Woman has been arrested for the Level 2 wildfire in Estepona

woman has been arrested for the Level 2 wildfire in Estepona last week which destroyed more than 500 hectares of land and spread over the border with Casares. The flames blazed for almost 30 hours before they were finally brought under control last Thursday evening.The investigation ruled out an accident or negligence as the cause of the fire, and in fact a municipal employee had seen someone fleeing the area when the fire started in the area of Los Pedregales on Wednesday afternoon last week.The woman arrested on suspicion of having set the blaze is named by Diario Sur as J.T.P., a middle-aged woman who is from Estepona itself, and it’s understood she was taken into custody this Wednesday morning. She’s now been released with charges and will be called in for questioning by a judge.

Local police patrols in Estepona have been working without radio contact with the central 092 emergency switchboard

Local police patrols in Estepona have been working without radio contact with the central 092 emergency switchboard, and unions say, have had to use their mobile phones to keep in contact. The local police union told Málaga Hoy newspaper it’s due to a fault in the system detected two weeks ago.The CSI-F union is concerned at the effect the fault is having on the service the local police provides to the public, saying they cannot respond to emergency situations as quickly as usual and claiming also a lack of coordination between the different patrols.Estepona’s public safety councillor, Francisca Bernal, said none of the police have to use their personal phones, as in-house mobiles are available to officers when they go on shift. The delay in repairing the repeater station used by the 092 switchboard is due, she said, to the closure of many companies during the month of August.

Four Russians have been arrested during a police operation on the Costa del Sol Spain, after injecting their victim claiming he would die in 24 hours

Four Russians have been arrested during a police operation on the Costa del Sol Spain, after injecting their victim with what they maintained to be an experimental KGB virus, claiming he would die in 24 hours.The kidnappers seized a Russian businessman in a street last week in Estepona; a Spanish resort lying 20 kilometres (13 miles) to the west of Marbella. Marbella and it's glitzy neighbour, Puerto Banus plays host to the rich and famous and is the hedonistic playground for the rich and famous. The Russian crime gang threatened their hostage with the so called ‘deadly’ virus to scare him into paying a ransom amount of 12000 Euros ($16500) in return for the antidote, otherwise he would face death within 24hours according to a local report. The victim did endure some adverse symptoms including fainting, fever and vomiting. Their methods have been branded as bearing the typical hallmarks of a KGB style 'kidnap.' Armed Police officers from the organized crime squad in Málaga were on standby when the gang went to collect the ransom payment in San Pedro, just a few miles west of the notorious crime den of Marbella. The four Russians, three men and one woman, aged between 24 and 57, were arrested; three in San Pedro and one in Mijas. The gang now face charges of kidnap, torture and the illegal possession of firearms. This is the second kidnapping carried out by Russians in Estepona this year. A businessman’s wife and daughter were taken for a two million € ransom at the end of March. Police managed to release the captives in that case and made two arrests. The Russian mafia has been gaining pace in Spain, particularly in the Costa del Sol region due to the expanding property market, which has provided an opportunity for illicit gangs to launder money.

Estepona British couple attacked and man was stabbed twice in the back, piercing his kidney

National Police are investigating the brutal attack of a 50-year-old British tourist who was stabbed twice and hit over the head with a bottle by a gang of youths in Estepona on May 10.The attack took place when at approximately 4am the victim and a British woman were sitting by the seaside in an area which is frequented by young people who drink and socialise there at the weekends. For unknown reasons the victim was attacked by a group of North African youths who were only a few metres away. One of the youths approached the man and hit him over the head with a bottle. A second youth then stabbed him twice in the back, piercing his kidney.
The gang ran off while the woman managed to help the victim to Avenida España where they found a Local Police patrol.The victim was rushed to the Costa del Sol Hospital where he remains under observation. The police have now launched an investigation to try to identify and capture the group of violent attackers.This is the third case involving a knife attack in less than a week after a young man was stabbed in the Torrequebrada area of Benalmadena while he was stood in the front porch of his house.
In an isolated attack a few days earlier, a man was arrested for allegedly attacking his sister with a knife in Torremolinos. She sustained cuts to her hand.

