Latest news with #PolicíaNacional
Daily Mail
14-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Death of Brit father who fell 600ft from Benidorm cliff will be reinvestigated by police as family insist there was 'foul play'
The mysterious death of a British father-of-four who fell from a Benidorm cliff last year will be reinvestigated by police as a possible homicide. Detectives previously thought Nathan Osman, 30, had suffered an accident or possibly even taken his own life while on holiday at the tourist hotspot. But his family, who have questioned the Spanish authorities from the start, have always suspected 'foul play' in the tragedy. After a drawn-out battle to get the police report, they probed the circumstances around Osman's death further. His brother Lee Evans helped compile a comprehensive timeline of his movements from the minute he left the UK until the last moment they could find him on the CCTV cameras of local Benidorm businesses. In March, members of the family travelled to Spain and presented their timeline, in both English and Spanish, to the relevant authorities. Meeting with the Policía Nacional, and the head prosecutor and judge on Nathan's case, the family said Osman was not a 'typical Brit going abroad on a lads' holiday.' 'Nathan liked to go and experience different places, and he'd even decided to book on his friends' holiday and join them last minute,' Evans said, according to The Olive Press. 'He drank quite rarely and has never used recreational drugs. His autopsy revealed that there were no drugs in his system,' Hughes said. 'Nathan had four beautiful children and enjoyed life to the fullest. He never imagined that a break in the sun would lead to his death. 'He was just really excited and really looking forward to seeing his friends and having a relaxing holiday.' After a drinking outing with friends on September 27 - the first day of the long weekend break he had spontaneously joined - the tired father-of-four walked back to the hotel alone to sleep. But the next morning, his bed had not been slept in - and an off-duty police officer found his body, at the foot of a remote cliff in Benidorm's outskirts, later that day. Evans has previously said his brother had no reason to do the hour-long walk there, in the opposite direction to his hotel, alone. He instead believes his brother was taken to the cliff, either by taxi or against his will. The last sighting of Osman, according to Evans, was him walking 'very calm and collected' following directions on his phone. He was found a 50-minute walk away from where he was last seen on CCTV. At an inquest into Osman's death in October last year, senior coroner Graeme Hughes heard the man suffered traumatic brain injuries after falling from the cliff. 'If he had gotten lost as the authorities told us he had, Nathan would have asked for directions to guarantee he arrived safely back at his hotel,' Evans noted. 'We know Nathan and recognised from the start that something was wrong. Nathan was extremely streetwise and intelligent,' his sister Alannah Hughes said. 'It wasn't investigated thoroughly, not even a basic investigation was carried out.' The family have travelled to Benidorm and retraced Osman's footsteps to the exact spot where his body was airlifted. They said someone tried to use his bank card at a shop near where his body was found the next morning, while his valuables had disappeared. But police handed back the phone shortly after Osman's parents arrived in Spain. 'With a normal investigation, they should have kept the phone and looked into it,' Evans said. From their own efforts, the family have worked out Osman was on a video call to a friend that night, until his phone died. They said the head prosecutor in the case was receptive to their appeals, and was 'blown away' with the detailed investigation. She said the case will be taken seriously by detectives. The judge and prosecutor have now agreed to reopen the case and to investigate Nathan's death as a potential homicide, with foul play being determined due to the factors raised. 'We've felt abandoned, but we left Benidorm that day knowing that the investigation is wide open and is ongoing,' Evans said. 'We want to be able to tell Nathan's children when they're older that we tried everything in our power to get justice for their dad.' A spokesperson for the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development office said in March: 'We are supporting the family of a British man who has died in Spain and are in contact with the local authorities.'
CBS News
24-02-2025
- CBS News
Over 1,000 women sexually exploited in human trafficking ring after being "lured to Spain with bogus job offers," police say
Spanish police said Sunday they dismantled a human trafficking ring they said had exploited more than 1,000 women in the past year, mainly Colombians and Venezuelans. "The victims, mainly of South American origin, were lured to Spain with bogus job offers," police said in a news release, adding they had rescued 48 women in an operation that brought 48 arrests. Most of those detained, including the three alleged ring leaders -- two Colombian women and one Spaniard -- were held near the eastern city of Alicante. In addition to the three leaders, police said strip club managers and taxi drivers, who were in charge of transporting the women, were also implicated in the trafficking ring. The women were recruited in their home countries, "mainly in Colombia and Venezuela, with false job offers" in the cleaning or beauty sectors. On arrival in Spain, "they were transferred to clubs where they were sexually exploited" and "forced to work all hours," according to police. They were also only allowed to go out for two hours per day and otherwise kept under video surveillance, police said. Six of those arrested are being held in pre-trial detention, police stated. Police released a video showing officers raiding multiple locations during the operation. 🚩Liberadas 48 mujeres víctimas de #trata que eran explotadas sexualmente en clubs de alterne 🔴48 detenidos en #Alicante y #Murcia de una organización criminal que habría explotado a más de 1.000 mujeres 🔴Ocho registros realizados y tres clubs de alterne clausurados — Policía Nacional (@policia) February 23, 2025 More than 100 officers participated in the operation to dismantle the trafficking ring, authorities said. Police said they searched eight properties, seizing multiple weapons, more than 150,000 euros in cash, three luxury cars, 26 grams of cocaine, 8.45 grams of crystal cocaine, 23.5 grams of pink cocaine, 20 pills of erectile dysfunction medication and several computers.
