The National Police have dismantled a group of thieves consisting of at least seven people who allegedly broke into homes in Palma disguised as delivery drivers or maintenance technicians. The National Police Burglary Unit launched an investigation in early April, following several reports of burglaries in Palma using very specific door-opening techniques. In a press release, the police force indicated that the group carefully selected the location of the homes targeted for burglary and the profile of their residents.
Investigators therefore knew that the crimes were being committed by a criminal group, given the ‘high level of specialisation’ involved. The doors were opened without using any force or damaging the locks, using techniques known as “impressioning” or the use of false keys. The “impressioning” technique is highly specialised, as it allows doors to be opened even if they have been double-locked, without causing any damage, by using master keys.
These robberies were committed during the day, taking advantage of the fact that the residents were away from their homes. Before proceeding with the theft, they would ring the doorbells of the homes after exhaustive surveillance to make sure no one was there. Once inside the homes, they stole money, jewellery and personal effects such as glasses, handbags and expensive perfumes. In none of the robberies did they steal electronic devices, as these would be easily traceable by the police.
The National Police Robbery Unit carried out numerous investigations and, as the investigation progressed, obtained a series of clues and information that would determine the modus operandi and actions carried out by the members of the criminal group, who, although they did not always act together, did profit and benefit from the robberies. Furthermore, the officers found that the criminal group had clearly established roles for each of its members. On the one hand, several of the members were responsible for locating and selecting the homes to be broken into.
To do this, they travelled in vehicles carrying the necessary tools to open doors using advanced “impressioning” techniques. The rest of the criminal group was responsible for surveilling the properties and raising the alarm if they were caught. Once inside the property, they carried out the robberies with great speed, leaving within 30 to 40 minutes after stealing jewellery, cash and valuable items.
It should be noted that due to the criminal group’s high level of specialisation in breaking into homes, many of the robberies were not reported until several days later, as the criminal group did not leave any damage to the doors when opening them. Furthermore, once the criminal group’s modus operandi was known and the police investigation began, the officers observed that the perpetrators, when committing the robberies, wore clothing that made them look like technicians—reflective vests and trousers—or carried backpacks from well-known food delivery companies, with the intention of disguising themselves and confusing the residents of the homes in case they were caught.
At the end of August, after the police had gathered the necessary information and managed to identify all the members of the criminal group, they set up a more comprehensive surveillance operation.
During this operation, they located one of the alleged criminals in a vehicle. Discreetly and without being discovered at any time, they followed the individual to a street near Sa Riera Park, where he parked.
Continuing their surveillance, the officers observed that on the street where the individual had taken them, other vehicles used by the criminal group were parked or stopped with their hazard lights on.
At that moment, two members of the criminal group were present, one sitting in a café and the other standing guard near a doorway.
Thanks to the exhaustive surveillance of the alleged perpetrators, the officers noticed that one of them took a black rucksack out of the boot of one of the vehicles and went into a doorway on the street. Meanwhile, the other members of the criminal group remained on the public thoroughfare, a few metres from the doorway.
The police officers heard them talking on the phone to each other to cover for each other and report on the movements of neighbours and other passers-by. After about 40 minutes, the officers observed the individual leaving the doorway with another member of the group. Both of them, along with another man who was covering for them from the street, hurried to the vehicle they had parked near the house. Finally, before the individuals got into the vehicle driven by the third man, they were caught red-handed, and all of them were arrested as alleged perpetrators of the crimes of robbery with force and membership of a criminal group.
One of the officers observed that the individual who was driving, just before being arrested, threw away the black cloth backpack that they had previously taken from a boot to open the door of the property. However, it was recovered “in situ” by the officers. The officers recovered around €9,600 in small denominations, a large number of valuable personal items, jewellery, watches, cologne and designer glasses.
In addition, various searches were carried out at the homes of the members and in the vehicles used to carry out the robberies, where a large number of sets of keys or decoding tools, master keys and other objects used by the alleged perpetrators to open all the locks were seized, as well as other tools for carrying out the “impressioning” technique.
Cash was also seized, as well as clothing and backpacks from the companies they were impersonating. In addition, it was discovered that one of the suspects was involved in fraud on the mainland, where bank transfers were made to his accounts. Finally, the officers proceeded to arrest seven people, six of Colombian origin and one Spanish, as alleged perpetrators of the crimes. Four of them have been remanded in custody by the judicial authorities. This operation has solved ten burglaries in homes in Palma, although the investigation remains open, as further arrests cannot be ruled out.