Edition 243
www.thecourier.es
Friday 16th October 2015
SOMETHING IN THE AIR
PET IDOL 2015 Voting for Pet Idol 2015 has now closed. We are in the process of counting and verifying the hundreds of votes received. Check page 12 for more details and news of when we will announce the winners.
ALEX TRELINSKI
W
hat's been described as the most sophisticated marijuana greenhouse in Europe has been closed down by the Guardia Civil in Murcia, with seven Dutch people and an Icelandic national being arrested. The premises were located at Molina de Segura, with six thousand plants discovered growing in the warehouse, with the plants and associated paraphernalia said to be worth around one million euro. The Guardia said that the gang had advanced plans to open up a second greenhouse in the Crevillente area. Such was the size of the operation at Molina (10 tons of marijuana every month was taken by road to Holland), that power cuts made the authorities suspicious of what might be going
WHATSON’S TV VIEWS on. The sheer amount of illegal electricity needed to power up the extensive lights and heating system led to a cable overloading and catching fire on an industrial estate where the drug greenhouse was located. As the gang dispersed, the Guardia swept them up at various locations, as they
kept a track of their movements. A Dutch couple who ran the operation were picked up in Rojales, whilst a man was arrested at Alicante-Elche airport as he was planning to board a flight to Iceland. Two others were detained as they tried to flee the country by car. Besides legal action over
public health and trafficking issues, prosecutors have also pledged to recover the costs of the illegal electricity, and have just started an action against a marijuana plantation in Novelda that syphoned off nearly 13 thousand euro of unpaid power from Iberdrola over a number of years.
The Courier TV Pull-out The latest news from tele-land 16th Oct - 22nd Oct
Starts page 19
BRIT IN DOG QUIZ A British man was
arrested after his dog died
next to a campsite in the El Campello area of Alicante. The Guardia Civil moved in after being told by the local police that they found a dead dog in a cage outside the site. Appearing in Alicante police court, the unnamed defendant said that he had to leave the campsite because he was in arrears
on his payments and asked a friend to look after the animal. It was put in a cage on the fringe of the site, with the promise that it would be fed but the owner returned two days later to find that the dog was dead in the cage. The defendant was freed on bail after his statement to the court, but is charged with animal abuse.
Find out how inside