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It’s as the sun sets magic of Mijas when the to happen, insist really starts s Jon Clarke
S the sun begins
to set and the shadows lengthen behind the village or, even better, clamber yardarm, above it, into those-in-the-know up the nearby countryside start to emerge. and you will look The perfect time dalucia’s most down on one of Anwhen the classic to visit Mijas, it’s live. privileged places to converts back white-washed village High up above Out come theto type. sea shimmerinthe Mediterranean, the locals, in come sea breezes, g in the distance, the quickly and all around you get the vivid wonderful green are hills of the Sierra the was like a century sense of what life Mijas, which abuts ago. the Sierra de de Nieves National Las Park. Continues Take a walk around on next page the
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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. It comes 14 years after they raked in almost half a million pounds from their illegal escort business in Brit-
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British couple - one a ‘lord’ - are accused of running an illegal brothel network in Spain ain, 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 As missing Madencircled by eleine McCann mafia-style would have walls and reached 21 this a big steel week - and it’s 17 gate. years since she “There were was abducted in also several Portugal - the Oloutbuildings ive Press painswhich they takingly traces converted the movements of into offices her likely German for the busiexpat abductor ness, where around southern they would Spain and the Albe answergarve in May 2007 ing phones on behalf of See page 6 the call girls.
EXCLUSIVE
By Laurence Dollimore
They were effectively their agents or pimps.” 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. “They now have a huge home on the outskirts of the capital, near the mountains.” Photos from social media show the family enjoying Madrid life, supporting Atletico and wining and dining in top restaurants - plus 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.” 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
CHEERS: Natalie and Neil Lock enjoyed pool parties, hog roasts and magical entertainment as they splashed the cash 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 possess-
ing a shotgun without a certificate and possession of liquid ecstasy. Neil was jailed for four years while Natalie received a suspended sentence. 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.”
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due to the amount of visitors it welcomes in summer, so the filling of pools takes on a special importance.” MALAGA has confirmed that it will al- Some 75,000 pools will now be filled, low people to fill up their pools this sum- despite reservoirs in the province being around 40% emptier than a year mer ‘due to the high tourism demand’. The Junta has backed the decision de- ago. spite the reservoir levels staying per- The seven reservoirs run by Hidrosur are down to just 170.79 cubic hectomeilously low. Cadiz, Almeria and the other provinces tres from 208.65 last year, a 37.86% dewill have to wait for the same agreement. crease. Following a meeting of the Drought The worst hit is Guadalteba, which has Committee, a spokesman confirmed: fallen from 75.11 cubic hectometres to “The province faced a specific problem 38.04, or just 25% of its capacity. The Guadalhorce reservoir is just 19% full and el Limonero is at 21% capacity. There is good news at least in the Axarquia where La Viñuela has *Data extracted from process closure surveys after using our roadside assistance and breakdown services. See page 23 doubled from 16.14 to *Data extracted from process closure surveys after using our roadside assistance and breakdown services. 31.60 hectolitres and TheOlivePress-256x170-Multi2404.indd 1 now sits at 19.2% of its capacity.
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