The Civil Guard has arrested two men in Los Montesinos as the alleged perpetrators of a crime of arson. It is thought their intention was to burn out a vehicle but the fire quickly spread to two more cars and then into a block of apartments, which required all of the residents to be evacuated.
The fire occurred on the morning of 16 February burning two vehicles out completely and badly damaging another, whilst spreading to an adjacent five storey apartment block.
The detainees, a Spaniard and a Romanian, both aged 30, were arrested by the Guardia Civil but subsequently released on bail and are currently awaiting trial.
They were detained following information from a witness who saw them both taking an unusually keen interest at the scene of the fire before driving away as the police arrived. It was subsequently discovered that the car originally targeted belonged to one of the two individuals now charged with arson.
It is alleged that the fire was started purely in order to claim on the car insurance.
Damage to the apartment block is valued at more than 18,000 euros.
