MARBELLA CLUB

Jamal Shakir, the leader of the Rollin’ 90s Crips, and more than 40 other defendants in 1998 as part of a massive gang violence investigation.Shakir was accused of killing or playing a role in the deaths of nine people while running part of a massive drug enterprise from his Nashville home. He was found guilty in May of 2008 and faces life in prison.Authorities say he has continued to direct the gang from behind bars. In October, two alleged gang members were charged with plotting to break him out of jail by using a helicopter to lift him off the exercise yard.

November 23, at approximately 5.30pm, two young boys, aged 12, were sitting at the side of the road on their schoolbags having a drink of water in the Calahonda / Riviera del Sol area when a white transit van, with at least two male occupants, approached and parked near to them. Suddenly, two men jumped out of the van and tried to grab the boys. The boys panicked and ran off, and one of the youngsters managed to escape their reach, but the other was grabbed by the men. Luckily, the boys are both over 5ft tall and between them were able to fight the attackers off and escape.

man was arrested in Malaga for allegedly stabbing another man, aged 37, who threatened him with a knife and attempted to mug him, for which he was also arrested. According to the Local Police, the original victim of the crime struggled with the man who was attempting to rob him of his belongings and managed to take the knife from him, after which, he stabbed him several times in the leg, hand and cheek.
The Local Police found the injured man who told them that his attacker had fled the scene. However, he was later found and identified by the officers, and informed them that it was he who had originally been the victim. The 10-centimetre switchblade knife, which had been thrown down after the attack, was also found.

Mayor of Polop de la Marina, Alejandro Ponsoda, was killed in October 2007 because he opposed a real estate plan.The Guardia Civil on Thursday arrested a suspect in Albatera and reports are now that they are continuing to search for two foreign professional hit men, at least one of them thought to be Czech.
Members of the local Town Hall are under investigation as part of the case.
The movement in the case comes two years after the Mayor was shot outside his home. He died in hospital eight days after the attack.If the police are correct this is the first assassination in Spain carried out because of a real estate deal.
Current Mayor of the town, Juan Cano, has spoken of his ‘personal satisfaction’ that an arrest has taken place in the case, and said he thought more detentions were likely.

Spain is the largest cocaine consumer in the European Union (EU), a report by the European drug monitoring authority showed on Thursday. While marijuana consumption slightly fell among the Spaniards, cocaine consumption has spread in the country.
Over the past year, 3.1 percent of the Spaniards admitted having consumed cocaine, while 1.1 percent said they did it in the past month, according to the report presented by the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction. During the last four of five years, Spain's cocaine consumption has stabilized after registering a large increase in the years before. But "this is small progress, there is still much to do," the report said. In addition, 10.1 percent of the Spaniards aged between 15 and 64 years admitted having consumed marijuana in the past year, compared with the 11.2 percent a year before, while 7.1 percent said they had used it in the past month compared with 8.7 percent a year earlier. Wolfgang Goetz, director of the drug monitoring body, said that cocaine’s easy availability in the European market was one of the reasons for its spread

Danish man sought in connection with Jutland woman’s murder reportedly arrested in Spain Spanish police have arrested a 44-year-old man who Danish police say is John Knudsen, the prime suspect sought in the murder of his girlfriend, Kirsten Bay Andersen....

Spanish police have arrested a 44-year-old man who Danish police say is John Knudsen, the prime suspect sought in the murder of his girlfriend, Kirsten Bay Andersen.

The arrest was made late last night in the city of Zaragoza, said Bent Thuesen, spokesman for the police in southern Jutland.

Andersen, 52, disappeared on 26 September after an office party in the town of Haderslev. Her body was found at the bottom of Haderslev Fjord a week later bound to a lead block.
Knudsen had left his home days before the find and was last seen on 29 September, just south of the German border.

Police subsequently arrested Knudsen in absentia and an international warrant was issued for his capture.

Within the next few days Knudsen will be extradited to Denmark and officially charged with the crime

Spanish police have arrested a 44-year-old man who Danish police say is John Knudsen, the prime suspect sought in the murder of his girlfriend, Kirsten Bay Andersen.Danish man sought in connection with Jutland woman’s murder reportedly arrested in Spain Spanish police have arrested a 44-year-old man who Danish police say is John Knudsen, the prime suspect sought in the murder of his girlfriend, Kirsten Bay Andersen.The arrest was made late last night in the city of Zaragoza, said Bent Thuesen, spokesman for the police in southern Jutland.Andersen, 52, disappeared on 26 September after an office party in the town of Haderslev. Her body was found at the bottom of Haderslev Fjord a week later bound to a lead block.
Knudsen had left his home days before the find and was last seen on 29 September, just south of the German border.Police subsequently arrested Knudsen in absentia and an international warrant was issued for his capture.Within the next few days Knudsen will be extradited to Denmark and officially charged with the crime

