Hole-in-the-wall gang ‘leaders’ arrested
Suspects detained in coastal holiday areas
GUARDIA Civil have arrested two men accused of leading a gang that has carried out a wave of break-ins.
The suspects were detained in La Mata and Orihuela Costa.
According to a force spokesman, the gang would smash through walls to enter warehouses, homes and industrial premises.
The two Kosovar Albanians, aged 43 and 45, are described as being of the leaders of a gang which carried out 19 of these crimes – in the provinces of Alicante, Castellón, Murcia, Almería and Cantabria.
They have ‘long police records’ for similar crimes, according to the spokesman.
He alleged that the men would plan their break-ins from their base in the south of Alicante province.
They would carefully study the industrial zones they had earmarked and work out where to make the hole in the wall for them to enter through.
According to the spokesman, they had ‘all the necessary tools’ to do this, including pneumatic drills, axes and hammers – many of which were seized by officers during raids.
The crimes would take place at night and once inside the intruders would break into the safe, often using an electric saw.
The spokesman noted that detectives had been on the trail of the suspects since September last year and they were finally arrested last week.
Officers searched two homes in La Mata and Orihuela Costa, and also a garage in Los Montesinos. They seized €1,075 in cash, two high-power vehicles, mobile phones, laptop computers and other items.
An Orihuela judge has remanded the two suspects in prison. The investigation remains open and the Guardia Civil have not ruled out more arrests in the case.