British man arrested in Martorell facing paedophile charges

 

British man has been arrested in Martorell, near Barcelona, accused to taking photographs of and abusing youngsters in the locality. The complaint against him was made by a shop owner who saw how the man was taking photographs of his children in his shop. Closed circuit television in the shop confirmed the behaviour of the suspect who visited the shop every day and who told the children how to pose, including showing their underwear. The shop owner also alleges that touching took place. The 54 year old Briton has not been named in reports, but is said to live in Burjassot, Valencia, and faces charges of involvement in child pornography and also the sexual abuse of children, according to the regional police, Los Mossos d’Esquadra. They found some 40,000 paedophile archives on the man’s computer at his home and the suspect is being held in prison ahead of appearing in court

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Boxer Scott Harrison released from Spanish jail

 

SHAMED Scottish boxer Scott Harrison is a free man after being released from a Costa del Sol prison. Harrison, 34, walked free from the notorious Botafuego jail near Algeciras after serving two and a half years for assaulting a policeman, and factory worker Jose Manuel Ortega in 2006. The former WBO title holder was jailed in 2009 for the assault – which took place in Alhaurin el Grande – but could still face extra jail time for another alleged attack in a Costa del Sol brothel in May 2007. He and cousins David McGill, 37, and Edward McGill, 39, were accused of battering bar boss Rafael Sainz Maza, 31, with Harrison facing three counts of assault. Following his release on Saturday, the Glaswegian spent time with his family at an apartment in Estepona’s Albayt Resort before strolling along Bermuda Beach with his fiancee Stacey Gardner, 27, and two-year-old son Jack. The father-of-three returned to the UK on Sunday, flying from Gibraltar in a possible bid to avoid the Spanish airport authorities. In 2009, Harrison told the Olive Press of his determination to rebuild his career once he was released. “I can tell you now that Scott Harrison will be back. I want to repay the fans for the faith they have shown in me,” he said. “I have never been so focussed and determined in my entire life. Being locked up helps develop that. “I’ll have a clean slate – a new start and the determination to show everyone I’m back.”

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solutions to the expat Spanish property scandal

 

Entering the Andalucian property market is like entering a minefield. Some will emerge unscathed and others will step on the unexploded bomb. There is no reliable map to guide you. The tripwire for the unlucky is a poorly-policed system for urban planning and land management, which has resulted in an estimated 300,000 illegal buildings in this region of Spain alone. The consequences of owning an illegal property are many and varied, ranging from unexpected and expensive urbanisation costs to land grab, court proceedings, fines, denial of access to basic services or in the worst case scenario, demolition of your property. Since the problem emerged over a decade ago, the regional government has made efforts to cauterize the wound. It has introduced new regulations which attempt to ensure that mistakes are not repeated. However, it has thus far failed to effectively tackle the stockpile of illegal housing which continues to stink up the market place. Its latest legal manoeuvre, a draft decree, describes a complex, sometimes ambiguous, lengthy and expensive solution which fails to bring any immediate relief to those facing demolition or denied access to basic services. More decisive action is required in my view. The market demands it and the homeowners desperately need it. As president of AUAN (Abusos Urbanisticos Almanzora, NO), an association of some 700 British homeowners who have become trapped in this mess, I have a fairly detailed perspective on the problem and its possible solutions. I believe that the following should be done. Change the law The genie is out of the bottle and cannot be returned or ignored. The regional government must create a complete and up-to-date legal framework to deal with illegal constructions. This requires changes to the planning laws, rather than clarification of its finer details via various decrees. For example, current planning law does not recognise the existence of a house in the countryside unless it is associated with farming or is more than 25 years old. This does not conform to the needs of rural communities, the demands of the market or the current reality of homes in the countryside. Current planning law does not permit the segregation of a rural parcel of land to create a building plot. In reality, such parcels exist in large numbers, and must be dealt with to solve pressing problems with title to land and the property on it. Introduce interim measures Realistically, a properly-ordered solution will take years to implement. In the meantime, prosecutors are obligated to seek demolition of illegal properties and service providers are obligated to deny access to basic services such as electricity and water, creating untenable situations for the homeowner. Interim legal measures are required whilst fair and just solutions are put in place. Remove planning powers from small town councils In my experience small councils lack the funding and the technical expertise to prepare complicated town plans. There is also the frequently irresistible temptation to rezone the land of friends and family as lucrative building land at the expense of the wider community. A centralised function would create economies of scale and be more impartial. Act decisively against illegal construction It is easy to find examples of continued illegal construction. There are less than 50 planning inspectors in Andalucia for a land mass of 33,694 square miles. The complicated intermingling of politics, business, wealth and favours in small Spanish towns makes it unlikely that such activities will be reported. Citizens alerting the authorities to illegal construction need a means to protect their anonymity. Compensate Create a fund to compensate those whose homes have been demolished through failings in the system rather than any wrongdoing on the part of the unsuspecting homeowners. Divert money from marketing campaigns for this purpose. It will do more good. The government of Andalucia has complete control over planning matters within its borders. This gives them the power to amend the law to solve the problem. One can only hope that they heed the demand for change not only from Spanish nationals who are similarly affected and who will have their say in the coming elections, but also from the thousands of foreign homeowners who were encouraged to settle here only for their investment to be wiped out and their dreams shattered. If Spain wishes to remain the premier choice for European retirees and to bring in much needed new investment, it needs to make changes that will offer the security demanded by purchasers. If it continues to ignore the mistakes of the past or papers over the cracks with piecemeal legislation, consumers and the property industry as a whole will continue to be badly served.

