Nerja mayor facing prison sentence over illegal dump

Nerja mayor José Alberto Armijo and Urban Planning councillor Nieves Atencia are to appear before judges accused of crimes against the environment and natural resources for their involvement in the illegal Río de la Miel rubbish dump scandal.

If found guilty, they, along with seven local construction business owners, could be sentenced to two years in prison. The politicians could also face an 18-month ban from public office while the others could be banned from their professions for the same period.

The public prosecutor has also called for both Atencia and Armijo to pay a 7,300-euro fine, while the companies believed to have dumped the largest amount of waste could face fines of 18,250 euros. No date has been set for the hearing as yet, which will take place in a court in Malaga.

Construction companies started using the site, which is located in the Sierra Tejeda, Almijara and Alhama natural park, in June 1998 and over 800,000 cubic metres of waste accumulated between then and September 2016.