Infant school teacher was arrested

Infant school teacher was arrested on Wednesday last week after two sets of parents accused him of abusing their children. The man had been working at the school in San Pedro Alcántara for three months to cover the leave of another teacher. According to sources the two families went to the National Police station together and filed a joint report in which they accused the teacher of touching the children, one a girl and the other a boy aged between three and four. The parents of the girl in question had allegedly taken her to a hospital although the medical staff found no evidence that she had been sexually abused.
The teacher was charged and released without bail after spending 48 hours in police custody. “He was a good teacher. There had been no cause for suspicion”, said a representative from the municipal culture and education department. Meanwhile the Provincial section of the Education authority has suspended the supply teacher from his post and will not send him to another school until the case has been resolved.
While the lawyer representing the families has demanded an “exhaustive” psychological analysis of the children, the parents have complained of the lack of support received from the school.

Amy Fitzpatrick ,Mari Luz .

The search is still on for five-year-old Mari Luz who disappeared apparently without trace on January 13th in the city of Huelva. As yet while many leads have been followed up no firm evidence as to her whereabouts or to who might have abducted her has been found.
Meanwhile there is still no news regarding the disappearance of 15-year-old Irish girl Amy Fitzpatrick who was last seen in Mijas Costa on New Year’s Day. Detectives are searching for a white Ford Fiesta car with the British registration C955 SLK, which the teenager may have used to run away.
In an attempt to keep hopes of finding Amy alive, a candlelit demonstration has been organised for this Sunday February 3rd in the Bulevar de La Cala, starting at 7 p.m. As well as by members of the Fitzpatrick family, the demonstration will be attended by representatives of the Catholic, Evangelical and Baptist Churches, among others.

Clifford Hobbs country's "premier league" gangsters

Clifford Hobbs, 47, had been on the run for almost five years after escaping from a Securicor prison van in June 2003 by armed men who had posed as postmen who ambushed it as it waited for the court gates to open.
He had been due to attend court after the theft of 1.5 million pounds from another Securicor van earlier that year.
Hobbs, described by news media as one of the country's "premier league" gangsters, had fled to Spain's Costa del Sol.
The area, along the country's southern coast, has long attracted Britons seeking sun and sand alongside British-style pubs and fish and chip shops -- including those fleeing justice.
Britain's Serious Organised Crime Agency and Spanish authorities have recently tried to crack down on British criminals living there, publishing details of the most wanted, including their prominent scars and tattoos.
Hobbs, described by London police headquarters as one of the country's most wanted, now faces up to 18 years in jail for possessing a firearm, his escape and conspiracy to steal.
"For years Hobbs has tried to run from us but today's outcome demonstrates that you can't run forever," Scotland Yard's Flying Squad head, Detective Superintendent Bob Cummings, said. He also thanked his Spanish counterparts.
The van driver was shot in the knee during the breakout and the prisoner escort pistol-whipped, police said.
Two other men also escaped -- Hobbs's alleged accomplice Noel Cunningham and a third unconnected prisoner who later gave himself up.
"As the court has heard, Hobbs is a violent and dangerous offender who was intrinsically part of the plot for his escape," Cummings said. "Extreme violence was dispensed to the prison driver and escort and I'm pleased that the court has recognised the seriousness of his crimes."
The original Securicor van robbery was observed by undercover Flying Squad officers. After a high-speed chase, Hobbs gave himself up to armed police.
"It's been a bad day," Hobbs said after police read him his rights. Cunningham remains on the run, while the two men who ambushed the prison van were never identified or traced.

Darli Velazquez-Armas: Spanish police have arrested a suspected cocaine trafficker

Spanish police have arrested a suspected cocaine trafficker who was wanted in the United States and had undergone facial surgery to avoid detection, nabbing him after a foot chase through a cemetery, officials said Monday.
Darli Velazquez-Armas, a 33-year-old Cuban citizen, was arrested last week in the Canary Islands in a raid coordinated with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Interior Ministry said.
According to U.S. court documents, Velazquez-Armas was arrested on Jan. 30 in a DEA sting operation involving 130 kilos (290 pounds) of cocaine shipped to Miami from Ecuador.
A U.S. grand jury indicted him on drug trafficking charges. He pleaded not guilty and posted a $1 million (€700,000) bond Feb. 20, and was required to surrender his travel documents. His trial was scheduled to begin April 16. Velazquez-Armas failed to appear at a March court hearing, and was declared a fugitive on May 14.
Spanish authorities caught up with him in June in a Madrid suburb, but he escaped a dragnet after ramming his car into a police car.
Velazquez-Armas was later spotted in the town of Vecindario on Gran Canaria, one of Spain's Canary Islands, where he had continued to engage in drug trafficking, and officials put him under surveillance, the Spanish ministry said.
Last Friday, police chased him from Vecindario to the capital city Las Palmas. At one point the suspect got out of his car and fled on foot through a cemetery. He later attempted two carjackings before police finally arrested him in an industrial area, and even then he tried to grab an officer's gun, the ministry said.