Authorities are trying to identify a badly decomposed body which was found floating in waters off Estepona

Authorities are trying to identify a badly decomposed body which was found floating in waters off Estepona on Thursday morning. The discovery was made by a crew member of a passing yacht and the Coastguard were immediately informed.In Alhaurín de la Torre, the woman who was found dead in a parking area used by hire cars on Tuesday met a violent death, according to sources in the investigation quoted by the newspaper, La Opinión de Málaga. There is little detail on the case as it is governed by a secrecy order, but it is known that the autopsy was held on Wednesday and that the woman, said to be in her 30s, died some time ago. Her body was also badly decomposed.No information has been released on her identity, but she is believed to be a woman reported missing some three weeks ago who was renting a nearby house. She was found face down, with her body partially covered by plastic sheeting.

Christopher Wiggins, of Apartment Six, Block 10, Mirador de Costalita, Cancelada, Estepona, Malaga

Christopher Wiggins (42)Philip Doo (52), and David Mufford (44) were brought before a special sitting of Clonakilty District Court on Saturday night amid tight security. A force of up to 30 gardaí, including detectives armed with Uzi submachine guns, surrounded the courthouse.The three men, all from Britain, were charged that on November 5th, 2008, on the vessel Dances with Waves , a ship not registered in any country or territory, they had possession of cocaine knowing it was intended to be imported illegally.The offence, which is contrary to Section 34 (2) (4) of the Criminal Justice Drugs Trafficking Act 1994, carries a maximum penalty upon conviction at Circuit Court level of a a fine or seven years in jail or both.
Det Garda Ronan Cowley of the Garda National Drugs Unit gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution in relation to Mr Doo, of Rocklands House, Higher Manor Road, Brixham, Devon, and told the court that Mr Doo did not wish to reply to the charge after caution.Det Garda David Kennedy of the Garda National Drugs Unit gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution in relation to Mr Wiggins, of Apartment Six, Block 10, Mirador de Costalita, Cancelada, Estepona, Malaga.He said Mr Wiggins made no reply to the charge.

Freddie Thompson assassinated in Spain?

Freddie Thompson, leader of one of the feuding Drimnagh/Crumlin gangs, was alive or dead after rumours spread throughout Thompson's associates that he had been assassinated in Spain.Senior garda sources said last night there had been no reports from Spanish police of a murder. Thompson left Dublin last weekend for Spain amid reports of a growing threat to his life. He has been warned several times by gardai about threats to his life.The sources said that there was no evidence of a murder, or disappearance, but did confirm that Thompson's associates believe he is dead. Intelligence reached gardai early yesterday that Thompson's gang were unable to contact him and that it was completely out of character for him to lose contact with his gang.
Thompson, 27, was in Estepona in southern Spain in February when one of his close associates, Paddy Doyle, also 27, was shot dead. The murder has not been solved but Spanish police indicated to gardai that they suspected Doyle -- and Thompson -- had run foul of Turkish drug traffickers.Thompson was on the scene shortly after the murder, though it was not absolutely established if he was travelling in the car in which Doyle was shot, though Spanish police believe he was. A short time later Spanish police seized a car in a nearby car park and found 110kg of cocaine.
Thompson travels between Dublin, Amsterdam and the Costa del Sol. He was arrested in Rotterdam in October 2006 when police seized seven kilos of cocaine, six handguns and ammunition at an apartment he had been used. He evaded prosecution on a technicality when the case came to trial in February 2007.
Thompson is also an associate of Martin Foley, who has been the target of several murder attempts -- the latest in January when he survived being hit by five bullets.
The feud in which Thompson and Foley are caught up began in 2000 when a gang of young drug dealers from the Drimnagh-Crumlin area fell out after gardai seized cocaine in the Holiday Inn in Pearse Street. The gang split and the violence started with the murder of one of the gang in 2001. Since then there have been nine more murders, dozens of attempted murders and hundreds of violent incidents.
The intelligence reaching gardai about Thompson's disappearance come after an upsurge in activity from his enemies, who carried out at least one known assassination attempt early this month and were planning another murder last week.
The spread of Irish gangland violence to Spain is not new and six known Irish criminals have been murdered there in the past four years. In 2004, the leaders of the Westies gang, Stephen Sugg and Shane Coates, were murdered and buried in a secret grave in Alicante. John McKeown, 48, said to be a major figure in international drug trafficking, was shot dead in January last year in Torrevieja. Sean Dunne, 32, from Coolock, was shot dead in September 2005, also near Alicante. And, the body of Cork man Michael 'Danser' Ahern was found stuffed into a freezer in Albuifera, Portugal, in September 2005.
Gardai who know Thompson said last week that the murder in Spain of his friend Paddy Doyle had badly affected him and he had been acting in an erratic manner since.
Doyle was Thompson's main "enforcer" and had personally carried out the assassinations of two of Thompson's rivals. Doyle had been living in Spain since 2005.

