C.M.W..MaóA44-year old man, Alonso Modesto F.A., was arrested last week for attempting to extort money in the name of ETA and was later released on bail by a judge.
The man, who was born in Los Ríos in Ecuador and now lives in calle Vives Llull in Maó, has a seasonal work permit and has been employed in the construction company he attempted to swindle since 5th December. He sent an anonymous letter to his employer demanding payment of 30,000 euros, which had to be left in a particular place, and threatening his boss and family if he failed to pay.
On examining the letter the police observed several spelling and grammatical errors and also noted the absence of any letterheading or marks normally used by ETA. They almost completely ruled out the hypothesis that it had been sent by the terrorist organisation and started investigating people who worked with the construction company owner.
A policeman duly left the bag, containing envelopes treated with a fluorescent dye only visible under ultraviolet light, in the designated place which was under police observation. The bag was collected by a man who turned out to be a neighbour who had witnessed the event and was curious about the contents and who telephoned the police the next day to say that the suspect had just visited him at home demanding the package. Armed with a description, the police later arrested the South American who admitted that he had tried to extort money from his employer to settle his debts and pay for medical treatment for his mother.
