A COUPLE have been accused of scamming an elderly Alicante man out of €83,000 and also getting him to change his will to make them the sole beneficiaries.

The ‘carers’- a Colombian husband and wife- have been arrested by the Policia Nacional for fraud and kidnapping.

The Spaniard, 75, became a virtual prisoner in his own home with his bank accounts cleared out- leaving him with just €270.

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The scam started in May 2024 when the woman, 53, met the pensioner in a hospital and offered to care for him after discovering he lived on his own and had no family or friends.

Within days, the volunteer moved into his home with her husband.

They then laid the foundations for their con, being friendly at all times, taking him for walks, and gaining his trust.

Once they got to know them well, they obtained details about his bank accounts, assets, passwords, and possible heirs in his will.

Months later, they convinced their elderly employer to travel with them to Colombia so that a farm could be bought in the couple’s name.

He underwent the long trip and was never shown any property, but instead his carers processed various documents.

During the visit his health deteriorated and he suffered regular humiliating treatment at their hands.

Back in Spain, the couple took away his house keys so that he couldn’t go out, including making visits to his bank.

They forced him to change his will in favour of them and got him to make transfers to bank accounts in Colombia in the name of had to trace third parties.

Police said that the transfers totalled €85,233.

Some of the money was used to buy two motorcycles, registered in the woman’s name, but the couple had no driving licenses.

Instead they were regularly used by their son.

One night, the elderly victim managed to escape when the couple were asleep.

He asked for help from a neighbour who contacted authorities.

A Policia Nacional patrol found him in an understandable state of shock and arrested the Colombian man and woman.

ALICANTE is one of many cities in Spain where the Semana Santa (Holy Week) events are a ‘must see’ if you are in the area.

The city stages 25 processions between Palm Sunday and Easter Day (April 20).

Such is the high regard for the commemorations in Alicante, they were classified in 2022 as being of National Tourist Interest.

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About 30 brotherhoods and brotherhoods are involved in the processions with religious images of great artistic value, such as Spain’s biggest float depicting the Last Supper.

The streets are lit up with candles with marching bands creating a solemn atmosphere.

The Easter commemorations include Wednesday’s Procession of Santa Cruz, which, starts at 7pm from the district of the same name located on the slope of Mount Benacantil.

A statue of Jesus Christ is taken by bearers through the narrow streets of Alicante’s Old Town down to the city centre.

It then does the reverse uphill journey back to the Santa Cruz chapel.

On Thursday night, as a prelude to Good Friday- the day of the Crucifixion- the Procession of Silence takes place with two central and invaluable works being carried.

They are the Christ of the Good Death sculpted in the 17th century by Nicolas de Bussi and Francisco Salzillo’s Our Lady of Sorrows dating back to the 18th century.

As they are carried, a solemn atmosphere will ensue with accompanying music and an aroma of incense and flowers.

Other notable processions are on Good Friday morning with a succession of passion figures carried through the city’s Esplanade.

That will also be the setting for the Easter Day procession of the Virgen de la Alegria next to the statue of the Risen Christ

MARCH passenger records were obliterated at Alicante-Elche airport with 1.47 million travellers using the facility.

Over a third came from the United Kingdom and the overall total is 16.4% higher than a year earlier, when the Easter holiday period started in March.

Alicante-Elche was the sixth busiest in the Aena network of airports behind Madrid, Barcelona, Palma, Malaga and Gran Canaria.

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But it had the highest passenger percentage growth at almost double the 8.3% increase recorded last month at Malaga.

The Costa Blanca airport welcomed a record 18.4 million passengers in 2024, and that figure is certain to be broken come the end of the year.

So far in 2025, Alicante-Elche has accumulated 3.6 million travellers- up 14.6% on the first three months of last year.

Flights are also up by 16.2% over the first quarter compared to 2024.

International passenger numbers in March grew by 18.2% to a total of 1.2 million.

UK travellers came in at 502,586, meaning they accounted for well over a third of all travellers- foreign and domestic.

No other nationality came even close with the Netherlands second with 97,869; Germany, with 95,729; Poland, with 88,584; and Belgium fifth with 81,616.

Domestic passenger numbers were just under 200,000- 6% more than a year earlier.

The Easter period at the Costa Blanca airport between April 11 and April 21 has 4,014 flights scheduled- almost a thousand more than last year’s Easter programme.