British man has been arrested after hitting five pedestrians

British man has been arrested after hitting five pedestrians with his car and then driving off.La Opinion de Málaga reports that the man was finally arrested on Sunday after allegedly hitting two women, a two year old baby boy and two babies aged five and thirteen months, as they were all crossing a zebra crossing at the junction of Avenida de los Reales and Avenida Andalucía. It happened at 1030am on Sunday morning with the driver accused of not respecting a red light.One of the two babies was trapped in its pram by the impact, and none of the adults hit are reported to be seriously hurt, but the five month old baby and two year old boy continue in the Costa del Sol Hospital in Marbella with diverse injuries. The two adults and the other baby were allowed home on Sunday.After the accident several witnesses made off in pursuit of the driver who was finally detained.A British man has been arrested in connection with a road traffic accident in Estepona that occurred during the early hours of yesterday morning, and which left five people injured, including two babies. Eye-witnesses described how, after jumping a red light on the Avenida de Los Reales, the driver ploughed into two women, a two year old boy and two babies (aged 13 and 5 months). The two women and the elder baby were released yesterday though the younger baby and the two year old boy, who suffered a variety of cuts and bruises, are still being kept under observation at the Costa del Sol Hospital in Málaga. The British man was arrested when he called in to the police station to recover the vehicle - which was found abandoned near the accident scene and impounded - and after he eventually owned up to having been behind the wheel.
The accused man, named only with the initials D.A.J. will appear in court shortly.

Ger Dundon returns to Estepona on the Costa del Sol

Ger Dundon, the 21-year-old Limerick gang figure,is believed to have travelled to Spain last week. Dundon was stopped in one of the armour-clad cars, a BMW 3 series, for speeding in January. The other is a 4X4. Both cars, which are less than two years old, have now been seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau. The vehicles are built to order by specialist companies in Germany. Most of their sales are to Russia and eastern European countries with high crime rates and the two vehicles seized by CAB are the first to have come here.Gardai believe that Dundon left Limerick in the company of another young man and woman and went to Spain last week. He has been a regular visitor to the resort of Estepona on the Costa del Sol where he was known to keep company with Dublin gang figure, Paddy Doyle, who was shot dead in the resort in January. Ger Dundon received a suspended sentence for possessing drugs for supply three years ago and has no known legitimate means of income. Doyle was one of the two feuding Dublin gangs originally based in Drimnagh and was suspected of carrying out three murders in November 2005.Last month, when Ger Dundon appeared at Limerick District Court on traffic offences, he pulled up outside the courthouse in the armoured 4X4 and summoned associates, all wearing body armour, via an external PA system built into the front grille of the car. They gathered around the car door and shielded him as he made his way to the entrance.
Gardai also believe the recent upsurge of violent attacks in the city was directed from prison by Dundon's brother, the notorious gang leader Wayne Dundon. The McCarthy-Dundon gang have been building up supplies of weapons and other equipment and were said in court last year to have been behind the attempt to buy 20 automatic assault rifles, RPG rockets and handguns from people they believed to be arms dealers. It was, in fact, a sting organised by gardai and British police. Two associates of the gang were imprisoned in December for their part in the plot.
According to sources in Limerick, the McCarthy Dundons became the dominant gang force in the city last year after outgunning their deadly rivals, the Keane-Collopys. Tensions in Limerick had been rising in recent months before the latest round of murders. There have been at least a dozen shootings in the city related to the feuding. The worst, before last weekend, was the incident on March 25 when a gunman armed with an assault rifle fired shots into six houses in St Mary's Park. No one was injured but one bullet narrowly missed the head of an elderly woman sitting in her front living room watching television.
At least half of the shooting incidents in the past two months have taken place in the tiny Island enclave of St Mary's Park, St Ita's Street and St Munchin's Street, directed at members of the Keane-Collopy family.Intelligence had already led gardai to strengthen their presence in the city by sending the Emergency Response Unit (ERU) from Dublin. The "less-than-lethal" Taser weapon was put at the disposal of the ERU two months ago after a recommendation by the Garda Inspector, former Boston police commissioner, Kathleen O'Toole.
After last weekend, the head of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Detective Chief Superintendent Noel White, effectively moved his headquarters from Harcourt Square in Dublin to Limerick to direct investigations.
The first murder attempt was on an 18-year-old in the city centre on January 14. A female relative of Noel Campion from Moyross, who was assassinated two years ago, was fired on two weeks later. At the end of March there were a succession of attacks on homes in the Island area where members of the Keane-Collopy clan live.
The first incident last weekend appears to be retaliation for the attacks in the Island. Gardai believe that the gangs decided to take advantage of the fact that Munster was playing Gloucester last Saturday in the Heineken European rugby cup and that many gardai would be taking the day off to enjoy the match.

