Nicholas Gardner has not yet revealed all the contents of his bank accounts, including ones in Jersey and Spain, and could not account for £250,000.

Nicholas Gardner, 53, persuaded his friends to loan him large amounts of cash to finance "fantasy" business projects destined to fail.Instead he spent the money maintaining his lifestyle, paying for the private education of his three children, rent on his house and keeping his wife, who is now divorcing him.Gardener, currently serving a 33-month jail term, was taken from HMP Woodhill to Northampton Crown Court yesterday for a confiscation hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.The prosecution are seeking to seize any hidden assets or savings he may have put aside, after benefiting by almost £400,000 from his crimes.
The court heard that he has not yet revealed all the contents of his bank accounts, including ones in Jersey and Spain, and could not account for £250,000.
Judge Christopher Metcalf adjourned the hearing for Gardner, of St Ives in Cambridgeshire, to declare any savings or accounts he may have hidden.

Movers International Europe duped into drug running

Simon Ashworth, operations manager at Movers International Europe, a household removals firm, said his staff in Spain were stunned when they discovered the drugs hidden in pieces of furniture the firm was due to transport to a depot at at Longridge Road, Red Scar.The staff immediately reported the find, in June 2006, to the Guardia Civil in Alicante who mounted a joint operation with the county's Serious and Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) to track the load.It was discovered the haul had come from a sophisticated drugs network in Spain.Mr Ashworth, 38, said: "We undertook the job believing it to be furniture from a warehouse in Alicante.
"But when a man delivered the goods to our base in Alicante we were suspicious at how quickly he wanted to get away. "They were heavy, awkward pieces of furniture and something didn't add up. The police were called and the furniture was sealed back up and packed back in its bubble wrap and sent on its way as arranged so the officers could see where it ended up. At this end I helped a courier who had been sent by the person who was supposed to receive the furniture to load it into his van.
"The police struck later when it arrived at Merseyside."A SOCU officer, who cannot be named, said: "We would have been looking at roughly up to £250,000 street value."

sixty Nigerian human traffickers are facing prosecution

sixty Nigerian human traffickers are facing prosecution in nine countries in Europe. The traffickers were arrested in Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Germany, Netherlands and Britain, following a major crackdown on traffickers in an operation tagged ‘Koovis’ which was coordinated by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and Other Related Matters (NAPTIP).
Making this revelation, Mr. Warner Ten Cate, the National Prosecutor for Human Trafficking and Smuggling of Persons in the Netherlands, who is leading a ten-man team of investigators, prosecutors, immigration and police officers on a fact-finding mission to NAPTIP and other law enforcement organisations in Nigeria, said NAPTIP has shown tremendous courage and exemplary leadership skills which are hallmarks of law enforcement organisations in the world.
According to Cate, the period of the operation was a defining moment for NAPTIP as it has earned the reputation and recommendation of international law enforcement organisations all over the world.
Cate also said that NAPTIP’s exemplary achievement should stretch to other crimes like drug trafficking, as they are working with the Dutch Ministry of justice to effectively bring the criminals to justice. He promised the collaboration of Europol and Eurojust in tackling the crime of human trafficking.
Cate reiterated the fact that no singular organisation could fight criminal networks alone without cooperation, capacity to utilise each other’s comparative advantage, exchange of information, training of investigators and learning from best practices in the field of victim protection.
Lastly, he said the team was in Nigeria to explore avenue for good agreement on information exchange on criminal groups, how to access their illegally earned profit, capacity building and expand our cooperation to other Nigerian institutions through NAPTIP.
Responding, the Executive Secretary, Mrs. Carol Ndaguba, said the success of the operation was a good example for the rest of the world and other law enforcement organisations to emulate.
According to her, “as a law enforcement organisation we must support each other’s capacity with equitable information flow and technical know-how to operate as equals.

cocktail of liquid ecstasy and alcohol puts policeman in hospital

local policeman who was attended to in the Nogalera area of Torremolinos on Sunday after taking a cocktail of liquid ecstasy and alcohol, remains in the intensive care unit of Carlos Haya Hospital in Málaga in an induced coma.
Sources close to the man, who is in his 30’s, are quoted by El País saying that he almost lost his life.Mayor of Málaga, Francisco de la Torre, has criticised the policeman’s behaviour
‘It’s not good that there are drug users in the security forces. They should show exemplary behaviour to all the citizens’, he said. The Municipal Police Station in Málaga say they will wait for the man to make a recovery before considering taking any action.The policeman was attended to, with two other men and a woman close to the Emporium Disco. One of the other men also remains in hospital in a serious but stable condition.

Neapolitan Mafia chief arrested in Barcelona

Raffaele Laurenti is an alleged member of the Neapolitan Mafia.
An alleged member of the Neapolitan Mafia have been arrested in Barcelona. 31 year old Raffaele Laurenti was found in a flat in Calle Calabria. The arrest follows a similar detention of another alleged member of the Camorra in Barcelona last month.
The arrest on Tuesday was carried out in a joint operation between the Spanish Guardia Civil and Italian Carabineros.The suspect was unarmed at the time and offered no resistance.

Covered in petrol and set alight by robbers on the San Luis industrial estate in Málaga

48 year old man is in a serious condition in hospital with second degree burns to his neck, face and arms, after he was covered in petrol and set alight by robbers. It happened on Tuesday night in the San Luis industrial estate in Málaga and came after the thieves had taken his wallet which contained 1,500 €.National Police were alerted to the case by the Carlos Haya Hospital in Málaga where police are waiting to take a statement from the victim.

Burnt-out body of a British man found

Guardia Civil has found the burnt-out body of a British man in an area known as La Rambla in Chirivel, Almeria.The body was found last Saturday evening when a local person saw smoke from the area. A petrol can was found at the scene and it is believed that the man committed suicide. His name has not been given by the authorities, but it is believed that he was identified from a tattoo on his back. An autopsy is to be carried out.

Sean Edwards,wants to say “thank you” to the anonymous holidaymaker who rescued him, his daughter and wife

Sean Edwards, 39, wants to say “thank you” to the anonymous holidaymaker who rescued him, his daughter and wife after they were trapped in strong rip currents in the sea off Benalmadena.Mr Edwards, who didn’t have time to get his rescuer’s name, only knows the reluctant hero came from Scarborough.
The family were enjoying a week’s holiday in the Costa del Sol town, near Malaga, when they decided to go down to the beach.Mr Edwards, his daughter Letitia, 11, and son Sam, six, went into the sea to jump waves while his wife Paula stayed on the beach.Sam left the sea to get some goggles while Mr Edwards and his daughter went further out – only to be knocked back and then off their feet by waves.
Mr Edwards, who is a sales director, said: “I came out from under the water and I couldn’t see my daughter anywhere. Then I saw her being taken away by a rip current and she was shouting. I swam out to her and we were just panicking and screaming for help.”Mrs Edwards, who had brought their son back to the edge of the sea, noticed the pair were in trouble and screamed for help.When she thought no-one was doing anything, she started swimming out to them.Mr Edwards said: “I couldn’t go anywhere because my daughter was panicking and holding on to me. The next thing I know there’s a gentleman taking hold of me. He calmed the situation and took control of my daughter.“Then a Spanish guy came with a lilo and all four of us held on to the lilo, kicking through the current to get back to shore.”During the dramatic rescue, Mrs Edwards had also got into trouble and was eventually saved by the same pair of rescuers.Mr Edwards was too shocked to properly speak to the man but would now like to trace him.He said: “The gentleman’s bravery in jumping into the sea to save three lives is something that should be honoured and commended.“He said he had heard my wife screaming on the shore and just went running. He thought nothing of it. He is a man in his late 40s and was there with quite a large family.“I would just like to thank him personally. We’re still in a bit of shock now. I dread to think what would have happened if they hadn’t made the dash into the sea.”

Benidorm attempted kidnap of 8 year old boy by sexual predator

20 years old with a police history of sexual abuses has been stopped in Benidorm for the attempted kidnapping of an 8 years old boy in downtown Benidorm,
informed police sources.

