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Thieves buy cheap plane tickets just to steal tobacco and perfumes from duty free shops at Costa Blanca airport

Thieves buy cheap plane tickets just to steal tobacco and perfumes from duty free shops at Costa Blanca airport

A GANG specialising in stealing duty free goods from Alicante-Elche airport has been convicted of theft.

Three men and two women- all of Romanian nationality- bought cheap flight tickets to access the airside section of the facility.

They were each given one-year prison sentences by an Elche court which also banned them for 40 months from being within 500 metres of the Costa Blanca airport.

ARRESTED THIEVES

The Guardia Civil launched an operation in January 2024 after a significant rise in tobacco and perfume thefts was reported at the airport’s duty free stores.

They collated evidence that an organised criminal gang was running a sophisticated operation.

Members of the group acted in small teams and bought plane tickets to nearby destinations in order to pass through security controls to access the duty free shops.

Once they plundered a business, they left the terminal without taking a flight.

In some cases, they made a day of it by boarding a plane and stealing at a destination airport.

If they thought they were under suspicion, they gave it some time before trying to steal again before leaving the Alicante-Elche terminal.

The way they operated made it difficult for authorities to identify them.

Items stolen in Alicante had a total value of over €7,600.

The Guardia Civil managed to identify them and spotted three of the crew at the airport who had bought tickets for Palma de Mallorca.

They helped themselves to duty free items and boarded the Palma flight where they were arrested after landing.

Two of their colleagues were intercepted and detained before leaving Alicante-Elche airport after stealing €1,125 of cigarettes, which were returned to the shops.

Mercadona supermarket owner Juan Roig donates €1.5million to repair flood-damaged parks and squares in Valencia

Mercadona supermarket owner Juan Roig donates €1.5million to repair flood-damaged parks and squares in Valencia

JUAN Roig, the owner of the Valencia-based Mercadona supermarket chain, has donated €1.5 million to repair parks and squares damaged by last October’s floods.

The new cash injection is in addition to a €500,000 investment in Paiporta carried out last month by Mercadona.

Roig said the extra money will go to Catarroja, Algemesi, Aldaia and Massanassa, so that residents can enjoy the popular outdoor spaces again.

PAIPORTA’S PLAZA XUQUER- ALREADY REPAIRED(Mercadona image)

The works will be carried out in collaboration with local councils.

Last November, Roig pledged up to €25 million to small businesses affected by the flood disaster via his Marina de Empresa innovation hub.

A flood aid programme was launched called the Alcem-se(Let’s Rise Up) platform.

Direct and non-refundable grants of up to €10,000 per company were made available.

The Alcem-se platform is now coordinating the distribution of money to parks and squares.

The locations to get funding are:

CATARROJA: Placa de l’Horteta, Placa de la Region, Placa del Port and Parc les Barraques.

ALGEMESI: Avenida Cortes Valencianas park, Plaza Escuelas Pias, Plaza La Ribera and Plaza Argentina.

ALDAIA: Las Oliveretas Park.

MASSANASSA: Font Cabilda Park, Plaza Les Escoles Velles, Baixeta Park, Plaza Valencian Country and Plaza Orquesta Catala.

PAIPORTA: Plaza Casota, Plaza Xuquer, Plaza 3 de Abril and Plaza Soliera.

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