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Fitch downgrades five Spanish regions

 

Fitch Ratings has downgraded the credit of five Spanish regions, including the powerhouse of Catalonia, warning they will struggle to cut deficits in a weak economy. The red ink running through the accounts of Spain's regional governments is a major concern for the markets, which fear it could compromise the central government's goal to cut the annual public deficit. Fitch cut the ratings of Catalonia, Andalusia, the Canary Islands, Murcia and Valencia a week after official figures showed most regions missed their deficit targets for the first half of 2011.  Lower credit ratings tend to make it more expensive to borrow on the debt market. Fitch also kept the long-term outlooks on all of them at "negative." The budget deficit for the 17 regions amounted to 1.2 per cent of gross domestic product in the six months, already nearly reaching the full-year target of 1.3 per cent, the government said last week. "Fitch Ratings has downgraded five Spanish regions following a comprehensive review," the credit rating agency said in a statement. "The downgrades reflect the sharp fiscal deterioration seen in recent years which has led to sharp increases in debt levels." The agency said it believed the regions would take all possible steps to cut spending but it expected the weak economic recovery would limit any growth in their revenue. Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero tipped economic growth in the third quarter of this year would be "similar" to the 0.2 per cent quarterly rate recorded in the second quarter. Uncertainty because of the Greek debt crisis could impact that prediction, he warned. "Fitch is of the opinion that considerable efforts will still need to be undertaken by the regions, particularly in the area of cost control, to ensure adherence to the established limits," the agency said. Fitch said it expected that most regions would be able to break even on their annual budgets by 2013 given a renewed focus on spending cuts. "Nonetheless, the negative outlooks reflect the still difficult fiscal and economic environment and the execution risks in implementing some of the cost cutting measures announced," it said. Fitch trimmed the rating for Andalusia and the Canary Islands by one notch each to A-plus from AA-minus; Catalonia and Valencia by one notch each to A-minus; and Murcia by two notches to A. The overall accumulated debt in the 17 Spanish regions, 121 billion euros ($161.34 billion), is also a concern. Deepest in debt are Valencia, with a debt equal to 17.4 per cent of GDP, and Catalonia at 17.2 per cent. Spain is seeking to slash the total public deficit to 6 per cent of gross domestic product by the end of 2011 from 9.2 per cent in 2010. It aims to reach the EU-agreed ceiling of 3.0 per cent by 2013.

