'Hatchet' Gerard Kavanagh shot dead in Costa del Sol pub

Gerard Kavanagh was shot dead in a bar on the Costa del Sol Notorious gangster Gerard “Hatchet” Kavanagh was gunned down by two masked assassins yesterday as he relaxed in a Spanish pub.

The 44-year-old was riddled with up to nine bullets by the hitmen, who burst into the Costa del Sol bar in Elviria, near Marbella, just before 4pm Irish time on Saturday. A source said: “The shooting had all the hallmarks of a professional hit.” Terrified gangster Kavanagh tried to flee after spotting the assassins coming through the door of Harmons Irish Bar in Elviria, a 20-minute drive east of Marbella. But it was too late for the doomed crime boss, who fell to the ground in a hail of bullets surrounded by a pool of his own blood. A burnt-out BMW X3 was discovered nearby shortly after the shooting, which happened in broad daylight around 4pm Irish time. Spanish police were last night carrying out a forensic search of the vehicle to see if it was used as the getaway car. A source said: “The gunmen were wearing balaclavas and were dressed from head to toe in black. “The shooting had all the hallmarks of a professional hit. It looks like they picked a time when they knew the bar wasn’t going to be busy. “It is believed the victim was trying to flee when he was shot because many of the nine bullets he took hit him in the back.”

Notorious Irish gangster Gerard 'Hatchet' Kavanagh shot dead in Costa del Sol bar  A police spokesman said: “A fatal shooting has occurred near to Marbella. We are investigating.” Witnesses to the shooting told last night how the gunmen shot their victim in the back as he talked with a mystery woman – and finished the job off as he tried to run for his life. One said: “He was sat on a chair in a pair of green swimshorts talking to a woman I’d never seen before. “The men rushed up to him from behind and shot him two or three times in the back and, as he tried to run for the safety of the bar, finished the job off with a shot to the back of the head. “They turned him over to see if he was dead before fleeing. It was absolutely horrific. “The police took the dead man’s black Audi away and undertakers removed his body around 8pm.” Another said: “The killers left the engine on their getaway car running. “I’ve been told it was found burnt out at a supermarket just down the road.” A pal, who asked not to be named, said: “The dead man was lying face down just inside the door of the bar when I saw him. “He was dressed in just a pair of shorts and there was a lot of blood.” Harmons bar is sandwiched between two restaurants in a pretty, tree-lined square just off the N340 dual carriageway running along the Costa del Sol, which was once dubbed the Road of Death because of the number of accidents along it. The bar was closed last night after the horror shooting. A woman who answered a side door said: “Sorry we’ve got nothing to say. We’re not going to speak.” The owner of a neighbouring bar said: “I don’t want to say anything. This is very bad for business.” Kavanagh’s body was taken to the Costa del Sol State Hospital for X-rays last night to determine exactly how many bullets were in his body. Kavanagh, from Ben Bulben Road in Drimnagh, West Dublin, was a senior member of the notorious Kinahan gang, controlled by godfather Christy Kinahan, who is based on the Costa del Sol.

The gang is involved in drug debt collection, drug dealing on an international scale and is suspected of ordering several executions in Crumlin-Drimnagh feud. Kavanagh was jailed for four years in 1996 when he was just 25 for dealing heroin in the Crumlin area. Back then his defence had argued that Kavanagh was only before the court as he had developed a drugs habit forcing him to work as a courier for gangs. The Dublin Circuit Criminal Court was told that he was involved in a chain of drug distribution headed by drug barons. Following his sentence, Kavanagh paired up with Tallaght gangster Paul Rice, who was jailed for 10 years in July 1995 after pleading guilty to the robbery of a bank in which shots were fired. Together they rose to the top of the drug ladder before Kavanagh packed up and moved to Spain where he was reported to be supplying most of Tallaght and a large area of Drimnagh with illegal drugs. He has been living in Benalmadena for almost a decade with his wife and two children where his daughter is a star of the show-jumping circuit and his son is a professional boxer. Security sources say that the shooting has now raised fears for the safety of the Kinahans.

The scene of the shooting is near to the luxury Don Carlos Hotel, which this weekend is hosting the 19th US-Spain forum. The Spanish ambassador to the USA and the American ambassador to Spain were among guests who opened the three-day event and security had been stepped up significantly in the area. Kavanagh was jailed for four years in March 1996 after he was caught with €3,500 worth of heroin and cannabis. In court, Detective Eamonn Maloney said that Kavanagh was “a major figure in drug supplies in the Crumlin, Drimnagh and Dolphin’s Barn areas of Dublin for some time”. He was forced to flee Ireland after he was targeted by anti-drug vigilantes and the Crininal Assets Bureau.

Irish man shot dead in suspected gangland murder in Spanish bar

Irish man shot dead in Spain was a well-known criminal who closely associated with some of the biggest drug dealers in Ireland and who gardaí believe was the intended target of a botched murder bid last month. The dead man, in his 40s and from Dublin, was singled out in a bar on the Costa del Sol on Saturday afternoon by two masked gunmen who fired at least nine shots, most of which are believed to have hit the victim.

The victim tried to run to safety when he saw the gunmen coming for him but collapsed on the premises when wounded. He was unresponsive when the emergency services later arrived at the scene. He was taken by ambulance to hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after arriving. The murder occurred just before 5.30pm local time at an Irish bar in Elivira, on the outskirts of Marbella. A BMW the gunmen are believed to have been driven to and from the scene in was later found burnt out by Spanish police.

SCARFACE MURDER:A man identified as Amsterdam crime boss Samir B. was murdered in Benahavis, Marbella

A man identified as Amsterdam crime boss Samir B. was murdered in Benahavis, Marbella in Spain on Wednesday. image: inmo-andalucia.com The 36-year-old, also known as “Scarface,” was killed in the Spanish town near Marbella on Wednesday afternoon, Het Parool reports.

 

News reports speak of a gangland execution. Samir B. was in the Monte Halcones mall in the picturesque mountain village around 2.00pm when he was shot multiple times in his back and head by two assailants. He was apparently shot on his way out of a storefront in the shopping center. Witnesses called the authorities, but the emergency services could do nothing to resuscitate him.

