Several members of the Unidad Central Operativa (UCO), a sub-unit of the Guardia Civil, have confirmed that they arrested three individuals last Thursday in connection with the murder of Alejandro Ponsoda, the former Mayor of Polop. At least two of the suspects arrested in Albatera in the south of Alicante Province this week are known to be of Czech origin. Those arrested are thought to be ‘proxy’ killers, hired by a third party to get rid of the Mayor who allegedly would not participate in city-planning irregularities. It is known that Ponsoda, the Mayor for 12 years, was against certain proposed urban developments and, despite the arrests, the authorities are still investigating the possibility that members of the Polop Council and their advisors are implicated. After more than two years, the seemingly stalled investigation was given renewed impetus after members of the UCO carried out surveillance on suspect premises in the town of Albatera. The specialised undercover unit acted independently of any other police authority, including the Police Local, when they raided the house anticipating a weapons cache. Instead, and after collecting evidence, they unexpectedly found a connection with the Ponsoda crime. Ponsoda was gunned down as he sat in his car shortly after arriving at his home. A British neighbour and acquaintance of the Mayor related how he had heard what he thought to be fireworks going off outside his window. On further investigation, he saw Ponsoda in the driver’s seat of his vehicle, having sustained three bullet wounds to the head and neck from two separate small calibre weapons. The 55-year-old Mayor was rushed to hospital in a comatose state; he succumbed to his injuries eight days later in the Alicante General Hospital.
At the time the village of Chirles and the home of Alejandro Ponsoda, was sealed off and an extensive search was mounted for the assassins. It was stated at the time that they had escaped on foot through the fields and myriad of tracks and paths in this area. The sophisticated ‘hit’ was believed to be the work of professional killers. In a town of just under 2,400 registered inhabitants (a third of the population is foreign); rumours immediately began to spread as to the motive for this classic ‘Mafia style’ execution. The OCU continued to focus their investigation on issues surrounding city-planning programs such as the Plan of Actuación Integral (PAI) and the General Plan of Ordenación Urbana (PGOU) but nothing could be proved one way or the other. The murder of Ponsoda has caused a huge rift in the community, the residents are ‘closed lipped’ about the whole issue. The present mayor of Polop and former Councillor for Urbanism under Ponsoda, Juan Cano, expressed his personal satisfaction after hearing someone had been arrested in relation to the crime. “They (the police) told us to us expect an arrest in the near future. I feel the pages to this story can be closed after the book has been open too long.”