Episode 1081: Hundreds attend funeral of Scottish mobsters shot dead in Fuengirola
The funerals of murdered gangland heavies Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons Jnr took place in Scotland yesterday as police doubled down on their insistence that their killing had nothing to do with local feuds.
While Spanish police say they have identified and wish to extradite a hitman linked to the rival Daniel's clan, cops in Glasgow say they have no intelligence to suggest the motive for the murders is the decades old feud.
Nicola speaks with journalist Richard Elias about the deepening mystery around what happened on the Costa Del Sol and how the Kinahan organisation were one of the first to offer their sympathies for the shootings of gang boss Stephen Lyon's brother and best friend.
MORE EPISODES
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sunday World
2 hours ago
- Sunday World
Notorious British drug trafficker Brian Charrington dies on Costa Blanca
The 68-year-old was waiting to hear whether he had to start a prison sentence in Spain over a 2013 cocaine seizure A notorious British drug trafficker with his own Wikipedia page has died on the Costa Blanca. Brian Charrington, an ex-associate of former international cocaine baron Curtis Warren, passed away in the early hours of yesterday morning at Marina Baixa Hospital in Villajoyosa near Benidorm. The 68-year-old was waiting to hear whether he had to start a prison sentence in Spain over a 2013 cocaine seizure. His defence lawyer had requested the suspension of the eight year jail term on health grounds. Charrington started out as a car dealer in Middlesborough but went on to own a Rolls Royce, Bentley, private jet and fleet of yachts thanks to his international drugs empire. In 2011 his fortune was put at £20 million. In the eighties he teamed up with Curtis Warren, whose personal fortune was so large he appeared on the Sunday Times Rich List, to import cocaine to the UK from Venezuela. The pair were arrested in early 1992 after a shipment of more than 900 kilos of cocaine sealed inside lead ingots in steel boxes was discovered. The subsequent trial collapsed after it transpired Charrington was a police informant for the North-East Regional Crime Squad. Britain's security forces went on to re-home him in Australia but his visa was revoked shortly after his arrival. He went on to build up links with north African drug dealers after relocating to Spain and laundered millions of pounds from a fortified villa on Spain's Costa Blanca which he used to bring hashish from Morocco across the border. He was acquitted in two drugs trials in the UK before being extradited to Germany and sentenced to seven years jail in 2003 for conspiracy to smuggle cocaine into the country. Charrington was extradited to France following his release in 2006 to serve a two year prison term over the discovery of 650 kilos of hashish found on his yacht in the English channel in 1995. In 2004 he lost a civil suit against the Assets Recovery Agency over more than £2 million found in his loft which he and Curtis Warren disputed the ownership of. The civil recovery order against him and Warren was described at the time as the largest of its kind. Spanish police described Charrington after his 2013 arrest in Spain as "one of the ten most investigated criminals" by European police forces and "leader of an international gang of drug smugglers." Spanish police held Charrington in 2013 along with a number of other people including his French girlfriend Isabelle Robert and son Ray after a long-running investigation sparked by a tip-off from French police that he and Robert were smuggling cocaine into Europe from Venezuela. Their luxury villas in Calpe near Benidorm on the Costa Blanca were among a number of homes raided by police on July 4 2013. Brian Charrington News in 90 Seconds - July 23rd In a subsequent indictment in which prosecutors initially demanded an 18-year prison sentence for Charrington, they claimed he tried to erase information he had chalked on a blackboard in his office about amounts of cocaine and sale prices during the raid on his home. Police revealed at the time of the operation they had seized 220 kilos of cocaine worth £10 million at another apartment in Albir near Benidorm, said to have been smuggled into Spain through the nearby port of Altea. Britain's Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), Venezuelan police and a regional 18-member-state police organisation called Ameripol set up to fight drug trafficking, were also involved. Drug lord Charrington's original 2018 trial and conviction following the 2013 drug bust was quashed by Spain's Supreme Court over impartiality issues and a second trial had to be held. That resulted in an eight year five month prison sentence for the Brit criminal which his lawyers were trying to get him exempted from serving because of his poor health. The Spanish courts had yet to rule on Charrington's lawyer's request when he passed away. One of Brian's three grown-up children wrote on social media late last night: 'Rest in peace Dad.' The Brit criminal is understood to have been admitted to hospital shortly before his death.
