The Civil Guard on Wednesday arrested a man in connection with a double crime that has shocked the population of Lorca (98,300 inhabitants, Murcia region) for almost two months, according to investigative sources. The dead were found with gunshot wounds a few kilometers from this city. One of the bodies was tied in the trunk of a car parked in the Cantal area, while the other, identified as Giuliano Filo, was at his home in the Ramonete area.
Giuliano Velo, the only identified victim, was an alleged member of the Italian Mafia. He was on temporary release awaiting trial for his alleged involvement in manufacturing drug boats. The lawyer who defended him in that case, Manuel Maza, confirmed to El Pais newspaper that the body of his 67-year-old client was found a few meters from his home in the Alcantal area, a mountainous and difficult-to-reach area, in the municipality of Lorca.
Hours later, according to the Civil Guard, the man’s lifeless body, also bearing signs of violence, was found in the trunk of a car in the Ramoneti area, a coastal area a few kilometers from Fillo’s home.
The discovery of the bodies led to a large deployment in the area, including air means. The investigation into this double crime has remained a secret since then.
Philo was waiting for the courts to finish investigating a case brought against him for the crime of launching drug boats, related to the manufacture of this type of boat. He was released in the summer of 2024, after spending a year in temporary prison. In 2011, he had already been convicted of an offense against public health and drug trafficking. Two tons of marijuana were seized and he was sent to prison, but he escaped when he obtained his first prison permit and remained a fugitive from justice until the end of his sentence and his violation.
In Spain, he was investigated for the murder of another Italian, Giuseppe Nerta, in the coastal municipality of Aguilas, very close to the area where he was found dead. However, the charges against him were dropped. Another investigation also went no further as he was linked to another crime he was accused of committing in 1999, a double murder in Marbella, of which he was acquitted.