The Civil Guard and the National Police have arrested twelve people who belonged to a very active criminal group dedicated to robbery inside homes in rural areas. The Investigative Court No. 2 of Orihuela has ordered the imprisonment of eight of them, including the main perpetrators.
In August 2023, the province of Alicante and its surroundings experienced a significant increase in robberies committed inside homes located in remote areas. Responding to this situation, the Main Post of the Villena Civil Guard and the Judicial Police Group of the Orihuela Police Station Brigade of the National Police began the Welter-Hail operation.
In the first phase, it was determined that this was a very active criminal organization that operated in the province of Alicante and its surroundings. They preferred to act at night and, sometimes, they committed up to six robberies in a single day. The criminals selected homes, forced doors and windows, and stole jewelry, money and other valuables. They used stolen vehicles, sometimes with false license plates, to transport the stolen items.
After analyzing the movements of the criminals, their escape route was identified; they mainly used highways until they reached their safe areas. There, they parked the vehicles with the stolen materials before proceeding to sell the stolen objects to recipients.
On December 17 and the following two days, after identifying all the members of the gang and proving their participation in the robberies, the exploitation phase of the operation was carried out. Searches were carried out in seven homes and an industrial warehouse in the municipalities of Murcia, Albatera, Cox, Dolores, Benejúzar and Crevillente.
In the Murcian district of Sangonera la Seca (Murcia), two inspections were carried out in two establishments, concluding with the arrest of the person in charge of receiving vehicles and other stolen effects for subsequent shipment to Morocco. In addition, a stolen van and material for making master keys were found in an illegal workshop in Crevillente.
The searches and inspections included the seizure of tools used to commit the robberies, electronic elements to disable vehicle security systems, fake keys and a variety of stolen objects. 13 stolen vehicles were also recovered.
10,490 grams of hashish, 90 grams of cocaine, elements for the production and distribution of narcotic substances, and various objects strategically hidden in a chalet were seized.
All operational and receiving members of the criminal group were arrested: 12 people, 10 of Moroccan nationality and 2 Spaniards, aged between 20 and 77 years, including 9 men and 3 women.
The detainees, accused of belonging to a criminal group, crimes against property and socioeconomic order, as well as drug trafficking, were placed at the disposal of the Investigative Court No. 2 of Orihuela. Eight of them, including those most responsible, were imprisoned, while precautionary measures were ordered for the rest.
In the development of the operation, there has been the collaboration of the Citizen Security Units (USEClCs) of Alicante and Torrevieja, the Main Posts of Callosa de Segura and Torrevieja, the Judicial Police Group of the Yecla Police Station (Murcia) and the Special Systems Group of the Valencia Higher Headquarters.
With this collaboration between the National Police and the Civil Guard, 105 crimes committed in the provinces of Alicante, Albacete, Murcia, Almería, Ciudad Real and Valencia have been clarified. In addition, a criminal group has been dismantled that generated economic losses of more than 400,000 euros between damages and stolen objects.
