Ibiza's DC10 is 'not a disco'

One of Ibiza’s best-known clubs has been fined 18,000 for having the wrong sort of licence. DC10, one of the clubs closed by the authorities at the beginning of the summer for lax attitudes to drug dealing, was hit by the fine when it was revealed the club only has a “café concierto” licence.

Councillor Paquita Ribas said: “This does not even permit dancing inside.” Another 13 bars, restaurants and clubs were fined varying amounts mostly for breaking noise regulations and leafleting without a licence.

Drugs admissions in Ibiza

Ibiza’s main hospital Can Misses said that admissions for drugs overdoses increased last year from 679 in 2005 to 824, a rise of over 20%. Cocaine emerged as the most common cause of emergency admissions, accounting for almost a third of the cases. Next were amphetamines and designer drugs – speed and ecstasy- which were behind a quarter of the overdoses.

Alcohol was reported as the principal cause of emergencies in almost a quarter of drug-related admissions; doctors only register booze problems for these statistics if other drugs are involved as well.

Red tuna sanctuary

The Ministry of Agriculture is considering setting up a sanctuary for red tuna off the coast of Formantera. The giant fish are in danger of becoming extinct as a result of the Japanese passion for sushi.

The best specimens can fetch thousands of euros in Tokyo’s fish market. Scientists say the threat comes not from the traditional fishermen who have caught tuna in the Mediterranean for thousands of years, but from high-tech guided by spotter planes.

Disco booze cruises under threat

A judge in Ibiza has refused to rule out criminal charges against the captain of a disco boat following the death of a young Irishman in July 2006. The case came to prominence because 24-year-old Basil Bourke was the nephew of the then Irish defence minister Willie O’Dea.

Bourke and a friend jumped off the “Captain Nemo” into the sea. His friend was rescued, exhausted, 90 minutes later. A post-mortem showed Bourke had ingested a significant quantity of drugs. Judge Santiago Pinsach referred the case to the public prosecutor saying this could result in manslaughter charges.

Making the captain responsible for the actions of holidaymakers could threaten the future of these cruises which often provide unlimited booze which youngsters combine with the consumption of illegal drugs.

Fake kidnap

A man who police say faked his kidnapping has been found in Ibiza. The Huesca National Police have been seeking him since the summer when another man contacted the police to show them messages on his mobile phone.

These demanded a ransom of 15,000 euros and included a picture message showing the “victim” with a plastic bag over his head. Police became suspicious when they discovered that the man owed Social Security 15,000 euros.

Cretu mansion to be demolished

What could be the final legal attempt to prevent the demolition of the Ibiza mountain-top mansion of multimillion-selling musician Michael Cretu has failed. Courts now say the massive house with its recording studio, cascading swimming pools and hanging gardens must be knocked down and the hill restored to its natural state by November 2008.

The secretive Cretu is the man behind the phenomenally successful Enigma project which has sold well over 100 million albums worldwide with no live performances. His early success, however, came in the 1980s working as a keyboards player with massive-selling pop artists such as Boney M and Milli Vanilli. He later collaborated with Mike Oldfield.

Despite living in Ibiza for many years the Rumanian-born musician has seldom been seen in any of the island’s clubs. He prefers instead to work in his private studio, often with his wife Europop diva Sandra Cretu.

For years he has fought legal battles with the government which accuses him of building his mansion on protected land. He has been supported frequently by the local council of Sant Antoni (San Antonio in Castilian) which originally granted planning permission.

Four years ago the council was told it will have to pay for the cost of the demolition which would run into millions of euros. Not long after that the Balearics Islands Council passed a law which would provide an amnesty for some illegally-built properties. As the Partido Popular controlled both the Sant Antoni and islands councils this was widely seen as politicians of similar political persuasion helping each other out.

But last week the judge threw out the latest appeal saying that the Cretu mansion could not be legalised under the act. The current mayor of Sant Antoni responded to the judgment saying: “Our war is over. We will do what the court says.”

As always throughout this saga there was no public comment from Cretu.