The National Police have dismantled a group of itinerant criminals who travelled around Spain in a motorhome and lived in Nice, thus solving 25 crimes against property that caused economic damage of close to €200,000. This was reported by the police in a statement which specifies that the gang operated in ‘areas of high purchasing power and tourism’ in the Balearics, the Valencian Community, Andalusia, and the Community of Madrid.
The four detainees have already been imprisoned as the alleged perpetrators of these robberies. The arrests were made in Benalmádena (Málaga) after one of their trips from France to the Costa del Sol was detected. During the operation, €24,000 in cash, €1,000 in foreign currency, a 100-franc gold coin, ‘numerous’ electronic devices and ‘various’ items of jewellery were seized. All of this was ‘hidden in different “hiding places” inside the vehicle,’ according to the official statement.
The investigation into this group began last September after the theft of a safe in a shopping centre in Elche (Alicante), from which around €8,800 in cash was stolen. Once the ‘criminal group dedicated to itinerant property crime’ had been identified, the police were able to verify their involvement in a dozen other crimes, including a theft committed in Ibiza from an armoured van loaded with €60,000 in cash.
After conducting their investigation, they discovered that the group travelled around the country in a motorhome, had no fixed address in Spain and specialised in burglary and safe-cracking. One of the aims of these crimes was to steal jewellery or electronic devices for subsequent sale on the black market. The National Police also discovered that all the members had a ‘multitude of identities’ and false documentation, with one of them having up to 24 ‘different identities’.