Peter Thomas convicted 122 kilo grams of cannabis resin, which had been destined for Preston, was seized by the Spanish authorities in the Alicante

In June 2006 a joint operation between Lancashire Constabulary’s Serious and Organised Crime Unit and the Guardia Civil Police based in the Alicante area of Spain began. Codenamed Operation Hazel, it targeted the importation of cannabis from Spain into the UK. In July 2006 122 kilo grams of cannabis resin, which had been destined for Preston, was seized by the Spanish authorities in the Alicante area.
After coming to Preston the cannabis was then delivered to an address in the Liverpool area. As a result five people, a man from Preston and two men and two women from Merseyside, were arrested in connection with the investigation. The Preston man and a man and woman from Merseyside were later released without charge. Margaret McGee, 48, of Grafton Street, Prenton, Merseyside was charged with conspiracy to supply a controlled drug. Thomas was charged with the same offence.
Peter Thomas, 47, of Upper Brassey Street, Birkenhead, Merseyside, admitted the charge at Preston Crown Court yesterday. Both appeared at court yesterday, McGee was cleared while Thomas pleaded guilty to the charge. Thomas will be sentenced at Preston Crown Court on Friday, November 7.

Dismembered body parts found belong to at least two people, possibly a young man and woman.

Dismembered body parts found near Ferrol yesterday evening belong to at least two people, possibly a young man and woman. They were found at around 8.10pm by a local man on a steep, rocky slope next to a country path in a densely-vegetated area adjacent to the main road linking Ferrol city centre to Cobas village around 3km away. It seems that the bodies had been cut up and divided among an empty oil drum, a suitcase and a plastic sheet. A machete and a large knife were found nearby.

leading restaurateurs arrested in Galicia accused of selling contaminated scallops illegally harvested

Ten people, including a number of leading restaurateurs, have been arrested in Galicia accused of selling contaminated scallops illegally harvested from Ferrol's busy port estuary. It is believed that the shellfish are contaminated with a dangerous toxin that can cause memory loss. A source close to the investigation, which is being handled by a judge from Ferrol municipal court, refused to rule out further arrests, and was unable to confirm rumours that celebrity chef, Toñi Vicente, is among those detained.

Almeria Riots initially broke out early Sunday after a Romani Spaniard allegedly stabbed a 28-year-old Senegalese man to death

Riots initially broke out early Sunday after a Romani Spaniard allegedly stabbed a 28-year-old Senegalese man to death in a low-income neighbourhood. Officials linked the killing to a dispute between drug traffickers, but residents said the victim was trying to mediate in a dispute. Immigrants then set two buildings on fire, including the one housing the suspected killer, who had fled. They erected barricades, burned several cars and garbage containers, and hurled stones and bottles at police and firefighters, who managed to end the rioting only after receiving reinforcements.
The violence started again overnight after a local man fell on the street. Migrants stoned the ambulance that came to attend to him, setting up burning barricades and attacking shops. Several people, including a police officer, were stoned and slightly injured, reports said. Some passers-by were also hit by rubber bullets fired by police. The detainees were from Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Nigeria and Sudan. Roquetas de Mar has a large population of immigrants employed at vegetable hothouses. The riots were not caused by xenophobia, but the "complicated situation" in the neighbourhood where both migrants and Spaniards lived in poverty, according to representatives of the organization Andalucia Acoge, which works to help immigrants. In February 2000, about 80 people were injured in riots between Spaniards and immigrants in the nearby town of El Ejido after a Moroccan killed a local woman.

Sojourner London,yacht sailing under the British flag loaded with 800 kilos of cocaine

yacht sailing under the British flag, Sojourner London, loaded with 800 kilos of cocaine was escorted into Cádiz port on Saturday amid high security after being intercepted by the special operations force of the Spanish National Police on the high sea close to the Azores. The cargo, from Venezuela, has an estimated value of 48 million €, and was packed into 28 bales. There were three Lithuanian crew on board, who have all been arrested.

12-year-old South Korean girl was found dead at her house in Las Palmas

12-year-old South Korean girl was found dead at her house in Las Palmas, Spain, Aug. 30, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Friday.
The ministry said a 50-year-old neighbor who is close to her father is suspected of murdering the teenager identified only as Oh. Spanish police arrested the man identified as Lee and are questioning him to find the motive behind the crime, it added. The ministry said it ordered one of its officials stationed in Las Palmas to deal with the case as soon as it was informed of the incident and asked the Spanish police to conduct a prompt investigation.

