As part of Operation Cajetillax, the Guardia Civil arrested six males aged 22 to 33, all of whom had past convictions for similar offences, as alleged perpetrators of a string of burglaries in Alicante and Valencia provinces.
The inquiry began last November, after an uptick in burglaries was discovered at restaurants, petrol stations and tobacco businesses in both provinces, some of which were targeted multiple times. To combat this criminal conduct, the Investigation Units of the Villena and Sax Police Stations initiated the aforementioned operation.
The criminal organization concentrated its operations on bars, petrol stations and tobacco shops, where they stole cash and tobacco items and distributed them to other enterprises near their houses. To carry out the robbery, they parked their vehicles in obscure locations and walked around the towns. They gained entry to the building by bursting through walls, doors, and windows, taking cash registers and tobacco goods with them.
During the month of December, one of the investigators, while off duty in the municipality of Salinas, was able to identify one of the group’s vehicles as well as one of its members, marking a significant step forward in the case.
On the night of January 12th, a patrol from the Sax Guardia Civil station captured three individuals red-handed committing a robbery by breaking into a service station in Salinas. After getting entry, they stole tobacco goods worth around 3,500 euros.
When the culprits saw the police presence, they fled in a stolen vehicle from the Valencian town of El Saler, but were apprehended and arrested by policemen. In this operation, both the stolen tobacco and the stolen vehicle were found.
Three more members of the criminal organisation were arrested in the days that followed.
The group’s duties were well defined: the leader was in charge of collecting and driving the cars used in the robberies, while the other members participated based on their availability and the location of the establishments. The majority of individuals arrested lived in the town of Caudete in Albacete province, while others lived in Ontinyent, Valencia province.
The operation has assisted in the investigation of crimes perpetrated in Villena, Salinas, Banyeres de Mariola, Cocentaina, and Castalla, as well as the Valencian municipalities of El Saler, Catarroja, and Alfafar.
Depending on their level of involvement, the detainees face 16 offences against property and the socioeconomic order, one offence of belonging to a criminal organization, one offence of theft or unauthorised use of a vehicle, one offence of assaulting a law enforcement officer, and one offence of misappropriation for renting a vehicle and failing to return it to the rightful owner. All of them have been taken before the appropriate judicial authority and freed on precautionary grounds pending trial.
Author: Derek Appleton
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