costa confidential - Articles - Zimbio

Rafael Gómez Sánchez told the court on Saturday that he has no links to Juan Antonio Roca

Sun, 17 Nov 2008 01:21:00 GMT

posted by quantumleap

The Córdoba builder and businessman, Rafael Gómez Sánchez, known as Sandokán, told the court on Saturday that he has no links to Juan Antonio Roca, the ex Municipal Real Estate Assessor in Marbella. Gómez is implicated himself in the Malaya case, facing charges of bribery, and last week some 410 works of art were found on his premises in Marbella, which investigators think belong to Roca or the businessmen Carlos Sánchez or Andrés Liétor.Sandokán claimed he has collected the artworks so he could face the debts of his Arenal 2000 construction company has with the taxman. He had been paying 1.5 million € a month to Hacienda, but El País reports those payments stopped in September.The raid took place on the outskirts of Cordoba city, in Parque Joyero de Córdoba, where police officers discovered around 410 paintings in warehouses belonging to Rafael Gómez, who known as 'Sandokán' and is the owner of the construction company Arenal 2000. Gómez is involved in the 'Malaya' case and is a partner in Marbella Airways of Juan Antonio Roca, alleged ring leader of the corruption.

Travel Guru: Holidays in Marbella

Fri, 15 Nov 2008 06:21:55 GMT

posted by yuppmarks

Posted by julia878 1 hour 8 minutes ago (http://online-travel-guru.blogspot.com)
Category: Entertainment | Tags: a trip to marbella travel guide of marb

Marbella is the most fascinating destination for the tourists planning to spend their vacations in Spain. You can everything which you desire for adventurous vacation.

Trial starts of Monzer al-Kassar, 62, a longtime Spanish resident known as the "prince of Marbella" for his rich lifestyle in the glitzy seaside town

Mon, 4 Nov 2008 08:31:00 GMT

posted by quantumleap
Jury was picked on Monday for a trial of a suspected Syrian arms dealer extradited from Spain on charges of planning to supply arms including surface-to-air missile systems to Colombian rebels.Opening arguments in the trial of Monzer al-Kassar, 62, a longtime Spanish resident known as the "prince of Marbella" for his rich lifestyle in the glitzy seaside town, are due to start on Wednesday.He is accused of planning to sell millions of dollars worth of weapons to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to protect a cocaine-trafficking business and attack U.S. interests.
Kassar, whom U.S. prosecutors call one of the most prolific arms dealers in the world, sat in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Monday as his lawyers and prosecutors picked a jury of twelve from a pool of more than 120 people.He has pleaded not guilty to charges including conspiring to kill American nationals and officers, conspiring to acquire anti-aircraft missiles and providing support to a terrorist organization.Kassar was extradited from Spain in June after Spain received assurances from U.S. authorities he would face neither the death penalty nor a life sentence without chance of parole.He was arrested at the Madrid airport in June 2007 after his U.S. indictment said he knew the FARC kidnapped U.S. citizens to dissuade American efforts to disrupt the cocaine trade.The U.S. government has designated the FARC as a foreign terrorist organization. The rebels have been fighting for socialist revolution since 1964 and have at times run large swathes of Colombia.
At the time of his arrest, prosecutors said Kassar had met with two confidential sources working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration at his home in Marbella and discussed the sale of weapons, including assault and sniper rifles and rocket propelled grenade launchers, to the FARC.Kassar also offered to send 1,000 men to fight with the FARC against U.S. military officers, prosecutors allege.
The U.S. Embassy in Madrid said Kassar has been selling weapons since the 1970s to the Palestinian Liberation Front and clients in Nicaragua, Bosnia, Croatia, Iran, Iraq and Somalia.Questions asked to the jurors included what concerns they had about terrorism, if they had ever heard of the FARC and whether they could give a fair trial to people whose business involved the sale of military weapons.Two other men charged in the same case, Tareq Mousa al Ghazi, 61, of Lebanon and Luis Felipe Moreno Godoy, 59, of Marbella, pleaded innocent in October 2007 to terrorism charges.
They were arrested in Bucharest, Romania but only Moreno Godoy will be prosecuted with Kassar after Ghazi's case was moved to a later date due to medical reasons.

