Police pick up a Penguin gang for robberies all over Andalucía

Miguel Ángel, 38, from Dos Hermanas in Seville province, was their leader. His nickname is ‘Pingüino’ (Penguin), which is how the seven-man gang got its name. He was well known to the police and has been in prison in the past.

As an example of the way the gang worked, on the night of 21 January this year they carried out six robberies in three different provinces - Malaga, Granada and Seville - in under five hours. However, the police investigation had already begun in early November after ten high-range vehicles were stolen from a showroom in Bormujos, Seville, and initial clues led the police to link this to other thefts from stores and warehouses, often bikes and motorcycles. The gang are believed to have got away with items worth over one million euros.

The police discovered that the Penguin gang were using the stolen vehicles to carry out thefts elsewhere, but before doing so they ‘cooled them down’, by fitting them with false number plates and parking them in public places for a while. They also used some as payment to other criminal organisations with whom they worked.

As well as arresting the gang members, the police searched several premises and found two cars, a motorbike, two expensive bicycles (each worth more than 4,000 euros), incendiary materials and anabolic steroids. Four of the gang were remanded in custody and the remainder were charged but released.

The Penguins are believed to have carried out over 50 robberies altogether, in Malaga, Seville, Cadiz, Cordoba, Jaén, Granada, Almeria and Ciudad Real. In Malaga, they targeted establishments in Mollina and Archidona, from which they stole bikes and motorcycles.