Costa Del Crime

British man stabs other in the Océano Beach Hotel & Restaurant in Playa Miraflores

2012-05-30T09:18:00.001+01:00

The attacker made off in a top of the range car A British man has stabbed another in Mijas, after an argument between their wives. It happened in the Océano Beach Hotel & Restaurant in Playa Miraflores in Mijas Costa. The two couples arrived at 7,30pm. They dined, saw a show of monologues and all was well until midnight. About that time an argument started with the people on the next table, also British, and this ended in the stabbing of a 42 year old Briton. Each table had two couples, all British and Diario Sur reports that both groups had been drinking all the evening. Several bottles of Faustino V were served to the victim’s table, while those on the neighbouring table were drinking Laurent-Perrier champagne. The Guardia Civil is investigating what caused the fight and it seems an argument had developed between the women on the two tables. The men then got involved and made matters worse. At the end of the evening the two groups prepared to leave, and the alleged aggressor, thought to be in his 30’s, left the restaurant while the man who would become the victim stopped for an instant at the bar located at the entrance. Then the other man returned and stabbed the victim several times, then driving off in a top of the range car which was parked at the door. The stabbed man was rushed to the Costa del Sol Hospital in Marbella and is reported to be in a serious condition. A search is now underway for the car, and Judicial Police from the Guardia Civil are in charge of the investigation and the search for the attacker.

British man arrested for having cocaine on Ibiza

2012-05-30T09:16:00.001+01:00

The Guardia Civil from Sant Antoni, Ibiza, have recovered 210 grams of cocaine and arrested a 30 year old British man who it’s thought was planning to sell the drug in the clubs of the island. A press release said the Guardia Civil stopped a car last Wednesday, driven by the Briton S.M.D., and found a small amount of the drug. They then decided to search the man’s home and found 210 grams of highly pure cocaine and items to adulterate the drug to increase the number of doses. The man came before the courts last weekend and the judge has ordered he be held in prison.

ETA's military chief arrested in France

2012-05-29T15:42:00.001+01:00

The man considered to ‘Number One’ in ETA’s military apparatus has been arrested in France in a joint operation between SDAT French and Spanish police. Oroitz Gurruchaga was accompanied by his ‘right hand man’, Javier Aramburu when detained at 3,30pm on Sunday afternoon. They were found to be carrying a pistol and revolver when they were arrested, driving a stolen car with false plates, in Cauna in the SW of the country. The Spanish Ministry for the Interior considers the two could have been recruiting new members for ETA. Javier Aramburu Guardia Civil Xabier Aramnuro fled to France in 2010 after the breakup of the illegal ‘Tontor’, and is thought to have been responsible for several attacks using explosives in Guipúzcoa and Vizcaya in 2008. It brings the number of arrests since the end of ETA violence to 19.

Cuban arrested for growing cannabis in his basement in Alhaurín

2012-05-29T15:40:00.001+01:00

A 45 year old Cuban man has been arrested for growing cannabis in a chalet in Alhaurín. He was using electricity from the street to cultivate the drugs in the basement of his home. More than 8 kilos of marihuana was obtained, 11 hashish tablets weighting about 2.5 kilos and 191 cannabis plants, according to a statement from Málaga provincial police station.

Gibraltarian and Spanish police clash over fishing row

2012-05-25T09:44:00.001+01:00

Gibraltarian police have confronted Spanish officers escorting Spanish fishing boats in the waters near Gibraltar for the second night running. Gibraltar's government has said fishing with large nets in the area is illegal because of an environmental law. But Spain claims sovereignty over the UK colony and its foreign ministry has said it supports the right of Spanish boats to fish in its waters. The Spanish and UK foreign secretaries are due to meet in London on Tuesday. Spain's foreign ministry has said the fishing dispute will not affect its relations with Britain, which has counted Gibraltar as a colony since 1713. 'Defending rights' On Thursday, media reported that several Royal Gibraltar Police boats had surrounded three Spanish fishing vessels after they cast their nets near Gibraltar harbour the night before. Gibraltarian news agency GBC News said several Spanish Guardia Civil boats appeared to be defending the fishermen, but were told to leave by the Gibraltarian police. The Spanish boats reportedly left the area later after a Royal Navy vessel arrived and told them again to depart. GBC news quoted Gibraltar's chief minister, Fabian Picardo, as condemning what were "obviously carefully premeditated challenges to our indisputable sovereignty, jurisdiction and control of British Gibraltar Territorial Waters and our airspace". A UK Foreign Office statement confirmed that Britain's minister for Europe, David Lidington, had met with Mr Picardo to discuss various issues, including the fishing dispute and recent incidents in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters. It said Mr Lidington had reiterated that the UK would "never enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another state against their wishes". But Spanish Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz told reporters Madrid would continue to dispatch police boats to protect Spanish fishermen in the area to defend "the fishing rights of our fishermen".

