Soltalk October 2019 | Page 18

News Runaway van At the end of August, pedestrians in Frigiliana were surprised by a runaway van which careered down 13 steps in Calle Puerta del Molino. The driver was delivering ice to local shops and had failed to put on the handbrake properly. Luckily, a handrail hindered the vehicle’s further progress and with no-one on the steps at the time, there were no reports of injuries. Scooter rules New regulations for users of electric scooters in the city of Málaga are expected to come into force this month. The rules will classify the scooters as vehicles, so restricting them to cycle lanes and roads, and making their use on pavements illegal. The regulations, which the town hall says are being introduced to “protect pedestrians” set a maximum speed for scooters of 30 kilometres per hour. Carcasses dumped An animal welfare group says the bodies of dogs and cats which are killed by traffic on the A-356 road in Vélez-Málaga are being dumped in ditches at the roadside. Tidus has reported these “illegal burials” to police because such incidents are supposed to be reported to the animal’s owner. The regional government, which is responsible for the road, says it is investigating. Medic abused A staff member at Torre del Mar’s emergency medical centre has reported abuse from a member of the public. In a verbal attack last month, the individual’s family were threatened. The suspect was arrested by police and the complaint is now in the hands of the College of Physicians in Málaga. Drought threat As the hydrological year ended on September 30, Málaga’s largest reservoir at La Viñuela in the Axarquía was at an uncomfortably low level. Even the heavy rains of mid-September failed to make much impact on the water level which was approaching official drought levels. This is not reported to be an emergency, but authorities have put the reservoir on alert. Nerja water plant – the final chapter? In what could be the final chapter of a long, drawn-out saga, work is expected to re-start on Nerja’s water treatment plant this month. The town was advised in the middle of September that the modified plan which it had submitted for the system had finally been approved by the Ministry of Ecological Transition. The town’s mayor, José Alberto Armijo, said it was “very good news” and that the company now executing the project, Latania, was expected to take eight months to complete it. Still outstanding, however, is confirmation that once the plant is completed and fully tested, the Ministry will hand over its administration to Nerja Town Council. The project as now modified and approved allows for the installation of additional collection pipes around the municipality. The government’s sub- delegate in Málaga, María Gámez, said the work must be carried out in a manner which does not affect the ambient environment or the enjoyment of Burriana beach, “which is important for residents and visitors alike.” The project to build a water treatment plant in Nerja was first offered for tender at the start of the century, but it was not until 2013 that it was contracted with a budget of €23.24 million to be paid by central government. Work began in 2014, but was halted in 2017 when one of the three companies in the winning consortium was forced in bankruptcy. The plant itself is situated on the N- 340 road between Nerja and Maro, and is reported to be over 90 per cent complete. The additional work now authorised has increased the cost of the project by over €2 million. Huge drugs gang bust on the coast Eighteen people have been arrested by Guardia Civil officers based in Vélez- Málaga suspected of being members of a criminal gang who brought large quantities of drugs into Spain from Morocco. More than a ton of hashish, around 28,000 kilos, has been seized during the operation. The investigation began earlier this year when it was suspected that an individual in Marbella was directing numerous people to bring in the drugs by boat, and then store it in “nurseries” at various points along the coast. The material was subsequently sold to a buyer who distributed across Europe by road. Investigators believe that increased pressure from security services in the Campo de Gibraltar has forced drugs traffickers to move their operations east along the coast. Evidence of this appeared in May when a boat was spotted on a beach in Nerja and two vans were apprehended, one of which 16 was loaded with 38 bales of hashish. Around 1,000 litres of fuel was confiscated which investigators believe would have been used to refuel the vessel in which the drugs had arrived. These events triggered three house searches and the arrests of nine people, including the head of the gang and those responsible for its logistics, who now faces charges of membership of a criminal organization and drug trafficking. Over 1,200 kilos of hashish, cash and four vehicles were confiscated. Meanwhile, a 43-year-old resident of Alcaucín was detained near the watchtower in Maro in early September after 17 kilos of marijuana was found in his car. Guardia Civil officers, who approached the car because it was illegally parked, discovered him naked inside, accompanied by a German shepherd dog. The €9,521 in cash he was carrying was confiscated.