Olive Press Mallorca Issue 181

O P LIVE RESS

British couple - one a ‘lord’ - are accused of running an illegal brothel network in Spain

By Laurence Dollimore

A BRITISH couple have been arrested for allegedly running a prostitution ring in Spain - after being prosecuted for the SAME crime in the UK.

Lord Neil Lock and Natalie Lock, both 43, are awaiting extradition accused of human trafficking and money laundering, the Olive Press can reveal.

The pair, who have four children all living in Spain, are currently being held in separate Madrid prisons.

Sources told this paper the Scottish couple are accused of operating the sex ring from Madrid and previously Alicante and Granada.

Illegal

It comes 14 years after they raked in almost half a million pounds from their illegal escort business in Britain, for which they were convicted.

The family moved to Spain after Neil was discharged from prison.

The couple quickly launched various businesses around the country, managing phone lines for prostitutes offering sex.

It is understood they did the same for punters in the UK, where they are now facing extradition.

The pair are understood to have been operating the businesses

since moving to Baza, in inland Granada, in 2015, after Lock got out of prison.

A local Spaniard told the Olive Press:

“They had a huge house encircled by mafia-style walls and a big steel gate.

“There were also several outbuildings which they converted into offices for the business, where they would be answering phones on behalf of the call girls. They were effectively their agents or pimps.”

LORD OF THE RING

He claimed they employed various expats and locals to man the phones.

He added: “When things got too hot in Baza, they moved to Madrid, via Alicante, I believe.

Huge

“They now have a huge home on the outskirts of the capital, near the mountains.”

Photos from social media show the

family enjoying life on the Costa Blanca. Throughout 2021, one of the couple’s sons regularly posted pictures of himself taking in the sights of Elche, in Alicante, on his Instagram account.

More recently the family, including mother Natalie and father Neil, have been sharing up -

dates from their life in Madrid.

They can be seen supporting the local football team Atletico and wining and dining in top restaurants - plus enjoying luxury holidays abroad.

They are said to have moved from Baza after ‘upsetting the locals by flashing their cash and showing off their lavish lifestyle’, including ‘pool parties, hog roasts and magicians’. The local added: “Too many people started asking questions about how they made their money.”

As missing Madeleine McCann would have reached 21 this week - and it’s 17 years since she was abducted in Portugal - the Olive Press painstakingly traces the movements of her likely German expat abductor around southern Spain and the Algarve in May 2007

See page 6

The husband and wife hit the headlines in 2010 after it emerged they had hired a police officer as a call girl.

WPC Victoria Thorne was rumbled after she was found being advertised as ‘Kelly’ on the couple’s ‘Notorious Girls’ website. Neil also recruited her as an informant to supply inside information on his competitors and circle of prostitutes.

At trial, Newcastle Crown Court heard the Locks had made £447,804 (€520,274) from the prostitution ring but not all of it could be recouped because much of it had been spent.

Under the Proceeds of Crime Act, Neil was ordered to return just £43,826 (€50,921) while his wife, due to a lack of assets, had to pay a token £1.

The pair admitted conspiracy to control prostitution for gain and conspiracy to manage brothels while Thorne pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office. Neil also pleaded guilty to possessing a shotgun without a certificate and possession of liquid Ecstasy.

Neil was jailed for four years while Natalie received a suspended sentence.

Inmates

A spokesperson from Spain’s prison service said it was unable to comment on specific inmates due to ‘data protection laws’.

The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) confirmed the case and referred us to West Midlands police, who were handling the investigation.

A spokesperson for the force said: “As the two arrested in Spain have not yet been charged, we cannot confirm names. We are awaiting extradition.”

CHEERS: Natalie and Neil Lock enjoyed pool parties, hog roasts and magical entertainment as they splashed the cash

Offshore rentals

A SET of illegal tourist apartments in Palma cropped up in the notorious Panama Papers leak of dodgy offshore companies which implicated Vladimir Putin.

Small relief

A BRITISH man has been awarded €55,000 in compensation after he was wrongfully jailed for two years in Tenerife on attempted murder charges.

Mill makeover

TWO iconic windmills in Palma are set to be restored. The flour mill at Garleta in Es Jonquet and the San Perera water mill will see a new lease of life.

Bad scammer

A BRIT is in trouble for falsely claiming a gang of fellow Brits mugged him in Sant Antoni and stole his watch and wallet containing €70.

CLEAN GETAWAY

Shocking delay sees arrest warrant for Dutch mafia boss 'Taxi' issued THREE WEEKS after he escaped authorities in Spain

THE Spanish courts which allowed one of Europe’s most wanted mafia leaders to skip bail did not issue an arrest warrant for him till three weeks later.

The arrest of Karim Bouyakhrichan, the leader of Holland’s feared ‘Mocro mafia’, in January was seen as a major coup for Spanish law enforcement.

But a sequence of blunders has seen him not only escape, but given a three week head start on cops trying to bring him back in.

The Dutch-Moroccan was

By Walter Finch

released on provisional bail on March 19, eight weeks after his arrest on January 25, with orders to regularly sign on at a Marbella court.

He initially signed in at Fuengirola and

then made just one trip to the court in Rincon de la Victoria on April 1. On his next ex-

Snowed under

DRUGS might be harder to come by in Ibiza for a while after police swooped on nearly two tonnes of cocaine with the now-notorious swastika branding.

The investigation, which involved police from both Barcelona and Mallorca, spanned over 18 months and arrested 72 people in an earlier phase. Drugs were shipped by truck from Barcelona to Palma.

Separately, a 58-year-old Dutch -

GONE: Judicial errors let Bouyakhrichan escape, despite threats to Amalia of Orange

pected appearance on April 15 he failed to show.

Yet the shockingly inert Mar-

man was stopped at Palma airport carrying 10,900 MDMA pills and 2.1 kilos of amphetamines.

The two busts mark the largest hauls of MDMA and cocaine respectively and the dismantling of the biggest criminal organisation smuggling cocaine in the Balearic Islands to date.

As well as 1,821 kilos of coke, police also hauled in 3,300 ecstasy pills, 500 kilos of cutting agents, and 90 kilos of ketamine, and made an impressive 82 arrests.

bella court only issued arrest warrants for him on May 7, over three weeks after his escape was known to them. They issued a European Arrest Warrant, and also put out an International Arrest Warrant in case he has fled to Morocco.

Dutch authorities had put in an extradition request for their public enemy number one at the time of his arrest, urging the Spanish courts to remand him in custody in the meantime.

As well as being an alleged cocaine kingpin, Bouyakhrichan made death threats towards the Netherlands’ Crown Princess, Amalia of Orange, when she was just 18.

Ironically, Amalia was taking refuge from the threats in Madrid until just a few months ago. She has since returned to Amsterdam.

Opinion Page 6

Rising crime

ARRESTS in Palma have soared by 175% in the last year, according to the city’s police chief, Guillem Mascaro. He puts it down to more crime and ‘increasingly demanding’ challenges.

Mascaro called for extra police officers, despite 55 new officers being recruited in the last four months.

“We want to increase staffing by 300 in the next three years,” he added. “We have to stop overworking and excessive hours.”

The chief pointed out that around 500 officers will retire in the next few years, adding that the new retirement age of 59 has ‘complicated matters’.

CLUB ASSAULT

A NIGHTCLUB bouncer at Port d’Alcudia was stabbed with a piece of glass after he refused entry to a drunk man.

The incident happened at the Magic club shortly before 3.00am on Monday.

Security staff tried to explain to the man, 34, that he could not enter the premises as he swerved from side to side.

The Moroccan national turned violent and grabbed a piece of a broken glass bottle and jabbed it into a bouncer’s hand. He was restrained until police arrived but continued to utter death threats in front of the officers.