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Expat fraud suspects arrested in Spanish mountain retreat

 

According to Spanish local media, police estimate that the couple, known as John and Amanda Treagust, may have netted up to £150,000 by advertising bogus Spanish rental properties, complete with pictures, on their website, Costa Blanca Live. Up to 60 holidaymakers, including Britons, French, Portuguese, Italians and Belgians, are alleged to have fallen for the scam and paid upfront for properties that weren't, in reality, available for rent, or had been rented out to multiple people. The pair ran a blog entitled Life on the Costa Blanca, and boasted of growing their business from a "small project" in 2007 to "a busy and bustling company.....with over five thousand properties managed directly by us, meaning you have the peace of mind that should anything go wrong, or should you have any concerns, we are here to help." Amanda Treagust, referred to as the company's commercial director, is described on the blog as "never resting until her clients are settled into that perfect property and are enjoying the Spanish lifestyle she has come to love and adore". The Treagusts were arrested at a small property in the mountains of Mojacar, Almeria, after an eight-month police operation following an initial complaint lodged back in February. Originally from the Chorley area of Lancashire, John Treagust used to run the Last Orders pub in Wallagate, Wigan. On the pub's Facebook page, created by Treagust, he says: "I had three happy years there, now running a property business in Spain." An online forum about the couple's business dates back to March 2009 and has been inundated with 23 pages of comment, containing more than 200 threads. One comment, posted on August 20 this year, read: "13 girls put down a deposit for a hen weekend away in a villa in Los Balcones also and were informed two days before that the villa was double-booked. As it was a special occasion we have to find somewhere else very quickly and pay the additional fees. "We have still not received any money back and are still chasing. We all want to take action and stop others suffering in the same way." Spanish police were unable to comment on the ongoing investigation.

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Thief who swallowed diamond is caught on X-ray

 

The theft happened when two British women entered a restaurant in the luxury southern resort of Marbella and one of them left her handbag on the floor by her chair, police said in a statement. "Two well-dressed men came in, one sitting at the bar and the other next to the woman," it said. When the men left, the woman discovered that her handbag, containing 2,000 euros (£1,700) and £400 cash, a mobile phone, a pendant with a diamond worth 12,000 euros (£10,400) and other valuables, had disappeared. Hours later, police stopped a car at a routine checkpoint and found the four occupants had criminal records. Inside the vehicle they also discovered a handbag as well as valuables and cash, which they later identified as belonging to the British woman. All that was missing was the diamond. "During the operation, officers noticed one of the men putting his hand to his mouth," police said. "This gesture and the fact that they had found the pendant without the diamond made the police think he may have swallowed it. "To find the stone, those arrested were taken to a medical center where they underwent X-rays, and the diamond was located inside the stomach of one of them, who admitted swallowing it."

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Duchess 'is no trendsetter' say NY fashionistas

 

While her closely-watched outfit choices may send clothes flying off the shelves in Britain, fashionistas in the Big Apple say no one would look at her twice on the streets of Manhattan. Related articles Duchess of Cambridge: Stylish Kate combines sartorial flair with patriotic diplomacy Duchess of Cambridge expected to fuel sales of £5 face cream Kate Middleton turns to the high street for her engagement photograph outfits One style guru at New York fashion week suggested that it was only because of her fame as a royal that people are interested in what she wears. Elle fashion news director Anne Slowey told the Daily Mail: "Is she a style icon of the likes of a Kate Moss? Absolutely not. Is she in the public eye? Are people going to become obsessed with everything she wears regardless of what it is? Yes." Gregg Andrews, a fashion director at leading US department store chain Nordstrom, said: "She is stylish but she's not setting trends, she's following trends. "If you take Kate out of the Royal Family, put her on a street in New York, you wouldn't look at her twice. She's a beautiful woman, but she blends into a crowd." On a positive note, however, fashion writer Jill Martin predicted that the Duchess's wedding dress, by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, would be a style followed by many brides next spring. The 29-year-old royal has won plaudits in the UK for mixing high street and designer looks and her public appearances in various outfits have seen sales rocket.

