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UK coke king busted in Benidorm

Spanish police said on Monday they had arrested a notorious British drug dealer, Brian Charrington, whom they accused of running an international trafficking racket involving cocaine from Venezuela.

UK coke king busted in Benidorm
British media has referred to Charrington as a major drug baron active since the 1980s. Photo: Policia Nacional

Police arrested 13 people overall in Spain and Venezuela, including Charrington, "one of the 10 criminals most investigated by European police and leader of an international drug-trafficking organisation", a police statement said.

Officers seized 220 kilos (485 pounds) of cocaine hidden in an apartment in L'Albir, near the eastern resort city of Benidorm, and impounded property and bank accounts worth more than €5 million ($6.5 million), it added.

The statement said police would give more details of the arrests at a news conference on Tuesday.

Check out The Local's top ten weird drug busts.

Charrington operated in the North East of England during the 1980s and rose to notoriety in 1992 when a raid at his Middlesbrough home unearthed almost €2.3 million in cash, allegedly linked to drug dealing.

British media has referred to Charrington as a major drug baron active since the 1980s.

Charrington's arrest comes just over a week after Mark 'Fatboy' Lilley, a convicted British drug trafficker who had been on the run for 13 years, was caught by Spanish police hiding in a panic room.

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VENEZUELA

Venezuela’s Maduro hails start of Norway-brokered talks with opposition

President Nicolas Maduro welcomed Friday the "beginning of talks" with the Venezuelan opposition in Norway, after months of bloody clashes between the two sides.

Venezuela's Maduro hails start of Norway-brokered talks with opposition
Photo: AFP

“The talks have begun nicely to move toward agreements of peace, agreement and harmony, and I ask for the support of all Venezuelan people to advance on the path of peace,” Maduro said in a declaration at a ceremony in front of 6,500 troops in the northern state of Aragua.

Confronted with the worst socio-economic crisis in the oil-producing country's recent history, the socialist leader added that “Venezuela has to process its conflicts” and seek solutions “by way of peace.”

He declared the “beginning and exploration of conversations and dialogues” with the opposition.

Maduro's depiction of the talks was at odds with opposition leader Juan Guaido who Thursday denied they were underway.

“There is no negotiation whatsoever,” Guaido made clear in comments to reporters. Instead, Norwegian officials were “trying to mediate” with both sides to bring them to the table.

Friday's ceremony in Aragua was attended by Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez and Miranda state Governor Hector Rodriguez, the government's representatives in the Oslo talks.

Maduro hailed the “good news” hours after Norway reported on preliminary contacts between the parties.

Earlier, Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza gave the first official confirmation from Caracas of its involvement in what Norway referred to as exploratory discussions in Oslo.

The mediation bid comes after a months-long power struggle between National Assembly leader Guaido and the socialist president, with sometimes deadly street clashes.

Maduro on Thursday made no direct reference to the meetings, but said Rodriguez was “on a very important mission for peace in the country… in Europe.”

So far, details of the exact process underway in Oslo have been scant.

Norway's foreign ministry said in a statement it had made “preliminary contacts with representatives of the main political actors of Venezuela.”

These were “part of an exploratory phase, with the aim of contributing to finding a solution to the situation in the country,” it added.

The opposition said it was being represented by National Assembly vice president Stalin Gonzalez and former lawmaker Gerardo Blyde.

US-backed Guaido is recognized by dozens of countries as interim president after dismissing Maduro's presidency as “illegitimate” following his re-election last year in polls widely dismissed as rigged.

Maduro has been shunned by much of the international community for presiding over the country's economic collapse, which has led to shortages of basic goods — forcing millions to flee — as well as brutally suppressing dissent.

He retains the backing of major creditors Russia, China and Cuba, as well as the powerful military.

Shortages of basic goods have forced millions to flee Venezuela.