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BECK’S VINTAGE CELEBRATION

TWO celebrity couples enjoyed a special birthday wine trip to a Valladolid vineyard to celebrate ex-footballer, and now club owner, David Beckham turning 49. He travelled with his wife Victoria and close friends Gordon and Tana Ramsay on a private jet for some top notch wining and dining. And David did not return empty handed - he was spotted

Expat family in Marbella are ‘so proud’ after their young daughter wows judges on The Voice Kids in Spain

A YOUNG British expat from Marbella has wowed judges on The Voice Kids Spain, making her family ‘so proud’. Carmen Holden was just 11 when she stepped out onto the La Voz Kids stage.

The British expat moved to Marbella when she was a toddler and her home has always been full of music.

“Don’t let my name fool you, I’m Scottish” she proudly said in the episode:

“We like to listen to music a lot at home,” she continued.

EXCLUSIVE

By Yzabelle Bostyn

Carmen claims many people have told her she has ‘a special voice’.

She was often encouraged to sign up to The Voice but ‘never thought she’d actually be able to do it’.

However, Carmen, now 12, fought back her ‘nerves’, saying: “I’m nervous but excited to go out and sing.

me, next time, no nerves, calm, with me by your side we’ll go forward and just enjoy it.”

clutching a €1,000 bottle of Dominio de Pingus.

A source close to the group said: “David and Victoria have for many years enjoyed days out to vineyards with Gordon and Tana. It is kind of their thing.”

Meanwhile Victoria, who turned 50 last month, was seen without crutches for the first time after she broke her foot on Valentine’s Day.

AUSTRALIAN actor Nicole

went Spanish to

by the

A star is born SPECIAL DELIVERY

to the annual

in

went retro in a dress

luxury

house founded 105 years ago in San

The theme of the Met evening was The Garden of Time with floral pieces worn by many of the visitors.

But Balenciaga designer, Demna, was more interested in exploiting the ‘time’ element. Every guest dressed in Balenciaga wore something inspired by the past - like Nicole Kidman’s gown. It was inspired by a Cristobal Balenciaga Haute Couture piece from 1951, with tiers of feathered details.

“My dad sings and my brother plays guitar. We’ve tried to make a band and we’ve written songs. It’s great.”

With music in her blood,

“For me, The Voice Kids is just a game, whatever happens, the most important thing is to enjoy it.”

She sang a heart wrenching rendition of Always Remember Us This Way, by Lady Gaga.

Impressive

The song was featured in the acclaimed film, A Star is Born and includes some impressive notes.

It was one of these that made Spanish pop star, Lola Indigo, push her big red button and sign Carmen up to her team.

After congratulating Carmen and giving her a hug, Lola shared her surprise at seeing someone so young.

She said: “You did really well, there were little things to improve, but to me it’s not important because you’re still so young.

“When I turned and saw you, so small, I thought ‘this can’t be right’..but now you’re with

The pair broke

out in ‘happy’ tears, according to Lola: “I was very happy when I saw her because she is so cute, sweet and excited.”

Meanwhile, Pop Flamenco artist Rosario Flores praised Carmen, saying: “You don’t know how good your voice is! I was about to turn around but when Lola turned, I knew I couldn’t steal you from her!”

In between many ‘thank yous’, Carmen managed to say: “I’ve seen you all on TV so to see you now is incredible.”

Singer David Bisbal then asked Carmen where she was from.

Upon hearing she was from Marbella, he exclaimed: “Enjoying Andalucia, you’ve chosen a spectacular place to live.”

Her new coach, Lola, inaugurated Carmen into her team, giving her an Equipo Lola bracelet.

Carmen is a great fit for

the singer and dancer, also known as Miriam Doblas Muñoz.

The expat loves Hip Hop dancing and is part of a troupe at Fuego Dance, Fuengirola.

Speaking to the Olive Press, Carmen’s mum Angela Lafferty, said: “We are so, so proud of her for being so brave.

Seeing her walk out on that stage alone was so nerve-wracking for us, but she is a brave little girl and she has always loved singing, so she was determined to do it.

“It’s also great for her as an expat to be part of something Spanish, to feel like she belongs to this country.”

TWO giant pandas have arrived on a flight from China, and are settling into their new home at Madrid Zoo. Jin Xi and Zhu Yu travelled in specially-prepared transport cag-

public will have to wait before meeting the new arrivals, with this month set aside to ensure the couple are in good health. They replace Hua Zui Ba, 20, and Bing Xing, 23, who left Madrid to return to Chengdu in late February, having been there since 2007. In the past decade, they have had three offspring: Chulina, 7, and twins You You and Jiu Jiu, 2, who have also gone to China. Spain has been part of China’s conservation programme for more than 40 years, hosting Chu Lin, the first panda born in captivity in Europe, for 14 years at Madrid Zoo in the 80s and 90s.

Kidman

dazzle visitors

Met Gala

New York. Kidman

created

Balenciaga

fashion

Sebastian.

IN THE BLOOD: Carmen Holden’s dad and brother are also musicians

HUG: Lola

Indigo chose Carmen for her team

PAIR OF PANDAS: Jin and Zhu from China

ICE TO KNOW YOU

A CALA Bona ice cream shop loved by the rich and famous has closed after 17 years.

Ice Creams has served the likes of singer Rod Stewart, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, former England footballer Michael Owen, golfer Paul Azinger and Coronation Street actress Samia Longchambon. It was opened in 2007 by British expat Jonathan Heaps, 51. He moved to Mallorca from Leeds in 1996 to work as a holiday rep but fell in love with the island and his wife Maria, a Balearic

Island native. Maria is well known as the Mallorcan who speaks English with a broad Yorkshire accent, as she picked it up from Yorkie Jonathan.

Located between Cala Bona and Cala Millor, Ice Creams has served thousands of customers from all over the world. Jonathan said: “I would like to take this opportunity in thanking all my customers from all over the world. Some say it's the best ice cream in Mallorca. “I’m closing the shop so I can relax a bit and play golf, I might even go back

to being a holiday rep. But also because the owner kept putting the rent up because he wanted to buy a bigger yacht!”

BACK OF THE NET: Sir Jim (inset) can have a kick-about aboard the Hampshire II

Billionaire’s boat

THE mega yacht of Manchester United’s new billionaire part owner has been making waves in Mallorca.

The luxurious Hampshire II, owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, has most recently been spotted off Puerto Portals in Calvia.

Measuring an impressive 78.5 metres, Hampshire II is a floating palace on the sea fit for the new minority owner of England’s biggest football club.

The vessel boasts ample accom-

modation for up to 14 guests, plus space for up to 23 crew members including the ship's captain.

Inside, guests will find a beach club at the rear that features terraces and views of the ocean, plus a deck that can be converted into a football pitch.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is currently ranked as the 31st richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of €34 billion as of March 2024.

WE CHOOSE LIFE!

Anti-tourism activists plan a huge demonstration in Palma

By Walter Finch model of tourism.

THE ‘anti-tourism’ movement sweeping across Spain is making its presence felt in Mallorca. It is the culmination of a wave that started in the Canary Islands and swelled east across the mainland to include protests in Malaga and Granada among others. Now it has landed in the Balearics, with a cluster of local associations including environmental, neighbourhood, social, and trade unions planning to demand a more sustainable

The Balearic activists are hoping to leverage this momentum to advocate for changes in tourism on the islands.

The assembly, dubbed Menys Turisme, Més Vida (Less Tourism, More Life), wants to curb the excessive tourist presence that they believe exploits the island’s resources and displaces its people.

PROTEST: Last year 1,000 people took to the streets in a demo

phasising that ‘if tourism affects us all, we all have the right to speak up.’

Residents across Balearic Islands, including in Ibiza, are demanding a say in decisions regarding mass tourism, em-

RENTAL LIFELINE

THE Balearic government will tackle a shortage in affordable rental properties by leasing empty homes from owners and subletting them at a 30% discount.

Housing Minister, Marta Vidal, says the administration’s ‘Safe Rental’ programme will ease the market which she says has struggled because of the national government’s housing law.

Vidal claimed that thousands of properties have been withdrawn as a direct consequence.

The assembly, open to individuals, community groups, and organisations, is scheduled for today (Friday) at 6.30pm at the Sineu institute.

