ISSUE NO. 1669
29 June - 5 July 2017
COSTA BLANCA SOUTH
YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION
€3 million police sting
MOBILE PHONE: Scam. GREAT SPANISH FAKE OFF: Illegal vendors.
Outrage over illegal vendors
False alarm By Michael Alexander Residents and business owners in the Cabo Roig area of Orihuela Costa have called on Local Police to clamp down on illegal traders. Every evening during the warm summer months, more than 80 unlicensed sellers hawk their merchandise along the pavements of areas frequented by tourists. It comes after the group asked for more police foot patrols after 9pm to discourage the vendors, who deal in fake designer merchandise, perfumes, shoes and handbags along Calle Cielo in Aguamarina. The complaint has been brought by the Cabo Roig Clean Up Committee, which has a membership of mostly foreign residents, including many British expatriates. President John Crichter points
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out ‘the night threat’ that the residents claim to suffer as a result of the traders who block the pavements and bring unfair competition to businesses who pay their taxes. The organisation is up in arms over ‘the pressure that sellers exercise on tourists and residents selling their products at the tables while they try to enjoy dinner quietly.’ Crichter added: “The residents of the area have requested a permanent police presence in the leisure zone of Cabo Roig, Aguamarina, between 9pm and midnight, but these requests do not seem to have been heard, nor the request to meet with representatives of the City Council.” The association believes there is a certain ‘tolerance’ on the part of authorities to this type of street vending and are demanding immediate action.
NATIONAL POLICE have arrested 57 people, several in Murcia, in connection to a mobile phone scam worth an estimated €3 million. The network included 13 different nationalities who acquired more than 2,000 high-end handsets by posing as legitimate owners. According to investigators, the gang used a three step process to obtain devices. The first began with telemarketers in Spanish firms, as company employees gathered client information and then purchased expensive smart phones using the victim’s bank details. Once they ordered the device they would provide a false address to cover their tracks. They then contacted crooked couriers and paid them €50 per handset to divert the packages. Reportedly, on some occasions delivery drivers would drop off more than 100 phones a month, leading to a €5,000 pay-off.
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