Spain’s Interior Ministry has revealed the towns in Alicante province where car thieves were most active in 2025 — and two popular Costa Blanca municipalities have come out on top.
Pilar de la Horadada and Orihuela share the unwanted distinction of recording the highest rate of car thefts per resident in the province last year. Both towns registered 1.15 stolen vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants, according to figures compiled from the Ministry of the Interior’s annual Crime Balance and official population data from the National Statistics Institute (INE).
Across the province as a whole, 1,415 vehicles were stolen in 2025, but crime was far from evenly distributed. A handful of municipalities — mainly in the southern half of Alicante province — have become prime hunting grounds for organised car-theft gangs.
PILAR SURGE RAISES ALARM
Although Orihuela recorded the highest number of thefts in total, with 97 cases, the sharpest rise occurred in Pilar de la Horadada. In the town of fewer than 25,000 residents, vehicle thefts soared by more than 55%, jumping from 18 in 2024 to 28 in 2025.
Orihuela also saw an increase, with cases rising 12.8% compared with the previous year.
SOUTHERN CORRIDOR OF CAR CRIME
The top five municipalities for vehicle theft form a clear geographic corridor along the southern Costa Blanca. After Pilar de la Horadada and Orihuela, the ranking continues with Alicante city, Elche and Torrevieja.
All five recorded more than one stolen vehicle per 1,000 residents, well above the provincial average of 0.70.
Police believe the concentration of cases is linked to the area’s strategic transport connections, particularly the AP-7 motorway and the N-332 coastal road, which allow gangs to move quickly between Alicante province and neighbouring Murcia.
VEGA BAJA A TARGET FOR CRIMINAL GANGS
The Vega Baja region has become the focus of several major police operations targeting organised vehicle-theft networks.
One recent investigation began with the theft of a car in San Isidro and uncovered a crime spree stretching across La Algueña, Hondón de los Frailes, Archena (Murcia) and Orihuela, where stolen vehicles were allegedly used to carry out robberies at petrol stations and service areas.
In October 2025, the Guardia Civil solved a series of linked crimes in Orihuela in less than 48 hours after a resident reported his car stolen. Shortly afterwards, another victim reported a break-in to a vehicle and a burglary at their home.
Just a month later, in November, the National Police dismantled another roaming gang of six young suspects who had been operating between San Javier, Los Alcázares and Pilar de la Horadada, allegedly responsible for more than 21 vehicle thefts.
Investigators say the Alicante–Murcia corridor has increasingly become a transit route for itinerant criminal groups specialising in stealing vehicles and moving them quickly across provincial borders before they can be traced.
