13 people have been arrested by National Police in Málaga for fraud,

13 people have been arrested by National Police in Málaga for fraud, in connection with a premium rate esoteric phone line operation. Police say the accused tried to keep callers on the phone for as long as possible.Most of those arrested are women, and are accused of telling the callers that the longer they stayed on the line, the higher the chance that the esoteric rituals being carried out on their behalf would be successful. Police say some of the victims, who were mostly elderly, left their phones connected to the line overnight, leading to astronomic bills.

José Tomás, is said to be stable after a very serious goring in the Feria de San Marcos

Spanish bullfighter, José Tomás, is said to be stable after a very serious goring in the Feria de San Marcos in Mexico. He was caught by the fifth bull from the De Santiago stud.

The matador underwent a three and a half hour operation and is now in the intensive care unit of the Hidalgo Hospital, after being gored three times as much as 15 cms deep by the bull ‘Navegante’. The stream of blood which led from the ring to the surgery at the bullring was described as frightening, and immediately the PA system called for members of the public to donate blood. One report says the bullfighter was given eight litres of blood.
Doctors report that surgery went well, that the bullfighter was stable and that his life was not threatened.

several prison workers could have had sex with the inmates in exchange for favours.

Spanish Prisons Authority, Instituciones Penitenciarias, dependent on the Ministry for the Interior, has removed the management of the Meco women’s prison in Madrid, after detecting ‘inacceptable behaviour’.José Luis Cuevas, the Director, along with Bonifacio A, the Sub-Director and Juan R. The Administrator, are all going in the clean out and a full investigation is underway following accusations that several prison workers could have had sex with the inmates in exchange for favours.20minutos.es reports that the prison workers slept with the women prisoners in exchange for drugs and for allowing the prisoners access to a mobile phone.614 women are currently being held in El Meco, and reports indicate that 14 workers are under investigation.
Later on Friday the Deputy Prime Minister, María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, called on the prosecutor to investigate the 'irregularities'.El Mundo reports that the prison officers have blamed the Equality Law for what has happened. Before 2007 they had not contact with the prisoners, but since then the prisoners have to help them with their work.Meanwhile in a separate incident five policewomen on practice duty at the Santander main police station have denounced their instructor for looking at them in a lascivious and sexual way. The case is now in the hands of the Duty Judge in Santander. A police spokesperson declined to comment.

no definite sighting of 'Seanie' in his usual Spanish bolthole

Irish taxpayers were told that they would be paying for the rest of their lives because of the €30bn Nama buyout, disgraced banker Sean FitzPatrick was holidaying abroad.But while there were people who swear he is in one of the world's top golf resorts on the Costa Del Sol, there was no definite sighting of 'Seanie' in his usual Spanish bolthole.In the good times and more recently in times of trouble, the former boss of Anglo Irish Bank has headed for the luxurious sanctuary of the Real Club de Golf Las Brisas Spanish golf and country club.Mr FitzPatrick became a member of the exclusive club in Marbella several years ago, when joining fees were close to €100,000.Unconfirmed reports from staff working in the restaurant suggested that Mr FitzPatrick dined out with friends in the club restaurant on Thursday night -- just as the full horror of the impact of the crisis on present and future generations was becoming clear.The club is one of Mr FitzPatrick's favourite haunts on the sunshine coast. The restaurant boasts a five-star menu of lobster and prawn salad hors d'oeuvres garnished with pine-nut vinaigrette and apple chutney, for €22. For those with heartier appetites, there is beef Wellington, with mushrooms, truffle and puff pastry, at €22.Mr FitzPatrick is understood to have holidayed at the Hotel de Las Golf resort, where apartments cost up to €1m at the peak of the boom.Neighbours of Mr FitzPatrick at the resort said that since his role in the collapse of Anglo Irish became clear, 'Seanie' had been attempting to keep a low profile, driving around in a second-hand, Dublin-registered car and staying at the club, where he still has a tight-knit circle of friends and golfing buddies.