Drug trafficker suspect skipped out on a $1 million Federal bond

When a drug trafficking suspect skipped out on a $1 million Federal bond, the bail bonds company traced him to Spain by going through his garbage for clues.
Just weeks after posting a $1 million bond, Darli Velazquez-Armas skipped bail. On March 10th, 2007 Federal authorities were alerted that something was wrong when Velazquez’s electronic monitoring bracelet sent a failure signal that the defendant had failed to report home. The huge bond was posted in the U.S. Southern District Federal Court in Miami, Florida. The $1,000,000.00 Federal bond was underwritten by a California bail bond insurance company.
Within days of jumping bond investigators for Bail Yes Bonding, a Miami based Nationwide bail bond company discovered that Velazquez had fled on a private plane to the Dominican Republic out of Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport located in Southwest Miami-Dade County, where from there the case went cold. Veteran bounty hunter Rolando Betancourt was hired by the bail bond company to track down and capture the fugitive. Betancourt went to work in Miami on several leads focusing mainly on the defendant’s parents and ex-wife, all of which had signed as indemnitors on Velazquez's bond. Betancourt directed teams of investigators across several states, coordinating all aspects of the investigation. "We really pulled-out all the stops on this case” said Betancourt, pooling our resources and working closely with government agencies as is typical today for high-risk fugitive recovery operations. Betancourt went as far as renting a garbage truck to make un-scheduled garbage runs at the defendant’s Miami home. One day, fearing they had been spotted, they were forced to pick up the neighbor's garbage down whole length of the street, “It was a real smelly mess”, recalled Betancourt, “but it had to be done”. The early morning garbage runs paid off, amongst the bags of debris were shredded documents that investigators were able to reconstruct yielding a cache of information including used calling cards, bank records, and pages from a First Class in-flight magazine belonging to a European Airline, leading the investigators to believe the defendant was somewhere in Europe, quite possibly the Country of Spain.

Punta Umbría six Bulgarians arrested Seized 2370 kg of hashish

Bulgaria’s Chief Directorate for Combating Organised Crime (CDCOC) in co-operation with police in Spain seized 2370 kg of hashish and arrested six Bulgarians in a police operation at the Spanish coast near Punta Umbría in the province of Huelva on January 7 2008.
The detained were aged between 25 and 34, CDCOC director Kiril Georgiev said at a news conference. Of the six, three did not have previous criminal record in Bulgaria, while one had been sentenced 11 years ago for illegally crossing the border. Police was still to identify the other two detained.

A year on the Costas holiday from prison for U.K. offender

Escape Leyhill Prison after being jailed for breaking into almost 1,000 cars spent more than a year in sunny Spain and then flew back into Britain without being detected, a court heard.
Andrew Winter then quickly returned to crime - stealing a £1,500 generator in the latest of his many offences, Gloucester Crown Court was told today.
Winter, 32, of Thorsbury Avenue, Matson, Gloucester, admitted escaping from the prison in November 2006 and stealing the Honda generator on January 21 this year.
He was sent back to prison for 18 months by Recorder Shamim Qureshi.
The court had been told that in September 2006 Winter was jailed for two and a half years when he admitted handling stolen goods and asked for 915 offences of stealing from cars to be considered.
Police estimate he has been responsible for £302,000 worth of crimes - but because he is now penniless the court ordered that he will have just £1 confiscated from him under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Recorder Qureshi ordered him to pay the £1 within 28 days - telling him that if he does come into more money he will be liable to have it confiscated as well.
Jailing Winter for 18 months, 12 months for escape and six months for stealing the generator, Recorder Qureshi told him he had breached the trust placed in him at Leyhill.

