Alex Trelinski
A RENT collector assigned to a Toledo apartment has been arrested by the Policia Nacional for organising a violent eviction of squatters.
Four ‘large’ men- hired to clear out three people- have also been detained.
The person in charge of collecting rents from the tenants along with the property owner, who lives abroad, cooked up a plan to forcibly evict the trio who had not paid for several months.
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The rent collector was in fact the ex-partner of the owner and they hired four men to evict the squatters at 7.30am on July 13.
They entered the building with a front door key supplied to do them and wore hoods.
The property had been split up into rooms that were rented out.
The three squatters were threatened by weapons and the eviction was so quick, that they could not collect their belongings.
The men made violent threats about reporting what happened and changed the front door lock and gave new keys to the rest of the paying tenants.
The squatters ignored the warnings and filed a complaint with the Policia Nacional, which opened an investigation.
Officers discovered the three-bedroomed apartment currently had nine tenants.
The five detainees have been charged with the crimes of breaking and entering and coercion plus the four assailants with a crime of causing injury.
Authorities intend for the apartment owner to also answer to similar charges before a court.
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