Orihuela Costa beach bars to go

from the gang travelled to places where there were attractive properties, taking photographs of them to later be used by other members whowere in charge of placing the adverts.

another group was in charge of generating false documentation to open bank accounts where the money from the scams would end up, as well as emails and telephone numbers that were associated with the adverts. Finally, there was a network of ‘mules’ in charge of transferring the proceeds of the crime between other bank accounts and making it difficult to trace the money, as well as using other ids to withdraw the money from atMs.

the 42 members of the group are 12 women and 30 men, the vast majority with police records for similar crimes. all of them are accused of computer fraud, belonging to a criminal organisation, identity theft and money laundering. More than 75 bank accounts used by the gang have been blocked.

orihuela town hall has been told it needs to physically remove all of the beach bars along its coastline. the Chiringuitos have been closed for some time, due to a wrangle over contracts but now the provincial Coastal authority (Costas) has ordered their removal from maritime land. as they are closed indefinitely, the structures are unauthorised and uninsured to be on the beaches, and if the local government doesn’t follow its instructions, then Costas will take steps to have them taken down.

the beach bars closed on 1st January, after the contract extension ran out and since then orihuela town hall has failed to complete a new tender process for the contract and provision of services. the contract includes several services, not just the beach bar itself. it also covers sun loungers, water sports and activities and toilets. it is believed that several companies have bid for the new contract, including the incumbent supplier. however, given the complexities of the service Costas seem to doubt that the beach bars will be up and running anytime soon and maybe not even by the start of the summer tourist season. a letter was issued in March instructing the current supplier, Chiringuitos del Sol to removes its beach bars within 10 days. in response the company called on the city council to reopen the beach bars immediately so that a public service could be carried out over the easter holidays and also pointed out that taking down the structures would have a negative impact on tourism and the local economy. however, this didn´t happened and the bars were cordoned off by the police. the company is now legally challenging the decision made by Costas and is also requesting compensation for financial losses due to the dana, Covid and inflation.

Costas has been keen to point out that structures are only permitted on beaches if they are providing a service to the public and cannot complete the service from another location.