“Call me, it’s urgent“. Carlos remembers this text message as if it were yesterday. In 2020, his neighbor in Spain warns him that his family home, which has become a vacation home, is occupied. For this Franco-Spaniard who is approaching retirement, it is a massive blow. “He asked me if it was friends or family who were at my house“, he explains. Carlos understands immediately: they are squatters. A situation far from isolated. In Spain, as in France, second homes that are empty for several months a year are prime targets.
The problem is that he lives in France, near Nîmes, and the Covid pandemic is blocking all travel. The start of a nightmare. Despite multiple calls to the Spanish consulate and then to the French border police, Carlos realizes that he is powerless. For three long months, his neighbor monitored his comings and goings. “He told me about three people, two men and a woman, around twenty years old. There was also a dog“, he specifies.
It was only in August, when health restrictions eased, that he plucked up his courage and left for Spain with his wife. His decision is made. “Nobody wanted to do it, so I decided to kick the squatters out myself», decides the new retiree of 71 years.
“Everything was destroyed, it was a dump”
To maximize his chances, Carlos advances methodically. With his wife, he rents a studio through an agency, just 200 meters from the house to observe the comings and goings of squatters every day without being noticed. Their rhythm quickly becomes predictable since around 11 a.m., the occupants leave the premises for several hours. “I had everything organized in my head», confides Carlos.
He then contacted a local locksmith. The craftsman asks no questions. For 400 euros, he agrees to intervene, but Carlos asks him to limit himself to opening the door, without entering. The next day, at precisely the hour, they wait for the squatters to leave. As soon as the way is clear, the locksmith takes action. The couple then enters the family home for the first time in months.
The shock is brutal. “Everything was destroyed, it was a dump», he says, still marked. The rooms are unsanitary, the furniture damaged or missing. Only one room seems maintained, the walls of which have strangely been repainted pink. “Maybe the woman was pregnant», Estimates the man. On the dining table, small scales and sachets. This time, there is no room for doubt, it is traffickers. Carlos immediately calls the police, who come to check on the situation. “I told them that I was just coming from France to my vacation home, but I don’t think they believed me.“, he believes. That night, the couple stayed there, without sleeping.
The discovery of a cabinet with cocaine
The squatters are not coming back. However, Carlos and his wife installed motion detectors throughout the house. The next morning, while continuing the inspection, Carlos notices a large locked cabinet. The key is missing. He finally manages to open it. Inside, he discovered several phones, identity documents and cash. But above all, in a box, the equivalent of 50,000 euros worth of drugs.
The couple immediately called the police to report the discovery. Agents come to collect the box and ask Carlos to file a complaint, which he does immediately. The next day, a note appeared in the mailbox: “I’m the person who lives there, I would like my things back», accompanied by a telephone number. Carlos doesn’t answer. “I put everything in trash bags at the end of the street“, he confides.
The decision to sell the house is made immediately. In two days, the couple cleaned and restored the property, before handing over the keys to a real estate agency. “I signed the sale on December 31, 2020», he remembers precisely. A trying experience, which he does not wish to relive under any circumstances. “I know we were very lucky because things can get out of hand when it comes to drug dealing», concludes Carlos.
