SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 27 September (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Cabildo of Tenerife has resolved to request the Ministry of the Interior to undertake the necessary actions for the inclusion of nine officers from the Puerto de la Cruz – Los Realejos Police Station into the Order of Police Merit. These officers were involved in ‘Operation Ignus’, successfully tackling the Los Realejos wildfire, resulting in the arrest and conviction of the arsonist.
This Friday, the Plenary Session of the insular Corporation approved a motion aimed at acknowledging the professional merits of these officers, who “have significantly contributed to public safety through a complex and extended operation, successfully concluding a matter that had been unresolved for years.”
Specifically, the agreement highlights that the incident prompting this request is “the management of the forest fire in Los Realejos, which led to a five-year prison sentence and a fine totalling 44,500 euros. This sum consists of 35,000 euros allocated to the Cabildo of Tenerife; 4,210 euros for the Tenerife Island Fire Fighting and Rescue Prevention Consortium; 1,600 euros assigned to the Canarian Government; and a fine of 3,600 euros. This intervention has effectively terminated over twenty years of wildfire incidents in the Los Realejos area that had previously gone unresolved.”
The Cabildo previously publicly acknowledged the contributions of the officers and commissioners involved in this operation during an event hosted in the esteemed hall of the Cabildo, where their commitment and diligence in resolving this case were celebrated. The agreed document references the fact that the convicted individual, possessing extensive knowledge of the Los Dornajos area—where the fire originated—and having experience in assisting firefighting efforts, “had been reported for similar incidents occurring in 2007.”
In the course of searching his residence, significant evidence was confiscated, including the attire he was purportedly wearing during the incidents, 25 lighters, 25 candles, 113 rolled pieces of paper resembling wicks, two cans of ethyl alcohol, and a mobile device. “Recognising the intervention of these officials has enabled the resolution of a long-standing issue affecting the security of the area; it is deemed appropriate that their actions be formally acknowledged through their inclusion in the Police Merit Order,” the agreement concludes.