The Irish Sun
3 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Ex-footballer, 35, turned DJ ‘beaten to death by cops' in Ibiza was ‘hallucinating and threatening neighbour with knife'
A FORMER footballer turned DJ, whose father alleges police killed, died after trespassing and threatening a neighbour with a knife, cops have insisted. The family of Italian DJ Michele Noschese 5 Michele Noschese, aka DJ Godzi Credit: Jam Press 5 The DJ died after allegedly being beaten by cops at a house party Credit: Jam Press 5 Cops claim he died after trespassing and threatening a neighbour with a knife Credit: instagram They have demanded officers face a homicide investigation over his death. They say the former The Civil Guard insist they tried to save the 35-year-old DJ's life after they rushed to aid an OAP he was They added that he went into convulsions when they arrived to find him "under the effects of drugs and suffering hallucinations." A spokesman for the force said: "On Saturday morning, the Civil Guard responded to an alert about threats in Santa Eulalia in Ibiza. "On arrival, they found that a person with visible signs of being under the influence of narcotic substances was suffering from hallucinations and had jumped into the home of his elderly neighbour, threatening this person with a knife. "The officers tried to restrain the assailant, at which point he began to convulse. "They tried to revive him by performing CPR until the arrival of the medical services, but were unsuccessful and he died at the scene. Most read in The Sun "The appropriate investigation is currently underway and a report will be handed over to the competent judicial authority." The elderly neighbour's daughter appeared to back the Spanish police version of events. Shocking moment Marbella cop slaps sunbather as two people are arrested She told a local paper in Ibiza: "His body is still bruised because he was struggling for a long time. "He has a trauma and doesn't even remember that the DJ had a knife. His shoulder is bad and his foot is also bruised because he was stepping on it the whole time. "My father is very sad about this situation." She said the Italian was someone who held parties regularly but had never threatened her father before. He had jumped into his balcony around 8am on Saturday while he was sleeping, she claimed. But his family has filed a complaint with the Spanish courts and the Naples Prosecutor's Office. His dad told Italian media: "My son died while he was in the custody of the Spanish police." Post-mortem results from the autopsy carried out following the DJ's death will be sent directly to an investigating court and are not expected to be made public. Fulvio Martusciello, MEP for the Forza Italia political party, said: "We want to know the truth about Michele Noschese's death. "We want to understand what happened and what the Civil Guard's responsibility is. "The sudden death of a young, successful and well-liked Neapolitan, an internationally renowned DJ, cannot remain in the shadows." Michele said in 2023 that he got interested in music when he was 15 - and lived in London for two years when he was younger. Read more on the Irish Sun The economics graduate played in Serie C with Cavese and Benevento as well as Napoli's youth team. He was offered the chance to play professionally in the Swiss top flight, but turned it down to become a DJ instead. 5 Michele Noschese, aka DJ Godzi, was just 35 Credit: Jam Press 5 He had been living on the Iberian island for about 10 years Credit: instagram
Irish Examiner
16 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
'I'm not taking the blame for any of this': Court hears of 'narco boat' in failed smuggling operation
A "narco boat" swayed on a winch as the Atlantic swell rolled in on Tragumna pier, Cork, as men struggled to load it into an articulated lorry after many of them had already endured almost 48 hours on rough, dangerous seas. The speedboat, with three powerful engines and modified to evade detection, had allegedly failed to catch up with the alleged mothership, a legitimate Panamanian flagged cargo vessel called the Cool Explorer off Britain's south-west coast to collect some €59m worth of cocaine. It returned to Tragumna in the early morning of March 14, 2024, after just under 48 hours at sea during a weather warning, having covered 985km. Frustrated shouts could be heard in shaky video footage captured by one of the accused on a phone and shown to the Special Criminal Court on Tuesday. "This is some mission here mate", an Irish voice could be heard saying in one video as they struggled to load the rigid inflatable boat (RIB) onto the articulated truck trailer. 'I don't give a fuck, I'm not taking the blame for any of this,' the Irish voice said in one video. A suspected major drug smuggling operation, involving some 850kg cocaine worth an estimated €59m which gardaí believe ultimately washed up on beaches in Denmark, had failed that night. Charting waypoints Devices subsequently seized by gardaí from 10 men arrested in West Cork, including phones with the highly encrypted Graphene operating system, contained images that showed waypoints in Denmark near where the cocaine washed ashore. Waypoints charted on the Active Captain app showed locations plotted out in the Irish Sea and the English Channel just south of Land's End. A screenshot found on a seized phone seems to show the location of the Cool Explorer, taken from a marine traffic app which helps monitor the position of cargo vessels. It was to pass by Land's End in the south of Britain around March 12, 2024. On March 14 and 15, the Cool Explorer passed an area of Denmark called Sjællands Odde. Some 850kg of cocaine was discovered subsequently washed up on beaches in the area. GPS units attached to the bags matched the co-ordinates used by the Cool Explorer, the court heard. Gardaí believe that the rigid inflatable boat left Tragumna on March 12, 2024, in a failed bid to meet the Cool Explorer — a legitimate cargo vessel — to pick up some 850kg of cocaine while at sea. Seven of the 10 men arrested in connection with the alleged operation have now pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import drugs. They are Dutch national Kiumaars Ghabiri, aged 52; Serbian national Aleksander Milic, aged 46; and Spanish nationals Mario Angel Del Rio Sanz, aged 45; Juan Antonio Gallardo Barroso, aged 56; Pedro Pablo Ojeda Ortega, aged 36; Angel Serran Padilla, aged 40; and Anuar Rahui Chairi, aged 42. 