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CRIME

Tragic end to police search for missing children in Valencia as bodies found and mother arrested

The mother of two young children was detained by police on Thursday evening after she confessed that her two children were dead and buried on scrubland near her home.

Published: 15 March 2019 10:50 CET
Tragic end to police search for missing children in Valencia as bodies found and mother arrested
Police teams searched for the children. Photo: Proteccion Civil Godella @pcgodella/Twitter

A huge police hunt had been launched on Thursday morning after police were called to the home of a couple after a neighbour reported a fight. 

The neighbour called 112 after hearing screams and seeing the woman run from the house, half naked and with bloody, with her husband chasing her.

Their children, Amiel aged three-and-a-half and his five-month old baby sister Rachel, were nowhere to be found,

READ MORE: Police launch hunt for 4-year-old and toddler missing in Valencia

More than 150 officers from different police forces, including divers, sniffer dogs and a helicopter launched a frantic search to find the two young children in Godella, a town near Valencia.

 

But during questioning, the mother, who is reportedly in her mid-twenties, confessed that the children were dead and buried near the home.

Local media reported that the family had been squatting in an abandoned house in “deplorable conditions”, according to ABC newspaper.

The father, who has been named as a Belgian citizen, also remains in police custody.

The bodies of the children showed “signs of violence” according to local media reports and post-mortems will be carried out on Friday to determine the cause of death. 

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CRIME

Dutch gang leader vanishes in Spain after accidental release

A top drug trafficker is on the run after accidentally being bailed from jail in Spain, officials said Tuesday, dodging a bid to extradite him to the Netherlands where his Mocro Maffia gang is based.

Published: 24 April 2024 09:23 CEST
Dutch gang leader vanishes in Spain after accidental release

Karim Bouyakhrichan was arrested in January in Marbella, an upmarket tourist resort on Spain’s southern coast, along with five other members of the Mocro Maffia gang.

They are suspected of having bought 172 properties in Spain worth over €50 million ($53.5 million) to launder their gains from drug trafficking.

But the following month a court in the southern city of Málaga decided to grant him provisional release with judicial supervision, against the wishes of public prosecutors and the Spanish government. Judicial sources said Tuesday his whereabouts are now unknown.

“It is worrying news,” Justice Félix Bolaños told a news conference following a weekly cabinet meeting when asked about the case.

“I can’t comment on any court decisions, but I do trust that the state security forces will bring this person to justice as soon as possible,” he added.

The Málaga court said in its ruling granting Bouyakhrichan provisional release that the risk that he would flee could be avoided “with other less burdensome security measures” than pre-trial detention.

It imposed bail of €50,000, took away his passport and ordered him to report to the authorities twice a month.

Dutch extradition bid

At the same time Spain’s top criminal court was processing a request for Bouyakhrichan’s extradition to the Netherlands, where he is wanted for large-scale drug trafficking.

But it postponed its extradition proceedings because the Málaga court intended to put Bouyakhrichan on trial first for money laundering, court sources told AFP.

When the Netherlands provided more information to back its extradition request, the top court summoned him to testify and when he failed to appear a fresh warrant for his arrest was issued.

Vincent Veenman, a spokesman at the Dutch public prosecutor’s office in The Hague, said it was “unknown” to them why Bouyakhrichan had not been detained for extradition.

“We are currently awaiting a decision on the extradition request,” he added.

“Our experience with the Spanish justice system is that this cooperation is generally good. Dozens of suspects are handed over every year.”

Bouyakhrichan’s brother Samir, another leading member of the Mocro Maffia, was murdered in 2014 near Marbella, sparking a reorganisation of organised crime groups in the region.

The Mocro Maffia made international headlines in 2022 after it emerged that Dutch Crown Princess Amalia had been placed under heavy protection in response to fears of an attack by the group.

Dutch media reported earlier last week that the 20-year-old heir to the Dutch throne studied in Madrid after being forced to ditch plans to live in student accommodation in Amsterdam because of the threats.

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