People Smugglers.
The European police agency says Spanish authorities have arrested 37 people suspected of belonging to a Vietnamese people-smuggling ring that has earned an estimated 13 million euros.
Europol said in a statement yesterday that the gang charged each Vietnamese migrant 18,000 euros and smuggled them into the European Union via South America.
Each group of up to 12 migrants was guided by an English-speaking smuggler who facilitated their travel.
Spanish police conducted searches of 10 houses and more than 100 beauty salons across the country after learning that the smuggling operation was largely based in Barcelona.
The gang also furnished the migrants with counterfeit residency documents.
Missing
A British ex pat is missing on the Costa del Sol.
Donald Wright has not been seen since Tuesday, after he left his bar in Fuengirola port.
He told his wife that he was going to the bank in La Cala but he never returned .. the bank has no record of Mr. Wright entering the branch.
Mr Wright was driving a gold Renault Laguna when he disappeared.
An appeal on social media has been launched in a bid to find him .. he did not take his mobile phone.
The police and the British consulate have been informed.
Bus Driver
A bus driver has been stopped twice in 17 days for driving while under the influence of drugs in Torre Pachecho.
The 48-year-old, who lives in Murcia, now faces a €2,000 fine and a 12 point loss from his driving license.
The incidents took place as he drove his bus on the route from Torre-Pacheco to Jumilla. On each occasion, there were at least 14 passengers on the bus.
He was first stopped during random Cartegena police checks at the end of October. An initial saliva test showed a positive reading for both cocaine and cannabis.
He was again stopped earlier this month, and the test produced similar results.
Drug Bust
Following a major police operation, three people have been arrested on drug trafficking charges, including one driving a van distributing the drugs in Torrevieja
Three people have so far been arrested, with other detentions looming, after an investigation by the National Police led to the breakup of a major drug supply network.
The arrest in Torrevieja was in addition to a raid in Elda, coordinated by the National Police who had become aware of the network that would distribute narcotics throughout the Alicante province.
Water
Murcia’s regional government will increase its investment in water with 55 million Euros next year in to guarantee water resources to irrigators and agricultural producers.
The money will go to modernization projects and infrastructure to help in water management.
At the same time the regional government is injecting two million Euro into the insurance system, helping in the signing of more insurance policies and improving their coverage for the regions growers.