Although the latest wave of protests across Spain were set off by an enormous protest in the Canary Islands in April which saw more than 60,000 take to the streets, it has been a hot topic in Mallorca for years.

Last year 1,000 people took to the streets of Palma to demand ‘less tourism, more life’, ahead of an EU tourism summit which was later held in the city.

The European Tourism Forum brought industry leaders together to discuss the social sustainability of tourism. They signed a joint declaration

for socially sustainable tourism.

In the declaration, ministers agreed to advocate for ‘greener, more digital, inclusive, resilient and responsive’ tourism. They also vowed to create job opportunities and ensure the ‘long-term well-being of everyone in the value chain, especially the local populations’.

NEW laws against ‘excessive tourism’ will see rule breakers fined up to €1,500 each. The measures were approved after repeated complaints from locals of rowdy Brits and other visitors drinking ‘excessively’, particularly during the summer season.

The new measures are being applied on the Balearic Islands, including Mallorca and Ibiza.

Cruising in PARTY’S OVER

MEGASTAR Tom Cruise has been spotted in Mallorca, where he was accompanied by Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu.

The Hollywood actor, 61, was snapped by paparazzi cooling off in the sea at Formentor beach in Pollensa.

Shirtless photos of the Top Gun star showed off his impressive physique, while other snaps saw him donning ‘dad-style’ socks and trainers.

Cruise and Iñarritu were also spotted aboard a large sailboat in the waters of Mallorca, possibly in preparation for the director’s next movie.

The Hollywood press has reported that Cruise has been in talks with Warner Bros. to work on a project together with the Mexican director, whose movie Birdman won four Oscars back in 2014.

Cruise, meanwhile, has been spotted recently filming in London for the next and supposedly final instalment of the Mission Impossible franchise.

Under the changes, it is now illegal for alcohol to be consumed in the street in particular areas, including in Palma de Mallorca, Calvia, Llucmajor and Sant Antoni de Ibiza. Those caught breaking this rule will be fined between €500 and €1,500. Meanwhile, boat parties can not be within one nautical mile (1.8km) of the areas included in the decree - even if they are just picking up or dropping off passengers. Shops are also banned from selling alcohol between 9.30pm and 8am the next day. Any store that has alcohol on site must close entirely during these hours. The new rules will remain in place until at least December 31, 2027.

DO YA THINK I´M TASTY:

Rod Stewart has long enjoyed an ice cream with son Liam, while (above) Jonathan

Voted top expat paper in Spain

A campaigning, community newspaper, the Olive Press represents the huge expatriate community in Spain with an estimated readership, including the websites, of more than two million people a month.

OPINION

Laughing stock

THE justice system in Spain risks becoming a laughing stock after the latest succession of headline-grabbing failures (Clean getaway, p2).

First, a highly dangerous boss of the Dutch mafia is released on bail - despite requests from the Netherlands to keep him locked up ahead of extradition.

Then - shock horror - he fails to turn up to his mandated court appearance and is officially declared on the run.

But the humiliation doesn’t end there, after it emerged this week that an official arrest warrant was not issued until three weeks later.

Either someone is being paid to be conveniently useless, or the incompetence is genuine - and we are not sure which is worse!

The Netherlands were rightly furious, particularly given that Karim Bouyakhrichan’s gang had made several threats against the life of the Dutch crown princess.

As if the authorities were not red faced enough, another embarrassing episode was waiting around the corner.

Police caused somewhat of a media frenzy when they announced that the British and Irish gangsters accused of shooting up a restaurant in Marbella (see Olive Press Online) had also failed to turn up to a mandated appointment at a police station. However, there had been yet another lapse in communication.

The appointment was for them to hand over their passports - which was made rather difficult given that the police already had them!

The lads handed themselves in the next day after seeing the widespread media reports suggesting they had done a runner.

It’s a rather worrying litany of errors that leaves residents wondering who - if anyone - is in charge at police HQ.

Let’s hope they get their act together as the summer season approaches, because lord knows they’re going to be kept busy.

PUBLISHER

/ EDITOR

Jon Clarke, jon@theolivepress.es

Dilip Kuner dilip@theolivepress.es

Walter Finch walter@theolivepress.es

Yzabelle Bostyn yzabelle@theolivepress.es

Simon Hunter simon@theolivepress.es

Alex Trelinski alex@theolivepress.es

Ben Pawlowski ben@theolivepress.es

THE DRIFTER

As the trial of Maddie suspect Christian Brueckner starts again in Germany this week, JON CLARKE traces his suspicious movements through Spain and Portugal in May 2007

MADELEINE McCann suspect Christian Brueckner stayed in at least half a dozen places around the Algarve and Spain in the month before the British toddler went missing.

The dangerous drifter had at least one trip to Andalucia in May 2007, as well as many nights spent on three beaches near Praia da Luz, where Maddie vanished this month, 17 years ago.

In an in-depth investigation, the Olive Press has established the German sex offender also parked his distinctive white and yellow VW camper van (below) at a 'hippy travellers camp', an isolated lake and two inland villages on the Algarve.

Talking to a series of close friends and contacts, who spent time with the German pae-

dophile, 47, that Spring, we pieced together a forensic picture of his movements.

Above all, we have established Bruecknerwho is currently on trial for five other sex offences committed in Portugal - was 'constantly on the move'.

"He was bobbing around here, there and everywhere and was completely up to no good, in particular selling drugs," revealed Ken Ralphs, a British traveller, who was living on various beaches near Praia da Luz at the time.

"I was also moving around up and down the coast doing satellite TV installations for van-lifers and kept seeing his yellow and white van.

"He never stayed anywhere for long and always parked up away from the main groups, usually out of sight of the police.

"He was a shady guy, who we all knew to keep at arm's length."

We can reveal how he stayed at a trio of beaches West of the popular Algarve resort,

DON’T PANIC!

Marbella, the ‘Global HQ for organised crime’ is still safe despite the recent shootings - UNLESS you want to become a drug lord, writes long time resident Laurence Dollimore

IF you happened to pick up the Sunday Times last week, you may have spotted an article declaring Marbella the epicentre of the ‘Costa del Globalised Crime’.

The piece by senior journalist Matthew Campbell brands the tourism hotspot as the ‘global headquarters’ for a ‘multinational array of organised criminal gangs.’

He cites the more than 100 mafia gangs from 59 different countries that operate there, and he’s not wrong; it would be foolish to deny the existence of these criminal gangs.

But they are hardly anything new.

As told in the recently released popular crime drama Marbella on Movistar+ gangsters have roamed the Costa del Sol and nearby Costa Blanca for decades.

The fact is the strategic location of the Spanish costas means they will always be a major entry point for drugs, particularly cocaine from South America and hashish from Morocco.

The sheer amount of product being sent via containers to the port of Algeciras and via ‘narco’ speed boats up and down the coastline has never ceased.

And the only place which has seen a big increase over recent years is on the Algarve of Portugal, and that’s our next door neighbour. Drug traffickers have long been able to pay off police and border officials - who have some of the lowest salaries in Europe.

Meanwhile the constantly high volume of contraband being transported makes it impossible to make a meaningful dent in their

where the McCanns were holidaying with friends.

They included Praia da Boca do Rio, Praia Amado, in Carrapateira, and Praia de Barranco, where German police released a photo of his distinctive VW Westfalia van parked up, in June 2020, when they announced he was the ‘prime suspect’ in the abduction.

In particular, Brueckner liked staying up on the ‘ledges’ at Boca do Rio, which sat on cliffs between the stunning pristine beach and nearby village of Zalema, reached via a steep dirt track. German police are certain he was here on April 7, 2007, the day a young girl, 10, was groped by a man with blonde scruffy hair and blue eyes on Zalema Beach.

Joana E, now 27, and her parents will tell Braunschweig court this month that the attacker was Brueckner and he was naked apart

operations - with just 10 containers filled with cocaine seized in Algeciras port in 2022.

