Gotcha! Spanish National Police nab Britain's most wanted criminal

Andrew Moran, 31, has been on the run for four years after he escaped from the dock during his trial in February 2009 for a  £25,000 armed robbery of Royal Mail guards in Lancashire in 2005. The National Police (Policía Nacional) nabbed Moran, from Salford, Manchester, while he was sunbathing in an area known as the “Costa del Crime” – a favoured hideout of British criminals. The UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency had Moran on their most wanted list, with police described him as a “violent thug”. (See also Plastic surgery helped 'most wanted' fugitive evade arrest.)

La Línea police patrol on foot because their only vehicle is broken down

Patrolling on foot
(Photo: europasur.es)

LA LÍNEA Members of the Policía Nacional patrolling the match between Division B clubs Real Balompédica and la Unión Deportiva Melilla yesterday were unable to do so other than on foot. They were also unable to carry their riot gear, also because the only vehicle available to them is broken down and has been for two weeks. Apparently, the central police authorities have yet to approve its repair or substitution, let alone put more vehicles into service. Fortunately there were no incidents to report.

Drug storage unit 'security'

Broomstick, bottom left

CÁDIZ Last month we reported on a robbery that had occurred at the drug storage facilities in Cádiz, where some 300 kilos of cocaine and 100 of hashish were 'lifted'. From the supposedly secure official storage place that keeps about half of all drug hauls in the country.This photograph was sent out by the Sindicato Unificado de Policía (SUP, the police union). Since the robbery, the sliding window through which the burglars may have escaped has been fastened with a broomstick. Yes, a broomstick. The union wants to point to the negligence and abandon some of the Policía Nacional's facilities are suffering.>>>

Spanish border police harassed daily 'under RGP protection'

Gibraltar ministers posing with
Defenders of Gibraltar
(Photo: Tony Evans/Flickr)

GIBRALTAR / LA LÍNEA The Federal Union of Police (UFP, a union) has denounced the daily harassment its members are subjected to at their posts by a group calling itself 'Defenders of Gibraltar', which, says the union, act 'under the protection of the Gibraltar police.' Their only mission, allegedly, is to harass, insult and photograph. They also distribute pamphlets among people queuing to access or leave the Rock. The union says that the group places itself at a mere five metres from the border patrols and the pictures and numbers of the agents doing their job appear later on Internet. The group, according to the union, is supported also by the Government of Gibraltar. In the image, members of Defenders of Gibraltar pose with ministers Paul Balban, John Cortes and Steven Linares. The latter has been seen to address drivers as they sit in the queue. (See a photo report  by Tony Evans on Flickr).

300 kilos of cocaine stolen from official storage in Cádiz

Police station just a few metres away

"They had it easy," says police union

CÁDIZ First it was Sevilla, then Málaga, and now it's the turn of Cádiz, where more than half of the illegal substances confiscated in Spain is stored. The official storage facility, supposedly highly secure, has now had 300 kilos of the stuff -mostly cocaine- removed with such apparent ease that it is widely believed to be an inside job. Sources other than the official one, headed by the Government Delegate in Andalucía -supposedly guardian of the drugs- say that the amount stolen is significantly above that. There is talk of anotherSOON YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO

Frontier crossings register 36,000 people and 10,000 vehicles every day in 2011

An unusual sight in the summer

National Police arrested 196 in 2011, Guardia Civil confiscate 627,202 tobacco units

LA LÍNEA  (Agencies) The above figures were handed over to the local authorities yesterday by the Government Sub-Delegate for the Province, Javier de la Torre. He also visited the customs area and met with senior representatives of Customs, Guardia Civil and National Police, with whom he discussed matters related to traffic, human resources and building maintenance, among others. De la Torre saw at first hand the situation of the Gibraltar frontier post. Some of the figures dealt with at the meeting: SOON YOU WILL  BE UNABLE TO SEE THE REST OF ITEMS SUCH AS THIS UNLESS YOU SUBSCRIBE.

You saw it here first - you hope!

SPAIN All of a sudden, your computer screen goes blank and is taken over by a warning from the Ministerio del Interior, with the badge of the Policía Nacional looming large - lately the Guardia Civil looms, too. You are accused of 'illegal activity', in your Internet surfing, e-mail and even in the files you thought were safe from prying eyes. You are told that, according to 'the laws of Spain' your computer has been blocked and for further information your IP address shows up, too (Wossat? Internal Protocol address). (Smell a rat yet?) Further down you are further charged with what looks like a maniac'a s**t list: paedophilia, zoophilia, child abuse, "video files have been found containing child pornography, violence" and more such niceties. Oh, and if that's not enough they mention that "your e-mails have contained spam with overtones of terrorism." (More than one rat here, right?) To unblock it, PLEASE BE AWARE THAT IN THE NEAR FUTURE YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO READ THE REST OF ITEMS SUCH AS THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE SUBSCRIBED. Subscription information will be available soon. (Oh, alright then, go on)>>>

Crimestoppers wants our help: look out for this man on the Algeciras-Tangier ferry

ALGECIRAS (Agencies) Crimestoppers, the Northamptonshire police and the Spanish police authorities are seeking our help in detaining Anxiang Du, wanted for questioning in the murder of four members of the Ding family, the parents and two daughters aged 12 and 18, last April. The police suspect that the 53 year old may well be in the South of Spain or northern Morocco so the appeal for vigilance is aimed at users of the Algeciras-Tangier ferry, particularly during the summer crossing season (called Operación Paso del Estrecho), when passenger numbers multiply and it is easier for Anxiang Du to go unnoticed. Crimestoppers says that he should not be approached as he is considered very dangerous. There is a reward of up to £25,000 for information leading to his arrest. The Spanish phone number to report a sighting is 900 555 111, and the number in Britain is 0800 555 111.