Standing on the track hugging each other.motive of suicide is now almost certain

Two people, both 57 year old women, a Spaniard and a Belgium, have died after being hit by a train on the new AVE high speed line. It happened in the Málaga municipality of Mollina, 2kms. from the Antequera - Santa Ana station at 9,30pm last night according to the Guardia Civil and emergency services.
It’s understood that the two women had jumped over fencing to reach the train line, and the motive of suicide is now almost certain, according to the Guardia Civil. La Opinion de Málaga reports that the couple was reported to have been standing on the track hugging each other.
Train services were interrupted for more than an hour, and the police are now looking for witnesses to what happened.

Amy Fitzpatrick :Candlelit demonstration

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

Shooting on Calle Asuncíon Parreño García

Shooting on Calle Asuncíon Parreño García in Elche on Tuesday morning has escaped with his life, despite receiving four bullet wounds. The 48 year old was shot twice in the left leg and once in the neck. The fourth bullet went into his right arm.
Doctors said none of the bullets remained lodged in his body and he was expected to be released from hospital shortly. He was shot with a .22 calibre gun and it’s understood none of the bullets damaged any major organs and he only received flesh wounds.

Another child kidnap attempt in Málaga

Another child kidnap attempt in Málaga. Following on from an attempt against an 11 year old girl when she was walking home from school in Arroyo de la Miel on Friday, comes news of another incident on Saturday night in
Málaga City.
A Nigerian man tried to snatch a two year old girl from her grandmother in the Rosaleda Commercial Centre in Málaga City
La Opinion de Málaga reports this morning that it was only the efforts of her grandmother which stopped the kidnapping of the two year old in the Carrefour Rosaleda commercial centre in the city. After the attempt at snatching the child the man followed the grandmother and daughter for some further minutes, leading the grandmother to alert the security guards in the commercial centre.
They detained a Nigerian man who is said to be in Spain irregularly. They held him until the National Police arrived and took him away for questioning. They think he may be suffering some mental problems, but is certainly in Spain illegally. He will appear before a judge shortly.

Morocco-Almeria ferry car theft and forgery of documents

Abdelhak R, has been arrested by the Guardia Civil Port Authorities in Almería on suspicion of car theft and forgery of documents. During routine inspections prior to the boarding of the Morocco-Almeria ferry, Berkane, Guardia Civil officers had reason to believe that documents for a Volkswagen Golf had been tampered with. Subsequent enquiries confirmed that the car, displaying false number plates, had been stolen on January 7 from inside France. They arrested the driver on suspicion of theft and use of a stolen vehicle as well as forgery of legal documents. The suspect, along with the stolen vehicle and other documentary evidence, has been remanded into the custody of examining magistrate court number two in Almería

Drunk driver reversed his car into the Police twice

Police vehicle has been smashed into twice by a drunk driver in Fuengirola. Reports say that the accident occurred just 15 metres away from the police station. The police car was making its way out of the station’s garage, when drunk driver reversed his car into them. According to the officers, they shouted a warning at the man but he continued to reverse his car three more times. The third attempt resulted in another collision which caused damage to the front of the police car. Officers approached the man’s vehicle and observed that he appeared to under the influence of alcohol. A breathalyser test indicated that he was four times over the legal limit. A search of his car also revealed a small amount of marihuana.

extortionists uncovered

Gang of extortionists was uncovered by National Police thanks to an investigation which began at the beginning of the year after an elderly woman in Cadiz reported that a group of people were physically and verbally abusing her and demanding that she pay them 100,000 euros.
The investigation led to the arrest of four people, three of them residents of Malaga, and all with extensive criminal records.
The suspects, who are aged between 39 and 61, now face charges of allegedly forming an illegal association, extortion and threatening behaviour as well as resisting arrest.
According to the police headquarters in Cadiz, the group was an organised and complex gang which had analysed and studied information gathered on the victim as they had realised she was vulnerable. One officer was injured during the arrest.

