Spanish News Brief – Monday 18 December 2023

The week starts in Spain with the publication of the labour costs for the third quarter and the commercial balance for October. Other notable references of the day will be the German IFO for December and the monthly report of the Bundesbank. In addition, the ECB publishes its survey of monetary analysts.

A criminal group of 14 airport workers were arrested for theft at Tenerife’s Reina Sofía Airport in Spain. They stole high value items like watches, jewellery, phones, and electronics worth over 1.9 million euros from passenger luggage. They fenced the stolen goods through jewellery stores and online marketplaces. The group had a defined hierarchy, and each member had a specific role like selecting flights, hiding items, selling goods or laundering money.

The Guardia Civil dismantled a paramilitary organisation of Nazi ideology in Spain by arresting 11 leaders and investigating another 11 members across 16 Spanish provinces. The organisation’s administrator had over 2,800 followers online and encouraged them to arm themselves and create an “army”. The group held regular meetings and had a headquarters in Malaga. The leaders instructed members to obtain weapons licenses and acquire rifles, shotguns, pistols, and explosive devices.

A man is on trial for the murder of his 11-year-old son in Sueca, Valencia in April 2022. He is accused of stabbing the boy multiple times, killing him, during an argument while the son was celebrating his 11th birthday with his father. The father and mother had been divorced since 2021 and shared custody of the son. However, the father had a history of verbally, physically and mentally abusing the mother over 17 years of marriage. He had previously been convicted of assaulting the mother in 2021 but still contacted her in violation of a restraining order.

A new invasive beetle species that bores into ornamental trees has been detected for the first time in Europe in Spain and Greece. Called Olenecamptus bilobus, specimens of this pest species were found in Elche, Spain and on the Greek island of Lemos. The species is considered a pest in China and normally bores into wood of trees like artocapus, ficus, and mulberry. There are currently no specific control measures for this species in Europe.