Patrick Doyle from Portland Row in Dublin s died in a shooting incident in Estepona today. It happened at 2pm in Calle Mejorana in the Bel Air urbanisation in Cancelada, and National Police are still at the scene. first there were unconfirmed reports in the press in Spain that a man who was shot dead in Estepona on Monday afternoon was British. It happened on the Bel Air Urbanisation in the Cancelada area shortly before 2 pm, when he was travelling in the front passenger seat of a BMW car driven by a friend, also from the UK.
A witness who saw what happened told Europa Press that the occupants of a car of the same make opened fire as they drove past. At least five shots were fired, four hitting the front windshield and another through the passenger door.
Both men then tried to escape on foot when the car crashed into a lamppost on Calle Mejorana, but the passenger was shot twice in the head when he got out of the car.
It’s understood the driver has been questioned by police, but there are no reports of any arrests as yet. The order to remove the body was granted at 3,20pm, and police found a four wheel drive vehicle at the scene with five gunshots, four in the windscreen and one in the front passenger door.
The victim, aged 25-30 was travelling in the passenger seat according to a witness at the scene who said the four wheel drive was fired at by another car. The driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a lamppost. When the passenger got out of the four wheel drive, he was shot twice in the head.
There have been no arrests in the case as yet.

Audrey Fitzpatrick led a candlelit vigil to mark more than a month since the 15-year-old's disappearance. An emotional Audrey Fitzpatrick (39) was supported by her partner Dave Mahon (36) and a crowd of over 100 ex-pats and locals. Too overcome to speak, she broke down in tears, leaving Mr Mahon to thank everyone for their prayers on her behalf.

The Sunday edition of El País newspaper has revealed some of the content of the part of the case summary now lifted from secrecy in investigations in Murcia into the Town Halls of Torre Pacheco and Fuente Álamo. It concerns telephone conversations recorded by court order, where the constructor, Facundo Armero, is heard saying to the Mayor of Torre Pacheco, Daniel García, ‘I want the Torre Pacheco zoning plans approved now.’
Armero is one of the 14 suspects who have been questioned by Judge Arantxa Moreno so far in the case. They also include the Partido Popular Mayors of the two towns, Daniel García, and from Fuente Álamo, María Antonio Conesa. The investigation follows a complaint from the prosecutor’s office at the Murcia High Court of Justice into alleged administrative irregularities, with a long list of alleged crimes: misappropriation of funds, influence peddling, bribery, perversion of the justice, revealing secret information, fraud, and activities prohibited to public servants. Municipal planning documents were seized from both local corporations last summer in police swoops on the Town Hall buildings.
Facundo Armero is under suspicion as the main man behind the corruption, and was previously a partner in Polaris World before he sold off his share for 300 million €.
El País said Daniel García worked as a lawyer for Armero’s companies before his election as Mayor of Torre Pacheco.

Spanish police have arrested 14 people suspected of running a prostitution ring and human trafficking, authorities said Saturday.
The group recruited hundreds of women coming mainly from Brazil. Gang members arranged passports and air tickets to Spain, where the women were persuaded and forced to work illegally as prostitutes in clubs in the southern regions of Andalusia and Extremadura and then to hand over their earnings, a police statement said.
The arrested include eleven Spaniards and three Brazilians, the statement added. Some 54 women were also turned to immigration officials and are awaiting deportation.
The suspects are also accused of extortion and abduction.

Spanish police have broken up a gang of Romanian human traffickers who were faking identity documents and credit cards. Twenty-two people have been arrested, the majority of them Romanians, between Valencia and Alicante in southeast Spain. In the past month, police have broken a similar gang involved in prostituting Eastern European women who were brought to Spain on false pretences. The investigation began in 2003, after a Romanian girl claimed a gang had forced her into prostitution. The gang specialized in bringing Romanian women, often under-age girls, to Spain to force them into prostitution, using fake documents. Police seized false passports, identity papers, credit cards, scanners, computers, printers and one firearm and one fake gun.

