In Guardamar del Segura, Madrid, Barcelona, and Tarragona, the National Police have apprehended 27 putative members of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS13) gang. The Salvadoran criminal organisation intends to broaden its influence in Spain through violent means. The individuals apprehended were members of numerous cliques or factions that were organised under the leadership of the “Adams Clique” and were supervised by the Americas. The U.S. has classified this Latin American gang as a terrorist organisation. Drug trafficking sustained the gang, and the police have linked some of the arrested individuals to attempted and completed homicides.

The province of Alicante has apprehended a single individual, while Madrid, Barcelona, and Tarragona have each seen 18 arrests. The police have accused them of homicide, bodily harm, robbery with violence, and offences against public health, as well as belonging to a criminal organisation.

This is the Mara Salvatrucha gang’s second significant setback in Spain. The 37 defendants from the Mara Salvatrucha gang, which was based in Ibi, Girona, Madrid, and Barcelona, were sentenced to a total of 89 years and six months in prison by the Alicante Court in 2018.

The investigation commenced with the detection of individuals associated with the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang in Spain by agents from the National Police’s General Information Commissariat, which was made possible by international collaboration with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

In collaboration with the National Civil Police of El Salvador and the aforementioned US law enforcement agencies, the police were able to identify all members of this organisation, which is predominantly located in the cities of Madrid and Barcelona.

Drug Financing Investigators have determined that this criminal organisation maintained a hierarchical structure with clearly defined roles. The primary source of funding for this MS13 “program” that was dismantled by the police was narcotic trafficking, and its objective was to acquire firearms. Previous investigations have implicated its members in attempted assassinations and completed homicides.

The exploitation phase commenced on March 27, following the identification of the members of this group. Consequently, authorities apprehended 27 individuals and searched six residences.

The General Intelligence Commission, the Provincial Intelligence Brigades of Barcelona, Alicante, Tarragona, and Madrid, the FBI, representatives of the National Civil Police of El Salvador, and the Barcelona Urban Guard were all involved in the operation, which was overseen by the Prosecutor’s Office against Corruption and Organised Crime and led by Madrid’s Investigative Court No. 3.

During the searches, the officers confiscated symbols, knives, simulated firearms, narcotics, items for sale, and mobile phones.

They convened a court to hear the detainees. Seven of them were incarcerated, while two others were still in custody. They were arrested in distinct penitentiaries and held in pretrial detention for actions related to the organisation’s activities. The Torrevieja duty court heard the case of the individual apprehended in Guardamar, who did not reside in the municipality.

The U.S. State Department declared Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) a foreign terrorist organisation in February of last year, taking the same course of action as El Salvador in August 2015.

A police chase in Alcoy, Alicante, was anticipated with both exhilaration and fear. The A7 was the scene of a 10-kilometre pursuit in the incorrect direction, resulting in the arrest of a 49-year-old English man. The motorist was ultimately apprehended after colliding with numerous parked vehicles on Avenida Hispanidad in Alcoy, resulting in no injuries.

The Guardia Civil received a call from 112 at 6 p.m. regarding a vehicle travelling in the wrong direction on the A7, with the destination being Valencia. This initiated the incident. The driver proceeded on the N-340 towards Alcoy after exiting the road at kilometre 432, while being pursued by numerous police patrols. The driver caused significant alarm by travelling in the wrong direction on several streets in Alcoy during the chase.

As soon as the individual arrived at Avenida Hispanidad, he assaulted a police officer who was attempting to stop him. The police eventually intercepted the vehicle after it caused substantial damage to at least a dozen parked cars. Fortunately, there were no fatalities; only property damage was reported.

After testing positive for narcotics, police arrested the detainee for reckless driving and assaulting a police officer. The Accident Investigation Team of the Benidorm Traffic Police assumed responsibility for the matter. Raül Llopis, the Security Councillor of Alcoy, underscored that, despite the gravity of the situation, no injuries were reported. However, authorities will continue to investigate potential damage on other streets where the vehicle may have been operating during the incident.

An investigation has been conducted by national police officers into a criminal organisation that operates in the provinces of Alicante, Valencia, and Murcia and is composed of Eastern European individuals who specialise in burglaries. In the town of Ontinyent (Valencia), the Alicante and Cartagena National Police conducted a joint police operation that led to the detention of two men, aged 29 and 33, for their involvement in a series of burglaries that were committed inside homes.

The investigation commenced following a complaint of a burglary at a residence in the city of Alicante. The identification of one of the perpetrators was the first step in the initial investigation, which subsequently revealed that the group was an organised criminal organisation composed of individuals from Eastern Europe who travelled across the country to commit crimes with complete impunity.

The group’s method of operation involved the use of lockpicks that they had independently constructed or adhesive on the doors to identify the presence of residents. They entered the homes without causing visible damage to the locks, and they stole jewellery, money, and valuables after they confirmed that they were vacant.

It was discovered that the perpetrators may be in the town of Torrevieja, where they typically reside, as a result of the coordination mechanisms between police units. Consequently, surveillance was implemented to monitor both the vehicle they were operating and their movements.

Officers pursued the suspects to the town of Ontinyent during one of the surveillance operations. Officers apprehended them as they were leaving a residence where they had recently committed a burglary. At the time of their arrest, they were in possession of a variety of stolen items, such as watches and jewellery, as well as tools that were used to force locks.

A check of the detainees’ residence in Torrevieja was conducted subsequent to their arrests. A significant number of valuables, watches, and jewellery items that were associated with other offences were confiscated.

The investigating court in Ontinyent (Valencia), which is on duty, brought the detainees before it and ordered both to be in prison.

The officers, on their part, conducted investigations into the impounded items to ascertain whether any were stolen. Numerous items were identified and promptly returned to their respective proprietors.

The arrest of these two individuals has resulted in the resolution of eight home burglaries that have been perpetrated in the towns of Alicante, Villena, Ontinyent, and Cartagena.