SPANISH nationals who were behind one of the biggest ever cocaine seizures of its kind at Gatwick Airport have been jailed for a total of 42 years.

2012-05-25T09:39:00.001+01:00

The three women, Ana Palacios Expósito, 28, Estefani Pardo Puertolas, 18, Johanna Estefani Solís Jaramillo, 19, and a man, Felix Yagüe Abello, 39, all flew into the airport's South Terminal from the Dominican Republic on February 10.

jailed: From left, Felix Yagüe Abello, Ana Isabel Palacios Expósito, Johanna Estefani Solís Jaramillo, and Estefani Pardo Puertolas

Each had two pieces of carry-on luggage. These were searched by UK Border Agency officers who found the drugs inside their bags, wrapped in silver foil.

They had a wholesale value of more than £4 million, but if cut and sold on the street could have been worth in excess of £8 million.

All four were charged with importing a class A drug and they each pleaded guilty.

They were sentenced at Croydon Crown Court last Thursday.

Yagüe and Palacios, both from Barcelona, were sentenced to 11 years. Pardo, from Sant Boi de Llobregat, and Solís, from Guayas, were both sentenced to 10-year prison sentences.

CGPJ to seek head's resignation over Marbella trips

2012-05-23T23:22:00.001+01:00

The revelation That the Chief Justice and head of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), Carlos Divar, Traveled to Puerto Banus in Marbella at least 20 times and charged Allegedly expenses, Including a seven-strong bodyguard, to the Judiciary Have Led to calls for resignation historical. Six of the 20-strong membership are expected CGPJ to table a motion for Divar to fall on sword at an extraordinary historical meeting on Thursday. Thirteen votes in behalf of the move will be Sufficient for the Committee to sack CGPJ Divar, Something That Happened since Spain has not Returned to democracy. CGPJ board member Jose Manuel Gomez Benitez filed the original complaint over the Divar's expense account and a meeting WAS CALLED ON Monday after the investigation Into the Chief Justice's trips WAS dropped by the Supreme Court. The watchdog demanded justice from STIs president Explanations - Explanations That Were not Immediately forthcoming. After the Monday meeting, Divar's chief of staff, Eduardo Menendez, an extraordinary assembly Announced for Thursday With A single item on the agenda: his boss' trips. Speaking at the meeting Monday, Divar I Learned That said Benitez Lodged HAD THE COUNTRY-through the suit and denied the prosecutor Any me picture. The CGPJ is aiming to find common ground in Thursday's session in an Attempt to limit the collateral damage Caused by Divar's weekend jaunts, Some of Which Lasted for four days or more and included dinners at luxury restaurants. Supporting Benitez's call for austerity, Divar said at Monday's meeting: "I think we are giving an image of scant Transparency in terms of expenses," adding the prosecutor's ruling That HAD been "clear and emphatic." "Whatever the prosecutor says, So Many trips to Marbella Do not have esthetic ethic or justification," Benitez said. Siding with Divar, Gemma Gallego CGPJ member asked if Benitez WAS going to resign. Her Counterpart Pio Aguirre Benitez's decision to Described lodge a complaint without consulting the CGPJ as "disrespectful." Benitez shot back: "I do not trust the Plenary."

Bancaja considering offering Chairman's position to man indicted for corporate crime

2012-05-22T05:31:00.001+01:00

The President of Bancaja, José Luis Olivas, has called a board meeting to present his resignation. Actual vice president, Antonio Tirado, is reported to replace him. It comes a week after the Shareholders Junta of the Banco de Valencia started legal action against Tirado, claiming compensation for what they see as the prejudice done through his management. The choice of Antonio Tirado is raising more than a few eyebrows given he has already been indicted for false accounting, unfair administration and corporate crime at his time managing the Banco de Valencia. He was indicted with other administrators in the Banco de Valencia, and the case was admitted to Instruction Court Three in Valencia, in the last week of March, supported by 137 shareholders. Tirado said that he had not resigned ‘because nobody can say how much was lost’.

