Gibraltar businessman arrested in Manchester

The owner of Salsa Fuego nightclub in Gibraltar, Joe Beriro, was arrested in Manchester last week in connection with a French investigation into alleged excise fraud, according to The Gibraltar Chronicle and local press. The GBC reported yesterday that British police officers arrested him last Friday as he stepped off a plane in Manchester, where he had gone to watch a football match. An eye-witness told GBC that police officers seemed to be waiting for his arrival. Beriro was transferred to London and appeared before magistrates in the City of Westminster courts earlier this week, where he was bailed to appear again next week. A spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service in the UK told the Chronicle that Mr Beriro was arrested by police acting on a European arrest warrant issued by French authorities, in connection with an investigation into alleged excise fraud but could add no further details. The Royal Gibraltar Police was aware of the warrant for Mr Beriro’s arrest but was unable to execute it because of technical legal reasons.