  |
Gibraltar and the Costa del Crime
|
A week ago today the offices of Western Union and; the ICom bureau de change reopened after Gibraltar police had requested their closure for the weekend as fears spread of a possible strike by con-men and even a kidnapping of Steven Marin, who owns the International Communications business at 1/5 Irish Town.
The con men said that the Gibraltar Government made available ?275,000 cheque monthly to the Spanish builders Brues Fernandez,: but this had to be exchanged in Euros to pay their workforce' at the Waterport Terraces project.
Current arrangements were not satisfactory, and they wanted a speedier exchange of the cheque for cash - this would be a substantial deal on a regular basis.
Someone described as a bogus accountant went on to organise a meeting in Madrid which would include well-known top developers in Gibraltar, who were named.
The con-men knew that Marin's partner, Ram Arora was of Indian/Pakistani origin and special arrangements would be made to take account of any religious requirements.
It all seemed so real, the con-men gave the impression of being well informed.
Mr Marin received an email saying that he and his partner would be picked up 2.30pm at the Spanish taxi stand at the frontier, and from Malaga airport they would fly to Madrid.
It all purported to come from Brues Fernandez.
The plan was that the 400,000 Euros would be avail-able for collection in Mr Marin's offices while Mr Marin and his partner were on their way to attend the high-level Madrid meeting.
Mr Marin became suspicions that what was being planned was' that, while he and his partner were away for the supposed top-level meeting, the fraudsters would arrive to collect the money, with Marin and Arora possibly kidnapped and held hostage. The RGP was called.
The Marin case, which happened a few days ago, is said to be indicative of people with criminal intent from the Costa del Sol having set their sights on Gibraltar, first because Spanish police are adopting a tougher stance out there and secondly because of the 'big business, big developments' that abound in Gibraltar, an image that attracts those who want easy money.
It all gives credence to the book 'Costa del Crime' by top-selling investigative journalist Wensley Clarkson, who provides a spine-chilling account of what he says goes on up the coast. There is a Gibraltar connection to the Costa crime, as he spells out in his book
|
|
|
|
