Bitter Diamonds
Four men have been arrested in connection with the robbery of an English lady in Marbella. Police detained the men after they were stopped in a routine police control in which agents discovered various items of jewellery, cash and a mobile phone stashed around the car.
Preliminary investigation of the scene led police to the English lady who told them that her handbag had been stolen, and what was in it. One detail did not square, which was that the handbag also had in it a diamond on a necklace worth 12 thousand euros.
Agents later suspected that one of the arrested men, who had been making odd gestures with his hand and mouth, might have swallowed the rock; he was taken to a medical facility and an x-ray revealed the presence of the diamond inside him. Presented with the evidence, the hungry thief confessed.
Fleeced & Fined Pharmacist
Spain has spiralled out of control in the new world order, which is ironic as it is trying to impose more and more control on its robots, erm, I mean citizens.
What happened in the latest case is that a thief in a balaclava entered a pharmacy and robbed the pharmacist of 200 euros. So far, so good. But then the pharmacist was notified that, under article 131 of the Private Security Law, she was being fined 600 euros for not adopting the correct security procedures. Said procedures require pharmacies to ensure that no client (or thief) has access to the interior of a pharmacy during nocturnal hours or those special times, called de guardia, when pharmacies take turns opening on holidays and Sundays when most pharmacies are closed.
Typically, this means securely locked doors, with service available at a specially designed window (think of late night petrol stations). Still, so far, so good. But… the robbery occurred at eleven in the morning on a bright sunny day and neither condition of the law applies to the robbery in question. The baffled pharmacist will be appealing the fine.
The Irony of Death
Three people, two sisters-in-law and their nephew, were killed after being struck by a car while they were out walking on a secondary road with 4 other family members. It took place near Coruña at 6:40 in the morning and the entire group were wearing reflective jackets.
While this is a tragedy in itself, the bitter irony is that the group were on a pilgrimage, owing to a promise made by the deceased nephew, a 40-year-old truck driver, to the site where a year ago he had survived a car accident.
The accident took place on a straight stretch of road and, as the driver passed a Breathalyzer, police surmised that perhaps he had fallen asleep at the wheel.
The Bull Man
The growing clamour against bull-fighting in Spain has found a new voice in Francisco Vásquez Neria, a Chilean, who lives in Barcelona and is the co-founder of AnimaNaturalis, an animal-rights organisation.
Francisco and his organisation are protesting against the festival called Toro de la Vega, in which bulls are systematically stabbed to death by riders on horseback, that takes place yearly (Sept 13) in a town called Tordesillas. What Francisco proposes is that he take the place of one of the bulls, to demonstrate that there is no difference between slaughtering an animal in this way than a human being.
“To kill an animal in this way represents the same brutality, violence and cruelty as if it happened to a person, and a society which condones and accepts and enjoys such a festival cannot be considered ‘civilised.’ What some call a tradition is in reality an act of dreadful cruelty.” I can certainly imagine Francisco in the ring, but would any rider actually dare attack him? I think that, upon their refusal, he will have made his point.
Drugs for Sale Here
A group of cyber drug dealers has been rolled by the National Police. The druggers’ MO was a little odd: on various internet media such as Facebook and Twitter, blogs, forums, even that popular game, Second Life, the dealers advertised the availability of cocaine, marijuana, MDMA, et cetera.
They spammed many users’ accounts with their offers, and communicated with potential customers via Messenger, email and through their social network profiles. The problem they neglected to foresee, especially on sites such as Facebook and Twitter, which are “patrolled” by the police (@spanishpolice and @policia), was that by including their contact details (a telephone number and an email address) they were rather asking to be caught.
Which they were. Agents eventually discovered the group and their stash in Alcalá de Henares. Items confiscated included money, a pile of drugs, scales, computers, weapons, packing material, mobile phones, cars and financial documentation.