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For Long Sweet Life

 

Whether for its unique taste, it versatility when used for cooking or its antioxidant phenolic compounds, maple syrup is a local product that is greatly appreciated and that never ceases to amaze. Maple syrup has already begun its interesting breakthrough with the international scientific community, and consumers everywhere, especially in Japan, are widely interested in the product. Indeed, the Japanese, always on the lookout for natural foods that play a role in disease prevention, love 100% pure maple syrup from Canada and are particularly interested in its various benefits. Dr. Keiko Abe of the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences led a study that showed that maple syrup could promote a healthier liver. The study established that healthy laboratory rats fed a diet in which some of the carbohydrate was replaced with 100% pure maple syrup from Canada yielded significantly better results in liver function tests than the control groups fed a diet with a syrup mix1 containing a similar sugar content as maple syrup but without the beneficial compounds of maple syrup. The results will be published in the November, 2011 issue of “Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry.” Although most healthy individuals take liver function for granted, liver health is of great importance because of the hundreds of vital functions it performs that are essential to human life, which include storing energy (glycogen) and regulating blood glucose, the production of certain amino acids (building blocks of protein) and filtering harmful substances from the blood. According to the Canadian Liver Foundation, there are over 100 liver diseases affecting approximately one out of ten Canadians, including men, women and children. These health diseases show up most often in middle aged people who are overweight, have abnormal blood lipids and diabetes or insulin resistance—conditions when grouped together, are known as metabolic syndrome. “It is important to understand the factors leading to impaired liver function– our lifestyle choices including poor diet, stress and lack of exercise, as well as exposure to environmental pollutants,” says Dr. Melissa Palmer, clinical professor and medical director of hepatology at New York University Plainview. “The preliminary results of this research are encouraging and emphasize the importance of choosing a healthy diet to help counteract the lifestyle and environmental factors that may impact liver function, even our choice of a sweetener. In addition to Dr. Abe’s recent findings, published research suggests that 100% pure maple syrup may prove to be a better choice of sweetener because it was found to be rich in polyphenolic antioxidants and contains vitamins and minerals,” notes Palmer . The animals were evaluated using the latest analytical methods including gene expression profiling called nutrigenomics. In the study, rats were fed diets consisting of 20% pure maple syrup, or 20% syrup mixture with similar sugar content as maple syrup but without the beneficial compounds of maple syrup. After 11 days, the rats on the maple syrup diet showed significantly decreased levels of liver enzymes AST, ALT and LDH in the blood, standard biomarkers for evaluating liver function. The gene expression profiling observations suggest a mechanism whereby the maple syrup diet caused genes involved in the production of harmful ammonia in the liver to down-regulate, that is, to be less active. “This research contributes to our growing understanding of the incredible health potential of maple syrup,” remarked Serge Beaulieu, President of the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers. “We learned previously that maple syrup contains antioxidant compounds that may actually help regulate glucose metabolism and increase insulin release, possibly aiding in the management of type 2 diabetes. And now, Dr. Abe is exploring the relationship between maple syrup consumption and liver health. Her current findings give us even more reason to enjoy our maple syrup.”

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Spanish-based Seven guilty of 'boiler-room' fraud

 

Seven men were convicted today of an £8 million boiler-room fraud, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said. The Spanish-based operation targeted thousands of investors in the UK applying high pressure telesales techniques to push shares in a bio-diesel company, Worldwide Bio Refineries (WBR). In fact, the company was practically worthless. One defendant, company director Redmond Johnson, 66, pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud investors. Fellow director Dennis Potter, 72, who lived in Singapore, was convicted of the conspiracy along with John Murphy, 35, and Greg Pearson, 38, both of Marbella, Daniel Murphy, 37, and Lee Homan, 37, both of Hertfordshire, and Peter Bibby, 44, of south London, who all managed share sales. Bibby absconded before the Ipswich Crown Court trial and was convicted in his absence. There is a warrant for his arrest. Commenting on the convictions, SFO director Richard Alderman said: "This is an excellent result. Not only do boiler-room fraudsters prey on vulnerable people, they also deprive genuine businesses of the capital they need to grow. "Quite bluntly, they ruin lives. I am delighted that the SFO is playing its part in tracking down operations like these and bringing fraudsters to book." WBR was set up in 2003 and had a processing plant in County Durham that was purported to produce diesel fuel from vegetable matter. It also had a plant in Singapore producing diesel intended to be marketed in the UK. The share selling was undertaken by salesmen working from a number of boiler-rooms in Marbella and Barcelona although many of them used false names and claimed to be calling from offices Frankfurt, Stockholm or Amsterdam. The business prospects of the company and the bio-diesel market were inflated by WBR's directors and the salesmen, who claimed that substantial international business was being done and that the business's shares were valued at £110 million. Investors believed that their investment in a successful bio-diesel enterprise would net them significant short-term returns, bolstered by claims that WBR was to be floated on the stock market. These claims were bogus. The SFO found that the bio-diesel plant had no output and, with only limited imports coming from the Singapore plant, WBR was not being managed with any intention of it becoming a growing commercial success. Virtually all of WBR's revenue between 2005 and 2007 was generated by share sales. Of the £8.2 million attracted from investors, around £4 million was transferred to accounts in Cyprus, Jersey and Spain for the benefit of the boiler-room salesmen. The group will be sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court on September 23.

