Civil Guards have arrested 13 people as part of an operation against planning corruption which is being carried out this morning in Alcaucín and one of those who has been taken in is the town's Mayor, José Manuel Martín Alba, sources close to the case have told Efe.

Among those arrested are two daughters of the Mayor, the man responsible for architecture at the Malaga Provincial Government, architects, business owners and people connected with property promotion and construction.

Since early this morning Civil Guard officers have been carrying out searches in the Alcaucín Town Hall and the architecture department at the Malaga Provincial Government offices.

The operation, which has also been extended to the province of Huelva, was ordered to be undertaken by a judge in Vélez-Málaga, sources close to the investigation told Europa Press.

Also involved in the investigation are the anti-corruption prosectuor and the environment and planning prosecutor. According to sources, among other things, the case surrounds the promotion, construction and later selling of a development of homes in the Axarquía.

The president of the Partido Popular in Malaga, Elías Bendodo, has described the alleged planning corruption in Alcaucín as "scandalous and shameful" and has differentiated it from the case in Alhaurín el Grande because, the PP Mayor there, Juan Martín Serón, accused of bribery, breach of legal duty and money laundering "is a victim of political persecution."