The National Police and the Civil Guard have arrested twelve people who belonged to a criminal gang that was dedicated to the robbery of homes in rural areas. During the investigation, seven homes and an industrial warehouse were searched in Albatera, Cox, Dolores, Benejúzar, Crevillente and Murcia.
Eight of the gang, including the main leaders, remain under arrest.
The arrests follow a significant increase in robberies in remote rural areas since August last year. Following the launch of Op Welter-Hail, investigating officers from the Orihuela National Police and the Villena Civil Guard identified that the crimes were being committed by a very active criminal organization that operated in the province of Alicante and its surroundings.
It seemed that they preferred to act at night and, sometimes, they committed up to six robberies in a single day. The gang selected homes, forced doors and windows, and stole jewellery, money and other valuables. They used stolen vehicles, sometimes with false license plates, to transport the stolen items.
The police were able to identify their escape route; they mainly used highways until they reached their safe areas. There, they parked the vehicles with the stolen materials before selling on the stolen objects.
In late December, after identifying all the members of the gang, the exploitation phase of the operation was carried out. Searches were undertaken in seven homes and an industrial warehouse in the municipalities of Murcia, Albatera, Cox, Dolores, Benejúzar and Crevillente.
There were two further raids in the Murcian district of Sangonera la Seca, where two inspections were carried out in two establishments, concluding with the arrest of the individual responsible for receiving vehicles and other stolen effects for subsequent shipment to Morocco. In addition, a stolen van and material for making master keys were found in an illegal workshop in Crevillente.
Additional inspections included the seizure of tools used to commit the robberies, electronic items to disable vehicle security systems, fake keys and a variety of stolen objects. Thirteen stolen vehicles were also recovered along with 10,490 grams of hashish, 90 grams of cocaine, equipment for the production and distribution of narcotic substances, and other various objects strategically hidden in a chalet.
In total, the entire criminal group was arrested: 12 people, 10 of Moroccan nationality and 2 from Spain, aged between 20 and 77 years, including 9 men and 3 women.
