Torrevieja Brits are the largest group, making up 16 percent of the total number of operations being carried out

Brits are the largest group, making up 16 percent of the total number of operations being carried outForeign patients now make up 42% of the activity in the operating theatres at the District Hospital in Torrevieja. The largest group is the British, who made up 16% of the 22,640 operations carried out in the hospital in 2009. It shows the high numbers of British tourists in the area, and the number who live in the town for at least part of the year, many of them aged over 65. Britons make up 10% of the padron census in the 12 municipalities serviced by the hospital.
Next group, but with no more than 5% of the total, come the Germans, then the Norwegians and Moroccans.The numbers come amid increasing concerns in the Spanish press about the costs of providing care to ‘health tourists’, and claims that Spain is not getting all the costs of such operations reimbursed in full.

Four people aged 23 to 28 years have been detained in Torrevieja for the suspected distribution and sale of explosives

Four people aged 23 to 28 years have been detained in Torrevieja for the suspected distribution and sale of explosives, during a high profile investigation known as ‘Operation Palmera’. Agents of the National Police intercepted almost 20 kilos of goma- 2, thought to have been stolen from a quarry in the Vega Baja area sometime ago. Goma-2 is a gelatinous, Nitroglycol-based explosive manufactured within Spain for industrial use. The substance was favoured for terrorist attacks carried out by ETA during the 1980’s and 1990’s and is also the explosive allegedly used in the Madrid train bombings of 11th March 2004. Investigations were opened when the Department received information that an organized crime ring, comprising mainly of Eastern European nationals, intended to purchase explosives for use during robberies. The first series of enquiries resulted in the arrest of two Spaniards, aged 24 and 28 years, who were accosted on the day that the exchange was scheduled to take place, carrying a rucksack containing half a kilo of explosives. A second pair of Spaniards, aged 23 and 27 years, was subsequently arrested under suspicion of collaborating with the other two, as “runners” in the transfer of the explosives.
During the investigation, Agents executed two house searches in Torrevieja, where an additional 9.5 kilos of goma-2 and a detonator were also uncovered. The band had hidden a further 7.5 kilos in a hole beneath a palm plantation at the ‘Granja de Rocamora’ farm, divided into several small packages surrounded by plastic bags. The stash was eventually uncovered with the help of the specialist Police Dog Unit from the National Police Headquarters
The defendants were initially presented before the Custody Officer of ‘Juzgado nº1 de Torrevieja’, who ruled that the four suspects be detained in prison without granting bail, and will be tried later by the ‘Juzgado de Primera Instancia Número 5 de Torrevieja’. The Sub-Delegate of the Valencian Government, Encarna Llinares, and the Provincial Commissioner for Alicante, Enrique Durán, appeared before the court to explain the details of the case, presenting a selection of the packages that the Agents had confiscated as evidence. Finally, the Councillor for Police and Security of Torrevieja City Council, Tomás Arenas Buenas, assured citizens that there was no great cause for concern and gave his word that the matter would be addressed promptly and accurately. He also dismissed reports that the explosives have been used in previous attacks carried out in the area.

Guardia Civil officers arrested a known drug dealer in the town centre

Guardia Civil officers arrested a known drug dealer in the town centre .The man was approached by the police and as they did so he ran off into a nearby cafe .Officers followed him and did a search when they discovered a small quantity of cocaine in his pocket .As they were about to arrest him a fracas broke out in the bar and the man once again ran off into the kitchen , dropping a box in the process .The box was found to contain bags of a white powder which were later confirmed as being cocaine .A search of the kitchen unearthed more drugs and some gold rings .The police also confiscated a very large machete style hunting knife , over 2000 euros , a mobile phone , more white powder .The white powder was not cocaine but possibly something which was used to cut the cocaine .

Torrevieja crime in broad daylight

Torrevieja a man had parked his car in the town centre for only five minutes and the thieves attacked .They were well organised and had look outs on bicycles .When the time was right the car window was smashed and the CD player and and CD’s were stolen .Passers by saw it all happen and understandably did nothing .One never knows these days when there is a knife waiting to be used .The thieves were thought to be Russian .This man had experienced another daylight robbery only weeks before when his mobile phone was stolen from under his nose in his business place .It is clear that thieves are hanging around looking for a chance to steal from unsuspecting victims .Is it the credit crunch or the economic climate which causes people to behave in this way or are they just normal criminals ? When people do not have enough to feed themselves or their families then they will steal , in fact that is what most of us would do in similar circumstances , it is called survival .

