CRIMES
The group, made up of Albanians, Rumanians and Spaniards, are accused of more than 20 break-ins, many on the Costa
28.09.09 - 19:39 -
The gang had studied the street maps. All they had to do next was pinpoint their targets and act. But unknown to them they were also being watched. The Guardia Civil had discovered their plans and stepped in to prevent a “spate of burglaries in the Guadalhorce valley”, as officer Jesús Pastor of the Organised Crime Squad explained.
The operation, code named ‘tartavell’, resulted in eight arrests and raids on five properties in which goods to the value of two million euros and 125 kilos of hashish were confiscated.
Detectives believe that the vast majority of the items seized were stolen in burglaries at luxury villas on the Andalusian coastline, mainly in Malaga and Cadiz. The gang operated at night while their victims were asleep. They deactivated alarms and, once inside the property, took cash, jewellery and other items of value. They would often leave in their victims’ car. On one occasion in San Roque the burglars were confronted by the owners and shots were fired, although no one was hurt.
Three of the suspects, all_Albanian, are thought to have carried out the robberies while their partners - two Rumanian women - collaborated by renting out the houses they lived in and sending money and goods to their countries of origin. The other three people arrested in this operation are Spanish - two men and a woman - and are accused of receiving stolen goods and drug trafficking. The five men are being held in custody while the women have been released with charges.
The investigation into the gang began in May when, thanks to the collaboration of the general public, the lifestyle led by the immigrants was brought to the attention of the Guardia Civil. It appears that the three Albanians and the two Rumanian women had moved to a house in Elviria and frequented expensive restaurants and designer boutiques. During the searches of this and another four properties (two in Vélez-Málaga, one in Benahavís and one in Mijas) officers confiscated jewellery and watches, computers and televisions, two revolvers, expensive handbags and purses, cash and three top-of-the-range vehicles, as well as the drugs.
