilos elite Latin-American drug can be transported with a boat like the "Bulgarian one". The organizers have invented a perfect system to pass by unnoticed and to cover themselves, because along the seaside of Costa del Sol sail a lot of boats.
- How the large smugglers of cocaine in Spain act?
- The most powerful organizations import bigger quantities and use fishing ships and then containers. They prefer the seaside of Galisi province. The shore there is too specific; it is broken with many high costs, there are no ways leading to the seacoast and is difficult to be controlled. There are a lot of fishing ships in this area and the smugglers are hiding among them. The observation of the yachts is too difficult because extra motors are assembled on the ships and they become extremely powerful. They move with an incredible speed. A crater slipped out of us and with a lightning speed got out to the ocean. The vessel was out of fuel. Another ship came to help the crew by giving them fuel. Later we arrested the quick carter and found in it 6 tons of cocaine.
- What kind of tricks "the pirates" use trying to outplay you?
- To further complicate the system, the drug smugglers reload the drug in an open sea. There are operations when the cocaine is thrown across through 4-5 ships. This happens with the speed of light in the sea. These organizations are closed societies; it is difficult to be investigated. They know the sea to perfection; they are clear about with our style of work and find a way to oppose us. They install to the drug counterweight and GPS systems. Then they send it to the bottom if they see we are approaching them or when they feel suspicious helicopters over their heads. Later they find the drug by means of a radio signal. Usually we attack the ships with special police forces. They jump on board and for several minutes take possession of the situation prior the drug to stagger to the water. When the drug comes to Galicia they hide it in their homes, caves and storehouses. As a rule there are two places when the drug could be hidden. The first one belongs to the Columbians, but the second is smugglers' one - the people who have to take the money.
- During "Temple" operation you've arrested 52 Columbian drug smugglers starting with the bosses and finishing with the distributors. Could you tell us more about it?
- "Temple" operation took place in 1999 and we detained 13 tons of cocaine. Part of them we caught on a ship, the rest we found in an apartment in Galicia. We detained 52 people. During the investigation we clarified all the structure of the organization. We even reached the bosses. In 2001 we discovered one of the most important drug mafia bosses in Spain - Sito Minianko, who by the way had adopted unique safety measures. It was very hard to keep an eye on him, because he had a counter surveillance. He never used to spoke over the phone. One day he went in one of his shops in Madrid and bought approximately 1000 SIM carts. We decided to secretly introduce in his organization two assistants - the first one from DEA - The American Service for Drug fighting, another one from Canada. They attained to Sito Minianko's partner in Columbia and offered him to transport the cocaine with their ship. He bit to the bite. A judge allowed the ship to go to Latin America. Near by Peru they load the ship with 4 tones of cocaine. All the crew, including the captain, was collaborators of the Spanish police. The ship passed through the seaside of the United States. Over there we get into another 11 special service policemen who had to control the situation. After that all the crew rushed at the Atlantic Ocean. Sito Minianko's organization sent another ship to reload the drug in open sea. When the ships reached their heads, the Spanish special services captured them. We collected evidences and Minianko - the unapproachable one was sentence to 18 years in prison.
- What are the new tendencies in the trafficking of cocaine coming from Latin America?
- During mass police actions, we detained more than 20 fishing ships from Columbia. This leaded to a change of the strategies of the organizations. There is a tendency the drug trafficking to change its itinerary and to pass through the African zone of the Atlantic Ocean. It passes through Morocco, Mauritania, Ghana, Gambia, Senegal, and Togo. These are countries with extremely weak police control. The authorities there do not have enough knowledge and experience to fight with the drugs. Hashish's way is yet used for trafficking of cocaine. The last operations are proving this assumption. Recently near by Alhesiras we detained a fast ship equipped with additional motors. 1 ton of hashish and 500 kilos of cocaine, several Columbians and Moroccans were detained in it. This shipment was the serial proof that the ways of the African and the Latin American drug cuts across.

Bulgarian Investigative Journalism Center (BIJC) is an nongovernmental and uncommercial foundation, whose main goal is to organize and produce journalistic inquiries against the corruption and the organised crime. BIJC popularize the investigative journalism in Bulgaria and in the European Union.The foundation unites bulgarian journalists with experience in the area of the investigative journalism.

