National Police thwart violent surge among Alicante gangs
The national police have brought a violent wave under control, detaining members of two Alicante criminal groups tied to the city’s crime control in the Northern District. Seven individuals, all of Algerian origin, were seized in a sweep linked to a spate of gun and knife attacks, kidnappings, and violent robberies in Alicante since last July. The police describe the period as a severe crisis that left several neighborhoods feeling unsafe.
The operation was executed by security forces last week with the Violent Crime and Organized Crime units and the Provincial Judicial Police Brigade, supported by the Citizen Security Brigade. At dawn they conducted simultaneous house searches. Authorities recovered a substantial stash from the operation: about 17 kilograms of MDMA, a large quantity of antipsychotic medication, four firearms, and a variety of knives including machetes used during the assaults.
Seven suspects were placed in preventive detention after coordinations with the Alicante court. Legal charges differ by individual but include belonging to a criminal organization, wounding, unlawful detention, robbery with violence and intimidation, drug trafficking, illegal possession of weapons, and aiding irregular migration, particularly related to Algerian migrants entering by boat along the coast.
Police continue to pursue additional suspects believed to be involved in the incidents. The vehicles used by the groups alerted authorities, as did connections some suspects appear to have with other criminal networks in Marseille and elsewhere, prompting ongoing investigations to prevent a recurrence of the violence in Alicante.
unstructured youth and street justice
Investigations indicate that the arrests and the spike in shootings and stabbings were carried out by loosely organized groups of Algerian nationals, many young and reckless. Some members reportedly do not hold steady employment and resolve disputes according to their own cultural practices from Algeria. Police describe a pattern of arbitrary and illegal penalties that increased the sense of danger on the streets of Alicante, especially in the Northern District where many aging residents live in dense housing blocks.
The first major incident under review occurred on July 17. A confrontation near a hotel attended by people from North Africa ended with a stabbing at a hairdresser’s premises. The victim received hospital treatment and was discharged a few days later. Witnesses report multiple vehicles converging on the scene and shots fired during the clash.
A second major incident happened on September 8 at Manila Square. A 26-year-old Algerian man sustained severe injuries requiring more than 50 stitches for a 20-centimeter wound along the head and neck after a brutal stabbing during the chaos.
ongoing gun and machete clashes
Ten days later, another confrontation erupted at the crossroads of Capitán Rueda and Alférez Díaz Sanchís streets. Some involved fled before authorities arrived, while a suspect hid in a building on Alcoy Boulevard, where police later recovered a firearm from a mailbox.
A fresh clash occurred at Algiers Square on September 20 when several assailants attacked pedestrians with machetes, guns, and blunt objects, leaving a victim bleeding from wounds to the head and back. Local witnesses described a chaotic scene with attackers exiting a vehicle and striking indiscriminately as panic spread through the square.
Near the end of September a 29-year-old Algerian man reported being subjected to coercion and attempted kidnapping in a dispute over a scooter stolen from him, linked to ongoing intimidation practices among the groups.
On September 28 a couple was detained at a residence in Doctor Gómez Ulla Square. The man endured a brutal assault including being bound, water poured over his body, and threats of physical harm with pruning shears. A young woman present was restrained and forced to strip. The assailants recorded the abuse on video, threatening to post it on a social platform if police were informed about the incident, a tactic noted by investigators as a means to spread fear.
The latest development occurred last Wednesday when police arrested five suspects. A 37-year-old Algerian man was shot in the leg at Colonia Santa Isabel and remains in investigative focus as authorities continue to locate other involved attackers.