A joint operation between the Guardia Civil and Merseyside Police has resulted in the arrest of four Britons, two in Liverpool and another two in Xàbia, on money laundering charges linked to the kidnapping and murder of Francis Brennan, the man whose body, sealed in plastic, was washed up onto La Zenia beach in 2014.
This brings to an end the third phase of Operation Brennan which has been an ongoing investigation for over three years. Phase one concluded on December 26, 2014, with phase two coming to an end on April 21, 2015.
During this latest chapter, the Joint Task Force, consisting of agents from the Civil Guard and British Police who were working alongside each other in UK and in Spain, have carried out five home raids, two in Liverpool, in which they seized money, jewellery and 60 kilos of drugs, and three in Spain, where agents seized 30,000 euros, 40,000 pounds, a quantity of valuable jewels and two vehicles.
As a result of information gathered from the raids they have also been able to block bank accounts and seize properties to the value of 2 million euros.
In March 2014, the corpse of a young male was washed up onto La Zenia Beach wrapped in plastic. It was later identified as Francis Brennan, 25 years old, of British nationality.
It was found that the deceased had been abducted by three men on January 24, 2014 in the Xàbia. They had identified themselves as policemen, bundled him into a vehicle before kidnapping him and holding him for what was alleged to be a debt that he had incurred related to the trafficking of drugs with Paul Scott, another British dealer who was arrested as he flew into the UK from Holland on board a light aircraft
Scott was facing life imprisonment in England for the importation of more than 40 tons of cocaine.
As the murder investigation continued the Guardia Civil next arrested 54-year-old Englishman Paul Graham Monk in Xàbia, who was allegedly involved in the abduction and murder of Brennan, as well as activities related to drug trafficking and money laundering.
Monk, one of the 10 most wanted criminals in the UK, was discovered on an urbanization of Xàbia, where he was hidden. The Civil Guard established a surveillance device on the house, and once located he was immediately arrested.
Inside his house, the Guardia found 125,000 euros in hidden cash, a pistol with silencer, a forged Slovenian passport and documentation relating to the crime that was being investigated and which then led to the beginning of the third Phase of Operation BRENNAN.
Monk has since been moved back to UK where in March he was sentenced at the Old Bailey to 18 years in prison for drug trafficking, having been found guilty of shipping cocaine into the United Kingdom to a value of 31 million pounds.
It is understood that when he has served his UK prison term he will be transferred back to Spain where he will then face the murder charge.
Throughout the investigation, there has been outstanding teamwork between the Guardia and the British Police which has been fundamental, to the success of the by the joint teams working together in both countries.
