16 people have been arrested by Spain’s National Police for using cryptocurrency to buy access to a child pornography website on the dark web.

38 nations have participated in this global investigation, which is being directed by Germany and coordinated by Europol. As a result, 1,393 people have been identified, and 79 people have been arrested. Some of the individuals who were arrested also mistreated children. According to a statement from the National Police, the investigation is still ongoing.

Alicante, Almeria, Barcelona, Jaen, Las Palmas, La Rioja, Madrid, Malaga, Murcia, Orense, Seville, Tarragona, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Valencia, and Zaragoza are among the Spanish cities where arrests have been made.

By hiding users’ identities and functioning as a social network, the dark web—particularly the platform under investigation within the TOR network—made it possible to buy and share illegal content.

With 91,000 videos and almost two million members, it was expanding at a rate of three videos every hour. While full films had to be paid for with cryptocurrency, initial access was free. Additionally, there were rewards for rating already-existing content or creating original stuff.

Advertisement

Despite the anonymity of cryptocurrency, German authorities were able to identify the buyers by cracking into the server and tracking down the payments. One person in Spain uploaded a video, and 17 others had bought content.

The National Police claim that people who purchase the content have a higher level of criminal dedication and sophisticated search techniques for illicit materials.

One of those detained in Spain was a student of computer technology who served as a distributor and had access to other platforms of a similar nature.

A detained individual in Alicante was also discovered to be a drug trafficker in possession of 700 ecstasy pills and €42,000 in cash. Several people who were arrested in Barcelona and Madrid had evidence of payment and child pornography. A suspect in Malaga confessed to the crime. A dentist in Murcia used a USB flash drive to save files.

Devices holding illegal material and proof of purchase were discovered in Almería, Orense, Seville, Tarragona, Tenerife, and Zaragoza, leading to additional arrests. One suspect had left Valencia for Paris. Another suspect in Jaén was looked into but not taken into custody. 39 minors were granted protection, and almost 3,000 electronic devices were seized globally.

Advertisement

Europol’s largest anti-child sexual exploitation operation was called Operation Stream. Spain, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States were among the thirty-eight participating nations. One of the world’s biggest networks for disseminating paedophile content was severely damaged by this operation.

An extension of Avenida José Carreras the “winding road,” was dangerous and totally unconstitutional for urban planning, but it had a purpose. It linked the northeast of the city centre, the sports city, Víctimas del Terrorismo Avenue, the avenues of the Valencian Parliament, and La Mancha with the CV-905, one of the main entrance routes to Torrevieja with a daily traffic flow of 35,000 vehicles.

Mobility

Since construction of the La Hoya residential complex started more than a year ago, this mode of transportation—which was intended to help people escape traffic bottlenecks in the Habaneras and Carrefour shopping areas—has been closed to the public. In addition, one of the Valencian Community’s primary markets is held in the same location on Fridays.

With two lanes in each direction, the road is one of the biggest in the entire complex, and the Torrevieja City Council has now announced that it will be ready for traffic by Easter 2025.

Completed

Torrevieja Mayor Eduardo Dolón (PP) declared that the new Avenida José Carreras would be by Easter. The avenue has apparently been completed for several months. Videos of its completed appearance, complete with all necessary amenities and moving cars, have already been made public. It is now functioning at a high capacity for traffic. It’s not like the old road.

It contains two additional roundabouts and is more than a kilometre long. Additionally, the developer has been adamant about delivering it to the City Council for commissioning. He clarified, however, that months of verification work had been carried out by municipal technologists to include all of the standards outlined in the development plan, which must also include previously unincorporated speed-reduction and signage measures.

Temporary reception
“This is a partial approval to resolve the opening of traffic during this Easter period, when the city expects record occupancy,” the mayor, who is also the Councillor for Urban Planning, said. It is not, however, conclusive. Additionally, before a bridge can be constructed across the N-332 to accommodate the capacity of these additional roads, it must wait for the development of new phases—1.8 million square meters and up to 7,400 homes—which have a four-year deadline to finish the basic infrastructure.

Advertisement

Only one lane is permitted in each direction of traffic under the existing configuration. By Easter, a new roundabout on the CV-905 will also be completed, albeit it won’t yet service the residential neighbourhood.

Four people have been taken into custody by the Guardia Civil on suspicion of participating in highway robberies in the province of Castellón. The offenders, who are also being investigated for other assaults on Alicante highways, have been apprehended in two operations.

Romania has issued a search and arrest warrant for one of the detainees on suspicion of attempted murder and serious injury. As a suspected member of a gang that committed violent robberies in AP-7 and A-7 service areas, he was apprehended during the initial operation.

In Castellón, the detainee was stopped on the N-340. Upon confirming his identity, it was also found that he had a second search warrant in Germany, court requisitions in Spain, and fabricated documents.

Along with these antecedents, the Guardia Civil has been able to connect him to a number of robberies, including two in Cabanes and six others in Burriana, two in the municipality of La Vila Joiosa in Alicante, and one in Benicarló.

Following the discovery of a pattern of assaults on these highways, where the perpetrators employed luxury cars for their escapes and movements, the inquiry got underway in February of last year.

Advertisement

As a consequence, three property-theft specialists who reportedly operated on the AP-7 and exploited rest stops and service stations were apprehended during the second operation.

When the agents were notified of a robbery in the town of Fuente de la Higuera, the investigations got underway. After locating the suspects, the operation led to their arrest.

Numerous stolen personal belongings and a sizeable sum of money were discovered in the car they were riding in. Their suspected involvement in at least ten robberies—two in La Vila Joiosa, three in Burriana, and five in Xeresa—is the subject of an investigation.

The Court of Nules and the National Court have ordered the four prisoners to be imprisoned after they were brought before them together with the processed reports. Officers from the Burriana Guardia Civil’s Main Post conducted the operation as part of the province’s communication routes’ surveillance apparatus.

Advertisement