Speed reduction
The maximum speed limit for cars on
Spain’s secondary roads will be reduced to
90 kph from January 1, with vans, lorries,
buses and coaches restricted to 80 kph. At
present, unless otherwise stated, the limit
is 100 kph. The country’s traffic authority,
Tráfico, believes a ten kph reduction in
speed will reduce road deaths by ten per
cent.
Tolls ending
Tolls on the AP-1 autopista have ended.
Spain’s socialist government said last
month it would abolish all toll motorways
once their existing operation concessions
expire, starting with the AP-1 with effect
from December 1. The AP-1, known as the
Autopista del Norte, runs for 87
kilometres starting near Burgos and
crossing the Basque mountains, ending in
Eibar.
Different scores
A gang caught growing cannabis in
Alicante were discovered to have been
playing classical music to their plants 24
hours a day. Huge plantations were
discovered in warehouses which experts
say would have produced four crops a
year, each netting about €80,000. Five
Spanish, German and Swedish music-
loving nationals were detained by police.
Amazon bug
Amazon Spain has warned customers not
to click on any link or open any
attachment in an email which purports to
be from them. Doing so takes users to an
apparently authentic Amazon page but
which really is being operated by
fraudsters which asks for confidential data
to be input. More information on the
Amazon site titled Proteger tu sistema
(Protect your account).
Amazon strike
Meanwhile, Amazon’s packaging and
delivery staff in Madrid plan further
strikes during the festive period. After the
breakdown of negotiations, stoppages are
planned on December 6, 7 and 8, followed
by December 15 to 30, and January 3.
Unions say new working conditions and
salary rates are illegal as they are worse
than those currently in place.
Protective pet
A 25-year-old man in Tarragona received
dog bites to the nose and arm last month
when he attacked his girlfriend, the
animal’s owner, during an argument. The
pet then stood guard over her growling,
and giving her enough time to call the
police. The boyfriend was arrested and his
victim admitted he had been abusing her
physically and psychologically for over a
year.
Another delay for
new Health Centre
Yet another problem has hit the
lengthy project to build a long-awaited
new health centre in Nerja. It was in
2003 that the then mayor, José Albert
Armijo, signed a deal with the regional
government to go 50-50 on the
estimated €2.4 million which it would
cost to build a new facility, but since
then, several sites have been
considered and rejected as political
wrangling continued.
In 2010, Nerja Town Hall ceded land
near the town centre to the Junta de
Andalucía and spent €500,000 on
preparing it for construction. However,
it was then ruled out because it lies in a
flood zone and since then, the site on
the east bank of the Chillar river has
remained undeveloped and continues
to be used as a large, informal parking
area. By early 2017, however, a site,
previously considered and rejected in
2008 and 2009, was back in favour.
The area is at the eastern end of the
town on open land between the
Burriana roundabout on the N-340 and
Supersol supermarket, opposite the
Nerja Club Hotel.
Last month, however, it was revealed
Nerja – planned site for new health centre
that 4,500 square metres of the 6,500
square metre site does not actually
belong to the town. However, making
the announcement, mayor Rosa Arrabal
of the PSOE gave an assurance that this
would be “easily” resolved in the coming
months, and once in municipal hands,
the whole site would be ceded to the
region’s health department.
Speaking in Nerja last month, regional
health delegate Ana Isabel Gonzalez
said plans to develop the site have been
completed and as soon as the land
ownership issue is resolved, the
construction work will be put out to
tender.
Minor rescued from
prostitution
Police in Málaga have rescued a 15-
year-old girl from prostitution just as
she was about to be moved to Granada.
A number of people have been arrested
in the operation which began in August
when the Guardia Civil became aware
that the sexual services of a minor were
being advertised on the internet.
Investigators suspected that the girl was
from a Paraguayan family and her
mother confirmed that she had run
away from home after a number of
quarrels, but, although unaware of her
whereabouts, had not reported her
missing. The mother also confirmed
that photos of a young girl wearing
only underwear which had been posted
on contact websites were those of her
daughter.
It appears that the girl met a man in
Vélez-Málaga who offered her
16
somewhere to stay and the possibility
of earning some money. However, he
was a member of the gang who then
held her captive for a week in the
Palma-Palmilla district of Málaga and
obliged her to work as a prostitute.
The gang consisted of a married couple
and two minors, although there was no
family relationship between them, and
they forced her to have sex with a
number of men before deciding to
move her to Granada. Guardia Civil
officers stopped the couple and their
victim at Málaga bus station, while the
minors were detained later.
The gang has been charge with
offences including sex trafficking,
prostitution and membership of a
criminal gang. The adults are being
held in prison while the minors were
sent to a reform centre.