The Dutch-Moroccan victim from near Sloterdijk in Amsterdam West has been named in connection with sizeable drug deals. Crimesite.nl writes that he was the largest drug dealer in the city, and he actually marked his cocaine blocks with his own stamp. B. had relocated to Spain a few years back, but apparently his hold on the Amsterdam underground remained. Het Parool writes that B. had a long career in the underworld of Amsterdam West. He grew to be one of the biggest crime bosses in the city.   In June 2010 he was arrested there and extradited to the Netherlands, in connection with the death of 12-year-old Danny Gubbels in Breda; the boy died when someone opened fire on his parent’s trailer and B. was named. He was released after only a few days in prison here, for lack of evidence.   His execution in Benahavis is being investigated by the local police, as well as the Spanish military police force, Guardia Civil, and national police agents. Earlier this month, another of Amsterdam’s criminal leaders, Derkiaoui van der Meijden, was also killed in Amsterdam Oost.

240 kilos of cocaine have been found in the hull of a yacht in Huelva

240 kilos of cocaine have been found in the hull of a yacht in Huelva Agents from the National Police, in collaboration with the United States DEA, have arrested six people; four in the province of Huelva and two in Madrid in the three searches carried out as part of the same operation. The investigation started at the beginning of April, when large amounts of cocaine has been arriving in Europe by sea, carried out by an international organisation. Further investigations revealed the head of the organisation is a Spaniard, who lives in Colombia, and who had returned to Spain recently, presumably, to coordinate a consignment of the drug. The rest of the organisation are all Colombian, and had the job of providing logistic support on land for the reception and extraction of the drug.

Marbella boxer ring return after trainer shot

MATTHEW MACKLIN, the Marbella based boxer, whose proposed fight against Argentine fighter, Jorge Sebastien Heiland in a WBC eliminator on August 30 was postponed after his trainer, Jamie Moore, was shot in Marbella, is set for a swift ring return. His opponent is as yet unnamed, however, Macklin is expected to undertake his 36th professional bout next month on September 27, on the Felix Sturm - Paul Smith WBA middleweight ‘Super’ title fight undercard in Kiel, Germany. If as expected Macklin wins, the three-time world title challenger expects to be returning to Dublin for the Heiland fight on November 15. Macklin, hopes the Heiland fight will bring him a fourth shot at a world title, as promoter Eddie Hearn looks to guide him to the big title that has eluded him so far.

Irish teenager being held on attempted murder charge in Costa del Sol

An Irish teenager is in custody on an attempted murder charge after a violent street fight on the Costa del Sol. The 17-year-old was part of a group of four Irish holidaymakers who got into a row over a girl during a night out in the upmarket resort of Puerto Banus near Marbella. His brother allegedly punched a friend unconscious before the teenager kicked him in the head as he lay on the ground. The victim was rushed to the nearby Costa del Sol Hospital before being transferred to a specialist centre in Malaga so he could be treated for “life-threatening” head injuries.

Doctors have told police he cheated death because of the rapid medical attention he received. The altercation happened around 3am on August 14 in a street a short walk from Puerto Banus port named after singer Julio Iglesias, who owns a house in mountains a short drive away. Investigators say they believe the four men, who had been out drinking together, rowed over a girl. Local police made the arrests at the scene after witnessing the assault from a distance. The injured man, who like the other three Irish holidaymakers involved has not been named, is now being treated in a normal ward after spending several days in an induced coma in intensive care. Police from a specialist anti-violence unit based in Malaga have led the investigation.

A youth court judge remanded the teenager to a young offenders’ institution after quizzing him in a closed court session. His brother, whose age is not known, has been released on bail but is thought to have had his passport taken away from him so he cannot leave Spain. A trial date has yet to be set. The Irish teenager is expected to be held for custody for several months before he is released ahead of trial. A source close to the case said: “The judge quizzed him on an attempted murder charge because medical experts who examined his alleged victim concluded the consequences of the assault could have been much more serious if he hadn’t received rapid medical attention.”

Fire in Benahavis

A fire has broken out in Benahavis, near Marbella. This photo was taken on the road between Estepona and San Pedro. The cause of the fire is still not yet known, but follows in the wake of a serious fire in Los Montes de Malaga exactly a week ago. The fire in Los Montes devestated 260 hectares of natural park. So far this year there have been 20 such fires in Malaga Province, which experts say is within the average range of annual fires.

Saudi prince's convoy in Paris attacked by gunmen

Heavily armed men have attacked a convoy of cars belonging to a Saudi prince, stealing 250,000 euros (£200,000; $330,000), police say. The convoy was heading through northern Paris on its way to Le Bourget airport late on Sunday evening when it was raided, reports say. The gunmen seized a vehicle carrying the money and documents, later releasing the driver and two others. The convoy was said to have come from the Saudi embassy. No-one was hurt. The gunmen, reportedly armed with Kalashnikov rifles, targeted a Mercedes mini-van at 21:15 (19:15 GMT) on the northern ring road, or peripherique, at Porte de la Chapelle, on the edge of Paris.

The motorcade, belonging to a Saudi prince, was targeted by eight people in two separate vehicles who pointed their guns at the driver of the Mercedes, forcing him to stop, French media reported.

The men then drove the vehicle away with the driver and the two other Saudis inside. No shots were fired but the Saudis were later freed and the vehicle eventually found burned out.

"In the vehicle there was roughly 250,000 euros in cash and official documents from the embassy," police union spokesman Rocco Contento told BFM TV news.

There has been a weekend of terror for immigrants in Tangiers

Immigrants who are waiting in Tangiers to cross into Spain have been attacked and their homes ambushed. The NGO’s at the scene fear the aggression against the Sub-Saharans will force them to try to cross the Strait to escape whatever the weather conditions.

The problem started on Friday near the Tangiers airport. The Sub-Saharan’s were told a bus was going to Spain and some 20 women and their children took up the offer. But the bus took them to a local dance festival of African culture called Twiza which was being held in Tangiers for some days. When they realised they had been fooled they returned home, and met a group of Moroccan men armed with machetes and sticks who started to hit them.