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Mouse ('Raton') has already killed two people this year at Spanish bull-dodging events

. Photograph: Alberto Saiz/AP

A half-tonne Spanish bull drew crowds of fans to the eastern town of Sueca on Sunday after building up a reputation as the biggest killer in the popular summer game of bull-dodging.

The bull, called Ratón, meaning mouse, was appearing for the first time since goring a man to death in the nearby town of Xátiva on 15 August.

Debate has raged in newspapers over the exact number of people killed by Ratón, who is let loose in bullrings where people are encouraged to jump in and taunt him.

He is known to have gored a 30-year-old man to death in Xátiva, and to have killed a man in Puerto de Sagunto in 2006. Reports that he had killed a third man in 2004, in the village of Benifairó de les Valls, were denied by the mayor.

Bull-dodging is popular in many summer village and town fiestas. In parts of eastern Valencia and Catalonia, bulls sometimes have flaming torches attached to their horns to enrage them further. Unlike in traditional bullfights, however, there is no matador and the animal lives on, getting wiser and more dangerous as he becomes more experienced.

Eleven-year-old Ratón's fame as the deadliest of fiesta bulls has made him one of the most expensive to hire, with prices reaching €15,000 for a single appearance.

The bull was greeted in Sueca by cheering crowds and music from the soundtrack of Sergio Leone's For a Few Dollars More.

Professional bull-dodgers and local amateurs baited the animal and ran in front of him for half an hour. The town hall delegated a group of experienced runners to stop drunks joining in, and police had to bundle off two people, according to the local Levante newspaper.

Bull games at local fiestas claim up to half a dozen lives across Spainevery summer.

"Ratón showed, once more, both exceptional agility and intelligence," Levante reported after noting that the sellout crowd of 2,700 people had witnessed no bloodshed.

But some politicians have called for Ratón to be banned and for stricter control of those who try bull-dodging under the influence of drink or drugs. "Someone must be held responsible if this happens again," said Marina Albiol, an MP for the United Left party in the regional parliament of Valencia. "The only reason the town hall at Sueca has hired this bull is to encourage cruelty and ghoulishness."

The town hall replied that it had hired Ratón because he belonged to a local farmer. "That way the bull can say a final goodbye to its hometown, as he is due to retire soon," a statement said.

The bull's owner, Gregorio de Jesús, wants Ratón to follow the example of Got, a fighting bull who was cloned recently.

The bull is due to appear at two more fiestas this summer.

Bullfights with matadors are to be banned in eastern Catalonia at the end of this year, but bull-dodging will remain legal.

Ratón's re-appearance in Sueca proved a draw for local media, with half a dozen television stations and some 40 radio and newspaper reporters in attendance.

The bull also has his own travelling fans. One of them, Manuel Martin, has Ratón's head tattooed on his right arm. "Now I'm going to have the whole animal tattooed on my leg," he told El País

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Woman stabbed to death in Marbella

 

47 year old woman was found stabbed to death inside a flat in Marbella on Saturday. The woman had Spanish nationality but was of Ecuadorian origin. Reports indicate the victim did not live in the flat in San Pedro de Alcántara where her body was found, but she was a frequent visitor. Police sources say there was a lot of blood at the scene and she had been stabbed more than a dozen times. Some 20 National Police have taken over the investigation of the case, and reports are that they are considering it a crime of passion. Neighbours say the woman worked as a prostitute, inviting her clients to the flat. They note that there was no forced entry to the flat. Last August 11th, another woman, aged 45 and of Argentinean origin was found stabbed in a flat in nearby Mijas. That case remains open and is being investigated by the Guardia Civil.

