Province-wide criminal gang dismantled
Thieves were stealing randomly throughout Alicante province
NATIONAL Police officers have arrested four South Americans, two men and two women aged between 20 and 24, for allegedly belonging to a criminal organisation dedicated to committing thefts in businesses and parked vehicles throughout Alicante province.
Each summer, the National Police establish a special theft prevention operation masterminded by the Alicante provincial police station with the aim of guaranteeing the safety of holidaymakers and residents during the summer months.
They do this by coordinating ongoing investigations with other police stations to facilitate the identification and arrest of perpetrators of these types of crimes, and by increasing the presence of uniformed and plain-clothes officers in the streets.
Benidorm National Police who were participating in the operation managed to identify the members of a criminal group composed of two men and two women of South American origin who were stealing from luxury goods businesses, hotels and parked, unattended vehicles.
According to a police spokesman, each member played an essential part, distracting victims, surveillance or driving the getaway vehicle.
Officers viewed hours of CCTV footage, took statements from victims, witnesses, and monitored suspects, which led to them locating the getaway vehicle and officers intercepting it.
On searching the car, officers found various handbags, suitcases, jewellery, smartphones, expensive sunglasses and cash, along with the identity documents belonging to their victims.
The four perpetrators were arrested and taken to Benidorm police station, where they were identified and officers discovered that that the four had police recods for other petty thefts throughout the province.
They lived in Madrid, but would travel to coastal resorts in the holiday season, noted the spokesman.
The detainees were accused of various countsd of theft and were put before a Benidorm court judge.