21 Nov, 2023 @ 10:19
1 min read

Police officer who gambled and lost €9,000 of seized narco cash at a CASINO in southern Spain avoids being kicked off the force

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A SPANISH police officer who gambled thousands of euros of seized narco cash has avoided being kicked off the force. 

The Guardia Civil officer took €9,000 from a drugs raid before embarking on an eight-hour session at a local casino in Alicante, near Benidorm. 

However the agent had an unlucky day and lost all of the money on the roulette table, reports local newspaper La Informacion.  

The cash had been seized in the summer of 2020 during an anti-drug operation in Molina de Segura, Murcia, in southern Spain. 

Roulette G81cd8e817 1920
The officer from the armed Guardia Civil force took €9,000 from a drugs raid before embarking on an eight-hour session at a local casino in Alicante, near Benidorm. (Stock image)

During a search in the early hours, the officer in question found 12 bags of marijuana and €9,000 in small bills in the back of a truck. 

The evidence remained in his custody and he was due to deliver it to a judge later that day.

However at the crack of dawn, he decided to take the money to a gambling hall in Alicante. 

He spent more than eight hours attempting to ‘enrich’ himself but lost it all, thanks mostly to the high-risk roulette table. 

Immediately after the session, he handed over the confiscated drugs to his colleagues but failed to deliver the cash. 

He was immediately reported and arrested on suspicion of embezzling public funds. 

Prosecutors were seeking one year and 11 months in jail but both parties agreed to a deal of five months behind bars and a 10-month ban from the force. 

It means he can re-join the police once his suspension is over. 

The courts took into consideration that he had returned the money before sentencing and that he had suffered a loss of control due to his gambling addiction.

Laurence Dollimore

Laurence Dollimore is a Spanish-speaking, NCTJ-trained journalist with almost a decade’s worth of experience.
The London native has a BA in International Relations from the University of Leeds and and an MA in the same subject from Queen Mary University London.
He earned his gold star diploma in multimedia journalism at the prestigious News Associates in London in 2016, before immediately joining the Olive Press at their offices on the Costa del Sol.
After a five-year stint, Laurence returned to the UK to work as a senior reporter at the Mail Online, where he remained for two years before coming back to the Olive Press as Digital Editor in 2023.
He continues to work for the biggest newspapers in the UK, who hire him to investigate and report on stories in Spain.
These include the Daily Mail, Telegraph, Mail Online, Mail on Sunday and The Sun and Sun Online.
He has broken world exclusives on everything from the Madeleine McCann case to the anti-tourism movement in Tenerife.

GOT A STORY? Contact newsdesk@theolivepress.es or call +34 951 273 575 Twitter: @olivepress

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