Four Britons are being held in Spain accused of handling luxury cars stolen in the UK and taken to be sold on the Costa del Sol

Four Britons are being held in Spain accused of handling luxury cars stolen in the UK and taken to be sold on the Costa del Sol.Four cars stolen in Britain were recovered in police raids in Marbella, Fuengirola and Torremolinos.An Italian was also arrested.Those held, who are aged 35 to 60, all have criminal records in Spain. They are accused of handling stolen property and falsifying documents.Police said they had been driving around in the stolen vehicles.

Tomkins – also known as Jimbles – as one of the UK’s ‘Most Wanted’ criminals

James Walter Tomkins, 60, is hiding out on the Costa del Sol after he allegedly slayed her son Rocky Dawson, 24, for no apparent reason in 2006.
Police have named Tomkins – also known as Jimbles – as one of the UK’s ‘Most Wanted’ criminals.But despite Crimestoppers insisting he has links to both Marbella and Fuengirola, as well as Benidorm, he has not yet been caught.Desperate mother Candy Dawson, from Essex, told of her determination to catch Tomkins.
“I have contacted you because I am desperate,” she said in an emotional interview.
“I cannot put my son to rest and I’m willing to do anything to catch this monster.
“As a mother I cannot let this person get away with what they have done to my family and his two children.”
Her son was shot in the back a number of times, in what police believe was a case of mistaken identity.Horrifically, his children watched as he was gunned down outside his mother’s house in Hornchurch, Essex.His mother explained: “My son had been visiting me and was putting his little boy, Rocky, into the back seat of his car when he was shot in the back.
“He came back into the house and said: ‘Mum I’ve been shot’, before collapsing.
“He died minutes later in my arms.”
A swift police investigation eventually led police to arrest of Christopher Pearman, 56, who was convicted of his murder in 2007.
However, his accomplice has never been found and police want to quiz Tomkins.
International director of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), David Armond, said many criminals like Tomkins could be hiding in ex-pat communities.
He said: “Attention is the key to making sure they can’t escape justice to live a life in the sun.”
Tomkins has two scars one close to his left eye on his brow and another on the right side of his neck.Described as tall, medium to stocky build and sometimes wearing a close cut beard.
A 23,000 euro reward is available for any information regarding Tomkins whereabouts.
The fresh appeal follows Crimestoppers’ success in catching half of the criminals from their most recent appeal for criminals in Spain.Of the list issued six months ago, half of the ten most wanted have already been caught.The most recent capture was Jody Flynn, caught entering the UK from Spain.
Others, such as Stephen Henry Pitman, are also believed to be living on the Costa del Sol.Operation Captura has made 31 arrests since it began its series of ‘Most Wanted’ appeals in 2006.

Dermot McArdle has been ordered to serve two years in prison for killing his wife after failing to compensate her family.

Dermot McArdle has been ordered to serve two years in prison for killing his wife after failing to compensate her family. McArdle, 40, could have avoided jail if he had paid e220,000 to his victim Kelly-Anne Corcoran's grieving relatives. But now he must turn himself in to the Spanish authorities by the middle of this week -- or they will issue an international arrest warrant.McArdle was convicted of the manslaughter of his wife and handed a two-year prison sentence following a trial in Malaga in October 2008. Sentences of two years and less are usually suspended for first-time offenders in Spain.

