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Issue 994 23rd - 29th November
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Belgian fugitive caught by Darren Parmenter
Stranded sailor rescued
Photo credit: Guardia Civil
A 34-YEAR-OLD Belgian national considered as ‘extremely violent and dangerous’ was arrested in Torrevieja in an operation that involved more than 30 members of the Guardia Civil. According to reports, the man was in Spain posing as his brother and was detained thanks to cooperation between the Spanish and Belgian authorities, as well as Europol. The man, understood to be of North African origin, fled Belgium after committing more than 20 violent robberies. In addition, he was being sought in connection with alleged drug trafficking and ar ms dealing as part of a larger criminal organisation. Sixteen fellow members of this group have already been arrested according to a statement released by the Guardia Civil. The now detained man gained a reputation for making sure his movements were well covered after committing his crimes, and of-
DRAMA: Peaceful Torrevieja was scene of a dramatic police operation (inset). ten used his brother’s ID - with whom he shared many physical characteristics - as well as two houses in which he hid. His ar rest was the culmination of three months of investiga-
tions that ended with a surveillance operation for 24 hours. Belgian authorities issued a European Arrest Warrant, the Guardia Civil carried out the instructions and the man now awaits his extradition.
FIREFIGHTERS wer e called to help the captain of a catamaran which had r un aground of f the Playa Naufragos in Torrevieja. T he engine had broken down and the New Zealand skipper lost contr ol of the boat in the bad weather as he tried to avoid being dr a g ged a gainst this rocky part of the coast. According to repor ts, the entr y to the Tor r evieja por t was only 200m away, but the strong winds blew the boat off course to where it hit the beach instead. T h e h e av y s e a s s t o p p e d t h e man from getting of f the boat, and he needed the help of the fire brigade who threw him sever al lines to escape and leave the ship to be towed into por t the following morning.