Bulgarian human trafficking ring that allegedly operated a large prostitution network on Spain's Canary Islands has been dismantled by Spanish and Bulgarian police, the Interior Ministry said Tuesday.
Spanish authorities have arrested and charged 33 suspects, including 15 Bulgarians, the country's top police officer, Valentin Petrov, told a news conference.
The ring — allegedly led by 35-year-old Bulgarian, who was not identified by name — is suspected of organizing the smuggling of more than 500 women from eastern European countries into Spain, where police said the victims were treated as "sex slaves."
"The women's freedom of movement was restricted, and they were often subjected to violence," Petrov said, adding that they were forced to work as prostitutes.
Spanish police have been investigating the group for two years in a joint operation with Bulgarian colleagues, Petrov said.

Spanish police arrested seven people in a crackdown on a human-trafficking ring that allegedly forced Eastern European women into prostitution, officials said Saturday.
Police said the gang, led by a 41-year-old Albanian suspect arrested in Calonge, held around 40 women as virtual sex slaves.
Other members of the gang include three Russians, a native of Kosovo and an Armenian citizen.
The arrests took place in the northeastern Mediterranean coastal region of Costa Brava, where the gang allegedly smuggled in women, mostly from Russia, forcing them to work streetwalking or in roadside brothels, police said.
Police said the group employed two people based in St. Petersburg, Russia, who targeted women by offering jobs in Spain in exchange for Ð2,000 (US$2,675).
Police said the suspects, whose ages ranged from 20 to 41, had been taken to court in Figueres where they were expected to be charged with coercion, crimes related to prostitution, human-trafficking with a view to prostitution, forgery and belonging to an illegal organization.
According to the Russian Interior Ministry, human trafficking from Russia has increased in recent years.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights reported last year that more than 500,000 women have been smuggled out of Russia illegally since the fall of the Soviet Union in early 1990s.

Wealthy expat Yvonne O'Brien, 44, was killed in a horrific attack at a flat she rented on the island.The 1999 murder of a British woman Yvonne O'Brien in Majorca are to reopen the case and quiz a new suspect.
She had been stripped, hanged and stabbed more than 40 times.
A British man in his 50s - believed to come from Keighley, West Yorks, where Yvonne grew up - is to be questioned after being named by a private investigator hired by Yvonne's family.
In another development, police in Bournemouth are to investigate possible links to the murder of Heather Barnett, 48, at her home in the town in 2002.

Oneil Abrahams, 35, of Norristown,
Detectives had been closing in on an operation that had pumped at least $750,000 worth of pot into the region, Ferman said. In November, Marlon Abrahams, 33, known as "Kirk," was taken into custody, enabling police to locate his brother, Oneil "Pony" Abrahams, in California, where he was apprehended.
Ferman said the pair led a group of eight mules or drug couriers, six of whom are also in custody. She said the significance of the arrests exceeds the financial worth of the operation.
"These drug traffickers thought they were untouchable," Ferman said, adding that knowledge of their illegal activity dates back to 2001.
Ferman said the marijuana, which came from various locations, including California and Arizona, was placed in large, white plastic paint buckets. Those containers were then sealed in cardboard boxes and shipped through UPS, FedEx and DHL. The marijuana itself was encased in plastic lined with an oily residue to conceal the smell, Ferman said.
The profits were used to purchase a residence in East Norriton Township, Ferman said, which police have seized under drug forfeiture laws. Improvements to the home, which were paid in cash, included an in-ground swimming pool and top-of-the-line furnishings, she said.
In addition to the brothers, the following Norristown residents were charged with participating in the drug operation:
Rasheen Sakoo Jones, 33; Minnie McKay, 34; Danelle Lynn Jackson, 28; Omar Ross, 33; Tia Baker, 32; and Marjorie S. Dean, 29. Lakysha Bellamy, 22, of Conway, S.C., and Milan J. Dean, 25, of Norristown are at lar

"Spain is going to face the very direst of economic circumstances: a cycle of recession, deflation and widespread private sector default - a depression in fact. This stock market slide is not just a 'correction'. It has a very, very, long way to go."