Romanian man was arrested by Local Police in Velez Malaga for allegedly abusing his partner

Romanian man was arrested by Local Police in Velez Malaga for allegedly abusing his partner, also Romanian, in Torre del Mar. The police were called by neighbours and found the victim being kicked and punched by the man who fled the scene when the police arrived. However, he was caught and taken into custody.

man was arrested by Local Police in Velez Malaga for allegedly stabbing the owner of a bar in Torre del Mar.

man was arrested by Local Police in Velez Malaga for allegedly stabbing the owner of a bar in Torre del Mar. When police were caused to the scene of the fight, they found the owner, a Belgian man, with a wound to the stomach that was bleeding profusely. Meanwhile, the attacker, whose hands were covered in blood, had been retained in the toilets. The officers found a 15-centimetre knife in the kitchen, where the attack allegedly took place, also covered in blood. The detainee was also taken to the nearest health centre as he had a broken nose. The victim underwent surgery at the Regional Hospital.

father, daughter and son-in-law- have been sentenced to pay a fine of 5,400 euros for having run a rubbish dump without authorization.

father, daughter and son-in-law- have been sentenced to pay a fine of 5,400 euros for having run a rubbish dump without authorization. Malaga Criminal Court number 4 has considered that they carried out a crime against the environment by running the dump, in the Loma del Esparragal are of Estepona. They had a contract for a project to receive and recycle waste, but what they actually did was completely different.It is believed that they could have altered the balance of natural systems as they did not control the number of vehicles entering the area, built a containing wall which blocked a stream, causing all kinds of materials to filter into the ground and mix together, resulting in contamination. The premises did not have a wall around it, nor a firewall nor a gas evacuation or fire extinction system. There was no water stored there in case of a fire and the rubbish was dumped with no checks or controls.

Benjamin and Solomon Marrache, appeared before the Magistrates Court yesterday charged with false accounting in respect of E1.8m of client money.

Gibraltar bank account supposed to hold the company’s cash in fact had a balance of less than nine Euros and no credit facility.
Two senior executives at a prominent Gibraltar law firm, brothers Benjamin and Solomon Marrache, appeared before the Magistrates Court yesterday charged with false accounting in respect of E1.8m of client money.The two men were arrested on Tuesday and spent the night in police cells before being ferried to court in a police van.
The two Marrache brothers were ushered by police through a side entrance to Central Police station just before 10am and appeared before the magistrate in a crowded courthouse a short while later.Attorney General Ricky Rhoda, appearing for the Crown, urged the magistrate to impose stringent bail conditions for fear that the two men might flee the jurisdiction.Keith Azopardi, the defence lawyer representing the Marrache brothers together with Samantha Sacramento, said there was no risk of them leaving Gibraltar because both were of previous good character and had strong family ties here.Stipendiary Magistrate Charles Pitto granted bail but set tough conditions on each defendant, in the form of two sureties to the value of £300,000 for each brother. The court also set a further financial condition of £150,000 in their own recognizance for each defendant.In simple terms, failure to appear at future court hearings could cost the defendants and their guarantors up to £900,000 in total.
Both men also had to hand in their travel documents and agree to reside at their respective family homes, as well as report twice weekly to police.By the end of the day yesterday, a number of persons had stepped up to provide £600,000 in sureties for the release of the two men.At an hour-long hearing in the evening, Mr Pitto questioned the guarantors closely but accepted the sureties. The two brothers were released from custody later that evening.Yesterday’s developments in court were the opening shots in what will undoubtedly develop into a lengthy and complex case.

Mr Rhoda said the sums of money involved “could be quite substantial”.
He said the two men were currently facing “holding charges” and that more charges could follow at a later stage. The Attorney General also said there could be further arrests as a result of an ongoing police investigation.Earlier this week police raided several commercial and residential properties linked to Marrache & Co and seized documents and computers.Prosecutors allege that in January this year, the brothers falsified documents to conceal a shortfall of E1.8m of funds belonging to a company called Portino Comercio Internacional. One document, a letter signed by Solomon Marrache, purported to show that the money was held by the brothers on the client’s behalf. Another document, a letter signed by Benjamin Marrache, purported to give authority to Natwest bank to transfer the client’s money to a bank in Ireland.
But prosecutors said that the Gibraltar bank account supposed to hold the company’s cash in fact had a balance of less than nine Euros and no credit facility.

