News
“Q” Museum
Massive illegal cigarette
factory in Málaga
The first underground factory in
Europe for the illegal manufacture of
cigarettes was discovered in the
province of Málaga during February.
The clandestine operation was run by a
gang of 20, including British nationals,
who kept six Eastern European workers
living almost permanently inside the
cavern.
Nerja’s municipal museum has become
the first museum in Andalucía and the
fifth in Spain to be awarded the “Q”
mark of tourism quality. The accolade
from the Spanish Institute of Quality
Tourism recognises various aspects of
the museum’s operation which create
the experience offered to visitors. The
Caves Foundation which manages the
facility said it would continue to
implement new technologies, such as the
audio guides in eight languages which
will be available later this year.
Balcón railings
Railings around the Balcón de Europa in
Nerja are being replaced with designs
which were in place when the famous
TV series Verano Azul was filmed there.
Images from the series have been
studied so that replica railings could be
installed in a €70,000 project supported
by the regional government. The change
was prompted by the need to replace the
existing railings which were in an
advanced stage of deterioration.
Gym re-opens
The gymnasium at Nerja’s municipal
swimming pool was fully reopened last
month after improvements to the floor
and lighting. Equipment which was
broken has been replaced, while a room
for those following the CrossFit regime
has been installed. Sports councillor
Daniel Rivas described these exercises as
“very fashionable” at present.
Dog law
A new by-law being introduced in
Torrox will soon oblige dog owners to
clean up after their pets in the street or
be fined up to €700. Not only should
droppings be collected, but urine should
be diluted with a solution of water and
vinegar in equal parts. The legislation
will become effective following an
awareness campaign and the town hall
will supply free bags and bottles to dog
owners.
Police said the clandestine plant was
discovered on a remote farm near
Monda, 20 kilometres north of
Marbella. It covered 200 square metres
and was equipped with machines
producing 3,500 cigarettes an hour,
operating 24 hours a day. Fresh air was
pumped in, powered by a generator
which required refuelling every day.
The underground chamber could only
be accessed via a trapdoor in a stable
block which was covered by a shipping
container. A fork-lift truck was used to
move the container, revealing the
trapdoor which led into a maze of
tunnels, ending in the secret bunker
four metres below the surface.
A police operation which ended on
February 17 resulted in the detention of
20 British, Lithuanian and Ukrainian
suspects, 12 of whom are being held
behind bars. However, those arrested
would not explain to officers how to
get into the underground factory.
By the time investigators discovered
the trapdoor and reached the workers,
the generator which pumped in clean
air had run out of diesel and those
trapped inside were in danger of
asphyxiation. Sources at the Guardia
Civil expressed dismay at the lack of
humanity which had been shown by
those detained, several of whom were
living in luxury homes in Marbella or
Málaga. Europol has estimated that the
illegal factory was generating €635,000
per week. During the operation, which
included raids on 13 residential
properties and warehouses, police
seized more than three million
cigarettes, along with 20 kilos of
hashish, 144 kilos of marijuana which
was being grown in the bunker and
three weapons, plus GPS tracking and
jamming devices. Police said the
cigarettes, branded Cartel, were
destined for France, Germany and
especially the UK.
The British press reported that one of
those detained, 31-year-old Daniel
Dobbs from Molton in North
Yorkshire, was serving a long sentence
for drugs trafficking when he vanished
from his cell at Hatfield Lakes open
prison in November 2018. The UK’s
National Crime Agency tracked him to
Spain where he was detained along
with the other 19 suspects last month.
Early caterpillars
The arrival of this spring’s
processionary caterpillars was a month
earlier than usual, according to Spain’s
National Association of Environmental
Health Companies which has blamed
climate change. Pine trees in parks,
gardens, and countryside in some parts
of Andalucía and elsewhere already
had large nests developing in the first
half of February following low rainfall
and higher temperatures than usual.
The caterpillars “pose a major risk to
children and adults causing dermatitis,
eye damage and severe allergic
reaction and, in pets, even death,” said
the association’s director Milagros
Fernandez de Lezeta. In spring, the
nests, which look like balls of cotton
wool or candy floss, fall from branches
of pine trees and the caterpillars start
searching for a safe place to bury
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themselves, and metamorphose into a
harmless moth. They walk nose to tail
in a procession which can be several
metres in length and can cover a
considerable distance.
The insects are covered with tiny
barbed hairs which contain a venomous
protein called thaumetopoein, a toxin
which can cause breathing difficulties
and vomiting. Especially vulnerable are
dogs, which can try to eat the
caterpillars and get the barbed hairs
stuck in their paws, nose, or tongue.
Sisters aged five and ten were treated
urgently in Ceuta last month after
having come into contact with the
caterpillars. Although both were
quickly out of danger, they suffered
redness and an alarming increase in
body temperature.