Your weekly news catch-up in Mallorca

In 2017, the Mallorca Hoteliers Federation estimated that member hotels had been hit with demands for compensation from British holidaymakers amounting to 50 million euros. The compensation was for food poisoning. The demands were false. The holidaymakers were defrauding the hotels, their claims pushed by an organisation that employed people to approach them with offers of free holidays. It wasn't only the cost of the holiday that could be paid by the compensation, awards by courts in the UK could be as high as 40,000 euros.

This operation had been known about since 2014. The publicity given to it was great. Its simplicity was aided by UK consumer legislation and by courts that would find in favour of claimants with the most flimsy of evidence. All that was needed was a chemist's receipt for diarrhoea medication.

It was 2017 when it all came to a head. There had been talk of British tourists being banned from all-inclusive hotels in Mallorca. All-inclusives were targeted specifically because guests normally only ate in them, which made the connection with alleged food poisoning straightforward. Only British tourists were implicated because of the ridiculously easy system of claims in the courts. There were talks at government level, and then suddenly the courts turned against claimants, whose fraud was exposed by posts on social media showing them enjoying their holidays when supposedly stricken by food poisoning.

Arrests were made in Mallorca by the Guardia Civil in September 2017. Three private prosecutions form the basis of a trial in Palma; Britons are among the accused. These are on behalf of two hotel companies and the Mallorca Hoteliers Federation, whose prosecution is for a much lower sum than was the global estimate in 2017. Prison terms of up to eight years are to be called for.

Unqualified club security personnel isn't responsible tourism

Claims such as this certainly wouldn't qualify as responsible tourism; the Balearic government has rather different behaviour in mind when it comes to responsible tourism. The responsible tourism message and pledge has been adopted by the Council of Mallorca, which will be promoting it at a total of 26 travel fairs in 2024.

Rebranding the tourism of excesses law, there will be far greater emphasis on the behaviour of individual holidaymakers, but businesses will still be covered. And these include clubs. It isn't within the scope of tourism law to address certain practices by clubs, as these are dealt with by employment law. And one club in Playa de Palma is realising just how tough sanctions can be.

An investigation by the National Police's Private Security Brigade has led to a potential fine of 300,000 euros for serious labour violations. Unqualified security personnel were being used, and the company contracted to provide this personnel is itself facing a fine of 100,000 euros. The people employed also face fines - 6,000 euros each. Two of them are also under investigation for having beaten up club clients.

The She-Devil of Playa de Palma

In Playa de Palma last Saturday there was an incident outside a club. Two people attacked an African man. He was stabbed seven times. One of the two was arrested on Sunday and charged with attempted murder. Known as La Diablesa, the She-Devil, she is said to be the leader of a gang called Los Trinitarios. Camera images and witnesses provided evidence to show that she produced a skewer from her bag and stabbed the man.

The National Police, who arrested La Diablesa, were called to what looked as if it had the makings of a very serious incident. On Monday, a resident of La Vileta in Palma saw a man on the streets who was carrying a knife. Police were to discover that he had several weapons on him - two firearms (plus ammunition), knives and machetes. A subsequent search of his home uncovered an axe hidden beneath a bed and several carbines. He maintained that he had these weapons because he had been threatened by a neighbour. There were no police reports of any threatening behaviour.

Stealing from trucks in Germany

Can Pastilla is part of Playa de Palma, and a bicycle rental shop in Can Pastilla was at the centre of a joint operation by the National Police and Germany's Landeskriminalamt police against a gang that had been stealing from trucks in Germany.

The gang's targets were trucks parked at motorway services. These trucks had been monitored to see what goods they were carrying. They were broken into and the goods were transported to Poland, where they were sold. Toys, televisions, vacuum cleaners. These were among the stolen goods. And it was suspected that 96 bikes with a combined value of 115,000 euros at the Can Pastilla shop had also been stolen.

The Polish leader of the gang was arrested. The shop in Can Pastilla was his.

Investigation ongoing after "controlled delivery" of drugs

In Santa Ponsa, the Guardia Civil made two arrests after a "controlled delivery" of two packages that contained almost 24 kilos of drugs - 7.7 of highly pure cocaine and 16 of hashish. A sniffer dog had detected the packages at the airport; they had been sent via a parcel delivery company.

One of the packages was for forwarding to another address, a place where a person from Seville was staying. The Guardia Civil later detained this person - a 27-year-old man - when he arrived on a flight. All three were remanded in custody without bail, the court having ordered this because of the size of the drugs consignment. In court, one of the three shouted out that he had names and phone numbers. The investigation is ongoing.

The Son Banya dealers who forgot about demolitions

The Son Banya shanty town in Palma is nicknamed Mallorca's drugs supermarket - and with very good reason. Residents of Son Banya are not unused to there being police operations against drugs. So when Palma and National Police turned up in force, certain individuals must have thought that there was a raid.

As it happened, there wasn't. The police were accompanying workers from a company contracted to carry out the demolition of seven dwellings. The people who ran off when the police appeared had either failed to realise that these shanties were scheduled for demolition or had simply forgotten. Before the work started, checks were made inside the buildings. The police discovered large quantities of heroin, cocaine, marijuana and designer drugs plus thousands of euros. The demolitions didn't go ahead as planned, as the drugs squad had to be called in.

Acquiring an estate and giving one away

In the Mallorcan countryside, that of Felanitx, police, Guardia Civil, the fire and rescue service and medics were all called to attend an incident involving two pit bulls. They had apparently escaped from a finca. A 38-year-old woman who was out for a walk was attacked and badly injured. The dogs were later put down.

Rather more pleasantly, the Llubi countryside is where the former US ambassador to Spain, James Costos, has chosen to buy an estate - the very pleasant old 'possession' of Vinagrella. The main house on the estate has been renovated at a cost of around 400,000 euros, and there are plans for the rest of it. A company belonging to Costos, his partner Michael Smith and the ex-CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt, wishes to build three new chalets. Llubi town hall says that only agricultural buildings can be constructed. The Council of Mallorca is to be asked for a ruling.

While the former ambassador has acquired an estate, a one-time RAF pilot has wished to give his away. Ian Adamson, who was born in Argentina to Scottish parents, died in 2014 at the age of 93. When he retired, he and his long-time partner Marie-Claude bought a finca in Banyalbufar. Known as La Paloma Blanca, this finca is in an area of outstanding natural beauty. Idyllic, it wasn't only somewhere for Ian and Marie-Claude to live. An altruist who had many years previously been involved with a pioneering scheme for underprivileged children in the UK, Ian made La Paloma Blanca a place for disadvantaged children in Mallorca to enjoy summer holidays.

Posthumously named an Adopted Son of Mallorca, his wish was to donate the finca and for it continue to be for these children. The Council of Mallorca will now manage the finca, which will also become a mountain refuge on the Tramuntana Dry Stone Route in the low-season months.