A person who had just bought a 2nd-hand flat in Motril came across a mortar round in its store room when clearing it out.

The new owners immediately informed the Policía Nacional around 12.30h who despatched their explosive experts, TEDAX, who examined the 81mm round.

Fortunately, after careful inspection, they discovered that it had no explosive charge still in it; i.e., neither a propellant charge nor an explosive charge that would detonated upon impact.

Consequently, the unofficial collector’s piece was taken to the TEDAX-NRBQ storage area for Eastern Andalucía to be available for any judicial procedure should it be necessary.

This kind of mortar round (Valero) weighing four kilos, was used during the Spanish Civil War by both sides after it was issued to the Spanish Army in 1933. It had an effective range of 2,200 metres (although some sources put it at 3,250) and two were issued to each platoon.

(News: Motril, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)