ISSUE NO. 1670
6 - 12 July 2017
COSTA DEL SOL
YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION
WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM
Repeat offender TRAGIC: 3 people killed.
HOUSE ARREST: Police seized cash and vehicles.
Briton held as fraud ringleader
€17m dupe By Matt Ford A Briton has been arrested suspected of heading a Costa del Sol timeshare fraud that duped 500 families out of €17 million. In total 36 people - including the unnamed Briton’s wife, son and daughter-in-law - have been held in the huge fraud. A Velez-Malaga law firm is accused of laundering the profits of the fraudulent scheme operated by the quartet, who are said to have accepted cash for timeshare packages that turned out to be non-existent. Detectives believe the family made more than €12 million in profits once the lawyer and other collaborators had been paid. An investigation was
launched after 33 of the victims approached a Benalmadena legal adviser who contacted the police. Investigators as a result swooped on five properties, including the ringleader ’s home, with high-end vehicles including a Ferrari and luxury yacht, €126,000 in cash, 10 expensive watches and jewellery among the items seized. All 36 suspects have been remanded in custody as the probe continues. Miguel Briones, sub-delegate for the Spanish government in Malaga, praised investigators, highlighting the ‘police muscle’ displayed and reassurance offered to the tourism sector and British community in the wake of the arrests.
THE alcohol and drug-fuelled Guardia Civil officer responsible for causing a traffic accident that killed three people and hospitalised four others has a previous drink-driving record, it has emerged. It comes as the sergeant, who has been named as Miguel Campos Lopez, has been jailed without bail after being charged with two counts of ignoring road safety, three of reckless homicide, and seven of
causing harm to others. An 18-year-old girl died at the scene of the accident on the A-7 motorway near Torremolinos, while a 26-year-old man and 30-year-old woman failed to survive the night after being taken to hospital with severe head injuries. Lopez initially tried to flee the scene, and after claiming that the car was being driven by a colleague who had disappeared, he tested positive for alcohol and cocaine.
Cover up! MARBELLA has announced a new law that will see shirtless holidaymakers fined €120€500 in certain areas. Public Safety councillor Javier Porcuna explained that the new legislation was inspired by other Spanish cities such as Barcelona, who already have similar sanctions in place. The bill has yet to pass the approval of the Local Council,
but once it has it will be active throughout the year in the majority of public spaces.