Liverpool man was shot five times outside Solly's Diner in Puerto Banus

Wed, 25 Sep 2008 21:21:00 GMT

posted by quantumleap
Liverpool man shot five times in Puerto Banus in a bungled assassination attempt .
The expat, in his 30s and thought to be from Liverpool, was blasted in the face, leg, arm, pelvis and genitals as he left a restaurant.It was the third shooting in the Costa del Sol resort in five weeks, and took place just yards from packed bars and shops.The victim was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery but amazingly survived.
Blood stains can be seen on the road outside Solly's Diner where the British man was shot five times.He had just left Solly's Diner, a British restaurant in Puerto Banus, and was about to get into his dark blue BMW when he was shot in broad daylight at 7.30pm last night.The gunman approached him, pulled out a weapon and shot him five times before walking calmly away, witnesses said.The victim collapsed on the floor in a pool of blood as panic broke out among people drinking or shopping nearby.
Incredibly, he was still conscious and able to mutter a few words when an ambulance arrived 15 minutes later. One witness told a local newspaper: "We thought they were fireworks until we saw the victim on the ground, with his face destroyed, full of blood."It was like a film his body was convulsing, but he managed to utter a few words." A police source said it was "a miracle" that he had survived the shooting.
One report said the gunman was also thought to be British.He walked away "in complete calm" then got into a waiting getaway car, a witness said.The shooting is being investigated by police from Malaga's Anti-Drug and Organised Crime Unit UDYCO.
Forensic teams spent yesterday evening searching the scene for clues while detectives began studying CCTV footage.Local reports said the victim had lived in Marbella for several years.

One witness said the victim had sat drinking coffee for several hours on the terrace of Solly's Diner before he was shot.

He said: "He sat on his own with a coffee. He was talking constantly on his mobile. Once in a while he got up, walked up and down the street and then sat down again."

A spokeswoman for the Costa del Sol hospital said: "The man suffered multiple gunshot wounds in his right leg, pelvis, genitals, right arm and right eye.

"He was operated on during Wednesday night and he in now in intensive care in a serious but stable condition."

A spokesman for the National Police in Marbella said: "We are investigating a shooting in Puerto Banus but cannot give out any more information at this stage."

Detectives are investigating possible links to two recent shootings in Marbella.

Three people were injured in a shootout in the Aloha Gardens restaurant on 21 August.

And two more were injured in another shooting at the Nikki Beach nightclub on 22 August.

Liverpool Lad survives being blasted in the face, leg, arm, pelvis and genitals

Wed, 25 Sep 2008 22:16:00 GMT

posted by Highplain
The Liverpool expat,in his 30s , was blasted in the face, leg, arm, pelvis and genitals as he left a restaurant.It was the third shooting in the Costa del Sol resort in five weeks, and took place just yards from packed bars and shops.
The victim was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery but amazingly survived.
He had just left Solly's Diner, a British restaurant in Puerto Banus, and was about to get into his dark blue BMW when he was shot in broad daylight at 7.30pm last night.The gunman approached him, pulled out a weapon and shot him five times before walking calmly away, witnesses said.The victim collapsed on the floor in a pool of blood as panic broke out among people drinking or shopping nearby.Incredibly, he was still conscious and able to mutter a few words when an ambulance arrived 15 minutes later. One witness told a local newspaper: "We thought they were fireworks until we saw the victim on the ground, with his face destroyed, full of blood."It was like a film his body was convulsing, but he managed to utter a few words." A police source said it was "a miracle" that he had survived the shooting.One report said the gunman was also thought to be British.He walked away "in complete calm" then got into a waiting getaway car, a witness said.The shooting is being investigated by police from Malaga's Anti-Drug and Organised Crime Unit UDYCO.Forensic teams spent yesterday evening searching the scene for clues while detectives began studying CCTV footage.Local reports said the victim had lived in Marbella for several years.
One witness said the victim had sat drinking coffee for several hours on the terrace of Solly's Diner before he was shot.He said: "He sat on his own with a coffee. He was talking constantly on his mobile. Once in a while he got up, walked up and down the street and then sat down again."
A spokeswoman for the Costa del Sol hospital said: "The man suffered multiple gunshot wounds in his right leg, pelvis, genitals, right arm and right eye.
"He was operated on during Wednesday night and he in now in intensive care in a serious but stable condition." A spokesman for the National Police in Marbella said: "We are investigating a shooting in Puerto Banus but cannot give out any more information at this stage."

Detectives are investigating possible links to two recent shootings in Marbella.

Three people were injured in a shootout in the Aloha Gardens restaurant on 21 August.

And two more were injured in another shooting at the Nikki Beach nightclub on 22 August.