British man arrested in Málaga after holding his ex wife and two children hostage

2012-05-22T05:26:00.001+01:00

A British man has been arrested by the National Police after holding his ex partner and their two children aged two hostage in Alhaurín el Grande since May 5. During the time that the hostages were deprived of their freedom the man allegedly threatened his ex wife with a pistol and caused diverse injuries. The victim had ended the relationship last January and return to England, but then she came two Spain with her sister for a few days so the husband could see the children, and that was the moment that he took her and children hostage. A European Search, Arrest and Detention Order had been issued against the man by the British authorities because it has been established that the man had fled to Spain two years ago, with the wife, taking advantage of a prison pass from a crime he committed in 1993. The man let the sister return to the UK, and when there she denounced what had happened to the Metropolitan Police, who in turn alerted investigators in Spain thanks to the regular communication channels. It was the SOCA, Serious Organised Crime Agency, which kept the British Embassy in Madrid up to date. Spanish investigators from the UDEV specialist kidnapping and extortion unit of the Judicial Police in Spain established the suspect was living in an urbanisation in Alhaurín el Grande under a false name. Police then started to watch the property in an operation which ended when the man was arrested when driving out in a vehicle. The man will be handled to the National Court which will carry out the repatriation procedures.

Body found in Istán countryside

2012-05-21T17:08:00.001+01:00

A body in an advanced state of decomposition has been found among shrubs close to the Istán reservoir. Two foreigners found the body on Sunday afternoon and sources close to the case think the body is male. Several Police units and the Guardia Civil went to scene on the Carril Zahara de Istán. The cause and time of death remains unknown, as the identity of man. An autopsy will be carried out at the Legal Medicine Institute, and forensic scientists have been inspecting the scene.

Ex Mayor of Casares leaves prison after finding bail

2012-05-20T14:47:00.001+01:00

The ex Mayor of Casares in Málaga, Juan Sánchez from IU, left prison at Alhaurín de la Torre at 7,20pm on Friday night. He had entered prison last Tuesday on the orders of the Instruction Judge in the Majestic Case being heard in the First Instance and Instruction Court Two in Estepona, Oscar López Bermejo. He faces charges of money laundering through real estate deals. The ex Mayor left the jail without making any statement, and it is unknown whether he will remain in his current position of Councillor for Housing in the Casares Town Hall. He left the prison after his family and friends amassed bail of 200,000 €. The Majestic Operation, which is being carried out jointly between the National Police money laundering squad and the Guardia Civil has led to eleven arrests so far. The latest arrests are of a German woman who was arrested in La Línea after arriving at Gibraltar Airport, accused of money laundering and belonging to a criminal organisation. She was sent to jail with bail set at 70,000 €. Secondly a South African was arrested on Thursday when he arrived at Málaga airport, when returning from Switzerland. He was sent to jail with 50,000 € bail and has until May 22 to deposit the money. Their passports have been taken and they are not allowed to leave Spain.

26 year old Scottish man, Craig Mallon, has been found dead at 7,30 am this morning, Saturday, in the street in Lloret de Mar

2012-05-20T14:45:00.001+01:00

According to sources close to the investigation is seems that he was stabbed in a fight in the early hours of the morning between tourists visiting Lloret. No firearms have been found and Catalunya Informació says the Scot died from a heart attack after being stabbed. He was in the town to celebrate his brother’s stag party. It’s believed that alcohol was drunk by those implicated in the fight, but as yet there are no official details. The same sources told the EFE news agency that as yet there have been no arrests, although the regional Catalan police, the Mossos d’Esquadra, will only confirm the death of a person. The Mossos d’Esquadra has opened a full investigation and has introduced reporting restrictions.

Spanish police bust gang that ripped off drug dealers

2012-05-20T02:24:00.001+01:00

Spain's Civil Guard has taken down a gang that employed extremely violent tactics in robbing drug dealers, arresting 15 suspects, officials said Thursday. The suspects - eight Colombians, two Spaniards, two Brazilians, an Argentine, a Peruvian and a Briton - may have earned "big profits" by stealing from victims who were unlikely to call police, the Civil Guard said in a statement. The gang would make contact with dealers, showing them small bits of cocaine or white substances that appeared to be the illegal drug. When it was time to seal the deal, the suspects would assault and rob the drug dealers, the Civil Guard said. The suspects were arrested during an operation conducted on the island of Tenerife and in the provinces of Madrid and Guadalajara. The 15 suspects face organized crime, drug, robbery, forgery and other charges. The gang, which was led by two Colombian brothers, operated across Spain and in other parts of Europe. The suspects usually staged the rip-offs in parking lots and apartments, some of which were rented just for the occasion. The gang's members, who would wear ski masks and carry starter's pistols, hid in the dwellings chosen for the robberies or in the trunks of cars. Drug buyers would be robbed of their money by the suspects, who used "great violence" and then fled from the scene quickly, the Civil Guard said.