For reference, the port manages around four million containers per year.

The story is repeated across Spain, with just 2% of containers being searched in Barcelona and a similar amount in Valencia and Bilbao.

While the recent shootings - officially five, although we can reveal there may have been be as many as a dozen this year - can be worrying, it’s important to stress the gangsters are not targeting innocent civilians.

Indeed, almost every time it happens, it is either a direct attack on a rival gang or just sending a message.

No one innocent has been seriously hurt in any of the reported incidents so far this year.

And they are a far cry from the days of the Kinahans in the early 2000s - which saw deadly shootouts on the streets of the Costa del Sol.

But even then, very few innocent bystanders were killed.

Or even six years ago, when Colombians assassinated a man outside a church in Marbella’s San Pedro.

Even then, it was understood that the victim had become involved in organised crime and had amassed a huge debt with a mafia.

So no, you are not going to be shot if you visit or move to Marbella - unless you want to

start trafficking drugs.

I certainly feel more safe here than I did when I lived in London. And neither my News

Editor colleague, Dilip, or the editor Jon Clarke, who’s lived in or around Marbella for two decades, has ever seen a violent incident or been attacked. Even robbed. When comparing, say Manchester or Stockholm to Marbella, I certainly feel far safer walking home alone late at night. You never get the feeling of being attacked or stabbed in a dodgy area, nor be worried of something kicking off on the bus or at a bar. And that’s even on second line Puerto Banus late on a Friday night. Meanwhile, authorities are fighting back by putting more officers on the streets and increasing their surveillance via drones and canines.

This week alone, we have seen five men lying on the ground outside Aldi at police gunpoint, roadblocks at more than half a dozen places and a raid with a helicopter at a padel club. The country’s best trained detectives are also now starting to tackle the scourge of police corruption.

On the Costa del Sol, a secret, plain-clothed A

HEADLINES: Recent arrests hit the news, but the reality is not so grim

VANLIFERS: Ken Ralphs (far right) with hippies on Barranco beach and (right) his van on the same beach

from a rucksack during the broad daylight attack. They will also reveal that after sexually assaulting her while masterbating, the German-speaking man ran away up a steep path towards Boca do Río (above).

Despite the family giving a detailed police report the following day, the chief of Villa do Bispo police station didn't rule the crime serious enough to investigate and it was archived.

No detective ever went out to investigate and the report was not even deemed worthwhile to send to cops probing missing Madeleine four weeks later. It was during these next few weeks that a number of holidaymakers reported seeing an ugly-looking spotty man hanging around watching tourist apartments, in Praia da Luz.

One told police (and later a Netflix documentary) that the man had acted 'creepily' in front of her young daughter, while a local expat schoolgirl told cops she saw a man fixedly watching the Ocean Club apartment, where Maddie was snatched, two days in a row.

And the Olive Press can reveal that in the last week of April there was an attempted snatch of another toddler in the resort.

The girl - who was just four and on holiday with her parents - looked ‘very similar to Madeleine’. Sensationally, the family - whose identity we are not revealing - told this paper they believed they were 'being watched' in the days before their four-year-old was nearly grabbed by a man on a motorbike.

"We were walking home from the beach when this man whizzed past and tried to scoop her up," the mother told the Olive Press, last week "Luckily I spotted it and screamed really loudly forcing the man to wobble and drop her down," she continued.

police force hides in plain sight, keeping a constant eye on the biggest mafia players - and are ready to move in and arrest at the drop of a hat.

The 30-strong force, called GRECO, works on rotation around the country, with officers switched out once a month to four distinct bases around the country.

This is so they cannot form unhealthy relationships with gangsters and be exposed to bribes and corruption.

The Olive Press has reported alongside them a number of times over recent years and they have been behind many dramatic arrests and literally know all the key gangsters.

“We work out at their gyms, we play padel at their clubs, we drink in their bars,” one told us last year. “We know exactly who they are and we keep close tabs on them.”

He added: “Trust me, they don’t want to get into wars. They want to keep below the radar and get on with their business. Headlines and high-profile policing only makes their lives more difficult.”

With this honest, open appraisal, it seems certain they and their uniformed colleagues at both the National Police and Guardia Civil will help to keep the coast safe this summer.

So do not fret, residents and visitors to Marbella, alike, keep your nose clean and you’ll be perfectly safe.

"He then drove up the road and up a ramp into a white van that drove off at top speed."

When shown a photo of Brueckner from the time she said it 'could easily be' the man who was watching their apartment for days before the snatch attempt.

Despite reporting the incident, Portuguese police never contacted the family for more information.

Indeed, it was only in the last couple of years that a detective from Scotland Yard - acting alongside the German BKAcontacted them.

"I really don't understand why more hasn't been done and why

no one took interest at the time."

The alarming amount of similar incidents before Maddie was taken on May 3, has never been fully recorded until now.

German police told the Olive Press they are now probing 'a number of incidents around Praia da Luz in the months before Madeleine went missing'.

In an interview with the Olive Press in June 2020, friend of Brueckner Michael Tatschl catalogued how he had become fixated on how much money he could make from snatching and selling children.

The Austrian carpenter had lived in Brueckner's rental home in Praia da Luz in early 2006 before sharing a cell with him in Portimao prison for eight months when found guilty of fuel theft.

He told the Olive Press he stayed in touch with Brueckner after getting out of prison in December 2006, when he moved to Orgiva, near Granada.

“Christian had lost the house (in Praia da Luz) but he was still enjoying living in the area,” he revealed.

“I think that confused the police a little as they were not sure where he was living exactly when Maddie vanished.

“Basically he had his VW and was living free, going to raves and selling drugs to the local party crowd.”

He said Brueckner turned up in Orgiva around February or March 2007 and again out of the blue in 'late May or early June' in a huge Tiffin Allegro motorhome.

Neither he, nor their mutual friends, could understand where he had suddenly got the money to buy the giant American vehicle.

He added he was 'convinced' Brueckner had made this money snatching Maddie and was 'obsessed about making a million'

“He was always bragging about money and making money, particularly from burglaries. He even talked about selling kids, maybe to Morocco,” he revealed.

Another friend, meanwhile, told the Olive Press, she believed he spent at least ‘a few nights’ at his favourite inland lake in April 2007.

The German mother-of-two (pictured below at Arade lake amp) knew him since he first moved to the Algarve in the mid 1990s with his then girlfriend Silke.

She said he loved the ‘silence and peace’ of the inland barragems – reservoirs that supply water to the Algarve – which are frequented by dozens of hippy travellers.

In particular he loved the Arade lake, where he made a camp and where he frequently went back

for periods of time for years.

The seamstress, whose mechanic husband fixed various cars and vans of Brueckner, visited the camp with him on a number of occasions.

“We went to pick up some rocks to build a wall around my swimming pool,” she told the Olive Press “He loved it there and had a specific spot he liked to park his VW and a place he slept nearby in the trees

“He carved a path through the trees and sculpted a big stone circle down near the water’s edge.

“I think this is where he was sleeping in the days Maddie went missing and I fear this is where he buried her body,” she added this week.

Last year German and Portuguese Police spent a week probing the lake and surrounding area, and according to sources found at least one ‘relevant’ clue.

Spookily, a makeshift shrine pointing at his camp was erected on the other side of the lake in the months after she vanished.

Finally, it’s known he was on the move inland on the night of April 3 when Maddie vanished.

His girlfriend at the time, Nicole F, revealed he parked up outside her house (above) in the village of Foral 45 minutes from Praia da Luz on the night.

She said he phoned her at one point that evening and arrived in the early hours of the morning.

She told the Mail On Sunday he told her he was ‘coming from Tomar’ a university town five hours north of the Algarve.

Oddly, he was not there when she woke up in the morning and she said she didn’t remember when

she saw him again. The university town has been the focus of various investigations and convic tions into child abuse networks over recent years, involving a number of figures, including a priest and a lawyer. Brueckner had a friend studying at the university at the time, it can be revealed.

