“Free bar pass in Cabo de Palos.” “Free admission to Plaza del Cavanna in La Manga.” “Observe Plaza Bohemia.” Someone from the Special Operational Security Group of the Cartagena Local Police (GOESC) gets the report from the Aerial Media Unit (UMA). This person is in charge of one of the teams. As the “black panthers,” the animal they wear on their shield and by which people know them, get ready to step in, the UMA has checked out the areas where people are most likely to beg along the eastern coast of the municipality.
“This is the result of all the work done this summer,” he says when they find no reason to step in at the points that were looked at. Finally. The Plaza de Bohemia is where bingo is played. Officers from the UMA have found a number of people who work as valet parking attendants near the craft market. Using the pictures from the drones, they give information about what the suspects are wearing and where they are. They use the peregrine to keep an eye on them so they don’t get lost. The gears are moving. In just a few minutes, the sub-inspector plans the intervention, and the unit of six officers leaves the Cabo de Palos base in the brand-new Land Cruiser all-terrain vehicles that Citizen Security bought at the end of 2024.
“We will locate the three or four individuals who have been present throughout the summer.” “Every night we confront them and take their money, but they refuse to leave,” he says while putting on both his own and his partner’s hats at the same time. An almost mechanical gesture made at the same time starts the deed. “One more time, you are aware that you are unable to accomplish that.” He tells the 41-year-old Senegalese man who is spending the summer in the area, “We need to search you.” All of the cops know who he is. They call him by his real name. Every day, they interact with him. He doesn’t have the money he needs. The panthers are looking into the area. Since they are experienced night hunts who have spent a lot of time walking the streets, their noses tell them that he has hidden it. They gave him permission to leave. “The raptor” doesn’t know he’s there. “When are you going back to Murcia?” asks another cop. The sub-inspector said that most of the people they have seen begging in La Manga and Cabo de Palos are from Murcia. “When they observe that we confiscate their money every night on the third day, they leave.”
To begin the static process, we start with the square. Each officer is placed in a strategic position and paired up with another officer. Most of the time, they stay there for about two hours. There are merchants who already know them and approach them to let them know what’s going on and thank them for being in the square, as they said in a letter to the mayor.
The other two suspects that the UMA (Airborne Unit) had found are hiding in the shops at the back of the plaza. One of the pairs finds them. When they get to the scene, they recognise the person and find a black wallet with about four euros inside. “Base, check their background with the National Police as well,” the sub-inspector tells them. This is a Civil Guard area, but if they only do the check there, they usually don’t come out because they come from Murcia, which is National Police territory. So, we can be sure of it. The Panthers’ determined steps are based on feeling, training, and a set of rules. So far this summer, they have used this method to carry out 139 interventions, such as 41 seizures from parking lot guards and 48 preventive surveillances.
In addition, they took away a wooden stick that was taller than two meters. It really did work out. The bouncer’s money had not been found, and the drone recently caught him as he went back to the scene of the crime to get something out of a crack. When the police quickly went back to the parking lot, they saw the coins in his pockets.
Running shoes and T-shirts
During the arrest, a police officer in plain clothes found two street vendors in Mar de Cristal who were selling fake goods. The operation keeps going. The “secret agent” tells the GOESC and UMA members that they have been picked up and will be leaving in two cars, but he stays in the unregistered car with them as they go to the meeting place.
Their direct progress gets in the way of the Panthers’ way. The usual process starts. They check their papers and the papers on their cars, which are then examined. At this point, people who are there are shocked. One bag after another is taken out, and each one is big and full of fake clothing.
When the ground around the cars could no longer be seen, there were still a lot of pairs of shoes to be taken out.
“In order to ensure that the contents of each vehicle are clearly identifiable, we must transport them in separate vehicles.” The deputy officer told them that they are being charged with a crime against industrial property. So that the goods could get to the Security Park, they needed the UMA van and a covert car. They had a little more than an hour left until their job ended at 3:00 a.m., so they did what they needed to do, like counting and sorting the clothes. What happened was that 1,059 fake clothes were taken away. The most important arrest of the season.
This is where “A quiet night” ends. The three main goals of the local government, according to Councillor for Citizen Security José Ramón Llorca, are to stop bottle parties, stop begging, especially in Plaza Bohemia, Cala Cortina, and other places where it has been seen, and stop the illegal sale of fake goods and clothes, which “not only creates unfair competition but can also put the health and safety of those who enjoy our coastline at risk.” Here’s another e
Llorca says that the work of the Local Police and the addition of more services in the busy spots, like Plaza Bohemia in La Manga or key spots in Cabo de Palos, have made the area safer and more organised. She talks about how professional and involved the cops are, saying that they make sure everyone’s safety every day.
Author: Derek Appleton
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