2,000 people working without a contract last year, and nearly 500 of them were also collecting unemployment pay.

Work inspectors in the province of Málaga found some 2,000 people working without a contract last year, and nearly 500 of them were also collecting unemployment pay.
Shops and the hostelry business were most controlled by the inspectors in the province last year, and their work recovered 12 million € additional income for Social Security.The numbers are four times higher than those seen in 2008 as the number of work inspections is stepped up.

900 foreign criminals were expelled from the country last year

Spanish Ministry of the Interior has announced plans to reduce the number of foreign prisoners being held in Spanish jails. They want to try to get prisoners to serve their time in the jails of their country of origin.In Spain there are 27,091 foreigner prisoners from 110 countries currently, 242% more than in 2000. The numbers include Cataluña where responsibility for prisons has been devolved to the region.A statement from the Ministry for the Interior said that ‘foreigners are not to blame for the overcrowding in Spanish jails’ noting that the number of foreign prisoners only increased by 3% last year, but even so Spain has one of the highest percentages of foreign prisoners in Europe at 35%.The law already allows for a foreign prisoner to apply to be transferred to his or her home country if he or she wishes, and last year 580 made the application of which 249 have been repatriated. However many do not make the application as conditions in Spanish jails are generally good.If the prison sentence is less than six years and the criminal has not legal residence in Spain he can be extradited instead of going to prison, and under that rule more than 900 foreign criminals were expelled from the country last year.

Socialist Mayor of Cártama, José Garrido, has been indicted on charges of perversion of the course of justice.

Socialist Mayor of Cártama, José Garrido, has been indicted on charges of perversion of the course of justice. He is accused by the Prosecutors’ Office of having deliberately let an order expire against a local resident who had built a home on non-buildable land.The case is being investigated by Instruction Court 5 in Málaga and refers to December 2005 when the Town Hall inspectors noted the house being built on rustic land. There was an initial fine and the site was taped up, but the citizen continued to build despite several visits from municipal technicians in January, March, April and May 2006. Work was still continuing in February 2007, and in October 2008 , SEPRONA, the Environmental Division of the Guardia Civil asked the Ayuntamiento for details of the sanction imposed. That sanction expired in December of that year, and now the Mayor faces charges.The Mayor contends that competences in the case are unclear, and said he has done nothing wrong as no irregular licence was issued by the council. He also noted the lack of resources to carry out any demolitions saying that there are more than 2,000 similar cases currently outstanding. The house concerned in the case currently remains standing.

Date for the start of the court cases for the ‘Malaya’ corruption scandal and the ‘Ballena Blanca’ money laundering affair could coincide

Date for the start of the court cases for the ‘Malaya’ corruption scandal and the ‘Ballena Blanca’ money laundering affair could coincide and that it causing differences between the Málaga Provincial Court and the Anti Corruption Prosecutor’s Office. Final start dates for both cases are still to be set, but they could coincide according to the President of the Provincial Court, Francisco Javier Arroyo. That would cause serious problems for the prosecutor, Juan Carlos López Caballero, who has instructed both cases, and the Chief Prosecutor, Antonio Morales, has concluded that ‘in common sense both cases cannot coincide’.Ballena Blanca was set to start at the end of March, while Malaya could start at the end of May, but with the first expected to last six months and the second a year an overlap is likely. Ballena Blanca has to deal with 19 accused and some 80,000 sheets of evidence, while Malaya has 103 accused and the court summary is 90,000 sheets long.
Antonio Morales considers that the Malaya case should wait until after Ballena Blanca has been completed and has told Diario Sur that he does not understand the hurry.To add to the problems there is a third case, ‘Minutas’ which already has a fixed date of April 6 to June 4 where here the prosecutor, Francisco Jiménez Villarejo, also belongs to the same anti-corruption department.