Jon Clarke’s book, My Search for Madeleine, is the definitive guide to what happened to the toddler, published by OP Books and available on Amazon

BEACHSIDE: Brueckner camped on the ‘ledges’ between Boca do Rio and Zalema

ON THE MOVE: Between hippy camp in Carrapateira and Forel (below)

LAKE CAMP: Brueckner stayed at Arade lake around the time Maddie vanished

PRAIA DA BOCA DO RIO

PRAIA AMADO

Green acceleration

GERMANY’S Thyssenkrupp

Nucera has been chosen as the preferred supplier of electrolysers for the first phase of a 1GW green hydrogen plant at oil giant Cepsa’s La Rabida refinery.

The company will initially come up with an engineering package for the plant, using up to 15 of its 20MW alkaline electrolysers.

The decision was announced at the World Hydrogen Summit in Rotterdam on Monday.

Cepsa plans to spend €3 billion on 1GW of green hydrogen production capacity in Huelva, plus another 1GW at its San Roque refinery in Cadiz.

SALES have surged for green alternatives in Spain’s motor industry. Between January and March this year, 244,879 new cars have been sold in Spain, some 3.1% more than the same period last year. The first months of 2024 have seen hybrids explode in popularity, with 89,675 sold so far. This represents a 22.59% growth compared to 2023, showing a growing preference for hybrid vehicles.

Plug-in hybrids were also sought-after, with 15,843 units sold in the first three

months of the year, a 5.92% increase compared to 2023. They now account for 5.41% of the cars in Spain. In comparison, sales of electric cars have not fared so well.

Some 13,420 electric cars have been sold, a 3.3% increase compared to 2023. Now, electric cars represent 4.58% of Spain’s total vehicles.

So far this year, the most popular motors are: Dacia Sandero, Toyota Corolla, Nissan Qashqai, Hyundai Tucson and Seat Arona.

Going for hydrogen BEACH BLUES

The aim is to ship its renewable hydrogen as ammonia to ports in Northern Europe, with it being converted back to hydrogen once delivered. Green hydrogen is seen as a potential game-changer in decarbonising the heavy vehicle and shipping sectors, as well as a way of ‘storing’ renewable energy.

Mallorca beaches welcome four new blue flag awards - but also lose four

OP QUICK CROSSWORD

sought-after award is only given to beaches with clean water, great services and plenty of safety measures.

The new entrants are: Alcudia beach in Alcudia, Cala Estancia and Ciutat Jardi in Palma, and Formentor in Pollenca. However, in a per-

fect tapestry of cosmic harmony, four Mallorca beaches also lost their blue flag. The loser beaches are Cala Ferrera in Felanitx, Can Picafort in Santa Margalida, Cala Llombards in Santanyi and Es Port in Ses Salines.

Jose Palacios, president of the Environmental Education and Consumer Association (Adeac), which leads the Blue Flag initiative, heaped glowing praise on the beach quality across all Spain’s designated coastal areas.

He noted, however, that four regions - Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y Leon, Aragon, and La Rioja - still do not have any Blue Flag beaches. Out of 694 applications, 638 beaches were successful, meaning only 9% did not make the grade.

To retain the Blue Flag beaches must meet strict criteria, including excellent water quality, compliance with the Coastal Law, and the provision of essential services like lifeguards and toilets.

While showers are not mandatory, Palacios discouraged their installation due to the unnecessary waste of freshwater and the potential for infections.

The banning of pets - especially dogs - on Blue Flag beaches remains a strict requirement.

Spain was followed by Greece in second place in the global ranking with 596 Blue Flags.

This was followed by Italy with 457, France with 403, and Portugal with 394.

FIZZING FIRST

SPAIN'S PepsiCo plant in the Basque Country, which produces iconic brands such as Pepsi, has become the company’s first plant globally to reach net-zero emissions.

The factory has been using electricity from renewable sources since 2015 and now natural gas will be totally replaced in a 100% electrification of the facilities following a two-year pilot programme.

This milestone follows the launch of 100% recycled plastic bottles across the entire Pepsi range in Spain in 2021 and a new cardboard solution for grouping cans.

In addition, Spain has been a pilot for tethered caps one year in advance of EU law coming into force.

Biofuel cash

SPAIN’S Official Credit Institute (ICO) will invest €15 million in insurance group Mapfre’s green biofuel fund. The fund- set up last yearis Europe’s first dedicated to investment in biomethane, a 100% green biofuel derived from agriculture sector waste. Money has been used to develop nine biofuel plants across Extremadura, Castilla y Leon, and Madrid. It is expected that construction will start towards the end of the year with the facilities entering operation in 2025.

Mapfre said its first phase aim is to raise up to €100 million, for the construction and development of up 25 biomethane plants in Spain over five years.

THE Catalan government has lifted emergency drought measures after recent heavy rainfall provided a sufficient boost to the region’s reservoir levels. Previously, over 200 municipalities linked to the Ter-Llobregat water system had been placed under restriction since February as water levels dwindled with Catalunya in the midst of its worst drought in recorded history.

FOUR beaches in Mallorca have been awarded prestigious blue flag status in

By Alex Trelinski

ALCUDIA BEACH

CALA ESTANCIA

CALA FORMENTOR

ITALIAN artist Ercole Pignatelli has been recreating Picasso's famous Spanish Civil War painting Guernica in front of a live audience in only 12 days. Picasso’s work - done in black and white - is regarded as one of the greatest pieces of con -

No bull

SPAIN’S Culture Ministry has cancelled a national bullfighting prize and is to start the process of eliminating the award for good.

The National Bullfighting Prize was created in 2011, and awards a prize of €30,000 to the winning matador.

While events involving bulls remain popular at local fiestas in Spain, enthusiasm for bullfights themselves has been waning.

There were 3,651 bullfighting events held in Spain in 2007, falling to 1,546 in 2022.

Of these just 412 were actual bullfights, while the rest were variations such as rejoneos, which are performed on horseback.

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Masterpiece tribute

temporary anti-war art. The piece travelled around the world including Milan before returning to its permanent home of the Reina Sofia muse-

um in Madrid. Ercole Pignatelli was so inspired by seeing it in his home city as a teenager, that now aged 89, he's recreating and reinterpreting Guernica

as a live performance piece. Pignatelli did the life-size reproduction in Milan’s Caryatids Hall which concluded yesterday (Thursday).

“In 1953 I stayed for days and days looking at Picasso's masterpiecesit was total admiration, “ he said.

LOST AND FOUND

Masterpiece Ecce Homo by Italian master Caravaggio to go on show at Madrid’s Prado museum

A LONG-LOST painting by Italian master Caravaggio that was on the verge of being sold for just €1,500 before an expert stepped in has gone on display at Madrid’s Prado museum.

By Dilip Kuner

The work’s owners had put it up for sale at a Madrid auction house in April 2021, but experts felt something did not

Bl ming lovely Euro letdown

THOUSANDS flocked to Cordoba last weekend to enjoy the final days of the famous patio festival.

From May 2 to 12, 817,829 people visited the city to marvel at its emblematic patios.

Some 52 battled it out for one of the competition’s titles and the hefty cash prizes. Each was judged by the Town Hall in many categories including ‘old architecture’, ‘modern architecture’ and ‘singular patio’.

This year, Tinte 9, Pastora 2 and Marroquies 6 respectively triumphed in these categories.

The over 100-yearold tradition began in 1921 to celebrate the start of spring.

At the beginning of May each year, the locals decorate their houses, filling them with as many colourful flower pots as possible.

It was declared a festival of UNESCO Intangible Heritage in 2012, cementing Cordoba’s image as a cultural hub in Andalucia

quite ring true about the picture’s provenance.

The painting, identified as Ecce Homo, had been attributed to an unnamed artist within the studio of 17th century Spanish painter Jose de Ribera, but there was hope it could turn out to be an original Caravaggio and therefore worth upwards of €50 million.

Incredible

The sale was put on hold while specialists from Spain and Italy examined it - and the incredible truth came out.

