Magaluf police chief charged over corruption
The head of Calvià police on the holiday island of Majorca has been arrested following corruption claims filed by businessmen and bar owners in the notorious binge drinking hotspot of Magaluf.
Chief Inspector José Antonio Navarro has been remanded in custody following corruption claims made against him by several businessmen from Punta Ballena, the street where most of Magaluf’s bars and nightclubs are located.
According to online daily Mallorca Diario, the claimants presented proof of extortion by policemen and Calvià Town Hall civil servants at the office of Majorca's anti-corruption prosecutor on Friday.
Two other local police officers were arrested by Spanish Civil Guards in connection to the corruption claims and will have to be questioned by a judge alongside Navarro.
Spanish national daily ABC reported the disgruntled nightclub owners as saying favouritism by authorities was having a serious effect on their businesses.
“It’s not about making money anymore, it’s about surviving,” one of the businessmen told the court.
“You don’t mess with our livelihoods. We have nothing to lose.”
Magaluf made international headlines this summer as a result of a viral YouTube video which showed an 18-year-old British holidaymaker performing fellatio on 24 men during a pub crawl.
Island authorities have since attempted to clamp down on the drunk and disorderly behaviour of Magaluf holiday revellers by minimizing numbers on the notorious alcohol-fuelled bar crawls.
In addition, the Playhouse club where the fellatio incident took place was forced to shut down for a year, while Playhouse and the bar crawl organizers Carnage were jointly fined €55,000 ($73,000).
The tourist resort of Magaluf, mainly popular with young British holidaymakers, has also seen numerous alcohol-fuelled accidents involving the craze known as ‘balconing’, where people jump from one balcony to another or from a balcony into the hotel pool.
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Chief Inspector José Antonio Navarro has been remanded in custody following corruption claims made against him by several businessmen from Punta Ballena, the street where most of Magaluf’s bars and nightclubs are located.
According to online daily Mallorca Diario, the claimants presented proof of extortion by policemen and Calvià Town Hall civil servants at the office of Majorca's anti-corruption prosecutor on Friday.
Two other local police officers were arrested by Spanish Civil Guards in connection to the corruption claims and will have to be questioned by a judge alongside Navarro.
Spanish national daily ABC reported the disgruntled nightclub owners as saying favouritism by authorities was having a serious effect on their businesses.
“It’s not about making money anymore, it’s about surviving,” one of the businessmen told the court.
“You don’t mess with our livelihoods. We have nothing to lose.”
Magaluf made international headlines this summer as a result of a viral YouTube video which showed an 18-year-old British holidaymaker performing fellatio on 24 men during a pub crawl.
Island authorities have since attempted to clamp down on the drunk and disorderly behaviour of Magaluf holiday revellers by minimizing numbers on the notorious alcohol-fuelled bar crawls.
In addition, the Playhouse club where the fellatio incident took place was forced to shut down for a year, while Playhouse and the bar crawl organizers Carnage were jointly fined €55,000 ($73,000).
The tourist resort of Magaluf, mainly popular with young British holidaymakers, has also seen numerous alcohol-fuelled accidents involving the craze known as ‘balconing’, where people jump from one balcony to another or from a balcony into the hotel pool.
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