SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 19 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –
A joint operation named Bluedream, carried out by the Civil Guard and the Belgian Federal Police, has led to the arrest and imprisonment of three Belgian men accused of the murder of Laura Gastón, a 66-year-old Belgian woman whose dismembered body was discovered floating on the coast of Arico. Her husband is still missing.
The Civil Guard specified in a statement that Belgian Authorities, following a European Arrest Warrant issued by Arona’s Court of Instruction Number 1, handed over two suspects who were arrested in Belgium by the Civil Guard and the Federal Police on June 20, for their alleged involvement in the homicide.
Simultaneously, the Civil Guard detained a third Belgian citizen living in Tenerife for his connection to the ongoing investigation and he is currently in custody.
The incidents date back to the end of April when a married Belgian couple in their sixties, residents of southern Tenerife, were reported missing. Subsequently, a body was discovered floating in the sea off the coast of Arico, displaying signs of a violent death. The body was later identified as the missing woman.
Due to the severity of the events, the Judicial Police Organic Unit of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Command took charge of the investigation. International police cooperation channels were utilised from the inception, with close collaboration with the Federal Police in Belgium.
The agents conducted a meticulous investigation, including home and vehicle searches, numerous witness statements, review of extensive surveillance footage, reconstructing the victims’ activities prior to the crime, and deploying a Canine Service with specialist dogs from Madrid to search for biological evidence. Various analytical and technical-operational tasks were undertaken in an effort to illuminate the circumstances.
Once the alleged perpetrators were identified and sufficient evidence collected, the judge from Arona’s Court of Instruction Number 1 issued a European Arrest Warrant and Extradition request, as two suspects were temporarily in Belgium.
THE SUSPECTS WERE RESIDENTS OF TENERIFE
Consequently, on June 20, a coordinated operation between the Judicial Police Organic Unit of Tenerife and the Belgian Federal Police led to the simultaneous arrest of two suspects in Belgium and a third in Tenerife. All three individuals were Belgian nationals residing in Tenerife, with the two in Belgium having temporarily returned to their home country.
Coordination meetings were conducted with the EUROJUST agency and the Belgian Federal Police within the operation framework. The Liaison Officer in Belgium of the Civil Guard and the Liaison Officer in Spain of the Belgian Federal Police facilitated excellent coordination between the UOPJ of the Civil Guard and the Federal Police.
The Civil Guard’s Reserve and Security Group No. 8 (GRS-8) and the Intervention Unit of the Belgian Federal Police participated in the operational phase of the operation.
The investigation was overseen by Arona’s Court of Instruction Number 1 and the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
