News
Third attack
Five dead in Costa
killings
Five men have been shot dead on the
Costa del Sol in less than a month. The
killing of a 60-year-old French national
near Marbella in early December was
followed in the middle of the month by
murder of a 20-year-old near Mijas.
Both are believed to be the result of
score-settling between rival drugs gangs.
The offices at the Nerja Caves in Maro
have been broken into for the third time
this year, but on this occasion, no
valuables were stolen. The latest incident
at the end of November follows the first
last January when box-office takings of
up to €50,000 in cash was stolen, and a
second in July when a further €30,000
was taken. The Foundation which
manages the Caves says additional
security measures now in place
prevented a third theft.
Graffiti probe
Nerja Town Hall says it is investigating
graffiti which appeared in the town at
the end of November. “Franco Vive”
(Franco Lives) was sprayed in red at a
dozen sites on the 44th anniversary of
the dictator’s death, and immediate
steps were taken to clear the vandalism.
The incident came shortly after
Franco’s remains were removed from
the Valle de los Caídos (Valley of the
Fallen) and reinterred at a cemetery
near Madrid.
Murder sentence
The man found guilty of murdering a
44-year-old woman at her home in Los
Romanes (Soltalk last month) has been
sentenced to 23 years in prison. He was
also ordered to pay €175,400 in
compensation to the woman’s son. The
victim was stabbed more than 100 times
during the attack in February 2018.
New library
Nerja’s new municipal library is to be in
calle Iglesias, at the side of El Salvador
Church off the Balcón de Europa, on a
site presently used by the town’s cleaning
service. The town hall says the area of
more than 800 square metres conforms
to regional regulations and will provide
three times the space of the present
library. The Nerja Caves Foundation is to
be involved in financing the acquisition
of the plot.
The French victim was shot five times
before his attackers sped away in a blue
Renault Megane which crashed
through barriers onto the AP-7 toll
motorway. It was later found
abandoned and alight near Mijas.
The attack, staged at a car park of a
restaurant in Cabopino, has led to a
police hunt for a bearded 29-year-old
Dutch national who is described as
very thin, about 1.8 metres in height
and with an Arabic complexion. It is
understood that he is a “very
dangerous” known contract killer.
The young man shot dead at a remote
area near Mijas is reported to be of
Slovenian origin. More than five bullet
wounds, thought to be from an
automatic weapon, were found on his
body.
In the middle of December, 15 people
were detained in a joint operation
between National Police and Customs
officials against a gang importing drugs
from Morocco. A 12-metre launch and
1,200 kilos of hashish were confiscated.
Investigators believe that the spate of
murders at the end of last year were
unrelated to one another and were not
part of an organised, violent campaign.
A spokesman for the Junta de
Andalucía stressed that the Costa del
Sol is “completely safe” for residents
and visitors.
Meanwhile, trades unions representing
security forces want more resources to
help contain serious crimes. They say
population growth demands
reinforcements, particularly as the
coast is a popular destination for gangs
bringing drugs into Europe from north
Africa.
Brits steal airport fuel
A British family living in Málaga have
appeared in court accused of stealing
fuel from the pipe which supplies the
province’s airport. They are said to
have siphoned over 156,000 litres of
gasoil, an action which left Málaga
airport in danger of running dry.
The parents, now divorced, and their
son and daughter came under
suspicion of October 2011 when
airport staff noticed that the pressure
in their supply had dropped.
Helicopter surveillance was used to
look for problems in the pipeline and
the father was finally stopped when
driving his van which was found to be
carrying 1,000 litres of diesel.
The family were found to have
drilled down from the surface to
perforate the pipeline and steal the
fuel. Neighbours told investigators
that they appeared to visit the site
around lunchtime every day.
Experts say that the theft had been a
14
very dangerous operation. As well as
using homemade drilling equipment,
there had been a risk of damaging
the gasoline and kerosene supplies
which are carried by the same
pipeline.
The accused have admitted the theft
of fuel valued at €4 million, but have
claimed they were ordered to do so
by someone else.
Prawn warning
The common Spanish practice of
sucking the heads of prawns has
come under fire from Spain’s Food
and Safety Agency, (AESAN) Last
month, it warned of the presence of
cadmium, a heavy metal which the
human body cannot process and
which can cause problems in the
liver and kidneys, and even cancer.
Many Spanish diners pull off and
suck the head of the prawn before
the body is peeled and the white
meat eaten.