National Police officers arrested a 31-year-old male in Dénia, Alicante, for allegedly committing 21 burglaries in single-family homes in less than a month, primarily in residential areas and along the coast.
The accused man allegedly used the occupants’ absence to gain access to the plots by climbing the perimeter wall or entering from less obvious spots, inflicting “significant material damage,” according to a police statement.
Once inside, he appeared to concentrate on removing taps, pipes and other metal pieces from the water and gas infrastructure, even breaking through concrete barriers to access buried lines.
A relative increase in these types of robberies, all of which followed a similar pattern, prompted the inquiry. The Judicial Police Group of the Dénia National Police Station prepared a map of the events and established physical and temporal connections between the cases.
They discovered that the homes were damaged owing to a lack of security and had outside metal parts that could be accessed from patios or gardens. Furthermore, at several of the places, the water and gas were shut off before the crime, prompting authorities to suspect the offender was knowledgeable about plumbing.
Sale of Objects in Junk Shops
The study resulted in the development of a morphological profile for the putative perpetrator, who was fully identified within a few days. Officers simultaneously monitored and determined that identical items sold in local scrapyards matched the stolen items. Officers put the suspect’s claimed cash benefit at €1,500.
Although the victims have yet to provide a detailed evaluation of the harm, it is believed to be “much greater” than the perpetrator’s profit. Police stated that the damage to the dwellings’ constructions and fixed items resulted in substantial harm to the residents.
Less than a month later, police apprehended the perpetrator in Dénia. He stayed in a squatter building just 900 meters from the robbery hotspot. During the investigation of his home, different tools similar to those used in the crimes were seized, including pipe cutters, wrenches, crowbars, and other hand tools. Investigators also discovered an unauthorised connection to the electric grid.
The detainee faces charges of burglary, electricity fraud, and property occupation. He had a prior record of property crimes. Following his detention, he was hauled before the Dénia Investigative Court, where the inquiry into the crime and assessment of additional potential linked instances will continue.
Author: Derek Appleton
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