30 arrested after police raid s’Arenal hostess clubs

POLICE raided four hostess clubs in s’Arenal last week in an operation against credit card fraud which led to 30 arrests.

Investigations by Llucmajor Guardia Civil under Operation Obsession discovered that waiters and prostitutes were working together to remove customers’ credit cards while they were distracted by sexual services and made charges to them before returning the cards unnoticed, obtaining an estimated €300,000 from about 200 unsuspecting victims.

The customers, many of whom were tourists from abroad, often left the premises with no idea what had happened, and investigators believe the fraudsters assumed they would be too embarrassed to report them to the police upon discovering the charges.

Following a long investigation, at 1am on October 1 a group of officers burst onto Calle del Jamon, a well-known nightlife scene, and carried out inspections at four clubs (Obsession, El Buho Verde, Safos and Mallorca) and the homes of three main suspects.

The owners of the clubs, employees and 20 prostitutes were arrested for suspected fraud, and credit card machines confiscated for examination.