Malaga illegal well investigation in which 26 people were arrested held up due to lack of resources

Up to 25 million cubic metres of water extracted in an allegedly fraudulent manner from 250 illegal wells and boreholes for the irrigation of 222 hectares of subtropical crops in the Axarquía are just some of the statistics revealed through Operation CHAAK, carried out by Seprona, the nature and environment protection branch of the Guardia Civil, in May 2023 in the Axarquía area to the east of Malaga province.

The operation culminated in the arrest of 26 people and the investigation of 44 others for alleged crimes against natural resources, the environment and usurpation of public water. Officers were able to verify the continued extraction of public groundwater, which would have caused damage to the public water domain amounting to around 10 million euros.

However, almost two years after the start of the operation involving the environmental prosecutor's office in Malaga, the statements of more than 80 people under investigation in this case, mainly focused on the Axarquía area, have been pending since March 2024.

In an order issued by a court in Vélez-Málaga dated 7 March 2024, it was agreed to hear statements from the people and heads of investigated bodies, as well as witnesses. However, since then, after extending the investigation period by six months, "nothing more has been done", said the Malaga environmental prosecutor, Fernando Benítez, speaking to SUR on Monday 27 January.

Around 80 people are under investigation and Seprona officers have also been called as witnesses. Benítez has explained that after the last legal reform of the law of criminal prosecution in 2021 now the deadline is one year from the initiation of the successive extensions of six months, so there would be no nullity of the proceedings due to the expiry of the deadlines of the judicial investigation.

Benítez has told Europa Press that the lack of resources in the courts in Vélez-Málaga "endangers the investigation of this case" and that "without support staff, both civil servants and a support judge, it will be difficult to complete the investigation within a reasonable period of time". He went on to say, "The lack of resources in the province's courts becomes dramatic when a case of this size, with more than 80 people under investigation, is assigned to it."

In total, 299 water abstractions were investigated, including wells, boreholes and reservoirs. Of these, initially more than 250 were illegal, and it was estimated that the total amount of water illegally derived since the start of the activity would amount to approximately 25,951,198 cubic metres. The total area illegally irrigated would amount to 240,242 hectares, all of which could cause damage to the public water domain estimated at 10 million euros.

The initial investigation began four years ago, when a complaint was received by the Seprona about the fraudulent use of water for irrigation in the Axarquía by farmers of subtropical crops, which could be causing "significant damage to water reserves".

Subsequently, other complaints were added, including one made collectively by several farmers in the area who denounced the several irrigation communities for the misuse of water, as they were allowing irrigation in areas where it was completely prohibited at the time due to the severe drought, with the consequent economic damage to farmers who complied with the legally established rules.