Daniel Hastelow Spanish autopsy reports no defense wounds

Richard Henry Roberts, 35, and Paul Anthony Griffiths, 22, accused of murdering Daniel Hastelow in Magalluf (Calvia) were sent to jail without remand. They are also accused of breaking and entering and may face 20 years in prison. The two attackers confessed to the crime,Roberts, who is said to have a terminal illness, claimed he had been drinking and had taken drugs and couldn’t remember what had happened. Griffiths claimed to have been a mere spectator.
Autopsy, the body of Daniel Hastelow was autopsied yesterday The autopsy did not reveal any defensive wounds. Daneil Hastelow had received three deep stab wounds in the back and one in the chest and died of massive loss of blood, which is known as a hypovolemic shock.The body also showed signs of a strong blow in the abdomen, which could have been caused by the baseball bat. From the investigations carried out until yesterday, it appears that the victim had no opportunity to defend himself . The two men, armed with a knife and a bat, stormed past into the small apartment at four in the morning. Hastelow shared with two other Britons. He slept on the sofa and his hand was one of his companions, on a mattress on the floor. Everything happened in a few seconds. . The intruders attacked Hastelow and fled. The British had been mortally wounded and lost a lot of blood. He was taken in critical condition by ambulance to Son Dureta, where he died shortly after eight.However, according to the police, Hastelow managed to give them the name of his attacker before he died. The two men were also caught on film by one of the close circuit televisions cameras in the apartment block.
The two alleged attackers, the British also HR Richard and Paul AG, 36 and 22 years old, were arrested about ten o'clock at the airport of Son Sant Joan, while trying to catch a flight to return to his country . In his statement to the Guardia Civil both acknowledged the facts. The alleged perpetrator of the stabbing, Richard HR, argued that either did not remember what happened because he had drunk alcohol and taken pills.Efforts of the Civil Guard to close the case continued yesterday. A team of divers of the Ad Hoc Group of Underwater Activities (GEAS) went to the beach Magaluf, where two detainees said they had thrown the knife with which reportedly injured Hastelow. Divers had already inspected the beach on Sunday afternoon, and yesterday continued to crawl. The agents of the Judicial Police took place at the two detainees, to indicate the spot where the site would be the weapon.
The search was complicated because the seabed accumulates a large number of dead algae, which makes it very difficult to see. The search ended mid-morning with no positive results, and researchers had doubts that detainees were telling the truth about the place where they would be the knife.
Other teams inspected guards during the afternoon of Sunday, the homes of those arrested. . At the home of Paul AG were his parents, who knew nothing of what had happened.

Allan Foster aka Sean Wilkinson. new siteings

David "Noddy" Rice, of St Vincent Street, South Shields, was shot nine times by two masked men on the seafront at Marsden.
A jury at Newcastle Crown Court heard how he had been lured to the meeting by Steven Bevens, 39, who worked for gunman Allan Foster, a drug dealer originally from South Tyneside, who had moved abroad.
Bevens, of Wheatsheaf Court, Sunderland, denied Mr Rice's murder but was convicted in April and sentenced to life with a minimum of 26 years.
Derek Stephen Blackburn, 51, from Humberside, pleaded guilty to assisting an offender after admitting driving Bevens and another man away in a Ford Transit following the murder. He was sentenced to four years.
Police are trying to trace Foster, 30, who sometimes goes under the name Sean Wilkinson. He is known to have associates in the Kent area. He has also spent time in Majorca, the Canaries, Spain and Thailand.

Drug dealers operating out of Málaga's El Palo district.

More than 4kg of the designer drug, crystal Meth , has been seized by National Police officers in Málaga.

It was being transported by motorcycle from Madrid for distribution through small-scale drug dealers operating out of Málaga's El Palo district.
Six youths aged between 24-32, including the motorcyclist, have been arrested - two were detained in Málaga, two in Madrid, one in Sierra Nevada (Granada) and one in Valdepeñas (Ciudad Real).
However, the whereabouts of the 22 year old alleged leader of the gang, who fled Spain during an unrelated police investigation last year, remain a mystery.
Apart from the MDMA powder, 350g hashish, 50g marihuana, two wraps of cocaine, and several laptop computers were also seized during the ongoing operation, which has already resulted in the largest haul of MDMA powder ever recovered by Spanish police.

Charged with drug trafficking and bribery

A 50 year old prison officer from Alhaurín de la Torre jail was remanded in custody without bail by a judge at Málaga provincial court at a preliminary hearing earlier today.
The Guard, who is charged with drug trafficking and bribery, was arrested at the prison gates last Thursday by officers from the National Police's Drug and Organised Crime Squad after being found in possession of drugs, alcohol and several mobile phones

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Four and a half kilos of Hashish

Guardi Civil arrested six eastern Europeans on suspicion of drug trafficking. Police arrested the men on 22 January 2008 in Almería Port, along the southeastern coast of Spain, after they arrived on a ferry from Melilla. Since the time of arrest, the six men have expelled as many as 630 balls of hashish from their bodies. The men used cling wrap to secure the balls of hashish in their systems. The group was carrying as much as four and a half kilos of drugs in their bodies.