Audrey Fitzpatrick and her partner Dave Mahon are hoping that the Taoiseach's intervention will help in the investigation

Audrey Fitzpatrick and her partner Dave Mahon are hoping that the Taoiseach's intervention will help in the investigation into the mysterious disappearance of the 16-year-old in Spain. Mr Cowen met with the Dublin couple for about an hour to hear the latest developments in the case. Amy vanished on the evening of New Year’s Day 1st January 2008 at approximately 10pm when she left her friend’s house in the tourist resort of Riviera Del Sol on the Costa del Sol to take the 10 minute walk to her house. The Taoiseach's office promised to contact the Irish embassy in Madrid to help in the investigation. "At the end of the day, he's the pulse of Ireland and has more contacts than we have at home," Ms Fitzpatrick said, adding the couple would host a benefit in Spain next month to raise funds for their ongoing search.

Jeffrey Michael O'Shaughnessy is alleged strangler of a woman in a lift

Jeffrey Michael O'Shaughnessy (32), from Limerick, is alleged to have indecently assaulted the woman in a lift, before trying to strangle her as she attempted to escape. The 45-year-old Spaniard was on her way to work in a law firm, when the alleged attack happened on Wednesday morning in Malaga on the Costa del Sol.
She has told police that Mr O'Shaughnessy followed her into the lift as she headed to the lawyer's office where she works, grabbed her by the neck and indecently assaulted her. Colleagues heard her cries for help as the lift reached the third floor of the building in central Malaga – and have told detectives they raced out to find the Irishman trying to strangle her with one hand and forcing her mouth shut to stifle her screams with the other. A police patrol which was near the scene arrived minutes later to take O'Shaughnessy away in handcuffs. The alleged victim has told investigators she had never seen the Irishman before. Today O’Shaughnessy was in custody pending a court appearance before an investigating judge who is now probing the incident. The court hearing will be closed to the press and the public and is expected to conclude with O'Shaughnessy's remand in custody. A spokesman for Malaga's National Police said: “A 32-year-old Irishman is currently being held in custody on suspicion of indecent assault and attempted murder.” A source added: “If it had not been for this woman's colleagues hearing her screams and coming to her aid, we could have had a murder on our hands.
“The attack took place in daylight in a public place. It defies logical explanation.
“We're not sure if the attacker had been following his victim or was an opportunist who struck when he got his chance. “An investigating judge will now try to get to the bottom of what has happened.”

George Menzies Campbell has a number of convictions for sexually abusing minors in the U.K. and has been on the run for several years

George Menzies Campbell has a number of convictions for sexually abusing minors in the U.K. and has been on the run for several years. He is thought to have been living in Villajoyosa for some two years, and indications are that his trail was followed by reporters from a British newspaper.
The Daily Mail says the man lived alone in Villajoyosa, but was popular with other ex pats and sometimes babysat for some of them
He is now being extradited back to Britain.

most wanted Vallejo-Guarin is suspected of having transported many tons of the drug to Florida and Europe,has a US$5 million reward posted

Spanish police have arrested a suspected Colombian drug trafficker listed among the most wanted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the police force said in a statement Friday.Acting on a tip from the DEA, police tracked Edgar Vallejo-Guarin to a luxury hotel in Madrid, police said Friday, confirming a U.S. Embassy statement.
Vallejo-Guarin, 47, who has a US$5 million reward posted for information leading to his capture, was arrested Thursday, the embassy statement said.Vallejo-Guarin, also known as "Beto el Gitano," has a history of violence, money laundering and corruption, the police statement said.In June 2001 the South District of Florida accused Vallejo-Guarin of being one of the principal sources of Colombian cocaine in the United States between the years 1990-1999, the statement said.
Vallejo-Guarin is suspected of having transported many tons of the drug to Florida and Europe, and is also under investigation for possible involvement in several murders, the statement said.The United States has asked for Vallejo-Guarin's extradition, the embassy statement said, adding that the suspect was using a false identity at the time of his arrest.The police statement said Vallejo-Guarin had a house in Sant Cugat del Valles, near the northern city of Barcelona, but had been staying at many hotels in Spain and Venezuela to avoid capture.Spanish police said Friday that they have arrested top Colombian drug lord Edgar Guillermo Vallejo Guarin, also known as "Beto the Gypsy," from outside a luxury hotel in central Madrid.Spanish police said in a statement that Guarin's arrest was carried out with help from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and added that he was carrying false identity papers when arrested."Vallejo Guarin has an extensive history of violence, money laundering, and the corruption of high-level government officials," the statement said. "He is responsible for the shipment of a multitude of tons of cocaine via ship to the United States and Europe."Guarin is wanted in many countries, including the U.S., on various drug related offenses and is also suspected of being responsible for various assassinations wordwide.Guarin figured in the U.S. State Department's Most Wanted list and the American government had offered a $5 million reward to anyone who helped bring about his capture.