Disappeared Children on the Costa Del Fear.


Juan José Cortés said that some people are asking for money in his name, but outside the official and single bank account which has been opened in the BBVA bank.
The father of Mari Luz, the missing five year old from Huelva, has said that people are making money in his name.
It’s now two weeks since the five year old vanished when returning home the few metres from the local sweets kiosk. Searches have been carried out over the weekend in the nearby villages of Moguer and Mazagón and a group of volunteers are collecting signatures in demand that the investigations in the case continue.
They spent the weekend at the doors of the Hipercor-Costa de la Luz local commercial centre in Huelva. Some of the volunteers helping in the weekend searches are students from the Huelva University
Local police in Huelva continue to search garages and basements in the area of El Torrejón where the family live.

Another attempt child Snatch on the Costa del Sol. Diario Sur reports that it happened on Friday afternoon after 2pm, when an 11 year old girl was making her way home after school. She had to walk no more than 300m along the Avenida Inmaculada Concepción to her home in Arroyo de la Miel in Benalmádena when an unknown young man blocked her way at a crossing, got out of his car, put his hand over her mouth, and tried to force her into his vehicle which is reported to have been grey in colour.
However the child fought back and kicked and managed to make her escape, thanks also to a passing woman who intervened. Local police were alerted by other parents when the child ran crying back to school, but controls failed to catch the kidnapper.
Information on the case has now been passed onto the Specialist Crime Unit UDEV of the National Police. Meanwhile the local police in Benalmádena say they want to question the woman passerby who helped out, as she remains unidentified.

A court in Andalucía rejected an appeal by Banderas's lawyers against a demolition order handed down in 2003. He was given permission by Marbella's town council in 1995 to build a large extension to his villa, but the court has now ruled that the add-on is illegal and Banderas has been given two months to knock it down.
He and his wife, Melanie Griffith, bought the villa, set in two acres of land, 11 years ago as a holiday home, but it has been a source of controversy since they built the extension. Part of the extra wing, which comprises nearly one-fifth of the house, reaches the water's edge and is built on land designated for public use.
For years the Spanish authorities turned a blind eye to illegal developments that disfigured the country's coastlines, because the construction industry was a vital motor for the economy. Now regional governments are cracking down and a law that prevents construction within 100 metres of the sea is being more vigorously applied, although the environment ministry has said that only the worst cases will require demolitions.
There has also been a move to root out the widespread corruption in town councils, in which officials took bribes in return for issuing building permits. The entire town council of Marbella, previously run by a controversial mayor, Jesus Gil y Gil, was dismissed last year, with 50 officials accused of corruption that led to the building of 30,000 illegal houses

The Spanish Civil Guard arrested a total of 51 people and charged a further 20 on Friday in 27 provinces across the country in a swoop against child pornography and the corruption of minors on the internet. Eight of the arrests took place in Madrid, eight more in Barcelona, six in Valencia, four in Alicante, three in Tarragona and Málaga and two in Baleares, Granada, Guipúzcoa and Sevilla among other provinces.
The case came about after a resident of Córdoba came across some of the material and informed the authorities in March last year. It’s been revealed that a high-ranking police officer in the local force in Zaragoza and a staff psychiatric at a hospital in the city are amongst the 67 people who have been arrested this week in three separate operations relating to distribution of child pornography over the Internet. According to information published in the Aragón newspaper, El Diario de Aragón, the two men were arrested on Tuesday, and both their homes were searched.
The paper said the doctor had some 70,000 files on his computer, while the officer is accused of downloading pornographic images of children. Both are married men with children, they said.
It is unclear if the two suspects are connected with the 13 arrests which took place across the country on Tuesday in ‘Operación Bea.’ The swoop came after months of investigation, and began when a woman who was searching for information about babies on the net came across pornographic images.
Twenty of those arrested have been charged with the crimes of corruption of minors and of possession of child pornography.
Some 200 civil guards took part in simultaneous searches in 73 homes in 28 provinces, and several computers, drives, hard discs, DVD’s and CD’s removed. The total number of images recovered in the operation, code named ‘Fabiola’ is thought to be more than a million.
It follows the arrest in Vitoria on Thursday of another three people who face charges of distributing child pornography in a file share program on the net.