Three individuals have been arrested by the National Police in Elche, Alicante, on suspicion of counterfeiting currency. They are being accused of using counterfeit 20-euro banknotes to make a payment at a well-known entertainment venue in the city.

The investigation commenced in response to a complaint from the manager of seven entertainment venues in Elche. The manager reported that on multiple evenings, employees discovered three young men allegedly using counterfeit 20-euro bills to pay for their drinks.

The manager clarified that a waiter at one of the locations discovered a fraudulent bill during a security check of a customer’s currency. He promptly notified the security director of the establishment. The same evening, after the store closed, four bills were detected as having obvious signs of counterfeiting, all of which shared the same serial number.

Officers initiated an investigation subsequent to this complaint, which resulted in the identification of a man who may have been involved in the incidents. A few days later, a different individual attempted to make another payment at the same establishment using a counterfeit 20-euro bill. Five additional bills, which were identical to the previous ones, were discovered at the conclusion of the day.

Investigators were able to establish a connection between the crime and three regular consumers of the establishment through the collection of staff testimonies and the progression of the investigation.

Ultimately, the three suspects were apprehended in two distinct segments after being identified, with allegations of currency counterfeiting and fraud. The banknotes in question were forwarded to the Bank of Spain’s Investigation Brigade for analysis and investigation.

Arrests of 13 individuals for the distribution of child pornography in various Spanish locations, including Alicante, were made by National Police officers in a joint operation coordinated by Europol and involving 11 European countries. In Spain alone, 18 investigations and searches were conducted during the operation, which involved over 100 officers. The seizure of 39 electronic devices, which contained over 41,000 videos and 28,000 photographs of highly sensitive child sexual content, was the result.

In this international operation, which was conducted in conjunction with Spain and ten other countries—Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Poland, Romania, and Sweden—166 individuals were apprehended and 774 searches were conducted with the assistance of international agencies.

The Child Protection Section of the Central Cybercrime Unit conducted the operational action in Spain, coordinating the technological crime investigation groups from various provinces, including Alicante, Barcelona, Cáceres, Castellón, A Coruña, Lleida, Madrid, Navarra, Ourense, Las Palmas, Santander, Tenerife, Valencia, and Zaragoza. The operation was attended by over 100 officers.

39 devices, including laptop and desktop computers, mobile phones, USB flash drives, hard drives, and external memory cards, were seized during the 18 searches. These devices were used to obtain over 41,000 videos and 28,000 images of highly sensitive child sexual content.

Thirteen individuals were apprehended during the operation, with one of them being detained in the province of Alicante. Additionally, five individuals, including a woman, are currently under investigation. This type of investigation is challenging due to the fact that the profile of perpetrators of this type of crime does not follow a very heterogeneous pattern, as their ages range from 17 to 51.

During the week of March 24th-28th, police forces from a variety of European countries, including Bulgaria, Denmark, Spain, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Poland, Romania, and Sweden, collaborated to conduct a joint and coordinated operation against the possession, production, and distribution of child pornography. Additionally, the United Kingdom’s NCA agency, the FBI and HSI of the United States, and the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) participated in the initiative.

More than 594,000 multimedia files have been downloaded from the 6,000 devices seized in the 774 house arrests and searches conducted at the European level, and 166 individuals have been arrested.

A violent fire in a residence was caused by an electric scooter battery at Calle Pablo Picasso in Elche, which sparked a scare. According to consortium sources, the blaze engulfed the five-story structure, necessitating the evacuation of ten inhabitants and affecting six properties.

A 56-year-old neighbour suffered from carbon inhalation, while a 26-year-old firefighter was injured by the flames. The residence from which the fire originated was entirely consumed by flames, which rapidly advanced to the upper floors, necessitating the evacuation of the third to fifth floors by firefighters.

The incident transpired shortly before 2:30 a.m. on Thursday morning. April 10th. The Emergency Information and Coordination Centre subsequently issued a fire notice for a block of flats located at Calle Pablo Picasso 38 in Elche. A command post unit, two heavy urban fire engines, and a fire ladder vehicle were employed to extinguish the fire at the scene. Additionally, eight firefighters from the Elche and Crevillente fire stations were dispatched.

The Alicante Provincial Fire Consortium (CPB) elucidates that the fire originated in the battery of an electric scooter, resulting in “a significant amount of smoke” and “complete damage” to the residence. Residents were evacuated from the first two floors due to the fire’s severity, while up to 10 individuals were rescued from the third, fourth, and fifth floors.

After more than two hours of labour, firefighters were able to suppress the flames at 4:12 a.m. Smoke poisoning caused by the fire necessitated medical attention for four residents during the incident. Furthermore, one of the firefighters necessitated treatment for a dislocated shoulder.

Two Basic Life Support ambulances, a SAMU (Medical Emergency Unit), and a TNA (Teaching and Rescue) were dispatched to the location. Three of the five injured were transported to Elche General Hospital, while the remaining individual was transported to Vinalapó Hospital.