News
Market suspended
Vélez kidnap linked to drugs trafficking
Nerja ’ s Sunday market run by the Lions Club was suspended by the town hall in early August . Commerce councillor Javier López said the move was taken to avoid crowds gathering during the present health situation , and the market would eventually resume . The suspension also affected the craft market held occasionally in Plaza España ( pictured above ).
Knife detention
A young man thought to have psychiatric problems has been arrested in the El Palo district of Málaga after killing his family ’ s dog . He then went into the street , covered in blood , and threatened passers-by with a large knife . Local police cornered him in alley and persuaded him to drop the weapon before detaining him .
Cómpeta tender
The regional government has invited tenders for the contract to build Cómpeta ’ s new health centre with a budget of almost € 422,000 . The new 488 square metre facility is to be situated below the municipal parking lot in Plaza de España . Work is expected to start in early 2022 and will take four months to complete ,
Balcón lighting
A grant from Andalucía ’ s Tourism Ministry is to finance new lighting in the area of Nerja ’ s Balcón de Europa . The € 107,000 project will improve the appearance of the façade of the church and its bell tower , plus pillars and arches of the paseo . A separate project will upgrade lighting in the passageway between the Balcón and Plaza de España .
Police revealed last month that a 19- year-old man was kidnapped in Vélez- Málaga in May and released only after his family paid a ransom of € 10,000 . Four Moroccans and one Spanish national have since been detained on suspicion of their involvement .
Events began in the early hours of May 26 when the victim was captured by four men were waiting outside his home . He was forced into his own Audi A3 at gunpoint and told to drive towards Málaga on the A-7 , while his captors ’ own Seat car followed . The Audi was abandoned in a field near Cájiz and the group continued in the Seat a further 30 kilometres to an abandoned warehouse on the edge of Málaga city .
There the kidnappers contacted the teenager ’ s family demanding € 65,000 for his release , although after negotiations they agreed to € 20,000
Provisional details of the new hospital to be built in the city of Málaga were made public by the regional president last month . Juanma Moreno described the construction project as being of “ transcendental importance ,” adding that it would the “ largest hospital building ” in Andalucía .
The new facility will be on a 270,000 square metre site close to the Hospital Civil and the Hospital Materno- Infantil , of which 197,000 square metres will be occupied by the building itself . Sr Moreno said the new hospital would become a “ national reference for specialties .”
Facilities are expected to include 800 beds , 42 operating theatres and 200 outpatient clinics . Parking and other infrastructures will surround the main block and there will be pedestrian walkways connecting with the other two hospitals .
It will be Málaga ’ s third public hospital and is to be funded with € 375 million of public funds . No opening date has with half to be paid immediately and half later . The victim ’ s family members then took a taxi to the location , handed over € 10,000 and the victim was released after two-and-a-half hours of captivity .
The Delinquency and Organized Crime Unit ( Udyco ) of the National Police launched a complex operation under the name Prism to identify the kidnappers , describing them as “ dangerous .” The four suspects , all in their late 20s , were detained on July 28 and August 2 , and have appeared in a Málaga court where they were charged with kidnap and membership of a criminal organisation . Three were ordered to be held in custody .
Police say that all indications are that the incident is connected to drugs and to an outstanding debt . They said all four suspects and their victim have previous records for drugs trafficking .
Málaga new hospital
formally been announced , but speculation suggests it could take place during 2027 .
Falling population
The provincial government has listed eight municipalities in the Axarquía where it says the population has been decreasing over the last two decades . They are Almáchar , Benamargosa , Periana , Alcaucín , Árchez , Arenas , Canillas de Aceituno and Salares . It has asked for ideas on how tackle the problem under the title , “ Your initiative has value .”
Police warning
Police have warned hotels and restaurants of a scam recently detected in Vélez-Málaga . A phone call advises the manager that two electricity bills are outstanding and demanding payment within half an hour , otherwise , they are told , the supply will be disconnected . Dismissing evidence of direct debit payments as a computer glitch , the caller stays on the line until payment is made , and then disappears .
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