Although billed as a great success for the town of Torrevieja, the Reggaeton Beach Festival (RBF) has also been a success for law enforcement, as officer managed to identify numerous people responsible for the possession of weapons, and drugs related offences, including those related to so-called chemsex.
In the interest of ensuring public safety, officers from the Guardia Civil carried out a variety of inspections and searches, and, as a novelty, were assisted by French colleagues as the Gendarmerie were in Torrevieja as part of Operation Summer 2023, their support seen as “essential” for the overall success of the security device surrounding RBF.
In addition, this device included measures related to road safety such as carrying out vehicle controls at the entrances and exits of Torrevieja by the staff of the Torrevieja Guardia Civil.
One of the most significant results was the arrest of 6 people, in various police actions, all of them for crimes against public health due to drug trafficking. Likewise, proposals were made for administrative sanctions to 70 people for various violations of the Citizen Security Law, of which 65 were for possession and consumption of narcotic substances and 5 for the possession and carrying of prohibited weapons or blunt objects outside the places enabled for this.
The detainees were all placed at the disposal of the Torrevieja Court, which decreed the release of all of them with the imposition of precautionary measures pending trial.
Although there is no doubt the officers would not have caught all of the illegal activities at the festival, they were successful in seizing 10.93 grams of cocaine, 93.71 grams of hashish, 16.83 grams of MDMA or ecstasy, 1.02 grams of crystallized methamphetamine, 30 millilitres of poppers, a prohibited drug used during “chemsex” and 17 marijuana cigarettes and hashish.
It should be noted that Torrevieja was recognised by the United Nations as having a particular drug problem, resulting in crime and lawlessness, and so this kind of activity will do little to indicate a positive change.