Five of the women suffered stab wounds and others suffered abuse. Spanish volunteer, Helena Maleno, was among them and believes the violence is being organised by criminal groups. She was sexually molested by one of the men. She said the Moroccans speech was always the same, ‘We want to clear up here, go to Spain’. Last year an immigrant died when he fell off a wall during a police raid, bringing charges of murderers against the police amid violent scenes as you can seen in the video below.

Ebola Alert In Alicante After Man Taken Ill

An ebola alert has been activated in Alicante, Spain, after a young Nigerian man was admitted to hospital with fever and vomiting. Spanish health authorities activated alert protocols after the man showed "several symptoms" of the disease.

The alert comes a week after a Spanish priest who contracted ebola while working in Liberia died in hospital in Madrid. The man was taken ill in the eastern city of Alicante Father Miguel Pajares was the first European infected by a strain of the virus that has killed more than 1,000 people in West Africa.

He was airlifted from Liberia to Spain on August 7 after becoming infected while working for a non-governmental organisation there. The 75-year-old was flown to Europe for treatment with his co-worker Juliana Bohi, a nun who has since tested negative for the disease. Elsewhere, 17 ebola sufferers have fled a Liberian clinic raided by looters who stole blood-stained sheets - sparking fears the virus will spread.

ISIS terrorists discovered in Morocco

MOROCCAN anti-terror services working in collaboration with Spanish police officers have broken up a jihadist terror cell in Morocco. In total nine members of the cell, reported to be linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), were detained on Thursday in the three Moroccan cities of Fes, Tetouan and Fnideq. The terrorists were working to recruit new members to the cell with the objective of sending them off to fight in the conflicts currently underway in Syria and Iraq.

It is believed that some of the group made frequent visits to the Spanish city of Ceuta, located on the north coast of Morocco, with the intention of converting people to their cause and raising financial aid. The Spanish Interior Minister has linked those arrested with ISIS, and confirmed that they had received training in the use of weapons and the manufacture of explosives with the goal of participating in suicide attacks or travelling to conflict zones in the Middle-East.

It has also come to light that there were plans to carry out a terror attack on Moroccan soil. Computers and other data-storage devices used by the jihadists are currently being examined for evidence of concrete plans. The investigation remains open within the three cities, with police from both nationalities continuing to work together. Government sources commented that the operation reflects on the excellent relationship that exists between Spain and Morocco when combating terror in the region.

Luggage thieves caught at airport

THE Guardia Civil have arrested two people under suspicion of stealing suitcases from distracted airport passengers. Within the Guardia Civil brief of the Safer Tourism Plan which has been put in place to prevent theft from tourists visiting Malaga, the officers at the airport have caught two people who were taking national flights with only hand baggage and then taking advantage of distracted tourists arriving at the baggage carousels to steal their luggage while they were looking away. On several occasions they also, allegedly, pick-pocketed passengers as well as taking their hand baggage while they were retrieving their check in luggage. Investigating officers calculate that they have stolen around €21,000 worth of luggage and wallets.

Former boxing champ shot in Marbella to be released from hospital

FORMER boxing champion Jamie Moore, who was shot in Marbella, is to be released from hospital today. The 35-year-old, from Walkden, was shot in the leg and hip while in the Spanish town, where he was training Birmingham middleweight Matthew Macklin. Mr Moore, a former European light-middleweight champion, did not suffer permanent damage in the attack and was transferred to his local hospital at Salford Royal.

Tweeting about his release from hospital, Mr Moore said: “Being discharged from hospital today, still a way to go before I’m back 100 per cent but I’m making quick progress.” He added: “Big thanks to the doctors and nurses at Salford Royal who’ve looked after me over the last four days, they’ve been absolutely brilliant.”

Ebola outbreak vastly underestimated

The death toll from the world's worst outbreak of Ebola stood on Wednesday at 1,069 from 1,975 confirmed, probable and suspected cases, the agency said. The majority were in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, while four people have died in Nigeria. The agency's apparent acknowledgement the situation is worse than previously thought could spur governments and aid organisations to take stronger measures against the virus. "Staff at the outbreak sites see evidence that the numbers of reported cases and deaths vastly underestimate the magnitude of the outbreak," the organisation said. "WHO is coordinating a massive scaling up of the international response, marshalling support from individual countries, disease control agencies, agencies within the United Nations system, and others." International agencies are looking into emergency food drops and truck convoys to reach hungry people in Liberia and Sierra Leone cordoned off from the outside world to halt the spread of the virus, a top World Bank official said. In the latest sign of action by West African governments, Guinea has declared a public health emergency and is sending health workers to all affected border points, an official said. An estimated 377 people have died in Guinea since the outbreak began in March in remote parts of a border region near Sierra Leone and Liberia. Guinea says its outbreak is under control with the numbers of new cases falling, but the measures are needed to prevent new infections from neighbouring countries.

"Trucks full of health materials and carrying health personnel are going to all the border points with Liberia and Sierra Leone," Aboubacar Sidiki Diakit president of Guinea's Ebola commission, said late on Wednesday. As many as 3,000 people are waiting at 17 border points for a green light to enter the country, he said. "Any people who are sick will be immediately isolated. People will be followed up on. We can't take the risk of letting everyone through without checks."

Arrested for allegedly throwing two suitcases of cocaine out of a hotel window

Poice have established that a 39-year-old Irish man who was arrested in Spain after allegedly throwing two suitcases of cocaine out of a hotel window is a criminal who was previously targeted here in a proceeds-of-crime case. The suspect, who remains in custody in Valencia, has been named as Philip Grendon from Greenfort Drive, Clondalkin, and also with an address at Spiddal Road, Ballyfermot. Grendon's brother, Brian, is a member of a major west Dublin drugs gang who have been constant targets of gardai for 15 years. Already this year, officers based in Ballyfermot have been involved in the seizure of more than €1m worth of drugs from this crew who are considered one of the most organised and longest-established in the country.