Dolores Vázquez

The Justice ministry has awarded Dolores Vázquez, who spent 17 months in jail falsely accused of a murder that Tony Alexander King subsequently confessed to, €120,000 in compensation - substantially less than the €4 million requested by Ms Vázquez's lawyers.
Ms Vázquez was arrested in 2000, eleven months after the body of 19 year old Rocío Wanninkhof - who went missing from Mijas on the 9th October 1999 - was found on the 2nd November in Marbella.
Although no evidence implicating Ms Vázquez, who was going out with the dead girl's mother, was ever found, she was found guilty one week after her arrest - on the 19th September 2001 - and sentenced to serve 15 years and one day in jail.
She was eventually cleared after DNA evidence implicating Tony Alexander King recovered after the murder in Coín of Sonia Carabantes in 2003, was found to match traces found at the Rocío Wanninkhof crime scene, and King's subsequent confession.

18 years in prison and fined them 400,000 €

The Provincial Court in Málaga has sentenced two men to a total of 18 years in prison and fined them 400,000 € after they were found guilty of carrying nearly five kilos of cocaine in the false bottom of their vehicle.
The case dates back to March 2003 and 3 kilo more of the drugs was found in the house of one of the accused.
Two women who accompanied the men at the time of the arrest were found not guilty, with the court considering that their participation in the drug trafficking was not proven.

Fuengirola: Gang of drug traffickers

The police on the Costa del Sol have broken up a gang of drug traffickers who are alleged to have carried out a kidnapping in Fuengirola. Eight people have been arrested.
A police statement said that the investigation, codenamed Cleopatra, was opened when police realised the gang had arrived in the area from L’Hospotalet de Llobregat in Barcelona, and that those arrested were moving large amounts of money and drugs.
267 kilos of hashish have been recovered as a result, as well as a firearm, several vehicles and false documentation.

Arrested six eastern Europeans

The Guardia Civil in Almería Port has arrested six eastern Europeans, all now living in Madrid, on suspicion of drug trafficking, after they arrived on the ‘Santa Cruz de Tenerife’ ferry from Melilla. The officers thought the group was acting nervously, and since their arrest they have between them expelled as many as 630 balls of cling film wrapped hashish from their bodies.
It’s estimated that between them the six were carrying as much as four and a half kilos of the drug in their intestines.
The detentions happened last Monday, but details of the operation have only just been released. The detained men will all appear before Instruction Court 4 in Almería later.

11 year old girl :New Kidnap attempt on the Costa

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

Daniel Hastelow Case: Richard Roberts,Anthony Griffiths Declarations in front of the Judge

Richard Roberts, aged 35, and Anthony Griffiths, 22. The paper gives the victim’s name as Daniel Hastelow.
Mr Roberts reportedly told the Civil Guard that he had had a number of arguments with the victim in the past, and had been threatened by him on each occasion. He said Mr Griffiths had no part in the crime, who himself said the two were in the apartment looking for another man who lived there and they thought Mr Hastelow would still be out. He said neither of them went there with the intention of killing him.

David Alfred Andrews

David Alfred Andrews, 66, was born in the village and is accused of being behind the importing of cocaine from south America.
Crimestoppers and SOCA have issued new appeals for information concerning Andrews and nine other British men thought to be on the run in the Costa del Sol region of Spain.
He allegedly conspired to import large amounts of the drug by using corrupt Heathrow Airport employees.
Operation Captura was originally launched in October 2006, and eight of 20 fugitives have so far been brought to justice.
Bill Hughes, director general of SOCA, said: "British crooks who thought they could enjoy a yachts and villas' lifestyle in Spain have received a nasty shock. Many of them are now experiencing a rather different lifestyle at Her Majesty's pleasure."
Andrews is 5ft 11in tall, has grey, collar-length hair, large build and is usually clean shaven.

Stephen Johnson

Stephen Johnson, who denies any wrongdoing, has appeared in court in the Canary Islands, accused of fatally stabbing a 25-year-old Moroccan man in the popular resort of Playa de las Americas.
He has been released from custody on bail, but is not allowed to leave the country and is believed to have surrendered his passport to the authorities.
The 54-year-old dad-of-two, from Elvet Green, Hetton, runs Stepy's Coaches, which has sponsored the Durham and District Sunday Football League for a number of years.
As well as catering for weddings, anniversaries and hen nights, the family-run firm has regular pick-up points for weekend revellers from Easington, Seaham, Shiney Row and Houghton, and returns from outside Fitzgerald's.
Mr Johnson was arrested after the incident on January 11.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman told the Echo: "We can confirm that he has been released on bail, but he is not at liberty to leave the country."
She added: "We are providing him with consular assistance."
Mr Johnson's family declined to comment.
It has been reported that the Moroccan was involved in a fight with four men in an area known at The Patch.
The victim was discovered lying in a pool of blood by security staff, who alerted police, at the top nightspot Americas Shopping Centre in Avenida Rafael Puig.
He was taken to the nearby Hospital Sur in a critical condition, but doctors pronounced him dead shortly afterwards from a stab wound to the stomach.
A man from Liverpool has also been arrested by Spanish Police, as an accomplice to murder.