The Spanish government then gave the picture protected status, meaning it had to be kept

in Spain. The painting was later sold to an undisclosed buyer, who worked with the Prado to have it restored.

Spain’s Culture Ministry described the painting as ‘an example of the excellence and pictorial mastery of Italian naturalism’ that had a great influence on the Madrid school of painting in the 17th century.

The artwork had reportedly been hanging on the wall of a Madrid collector, Antonio Perez de Castro, founder of Madrid’s IADE design school, who had acquired it in the 70s before being put up for sale by his heirs.

It will go on display in the Prado from May 28 until October.

THERE was disappointment for Spain at the Eurovision Song Contest as Nebulossa’s Zorra could only muster 30 points for 22nd place. Switzerland was crowned the winner with a massive 591 points with Nemo clinched the title after son The Code proved a hit with the jury vote. While Croatia’s Baby Lasagna won the most amount of votes from the public, giving them a total score of 547, they were pipped to the post by Switzerland.

Meanwhile the UK’s Olly Alexander finished in 18th place after receiving 46 points from the jury and zero from the public.

ON SHOW: Ecce Homo by Caravaggio

LA CULTURA

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A little Gaudi glory

It might be on the small side for a Gaudi building, but it’s big on style. We form an orderly queue to look inside one of Barcelona’s lesser-known must-see attractions, the Casa Vicens

ANTONI Gaudi is an architect synonymous with the Catalan city of Barcelona. By far, his most famous work is the unfinished Sagrada Familia cathedral (pictured right).

By Dilip Kuner

But the architect, who lived from 1852 to 1926, is also responsible for a host of other buildings scattered throughout the city.

Each is a wonderful example of the Catalan Modernisme style of architecture, distinctive for being colourful, eye-catching, and inspired in part by nature.

Some are well-known, including Casa Batllo and La Pedrera.

But also on the tourism map and fast gaining popularity, is the first house he ever built.

Casa Vicens was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2005, but has been open to the public for five years. Carefully restored, the house is close to its original state, providing visitors with a unique insight into the architect’s style.

Gaudi had been qualified only five years when he was hired in 1883 by tile manufacturer Manuel Vicens Montaner to design a summer house in the suberb of Gracia. Gracia was swallowed up by the

city long ago. Now, to any visitor happening upon Casa Vicens in its narrow street among offices and apartment blocks, it comes as a delightful surprise, as if a Moorish palace had arrived on a magic carpet.

It is equally delightful and surprising inside where there are stucco walls symbolising reeds and ferns, murals of herons and cranes, and papier-mache cherries and leaves between the ceiling beams. Even the furniture was made to his

own design.

The influence of Andalucia is apparent in the Arabian smoking room: Gaudi has created a pastiche of the stalactite ceilings of the Alhambra in Granada – his version is made from moulded cardboard. With access limited to 500 people a day, it is best to visit the website (casavicens.org) and book a ticket in advance to avoid disappointment.

EFFORT: Casa Vicens is a prime example of the Catalan Modernisme style inside

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

Social outrage

FLASHPOINTS between tourists and locals are emerging on social media after holidaymakers were accused of Campaigns against tourists stirring up conflicting feelings

‘taking all the seats’ of a bus in Andalucia.

A photo shared by the Albazyn_Habitable campaign

Poster has been called ‘too agressive’

By Laurence Dollimore

group in Granada shows an el derly woman and other people standing in a packed out bus.

The caption reads: “The bus filled with sitting tourists and the old people from the neigh bourhood standing.

“Unfortunately, this scene is repeated almost daily and is complicated because the urban buses are full and the elderly people struggle to stay standing up.”

It comes as a separate an ti-tourism campaign on the Canary Islands has been branded ‘xenophobic’ and ‘aggressive’ by locals who say leaders of the movement are becoming ‘more and more unbearable’.

A series of posters shared on Instagram show a string of expletive-laden messages written in English on post card-style backgrounds.

One poster reads: “It could be my house but it’s your f***ing Airbnb,” while another says, “the fact that you arrive forces us to leave.”

While many comments sup ported the designs for ‘saying what we are all feeling’, there were just as many criticising them.

The tour- ists are not to blame, it’s a question of our politics.”

In one impassioned post, a local said: “The guiris are not to blame at all, the majority of them are normal people who come here to relax and they don’t buy homes to rent them out nor destroy the environment’.

MEAT DELIGHT

One commenter said in Spanish: “The message is too aggressive and badly directed.

TOURIST BOOM

FOREIGN holidaymakers in Spain reached a record high for the first quarter of a year with UK arrivals accounting for 18.4% of the market.

The National Statistics Institute reported 6.3 million overseas arrivals in March, beating the previous record for that month of 5.6 million set in 2019. Over the first quarter of 2024, the cumulative total is 16.1 million visitors - up 17.7% on last year and 13.3% more than five years earlier.

Arrivals from the United Kingdom continue to dominate with nearly three million arrivals between January and March - an increase of 15.1% on 2023.

Germany comes second with two million visitors, just edging out France with 1.9 million tourists.

SPAIN’S biggest meat and grill festival will be staged for the fifth time in Valencia at the end of the month.

The Meat Carnival takes place at the city’s Antigua Estacion del Grao between May 23 and June 2.

The event will bring a record number of exhibitors offering over 50 different dishes for the anticipated 50,000 visitors.

International cuisine will be featured at the festival with a Turkish grill, Asian dishes, Argentinian barbecues, and of ferings from Finland, Mexico, and Uruguay.

Exotic meets will include reindeer and more traditional fare like roast chicken will be available in a special dome called ‘MadChicken’.

There’ll be a variety of culinary contests including those for the best steak tartare, spicy wings, and the top grilled steak.

ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE

BREAK DOWN COVER

If your car breaks down it can be an upsetting experience, especially if you don’t have roadside assistance cover. But they are also the most common type of problem on the road.

STAY SAFE

If you break down, stay calm and safe until rescue support arrives. Remember that while you wait for help, your priority is to safeguard yourself and any fellow passengers.

Línea Directa policyholders simply call 919 171 171 and inform the emergency hotline where you are.

Línea Directa provides emergency roadside assistance anywhere in Spain 24/7 and 365 days a year, with a national network of operators and recovery vehicles.

GEOLOCATION SERVICE

This service is exclusive to Línea Directa and allows breakdown recovery and roadside assistance services to pinpoint your location and send help directly to you. This service is available throughout mainland Spain, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands. The technology is simple to use and really useful when you need it most.

BREAKDOWN KIT

To help you stay safe here is a checklist of some important safety items in the event of a breakdown.

This emergency breakdown kit should be kept in your vehicle at all times. The kit includes: a torch and spare batteries, warm clothes and blankets, high-visibility jacket, first aid kit, jump start cables, empty fuel can, food and drink, two reflective warning signs, a road atlas, and a mobile phone charger.

OVER 20 YEARS OF EXPERTISE

As Spain’s most experienced provider of insurance for British expatriates, Línea Directa has been keeping motorists on the move for over 20 years.

We hope the information provided in this article is of interest. If you would like to contact Línea Directa please call 952 147 834. More information about Línea Directa online at www. lineadirecta.com

RUDE:

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

Bordering on

THE border region where Portugal meets Spain is home to a host of charming pueblos boasting castles, white-washed homes and rolling green hills.

Portugal’s biggest region, Alentejo is a jigsaw of landscapes, nature and en-

By Yzabelle Bostyn

From the walls you can enjoy amazing views and ‘perfectly intact’ medieval architecture. Not only this but the surrounding build

will wow any visitor, who is bound to enjoy exploring the old town, churches and walls. Going south, Alandroal is another magnificent example of Portugal’s well-preserved medieval and roman heritage. Filled with adelpha plants, the best time to admire them is Spring or Autumn. However, Alandroal is always a great destination to admire the sky without light pollution as it has been granted ‘Starlight Destination’ by UNESCO. At the nearby river beach, Azenhas d’El Rei, you can also enjoy a kayak ride, swim or boat excursion to cool off on hot days.

