The operation carried out by Internal Affairs of the National Police in the south of Tenerife has uncovered a criminal network that allegedly operated with internal support from members of the force, including Francisco Moar, former head of the Judicial Police in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and a key figure in the opening of the Mediador case, also known as the Tito Berni case. Moar, now retired, was arrested in Galicia, along with two other agents —one still active—, for his alleged involvement in drug trafficking, money laundering, bribery, criminal organization and disclosure of secrets.
At the center of the plot is Mohamed Jamil Derbah, a businessman of Lebanese origin based in the Canary Islands since the eighties, linked to the British mobster John Palmer. Derbah, who was already investigated in the past for millionaire scams, was arrested in Arona, his base of operations, where he managed real estate, tourism and security businesses.
The rest of the detainees are employees of Derbah's empire, including a lawyer and one of his drivers and trusted men.
The case, declared secret by the Court of Instruction No. 3 of Arona, remains open and more arrests are not ruled out. Moar's involvement revives old internal tensions in the National Police, since he was the one who reported the then provincial chief commissioner, Luis Felipe San Martín, currently suspended, for gender violence. This new investigation highlights how old confrontations within the force now intersect with an alleged corruption plot with ramifications in strategic sectors of the Islands.
Read the full story in La Provincia
