THE Spanish police investigation into missing Vale woman Lisa Brown took another twist recently when it was reported that a British man being sought by police in connection with the case was arrested in the UK for alleged people trafficking.

Lisa, 32, has been missing from her Spanish home in Andalucia since the start of November and Liverpudlian Simon Corner with whom she had previously been in a relationship with fled from Spain just days after her disappearance.

He reportedly surfaced in Thailand but despite pleas from Lisa's family living in Dumbarton he failed to return to Spain to help the police there with their enquiries.

The 33-year-old was arrested last month in Copenhagen where a witness saw him throw mobile phones into the city's harbour. Corner who changed his name from Dean Woods was extradited back to Spain and appeared in court on suspicion of committing murder. The phones were later recovered by police divers and transferred to the Guardia Civil in Spain for further examination.

The Olive Press, an English language newspaper and website aimed at ex-pats in Spain, has reported that Corner is now being held in Botafuegos prison in Algeciras and has quoted a source who says that the Scouser has reason to be worried. The source said: "Corner is in big danger inside. There are people in there who are out to get him. He has upset a lot of people."

The latest twist in the police investigations came when 55-year-old man was allegedly caught bringing 17 Albanian migrants into the UK on board a catamaran at Chichester marina near Portsmouth. He has been detained in custody and charged with people trafficking offences. It is believed that a European arrest warrant had been issued for him in connection with a suspected murder in Spain but it is unclear if he will be extradited as he now faces serious charges in an English court.

It has also been reported in the Spanish press that Police forensic officers have been examining a boat connected to Corner at a marina in Arrecife near the popular holiday destination of Costa Teguise in Lanzarote. The boat named the Daydream currently has a for sale sign on it. Corner, who has been described as a yacht dealer, left his own boat in a dry-dock in Gibraltar before he fled Spain.

A 30-year-old red-haired Scot living in La Linea, which borders Gibraltar, is also believed to have been arrested and ordered to surrender his passport and report periodically to the authorities.

Lisa's family back home in Dumbarton have pushed relentlessly to find out what happened to Lisa. Her sister Helen Jordan told the Reporter the family has been encouraged by recent developments. She said: "We are getting on as best we can, we were flung into this and never had a clue where to start. It has been very difficult but there's a great police force over there – we said that from the beginning but we've trusted them and they went above and beyond their duty. We will never be able to thank them enough for what they have done."