This July, Calpe car owners were astonished to discover that their registration plate had vanished. The Guardia Civil has now arrested a 56-year-old Swiss man suspected of being responsible for the wave of thefts in this and other municipalities in the province of Alicante.
Operation Matrics was begun on a report from one of the victims, who observed the now-detained man messing with his vehicle. According to his account, he had previously removed the license plates with the purpose to steal them. When he seized him, they wrestled, but the accused managed to flee with them.
The Guardia Civil emphasises that thanks to public cooperation, police were able to detain the culprit following the battle. It was later determined that this was not an isolated incidence, since investigation of the evidence gathered linked the suspect to previous crimes.
Agents uncovered evidence linking this individual to a series of license plate thefts that happened throughout the vacation town of La Marina Alta between June 30th and July 8th.
According to sources within the investigation, the termination of the thefts in Calpe led to others in neighbouring towns. They noticed that the suspect spent a significant amount of time in the other municipality.
After acquiring all relevant information, the authorities investigated the suspect’s home in Moraira. They took the license plates, which were invariably from other countries: the vast majority of them were Swiss, but some came from Belgium, Lithuania, Belarus, and Morocco.
The report highlighted this element because there were no Spanish license plates, and the region receives many visitors and inhabitants who drive automobiles registered in their home countries, which they acknowledge caused alarm among both groups.
During their search, they discovered that the house contained license plate holders of various sizes as well as gear designed for quick and silent license plate extraction. From there, investigators determined his routine: almost usually in the afternoon, with his bicycle, rucksack and tools.
So what did he do with them? There is no official evidence that he used the license plates for illicit activities. Other accounts claim that these license plates were mounted on the facade of the jailed man’s property, a villa that could not be seen from the street.
The inmate faces 26 counts of theft and one robbery with violence. The Investigating Court No. 1 of Dénia, to which he was transported, has ordered his release under strict conditions.
Author: Derek Appleton
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