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AUTHORITIES have revealed details behind the arrest of British ‘Narco King’ Brian Charrington, who has been accused of running a cocaine smuggling gang. . Information had been withheld due to a secrecy order imposed by the investigating court in March. It’s alleged that 67-year-old Charrington's gang was the biggest criminal group in the Valencia region and the Policia Nacional probe was assisted by the UK National Crime Agency and US drug enforcement officers. A boat carrying 1.1 tons of cocaine between Suriname and Valencia was seized in the Canary Islands and another simi-
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Vol. 5 Issue 130 www.theolivepress.es May 2nd - May 15th 2024
Narco king lar-sized shipment thwarted during the police operation. Some 23 searches of addresses at Altea, Benidorm, Villajoyosa, La Nucia, Javea, and Calpe yielded the seizure of assets worth €10 million. Police impounded three boats valued at €4.2 million, 44 vehicles, 40 highend watches, 60 works of art, 54 mobile phones, a virtual cryptocurrency wallet, and three weapons. 44 properties have also been seized and
74 bank accounts blocked. The police operation also allegedly helped to prevent the kidnapping and attempted murder of a rival gang member over a settling of scores. As previously reported by the Olive Press, Charrington and 30 others were detained and bailed following a major police sweep in March. Another of those arrested was a former Benidorm Policia Nacional officer. They face charges of drug trafficking, money laundering, the illegal possession of weapons, kidnapping, the dissemination of secrets, and belonging to a criminal gang.
NOLOTIL PAYOUT
THE family of a British expat who died ‘during the prime of her life’ after taking Nolotil have revealed how they sued Spanish caregivers and won. Yvonne Flowers, 67, had been living in Spain for 23 years when she fell over, suffering two slipped discs and pinched nerves. She only spent a week in hospital but during that time, Hospital Clinica Benidorm ramped up 20 counts of negligence, including the prescription of Nolotil. In 2021, the private hospital paid out over €400,000 after two court cases in both the UK and Spain. “They’ve taken a mother’s life, a grandmother’s life. Money can’t bring her back but it is justice for her,” Jenn a
How the family of a British woman ‘killed by the lethal Spanish painkiller’ sued and won
Flowers, Yvonne’s step-daughter, told EXCLUSIVE the Olive Press. By Yzabelle Bostyn Though officially they admitted no liability, the family allege HCB ‘hid quite A popular painkiller in Spain, Nolotil a bit about Nolotil’. is known to reduce the white blood cell Yvonne went into hospital on February count of some Northern Europeans to 2, 2020 after she fell over and suffered dangerous levels, significantly weaktwo slipped discs as well as trapped ening the immune system. nerves. Although Yvonne was becoming more She was told she would have to wait a and more ill, the family claim her conweek for an operation despite being dition was ‘ignored’ by hospital staff. in ‘intense’ pain. By Saturday, she was on oxygen Yvonne was put on a painkiller and had ‘blisters’ all over her KILL drip, which was moved after a face, signs of an allergic reaction THE few days. to Nolotil. According to the family, the DRUG wound was not cleaned nor Nerves bandaged and she caught an infection, eventually developing “Nobody said anything or did sepsis. anything about it. They were all Yvonne’s pain intensified, leadin denial,” Petrer said. ing doctors to prescribe three “They just upped the painkillers. doses of Nolotil, a drug known If they had done their job maybe to have potentially deadly side efshe would have stood a chance of fects for Northern Europeans. surviving.” “From that point on, she started to de- Although Yvonne became ‘unable to teriorate quite rapidly,” said Yvonne’s speak or get out of bed’, she was still husband, Peter Flowers. taken to surgery on Monday. “The next day she suffered all day. She When she arrived the surgeon reportwas in a lot of pain from the sepsis and edly asked: ‘What is this woman doing on top of that, she had been given No- on my operating table? She is seriously GRANDMOTHER: Yvonne lotil so her immune system was taken ill.’ with stepdaughter Jenna and away.” Yvonne was immediately taken to grandchild A&E but her organs had ‘already started to shut down’. The beloved PLUMBING & AIR CONDITIONING SPECIALISTS mum and grandmother died the Giastu Aroma 2
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HAPPY FAMILY: Before the horrific tragedy
following morning on Tuesday, February 12, little over a week after going into hospital for back issues. Immediately following their mother’s death, Yvonne’s children based in the UK flew to Spain to understand how their healthy mother could have died in the ‘prime of her life’. According to Peter, hospital officials told the family to ‘get on with their lives’ claiming Yvonne died of sepsis. Despite repeated attempts to uncover the truth, the family was met with silence. But Peter wanted justice for his wife. He told the Olive Press: “People said I was wasting my time. But, I had to get some justice.” Peter filed a claim in London, backed by his two children and three grandchildren. The court found 20 counts of negli-
gence including ‘failure to treat infection’, ‘prescription of Nolotil without monitoring’, ‘failure to notice, heed or treat development of potential agranulocytosis and sepsis, known risks of Nolotil’. In particular, the case found HCB ‘prescribed Nolotil to the deceased when it was contraindicated’ due to Yvonne’s British heritage.
Court
HCB’s insurance company, Berkley Seguros España settled out of court, admitting no liability and paying out some £200,000. Months later, the case was brought to Benidorm’s Palau de Justicia. They extended the British judgement and the insurance company was ordered to pay out over €200,000. Despite some justice for Yvonne’s family, Jenna says it is not enough. areacostablanca.com “How many more people need 966 112 428 to die for them to do something about it? Mum died because of Nolotil.” The Olive Press has contacted Hospital Clinica Benidorm for YOUR REAL ESTATE AGENCY FOR CALPE, comment but received no reBENISSA, MORAIRA AND REGION sponse. However, the private hospital group responded to the Olive Press campaign urging hospitals to follow AEMPS advice. They said: “At HCB Hospitals, we are very aware of the See pages 5 & 11 recommendation not to prescribe Nolotil to foreign patients, even though it is not an absolute contraindication.”
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