Alicante’s Association of Local Police Chiefs (AJPLA), of which the Police Chief of Santa Pola, José Miguel Zaragoza, is a member, have said that they consider the measures taken in relation to the public detention, together with other members of his staff, to be totally disproportionate and unjustified.
The group of officers, numbering over 60 Chiefs of Police, from all the main municipalities of the region, say that the actions by the Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit (UDEF), in the arrest of José Miguel Zaragoza has caused personal and professional damage which will be impossible to repair, when there were other types of less harmful measures that could have been used without undermining the police investigation.
Zaragoza, along with 3 other policemen and a number of local businessmen from the company Redován Almacenes Riera, was arrested last week and interviewed in Alicante about alleged embezzlement and fraud, regarding the supply of uniforms and clothing for both the Policia Local and the Protección Civil.
However his solicitor still maintains that his client testified whilst under caution, but the facts have not been published or made clear, because the case is under secrecy of summary. Neither has there been any accusation and he still doesn’t know the charges that Zaragoza is alleged to have committed.
However the AJPLA said that they wish to express their total confidence in the work of the Justice system and in that, through the investigation in court, the facts will eventually be clarified and will demonstrate the absence of any irregularity in the management by Mr. Zaragoza as head of the Local Police of Santa Pola.
The association emphasized that Zaragoza’s professional career “has been unimpeachable to date, as shown by the numerous police surveys it received over the years, as well as by his reputation as a teacher in The Valencian Institute of Public Safety and Emergencies, for which he has always been completely transparent and honest, as will be credited during the investigation.
