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THE INDEPENDENT ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER WITH LOCAL, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL NEWS
EDITION 580
FRIDAY 21st JULY TO THURSDAY 3rd AUGUST 2017 TV GUIDE
MOVIES AT ...
PAGES 25 -32
FORTNIGHTLY SUPPLEMENT F
property p
Net tightens over bogus claims
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PAGES 49 -56
guide
Police crack “the most active” drugs’ ring in Canaries WEAPONS SEIZED IN RAIDS
HE British Government has announced further plans to clamp down on bogus holiday sickness claims.
The move follows concerns from the travel industry that more and more suspected false insurance claims for gastric illnesses like food poisoning are being brought by British holidaymakers, partly fuelled by touts operating in European resorts. Due to the reported increase in claims, and as many tour operators appear to settle them out of court, the costs to the industr y are increasing. This is raising fears of higher package holiday prices for the majority of law-abiding holiday makers. A major barrier to tackling the issue is that legal costs are not controlled, so costs for tour
operators who fight claims can be out of all proportion to the damages claimed. Ministers said they want to reduce cash incentives to bring spurious claims against package holiday tour operators. Under these pro-posals tour operators would pay a prescribed sum de-pending on the value of the claim, making the cost of defending a claim predictable. Justice Secretar y David Lidington said: “Our message to those who make false holiday sickness claims is clear – your actions are damaging and will not be tolerated.” Prosecutions against Brits for making false food claims have already started.
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HE Civil Guard has dismantled one of the most active criminal organisations of drug traffickers in the Canary Islands.
Nine people have been arrested and half a ton of hashish seized during an investigation, codenamed “Teide”, carried out by drug squad officers inTenerife. Police said the network specialised in the transport of narcotic substances to the
Canaries but they are confident it has now been dismantled. One of the leaders is alleged to be a well-known entrepreneur based in Gran Canaria. As part of the investigation, seven houses were raided, together with a popular
restaurant in Las Palmas. Acting on information received in Tenerife, police became aware that one of the most powerful and active criminal organisations in Morocco was supplying drugs to other groups in the Canaries. The “mother” group controlled all the processes involved, from the purchase of the plants, processing, transport to the Spanish coasts
Devastating scene after fire drama
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Photos by Gerard Zenou
HIS was the dramatic scene when the terrace area of a popular venue in urbanisation Playa Paraiso went up in flames.
Fortunately, no-one was hurt in the fire at the Paris Folies but it caused considerable damage, including destroying some of the iconic metal sculptures. One of them, the Eiffel Tower, was left standing. Firefighters from Las Chafiras were joined by volunteers from Adeje after the alarm was raised. Police and members of the Civil Guard also attended. They rushed to the location in calle Idafe, near the access to the Hotel Bahía Príncipe and managed to stop the flames spreading to the property itself. An investigation was later started into the cause of the fire.
and then distribution within Spain and to other countries such as Germany and the UK. The Moroccan leader was found to have links with a trusted right-hand man in Gran Canaria who oversaw the logistics and found people who would be interested in financing and acquiring large consignments of the narcotic substance. “They would employ very strict security measures in order to avoid detection,” said a police spokesman. The drugs were found stored in a house in Gran Canaria, waiting to be distributed to other groups. As well as the 470 kg of hashish distributed in bales, a hidden indoor plantation of marijuana was discovered, destined for a so-called consumer club. Weapons were also seized, plus 30,800 euros in cash, various high-end computer equipment, five cars and two nautical GPS. Of the nine people arrested, eight are Spanish men and the ninth is a Croatian woman. International warrants have been issued for other members of the gang.