The Costa Blanca has seen a number of crime incidents, some serious. However, it appears that 75% of the crime is committed by non-EU foregners.

In Tibi, police broke up a running street fight between a gang from Alicante and local residents. Some people are saying that the gang had targeted the fiesta and is know for its violence.

Since the discovery of the bodies of 2 Irish criminals, found buried in 2 metres of concrete, it has emerged that the Irish Police have a near permanent presence on the Costa Blanca. They are continuing to assist Spainish Police to identify and prosecute criminals from Ireland who have fled to Spain. It is suspected that some of the criminals have a paramilitary history.

A British man has been jailed in Benidorm for 27 months after having been convicted of serious fraud. Mark Acklom had defrauded an Asian businessman out of €18million (£13million) in a property scam. He was led to believe he was investing in large property developments in Mascarat, Finestrat and Calpe.

In Villena, a groom was shot dead by his neighbour. The noise of the wedding celebrations were just too much for the neighbour, who fired his shotgun at the groom whilst he was singing on a balcony. The groom died an hour later from the wounds. The man was immediately arrested and taken into custody by the Guardia Civil.

The Chief Prosecutor, Jose Antonio Romero, has published figures which show that the majority of crime is committed by foreigners, and not by Spaniards. Of the 400 prisoners held in Alicante’s jails on remand, approximately 300 are foreigners, mainly from Romania, Croatia, Columbia and Algeria. It may come as no surprise that the charges against these people relate to drugs, violent robberies, sexual crimes and even attempted murder.

The head of the Capito Drugs Gang, Alfredo Garcia, has handed himself in. He escaped from prison 8 months ago and has been at large in the Alicante area ever since. He is believed to have health problems and has returned to prison in order to receive medical attention.

The employers of the men who were overcome by heat whilst fruit picking last week, have been arrested. The charges are for employing illegal workers. The men were picking fruit for the Finca do la Torre company in Alicante when they collapsed. The incident triggered an automatic health and safety investigation which revealed the illegality of the workers.

In San Vincente del Raspeig, a gang stole 10,000€ of merchandise from a jewelry store. People working in the store, including the owner, were tied up during the robbery. As they left, the thieves cut the telephone line, stile the store keys, and locked the workers who were still tied up, in the store. It took some time for one of the workers to free himself and call the police from his mobile phone.