Panic selling of shares in Spain's big five real estate companies has seen their value tumble over the past seven days. Meanwhile, after a decade in which prices rose by 270%, house prices in Spain have been sluggish since the end of 2007, with reports that developers are cutting prices in popular coastal areas.
General Electric has withdrawn its interest, for the time being, in the take over of the second largest real estate business in Spain, Colonial. Latest reports indicate that another offer for Colonial could come from the United Arab Emirates following reports that the Colonial books have been opened to an investment arm of the Dubai Government, the ICD, the Investment Corporation of Dubai.
Trading on Colonial was suspended in Madrid for a time, and the shares fell slightly when trading resumed just before noon.
It seems that General Electric dropped out of the take over race when they could not agree on the terms of a confidentiality agreement with Colonial ahead of inspecting its books. GE say they are keeping the door open to a ‘possible future interest’.
The President of the Junta de Andalucía, Manuel Chaves, has today revealed conversations on the possible merger of the Andalucian Savings Banks. ‘A grand Andalucian Savings Bank is on the way’ he said, confirming multilateral conversations intended to merge all the savings banks which are based in the region. Chaves gave the news as part of his election manifesto for re-election at the poll which will be held on the same day as the General Election on March 9. Chaves said that the important thing was that an Andalucian Savings Bank be competitive both inside and outside the region.
La Caixa savings bank has announced profits down 17.8% in 2007 at 2.488 billion. President of the company, Isidro Fainé, admitted that such a ‘tragic correction’ had not been seen for several years.
The fall in profits comes though after the exceptional year in 2006 when the bank sold off its interests in Colonial real estate.Spain could now find itself facing a monetary squeeze just as the economy swings from boom to bust, more or less the fate suffered by Britain in the ERM debacle of 1992, except that Spain has no way out.
Bernard Connolly, global strategist for Banque AIG and former head of economic research for the European Commission, said the country will face a brutal adjustment over the next two years - if it can remain in the euro a

The SIVE electronic surveillance system that operates along the Málaga and Cádiz coastlines has been credited with helping the Guardia Civil make three major hashish seizures in recent days. The network traces both the movements of drug and human traffickers and guides the authorities to the beaches where the narcotics or immigrants are landing.
The latest saw officers intercept over a ton of hashish in La Línea bringing the total haul from drug busts in the Guadiaro and Tarifa areas to over four tonnes.
In the latest capture three smugglers were arrested as they unloaded 40 bales of cannabis resin from a fast launch on a beach near La Atunara. They are aged between 20 and 31 years and are all from La Línea.

Armed robbery at Lidl supermarket in the Saladillo area of Algeciras . The lone robber held up the four staff at 22.00 as they closed up on Saturday night. He wore a mask, gloves and managed to evade the security cameras. He made off with the supermarket's takings from the day safe which are said to be around 10,000 euros.

The Guardia Civil in La Línea seized 2000 packets of Chesterfield cigarettes as they were landed at La Atunara. Officers monitored a launch as it approached the coastline in the early hours of Wednesday. The boat escaped out to sea but two men were arrested at the scene, one from Gibraltar the other from La Línea and their car plus the cigarettes were seized.

Officers from the Guardia Civil's Maritime Service detained a man from Cádiz on Wednesday morning after finding 530 kilos of hashish stashed away in a hidden compartment in his yacht. The boat, which was in Barbate port, has been confiscated.

