ISSUE NO. 1638
24 - 30 November 2016
COSTA DEL SOL
Stop Press
YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION
DON’T MISS OUR PROPERTY SPECIAL INSIDE! PAGES 67 - 78
Gas blast raiders strike again
By Simon Firth Two more banks have been targeted by thieves using highly explosive gas in a bid to blast open cash machines in Estepona. Both attacks in the early hours of Saturday Novembe 19, on the ATMs of the Banco Popular and Banco Santander, were unsuccessful. But the incidents mean the arrests carried out by police earlier this month did not catch every member of the gang suspected of involvement or another outfit is operating. Police have warned people not to approach the scenes of such attacks and have been
forced to bring in officers specialising in the deactivation of explosive substances before a thorough examination of the area can be carried out by forensic science teams. In the second of the two incidents in the Benamara neighbourhood, the raiders were forced to flee the scene when a passer-by alerted police.
They left before the gas, which has on occasions been pumped into the cash dispenser, could be ignited. Police previously arrested four men in connection with around 15 attacks (pictured) on the premises of banks and building societies, some of which suffered serious structural damage.
WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM