Nightclub La Pequeña Habana in Las Palmas: closure order annulled and owner arrested on drug charges
The National Police arrested the owner of nightclub La Pequeña Habana in Las Palmas after finding cocaine, whilst the town hall annulled the closure order for the venue on the same day.
Police raid and municipal annulment at nightclub La Pequeña Habana on the same Friday
At eight o'clock on Friday morning, the National Police entered La Pequeña Habana, a nightclub located opposite Plaza Farray in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, with the objective of searching for drugs. Two hours later, according to atlanticohoy.com, the town hall signed a resolution annulling the order to suspend operations at the establishment, which had been issued fifteen days earlier due to safety concerns. The police raid ended with the arrest of the person responsible for the venue and the seizure of several packages containing suspected cocaine. The municipal procedure, meanwhile, was filed away.
The coincidence was not without irony. During the police intervention, officers from the Local Police detected suspected irregularities in the emergency exits of the establishment, the same evacuation conditions that had prompted the municipal closure order on 8 October.
The administrative error that led to annulment of the closure
The municipal proceedings began following a complaint against La Pequeña Habana, located at number 45 Calle Fernando Guanarteme. The complaint pointed to problems with the emergency door, deficiencies in evacuation lights and signs, and the absence of a sign indicating the authorised maximum capacity.
On 6 August, the town hall gave those responsible for the venue fifteen days to correct these deficiencies and certify this with a certificate signed by a qualified technician. The owner submitted the certificate on 22 September and submitted the documentation again on 8 October. That same day, the General Directorate of Building and Activities ordered operations to be suspended without having noted that the requirement had already been met.
The annulment resolution, signed at 10:00 on Friday and to which atlanticohoy.com had access, acknowledges that the technical certificate was registered on 22 September, before the closure order was issued. A municipal report from 20 October, drawn up by a senior technical officer of the General Administration, confirmed the error and proposed revoking the resolution. Three days later, the town hall accepted the proposal and filed away the proceedings.
Nine packages of cocaine and €1,407 seized
Separate from the administrative procedure, the National Police took action on that same Friday after receiving information about possible drug consumption and sales activity inside the nightclub, which allegedly remained open outside authorised hours.
During the intervention, officers found nine packages containing a white substance, apparently cocaine, hidden in a waste bin in the bathroom. The approximate weight of the total was 5.2 grammes. Cash amounting to €1,407 was also seized, part of it concealed at the bar of the venue.
The operation concluded with the arrest of the person responsible for the establishment as the suspected perpetrator of an offence against public health through drug trafficking. Another person present at the venue had a package of similar characteristics seized, prompting an administrative report for possession of narcotics. The Local Police also took action for the suspected breach of authorised opening hours and for the deficiencies observed in the emergency exits.
A history of complaints dating back to 2018
La Pequeña Habana is an establishment known in the Plaza Farray area, although for reasons unrelated to neighbourhood peace. Complaints about noise, fights and disturbances in its vicinity date back to at least 2018, the year in which the National Police and Local Police already carried out a joint operation in the area related to drug consumption and sales, coexistence problems and breaches of public order.
Residents have documented various incidents over the years and demanded increased police surveillance. The intervention on Friday morning once again places the venue among their main concerns.
Two situations opened on the same day
The town hall has filed away the proceedings over the deficiencies reported months earlier, although this does not prevent it from initiating new proceedings for the irregularities detected during the raid. The resolution also does not clarify whether the closure order of 8 October was enforced or whether the establishment remained open in the period following.
The available documentation does not permit determining whether the deficiencies in the emergency exits observed by the Local Police on Friday coincide with the problems that gave rise to the municipal proceedings of August or whether they are separate irregularities.
The nightclub thus faces two simultaneous challenges on the same day: a closure order that disappears from its administrative file and a police intervention for suspected drug trafficking that ends with its owner in custody.
Source: Google News CU — La Habana