Together, the Popular Party and Vox have authorised a 9% increase in water bills, which would cost Elche residents about 18 euros more annually. Juan de Dios Navarro, the water councillor, stressed that this pricing increase will include a reduction for long-term unemployed people, vulnerable people, large families, seniors, and those who are permanently incapacitated. Additionally, the change will restore the €4.3 million anti-flood investment plan, build a storm tank to collect rainwater in the San Antón ravine, establish a sewer fund, clean drains, and supply water to unserved districts like Llano de San Gosé, Algoda, Matola, and Pusol, Navarro stressed.

Héctor Díez, a spokesman for the Socialist Party, denounced the hike in water bills as a “fiscal blow.” He further bemoaned the fact that in addition to this increase, the municipal authorities had commissioned a €75,000 sculpture to mark the 25th anniversary of Aigües d’Elx.

Additionally, Díez claimed that this year’s Atirriadas plan had only been allocated €250,000. Díez added that the local council has authorised a waste tax hike of up to 33% this year in addition to the increase in water bills.

Three men have been taken into custody by National Police officers in Alicante on suspicion of violent robbery and resisting an officer. A gold chain was brutally torn from around the neck of a man who was exercising in public after the suspects asked him to take a picture of them. A foot chase and prompt police action led to the recovery of the jewellery and the arrest of the offenders.

The incident started when someone called CIMACC Room 091 to report that he had been robbed. The victim was seen pursuing three males by the patrol sent to the location, but they ran away when they saw the police.

Officers started a foot pursuit right away, and the three males were finally apprehended and stopped. They were charged with violent robbery and resisting arrest. Officers recovered the stolen gold chain, and it was given back to its rightful owner.

The victim informed police that two people approached him while he was playing sports in a public area and requested him to take their picture. While he went to retrieve his mobile phone, one of the criminals violently grabbed him by the neck and pulled his chain. The three accused attempted to escape after physically assaulting him for resisting.

The inmates have been turned over to the Alicante investigating court after police investigations.

In a combined operation by the Spanish National Police and French authorities, S. AB, an 18-year-old Algerian immigrant, was found and taken into custody on Tuesday 25th March in Alicante, in the Valencian Country, about two months after he fled France, where he was wanted for murder. A 25-year-old security guard at a popular nightclub in the city of Saint-Étienne took in the youngster, who had entered the country illegally. The individual who was arrested is being held by the police while they wait for him to be extradited to France, which may take up to a month.

After failing to get in touch with the victim for days, a relative went in search of him and discovered him dead inside his flat on February 9th. There were no indications that a knife or gun had been used. The autopsy’s forensic specialists determined that strangulation-induced cardiac arrest was the cause of death. Although the motive for the crime is still being investigated, investigators discovered evidence of drugs next to the body, which could indicate retaliation for a drug debt or another disagreement involving drug trafficking.

Searching for a “very dangerous” fugitive for a month

SAB was always the main suspect in this case; the victim’s family knew he had provided him with shelter in the days before her death, and they didn’t hear from him again. Officers from the Specialised Organised Crime Division tracked the suspect’s potential exit from the country after learning that he had departed Saint-Étienne in the hours immediately after the murder. Hundreds of bus and train station cameras were examined, yet SAB used covert means to enter Spain and continued to travel till he arrived in Alicante.

Two weeks after the crime, on February 22th, Interpol released a Red Notice, which is an arrest and surrender warrant that permits worldwide cooperation in the apprehension of dangerous criminals, along with the suspect’s information and photo. This information, along with other details regarding his potential movements throughout Spain, was gathered by the Spanish National Police’s Fugitives Squad. A few weeks later, police were able to track him down, and they conducted close surveillance in the Alicante region until March 25th, the day he was arrested.

There were no problems during the arrest process. The police are currently working to determine the motive behind the murder while his extradition is pending. At this point, it’s unknown if it was a personal conflict or anything related to drugs.