News
Why do drug traffickers use Benidorm as their destination?

Despite its benefits and drawbacks, tourism is the lifeblood of Benidorm. The metropolis of towers is brought down to earth by the crime statistics, which contrast with the thriving visitor and occupancy numbers year after year.
In addition to being a popular vacation spot and second home for many of foreigners, Benidorm has become a hub for prostitution, bachelor parties, intoxicated tourism, and partying. Drugs are an integral part of the city’s nightlife.
With 3.4% fewer crimes in 2024 than in 2023, the city’s crime statistics improved. With a 6.2% increase, drug trafficking is still the country’s worst unresolved problem, according to the Ministry of the Interior.
One drug trafficking crime occurs for every 437 residents in Benidorm, the municipality most impacted by the province as a whole. This is a concerning statistic that is significantly higher than the territory’s average.
The city has turned into a haven for drug traffickers, who always find a market for their narcotics in strategic locations where neon lights are a common sight for shoppers.
The municipality with the highest frequency of this offence relative to its population is Benidorm, which leads the pack with 2.29 instances per 1,000 residents.
Because drug traffickers constantly find a market for their narcotics at strategic spots where neon lights are a familiar sight for shoppers, the city has become a haven for them.
With 2.29 cases per 1,000 inhabitants, Benidorm is the municipality with the highest prevalence of this infraction in relation to its population.
In order to recruit new customers and set up meetings with buyers at the locations where the drug and money transactions occurred, the criminal organisation exploited its positive relationships with staff members of hospitality facilities.
The user turns to the drugs if they don’t end up on the streets. Authorities battling the distribution of illicit narcotics also face difficulties because of drug dens.
The police actions to remove these drug stores tucked up among lodgings for tourists serve as evidence of this. In one of the most recent operations, two drug apartments where cocaine was being trafficked were shut down in September 2024. The three individuals involved were arrested, and nearly two and a half kilogrammes of drugs and 21,000 euros were seized, even though they attempted to dispose of 10,000 euros and some of the drug by throwing it off the balcony.
Its enormous floating population is essential to understanding drug trafficking since it skews various statistics about its 75,000 registered citizens.
According to the town’s analysis of tourist flows, which focusses on 2023, the average monthly number of visitors to Benidorm is over 252,000, and in August, that number climbs to over 2.1 million, which is twice the yearly average.
“We can also know that on the busiest day of the summer, which in 2023 was August 12th, the city could reach a peak of just over 365,000 people, including residents and floating population,” the report states.
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Hospitality and recreation establishments in Elche receive 36 infringement reports from local police

The Elche Local Police conducted an operation that involved inspecting thirteen hospitality and leisure outlets in various neighbourhoods, resulting in one arrest and 36 violations. The data was made public on Friday, 28th March, mainly as a reminder of the work that is being done. Councilman Juan de Dios Navarro gave the police top for their efforts.
According to local police inspector José Antonio Corrales, the majority of the infractions included drug usage and possession, including four for cocaine possession and seven for hashish, as well as improper company documentation. Additionally, there were two reports for disturbing the peace or disrespecting law enforcement, four for not following the minimum hygienic standards for food storage, one serious infraction for conducting the activity after hours and behind closed doors, and seven for irregularities found on the property, including improper documentation.
Additionally, officers found six infractions for permitting smoking in unapproved indoor locations, three for type “B” slot machine identification guide deficiencies, and one major infraction for emergency escape and door flaws. Additionally, a report was made about the selling of illegal tobacco at a pub, where 20 packets were confiscated and one individual was detained on court order and imprisoned.
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Visitor to Catral cemetery locked inside

As nightfall approached on one of these soggy spring days in March, a young man decided it would be a good idea to visit a cousin or acquaintance’s grave and take a walk through the cemetery. Because the cemetery still closes its (automatic) gates at six o’clock at this time of year, but without the winter gloom that may discourage anyone from going.
However, the door was locked when he attempted to exit. The visitor didn’t seem to want to spend any more time among the cemeteries, despite the cemetery’s reputation as a particularly tranquil spot. Unaware of the placard bearing the mobile phone number for anyone needing help, he dashed out the gate. It was all on camera.
JoaquÃn Lucas, the mayor of Catral, maintains that this occurrence is unrelated to the privatisation of the cemetery works and feels that management by an outside company is an efficient approach to provide this service in a municipal office. He went on to say that the young man who who was locked in is from the nearby municipality of Dolores rather than Catral.
The local police took to social media and atacked the man’s “reckless” behaviour. He has been named in connection with “criminal proceedings for a crime against another’s property.” Nonetheless, the business will be liable for any damages brought on by the damaged door anchors.
In addition to clarifying that the business employs two workers—a gravedigger and a labourer who maintains the communal areas and restrooms—the Councillor for Services, Daniel Escudero, reaffirmed that the automatic door is an option offered by the company itself.
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Five arrested in Alicante and Murcia for shoplifting

Five individuals involved in grocery theft have been taken into custody by the Guardia Civil. In the regions of Alicante and Murcia, the thieves were stealing in a number of locations for a well-known supermarket company. The things that were stolen are worth over 8,000 euros in total.
The investigation started after the retail chain representative filed a complaint. The pattern was consistent across all cases: three or four people went into the store, and one of them loaded up a cart with expensive things like canned goods, extra virgin olive oil, sausages, or alcoholic drinks. The last one hurried out of the grocery without paying, and another diverted the attention of the staff.
It was discovered that the same people were responsible for the crimes in multiple towns in Alicante and Murcia after examining the security footage from the impacted businesses. Since the suspects did not live in the residences where they were registered and lacked a stable address, it was very difficult to find them.
Shortly after committing another theft at a store in a suburban neighbourhood of Rojales (Alicante), officers caught two of the suspects off guard and took them into custody. Many of the stolen goods were found at that time and brought back to the impacted business.
The other three were later taken into custody in the cities of Almoradà (Alicante) and Guardamar del Segura. The majority of the pilfered items were sold on. Additionally, the two cars that were utilised in the crimes were taken.
Eleven thefts have been resolved as a consequence of the investigation conducted by the Novelda Civil Guard’s investigation section. The cities of Novelda, Torrevieja, AlmoradÃ, Catral, and Rojales in Alicante as well as the municipalities of San Javier, Jumilla, San Pedro del Pinatar, Cartagena, Archena, and Caravaca de la Cruz in Murcia were the sites of these crimes.
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