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Spanish warship rescues French hostage from pirates

 

Troops from a Spanish warship stormed a pirate skiff in the Gulf of Aden Saturday and rescued a French hostage missing from her yacht but found no trace of her husband, the EU anti-piracy mission said. As a helicopter kept watch overhead, naval commandos in a fast launch fired on the skiff to disable its engine. The boat sank, but the hostage was rescued and seven pirates were arrested unharmed, the Spanish defence ministry said. "She was the only hostage on board the skiff. Her husband was not on board," EU naval spokesman Captain Paul Gelly told AFP, confirming the rescued hostage was Evelyne Colombo, wife and crewmate of missing sailor Christian Colombo. "She is safe and sound," he said, explaining that Colombo and the detained pirates are now on board the Spanish ship. A German warship, the FGS Bayern, found the couple's catamaran the Tribal Kat, adrift in waters off Yemen on Thursday. There was no-one on board and the EU Atalanta naval command launched an air and sea search for the attackers. French officials said there were signs of a struggle on board the yacht, which was towed to Djibouti to be studied by agents from the DGSE spy agency. "It was like searching for a needle in a haystack," Gelly said. "Our priority was to search for any vessel that might have been leaving the area and heading for the coast of Somalia." The French frigate Surcouf detected a suspect vessel and on Saturday the Spanish warship SPS Galicia chased it down. The Spanish defence ministry said when the skiff ignored an order to stop, the commander of the Galicia ordered his men to open fire. "At that time, it was discovered that they had a hostage on board, who was a woman," it said. "The amphibious ship proceeded to intercept the pirate vessel. The operation involved a helicopter and naval warfare team, who fired on the engine of the boat, to disable it." Christian Colombo is a former French navy crewman and the couple were experienced sailors who wanted to see the world and were passing through the Gulf of Aden en route for the Indian Ocean and eventually Thailand. "They knew they were taking a risk and everyone advised them not to go," a relative told AFP. One of the couple's daughters, Emilie, posted a message of concern on the blog they were keeping of their high seas adventure. "The last I heard from Christian was around a month ago. He was south of Egypt and heading for Malaysia," said the skipper's friend Gerard Navarin, who once helped him set a catamaran speed record off Toulon. The waters between Yemen and Somalia are notorious for attacks by pirate gangs, and French yachts have been among the vessels seized in the past. A second yacht went missing at around the same time as the Tribal Kat. Somali pirates frequently seize crew from merchant ships and pleasure craft in the dangerous waters off the conflict-ravaged Horn of Africa and have taken millions of dollars in ransom for their release. According to the watchdog Ecoterra, at least 50 vessels and at least 528 hostages are being held by Somali pirates, despite constant patrols by warships from several world powers. A French couple was kidnapped from a yacht in September 2008 as it headed through the Gulf of Aden. A ransom was paid, but French commandos later ambushed the pirates, killed one, captured six more and recovered the cash. In April 2009, another French yacht was seized. This time special forces troops intervened when the boat was still at sea. In the ensuing gunbattle a French bullet accidentally killed the hostage skipper. In addition, a French DGSE agent is thought to have been held hostage by Islamist militants in the Somali capital since July 2009

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Police today said they have smashed the biggest gang of drug dealers targeting British revellers on the party island of Ibiza.

Nine Britons were among 13 suspects held in a series of dawn raids by armed officers in a massive operation backed by Britain's Serious Organised Crime Agency.

Among the drugs seized were 3,600 ecstasy pills from the same batch believed to have killed British holidaymaker Jodie Nieman, 20, on the Spanish island in July.

Arrests: Nine Britons were among 13 suspected drug dealers (pictured here) held in a series of dawn raids by armed officers in Ibiza

Officers also confiscated 4 kilos of cocaine, 5 kilos of MDMA powder, 53 grams of cannabis resin, 300 doses of anabolic steroids, 69,000 euros (£60,000) in cash and scales for weighing drugs.

The operation, codenamed Rula, was run by the Civil Guard's Organised Crime Squad.

The force released photographs of some of suspects, handcuffed behind their backs, following the raids.

 

 

 

The Civil Guard said in a statement: 'The majority of the pills seized are known as Pink Rock Stars, similar in appearance, colour and design to those thought to have caused the death of a young British woman and the poisoning of eight other people in July in Ibiza.'