The bizarre incident for which Grendon was arrested in Valencia happened last Friday just before 10pm at the four-star Tryp Valencia Oceanic Hotel. Police are said to be working on the theory that the alleged drugs trafficker, who had checked into the hotel a few hours earlier, confused noise from other guests entering and leaving their rooms with a rival gang trying to steal his drugs after suffering a paranoia attack. It is alleged that Grendon also removed ceiling tiles in his room, along with an air vent in an apparent attempt to hide the stash.

The 55kg of cocaine in the cases would have an estimated street value of more than €3.8m in Ireland. Sources who know Grendon say they are "surprised" that he would be trusted by a gang to be in charge of such a huge drugs haul. "Philip was always known to be a paranoid individual, but if what the Spanish police are saying is true, this is taking paranoia to a whole new level," a senior source said. Grendon's younger brother is convicted heroin dealer Brian Grendon (37), who was jailed for six years in December 2002 after he was busted with almost €2m worth of heroin in Palmerstown, west Dublin, the year before. shootings Brian Grendon was previously described in court by a senior detective as being linked to a gang who had in the past "used fatal shootings of anyone who compromised their business".

Philip Grendon appeared in court in Dublin in February 2012 when gardai prosecuted him under proceeds of crime legislation. Some of his associates were targeted by gardai as part of Operation Jumbo in 2002. They included murder victim David McCreevy (23), who was shot dead in Tallaght in 2002.

Spain to probe cigarette smuggling Crime.

 

EU's anti-fraud office on Monday urged Gibraltar and Spain to launch legal action after it found signs that organised crime was behind a rise in cigarette smuggling in southern Spain, AFP reports. The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) made the recommendation after completing a probe it launched in August 2013 at the request of Madrid into a sharp rise in cigarette smuggling across the border between Gibraltar and Spain between 2009 and 2013. "The OLAF investigation has raised a number of concerns regarding the link between a significant increase in the size of the Gibraltar market for cigarettes over the past four years and the subsequent increase of cigarette smuggling across the frontier," a spokesman for the anti-fraud office said. "The concerns include indications of the involvement of organised crime," it added. "The OLAF final case report, and recommendations to initiate judicial proceedings related to the findings of the report, have been sent to the Spanish General State Prosecutor and to the Gibraltar Attorney General." Widespread cigarette smuggling between the tiny, low-tax British territory of Gibraltar to Spain is a major irritant in their frayed diplomatic relations. Smugglers buy the cigarettes in large volumes in Gibraltar at a price much lower than is charged in Spain, where the government in 2012 increased the sales tax to help plug a gaping public deficit. Spain in August introduced stringent border checks at its border with Gibraltar, leading to lengthy queues for motorists, in what it said was a move aimed at clamping down on cigarette smuggling.

But Gibraltar argues the stepped-up border controls are in retaliation for the installation of an artificial reef in its waters that has prevented Spanish boats from fishing there. Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo welcomed the anti-fraud office report and said the territory wanted to work together with Spain to investigate the cigarette smuggling. "We wish any necessary investigations in this and in all areas to be carried out jointly between the competent Spanish and Gibraltar authorities in a genuine spirit of cooperation," he said. The government of Gibraltar said cigarette smuggling was already being brought under control thanks to the "draconian" measures it introduced in January. These include the introduction of searches of vehicles crossing into Spain and giving customs and police officers greater powers to fight smuggling. The Spanish government meanwhile said the anti-fraud office's report "justified" its "work in the fight against fraud and the underground economy". Spain ceded Gibraltar to Britain in 1713 but has long argued that it should be returned to Spanish sovereignty. London says it will not do so against the wishes of Gibraltarians, who are staunchly pro-British.

First Spaniard dies of Ebola

confirmed by the Madrid's health department that a 75-year-old Spanish priest, Miguel Pajares has died in Madrid’s Carlos III hospital from Ebola. The Spanish priest who was recently repatriated from Liberia, Africa last Thursday had been in isolation in Saint John of God hospital in the capital of Monrovia. It is known that he contracted the Ebola virus from the Director of the Hospital after a visit. The director is also known to have died. Miguel Pajares was being treated with an experimental drug ZMapp which is designed to fight the deadly virus, but failed to respond to the medication.

The drug ZMapp is a treatment that is made by a private US company and is still in intensely early stages and had previously been only tested on monkeys. In a statement the health ministry said that the drug arrived to the hospital late on Saturday evening to treat the 75-year-old. The drug ZMapp though in very early stages, was only allowed by the Spanish drug safety agency under “exceptional importation” to be used in the use of a non-authorised medication because of an incident where a patient’s life is in danger.

Expats could be forced to return home under new government tax proposals affecting rental property in the UK.

  The plans, forwarded by the Chancellor George Osborne, would see the removal of personal tax allowance privileges for overseas residents who also claim income in the UK. If the Chancellor goes ahead with the plans, couples drawing a government pension could also face a £4,000 (€5.000) cut in their yearly income, forcing many to return home. UK government pension plans are only taxable in Britain, meaning that former civil servants living abroad could see a rise in their tax obligations.

Under the current system, expatriates and EU nationals have UK-earned income offset with a personal tax allowance of £10,000 (€12.570), but the planned reforms could jeopardise those expats who live under a carefully considered budget. Up to 400,000 expats could be affected by the proposals which would inject the treasury with an extra £400 million (€503 million) a year.

Threat of EBOLA as 224 african immigrants rescued off Spanish coast

Maritime rescue vessels picked up a total of 224 people from 23 dinghies in the Strait of Gibraltar on Monday morning.  Both men and women, believed to all be Sub-Saharan Africans, are reported to be in a good state of health. They are currently being moved to Tarifa where they will be attended to by Red Cross volunteers.

ICE cream vendor was nearly stabbed to death in his own shop in Malaga.

The man was saved from a punctured abdomen by his belt buckle. One assailant punched him in the face while the other one attacked him with a 20-centimetre screwdriver. As soon as the two men came into the ice cream parlour the owner, Argentinian-born Ivan Marcelo Latino, 25, knew they were not customers. Without saying a word one of them punched him in the face, hitting his right eye, and when he defended himself and refused to open the cash register, the other attacker tried to stab him with a screwdriver which, fortunately, got caught on the victim’s belt buckle thus, possibly, saving his life. “All I have is a black eye and a small scratch on my stomach,” commented Ivan.