Two Latin American boys aged 14 and 16 have been charged with the murder of the 71 year old British pensioner Peter Cockshutt

Two Latin American boys aged 14 and 16 have been charged with the murder of the 71 year old British pensioner Peter Cockshutt who was found dead in his home in Arona on the Costa del Silencio, on Tenerife, after what is thought to have been a burglary gone wrong. One of the boys was arrested on Tuesday afternoon, the other on
Tuesday night.The British man, who comes from Brandesburton, near Beverley in East Yorkshire was stabbed twice in the chest and once in the leg. His body was found by a friend on Monday.The two boys are also accused or robbery and both will appear before the judge shortly, and are being held in Guardia Civil custody. An autopsy has been carried out on the victim, but the results have not yet been made public.
It’s understood the two boys have confessed to the crime, and reporting restrictions have been introduced in the case.

Torrevieja Brits are the largest group, making up 16 percent of the total number of operations being carried out

Brits are the largest group, making up 16 percent of the total number of operations being carried outForeign patients now make up 42% of the activity in the operating theatres at the District Hospital in Torrevieja. The largest group is the British, who made up 16% of the 22,640 operations carried out in the hospital in 2009. It shows the high numbers of British tourists in the area, and the number who live in the town for at least part of the year, many of them aged over 65. Britons make up 10% of the padron census in the 12 municipalities serviced by the hospital.
Next group, but with no more than 5% of the total, come the Germans, then the Norwegians and Moroccans.The numbers come amid increasing concerns in the Spanish press about the costs of providing care to ‘health tourists’, and claims that Spain is not getting all the costs of such operations reimbursed in full.

price of resale property in Spain increased in January

price of resale property in Spain increased in January for the first time in 24 months, according to the real estate portal fotocasa.es. Prices rose by 0.6% on average, with the regions of Cataluña, and La Rioja seeing the greatest recovery in price at 4.6% and 4.5%. Prices also rose in the regions of Comunidad Valenciana (2,2%), Asturias (2%), Baleares (1,9%), Aragón (1,4%), Galicia (0,9%) and Madrid (0,7%).It takes the average price of per square metre for resale property to 2,366 €.

Baltasar Garzón, is to appeal against the Supreme Court case which accused him of adopting resolutions

Baltasar Garzón, is to appeal against the Supreme Court case which accused him of adopting resolutions which were allegedly a perversion of the course of justice, by starting to investigate the disappearances of people during the Franco years in Spain.Garzón has said that the Supreme Court case is ‘unsustainable and incomprehensible’ and he has accused the Judge Luciano Varela of using ‘depreciatory arguments’ with no legal base. Garzón has called for international experts who have judged similar crimes to be brought in. Garzón says that Varela has ‘a preconceived idea which stops him analysing the facts objectively’.Garzón also faces a second case where he is accused of not declaring additional income obtained allegedly from the Banco Santander when he was on a sabbatical year in New York.
Meanwhile the Prosecutors Office has said it does not support the accusations being made against the judge and they will be sending their considerations to the CGPJ, despite the fact that the General Council for Judicial Power, the body which oversees the judiciary, started the procedures on Tuesday to suspend the judge.
The Attorney General, Cándido Conde-Pumpido, has said that, in principle, he can see no criminal behaviour which will allow the accusations being made against the judge to be justified.The group ‘Judges for Democracy’ has also expressed its ‘deepest concern’ about the decision of Varela to proceed against Garzón who they do not consider at fault.

woman was reported missing last November, and her chopped up body was found on waste land in Campos, Mallorca

Five Ecuadorians have been arrested on Mallorca in connection with the discovery of the body of a 35 year old Bolivian woman.The woman was reported missing last November, and her chopped up body was found on waste land in Campos, Mallorca, the day after the first three people were arrested this week. Paul Gregory R.C., aged 41; Norma del Rocio V.S., aged 39, and Luis Rodrigo Q.Q. who is said to have been the main author of the killing and who is aged 43. Two further arrests were made on Wednesday and further detentions have not been ruled out in the case.