The Guardian
05-02-2025
- The Guardian
Spanish police arrest six members of gang for selling nonexistent puppies
Spanish police investigating an online gang, which swindled prospective puppy-buyers out of more than €150,000 (£125,000) by duping them into paying for nonexistent dogs and fictitious vets' bills, have arrested six people and frozen 14 bank accounts. Officers from the Policía Nacional force began looking into the gang – which was based in the Basque province of Biscay but operated across Spain – and discovered it was fraudulently advertising mobile phones as well as pets. 'The modus operandi was based on placing adverts on secondhand shopping platforms,' the force said in a statement. 'In most cases, they offered puppies – but also cats and even parrots – at affordable prices. 'When the victim called up about the advert, they were sent pictures of their future pet to encourage them to pay for it as soon as possible. Once that was done, the buyer was asked for more money on various pretexts, such as to cover vets' bills, taxes, vaccinations and transport costs. But the victims never received the animals.' Police then noticed that the gang was using the same shopping sites to offer the latest mobile phones which, once again, never reached their buyers. After analysing 72 bank accounts and poring over information gleaned from 25 phone lines, officers identified 100 victims of the fraud across Spain, and learned that they had been cheated out of more than €150,000. Their investigations led to the arrests of six gang members, who are accused of fraud, belonging to a criminal organisation and escaping from prison. 'Following a search of the home of one of the main suspects, officers have also seized five mobile phones as well as the sim cards used to commit the frauds,' the police statement added. 'Fourteen bank accounts used by the suspects in an effort to make the money harder to trace have also been blocked.'
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Yahoo
Kidnapped Spanish man rescued using photo of steering wheel
Spanish police have rescued a man who was kidnapped and bundled into the boot of a car after he managed to alert his girlfriend by sending her a photo of the vehicle's steering wheel and a set of coordinates. On 23 January Policía Nacional officers in the Andalucían province of Málaga received a report that a man had been kidnapped two days earlier on the promenade of the town of Sabinillas. The man had been taken by a group of men travelling in two cars who were looking for information on the whereabouts of another man who had apparently swindled them out of €30,000 (£25,000) in a drug deal. Officers were also provided with videos of the victim, showing him face down and with a pistol at his head while he was asked where the other man was. Unknown to his captors, however, the kidnapped man managed to contact his friends and send his girlfriend a photograph of the steering wheel logo of the car he was travelling in. He also sent coordinates that led police to a street in Torre del Mar, a town along the coast from Málaga. 'Officers then headed immediately to the location, where they found a parked car that matched the make and model of the vehicle in the victim's photo,' the force said in a statement. 'They then discovered another vehicle in the same area, which matched one of the cars used in the kidnapping in Sabinillas.' A few hours later, police saw a man being taken from another nearby car and placed in the back of a different vehicle. 'Seeing that happen, officers began to follow the vehicle, which was finally intercepted on the A7 motorway towards Málaga,' the statement added. 'The victim, who was unharmed and in good health, was freed and four people were arrested. Fewer than 16 hours had passed between the report of the kidnapping and the rescue.' The force said four people had been arrested on suspicion of kidnapping, belonging to a criminal organisation and illegal possession of firearms.
The Guardian
29-01-2025
- The Guardian
Kidnapped Spanish man rescued using photo of steering wheel
Spanish police have rescued a man who was kidnapped and bundled into the boot of a car after he managed to alert his girlfriend by sending her a photo of the vehicle's steering wheel and a set of coordinates. On 23 January Policía Nacional officers in the Andalucían province of Málaga received a report that a man had been kidnapped two days earlier on the promenade of the town of Sabinillas. The man had been taken by a group of men travelling in two cars who were looking for information on the whereabouts of a third man who had apparently swindled them out of €30,000 (£25,000) in a drug deal. Officers were also provided with videos of the victim, showing him face down and with a pistol at his head while he was asked where the third man was. Unknown to his captors, however, the kidnapped man managed to contact his friends and send his girlfriend a photo of the steering wheel logo of the car he was travelling in. He also sent coordinates that led police to a street in Torre del Mar, a town along the coast from Málaga. 'Officers then headed immediately to the location, where they found a parked car that matched the make and model of the vehicle in the victim's photo,' the force said in a statement. 'They then discovered another vehicle in the same area, which matched one of the cars used in the kidnapping in Sabinillas.' A few hours later, police saw a man being taken from another nearby car and placed in the back of a different vehicle. 'Seeing that happen, officers began to follow the vehicle, which was finally intercepted on the A7 motorway towards Málaga,' the statement added. 'The victim, who was unharmed and in good health, was freed and four people were arrested. Fewer than 16 hours had passed between the report of the kidnapping and the rescue.' The force said four people had been arrested on suspicion of kidnapping, belonging to a criminal organisation and illegal possession of firearms.