The lower area of the region also has many natural wonders, with the Valle del Guadiana National Park and the Alcaria Ruiva mountain range. It is a fantastic holiday for nature fans, with many hiking paths and opportunities to spot birdlife such as black storks, ospreys, griffon vultures and warblers.

The

PERFECTLY INTACT: Casto do Vide’s medieval architecture

HISTORIC:

dolmens of Anta da Melrica

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

the beautiful

The charming pueblos of Portugal, boasting castles, white-washed homes and rolling green hills are a must visit

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Mozzie warning

MORE than 100 cases of Malaria were detected in Andalucia last year, official figures have revealed.

The southernmost region is at risk of seeing a surge in such insect-borne diseases amid a rise in temperatures caused by global warming.

This year, for example, has seen mosquitos arrive months earlier than usual due to the ideal combination of humidity caused by recent rains and high temperatures.

Figures from the Junta show there were a total of 101 registered malaria cases in 2023, plus 47 dengue fever infections and 76 cases of leishmaniasis.

There were also multiple cases of West Nile virus last year - while at least two have been confirmed so far this year.

The diseases killed three people in 2023; A man, 81, who died of leishmanasis, a woman, 68, who died of malaria and an 84-year-old woman who died of West Nile fever. In response, Andalucia has launched a special ‘surveillance and control’ team - dubbed PEVA - that will advise on how to stop such diseases from growing.

Head researcher at the Doñana Biological Station, Jordi Figuerola, said the diseases are growing.

He said: “In Catalunya there were two recent cases of dengue in people who had not travelled.

“And right now, South America is experiencing a greater number of dengue cases and it is more than foreseeable that they will reach our country.”

A SPANISH centenarian has gone viral after a news clip of him was shown working out at his local gym.

The slogan on Jose Luis Ortega’s t-shirt has proven to be apt - ‘100 years inspiring those around me’ after he was shared thousands of times on TikTok.

The former physiotherapist has been exercising in the gym daily since 1935, when he was 11.

100 not out

The centenarian follows a regular routine of working out on the gym machines, before swimming in the pool for halfan-hour.

And his advice to people who want to live a long, fit life is simple: “Do something, do exercise. Don’t smoke and have a little glass of red wine with lunch.”

Nolotil toddler

Expat mother livid after her toddler is given ‘lethal’ Nolotil painkiller

A BRITISH expat has been left ‘livid’ after her toddler was given ‘lethal’ Nolotil painkiller.

When Hannah Pearson’s three-year-old daughter, Amalie (pictured with mum), experienced high temperatures, the 39-year-old and her husband, James, 38, took her to a private doctor in Golf del Sur in Tenerife, who diagnosed Amalie with Scarlet Fever.

But when Hannah returned from work, she got a nasty surprise. Her daughter had been prescribed Nolotil.

As a former nurse and owner of a care business, Hannah knew of the risks this ‘deadly’ drug can have, including sepsis, organ failure and even death.

“It was absolutely terrifying,” she told the Olive Press.

“I was livid and shocked that she had been prescribed Nolotil when she was doing fine on Ibuprofen and

EXCLUSIVE

By Yzabelle Bostyn

Calpol. It was gobsmacking.”

Luckily, James had not followed the doctor’s recommended dose and only gave his daughter a ‘drop’ to see if she responded well.

Amalie had been prescribed Metagial, a droplet form of Nolotil intended for children.

KILL THE DRUG

Aware of the danger of the drug, the couple did not administer any more doses, despite the doctor’s recommendation of a 0.4mg dose every eight hours for five days.

“I knew because I have medical knowledge, but if I didn’t it could have wiped her out,” said Hannah. That night, the couple ‘barely slept’, keeping a ‘close eye’ on Amalie over fears they had

A SPANISH health agency has warned that under-10s should not eat swordfish, bluefin tuna and dogfish.

Despite being a good source of protein, essential nutrients and Omega-3 fatty acids, these fish can be risky to the health of the under-10s and pregnant women given their high mercury content.

As predators, these fish are prone to high levels of the metal as it concentrates up the food chain.

The pollutant make its way into lakes, rivers and seas, due to industrial activity.

‘done harm to their child’. Thankfully, the little girl has not presented any side effects. Nolotil, whose active ingredient is met

amizole, is known to pro -

voke extreme adverse side effects in northern europeans, including low

white blood cell count, sepsis, organ failure, gangrene and even death.

CLOT PERIL

PHARMACEUTICAL company AstraZeneca has admitted for the first time that its Covid-19 vaccine can cause rare side effects such as thrombosis.

The admission came in court documents that were submitted to the High Court in the United Kingdom as part of a class-action lawsuit. AstraZeneca accepted that its Covid vaccine ‘can, in very rare cases, cause TTS’, which stands for Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome. This causes people to have blood clots as well as a low blood platelet count. If it loses the legal action, the company is facing paying out damages of up to £100 million to victims and relatives of people who had complications, with a total of 51 cases lodged at the High Court.

FISH BLUES

Once eaten by humans, it can affect the nervous system, which is a particular issue for the under-10s, as well as for unborn babies.

The Aesan health agency recommends that adults don’t exceed more than three or four servings of fish that can contain mercury a week. Children aged between 10 and 14 should be limited to 120 grams a month.

solutions

Mentally resigned

MALLORCA’s new mental health department has suffered three resignations within the last three months. Billed as the Ministry of Health’s star project - and one of the first to be set up in Spain - it has lost a string of managers, all for seemingly different reasons.

Susan Taylor-Vickers BSc, Centre, Son Established 1989

Across: 6 Writ, 7 At large, 9 Adoption, 10 Find, 11 Inuit, 12 Medical, 14 Beggars, 16 Plush, 18 Trot, 20 Fair game, 21 Linseed, 22 Tall.

Susan Taylor-Vickers – BSc, EDH Mercadona Centre, Son Caliu, Palma Nova

Down: 1 Credence, 2 Stepping stone, 3 Vapid, 4 Traffic lights, 5 Jean, 8 Lunge, 12 Mrs, 13 Assemble, 15 Rifle, 17 Wilde, 19 Roll.

First Oriol Lafau, the regional coordinator for the Balearic Islands’ mental health strategy, jumped ship in February for unspecified ‘personal reasons’.

His replacement, psychiatrist Carme Bosch quit within a month claiming she wanted to return to her old job at Inca hospital. And now comes the biggest loss of all, with the director general Alicia Gonzalez handing in her notice for ‘health reasons’.

BUSINESS

BANK WARS NO YOU HANG UP

THE Spanish government has moved to kibosh a proposed €12.2 billion hostile takeover of Banco Sabadell by BBVA.

It was reasoned that such a merger could create uncertainty in the financial market.

BBVA had decided to bypass Sabadell’s board and woo its shareholders directly after its initial takeover bid was rejected.

While the Basque bank claimed the deal would save €850 million annually and allow the new entity to compete better in Europe, the government did not agree.

Work boost

THE number of people registering as jobless in Spain fell by 2.22% in April from a month earlier according to the Labour Ministry. Figures showed a total of 2.67 million people out of work - a fall of 60,503 - the lowest number since September 2008. Compared with the same month last year, unemployment decreased by 4.4%.

The bulk of new jobs came in the services sector including hospitality and tourism, with unemployment falling by 42,067.

The number of jobless under 25 years of age fell by 8.26% in April compared to March, by 16,925 to a total of 188,082 people.

Ahead in the cloud

Microsoft reported by host of startups over restrictive practices

TECH giant Microsoft has been hit with a complaint filed by Spanish start-up companies about its dominance in the increasing cloud computing sector.

The complaint has been filed with the CNMC monopoly watchdog.

The Spanish Startup Association, which represents more than 700 start-ups, has produced a list of allegedly anti-competitive practices by Microsoft in recent years.

Microsoft is second in the cloud computing sectorbehind Amazon - but is ex -

By Alex Trelinski

pected to close the gap rapidly as a clutch of generative AI features powered by OpenAI’s technology attract business users.