Traffickers paid homeless to become drug ‘mules’

2012-05-19T22:40:00.001+01:00

EIGHT people which recruited homeless people in Malaga to become ‘drugs mules’ have been jailed for a total of 44 years. The gang would send the vagrants to Argentina to smuggle drugs back into Spain. The fines which they have been sentenced to pay amount to €3.6 million. Since 2009, they had been transporting cocaine from South America to sell to others. Six members of the group are Spanish, including some of the ‘mules’, and the leaders are Nigerian. They would approach people in need of money in Malaga, pay for their trip from Madrid to Buenos Aires, hotel stay and passport and then get them to bring the drugs back to Spain hidden in their luggage. They were discovered in September 2009 after several of the ‘mules’ were found carrying the cocaine and arrested.

Bank worker walks out with a million Euro

2012-05-19T14:06:00.001+01:00

Take the money and run. A worker at a branch of the La Caixa bank in Vilagarcía de Arousa, Pontevedra, has fled from the bank after taking a million €. The man, Santiago Pelayo Sanmartín, worked in the debt collecting department, chasing clients who were late paying. He escaped in a company car from an estate agent where he also worked last Tuesday. A search is underway. The bank has opened what it is calling ‘an internal audit’ to see the circumstance and details of the robbery which they says is about a million €, although an exact calculation is still to be carried out. The man’s wife and daughters say they have no idea where he is. A statement from La Caixa has said that client should not be alarmed by the robbery, because of the money has come from just two accounts.

Drug traffickers deliberately left their cocaine in Málaga airport lost luggage

2012-05-17T23:55:00.001+01:00

Eight people, five Spanish, a Colombian, and two Venezuelans, have been arrested by the Guardia Civil in an operation which has led to the dismantling of an organisation which sent large amounts of cocaine to Spain by air and lost luggage. The operation, directed by a court in Málaga, took place in Vélez-Málaga, Seseña Toledo, and Madrid. 42 kilos of the drug was recovered. Investigations carried out in February and March were established when the EDOA, the Organised Crime and Anti-drug team in the Guardia Civil in Málaga, working with the prosecution service at the airport, discover possible drug trafficking using a new method. Members of the organisation travelled from Venezuela to Spain with their luggage although on arrival in Málaga they did not pick up their luggage, and it was left as lost luggage. Later they call the Lost Property Office, and have the luggage delivered to a hotel. To be safe they are staying in other hotel and only go to the first one to pick up the luggage when they have checked that suspicions have not been raised. The gang had several vehicles with sophisticated mechanisms to hide the drugs for their transportation across Spain, and substances with an odour to confuse police drug dogs. The Guardia Civil action has led to the complete dismantling of the group who now face charges of drug trafficking, belonging to a criminal organisation and falsifying documentation.

Two National Police fined 600 € for death of man under their guard

2012-05-17T23:54:00.001+01:00

Two National Police who were accused of the death of Nigerian man have been fined just 600 €. It happened during a repatriation flight in 2007, when the police were guarding the man, and experts and forensic scientists told the court that the tape they used to gag the man ‘was not the direct cause of death’, but it was ‘stress and a lack of oxygen’. They said the reason the victim had problems breathing was not the gag, but the low air pressure because of the height of the flight. The case was held today, Thursday, in the seventh section of the Alicante Provincial Court, in Elche, and initial three year prison sentences were called for by the prosecutor, with a brief period out of the job without pay. But given the evidence of the experts the charges were dropped from involuntary homicide to a fault. At the end of proceedings, the instruction magistrate told some relatives of the victims who had travelled from Madrid for the case, that they could make a civil appeal provided they can prove that they are in fact related to the deceased.

Former Marbella Mayor must pay back 1.8 million Euros

2012-05-15T19:34:00.001+01:00

The Supreme Court has confirmed Malaga provincial court decision in one of the cases against the former mayor of Marbella, Julian Munoz, which said that he must pay back over 1.8 million Euros to the municipality. . He Julian Munoz, should have usurped money by issuing false invoices were submitted by a law office that belonged to the former Chairman of the football club Sevilla, José María del Nido. Both Muñoz and share Nido has also been sentenced to 7 years in prison in the case known as the Minutes, which the municipality of Marbella between 1999 and 2003 paid some 6.7 million Euros Nido. In this case must reimburse Muñoz 3.05 million Euros, while part Nido has to pay 2.7 million Euros. . Julián Muñoz has just been in the dock in a third case, namely the associated Malaya corruption scandal in Marbella. Here he is with the main accused, former chief administrative officer with responsibility for urban planning, Juan Antonio Roca, and 94 other charges of bribery, embezzlement, abuse of power, etc. in Marbella. Julián Muñoz denied having received money from Juan Antonio Roca that has previously stated that the initials JM in his secret accounts do not account for Julián Muñoz. He may face up to 10 years in prison in this case. .