Málaga police have arrested a man who is accused of trying to strangle a woman in a lift

Málaga police have arrested a man who is accused of trying to strangle a woman in a lift in a building in the central Calle Larios in the city. The victim was on her way to work in a lawyer’s office when the attack took place and told police that she had never seen the alleged attacker before. Her screams alerted people in another lawyer’s office at 10am yesterday morning, and they managed to catch the attacker who was handed over to the local police.

Murder-suicide pact British couple have been discovered in their holiday home

Bodies of a British couple have been discovered in their holiday home in the French Basque country, in a case which authorities have described as a murder-suicide.
Officials believed that 76-year-old Jon Ortuzar strangled his wife, Carlotta, 60, then drowned himself in the pool at the villa in Urrugne, near the Spanish border.
According to eitb, a Basque news channel, the bodies were discovered by a cleaner on Tuesday morning. the husband was found in the pool, weighed down with a sports bag. The wife was discovered dead in a bedroom with bruises on her face and a cord around her neck. A hammer was found next to her, and a letter, believed to have been written by Ortuzar. Its contents have not been revealed, but a local official described the letter as “explanatory”.The French newspaper Sud Ouest said Ortuzar was the son of a senior member of the PNV Basque nationalist party who had fled from Franco’s regime in the 1930s and come to the UK.Born in London, Ortuzar was a businessman in the City of London for most of his career, the newspaper reported. Later, he and his wife moved to Madrid, but retained their British nationality. They did not have children. Ortuzar and his brother both bought homes in Urrugne, where the two families were well known.Odile de Coral, mayor of Urrugne, told Sud Ouest: “I went to the house straight away to offer my support to the brother and the nephews of the victims, who have also made Urrugne their second home. Jon and Carlotta came very often to the Basque country, where they bought this house just after the war.”Police found no evidence of a struggle at the house, and nothing appeared to have been stolen, leading them to the murder-suicide theory. A friend of the couple, Daniel Poulou, said: “They were charming people, who loved having guests round and knew how to treat them.”

Tattoo on the right hand of a naked body found in Orihuela Costa

The tattoo was on the right hand of a naked body found in Orihuela Costa in August.
The Guardia Civil has asked for help from the public in identifying a strange tattoo found on the body of a man, thought to be aged between 25 and 35 whose body was found on August 19 between the Cano de Punta Prima and Roig in Orihuela Costa.
The tattoo is on the right arm of the body and consists of a text written in Spanish copperplate lettering. The Guardia Civil say the body was found naked and is of a muscular man, about 1m 85 tall, who removed the hair from his legs.

Nikki Beach shooting in Marbella Two Iranians arrested

Two Iranians have been arrested by the UDYCO Organised Crime Unit of the Marbella police, in connection with the shooting seen at Nikki Beach in Marbella last Saturday August 23.Judicial sources told La Opinión de Málaga that neither of the two men actually carried out the shooting. One of the two has now been released after making a statement to the police, while the other is still being held.
It’s understood they took part in trouble between a group of Iranians and a group of Britons which broke out in the discotec ahead of the shots being fired. One 42 year old man needed surgery in the Costa del Sol hospital after being shot in both legs.

2.2 tons of hashish recovered gang brought the drugs into the Campo de Gibraltar area from the north of Morocco.

Guardia Civil have made 22 arrests, a policeman on practice duty in Los Barrios among them, and recovered 2.2 tons of hashish in the breaking up of a gang which brought the drug into the Campo de Gibraltar area from the north of Morocco.A statement from the Civil Guard said that their investigations started in May and ended with the arrests made last Friday. The case was being handled by Instruction Court Four in Algeciras.The operation was codenamed 'Congreso' and also saw the impounding of two boats, two outboard motors, a trailer, motorbike and 11 vehicles, three of which are known to have been stolen.

Orihuela Police have detained two people for growing cannabis in their garden.

Orihuela Police have detained two people for growing cannabis in their garden. The plants were thriving in plastic boxes on the patio of the house. A man of Arabic origin was also detained after a chase of two hours around the fields of Los Dolores, when found to be carrying 4.7 kilos of hashish. The detainee was carrying an imitation gun, with which he tried unsuccessfully to intimidate police.

