family clan responsible for dozens of burglaries in Elche have been arrested

Eight members of a gang responsible for dozens of burglaries in Elche have been arrested in an operation by National Police.The Interior Ministry described them as a family clan and said in a press release that one was also wanted for attempted rape. Seven of the suspects are Spanish, while the eighth person in custody, a Moroccan man, was responsible for selling on the stolen items. More than 60 robberies are noted, many of them in outlying areas.
The operation was carried out in two phases and seized a number of firearms and two vehicles.

Elche treasury councillor, Maria Angeles Aviles, could be facing charges of accountancy fraud

Elche treasury councillor, Maria Angeles Aviles, could be facing charges of accountancy fraud, along with the mayor, Alejandro Soler. Elche’s chief prosecutor, Ramon Siles, has announced that the decision to prosecute was taken after it was revealed that Aviles had signed five payments which were judged to be irregular and that Mayor Soler had signed two irregular payments, worth 5,620 euros.The monies in dispute were allegedly used to fund the Socialist Party (PSOE) political campaign promoted in a local newspaper. In the course of investigating the payments signed by Soler, the Popular Party discovered five more suspect payments, in the sum of some 11,000 euros, which they have submitted to the anti-corruption prosecution in Alicante. Whilst the prosecutor considers that Aviles should be charged with the same crimes as Soler, the judge, who is currently studying the relevant documents, has not taken any firm decision as yet. Aviles has been nominated to stand as a Socialist Party member for the European elections next June and the secretary of the Socialist Party in Alicante, Ana Barcelo, reiterated that the Party will continue to support the mayor, because they believe that he has simply made a mistake. They say that he has explained the circumstances and has ordered an audit to examine all the payments made during the last three years.

National Police have arrested four people in connection with a local cocaine trafficking gang

The National Police have arrested four people in connection with a local cocaine trafficking gang. They also dismantled a laboratory and recovered half a kilo of the drug, some cash and two cars, one of which had allegedly been used to bring the drug to Elche from Madrid.

Housejacking, Three masked men attacked the chalet belonging to Juan Mora, the owner of the Matola restaurant in Elche

Three masked men attacked the chalet belonging to Juan Mora, the owner of the Matola restaurant in Elche, in the early hours of yesterday. The victim was woken up at 4.15 in the morning by the thieves who complained that they could not find the money.
After ransacking the property they made off with an estimated 10,000 €. As they left they warned him ‘Call the police after 15 minutes. Don’t do so before as we know where your children live’.Información newspaper reports that family members of the victim say he was beaten up by the thieves, and were armed with a large screwdriver and used a large leather belt as a whip. For some reason the house alarm had not been activated and the three men managed to gain access without upsetting the dogs.
Reports say that one of the men was black and they had a foreign accent. Juan Mora is now back at home after a medical check up at Elche hospital.

3.2 tons of cocaine were found in a swoop on an Elche warehouse

3.2 tons of cocaine were found in a swoop on an Elche warehouse in 2004
Sentencing has been released in the trial of the eight men charged after one of Valencia’s biggest ever drug hauls, three and a quarter tons of cocaine found in a lorry-load of bananas in the El Altet area of Elche four years ago. Total sentencing in the case amounts to more than 77 years and the smugglers will also have to pay the value the drug would have brought on the black market: more than 112 million €.The longest terms went to six of the suspects, who admitted their guilt and accepted sentences of 11 years, with two of them also getting another six months each for falsifying documents.
Two others claimed they had got lost looking for a car boot sale and were only at the warehouse where police swooped by mistake, but the court ruled it proved that their role in the smuggling operation was to distribute the cocaine. They received terms of five years and four months each.