A blow to an armed gang that extorted cannabis clubs in the Vega Baja

“We are uncompromising; we will pursue the war against anyone. I am aware that you have a wife and children,” that’s one of the mafia-tinged threats sent to the owner of a cannabis club in San Fulgencio. In October, a British-born criminal gang that has been partially dismantled by the Guardia Civil for extorting cannabis smokers’ associations in the Vega Baja to take control of these establishments through death threats and intimidation with firearms robbed the owner of a cannabis club in San Fulgencio.

The gang, which functions similarly to a cartel, ultimately gained control of at least two cannabis smoking associations in the Vega Baja region. The investigation commenced with a burglary that occurred at a club in San Fulgencio last October. The owner was extorted and threatened with death in order for the group to retain half of the profits. Initially, he refrained from filing a complaint due to fear, as they threatened to “blow his head off” if he went to the police.

The Guardia Civil has apprehended two members of this gang since the robbery and is currently in the process of locating at least four additional individuals who were involved in the incident. Three Guardia Civil officers were injured by the suspect, who confined himself in the residence of a foreign couple and offered significant resistance, during the most recent arrest in Orihuela Costa at the beginning of April.

Two submachine guns, which are classified as weapons of war, and over 300 cartridges of varying calibres were present at the residence of the detainee, who was imprisoned and assisted by counsel Francisco Miguel Galiana Botella. The Guardia Civil’s investigation has verified that the 32-year-old man from Liverpool, who was previously known as Sonny James R., changed his name to Peter F. last year. The investigation also revealed that he has a lengthy criminal history in the U.K.

According to the Guardia Civil investigation, 85 amphetamine pills were confiscated from him at a club in Orihuela Costa, which the gang had also taken control of through threats. The court is now charging him with robbery with violence, threats, extortion, illegal possession of weapons, and drug trafficking. Additionally, he was charged with assault and assault and battery of three of the five officers who were required to subdue him, as a result of the kicks and strikes he employed to evade arrest. The Guardia Civil also incorporated the offences of unlawful detention and membership in a criminal organisation into its complaint.

The Organised Crime and Anti-Drug Team (EDOA) of the Organic Judicial Police Unit of the Guardia Civil of Alicante is conducting the investigation in collaboration with the Territorial Judicial Police Team of Guardamar.

In these Vega Baja neighbourhoods, the extortion schemes of this gang have caused widespread social alarm. Witnesses have declined to testify before investigators due to their dread of the members of this criminal group, whom they regard as highly dangerous.

The robbery at a cannabis club in the La Marina neighbourhood of San Fulgencio was carried out on the afternoon of October 23rd, but the Guardia Civil was unaware of the incident until early November, when the wife of the establishment’s owner requested assistance through the Alertcops app. This was due to the fact that the victims did not file a crime report. Her wife reported that Sonny R., a British individual, had abducted her husband and the father of her children. She also stated that two weeks prior, he had requested €25,000 in payment. Additionally, she reported that two armed individuals had entered the garden of her residence in Pilar de la Horadada.

The victims reported the robbery following this contact, and the Guardia Civil established surveillance around the cannabis association, which is led by the complainant’s partner. A British male who had exited the club was apprehended and subsequently identified as one of the six perpetrators of the robbery.

The cannabis, €600 of the takings, and other personal belongings were confiscated after one of the club’s employees was threatened with a pistol during the robbery. The gang informed the owner, who was absent and was contacted by phone, that he was required to pay them €25,000, that they would retain half of the club’s proceeds, and that they would assume control from that day forward. In reality, they seized the keys to the establishment and commenced robbing the club the following day.

In addition to the information provided about Sonny, the complainant also disclosed to the Guardia Civil that he had a meeting with another member of the criminal organisation following the robbery. The individual attempted to coerce him into signing a document that acknowledged that half of the business belonged to the gang that had robbed him, using threats. The six individuals who participated in the robbery accompanied him, but they did not assault him despite his refusal.

After the robbery, the British man who was apprehended in early April had departed Spain for several months. He is associated with two gunshots in the Liverpool area, one of which occurred at his mother’s residence, in the United Kingdom. Upon recognising the Guardia Civil’s presence in Orihuela Costa, he sought refuge in the residence of a married couple. Subsequently, he attempted to escape through the back entrance, but investigators apprehended him.