'Co-operative of groups' The accused operated in a cell structure, Inspector Joseph Young told the Special Criminal Court. A Dutch Iranian cell, an Irish cell, and a Spanish cell were involved in the operation, the court heard. The Dutch Iranian cell served a logistical support role in the conspiracy enterprise, Insp Young said. And gardaí believe that 'a co-operative of groups' had proprietary rights over the illicit cargo, believed to be some €58m of cocaine that subsequently washed up on the Danish coast. Milic, from Belgrade, was a 'notary' or representative for the Irish cell on the rigid inflatable boat, Insp Young said. Part of his role was to provide fuel to the boat, Insp Young said. He was not in a managerial role, I think the purpose of a notary role for the group is to place a representative on the boat to oversee and see that things went to plan Following his arrest on the morning of March 14, he had medical help for problems with his teeth he suffered on rough seas on the open-topped, low profile speed boat. He had no seat in the vessel, unlike the other Spanish crew, and had no helmet or gumshield to protect him. He also had debts in Serbia, defence barrister Séamus Clarke said. The Spanish cell had first travelled to Holland in February 2024. Barroso allegedly brought the rigid inflatable boat there and they all were in the area while the boat was modified in a warehouse. The speedboat's modification would classify it as a 'narco boat'" Inspector Young said. It was probably modified to conduct drug trafficking at sea, with blackened equipment and a low profile in the water, designed not to be detected, he said. Selfies taken in Holland showed some of the men lounging on couches, smiling, and giving peace signs to the camera. Another photo showed all of them enjoying dinner and wine together around a table in a chalet in Holland. Mr Sanz and Mr Chairi appeared in many photos together, retrieved from multiple devices, and they travelled together from Lisbon to Dublin. One selfie showed them smiling as they set off, sitting next to each other in an airplane at the beginning of their ill-fated operation. 'Modest means' Mr Barroso was involved in the procurement of the rigid inflatable boat and transported it to Holland, the State alleges. He knew Mr Ortega and Mr Padilla, the court heard. Mr Barroso's wife died while he was in prison, leaving their 12-year-old daughter without her parents and being taken into the care of family, the court heard. Mr Ortega, a mechanic, had previously worked for a company which was contracted to by police in Gibraltar to fix cars and boats. However, he had been unemployed for the 11 months prior to March, 2024, defence barrister Brendan Grehan said. Mr Ortega, his long-term partner, and their daughter were a family of 'modest means', with Mr Ortega's social welfare payments of €1,500 a month due to run out. His partner earned €1,600-€1,700 a month cleaning hotels. Mr Padilla, also a father, had struggled with cocaine addiction and had lapsed into abuse again before taking the Tragumna job, defence barrister Michael Bowman said. He was hired for his experience at sea and had no proprietary interest in the cargo, Mr Bowman said. He had previously been in the army, but left due to psychological issues. He had also worked in construction and with his father who was a butcher. Mr Ghabiri, allegedly part of the Dutch-Iranian cell, provided logistical support in the enterprise, Insp Young said Born in Tehran, his home was hit by a bomb from Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime. It killed his parents and his six siblings when he was nine-years-old, defence counsel Keith Spencer said. He was injured in the blast but survived, and was taken in by an uncle and other family members. He later suffered persecution and escaped Iran to Rotterdam in Holland, where he subsisted in a refugee centre. He worked menial jobs, picking tomatoes and flowers and cleaning toilets in the underground. He had very little education and his literacy was quite poor, Mr Spencer said. However, he was a skilled cook with a good work ethic and had subsequently worked in Spain as a chef. His sister had contracted cancer and needed support which was a factor in pushing him to take this job, Mr Spencer said. His guilty plea came very early and his involvement was not of someone at the upper echelons of this type of conspiracy, and he was not standing to profit a huge deal from it, Mr Spencer said. Childhood trauma Mr Sanz also suffered trauma in his childhood, defence barrister Elizabeth O'Connell said. Although he grew up in a middle class family, his father was an architect and his mother also had a good professional position, his parents split up very acrimoniously when he was 10 years old. He and his father moved to a small village outside Cádiz, and the relationship with his other parent 'ruptured' completely. He also lost all contact with his sister for 17 years. This was a huge trauma to Mr Sanz, and he was 'effectively let run wild' by his father as his sole guardian. Although he had a business bringing people out on boat trips to see dolphins, his early trauma and unstable childhood had 'disrupted' his life tragically. His seafaring knowledge led to his being asked by a Portuguese operative to ensure that the boat was operational and got to the water when needed, the court heard. He said he was to be paid €15,000 for the foiled Tragumna operation, but said he never received payment. Mr Sanz was 'not a person of means', and he rented an apartment with his wife who works in an airport. The Spanish were brought in as a "job lot", the defence barrister for Mr Chairi, Emmett Boyle, said. His client was employed as a subcontractor to fulfil a specific service and was not at management level, Mr Boyle said. Mr Chairi survived modestly in Malaga, and 'certainly does not live a lavish lifestyle,' Mr Boyle said. Mitigation in the men's sentence hearings will continue in the Special Criminal Court on Wednesday. Read More Bags of cocaine from cargo ship had GPS tags, Special Criminal Court hears