“Microsoft has

not only taken advantage of the dominant position in the markets of Operating Systems (Windows) and traditional productivity software like Microsoft Office to force the use of its Azure cloud, but

Off the hook

A SECOND case against Colombian singer Shakira has been shelved six months after she reached a deal with prosecutors over a tax fraud.

In November she agreed to pay a fine of €7.8 million after reaching a deal with the prosecutor in Barcelona as well as the Tax Agency for having evaded €14.5 million tax between 2012 and 2014. Having long denied the allegations, she agreed to the sanction in order to avoid any possibility of jail time.

But her tax woes were not over, with prosecutors launching a second case claiming she had avoided another €6.6 million in

BARRIERS: Start-ups can’t compete

they have also imposed artificial barriers that limit the ability of start-ups to compete fairly and competitively,” the Spanish complaint says.

“These practices include barriers to data portability

tax in 2018.

Now the prosecutor has found that there is insufficient evidence against her for criminal action.

or contractual conditions that restrict competition in software licenses, preventing the free choice of providers of these services, reducing the capacity for choice and flexibility that start-ups need to be able to be resilient, innovate and grow,” the document added.

The association has called on the CNMC to launch an investigation and to take urgent measures to ensure a competitive market.

Start-up association president, Carlos Mateo, said: “We believe that all companies should be able to compete in an environment of equality so as not to be left behind either as customers or as companies providing this technology.”

The European Commission and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority are also probing the cloud computing sector and Microsoft’s position within it.

SPANISH regulators have given their blessing to British investment firm Zegona’s €5 billion bid for Vodafone Spain.

UK telecoms giant Vodafone is selling after admitting defeat in the notoriously competitive Spanish market where Movistar is king.

It was prompted to throw in the towel when the European Commission approved an €18.6 billion merger between its other two rivals in Orange and Masmovil in 2022.

The deal is expected to close on May 31.

Cashed out

SPAIN’S gambling regulator has dished out fines totalling over €81 million to 17 online betting websites in the second half of 2023. The DGOJ ordered 10 of them to be shut down.

The biggest penalty of €35 million and a four-year closure was given to the National Organisation of the Spanish and European Disabled (ONDEE).

They had been accused of unfair competition by the ONCE charity by selling lottery tickets and even masquerading as it.

TAKING CARE OF THE VULNERABLE

UK foundation that protects the finances of the elderly expands to Spain

BARELY a week passes by without a horrific report of an elderly person in Spain being deceived by a trusted carer or a supposedly-close friend.

Stories of bank accounts being cleared out are far too common, and non-Spanish speaking people living on their own are especially prone to be conned.

Now that is set to change with the news that a UK foundation that manages money for vulnerable people is expanding to Spain.

The Manchester-based Money Carer Foundation is a national social enterprise founded in 2009. The organisation provides money management services for elderly and vulnerable people, their carers, and the families who support them.

In Britain, hundreds of law firms, local authorities, and care providers use the Money Carer technology engine and banking platform to assist them in better managing the finances of their clients.

Money Carer CEO Sean Tyrer (pictured inset)

said: “We, in effect, act as the Corporate Appointee, authorised by the Department of Work & Pensions (DWP) to help thousands of people in

the UK manage their welfare benefit entitlements.”

“Our service provides security and convenience, with access to

real-time transaction information.”

Money Carer works hand-in-hand with carers, family members, social workers and other professionals to serve their clients in the best way possible and, crucially- in their best interest.

The foundation is now set to launch in Spain, aiming to end some cases of vulnerable people being ripped off - often without even knowing it.

Money Carer will look to help elderly expats, people with learning difficulties, and those who have had or still have substance abuse issues.

“We take on a legal role and take responsibility for a person’s finances by managing their finances via a single facility, which includes receiving funds and paying bills,” said Sean.

It recently held an Open Day in Alicante to attract expats to work for it on a part-time or job-share basis.

It has already signed up an experienced carer and clinical administrator from the Denia area of Alicante province.

Sean Tyrer said: “We are looking for people with experience who perhaps have been carers or worked for social services to join our innovative money management team.

“It will be a unique opportunity to do some fascinating and caring work!”

Sean told the Olive Press that Money Carer will look to roll out across Spain towards the end of the year.

“We want to lay down the right foundations, and I hope to meet with organisations that work with the elderly and contact the British Embassy to see how we can support and collaborate.”

In the UK, Money Carer partners with the DWP and over 100 local authorities to provide money management services.

The first priority in Spain will be to introduce a secure, biometric fingerprint-activated card.

This card would allow a carer to manage and pay for things such as shopping and sundry items for the vulnerable person they look after,

but it would be monitored to ensure that everything is above board.

The fact that the card can only be used by the person whose fingerprint is linked to it when paying at the checkout adds cut-

ting-edge protection to both the carer and their client.

“A card like this will bring extra security to its owner and peace of mind that it is being used responsibly by somebody they trust,” said Sean.

Extensive information on how Money Carer works in Britain is available via their website, www.moneycarer.org.uk and there’s also an informative podcast for you to enjoy.

Mass ejection

AT least 30 drunken passengers were kicked off an Easyjet flight from Bristol to Malaga after they threatened to ‘urinate on the floor’ if they couldn’t use the toilet during take-off.

Served cold

A NEIGHBOUR unhappy with a new swanky restaurant rooftop terrace across from her apartment in Sevilla has taken to playing loud porn noises to put diners off from eating there.

Skinny dip

BEACHGOERS at a popular Menorca resort were banned from swimming after a seven-foot blue shark was spotted cruising close to shore. The ban has since been lifted.

Southern lotharios

The most sexually active provinces in Spain

- and where you’re most likely to be

cheated on

A SURVEY has shown that Cadiz is the top province for Latin lotharios.

Randy residents of the province are top of the Spanish charts when it comes to the number of times they have sex - an average of 9.64 times a month.

By Yzabelle Bostyn

On the other hand, people in passionless Palencia in Castilla y Leon are the least horny, doing the deed just six times a month. The study by sex toy company,

Diversual.com also revealed that residents of Murcia (8.76), Malaga (8.54), Almeria (8.40),

Love takes flight

A SINGLE woman has found love by flying to Spain from London to meet a man she hooked up with on a dating app. Celeste Hartley, 28, said dating had become ‘so bad’ in the UK capital, that she decided to set her sights further. Celeste got an app hook-

up from Spain and the pair 'hit it off' immediately on the phone. She then got a €300 Malaga flight to meet the 28-year-old Spaniard for a first date. She said: “Regardless of whatever happens, it is worth it for how exciting it has been.”

and Granada (8.15) were all above average in the sex charts.

At the other end of the scale, big city life would appear not to be conducive to bedroom gymnastics.

People in Barcelona (6.97), Madrid (6.96),

Navarra (6.95) and Zaragoza (6.73) were all below average when it came to bonking.

And for illicit sex, head to Tarragona, which was revealed as the most unfaithful area in Spain, with an incredible 40% of respondents admitting they had had ‘relations’ with someone who was not their normal partner.

But for those seeking a faithful other half, Palencia is the most up-standing region, with just 16% admitting to cheating. When it comes to finding the right partner, 65% said it is easier now than in years gone by, with 54% saying the best option is dating apps.

Ready to ruck

MADRID will be hosting a treat for Rugby Union sevens fans with the HSBC SVNS Series Grand Finals from May 31 to June 2. The top eight teams in the women’s and men’s league competitions have qualified for Series championship glory at the upcoming Grand Final event in Madrid from May 31 to June 2. Unfortunately for local fans both Spain’s Men and Women’s teams failed to reach the tournament. Argentina’s men will be eager to back up their SVNS Series league title on the Serie’ final stop, and the same goes for women’s league title-holders New Zealand. The All Blacks have also made it through alongside Great Britain, France, USA, Canada, Fiji and Ireland. Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia, France, the USA, Canada, Ireland and Fiji make up the eight for the female competition.