National Police officers, in collaboration with the Palma Local Police, have dismantled a criminal group dedicated to theft and fraud, arresting three women, all of Bulgarian origin, as alleged perpetrators of a crime of being members of a criminal gang, theft and fraud.
According to the police in a statement, officers from the Central District Police Station of the National Police, which includes officers from the Local Police, detected the presence in the city centre of several members of a highly specialised criminal group that was itinerant in the commission of thefts, which they carried out inside establishments.
Modus operandi
The officers have been able to verify that the suspects show a high degree of specialisation and professionalism, acting in a coordinated group, with a clear division of tasks and each member knowing how to act at all times, selecting suitable victims, mostly tourists. They carry out their criminal activity in shops and streets in Palma, where they steal wallets without the victims noticing, posing as tourists in typical clothing and hats, blending into the environment without attracting attention.
When they operate in shops, one of them approaches the victim to steal their wallet without them noticing and then uses their bank card. Another keeps watch, looking around to warn the others if an employee notices the theft or if the police are present. The last of the women helps to cover them by acting at the moment of the theft.
Upon learning of the presence of the suspects in the centre of Palma, police officers carried out an operation on Monday, intercepting them inside a shop and arresting them on suspicion of involvement in a criminal gang, theft and fraud. The officers were able to prove that numerous thefts had been committed in a short period of time, with the theft of goods and money amounting to nearly 8,500 euros. The detainees were brought before the court, where a restraining order was issued for the whole of Palma, and the suspects left the city.