Paddy Doyle shot by Russian Mafia theory ?

According to the Irish press ,Paddy Doyle picked a fight with the son of a Russian mafia boss based on the Costa. Doyle came out best in the fight but paid later with his life. He was cornered and shot close to Estepona. Doyle was in Spain to evade the bloody feud between the Drimnagh-based gangs in Dublin and, gardai believe, to establish a new drugs base there. Doyle was named in connection with at least three murders in the feud and had been in Spain since 2006 after he was suspected of involvement in the shooting dead of gang rival Noel Roche in Clontarf, Dublin in November 2005.
Doyle's associate, 'Fat Freddie' Thompson, is believed to have been spending most of his time in Spain to avoid assassination by his rivals in Dublin. His whereabouts were unknown but he is believed to have been in Doyle's company shortly before Doyle and Gary Hutch were ambushed in Estepona.
Paddy Doyle, it seems, was not smart enough to live by the rules that have kept the older and wiser criminals rich and at liberty in the sun. According to gardai, Doyle picked a fight with the son of a Russian mafia boss based on the Costa. Doyle came out best in the fight but paid later with his life. He was cornered and peppered with shots, possibly fired from an assault shotgun, on Tuesday night in the town.
The killing was a professional hit. The Russians normally keep a low profile,living in gated developments.The Russians are a force on the Costa del Sol and don't take insults lightly. After Doyle crossed them, his end was swift and savage. The assassination bore all the hallmarks of the Spetsnaz, the Russian special forces, many former members of which now work for the crime bosses on the Costa del Sol.Doyle was one of a generation of young Irishmen who have taken their chances in southern Spain. His death is a tragedy for his family, which has been active in the anti-drugs movement in central Dublin for years. Past events, however, show that Doyle’s murder was no surprise.
Doyle joins an infamous list of expatriate Dublin criminals who left the capital, in the expectation that they could apply the same tactics they did here - terror and physical violence - but who found that the rules of engagement were different when dealing with gangs from former Russian and eastern European states.
The nature of Doyle’s murder is perhaps the only surprise, in a region where organised crime gang ‘hits’ are more frequently preceded by kidnapping, torture and the disposal of remains in an undisclosed location.

Patrick Doyle shot twice in the head in Estepona

27-year-old Patrick Doyle from Portland Row in Dublin was shot twice in the head, after the car in which he was a passenger came under fire.convicted Dublin drug dealer has been shot dead on the Costa del Sol in Spain.
The 4x4 BMW came under fire from another vehicle in the village of Cancelada, near Estepona.A second man is reported to have been injured in the attack.A third man escaped unharmed
The shooting took place just before 2pm Spanish time.

Hit and Run

A woman who was crossing the road in Estepona on Christmas Eve died instantly after been knocked down by a hit and run driver some 100 metres from the Church of Nuestra Señora del Carmen.
Following the accident in Calle Ceuta in the centre of the town police launched a intense search based on witness statements. They arrested a man shortly afterwards and he was held on Monday night in the cells of Estepona police station ahead of appearing before a judge.
The victim was a 60 year old Argentinian Woman