National police union calls for urgent measures against innumerable deficiencies

Lorry checking station at Aduana
(Photo: SUP)

LA LÍNEA The National Police union, Sindicato Unificado de Policía (SUP) qualifies the condition of most if not all of the buildings and equipment at the station and at the Gibraltar border as Third World. No wonder. Some 300 officers are stationed here but in a new detailed report, the union insists that not only are the facilities inadequate for the amount of agents using it, but they are also obsolete for the functions they are expected to perform. They are asking either for new premises or at least numerous repairs and renovations to ameliorate the situation. By far the worst facilities are those at the border (see photo), where rust is apparent everywhere, mould and vegetation, too, and frankly alarming, very damp patches close to electricity outlets. At the station in town,>>>

Sisters allegedly made false receipts for their community

ALCAIDESA (Agencies) Two sisters, answering to the initials M.V.A. and M.E.V.G., are being prosecuted for allegedly creating false bills and receipts when they were President and Vice-President, respectively, of their community, and supposedly keeping the money that came in as a result. The matter revolves initially  around two cheques made out to bearer, for €3,000 each, that were to go to pay an employee that had been fired by the community. The employee denied ever having received any cheque nor the amount in cash. Another witness stated that the cheques were cashed by the sisters themselves at a local bank. One of the defence lawyers said at the trial that the total figure as yet unaccounted for amounts to €111,000. Some twenty witnesses are expected to be called. Two Policía Nacional agents testified that the receipts they had seen in this matter, had been 'manipulated', and that the women were arrested in 2009 after the community secretary-administrator denounced that her signature had been falsified in the monthly reports on expenditure.

Ronda PSOE councillors resign; investigation continues

Marín announcing Eroski deal in Feb 2010

RONDA (Agencies) The four PSOE Councillors who were arrested and then released on bail in an ongoing anti-corruption investigation have resigned their seats on the Council. One of them, Francisco Cañestro, has also resigned as a provincial Deputy. They all resigned, too, from their party, although the PSOE had previously 'separated' them as a cautionary measure. The ex-mayor, Antonio María Marín Lara, must come up with bail of €150,000 in 15 days or return to prison. He made the announcement, saying that he was taking this step "in responsibility" because it is "the best way to face the judicial process with all necessary guarantees", adding that it follows the "rigurous ethical process of his party." Among other, several, items, the National Police anti-Corruption squad is looking into a shopping complex for Eroski -through a local building company- on land that housed the old municipal football pitch and feria grounds. Another deal being investigated is that of the Los Merinos development, which includes 800 luxury villas, golf courses and hotels. Yet another involves supposedly illegal buildings on a protected area known as La Hoya del Tajo.

Gibraltar Police warn of La Linea assault and robbery incident

Los Junquillos (illustration only)

GIBRALTAR (GibChronicle) A young Gibraltarian man was robbed in La Linea after three women allegedly set a trap for him and enabled two men to threaten him at knife-point, the Royal Gibraltar Police said yesterday. The gang of five stole the man’s belongings and his car. The incident prompted the RGP to issue a warning about distraction tactics used by criminals to set up their victims. The incident happened in the early hours of Friday morning as the man drove alone to Gibraltar from Alcaidesa via Carrefour and the road through the notorious Los Junquillos area, which meets the border road. According to the victim’s account, three young women jumped into the road and forced him to stop his car. “They distracted him further whilst two men got in to his unlocked car and he was threatened at knife point,” the police said in a statement. “He was then robbed of all his belongings and even his car.”>>>

Massive anti-money laundering operation finds €25 million cash in one home

Álvaro López Tardón

SPAIN/USA (Agencies) In a joint operation between Spain's National Police and the FBI, 21 people have been taken into custody accused of being part of a money laundering network. Part of the investigation found a total of €25 million in cash in two hideaways in the same house in Madrid. It is the largest amount of money ever seized in a single house search, according to the Ministry of the Interior. Among those detained is the alleged head of the gang, Álvaro López Tardón, 36, who is well known to Spanish justice, principally because in the 1990s he was the boss of a gang known as Los Miami, although he supposedly transformed into a 'broker' to finance drug deals among dealers in Spain with connections to Colombian cartels. López Tardón was arrested on July 14 at his home in Miami, where he lived in luxury with the money reaching him from his gang: €18,373 million, according to the FBI. As U.S. authorities tell it,>>>

National Policeman accused of associating with drug dealers

ALGECIRAS (Agencies) A member of the National Police anti-drug squad, Udyco, is being investigated for his alleged involvement in a drug operation. Sources say that F.C.M. is accused of being related to a drug smuggling gang that was dismantled last year with the arrest of 10 people and the seizure of some 1,000 kilos of Hashish. His lawyer has requested his freedom until such time as the Internal Affairs investigation is finished. Among several statements by other officers, it is known that this man is a drug user who charged criminals for his help, but the matter is still under wraps.

Ninth arrest for Internet fraud

LA LÍNEA (Agencies) Spain is well behind the rest of Europe in the numbers related to buying and selling online: the following story could be one reason why: J.M.T., aged 23, was arrested this week for fraud on the Intenet for the fifth time. He is accused of fraud, identity theft and using false documents. There are 43 charges against him, amounting to €102,220 and he is believed to be the head of the gang arrested with him by the National Police: D.G.D., his female partner, 20; I.G.G., 21, and F. J. V. J., 22. A minor was also arrested, who is now detained at a juvenile centre in Algeiras. The National Police says the investigaion was long and arduous because of their modus operandi.>