This week, a member of the Policía Nacional, specifically associated with the Junta de Auxiliares de Servicios Auxiliares (J.A.S.A.), has been implicated in a case involving a range of serious charges. These charges include threats, coercion, crimes against property, disclosure of secrets, and money laundering. The individual in question is one of four individuals detained in a recent operation, which also involved searches of their residences. This inspector is currently stationed at the Maspalomas Police Station in the southern municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana.
According to sources cited by Spanish language daily newspaper, Canarias7, there are at least three additional individuals under investigation, and further detentions or searches have not been ruled out.
Magistrate Rafael Passaro, heading Investigation Court No. 2 in the capital of Gran Canaria, has been overseeing an inquiry that has spanned at least a year, and has included detailed police surveillance, wiretaps, extensive documentation gathering, as well as testimonies from individuals connected to the alleged activities of the criminal network.
During the residential searches, authorities were looking for jewellery, watches, and other valuable items purportedly stolen by this organised criminal organisation. The investigation has reportedly linked the group to burglaries in residential areas such as El Salobre, in San Bartolomé de Tirajana, following several days of monitoring the residents’ habits and the characteristics of the properties.
The investigation encompasses phone conversations and face-to-face meetings among those involved, regarding alleged property-related crimes, including the purchase of tools like sledgehammers and crowbars.
There are also recorded conversations in which, we are informed, the police inspector adopts a threatening tone towards other individuals under investigation, leveraging his position as a senior member of law enforcement.
Another extensively documented aspect of the investigation pertains to assets of the alleged members of the criminal network. Detailed reports submitted to the court demonstrate substantial financial transactions, particularly in the case of the inspector, whose assets appear to far exceed what could be reasonably attributed to his official income within the Spanish National Police Force.
Furthermore, numerous encounters between the police inspector and individuals with prior police records related to drug trafficking and other illicit activities have been substantiated. The inspector did not report these encounters to his superiors and attempted to evade any scrutiny by fellow members of the Policía Nacional.
Additionally, among the pieces of evidence against the police inspector is an informative note he authored regarding a significant drug seizure on a vessel at the Port of La Luz and Las Palmas. The details provided in the note raised suspicions among other investigators.
There have been repeated accusations over recent years of high level corruption within the Policia Nacional responsible for the south of Gran Canaria, alleging connections to various known criminals, local business men and women, drug dealers and venue owners, possibly backed up by local politicians and members of the Policia Nacional. It seems this may be just the tip of a rather nasty iceberg. We will keep you informed as we hear more.
