John Culatto
EU investigators have arrested a former head of the Guardia Civil in the Andalucia city of Algeciras on charges of corruption while he was in the Canary Islands.
European prosecutors jailed Francisco Espinosa Navas as part of the ongoing investigation into missing subsidies to the Canaries’ food sector.
They also arrested Taishet Fuentes, ex-director of livestock in the Canary Islands government, alleging the pair took part in the plot.
The European Prosecutor’s Office has been working on this investigation for months.
Police on Tuesday carried out searches and arrests in Madrid, Valencia and Fuerteventura as part of the probe.
Investigators believe that leading figures in the government and police were involved in mismanaging subsidies meant for dairy farms and other parts of the food sector.
Sevilla-born Espinosa was head of the Guardia Civil in Algeciras from 2001 to 2004.
He took over the Las Palmas command of the elite police unit in 2008, where he stayed until 2012.
During his stay there he was under investigation for allegedly revealing secrets in connection with a political party on the Atlantic Ocean islands.
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