Ex Mayor of Casares ordered to prison provisionally

2012-05-15T19:32:00.001+01:00

The judge has ordered provisional prison for the ex Mayor of Casares, Juan Sánchez. The IU member is also the Councillor for Institutional Affairs and Housing, and faces charges of bribery, administrative perversion and others. The current Mayor, Antonia Morera, held a press conference on Monday afternoon and said the Judicial Police and Civil Guard wanted to see the documentation related to a project by Majestic, a constructor of several promotions which had previously requested in 2010. Also charged in the case the ex Mayor’s wife, who was also facing charges and has been released. A third arrested person declared on Monday and another arrest is expected today, according to the Sánchez lawyer, Juan José Simón. Sanchez declaration took some two hours in the Instruction Court Two in Estepona, and he left the court at 2am Tuesday by the back door. The prosecutor wanted 250,000 € bail, but the judge set the amount at 200,000 €. The Casares Town Hall remains closed to the public as the search to examine the documents by the Guardia Civil continues.

British bomb hoaxers released from custody on Tenerife

2012-05-15T19:31:00.001+01:00

The two British youngsters, 20 year old Aidan-Paul Jenvis, and Mathan Levi aged 21, who were arrested at the Reina Sofia Airport last Friday after giving a false bomb alert during a Thomas Cook flight from Manchester, have now been released from custody, but they cannot leave Tenerife until the case against them comes to court. Their passports have been removed. They have been held since Friday in the cells of the Local Police in Granadilla de Abona. They are now staying at the apartment they had rented for their holiday break. The two are reported to have been drunk when they claimed to the other passengers and a stewardess that they had a bomb in their hand luggage. There was some debate as to whether they would be judged under Spanish or British legislation, given the offence happened on a British plane, considered to be British soil, but it seems they will tried under Article 82 of the Air Navigation Law in Spain. Civil Guard sources said that in all probability it will be a fast track hearing and the two will be expelled to the UK once they have paid a fine. Spanish law says there is a jail sentence of between six months and a year in prison, but it is unlikely they will go to jail as they have no previous record in Spain. A plan for Britain to ask for the extradition of the two to face terrorism charges in the UK has now been dismissed.

Briton wanted for armed robbery in the UK is arrested on Ibiza

2012-05-15T19:29:00.001+01:00

The Guardia Civil on Ibiza arrested a Briton wanted for armed robbery. News of the arrest, which took place on Friday, has just been released. The man was arrested in the West End for drug trafficking as he was found to be carrying 27 MDMA ecstasy pills, cocaine and marihuana. They then discovered that a U.K. search and capture order was in place against the man. The Guardia Judge has granted bail of 1,500 € which the British man who is unnamed in reports has paid, and now he will be taken to the Central Instruction Court in Madrid. The National Court is the body to grant extraditions in such cases. The man will presumably be judged back in the UK on the charges armed robbery and illegal possession of firearms. Once he has responded to the charges in Britain the man must respond to Spanish justice for the alleged crime of drug trafficking. Meanwhile in a separate case a British man named with the P.D.C. is in court today in Ibiza. He faces charges of involuntary manslaughter after he jumped a red light in his car in the summer of 2006, and hit a 59 year old woman who died of her injuries.

Justice Minister announces tougher sentences for serious crime

2012-05-15T06:42:00.001+01:00

The Minister for Justice, Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, has announced an up to ten year prison increase on current terms for serious crimes. It will affect sexual crimes, serious crimes where violence or intimidation were used and drug trafficking. It could also apply to those a previous record of serious crimes, or those who are repeat offenders. Gallardón is calling the new measure ‘custodia de seguridad’. It means that a person’s liberty can continue to be lost after the prison term is over, although this could be a more attenuated regime. Also in the new legislation is the concept of ‘reversible life in prison’ for the most serious and socially rejected crimes, such as rape, torture and killing a child. The Minister made the announcement today, Monday, after meeting the father of the 17 year old Sevilla girl, Marta del Castillo, who was killed in 2009 and whose body has still not been found. He was given a text by Marta’s father which asked him to comply with the election manifesto and the promises made during the campaign, because ‘society cannot consent to more broken promises’.