SIX Americans arrested in Torrevieja for possession of cocaine

SIX arrested in Torrevieja for possession of cocaine and for allegedly being part of a narcotics ring.According to the police, all those arrested are American and aged between 30 and 40 years. They said that the gang ringleader, known as M.V.C, had been arrested previously in 2001 for the same drug related activities. The investigation into the Americans’ activities began three months ago when two properties in Torrevieja were identified as the bases where drug operations were being conducted. When arrested, the police found several amounts of cocaine in packages of various sizes and weights, totalling over 3.5 kilograms. According to reports, it was cocaine of the purest and highest grade and worth a lot of money on the street. Once the ringleader was arrested, police carried out several more raids in the Torrevieja area, subsequently arresting five more people and several more bags of cocaine.

offences were committed at Melling’s villa in Torrevieja,

4 men have pleaded guilty and been sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court for a total of 17 sexual offences on three teenaged boys from Tyneside.The court heard how Derek Marshall, 52, and his son, Graeme Marshall, 24, befriended the boys, aged between 13 and 16 years. The victims were then introduced to a 58-year-old man called Melling, from Middlesbrough, who had been living in Spain, and Paul Anthony Bures, 53, from Kent, both of whom were jailed indefinitely. The offences were committed at Melling’s villa in Torrevieja, and also at locations in the UK: Kent, London and Northumbria.Judge John Evans described the case as: “An altogether horrendous story. The psychological damage wrought upon the victims is perfectly evidential.”
The court heard how the Marshalls befriended the boys and introduced them to Melling who gained their trust by buying them gifts and taking them to football matches. The Marshalls convinced the boys’ parents they would look after them while on holiday at Melling’s Torrevieja villa. Police began investigating Melling when one of the victims’ fathers contacted them, but Melling, suspecting the authorities were on his trail, fled to Spain. He was eventually deported from Bulgaria, whilst trying to cross into Turkey, in July 2007.

Torrevieja Estate agents aren’t selling anything, developers are going bust, retail sales are falling by 10% to 15%, local business are struggling

According to a recent article in the Spanish press the situation in Torrevieja is deteriorating rapidly. Official unemployment has surged from 1,700 in 2005 to more than 5,000 today. Given that the construction sector employs an army of illegal immigrants, who are the first to lose their jobs, real unemployment is likely to be much higher. Estate agents aren’t selling anything, developers are going bust, retail sales are falling by 10% to 15%, local business are struggling, and taxi drivers report that trade is down by 60% to 70%. Social problems such as crime are growing, and there is litter and graffiti everywhere.What is the local mayor’s solution to the problem? More building, of course. Pedro Ángel Hernández Mateo, of the right of centre PP party, and implicated in corruption scandals, wants more town hall control over planning and building in the municipality. In his opinion, building more urbanisations is the future for Torrevieja’s economy. He has also had a good rant about anyone who has ever criticized over-development in the region, including the EU.Torrevieja, a town hall that relied heavily on building licence fees now has financial problems, as the local tax take falls by 7 million Euros thanks to the property crisis.

10 suspected members of a gang of drug dealers in Torrevieja

It’s been revealed that 10 suspected members of a gang of drug dealers who were arrested in Torrevieja last month passed themselves off as police officers to steal from other gangs who were trying to smuggle the drugs into Spain. The Civil Guard also say they were part of a much larger organisation which has been under investigation since last June, when almost a ton of cannabis was found in a Torrevieja garage inside a stolen car.Dubbed Operation Julo, the investigation has led to a total of 29 arrests since then and close to seven tons of cannabis confiscated by the authorities, together with six stolen top-range vehicles, thousands in cash, and weapons and other items worth more than half a million euros.
Seventeen of the suspects are Spaniards, EFE said.They operated in a number of Spanish provinces, and one of their main leaders was arrested with 13 other suspects in Murcia this January in La Manga del Mar Menor.

Crumlin in the sun

Dublin criminals are now so frequently spotted in the Alicante city of Torrevieja where it is understood that much of the illegally sourced property investment in Spain has been directed that ordinary Dublin holidaymakers have dubbed it ‘Crumlin in the sun’.Dublin criminals moved substantial amounts of their wealth overseas, with hundreds of millions of euro of ill-gotten gains invested in the burgeoning property market in Alicante.
Spain is regarded by criminals and law enforcement agencies as the premier continental European base for organising drugs shipments via South America and eastern Europe and Asia.
Why criminals should feel freer there to conduct their illicit affairs than they do in their native countries has much to do with the perception that Spanish police are uninterested in tackling non-Spanish criminals.
Whether justified or not, Spain has a bad reputation among law enforcement agencies across Europe for failing to crack down adequately on the ease with which drug smugglers usinge the jurisdiction for doing deals.Spain’s position as a staging post for drugs from places such as Colombia and Bolivia is a symptom of its colonial past and the language ties between southern Spain and South America.
Spain’s criminal organisations also benefit from country’s massive 4,900 kilometres of coastline, from which drugs shipments can be received from South America, via Morocco or Algeria to the south, and launched to northern Europe, with little fear of detection by police or coastguard patrol boats.

Hotel Cano in Torrevieja unexploded bomb found

The dynamite-packed explosive were found at the Hotel Cano in Torrevieja .This unexploded bomb had been planted 17 years ago in a resort popular with British tourists has been uncovered
Workmen refurbishing a bathroom after a fire found the device inside a tube left in a false ceiling.
The area was evacuated and disposal experts removed the device.
Designed to target holidaymakers, the bomb was one of three planted in Costa Blanca in 1991 by Basque separatist group ETA.
Two exploded in a restaurant and hotel but the third failed to detonate.
A Spanish government spokeswoman said yesterday: "It was well hidden and badly deteriorated."