In Alicante, Spain, a municipal architect was detained on bribery charges as part of a National Police anti-drug operation. He has since been released provisionally after appearing before the Guardia Civil court in the city on the day of the hearing.
Alongside him, seven other individuals faced the judges on duty at the Instruction Court Number 2 in Alicante and the First Instance and Instruction Court Number 2 in Novelda. All but the alleged ringleader were granted freedom, while the main suspect, Rafael G.M., was kept in custody with a 20,000-euro bail set. These details were confirmed by judicial sources.
Several of the eight detainees were represented by lawyers Santiago Candela Rovira, Aitor Esteban Gallastegui, Lorena Félix Saldaña and Mari Paz Alarcón. After the decision to keep the alleged leader in custody, the bail amount was paid and the individual was released, though he must return to court every two weeks, his passport has been withdrawn, and he is prohibited from leaving the country. In addition to the eight released detainees, four others who had been arrested were released after appearing at National Police facilities.
According to the Valencian Community High Court (TSJ), the duty magistrate in Alicante received five of the arrestees and, following the Prosecutor’s recommendation, granted provisional release to four while ordering elusion-prone detention with bail for the fifth, who is considered the principal figure in the case.
Periodic appearances
Among those freed from the Alicante courthouse is municipal architect Francisco N.T., who was ordered to attend court once a week as a precautionary measure.
The National Police accuse this official of receiving “gifts” from the suspected drug trafficker in exchange for favors with Urban Planning procedures at the city hall. Some of the purported gifts included nightclub passes and drugs intended for personal use.
Meanwhile, the head of the Novelda First Instance and Instruction Court Number 2 ordered provisional release with biweekly appearances for the three detainees placed under its supervision.
According to the TSJ, both courts will transfer the case to the Fourth Court of First Instance and Instruction in Novelda, which already had a related case and will continue the investigation into alleged crimes including health-endangerment offenses, money laundering, bribery, electricity fraud, and gang affiliation.
The investigation, which has lifted secrecy on proceedings, targets roughly a dozen people believed to be involved in a drug trafficking network focused on cannabis and in laundering the proceeds through real estate acquisitions.
Detentions were carried out by officers from the Capital Laundering and Anticorruption Group (UDEF) and the Organized Crime Group II, both part of the Alicante Provincial Police Judiciary Brigade. The operation began last year with the arrest of an individual in Novelda and the dismantling of a cannabis plantation, and this week brought the remainder of the arrests and the seizure of around half a thousand cannabis plants from another cultivation site in La Romana.