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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Police in Alicante tighten speed checks

From yesterday, Tuesday April 1st, the Department of Security of the Alicante City Council began a new campaign to improve the municipality’s speed limit enforcement and surveillance. The programme, which is scheduled to conclude on April 12th, focuses particularly on fast-track and high-density routes, as well as the vicinity of educational institutions and schools.
This campaign, which will be conducted with mobile radars and throughout morning, afternoon, and night shifts, will involve 20 officers from the Local Police’s Traffic Unit and speed control squad. Security Councillor Julio Calero stated that the goal is “to continue improving road safety in the city.”
“It’s proven that calming traffic and reducing speeds help save lives and improve our coexistence and quality of life,” Calero stated, emphasising the significance of “respecting minors in the vicinity of schools and educational centres.”
Several neighbourhood organisations have called for more speed regulation on highways and high-capacity urban routes, and the campaign aims to address their needs. The councillor underlined that “speed reduction significantly lowers the risk of accidents and run-overs.”
On roads with two or more lanes in each direction, the top speed limit in Alicante is 50 km/h. It is lowered to 30 km/h on streets with only one lane in each direction, and to 20 km/h on streets where the pavement and roadway are joined into one platform.
Prior personal mobility vehicle campaign
The March campaign, which aimed to increase awareness of the appropriate usage of personal mobility vehicles (PMVs), such as electric scooters, skates, and skateboards, was followed by this new speed control measure.
The TRAM platform, cycle lanes, bus lanes, pedestrian zones, walkways, and paved streets like the Explanada de España are all off limits to these gadgets, the City Council reminds everyone. Enhancing safety and coexistence in urban areas—which are increasingly shared by bikes, pedestrians, cars, and vehicle-mounted vehicles—is the goal.
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Two men investigated for “sextortion” of 13 men

The Civil Guard is investigating two Santa Cruz de Tenerife individuals who used ads posing as women on dating websites to extort 13 people from Mazarrón (Murcia), Alicante, Albacete, Zaragoza, Guipúzcoa, Málaga, Gerona, and Pontevedra, according to the police.
Operation “Licey,” which began in July of last year, has unearthed a sextortion-focused criminal network and resulted in the investigation of two people who are accused of money laundering, extortion, and criminal group involvement.
The investigation started in Mazarrón after a man claimed to have received threatening calls and messages from someone posing as the head of a brothel and hitmen.
They got 3,000 euros after the Mazarrón victim used a dating site that promoted escorts. They then threatened to publish his online activities and reveal all to those close to him through calls and messages.
After the funds were first moved to a number of bank accounts run by “economic mules,” the Guardia Civil examined the traceability of the funds until the final recipient’s identity was established.
Two Santa Cruz de Tenerife individuals have been identified by the Guardia Civil following months of inquiry as suspected members of a criminal organisation, extortion, and money laundering.
Since Operation “Licey” is still going on, further arrests and victims are possible.
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Man arrested after ex-‘s adopted daughter dies

In a house in the Llano de Brujas neighbourhood of Murcia, a five-year-old child died yesterday afternoon after ingesting an excessive number of pills. The Guardia Civil has detained Jesús J., the girl’s adoptive mother’s ex-boyfriend (she was his cousin’s biological child), in Torrevieja, Alicante, on suspicion of homicide. According to people close to the investigation, the individual reportedly called the police and admitted that he had “done something wrong.”
Benemérita Guardia Civil investigators are working to determine the circumstances surrounding the small girl taking of these tablets, which seem to be Orfidal. Based on this and other facts, it seems likely that the man killed the girl. The results of an autopsy, which will be essential in elucidating the circumstances surrounding her death, are still pending.
The body of little Nadia was found in the aforementioned district on Tuesday afternoon in an apartment on Calle González ValentÃn. Sources say that the body was discovered and that emergency services were contacted by the parents of the girl’s adoptive mother’s ex-boyfriend, known locally as Suso.
The girl was foaming at the mouth and had obviously lost consciousness. The girl was still alive when the ambulance and Murcia Local Police officers arrived on the site, and their paramedics tried to revive her. But in the end, the child passed away at home.
After learning of the news, Ramona, the little girl’s adoptive mother went into the flat. According to some reports, the woman’s ex-boyfriend had called her before. Neighbourhood reports claim that the woman yelled as she exited the flat, accusing her ex-partner of killing the girl: “It was him, it was him.”
The case has been turned over to the Guardia Civil’s Judicial Police. Officers got in touch with the suspect’s relatives and associates. One of the suspects close friends tried to persuade Jesús J. of the significance of turning himself in to the authorities and providing an explanation of what had transpired by sending him audio recordings and text messages.
The man was apprehended by police in Torrevieja, Alicante, late yesterday, Tuesday 1st April. Additionally, investigators searched the flat for any evidence that would shed light on the case.
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