Paul Raymond Burt admitted starting a fire that caused extensive damage to two boats undergoing repairs at Coaling Island last August when he was 18. He also admitted escaping from Moorish Castle prison while on remand. He will be sentenced on February 12.A teenage Briton living in Gibraltar has pleaded guilty to arson and escaping from prison

Member of Vélez-Málaga’s local police force has been suspended after being arrested by National Police investigating offences against the rights of workers and involving prostitution. In a simultaneous operation, a nightclub on the N340 near Torre del Mar was raided and seven other people detained. The officer has denied any connection with the club except enjoying a friendship with its owners

An appeal by Banderas to have the demolition order overturned by the court has been rejected. The part of the house that has been condemned sits on land classified in the 1986 PGOU as public property for sanitation use. The licence for the illegal works was issued in 1995 by the Marbella administration headed by the late Jesús Gil. Antonio Banderas. Málaga-born Banderas has a home on the beach at Los Monteros, and residents of the luxury urbanisation are furious that the town hall has not enforced a 2003 Regional Supreme Court (TSJA) order for part of the house to be demolished.
Marbella’s mayor, Ángeles Muñoz, stated last week that the town hall was asking the TSJA to hold off on the demolition order until the new local development plan (PGOU) has been approved. She stated that this was the same condition being sought for all illegal properties in the municipalities. But this argument has been angrily rejected by the residents of Los Monteros, who have pointed out that even when the new PGOU becomes law, the affected building on the Banderas property will still be illegal. The residents say that if the town hall will not enforce the teardown order, they will take the matter up directly with the court.

Alhaurín el Grande town hall stated that more than 100 robberies had been reported in the region in the last three months.
British couple attacked during a robbery at their rural Alhaurín de la Torre home. The thief made off with just a small amount of cash – around 100 euros – but beat the victims with the hilt of a knife, causing head injuries that left the husband in hospital for days.
The late-night robbery took place two Sundays ago in the Cortijo de Mestanza zone of Alhaurín, a small, usually quiet district on the outskirts of town along the Cártama road. It is understood that the masked intruder, armed with an air gun as well as the knife, may have entered the home through a door left partially open.

The owner of a Finestrat restaurant Sr Vallejo woke to the sounds of intruders in his home on Puerta de Hierro urbanisation in La Nucía.
Sukier Vallejo went to investigate and found an open door and that two bags were missing. One of the bags contained a camera and the other personal documents and cash.
Sr Vallejo gave chase to the burglars but was unable to catch them. After alerting the police and the Guardia Civil who carried out a search of the zone Sr Vallejo was resigned to having lost his belongings, however the next day a neighbour called to ask him what his bags were doing on his patio.
After explaining the situation it appears the burglars dumped the bags during the chase.
Despite losing the cash and some jewellery Sr Vallejo recovered the rest of his belongings.

expat resident of La Nucía was kidnapped from outside his home at gunpoint on Friday morning by three masked men and driven to a forest where his life was threatened if he didn’t reveal the whereabouts of a sum of money his attackers believed he had.
The victim, who has asked to remain unidentified, contacted the Costa Blanca News on Monday to relate his horrific ordeal.
He said that as he left his home at 09.30 on Friday morning to go to work at an auction house in Villajoyosa, three masked men pounced on him and bundled him into a car. They partially blindfolded him with tape then proceeded to beat him while they sped of.
During the ride one of the assailants placed a gun to the terrified victim’s head and demanded he told them where the money was.
After repeatedly telling his attackers that he didn’t have any money he was taken to wood near Polop de la Marina where the gang continued to beat him before he was made to kneel down and the gun placed against his head again in a gangland execution style.
At this point one of the gang told him it was his last chance to reveal where the money was or he would die.
In a last bid to save his life he again told the men that he had no money and that if they were going to kill him would they do it quickly. At this point the three men got into their car and drove off.
After managing to remove part of the blindfold the victim made his way to the Benidorm-Guadalest road where a passing motorist gave him help and called the police.
During the whole ordeal the victim had no idea what money his assailants were talking about and police believe they may have heard a rumour about the sale of a business and acted on it without checking first.
After receiving hospital treatment for serious wound to his head, the victim returned home to find that the gang had stolen his car