OLIVE PRESS
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Vol. 5 Issue 125
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Take a drive on the ELECTRIC wild side with our OP Motoring special S TIONS inside
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February 2022 FIGHT ON: VW’s ID.4 is aimed at taking on Tesla
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Cash incentives for electric cars are introduced in Spain as we take a look at popular options
PAIN has pledged to make the entire country carbon them into the reach of By Dilip Kuner neutral by 2050, and for many more people’s wallets. to happen cars are goingthis One of the most unusual to the country. have to get greener. Tesla Cybertruck. Aimed will be the Volkswagen It’s automotive plan focuses on the iary plans toGroup’s SEAT subsid- the US market where squarely at from Volvo’s environmentally-friendly team up with power ‘trucks’ are a new electric company Iberdrola huge segment, this retro-futuristic perforand hybrid car industry to build Spain’s and aims to first battery mance arm make the technology cheaper, factory for Electric Vehi- ‘space machine’ is sure to make it (the other, the and cles (EVs). to Spain at some point. easier to use and access across the Volkswagen 1, is a hybrid country. has previously an- Clad in dent-proof stainless steel petrol-electric), it looks like something nounced its intention to Special incentives have out of been rolled alternabattery plants across build six EV Max, and according to Tesla Mad and out over the coming Europe, with boss tive models years to encourage the three earmarked for Elon Musk it will be a ‘really tough, and specs are ownership of green the Spain/Portugal/ not fake-tough’ truck. planned Mind you, he ended for vehicles, both private The government southern France up with egg this area. and commercial. In total, the govern- on his face at the vehicle’s launch Apartyear. from its when he tried to prove is granting The Spanish government its durability green is granting motor, ment has approved an €3.75 billion towards through a series of ‘torture tests’. Volvo €3.75bn to has All was going well until Musk also €800 million fund up making electric and hurled i n t r o d u c a steel ball at the vehicle make electric hybrid until the end of 2023, and shat- frameless e d cars cheaper mirrors and a lightwhich is available now. than petrol and diesel tered its ‘armoured’ glass. cars cheaper The interior is er-than-leather vegan interior While Tesla has been Private buyers can to buy by 2027. fabric low, flat floor andminimalist, with a the leader designed a vibe that Nissan claim up to €7,000, But there is no need in EVs (particularly in the publicity a wetsuit. to mimic the durability of calls ‘lounge-like’. with companies buying to wait that long if you stakes) it will have more competi- A pair claimed range of aroundIt has a fleets to use wish to of electric motors work tion than ever this year, 300 miles as taxis eligible for more. help with with main- 27-module Vans can manufacturerssave the planet. Car stream manufacturers lithium ion battery packa and pricing is from around €40,000. attract subsidies of up have been developThis performance and to €9,000. ready to unveil a slew of not only to deliver an impressive 402 horseing electric vehicles for These incentives follow years wrapped in a package luxury will be nology models, but alsolatest-tech- power, and a range of up to with a range ment pledge to promote a govern- While still more expensive thannow. 275 of 200 miles. It ahead of miles. But all battery pro- traditional their costs from around this comes duction in Spain and push contemporaries, subsi- the game. at a price with the luxFor build quality €75,000. ufacture of electric vehiclesthe man- dies and scrappage schemes are neering Volvo and top-class engi- ury car costing from in Meanwhile bringing Their Polestaris worth a close look. €59,900. The compaThe Audi e-tron swagen’s ID.4 VolkEXPENSIVE: 2 five-seater brings ny SUV aims to sell Volvo polish and Swedish is aimed squarely The Audi style to units this year. 65,000 GT is a sleek at taking on Tescompete with Tesla’s e-tron GT Model 3. It When it comes is the second vehicle electric sedan la. Starting prices to mainto come stream manufacturers, are from around with loads of Nissan was one of the €46,000 in Spain first to enter the marand it has a range of power ket. Its LeafEV now has 250 miles. sales of nearly half a Staying with the Germillion. man marques, the Audi e-tron GT is a sleek, The car giant is aiming electric seto dan with loads build on this success of power and polish. hav- Behind the streamlined ing recently launched bodywork the Ariiya, a more stylish take is some architecture shared with the Porsche Taycan EV. on emission-free t r a n s - With 590 horsepower, portation. the two-moThe five-passenger SUV tor GT should accelerate from zero features a surprisingly to 60 miles per hour in an impresaggressive look, with some sive three seconds, and will be able to gain an 80% charge swoopy, concave in just and wheels pushed to thesurfacing minutes. The car is top-of-the 20 rancorners. geo expect to pay €100,000 plus.