The events took place on calle Jacob in the Campanillas area of Malaga at around three in the afternoon when Ivan was alone in the shop and there were very few people out on the street. The two men came in from separate entrances and got violent immediately but had to run away as soon as they attracted the attention of the passers-by on the street who called the police. The would-be robbers did not manage to steal anything.

An alleged drug trafficker who is suspected of throwing a suitcase full of cocaine out his hotel window in a fit of paranoia has links to a notorious Irish crime mob.

An alleged drug trafficker who is suspected of throwing a suitcase full of cocaine out his hotel window in a fit of paranoia has links to a notorious Irish crime mob. The 39-year-old suspect was arrested in Valencia, Spain at the weekend after a receptionist spotted the drugs scattered over an internal patio. The man was caught with a second suitcase packed with cocaine outside his room after he allegedly went looking for the drugs and then asked for a duplicate key when he found himself locked out.

The Irish Mirror has learned the suspect is originally from West Dublin and has links to drug importer Brian Grendon, 37. Grendon was jailed for five years in 2002 after he pleaded guilty to his part in a heroin deal worth nearly €2million. Sources have said the suspect for this latest incident will be now living in fear after losing 55kgs of the drug worth over €3million. The Irishman was expected to be remanded in custody on Monday following a behind-closed-doors hearing before an investigating magistrate. The bizarre incident happened last Friday night just before 10pm at the four-star Tryp Valencia Oceanic Hotel in the city of Valencia on Spain’s east coast. Police are said to be working on the theory the suspected drugs trafficker, who had checked into the hotel a few hours earlier, confused noise from other guests entering and leaving their rooms with a rival gang trying to steal his drugs after suffering an attack of paranoia. He had also removed ceiling tiles in his room - room number 801 - along with an air conditioning vent in an apparent attempt to hide his illegal stash.

A spokeswoman for Valencia’s National Police said: “I can confirm a 39-year-old Irish national was arrested after allegedly throwing a suitcase full of cocaine from his eighth-floor hotel window. “We were alerted by a receptionist. “The man in question was arrested outside his room after officers spotted him with a suitcase similar to the one laden with drugs which had been thrown into an internal hotel patio, and discovered it also contained cocaine. “They found ceiling tiles had been dislodged along with an air conditioning vent and the bath had been filled with water when they entered the room. “In all they confiscated 55 kilos of cocaine. “The Irishman, who doesn’t have a criminal record in Spain, has been handed over to an investigating judge for further questioning. “We are not speculating on why he might have wanted to get rid of any cocaine he had been carrying.” A hotel receptionist said yesterday the hotel would not be making any comment. But an unnamed hotel employee told a local paper: “He disconnected the toilet flush and caused quite a bit of damage in his room. “He looked like he’s suddenly gone mad after throwing the drugs out of his room.” A source close to the case said: “He might have more than the courts on his back after all this. “If he was working for a drugs gang, they’re not going to be happy about losing such a big supply of cocaine.” “He’s almost certainly going to be remanded in custody with that amount of drugs.”

Spanish government officials say that number of cigarettes brought into Gibraltar in 2013 is excessive for population calls for crackdown on tobacco smuggling between Spain and Gibraltar

Spanish government officials say that number of cigarettes brought into Gibraltar in 2013 is excessive for population EU is calling on Spain and Gibraltar to crack down on tobacco smuggling across the border between the two countries, citing concerns about the involvement of organised crime. Wrapping up a one-year investigation, the European Anti-Fraud Office (Olaf) said in a statement that it had "raised a number of concerns" to UK and Spanish officials regarding its investigation into the increase of cigarette smuggling across the frontier. While the report was not made public, Olaf noted "a significant increase in the size of the Gibraltar market for cigarettes over the past four years" and that "the concerns include indications of the involvement of organised crime". The investigation was sparked by a complaint from Spanish authorities to the EU that between 2006 and 2011, Gibraltar nearly tripled the amount of tobacco it brought in.

The Spanish government claims that much of this tobacco was then sold illegally in Spain. Hovering at around €26 (£20) a carton, tobacco prices in Gibraltar are much cheaper than in Spain, where the cost generally ranges from €40 to €44. According to figures from Spanish government officials, the amount of tobacco brought into Gibraltar has continued to rise in recent years, from 110m packs of cigarettes in 2012 to 117m packs in 2013. The figures, they argue, are excessive for the 30,000 or so inhabitants of Gibraltar. "Every resident of Gibraltar, including children who are nursing, would have to smoke nine packs of cigarettes each day," one government source told El País. After three visits to Gibraltar in the past year, Olaf said on Monday that the increase in tobacco being brought into Gibraltar was of concern, given its links to "the subsequent increase of cigarette smuggling across the frontier and corresponding increase in size of the illicit market in southern Spain." Noting that its only role is to carry out administrative investigations, Olaf called on Spain and Gibraltar, via the UK Representation to the EU, to "initiate judicial proceedings" related to the concerns raised in the report. Spanish authorities welcomed the Olaf findings. "Spain's only goal is to ensure that international and EU laws are followed," Spain's foreign minister, José Manuel García-Margallo, told reporters on Sunday. Spanish courts are expected to open an investigation into the matter in the coming weeks, reported Spanish media. Contraband tobacco is one of several contentious issues that has been at the forefront of tensions between London and Madrid over Gibraltar. The diplomatic spat flared up last summer, after Spain complained that an artificial reef created by Gibraltar was disrupting its fishing boats. In a move seen by many as retaliatory, Spain tightened controls at its shared border with Gibraltar, leading to long waits for those trying to enter the British overseas territory. Spanish authorities maintain that the increased checks at the border are necessary to crackdown on tobacco smuggling. In the first five months of this year, Spanish border police said they have detected more than 2,500 offenders travelling from Gibraltar to Spain carrying illegal amounts of tobacco. After months of pressure from groups on both sides of the border, last month Spain announced it would create a special "fast lane" for workers who need to travel between Gibraltar and Spain, in a bid to ease the disruption to their commutes.