The bodies of two pensioners found in Estepona

2012-05-15T06:40:00.001+01:00

Two pensioners, a 77 year old man and his 75 year old partner have been found dead in Estepona in what is thought to be a case of macho violence. Both the man and the woman had been widowed, and first indications are that the woman had been hit on the head by her new sentimental companion who then committed suicide. He had a cut on his arm. Any third party has initially been ruled out. National Police were called to the property in Calle Maspalomas on Saturday afternoon when neighbours said they had not seen the couple for several days. The police found two bodies. Autopsies will be carried out to confirm the cause of the deaths and the time when it happened. If is domestic violence by the National Police investigation, this will be the first woman to die at the hands of her partner in Málaga so far this year.

Man electrocutes his ex partner and tries to strangle her

2012-05-15T06:37:00.001+01:00

A man has tried to strangle his ex partner after stunning her with an electric shock. It happened in a service station on the A-49 in Huelva, and later the woman who was unconscious woke up and injured walked to some houses where she asked for help. She was taken to hospital with diverse injuries. It’s reported the woman who is in her 40’s had been in an abusive relationship with the man, identified with the initials J.A.S. for two years. It was on May 11 last year that the attack happened in Bollullos Par de Condado. The woman said she got into her ex-partner’s car willingly, but then he drove to the service station and without saying anything attacked with a device similar to a Taser. He then tried to strangle her, and she only remembers coming round on her own. The following day the Judicial Police of the Guardia Civil arrested the alleged attacker and charged him with attempted homicide. They also recovered the device which they believe had electrocuted her. The suspect will appear in court shortly.

Sahil Saeed's kidnap in Pakistan was 'plotted in Spain'

2012-05-15T06:31:00.001+01:00

A married couple plotted the kidnapping of a five year-old UK boy in Pakistan from a Spanish town, a court has heard. Sahil Saeed, of Oldham, was visiting his grandmother's home in the Punjab region when he was snatched during a robbery on 4 March 2010. He was released after 12 days when a £110,000 ransom was paid by his family. Appearing in Tarragona, Spain, Muhammad Zahid Saleem, his wife Gianina Monica Neruja and flatmate Muhammad Sageiz denied charges of kidnap, conspiracy. The trio also deny charges of robbery and trespass as well as eight charges of unlawful arrest in connection with the case. Mr Saleem and Mr Sageiz, from Pakistan and Ms Neruja, from Romania, lived in Tarragona before their arrests. They have been in custody awaiting trial since 16 March 2010. Prosecutor Maria Jose Osuna said: "Together with at least four other people of Pakistani origin, Muhammad Zahid Saleem, Gianina Monica Neruja and Muhammad Sageiz designed, organised and carried out the kidnapping of the British minor Sahil Saeed. "The whole operation was directed by the defendant Muhammad Zahid Saleem, who had gone to his country at the end of 2009 and in February for that purpose." Rifles and grenades Ms Osuna told the court that Sahil and his father, Raja Saeed, had been saying farewell to their family when four masked men carrying assault rifles and hand grenades struck. She said they beat members of Sahil's family - including his grandmother and cousin - "without distinction of age". "At one point they turned to Mr Raja Saeed and said they knew he was a businessman and they knew he and his father had a business in the United Kingdom," she said. "They said, 'You are going to pay us £100,000, we are taking your son with us now'. "They pointed a gun in his face and, when he told them they were making a mistake, they pounced on him, filled his mouth with cloth and tied it behind his head, telling him, 'If you try to contact the police or involve them we will kill him [Sahil]'." The prosecutor told the court the men then left with Sahil in the taxi that had been meant to take the boy and his father to the airport from where they had been due to return to Manchester. She said the men also stole 1,9000 rupees, two phones, a laptop, two watches and a gun. The court heard that Sahil's uncle had been called from a phone box in Constanti, near Tarragona on the afternoon of 4 March, 2010. Two days later Sahil's father received another call from Spain informing him that the gang knew that he had contacted the police. Mr Saeed was told that the ransom had doubled because of this contact, although the amount was later settled at £110,000. The gang told him to return to the UK. Mr Saeed was told the ransom would increase if it was not paid by 15 March and that he would have to pay an additional £100,000 if he wanted to speak to his son to confirm that he was alive. The case continues.