The suspects appeared before an investigating magistrate and most were remanded in custody while the probe continues. They have not yet been charged with any offence.

The Civil Guard statement continued: 'This operation has completely dismantled the most active group of British drug dealers in Ibiza.

Suspected: Among the drugs seized (right) were ecstasy pills from the same batch believed to have killed Jodie Nieman in July 

'Those under arrest are members of the most active organisation on the island, the principal supplier of cocaine and other designer drugs around nightclubs.

'The investigation started with information obtained through the dismantling of other groups, mostly British, dedicated to dealing drugs on the island.

'The now dismantled group came to Ibiza during the summer to cater for the high demand for drugs that exists during the holiday period.'

On July 22 police arrested an alleged member of the gang carrying one kg of MDMA powder as he stepped off a flight from the UK at Ibiza airport.

Five of the raids took place on August 28 around the popular party resort of San Antonio. 

Evidence: Police arrested nine Brits - from Liverpool, Manchester, Plymouth and Croydon, south London - as well as three Irishmen and one Polish man

The other three happened on the same day near Sant Josep, on the south west of the island.

Police arrested nine Brits - from Liverpool, Manchester, Plymouth and Croydon, south London - as well as three Irishmen and one Polish man.

Magistrate Maria Risueno took statements from the suspects at the Court of Investigation number 1 in Ibiza.

She bailed one man and remanded the other 12 in custody on Monday night.

Three were told they would be released if they could raise 10,000 euros (£8,700) each for bail.

The magistrate imposed a secrecy order on the case and the court refused to reveal the names of those arrested.

Nail technician Jodie Nieman, from Croydon, collapsed at Space nightclub while on holiday with friends on July 13.

She died after being rushed to the island's Can Misses hospital. Her friends told police she had taken one pink ecstasy tablet mixed with alcohol.

Toxicology tests are still being carried out. Eight other clubbers were treated in the same hospital that night.

Counting out: 69,000 euros in cash was found during the raids

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Marbella Casino board face charges of document falsification

 

TWELVE of the Marbella Casino’s 14-strong board face charges of document falsification. The Casino, one of the town’s oldest but with no links to the Casino de Marbella in Nueva Andalucia, has been at the centre of internal conflict for several years. Differences over renting out of part of its La Alameda installation to a restaurant business resulted in the sacking of the Casino’s former president Antonio Ric and ex-secretary Manuel Porras in April 2010. Both started legal proceedings against the remaining board members, claiming that their rights had been violated and they were excluded from the meeting which decided to remove them. After examining the dismissal document, the judge from Marbella’s Number Two Court decided there were grounds for suspecting forgery. He has now summonsed 12 board members, including the current president, Agustín de la Fuente Perucho, for questioning on September 19.

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Spanish site crashes as lawmakers reveal worth

 

In a country with 21 percent unemployment, learning the net worth of lawmakers plugging austerity right and left is turning out to be irresistible. Spanish parliament released such numbers for the first time and its website immediately crashed. Hours later access was still spotty. Highlights of Thursday's revelations: Mariano Rajoy, the conservative likely to be the next prime minister, reports having nearly euro600,000 ($843,000) in bank accounts and shares, plus properties in Madrid, the Canary Islands and his native Galicia. His Socialist opponent Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba reports having about euro1 million ($1.4 million), a Madrid apartment, a parking place and no debts. This transparency stems from a reform approved July 10.

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Malaga beaches are now accessible to blind people thanks to technology

 

The capital of the Costa del Sol is the second Spanish city to implement an electronic device that enables blind people to enjoy a swim at the beach. The two beaches of Malaga capital where these devices are installed are El Dedo and La Misericordia. These two beaches are as well adapted for the disabled and have amphibious chairs and specialized staff. Devices for the blind consisting of a wristwatch with an audio system that provides the swimmer at all times information about the depth and with an alert button through which rescuers come to help them out of the sea. This service is available to swimmers during the beach season, from June 15 to September 15, from 11 am to 8 pm.

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Puerto Banus Saturday market Marbella shopping

 

The Puerto Banus street market in Marbella is on every Saturday from 9am to 2-3pm. It’s next to the Plaza de Toros (bullring), 10 minute walk from the port.

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