The National Police have busted a criminal organisation that targeted gaming establishments. The group travelled throughout Murcia and the province of Alicante, with one of the thefts taking place at an enterprise in La Campaneta, a suburb of Orihuela. They employed a technique known as “stackering” to “inflate” the cash drawers of the slot machines, increasing the accumulated money, before forcing open the cash boxes to steal significant sums of money.
Start
The investigation began last year when agents learnt of the presence of this criminal group, which had begun its illicit activity in several gaming halls in Molina de Segura and Murcia, stealing more than 20,000 euros and causing significant machine damage.
How they acted
The agents were able to determine the participation of each member in the criminal action: from the mastermind in charge of developing the plan, recruiting the members, and gaining the trust of the workers of the halls, to the person in charge of “fattening” the machines, passing through the specialists in forcing the cash drawers with a specific tool, or even the person in charge of the vehicle to guarantee the escape from the scene of the robbery with total safety.
Furthermore, the criminal group would conduct a preliminary study of the establishment where they would later operate, noting the location of the betting machines as well as the employees of the premises and their working hours, deciding on the best time and even contacting the most appropriate employee ahead of time to offer them their participation in the crime in exchange for a cash payment of 5,000 euros.
Arrests
So far, the National Police have arrested four members of this criminal network, charging them with robbery with force and belonging to a criminal group. They have been placed at the disposal of the courts, and the investigation is ongoing to clarify other similar crimes committed and to arrest all those involved.
Stacker method
The “stacker” or “stacker” method of loading gambling machines is beginning a gaming session on a machine by inserting cash and getting the amount in the form of a ticket without making any wagers. This ticket is then cashed out at the same establishment’s ATM, where the money is continuously reinserted into the terminal until the machine is fully loaded, resulting in a big sum of cash. The machine is then controlled with a metal instrument to extract the money left in the cash box, which is actually the establishment’s money that has been swapped for numerous tickets.
Author: Derek Appleton
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