The plans were slammed by the Gibraltar government, who argued that everyone – from tourists to residents – should have the same freedom of movement with respect to entering the British outpost. "The reality is that the Spanish authorities make life difficult for people and vehicles crossing the border, for political reasons and because they want to," the Gibraltar government said in a statement. "All that Madrid has to do is improve the flow rate of cars and persons and operate proper red and green channels." A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "The Olaf report raises concerns about cigarette smuggling over the frontier, an illicit market in southern Spain, and the involvement of organised crime. Following its most recent visit to the Gibraltar-Spain border, the European Commission recognised the commitment the Government of Gibraltar has made to tackle tobacco smuggling and the significant steps taken to date, including restricting the number of cigarettes allowed in the area around the land border to 200 per person. "The Government of Gibraltar remains ready to work directly with their Spanish counterparts to tackle this issue. But at the same time, the Commission raised concern about the lack of progess by the Spanish in addressing its recommendations and said that the Spanish checks giving rise to several hours waiting times at the Gibraltar/Spain border are disproportionate, a point that the UK government has made consistently clear for some time."

Drug trafficking operation between Spain and Denmark has been busted in Coin and Mijas

HASH trafficking operation between Spain and Denmark has been busted in Coin and Mijas, with six arrested. Operation Dynamo, a collaboration between Spanish national and Coin local police, saw a total of 94kg of the drug intercepted. The first 53kg was found July 25 in the trunk of a car driving through Mijas en route to Denmark. The other 41kg was later discovered in a house in Coin, according to the Malaga Province Police Station.

127 kilo cocaine haul found on Spanish naval training ship

127-kilo cocaine haul with a street value of almost €500,000 was found aboard the Spanish naval training ship Juan Sebastian Elcano docked in Cadiz.  The discovery was made by the Civil Guard who seized and searched the vessel when it returned to Spain following a six-month global voyage. The drugs are thought to have been loaded in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, where the boat stopped in mid-April. In early May more than 20 kilos of cocaine loaded on ship was sold while it was docked in New York, with the Spanish authorities then tipped off by the US department of Homeland Security Investigations.  It took until last month when the ship moored off of the northwest Spanish city Pontevedra to detain three suspected sailors – two Spaniards and an Ecuadorian – for drug trafficking. It is  unknown whether the three  had accomplices, though US authorities report the men were paid €3,800 for every kilo they trafficked.

Swiss man in Malaga drink spiking swindle

Local Police in Malaga have arrested two employees at a city brothel on suspicion of taking €3,600 from a client after spiking his drinks. The victim, a 64-year-old Swiss man, has claimed that he was plied with alcohol or narcotics which left him confused and oblivious to the fact that large amounts of money were being taken from his credit cards. Once he discovered the unusual activity in his bank account, the victim presented himself at a police station to report the incident.

The police took the club owner and one of his employees, who authorised the transactions, into custody, where they were later charged with fraud. A total of €3,647 was taken from two credit cards belonging to the Swiss citizen. This is not the first case of this kind to have been reported recently. Last month, the managers of two brothels and a café in Valencia were accused of defrauding €95,000 from clients using the same methods of drink spiking. The majority of those affected by this type of crime are tourists who do not generally notice that the money has been taken until they have returned to their home countries, making the police’s job of registering and tracking the offences all the more difficult. The authorities are currently attempting to identify more victims in an effort to clamp down on drink spiking during these popular tourist months.

Criminal Hutch was intended target in Marbella shooting

 criminal Gary Hutch was the intended target of an assassination attempt in Spain which left an innocent boxer with serious injuries. Boxing coach and respected Sky Sports pundit Jamie Moore was attacked in the Spanish resort of Marbella outside a villa owned by Daniel Kinahan, son of crime boss Christy Kinahan on Saturday night. But gardai have received intelligence that the nephew of former criminal mastermind Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch was attending a party in Kinahan's house and he was the intended target of the shooting. Moore was shot at five times and hit twice - in the leg and the foot. Hutch previously survived after his best pal Barry Doyle was shot dead allegedly by the Russian mafia in February 2008, as part of a feud among traffickers.

Former Manchester boxer Moore had been training Matthew Macklin (32) all summer at Macklin's MGM gym in the Puerto Banus area ahead of a fight at Dublin's National Stadium on August 30. But yesterday it was announced that the fight has now been called off. Macklin, who has no involvement in crime, is the boxer who the feared Christy Kinahan's international crime syndicate supports. Senior members of the mob are regularly seen ringside at his fights. Yesterday in a statement, Macklin said: "I am disappointed to have to postpone my fight but in the light of the circumstances and the disruption to my preparation it is the right thing to do. "Every fight at this stage in my career is of huge importance and being 100pc on the night is vital." Macklin has been photographed with Gary Hutch in the past and sources say that gardai want to question Hutch about a number of serious crimes. Hutch was sitting beside hitman pal Barry Doyle when he was shot dead in 2008.

Doyle was gunned down as he tried to escape in a BMW X5 SUV which had come under fire on the outskirts of Estepona, about 10 miles from Marbella. Sources say that foreign gangs based in Spain have decided that Gary Hutch is a target because of his involvement in the Kianahan mob but detectives in the secretive Crime and Security section at garda headquarters have not yet fully established if this is the case. Hutch is well-known to gardai, having served time for being a getaway driver in a jewellery heist and is a close pal of notorious criminal 'Fat' Freddie Thompson. Before he left for Spain, Hutch was involved in a number of feuds in Dublin's north inner city and has been a target for gardai for years. Meanwhile well respected former boxing champ Jamie Moore used his Twitter account to reveal he was recovering from the gun attack.

Spain: INTERPOL Targets Trafficking Of Stolen Vehicles

In an INTERPOL-supported operation in Spain targeting the trafficking of stolen vehicles, nearly 20 vehicles were recovered and some 15 individuals arrested. Led by the Spanish National Police, Operation Paso del Estrecho (which means ‘crossing the straits’), was conducted from 28 July to 1 August at the port of Algeciras in southern Spain, a known route used by organised criminal networks to smuggle cars stolen from throughout Europe into North Africa.

