The forestry agent of the Balearic Institute of Nature (Ibanat) accused of starting seven forest and agricultural fires on a road in the interior of Mallorca, has been remanded in prison without bail after appearing in court this afternoon.
According to the Guardia Civil at a press conference, the accused, aged 61 and currently on medical leave, has invoked his right not to testify.
Thanks to the collaboration of a drone, the man was arrested on Monday when he was about to start another fire on the road next to an agricultural estate that links the Mallorcan municipalities of Selva and Caimari.
The Guardia Civil, with the collaboration of environmental agents from the Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Natural Environment, began an investigation on July 19 when they observed that the fires were following the same pattern.
The Guardia Civil mounted an operation in these municipalities that, supported by a drone, covered large areas where the man used to act.
On Monday afternoon, the agents located the suspect on the road when he was approaching on a motorbike, stopped and, allegedly, set fire near a farm with a lighter.
Immediately, the officers arrested the man, who did not resist at any time.
Apparently, in some of the fires it was the man himself who gave the warning, in the other cases, the man was always in the vicinity of the blaze, which aroused the suspicions of the investigators.
According to the Guardia Civil’s Seprona nature protection unit sergeant Hector Morujo, the arrested man, who was on medical leave, is an Ibanat worker, who had previously taken part in fire prevention measures but was now in charge of the maintenance of recreational areas in Mallorca.
All the fires were minor thanks to the rapid response of the fire-fighting services.