News from Andalucia & Costa del Sol
News Archive In association with
Granada policeman suspected of murder
The detained man had filed an ethics complaint against her two years ago relating to the child custody caseBy Dave Jamieson
A 37- YEAR OLD local police officer in Granada was arrested on Friday on suspicion of murdering of a 51-year-old lawyer whose body was found in the boot of a burning car the previous night. He is believed to have harboured a grudge against the victim, claiming that she mishandled a child custody case in which she represented him.
Late last Thursday night, the emergency services were called out to a Citroen C4 on fire in the Camino de las Vacas district of the city and, after fire crews extinguished the flames at the front of the car, the grizzly discovery was made in the boot.
The dead woman was named next day as Rosa Cobo Román, a Granada lawyer who specialised in criminal and family law.
Traces of blood were found in the boot, as well as on the driveway of her house, not far away.
NAB THE HOOLIGANS
Police seek public's help in crackdown on graffiti and vandalismBy Oliver McIntyre
COSTA residents fed up with graffiti and vandalism in public places can now help the police stamp out this blight on local towns and cities.
The National Police last week launched a nationwide awareness campaign highlighting the steep cost of vandalism and seeking collaboration from the public in taking action against it.
The campaign includes a video on YouTube as well as appeals on social networking sites such as Facebook, Tuenti and Twitter. ‘We all pay the price for the destruction caused by a few' and ‘The ravages of hooliganism affect you - they affect us all', are among the catch-phrases used in the appeals.
The police have set up an email address, [email protected], where people can confidentially send information, photographs or videos identifying culprits spotted carrying out acts of vandalism or public disorder.
The campaign heavily features street violence associated with protest activities but also spotlights all sorts of destruction of public property, graffiti and even the massive mess left by ‘botellón' street-drinking parties.
British cocaine haul mastermind behind bars
Brooks, an expert in arranging the transportation of huge quantities of drugs, was the go-to man for organised crime groupsNEWS Staff Reporter
A CAREER criminal, who was an international fixer for organised crime groups across the world, has been jailed for 28 years for masterminding a plot to smuggle 1.5 tonnes of cocaine into the UK.
John Alan Brooks, aged 61, who is originally from Blackpool but had been living in Marbella, Spain, assembled a crew to import the cocaine on board the boat Dances With Waves.
A multi-agency operation led by SOCA resulted in the dramatic interception of the boat by Irish authorities 170 miles off the south west coast of Ireland in November 2008. It had set sail from Trinidad in the Caribbean and was heading for Liverpool.
Brooks, who was arrested in November 2011 while visiting family in Blackpool, was sentenced on Tuesday at Birmingham Crown Court after being found guilty of conspiracy to import cocaine.
Crew members Philip Doo and David Mufford, from Devon, and Christopher Wiggins, who had been living on the Costa del Sol, were arrested at the time of the seizure. They pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to supply, and were each jailed for ten years at Cork Circuit Criminal Court in May 2009.
Mallorca Muslims force out female wardens
Woman officers withdrawn from mosque zone after harassment and humiliationBy Dave Jamieson
MUSLIM immigrants in Palma de Mallorca are reported to have succeeded in removing all female traffic wardens in a district which is home to a growing Muslim population. Female officers patrolling the streets near a mosque on the Plaza de Pere Garau have complained of a systematic campaign of harassment and humiliation by Muslims who insist that only male officers should be allowed to work in the area. Reports say that some of the women have verbally abused and spat upon.
Dornier SA, the private company which holds the concession for managing the public parking in Palma, has now taken the decision to withdraw female staff from the area amid growing fears for their safety. The district is now patrolled exclusively by male officers.
Local left-wing political groups say the move is an infringement of women's rights which are guaranteed by the Spanish Constitution and by the European Convention on Human Rights. The UGT trade union has called on the mayor of Palma, Mateo Isern, to reassert municipal control in the area by reinstating the female wardens, even if it means that they have to be escorted by armed police. The union says it is "intolerable" that Muslims are violating the rights of the population in general and women in particular.
Palma town hall has now said it would increase police presence in the area to guarantee the security of the female employees if they voluntarily want to return to working there. However, it said it would not force their employer to reverse its decision to withdraw them.
There are an estimated 42,000 Muslims amongst the 1.1 million inhabitants of the Balearic Islands, where a women's lobby group has been pushing for a ban on the wearing of the burka in public places.