With the assistance of INTERPOL’s Stolen Motor Vehicles (SMV) unit, police monitored car ferries leaving the port en route to Morocco, with some 5,000 vehicles screened against INTERPOL’s SMV database. INTERPOL coordinated the deployment of 28 experts from seven countries to support the operation. The experts are members of the INTERPOL Stolen Motor Vehicles (SMV) Task Force, comprising police and private investigators who support member countries with operations targeting the theft and trafficking of motor vehicles. The INTERPOL SMV database contains more than 7 million records submitted by 128 member countries. In 2013, countries searched the database more than 125 million times, resulting in 117,000 positive hits. “Operation Paso del Estrecho was very important because it allowed us not only to detect and recover stolen vehicles from Spain and other European countries, but also to obtain crucial information that will allow us to continue our investigations into the organized crime groups dedicated to illegal vehicle trafficking,” said Ángel Arroyo Morales, Head of the vehicle crime investigation unit of the Spanish National Police Central Squad of Organized Crime. “There is no doubt that with strong cooperation between INTERPOL and police across Europe and beyond, we will continue to recover even more stolen vehicles before they can be used for criminal purposes,” he concluded. In addition, 15 people were arrested during the operation, including one Ukrainian and two Spanish nationals arrested in connection with a major investigation of the Central Squad of Organized Crime of the Spanish National Police.

They are suspected of being the masterminds behind a vast trafficking ring transporting stolen luxury cars between Spain and Ukraine, via Poland and Moldova. The stolen vehicles seized came from various European countries including Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden, demonstrating the transnational character of this crime. “The trafficking of stolen vehicles is a crime that knows no borders. The only way to effectively combat the organized criminal networks behind this crime is therefore through coordinated joint actions, as evidenced by this successful operation,” said INTERPOL’s Director of Specialized Crime and Analysis, Glyn Lewis. Operation Paso del Estrecho is an annual initiative conducted by Spanish police in Algeciras – a major gateway between Europe and Africa which sees approximately 4.8 million people and 1.3 million vehicles pass through each year – to prevent stolen vehicles from leaving the country and to identify and disrupt the criminal groups responsible for the illicit trafficking. Highlighting the links between organized crime and the trafficking of stolen motor vehicles – which are often used in the commission of other serious crimes – is a key part of INTERPOL’s global Turn Back Crime campaign. The campaign aims to raise awareness of these hidden links, and of the very real effect these crimes can have on people’s daily lives.

Major crime gang link as Matthew Macklin’s coach survives assassination attempt

Former European boxing champion Jamie Moore is under armed police guard in a Spanish hospital after he was shot in the legs in Marbella at the weekend. 

Moore is currently based in Spain with his wife and two children where he is training Irish boxer Matthew Macklin at the MGM gym in Puerto Banus ahead of his upcoming fight in the National Stadium on August 30. Moore was shot in both legs and the foot when the gunman targeted him after he left a party on Saturday night but his injuries are not believed to be life-threatening. “Just to let everyone know Jamie Moore is still in hospital but he should be ok,” Macklin tweeted last night. “He was shot in his legs but the doctors have said there shouldn’t be any serious or permanent damage done.”

The coach and well-respected Sky Sports pundit who has no involvement in crime agreed to become Macklin’s coach last year, but gardai sources have indicated that “special surveillance plans” are in place for the upcoming fight. The villa where Moore was shot is owned by boxing manager Daniel Kinahan, a key member of the Christy Kinahan crime syndicate which operates a sizeable crime operation on Spain’s infamous Costa del Crime. Nicknamed the ‘Tipperary Tornado’, Birmingham-born Macklin has no involvement in crime but has been photographed in the company of major gangsters Gary Hutch and Daniekl Kinahan at major events.

Fugitive conman, drug dealer and money launderer Martin Evans has been arrested by armed police in South Africa after three years on the run.

Fugitive conman, drug dealer and money launderer Martin Evans has been arrested by armed police in South Africa after three years on the run.

Evans, 52, from Swansea - who was jailed for 21 years in 2006 for conspiracy to supply cocaine and fraudulent trading - was arrested in Johannesburg on Saturday.

His scams included swindling 87 investors out of £900,000 in an ostrich farm fraud in south Wales.

He will appear in court on Monday.

Evans was named by police as one of the UK's "most wanted" in 2012 who said they suspected he was living a life of luxury, probably on Cyprus.

A spokesman for the National Crime Agency (NCA) said Evans was sought as part of Operation Zygos, which was set up to track Britain's 12 most wanted people.

He said: "We knew he had moved to South Africa. We were tracking him down."

Evans disappeared in August 2011 after failing to return from a weekend release from prison in Wiltshire.

He was arrested on Saturday night after an operation involving the NCA and Interpol, and intelligence-led surveillance operations were handled by South African Police.

Hank Cole, the NCA's head of international operations, said: "The exceptional level of collaboration and intelligence sharing with the South African Police Service led to the capture of Evans.

"This arrest shows the NCA and its partners will pursue fugitives wherever they are in the world.

"They can run but they can't hide. We have the capacity to track them down and bring them to justice."

Evans had been known to use the aliases Martin Roydon Evans, Martin Wayne Evans, Anthony Hall and Paul Kelly.

It is not the first time Evans has been on the run.

Before he was jailed in 2006, he had been hiding in Holland and Spain, where he masterminded a drugs and money laundering operation, shipping at least £3m of ecstasy and cocaine into Britain.

Evans began his criminal career in the mid 1990s after his double-glazing firm in Port Talbot failed.

Evans set up his ostrich farm after another business failed

He set up an ostrich-breeding business, promising profits of 70% a year, and targeting newly-retired people for investment by advertising in specialist retirement magazines.

On the day his trial was due to start in Swansea in March 2000, Evans jumped bail and sent a fax to the court saying he would not be attending.

Criminal earnings

He went on the run as the authorities searched for his assets in Jersey and the Bahamas.

