The Torrevieja Local Police and the Citizen Security Unit of the Alicante Guardia Civil Command (USECIC) carried out a joint operation on Wednesday, 3rd June, at around 8pm on the Torrevieja seafront to combat the illegal sale of allegedly counterfeit products. This forms part of the reinforcement that the city’s Local Police have been carrying out since last April to tackle this practice in the city’s main pedestrian area.
Wednesday’s deployment, comprised of approximately 30 officers from the Guardia Civil and local police, supported by patrol cars and motorcycles, aims to maintain constant surveillance during both the summer and off-seasons with a dual objective. Firstly, it seeks to prevent individuals of sub-Saharan origin engaged in this type of commerce from occupying the Torrevieja promenades with their stalls, thus avoiding the inconvenience to tourists and residents. Secondly, it aims to mitigate the damage they cause to small businesses in Torrevieja, particularly those located on the Juan Aparicio promenade and Avenida de los Marineros on Cura beach. These businesses sell sportswear and accessories similar to those offered to tourists on the promenade, but are completely legal and compliant with tax regulations.
Furthermore, this type of joint operation between the Local Police and the Guardia Civil seeks to prevent behaviours such as the one that occurred on 2 June at around 8:30pm. On that occasion, a vendor of Senegalese origin, who has only been residing in Torrevieja for five months, was asked on Avenida de los Marineros by a Local Police officer riding a motorcycle to leave the promenade where he was illegally selling allegedly counterfeit products.
This individual ignored the officer’s order and confronted him, throwing the bundle of clothes and shoes he was carrying, hitting him on the shoulder and nearly knocking him off his motorcycle. The young man was arrested for allegedly assaulting a law enforcement officer and for allegedly committing a crime against intellectual and industrial property. This incident follows one that occurred a few weeks ago in which a street vendor slashed all four tyres of a patrol car, forcing an officer to draw his weapon to arrest him. Additionally, the chief superintendent has received threats while walking with his family in public.
During Wednesday’s operation, which took place in the late afternoon when street vending intensifies, officers identified a group of people of African origin who had already sold their merchandise before the police arrived. There were some tense moments between some vendors and members of the local police, but the situation did not escalate. Among the members of the group being identified, a discussion broke out, with the more moderate members criticising others for their more belligerent attitude toward the officers.