Police from the violent crime squad of the National Police in Benidorm have arrested a 42 year old Romanian man in La Vila Joiosa in connection with several sexual aggressions carried out on a British holidaymaker in Benidorm. Another two men, aged 19 and 20 and also Romanian, who allegedly took part have also been arrested.
The three are accused of holding the woman against her will in a rural house in the Galandú area of Villajoyosa, near the district hospital. She was raped and forced to have sex with the men several times over a period of more than three hours.
After the attack the woman went to the police in Benidorm, and was taken to a health centre for tests.Police say the three men resisted arrest when they were tracked down, and in one case a car chase resulted in ‘a violent crash’ which resulted in an officer in the police car being seriously injured.The three men will appear in court in Villajoyosa shortly.

Spanish police has raided what is being described as the largest cocaine manufacturing plant in the country, which has been located on a farm in Diamiel, Ciudad Real.The facilities were capable of producing as much as 50 kilos of cocaine a week.Those running the plant camouflaged the drug with cacao from Venezuela.Members of the GEO Special Operations Group impounded more than eight tons of chemical substances, 275 kilos of substances used to cut the drug, hydraulic presses and other items in the operation which also resulted in 11 arrests, eight of whom were working in the manufacture of the drug at the time of the raid. The owner of the farm is a Colombian national.Police say the centre had only been producing drugs for a week. The Chief of the Organised Crime Anti-Drug squad, UDYCO, Eloy Quirós, said in a press conference that it was as if a grand laboratory had been lifted out of the Latin American forest and placed complete here.

International appeal to track down fugitive Allan Foster brought in just two calls, it has been revealed.The gangster was named by police as the man behind the brutal killing of dad-of-seven David "Noddy" Rice at Marsden Lea car park in May 2007.
Mr Rice, 42, from South Shields, was gunned down at close range as he sat in his car.
Foster, of Rushcliffe, Fulwell, is said to have fled the UK soon after and is believed to be hiding out in Spain.But despite an international appeal to trace him, only two calls have been made to Crimestoppers.Last year the 37-year-old was included on a top 10 list of the UK's most wanted fugitives as part of Operation Captura – which concentrated on finding those who had fled to Spain.A photograph of him was released by Crimestoppers, in partnership with the Serious Organised Crime Agency. But despite the high-profile appeal, Foster remains at large.
A Crimestoppers spokeswoman said: "There have been two calls in relation to Allan Foster. But there has been no news of any imminent arrest."Crimestoppers is now renewing its appeal for information on the whereabouts of Foster, who is also known to use the name Shaun Michael Wilkinson.

Former head of Interpol has gone on trial in South Africa accused of corruption after he received gifts from an alleged gangster that were bought from Harrods and boutiques in London.Jackie Selebi, who is also South Africa's national police chief, resigned as president of the international police agency after he was charged last year.The indictment paints a devastating picture of alleged corruption at the top levels of policing in South Africa.

The 57-year-old, who first came to prominence for his role in the kidnap of businessman's wife Jennifer Guinness in the 1980s, moved to the Costa del Sol earlier this year.Gardai now believe that Cunningham, who has served time in the Netherlands and Ireland for drugs offences, is associating with younger Irish expat criminals.Security sources confirmed that the Ballyfermot-born gangster is a target of the Garda National Drugs Unit, liaising with their Spanish counterparts.He was released from prison here in February 2007 and returned to a home address in Tallaght. But sources say he has now relocated to Spain.One source said: "The information is that Mr Cunningham is back to his old tricks, and has opted to base himself in Spain this time." The criminal is known as 'Gentleman John' for his well- spoken manner, and lived a life of luxury in the Netherlands prior to his arrest there in March 2000. He served four-and-a-half years of an eight-year prison term in the Netherlands for trafficking and possession of ecstasy, amphetamines and cannabis. He was then transferred to Ireland, where he spent the remainder of the sentence at Limerick Prison. Cunningham first came to public attention in the 1980s, when he was jailed for 17 years for his part in the 1986 abduction of Jennifer Guinness, wife of John Guinness, a director of Guinness and Mahon bank. While awaiting early release for that crime, Cunningham escaped from Shelton Abbey and fled to the Netherlands in late 1996. There he managed to build a drugs empire worth €50m.A former associate of both Gilligan and Martin 'The General' Cahill, Cunningham developed a multi-million euro drugs empire. After he was caught in 2000, Cunningham was convicted of trafficking over €10m worth of drugs between Holland and Ireland.
At his Dutch trial, the public prosecutor noted: "This man looks like everybody's favourite neighbour, but don't be deceived by his friendly face and tidy appearance."
Investigators discovered how Cunningham had established a life of luxury in the Netherlands, renting a luxury home with its own swimming pool close to Amsterdam Airport, where he lived with his family.