 

Detectives are poring over social media for details that might help them arrest new generation of mobsters who have turned their back on traditional code of discretion

Just when police thought they had finally loosened the Mafia's historical stranglehold over Sicily, a new generation of brash mobsters is reclaiming the streets of Palermo - and bragging about it on Facebook. After years when Cosa Nostra luminaries communicated only by hand written notes in code, their youthful successors are making increasingly unabashed online boasts about their wealth, power and contempt for the magistrates hunting them down. One Palermo mobster, Domenico Palazzotto, 28, who created a Facebook page under a false name, posted photos of himself cruising on motorboats, sitting down to sumptuous lobster and champagne dinners and riding in a limousine. The rising boss, who called the shots in the Arenella neighbourhood of Palermo, where he allegedly helped run extortion rackets, listed his liking for Neapolitan music and the US singer Kenny Loggins and name-checked an Italian TV series about the Mafia. Amid crude insults apparently aimed at the police, Mr Palazzotto also swapped messages with an aspiring mobster who asked to be enrolled in his clan

Domenico Palazzotto, a Palermo mobster, has created a Facebook page under a false name, posted photos of himself cruising on motorboats Photo: Facebook

 

Just when police thought they had finally loosened the Mafia's historical stranglehold over Sicily, a new generation of brash mobsters is reclaiming the streets of Palermo - and bragging about it on Facebook.

After years when Cosa Nostra luminaries communicated only by hand written notes in code, their youthful successors are making increasingly unabashed online boasts about their wealth, power and contempt for the magistrates hunting them down.

One Palermo mobster, Domenico Palazzotto, 28, who created a Facebook page under a false name, posted photos of himself cruising on motorboats, sitting down to sumptuous lobster and champagne dinners and riding in a limousine.

The rising boss, who called the shots in the Arenella neighbourhood of Palermo, where he allegedly helped run extortion rackets, listed his liking for Neapolitan music and the US singer Kenny Loggins and name-checked an Italian TV series about the Mafia.

Amid crude insults apparently aimed at the police, Mr Palazzotto also swapped messages with an aspiring mobster who asked to be enrolled in his clan.

"Do I need to send a CV?" asked the applicant.

"Yes, brother," replied Mr Palazzotto jokingly. "We need to consider your criminal record. We do not take on people with clean records."

A photo uploaded onto the Facebook page (Facebook)

The boss then adds, "Join my team.. We are the strongest, ha ha ha."

In a brief video also posted online, one of Palazzotto's loyal mobsters yells "I am the Godfather," to which Palazzotto adds the comment, "Well, I am the original."

However, while the online postings, which were revealed by Italianmagazine L'Espresso, are thought to be partly intended to spread fear among the Mafia's host communities, such flagrant disregard for mafia's traditional penchant for discretion could also be the mobsters' undoing.

An investigative source in Palermo told The Telegraph that officers were spending time checking through Facebook to seek out the bosses lurking behind false names.

Salvatore D'Alessandro, a rising mob henchman loyal to Mr Palazzotto, also posted on Facebook under a pseudonym, uploading photos of dinners and boat rides with his boss and described his ambition to move up the organisation's ranks.

Domenico Palazzoto on a motor boat, which he uploaded to his Facebook account which was under a false name (Facebook)

"For the time being I am one of the small sharks hunting in the deep," he wrote. "But the moment will come when I rise to the surface and will have no pity for anyone."

The investigative source, who declined to be named, said the mob was "pushing to make a comeback in Palermo", following years when the ranks of Mafiosi were decimated by arrests. But the new generation, the source added, could not be more different to its predecessors.

"Going online would have been unthinkable for the old guard," the source said. "They lived in farm houses and existed on bread, cheese and vegetables grown there, without using phones and relying on 'pizzini' (handwritten notes) to get their orders out.

"The new generation are using Facebook, texts and WhatsApp to show that they are going to the best discos, beaches and restaurants, because they believe that is key to earning respect. The problem is that makes you traceable and they are getting arrested."

"There is a new generation of Mafiosi in Palermo," said a Sicily-based magistrate who also declined to be named, "but they have yet to prove they have the quality of their predecessors."

Mr Palazzotto was among 95 mobsters rounded up in June in Palermo in an operation dubbed 'Operation Apocalypse' aimed at decapitating the city's new Mafia leadership. Police said they had put a temporary stop to vote rigging, extortion and drug trafficking operations as well as the laundering of ill gotten cash through betting shops. More importantly, officers said they had halted a bid to pull together scrapping clans across the city into a more compact criminal empire, harking back to the leadership of Toto Riina, the "boss of bosses" jailed in 1993.

Investigators alleged a key figure in the rebirth was Mr Palazzotto's cousin Gregorio Palazzotto, 37, who was issuing orders despite being in jail.

The Facebook page which Domenico Palazzoto made under a fake name (Facebook)

A keen user of Facebook, Gregorio used the site to insult Mafia turncoats who gave evidence to get out of jail, writing "I have no fear of handcuffs, but I am afraid of those who start singing to get out of them." In other messages he demanded an amnesty for prisoners to end prison overcrowding.

He also posted loving messages to his wife, pasted onto a background of an image of jail cells, writing in one: "If my heart was a jail, you would be condemned to a life sentence."

His wife wrote back: "My love, I am here to support you," and "When this nightmare is over, you will start to live again."

In another message, in which she superimposed the image of a wedding behind bars, Pallazzotto's wife wrote, "These bars will not divide us and will make our love stronger."

As police get wind of Facebook bragging by Mafiosi, a more time honoured means for the mobsters to show off their power, involving Cosa Nostra's venerable links to the Catholic Church, resurfaced in Palermo last week.

During one of the religious processions that frequently wind their way through the city, volunteers carrying a statue of a Madonna briefly set it down outside a funeral parlour owned by the family of Alessandro D'Ambrogioin, a jailed Mafia boss, what was viewed as a sign of respect.

During the pause outside the shopfront, where D'Ambrogio held mob summits, local children were lifted up to kiss the statue.

The incident recalled a similar, suspicious pause in a procession in Calabria last month near the home of jailed Calabrian boss Peppe Mazzagatti, which prompted outrage in the wake of Pope Francis' call for mobsters to be excommunicated.