Crackdown on youth gang crime wave
A large Guardia Civil operation was organised in order to arrest the suspects
THE GUARDIA Civil announced they have rounded up a gang of youths who were allegedly involved in a ‘very intense’ crime wave in San Javier.
The suspects are accused of about 50 property crimes, including breaking and entering, theft, fraud, criminal damage, causing injuries and violating the conditions of a court sentence.
Officers arrested 10 members of the group and recovered some of the stolen goods and objects used to commit the offences.
There was an increase in burglaries and thefts in San Javier at the start of this year, ‘crimes that were worrying the population because the people responsible were repeating the robberies on successive days and continually over time, apparently without caring about the consequences of their actions’, according to a spokesman for the force.
Sometimes there were thefts from vehicles, damage caused to vehicles and muggings of elderly and vulnerable people all in the same night.
An operation was launched to track them down, and at the same time increase police presence in the areas they had been acting.
Evidence from the scenes of the crimes, combined with security camera footage and witness statements pointed to a gang of youths living in the municipality, most of whom had ample criminal records despite their young ages.
Stealing from vehicles was their principal objective, taking cash, bank cards that were
later used fraudulently in cash machines, and other valuables which were sold on or exchanged for other goods.
There were also cases of criminal damage, burglaries of homes and muggings, all for the same purpose.
Since they knew the area very well, the gang members took precautions to avoid detection, such as having several lookouts and acting during the night.
The Guardia Civil collaborated with San Javier local police in the area being targeted, and identified 10 suspected members of the gang.
Once they had gathered enough evidence, two search warrants were obtained, for a house and a warehouse with several abandoned units that were being used as a hideout.
Officers recovered stolen goods from these premises, including cash, mobile phones, bank cards, ID cards and other personal effects belonging to victims.
They also seized clothing and tools which had allegedly been used in the criminal activity.
During the days leading up to the arrests, one of the ringleaders allegedly committed six offences in a row, which included snatching two handbags from an elderly person and a disabled person.
Thanks to an off-duty Guardia Civil officer who identified this suspect, he was implicated in several different offences and arrested.
Detailed analysis of the information gathered has cleared up about 50 property crimes allegedly committed by the gang, however the operation remains open to determine if they were responsible for more offences and if there are more people connected to them.
A court in San Javier has remanded the two alleged ringleaders in custody.