A criminal organisation located in Santa Pola and the Murcian municipalities of Calasparra and Moratalla has been dismantled by the Guardia Civil. The organisation is accused of stealing 63 kilometres of copper cable from telecommunications facilities in Murcia and Albacete, resulting in damages estimated at half a million euros. Two individuals were apprehended in Santa Pola, and two others were either apprehended or investigated in Calasparra and Moratalla during the operation, in which the Bullas Local Police (Murcia) played a critical role.
A vehicle and the equipment employed in the criminal activity that has since been resolved have been confiscated by investigators, in addition to one and a half tonnes of stolen copper cable.
The operation commenced at the beginning of the year when the ROCA (Counter-Theft in the Field) Team of the Benemérita (Benemérita Police) identified numerous thefts of telecommunications copper cabling from the overhead lines that connect the northwestern region of Murcia with the province of Albacete.
The ROCA Team conducted thorough technical and visual inspections at the locations where the robberies had taken place in order to assemble all available evidence regarding the perpetrators and the circumstances surrounding the robberies. These inspections were the initial steps of the operation.
Investigators were able to ascertain that they were following a criminal organisation that was highly active, had significant geographical mobility, and consistently adhered to a consistent pattern through the analysis of the initial evidence they had obtained.
They were highly mobile and would conduct a preliminary study of the area and its access points before committing their offences in order to avoid detection and have an escape plan in place.
After determining the operation’s feasibility, they employed chainsaws to cut and fell the poles and all of their cabling. They were sliced into 1.5-metre pieces as soon as they touched down so they could be loaded into cars and transported without raising any red flags.
The robberies commenced at the stroke of midnight. Within a few hours, they had their cargo prepared for transport to their headquarters in Santa Pola, where they stripped the cable, removing its PVC jackets, and left a pure copper that is highly valued and sought after, due to their extensive criminal record and experience.
The members of this criminal group were caught off guard by a police checkpoint located near the Benemérita on the Tazona crossing in the Albacete municipality of Letur, where they seized approximately 500 metres of cable. They subsequently fled with the vehicle.
The vehicle was located in the municipality of Calasparra, unoccupied, but fully loaded with wiring sections. A coordinated operation was promptly established by several Citizen Security patrols from Albacete and Murcia.
The ROCA Team conducted a series of investigations in the aftermath of these events, which resulted in the arrest and location of the van’s owner. Despite this, the owner had attempted to avoid culpability by reporting his vehicle stolen in Santa Pola a few hours later. A second individual was apprehended in Santa Pola during these investigations, as it was determined that he was one of the occupants of the van that evaded police control and was also associated with the incident.
The Bullas Local Police informed the Guardia Civil of the ROCA Team of an operation they had conducted in the early hours of the morning. Four individuals were identified in a vehicle that exhibited suspicious behaviour and exhibited numerous inconsistencies in their responses. This information was essential for the operation’s resolution.
Four individuals were involved
The four members of the criminal group, two of whom are residents of Santa Pola and two of whom are from Moratalla and Calasparra, have been accused of a dozen crimes that were committed in Moratalla, Calasparra, Caravaca de la Cruz, and Letur. The theft of over 63,000 metres of telecommunications copper cabling, which is valued at approximately half a million euros inclusive of the damage caused, was included in the charges.
The Guardia Civil has verified the criminal group’s extensive interprovincial mobility, as they were able to travel over 200 kilometres from their headquarters in Santa Pola to the locations where they conducted their criminal activities in Murcia and Albacete during each operation.
In addition to the apprehension of three members and the investigation of another during the various operations, the Guardia Civil seized the vehicle used in the crime, four wire cutters, flashlights, gloves, and fence cutters. Additionally, they recovered 500 metres of copper wiring that had been seized.
Police collaboration The operation was conducted by the ROCA Team in Caravaca de la Cruz, with the assistance of their counterparts in HellÃn (Albacete) and the Citizen Security Prevention Units in Calasparra, Moratalla, and Letur. The Guardia Civil have stated that the Bullas Local Police’s actions and their collaboration with the Benemérita (Benemérita) were instrumental in the successful conclusion of the operation.
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