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Antonio Banderas ordered to demolish a large chunk of his beachfront house near Marbella.

Antonio Banderas became the most famous name to fall foul of Spain's efforts to clean up illegal developments when he was orderedto demolish a large chunk of his beachfront house near Marbella.
A court in Andalucía rejected an appeal by Banderas's lawyers against a demolition order handed down in 2003. The star of the Mask of Zorro and Spy Kids was given permission by Marbella's town council in 1995 to build a large extension to his villa, but the court has now ruled that the add-on is illegal and Banderas has been given two months to knock it down.

Los Alcázares

In Spain, powerful investigating judges lead the way in investigating corruption. They have extensive powers and can imprison anyone they wish to interview. Also involved are the National Police and Guardia Civil who have specialist units that the judges make use of. Money laundering is a prime concern. One big problem for criminals is explaining how they came by their wealth. Washing the cash through seemingly-legitimate enterprises allows it to be used safely. The investigating judges in the Los Alcázares and Totana cases are continuing their work and calling in more and more people for examination. Some are released afterwards and others are released but only on bail. No charges have been brought at this stage so no-one can formally plead either innocence or guilt. Many local people in the two towns are outraged at the investigations. Buses have been used in Totana to take supporters to demonstrations in support of their mayor and in Los Alcázares there were loud shouts of support for the ex-mayor when he was released from custody after being examined. Citizens complain that their communities are being slandered and damaged by the allegations and massive publicity. The case at Los Alcázares is known as Operation Ninette.The investigation is looking into suspicions that transactions in the town relating to property development have been corrupt, with bribery, money laundering and other offences being involved. The former mayor, Juan Escudro, was held in the cells of the National Police station at Cartagena while he was questioned.

Also arrested was the ex-secretary of the Municipal Council, Diego Sánchez Gómez. He has been released on bail. His son is also under investigation.The municipal architect, Mariano Ayuso, is now in prison and answering questions. Two prominent local businessmen are also in prison. There are strong family relationships between some of those being investigated. One woman is suspected of being a front person and she is the second cousin of the ex-mayor and sister in law of the municipal architect. The suspicions are that Juan Antonio Roca had strong links with people in the Los Alcázares town hall, through a company controlled by him. One case that is drawing particular attention involves a plot of rural land known as La Dorada. The town hall reclassified its use and it then passed into the hands of a company which later sold it to another company. In the process the value of the land increased in a few months from 742,000 euros to an estimated two million euros. Other major developments in the area are suspected to be involved with Roca, who is a native of Cartagena and who has a large home in the Los Alcázares area. The corruption investigations involving him in Marbella are still continuing. The Totana case, known as Operation Totem, became public a short time before investigators swooped at Los Alcázares. At Totana the current mayor, José Martínez, is sitting in prison while another investigating judge continues with his work. The former mayor of Totana, and current Regional Assembly Deputy, Juan Morales, is also being questioned.

A prominent local businessman and more than a dozen other people have been interviewed, including the secretary of the Totana town hall and the chief of police. There has been no suggestion of any link between the investigations going on at Totana and the Marbella case. Again, development rights are the prime issue. One aspect is the wish of a company to have re-classified some 2.2 million square meters of rural land for the construction of 5,040 houses. Meanwhile, other investigations into possible wrong doings are taking place at the Murcia towns of Torre Pacheco and Fuente Alamo. In both cases large amounts of documents have been seized and investigations are continuing. Those involved deny any wrongdoing. Near Águilas, a high-profile case involving land at La Zerrichera, is continuing to unfold. This major development was approved by the local town hall despite being in an area protected on environmental grounds and which is a major European bird reserve. Thousands of houses were planned together with golf courses and all the usual urbanisation facilities. The development came to a grinding halt, however, when higher authorities became involved. Just how the plans were approved in the first place is now the subject of detailed investigations. Again, all concerned deny any wrongdoing.