A 64-year-old man has been arrested by the National Police in Alicante for his purported involvement in a fire that broke out on the fifth floor of a building situated in the northern region of the city. The individual arrested was residing at the residence illegally, without paying rent, and had a prior record of other offences.

Despite the prompt evacuation of the building, two individuals required treatment for smoke inhalation. According to a statement from the Superior Police Headquarters, both individuals were discharged from the hospital on the same day. The statement also acknowledged that the material damage was “substantial,” although it has not yet been evaluated.

The National Police Provincial Citizen Security Brigade’s on-duty alerts detected a fire on the fifth floor of a building in the northern part of Alicante at approximately 3:30 p.m. on April 29th. A security cordon was promptly erected around the building’s perimeter, allowing firefighters, the Alicante Local Police, and medical assistance to remain inside.

The Emergency Services and Local Police evacuated the entire afflicted building during the intervention, establishing a secure area where residents were provided with assistance by the emergency services.

The National Police endeavoured to identify the proprietor of the apartment from which the fire originated. He stated that a man had resided in the house for an extended period of time, had ceased to pay rent, and had continued to inhabit it as a squatter.

He clarified that legal proceedings were currently underway to enforce his eviction, which was scheduled for early May. The proprietor also informed the officers that, due to the proximity of the vacancy date, he suspected that the tenant may have intentionally set the fire to damage the property before departing.

The tenants’ involvement in numerous prior incidents rendered them “convinced” that the tenant was responsible for the fire, as evidenced by the testimony of building residents during the subsequent investigation.

After extinguishing the fire, we verified that the resident was not at home at the time of the incident. In such instances, the Provincial Forensic Police Brigade was summoned to conduct a technical and police inspection of the residence, as per the established procedure.

Simultaneously, the National Police initiated a search operation, as they suspected that the resident was directly responsible for the fire’s inception. He was promptly apprehended while attempting to re-enter the burned-out home in the middle of the afternoon.

The individual who was apprehended has a criminal record for other offences and will be presented to the Alicante Investigative Court in the near future.

In order to safeguard its facilities, Elche has implemented a prohibition on the sale and consumption of sunflower seeds on the stadium grounds, commencing with the upcoming match against Levante on May 10th. According to Elche’s statement, the measure is also being implemented to ensure hygiene and to reaffirm the club’s dedication to environmental sustainability and respect.

Recently, the green-and-white team has asserted that the substantial consumption of sunflower seeds at matches has resulted in a structural issue. The club’s statement asserts that “the shells clog drains and pipes; they damage the seats and affect the paint and finishes on multiple surfaces; they significantly increase cleaning and maintenance costs; they attract infestations of rats and pigeons; and, above all, they jeopardise the health of the stands.”

Elche also emphasises that “it is not feasible to eliminate the waste entirely” despite the cleanup teams’ endeavours. Furthermore, Elche states that the sunflower seed husks “contribute to the erosion of the concrete floor and the accumulation of debris in hard-to-reach areas.”

Finally, the club acknowledges that the decision is not “intended to punish any fan” and expresses gratitude to its supporters for their comprehension.

In Guardamar del Segura, Madrid, Barcelona, and Tarragona, the National Police have apprehended 27 putative members of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS13) gang. The Salvadoran criminal organisation intends to broaden its influence in Spain through violent means. The individuals apprehended were members of numerous cliques or factions that were organised under the leadership of the “Adams Clique” and were supervised by the Americas. The U.S. has classified this Latin American gang as a terrorist organisation. Drug trafficking sustained the gang, and the police have linked some of the arrested individuals to attempted and completed homicides.

The province of Alicante has apprehended a single individual, while Madrid, Barcelona, and Tarragona have each seen 18 arrests. The police have accused them of homicide, bodily harm, robbery with violence, and offences against public health, as well as belonging to a criminal organisation.

This is the Mara Salvatrucha gang’s second significant setback in Spain. The 37 defendants from the Mara Salvatrucha gang, which was based in Ibi, Girona, Madrid, and Barcelona, were sentenced to a total of 89 years and six months in prison by the Alicante Court in 2018.

The investigation commenced with the detection of individuals associated with the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang in Spain by agents from the National Police’s General Information Commissariat, which was made possible by international collaboration with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

In collaboration with the National Civil Police of El Salvador and the aforementioned US law enforcement agencies, the police were able to identify all members of this organisation, which is predominantly located in the cities of Madrid and Barcelona.

Drug Financing Investigators have determined that this criminal organisation maintained a hierarchical structure with clearly defined roles. The primary source of funding for this MS13 “program” that was dismantled by the police was narcotic trafficking, and its objective was to acquire firearms. Previous investigations have implicated its members in attempted assassinations and completed homicides.

The exploitation phase commenced on March 27, following the identification of the members of this group. Consequently, authorities apprehended 27 individuals and searched six residences.

The General Intelligence Commission, the Provincial Intelligence Brigades of Barcelona, Alicante, Tarragona, and Madrid, the FBI, representatives of the National Civil Police of El Salvador, and the Barcelona Urban Guard were all involved in the operation, which was overseen by the Prosecutor’s Office against Corruption and Organised Crime and led by Madrid’s Investigative Court No. 3.

During the searches, the officers confiscated symbols, knives, simulated firearms, narcotics, items for sale, and mobile phones.

They convened a court to hear the detainees. Seven of them were incarcerated, while two others were still in custody. They were arrested in distinct penitentiaries and held in pretrial detention for actions related to the organisation’s activities. The Torrevieja duty court heard the case of the individual apprehended in Guardamar, who did not reside in the municipality.

The U.S. State Department declared Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) a foreign terrorist organisation in February of last year, taking the same course of action as El Salvador in August 2015.