Law agencies across Europe fear any celeb is at risk in the Spanish resorts where Britons flock for sunshine holidays.The player, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was targeted while visiting the area at the end of last year's football season. But the plan was aborted at the last minute.Ex-British intelligence agent Paul Grimshaw, now a security consultant in Marbella, said: "Crime gangs from Eastern Europe and Russian are moving in. The area is teeming with wealth."They don't care who they target as long as there is money to be earned. The footballer was picked out for that reason."They got cold feet. But reliable sources are adamant that a highprofile celebrity kidnapping is only a matter of time. Footballers, especially wealthy ones, should be vigilant at all times."Grimshaw revealed the threat of kidnap is scaring the wealthy away from Spain. He said: "Former England manager Steve McClaren sold his villa last year over fears about the rising crime rate. The Qatar royal family has not visited its 14-bedroom home in Marbella for nearly five years and will probably never return."A personal security officer for Spanish-based CCS24Gibraltar said: "I've worked on the Costa del Sol for ten years and crime has never been worse. It's dangerous and frightening. Kidnappings, drug-trafficking and robberies happen all the time."High walls and cameras don't deter these criminals. If they want to get you - they will."Leeds-born Grimshaw, 46, alerted the Football Association and the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) to the soccer star plot. He wrote in August: "An England player was the target of a kidnap plot after the Champions League Final in Moscow in 2008. It is believed the player was pinpointed at either a training camp or during a vacation in southern Spain."Anybody travelling abroad should review their security arrangements. This threat was not limited to one player."Pfa chief executive Gordon Taylor said: "We can't afford not to take information like this seriously in this day and age.

"Liverpool's Steven Gerrard and Everton's Phil Jagielka were targeted by burglars. Spurs player Wilson Palacios' brother Edwin was kidnapped in Honduras in May. Wilson paid a £125,000 ransom but Edwin was murdered."There is precedent for snatching soccer stars. Manchester United ace Dimitar Berbatov was kidnapped in his native Bulgaria while an 18-year-old with CSKA Sofia. He was freed unharmed but recalled yesterday: "It was a horrific ordeal."Grimshaw, who has lived in Spain for 20 years, warned: "Abduction worries have rocketed, particularly in Marbella."The Russian Mafia has been gaining ground in Spain since the last property boom made it an attractive place to launder money. They prey on the rich - and will stop at nothing.In June, four Russians grabbed a man in the street in Estepona and told him he would die within 24 hours unless he paid them £12,000. He escaped after being tortured for two days. Some gangs are Kosovan Albanians, often ex-soldiers. Others are Romanian and Lithuanian.The family of property developer Frank Capa - a pal of Rod Stewart - paid a £1 million for his release after he was kidnapped in Marbella in 2004.Ian Watmore of the FA confirmed they were reviewing player security after Grimshaw's tip. A security officer added: "Famous footballers and celebrities are sitting ducks. I advise them to choose their friends carefully."

Twenty-five Britons are being questioned by the Spanish Guardia Civil on suspicion of selling ecstasy and other drugs to young holidaymakers in Ibiza.The suspects, most of them believed to be from Liverpool, were held on Friday after a series of drugs raids in the "party capital" San Antonio. Police seized between 20,000 and 23,000 ecstasy pills, quantities of other drugs including cocaine, ketamine and crystal meth, and €100,000 (£87,000) in cash.An investigating judge was expected to begin questioning the alleged dealers today. They are alleged to have spent much of the summer selling drugs to fellow Britons in the notorious West End neighbourhood of discos and other nightspots in the resort of San Antonio, on Ibiza's west coast.
Those arrested include youngsters allegedly selling the drugs at the entrances to clubs and bars, and older men alleged to be the leaders of the group. Several of those held over the weekend had reportedly been arrested earlier in the summer season.Drug-squad detectives have long suspected Liverpool-based gangs of supplying drugs to the young Britons who descend on Ibiza each summer. In 2006 members of a Merseyside gang were involved in a car chase and shoot-out with rivals in a turf war in San Antonio. Two teenage holidaymakers from Belfast were seriously injured when they were caught in the crossfire as two vehicles sped through West End with guns blazing.

Spanish authorities have denied that there any suspicious circumstances involved in the death of Irish boxer Ollie Walsh, 33. Mr Walsh, a former kick-boxing champion from Wexford, had been living in Spain for 18 months before he died in his home in the village of Guaro, 30 miles from Malaga on the Costa del Sol, on August 22.
Police have decided not to investigate the death, and a judge has archived the case. A spokeswoman for the Civil Guard denied reports that fake passports, weapons, needles and hand grenades were found in Mr Walsh's home.

