Two senior police officers in Tenerife have been arrested on suspicion of misappropriating public funds by issuing fines to tourists and pocketing the money.

The Guardia Civil arrested the two officers following a four-month investigation, named Operation Martyr, which began when the Judicial Police Unit received reports of suspicious activity.

It’s alleged the pair issued cash fines for traffic offences on tourists in the south of the island but never properly processed them and instead kept the money. The scheme is believed to have been going on for several years.

The Guardia Civil said it recovered hundreds of documents and unprocessed traffic fine reports, as well as tens of thousands of euros.

The officers are in custody.