voice in Spain
www.theolivepress.es February 25th - March 10th 2022
THE family of a missing British man believe he may have died in mysterious circumstances in Spain. The sister of Michael Brittain told the Olive Press she thinks it is ‘likely’ a body discovered recently in a ravine is her brother Michael. Police confirmed last month that the body of a 40-year-old man was found by a German hiker near Orgiva, in Granada. A month earlier the Olive Press revealed an expat’s dog had unearthed a skull whilst on a walk in the same area. Now we can reveal clothes and some dreadlocks also turned up near the body. “A purple sweater, some jeans and a pair of small shoes were found next to the skeleton,” said the Romanian expat. They have since been taken by officers from the Guardia Civil for analysis. According to his sister, Nod, as he is known, had dreadlocks, as well as size seven feet. He lived in Orgiva in 2014, having arrived from the UK
MYSTERY: Dragon the dog (right) dug up the skull here
A
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Is it him? EXCLUSIVE by Elena Goçmen Rueda
two decades ago. Bizarrely, he had brought ‘drilling gear’ to dig his own well on a plot he acquired there. The family believes the discovery could be the explanation for his whereabouts. “We tried to find him 11 years ago and found out he was in Orgiva at a travellers commune,” explained Michelle. “This could explain why nobody has seen him since,” she said. “He left school at 16 and always lived an alternative lifestyle”, Michelle added. He is 5 foot 8 (1,72cm), of light to medium build. The Guardia Civil told the Olive Press the skull and skeleton had been sent for analysis, adding: “We have suspicions about who it may be, but until we have the test results, we must be cau-
NEWS
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Skull found at alternative community near Granada is ‘not’ missing Dutch expat, but man in his 40s
I MISS HIM: Michelle with ‘Nod’ and (inset) our original story
IT was during a short with her dog before takingwalk the kids to school that an got the most incredible expat shock of her life. Wrapped up warmly the winter morning in against the Alpujarras, near Granada, had no idea why Dragon she started scratching madly at the earth. Walking over she was fied to discover that thehorriman Shepherd cross had Gerdug up a skull that she immediately knew was human. Initially thinking it was tim of the Spanish Civil a vicWar, she later realised on returning to retrieve it that it was more recently deceased. much
Horrified
“It was definitely fresher and smelled quite a lot,” the Romanian expat, who asked to be named, told the not Olive Press.
“My initial thoughts that it probably belongedwere to a victim from the Civil War, as there were many people cuted in this region and exein unmarked graves. buried “But when I picked it and put it into a plasticup later bag to stop Dragon from chewing it, I knew it was much more recent.” The mother-of-two, who has
December 3rd December 16th 2021
Gruesome discovery
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EXCLUSIVE By Elena Goçmen Rueda
lived in Spain for 11 years, soon got the father of her had children to contact the Guardia Civil, in nearby Orgiva. A patrol car was quickly on the scene, by the new age settlement of Beneficio, near nar, where the expats live. CaAfter taking the bag for safe storage, they went with her to visit the macabre site, which sits just below the main car park of the alternative community. They looked around and, oddly, found no further bones or DRAGON: Found the remains. skull by the tree (below) Civil confirmed the There was no sign of discovery to the Olive clothes or any other Press and announced personal items, nor an investigation had any signs of a struggle. been launched. Expats told the Olive Press However, he denied they had initially believed that it belonged to the ‘missing’ the head was that of a Dutch woman and was woman named Linda,Dutch likely’ a man in his 40s. ‘most had an abusive partner who and a “The Judicial Police teenage son. have taken over the investigation “She had very distinctive teeth and it has now been taken and we immediately suspectto a laboratory in Sevilla ed it was Linda,” said for its one. study,” he said. “She left in strange circum“DNA will be extracted stances and we were worried He added: “We can assure released to the Missing and about her.” that it is not Linda, who you sons database within the PerA spokesman for the Guardia next and sound and living in is safe two months.” a commune elsewhere in Europe.”
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Global mafia boss snared in giant international crime clampdown centred in Mallorca IT will go down as one of the largest international money-laundering probes in recent years. Over 600 police from at least five national crime agencies have united to bring down one of Europe’s key mafia bosses. Based out of Mallorca, Bashkim Osmani had run his global drug smuggling empire, which is suspected of laundering at least €30 million over more than a decade. Until this week, when the 55-year-old Kosovan was finally snared at a hotel in Croatia in a co-operation between Spain’s Guardia Civil and National Police. His family meanwhile, including his wife, were picked up at their
By George Mathias
stunning €5 million mansion overlooking Andratx. Agencies including the FBI and the UKs National Crime Agency are probing the millions he has invested globally in real estate, artworks, and high-end cars. A total of 18 properties were raided in Mallorca and Formentera alone, with €200,000 in cash and €40,000 in cryptocurrencies seized, along with several luxury watches. One of the locations raided was the Ritzy restaurant, in Portals. A dozen firearms, ten kilos of cocaine and 13 high-end vehicles were impounded in the raids that also took place in Belgium. His operation amassed a fortune from a lucrative narcotics operation that imported cocaine from South America.
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CLEANED OUT: International money launderer Osmani has assets siezed and Mallorca property raided with family inside
He also made millions from a property empire that included hotels, restaurants, villas and casinos. Osmani is believed to have had high end contacts in the Croatian government, including the former head of the Croatian secret service. In Belgium, where he also had influential contacts, police arrested 30 people and seized €1.3
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million in cash. He is now being held in a maximum security prison in Croatia, while he awaits transfer to Mallorca, which was the hub of his operation. It was here, on the island, that he hosted at least 10 ‘summits’ for international crime networks over the last decade. Guests comprised a series of prominent figures from the European mafia world who would stay in luxury hotels in Calvia. Investigators claim it is ‘crucial’ that he is brought to Mallorca and fear that he would receive ‘preferential treatment’ from the Croatian authorities, should he be tried there. His lawyer released a statement
saying Osmani ‘hopes to be transferred to Spain as soon as possible’ and that he considers the accusations to be ‘completely unfounded’. Presently, no date has been set for his extradition.
Prison
Osmani and his brother Burim have become notorious entrepreneurs, both in Germany, where one arm of their network is based, and in the Balearics. In 2008, both brothers were arrested by a task force for laundering millions of euros. Osmani was sentenced to several years in prison, but later was released and fined €900,000.
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