Local police in Isla Cristina, Huelva, have released details to EFE of a major drugs haul at the town’s port last weekend, when 5 tons of cannabis were found on board a fishing boat in the early hours of Saturday.Five foreign nationals were arrested by the Civil Guard and, while their nationalities have not been released, it’s understood that the vessel flies under a Portuguese flag, although it is based at Isla Cristina.The Civil Guard investigation remains open and further arrests have not been ruled out.

PAY-AS-YOU-GO mobile phone users have just three months to register their SIM cards, the ministry of the interior has reminded the public today.
Anyone who does not do so before November 9 will lose their number and be left without a phone line.The interior ministry says it is concerned to note that ‘several million’ mobile phone user still have not registered their SIM cards.
To do so, users should go to a point of sale of their telephone operator – such as Movistar, Vodaphone or Orange – bringing photo identification with them such as a passport or residence card.Only around 15 million SIM cards purchased before November 2007 are affected, since those bought since are automatically registered to the user. The main reasons for the change in law requiring mobile users to register their SIM cards is to enable the detection and investigation of serious crimes.
Certain criminal gangs and terrorist groups use pay-as-you-go mobile telephones to remain anonymous.

Drugs Gang with clients all over Europe has been broken up in a police operation which has seen 3 arrests in Marbella. The Interior Ministry said most of the gang’s clients were in the UK, Belgium and Italy, where the drugs smuggled in from Morocco were delivered by road.The group stored the cannabis in warehouses in Marbella and laundered the proceeds through companies set up in Spain which invested the money in property and construction, both in Spain and abroad.The three men in custody are a Russian man, A.K., A Danish citizen originally from Morocco, R.N., and his brother, H.N. Police seized three top range vehicles and 50,000 € in cash in property searches which took place in Marbella and Ceuta.

16 year old Briton, Alex Hughes. is in a coma after being stabbed by a group of three Spaniards in Palma de Mallorca. He was on holiday in Puerto de Andratx, and witnesses say he was hit for talking to a group of Spanish girls outside a bar at 3am on Saturday morning. They say he was first punched and kicked and then hit over the head with a bottle, which left him unconscious. Local police called the emergency services.His parents Dermot and Helen have flown to the island from their home in Wales to be with their son. The father told the Sun newspaper ‘All we can do is wait with fingers crossed’. Alex remains in a serious condition, while a group of his friends have opened a page for him on Facebook.El País reports that the Guardia Civil has identified the aggressors, and expect to make arrests shortly.Alex Hughes, 16, from Radyr, near Cardiff, was hit over the head with a bottle as he left a nightclub in the Port d'Andratx resort. The Spanish Civil Guard confirmed Alex, who was staying with three friends and their parents, was injured in the attack and is in a coma. The boy's grandmother said he remains critically ill. "We are just praying that he will make it," said Pauline Simms, who lives in Aberdare, in the Cynon Valley. "He was over on holidays with friends and their parents for a nice break after doing their GCSEs. Alex was trying to escape but was hit on the head with a bottle Dr Dermot Hughes, Alex's father "They went to a little nightclub which was (in) a very quiet resort in Majorca and these Spanish boys set upon them after they came out from the nightclub on their way home. "Alex was the unlucky one to be hit on the head with a bottle." Mrs Simms said a parent of one of his friends had been waiting up for them to return, and called paramedics who took Alex to hospital in Palma. "They decided immediately to operate on him and at the moment it is still a very serious situation," added his grandmother. A Civil Guard spokesman said: "Police are investigating the incident. There are three male suspects but no arrests have been made." Police on Majorca say there are three male suspects in the case The Sun newspaper said the attackers targeted Alex and his friends because they had been dancing with local girls. Alex's father Dr Dermot Hughes, a consultant anaesthetist in neurosurgery, and his mother Helen flew out to be at their son's bedside. Dr Hughes told the paper: "All we can do is wait with our fingers crossed and pray he comes out of his coma. "Unfortunately for our boys, they waited for them to leave, drove up in a car and attacked them. "Alex was trying to escape but was hit on the head with a bottle. "Alex is a lover not a fighter. He has a quiet manner but is quick-witted - a lovely boy." Well wishers and friends from Radyr Comprehensive School where Alex is a pupil have set up a Facebook group supporting him.

The Costa del Gangster editorial staff have been earning a well earned rest after the amazing success of the last 18 mounth on the Costa del Sol. After carousing around our well known watering spots and entertaining our stringers. We have found a new watering hole away from the bright lights of Puerto Banus 15 minutes up a mountain road to Istan a white village nestling in the Sierras.Entre Sierras is the only place to eat, drink and be merry.Their speciality nights are the talk of the coast with many well known faces,you know what I mean, dropping in.Their webpage is www.entresierra.blogspot.com