Drug trafficking gang used Torrevieja port as a point of entry into Spain

National Police have uncovered an international drug trafficking gang which used Torrevieja port as a point of entry into Spain. Eight people were arrested in the raid, which uncovered 2,500 kilos of hashish. Three of the detainees were traveling onboard a yacht and the rest were arrested on land. The gang was multinational, with members from Lithuania, Morocco, Italy and Spain. The investigation started before the summer when drug trafficking activity was detected among recreational boats transporting huge quantities of drugs. After months of hard work the leader of the ring could be identified and the arrest was planned.

Nine people were injured when an apparently mentally unstable driver deliberately drove into a pedestrian zone in the southern Spanish city of Malaga

Nine people were injured when an apparently mentally unstable driver deliberately drove into a pedestrian zone in the southern Spanish city of Malaga, police said Saturday.They said the 50-year-old kept driving through the Costa del Sol city's busy precinct until officers stopped him. The injured included two Italian and two German tourists.Nine people were injured and two German and Italian women tourists, aged 62 and 42, are in a critical condition in hospital after a driver, a 42 year old man from Alhaurín el Grande, named with the initials A.B.M., took his black Rover car down the pedestrianised central Calle Larios in Málaga on Saturday just before noon, it seems by error. All the other injured are recovering well. Witnesses say the driver went down the street and then reversed back. He has been arrested by the National Police after his way was blocked by a refuse lorry and public pounced on the car to get him to come out. He is being attended to by a psychologist after giving a statement to police which reports indicate ‘lacked sense’.

Refusal of people to demolish their illegal homes in Mijas is leading some of them to see their assets embargoed.

refusal of people to demolish their illegal homes in Mijas is leading some of them to see their assets embargoed. El País reports that at least 20 people have been affected so far out of the estimated 8,000 irregular homes in the municipality. Some 2,000 owners have been served with demolition orders, and if they do not comply they face a fine of 10% of the value of the property.Most of the demolition orders have been issued against rural properties, often handed down in inheritance.
The socialist Mayor of Mijas, Antonio Sánchez, called an extraordinary meeting at the end of July to discuss the problem, with those affected demanding that the fines be suspended until the new PGOU Urban Plan is drawn up for the municipality.
Last Wednesday the Mayor agreed that working groups be set up to investigate the problem, but PP spokesman in the town, Angel Nozal, described that as a smoke screen.

Grupo Mirador construction group charged

A judge has charged the Grupo Mirador construction group after the company held on to deposits paid for properties which have not been constructed. Under Spanish law such monies should have been kept in a separate bank account. El País reports that the judge was responding to a new denuncia placed by a group of six clients of the company, each of whom paid between 32,805 € and 48,600 € as first payments for properties at the Mirador de la Fortaleza in Vélez-Málaga, which according to the contracts signed in 2004 and 2005, should have already have been completed but where in fact no construction has started. They are claiming fraud. The company has other promotions in Benalmádena, Rincón de la Victoria, Villanueva del Rosario, Fuente de Piedra and Loja in Granada.

Judge Francisco Javier de Urquía, who had presided over Marbella's second court, was found guilty of bribery and dereliction of duty

Judge Francisco Javier de Urquía, who had presided over Marbella's second court, was found guilty of bribery and dereliction of duty in a case stemming from Operation Malaya, a far-reaching police investigation that led to the arrest of former mayors, councillors and businessmen in the Costa del Sol resort in 2006.The Andalusian High Court concluded that Urquía had accepted EUR 73,800 from Juan Antonio Roca, an urban planning aide at Marbella City Hall, in exchange for legal favours, including assisting Roca in preventing a local television station from airing a report about his vast - and illicitly earned - wealth.In the same trial, Roca, who confessed to paying the bribe money "in two envelopes," received a one-year prison sentence and was ordered to pay a fine of EUR 73,800 - the same amount as the bribe. Prosecutors had originally sought a three-year sentence but lowered their demands to one year in the wake of Roca's surprise confession in July. Arnaud Fabrice Albouhair, a French associate of the two men who apparently acted as an intermediary in their illicit dealings, was acquitted.Urquía, who had been struggling financially, accepted the money from Roca as payment toward a house in Marbella. After Roca was taken into custody in March 2006, the judge enlarged his mortgage, changed the payment conditions and reversed his decision to stop the TV documentary from being broadcast in a bid to cover his tracks.