Two Maltese face fraud charges in Tenerife

Two Maltese men are under arrest in Tenerife and waiting to see if charges for fraud will be pressed against them.

The Maltese were arrested together with an Italian and a Spaniard on February 20 at a casino on the island after they won €1,700 on roulette.

The police are alleging that security cameras revealed the men distracted the croupier's attention and placed chips on the table when betting was closed.

The men had allegedly used similar tactics at another casino at Gran Canaria, another island of the Canary Islands, a Spanish province.

One of the casinos there realised that a loss of €3,000 had been made on one of the roulettes and when security videos were analysed the four men were noted using the same distracting tactics at the table as they later used in Tenerife. Video footage also showed them taking photos in the same casino earlier on.

An identikit was distributed among casinos but the men somehow still managed to make it into the Tenerife casino where they were eventually arrested.

Under the Spanish system, when someone is arrested the police have to investigate the matter and pass the details on to the prosecutor, who then has to decide whether to issue charges or not.

Dr Joe Giglio, who is assisting the Maltese men and their relatives, said a Spanish lawyer based in Tenerife had been engaged.

Dr Giglio confirmed the men were still in custody and said a request for bail had been turned down.