THE WEATHER
See page 2 for the week´s forecast
Edition 337
www.thecourier.es
Friday 1st September 2017
HONEY TRAP BACKFIRES
A
Dutchman and his Spanish partner who tried to extort 100 thousand euro from a local businessman over intimate photos and videos saw their plot fail, as their “mark” reported them to the Guardia Civil. The 55-year-old Dutch
national and his 52-year-old partner thought they would get some easy money out of their victim from an unnamed Alicante Province town, after she tried to rekindle an old relationship with the businessman, despite the fact that he was now married.
The plan was to blackmail him with sexually explicit videos and photos which were recorded on the woman’s mobile phone during the recent period when the “old fires” between them were “restoked”. The material made for perfect footage for the blackmail plot, and the Dutchman and his partner eventually contacted the man and asked him to hand over 100 thousand euro or else the material would be sent to his wife. A series of conversations also saw them demand that he travel north to Lloret de Mar in Girona to hand over the money. The victim refused the long journey, but offered 60 thousand euro and also asked that the couple sign a document that confirmed that all the material had
been wiped. They agreed to a meeting in a café area of a well-known Alicante Province hotel, but the hitch for the duo was that the man had already gone to the Guardia Civil and told them everything. Plain-clothed officers placed themselves in the café as the couple arrived, with the erstwhile extortionists sitting down at the table where the businessman was already waiting for them. He cooly conversed with them as the Guardia waited to pounce, and produced the document that they had talked about, and which the woman duly signed. As soon as she put pen to paper, the officers arrested the couple, and took them off to the local Guardia building, before putting them in front of a judge on extortion charges.
BLUE ZONE COMING? P
arking meters are set to be introduced in parts of the Orihuela Costa, under proposals being drawn up by Orihuela council. The Información newspaper reports that the Chamber of Commerce supports the idea in principle, so long as it is backed up by a survey which looks into the implications of installing the meters and their ideal locations. Proposed changes to local parking laws administered by Orihuela council feature a section on the possibility of extending the socalled Blue Zone to sections
of the Orihuela Costa. Información also quotes council sources as stating that a study would be undertaken and that the plans would only look at introducing charging at busy holiday periods like Easter and the summer peak season. The Aquamarina area is being touted as a possible site for the first batch of meters, which would be erected on roads close to the beach. No timescale for the feasibility studies has been declared, let alone when the parking meters would be put in.