ANOTHER night of violence has rocked the Moroccan community in Torre Pacheco, in Murcia, with men dressed in black hunting North African immigrants in attacks fuelled by racism.

The rioting in the San Antonio neighbourhood is a result of a photo that went viral of a 60-year-old resident, his face beaten up and bloody. Another video on TikTok showed a young man with a foreign accent allegedly assaulting the older resident.

READ MORE: Spain’s first-known illegal opium farm is closed down by police in Murcia

Although that incident is still under investigation, the street verdict is that a handful of Moroccan youths beat him up. On Friday, a handful of immigrant youths and youth from far-right groups clashed at a city council event condemning the original attacks. 

Three days of riots ensued, leaving several people arrested and several injured. The Civil Guard has deployed 75 officers in the municipality, and local police are roaming the streets.

“It’s the violence of frustrated children. Why don’t they study or work? These are children who are lost, but instead of addressing why they’re there, they’re singled out and persecuted,” a doctor told El País.

The immigrant grew up in the neighbourhood and has since left, but her entire family remains.

“I’m forbidding my nephews from going outside. But one of them is almost 19; how do you tell him not to go out? How do you demand that he stay locked up out of fear?” she says. 

Like her, some of the young people raised here have received an education and built successful careers.

But for many others, that hasn’t been an option. And they’ve ended up pushed out onto the streets, some involved in crime.

Mayor Pedro Ángel Roca, of the People’s Party (PP), supports the feeling of being fed up with crime, but claims there isn’t a lack of care and attention for young people in marginalised neighbourhoods. 

“In the end, nerves are triggered by a long period of crime,” he told El País. 

He believes the rise in crime can be attributed to the exponential increase in the town’s population, which has grown by almost 200% in recent decades—from 15,000 inhabitants to almost 42,000—driven mainly by immigrants who have come to work in the fields.

READ MORE: Teenager, 14, who stabbed his father to death during argument in Spain’s Murcia avoids jail

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A MOLDOVAN national has been charged with robbing 15 homes and breaking into two cars in Benissa, Teulada, and Calpe in the north of Alicante province.

The one-man crime wave started in Moraira towards the end of last year when the Guardia Civil learnt about several break-ins.

The 35-year-old acted at night having previously ensured that properties- mainly holiday homes- were empty.

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He also covered his face to make it difficult to identify him on security cameras.

The man switched his attention to Benissa in early 2025 with a dozen robberies.

His mistake was being spotted by Guardia patrols prowling around urbanisations in the early morning where he later staged break-ins.

The burglar was identified and arrested at his Calpe home with numerous stolen objects recovered as well as two firearms.

Items found included laptops, video consoles, jewellery, high-value perfumes, tools, and clothing.

The Guardia investigation is still active as they believe other properties were plundered by the Moldovan.

The man was jailed after appearing before a Denia judge.

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SPANISH tax authorities were defrauded of almost €69 million in IVA which was not paid on alcoholic drinks purchased by a network of firms and front men.

The Guardia Civil and Tax Agency have arrested eight people who bought 8.2 million litres of spirits between 2018 and 2024 and dodged tax payments.

The dismantled organisation had 93 companies in Spain, Germany, Portugal, Malta as well as the Turks and Caicos Islands which had low tax rates.

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Authorities said money made by the swindle was laundered via the British dependency and the group used a variety of shell companies- most of which disappeared months after being formed and had an air of legality about them.

19 searches homes and business premises were searched in Barcelona, Cadiz, A Coruña, Madrid and Valencia, as well a room of a luxury hotel in Ibiza where one of the three alleged ringleaders was staying.

Several of the detainees had a history of similar searches.

The long list of seized items included a yacht, five high-end vehicles (including three Porsches), 34 luxury watches and €333,085 in cash.

Bank accounts with a balance of more than €700,000 have been blocked and an order has been issued to seize 21 properties.

Those arrested have been accused of crimes against the Public Treasury, money laundering, document forgery and membership of a criminal organisation.

Investigations started in 2023 after tax inspectors detected the possibility of a massive fraud being run via a tax warehouse for alcoholic drinks in Valencia province.

They then filed a complaint with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.

The subsequent probe revealed that those who have been arrested acquired large quantities of alcohol from other EU countries and transferred it to the Valencia warehouse.

They also had similar facilities in the Netherlands and Portugal to use in an operation where they did not have to pay IVA by taking advantage of the existing transitional taxation regime for the tax in intra-community operations.

Bottles were sold to wholesalers without having paid IVA and all the profits were laundered via shell companies and a series of bogus invoices.

Money was switched between multiple bank accounts making it very difficult to trace.

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