Three men have been arrested by National Police for allegedly being involved in more than twenty robberies of vehicles parked in rest areas near petrol stations in Malaga province. Two of them were caught red-handed at a service station on the AP-7 highway in Marbella.
The suspects, aged 31 to 48, had a “violent pattern of behaviour” in which they broke car windows with a blunt object while the victims slept inside at night.
Stunned and unable to respond, the victims offered no resistance to the attackers, who swiftly stole suitcases and bags before departing.
Two of them were apprehended in Marbella after robbing a woman at an AP-7 petrol station and obtaining 24,000 dirhams—equivalent to around 2,300 euros—from the victim.
Another suspect was apprehended in Málaga city.
Investigation
The investigation, led by officers attached to the Judicial Police of the National Police Station in Antequera, began following the initial robberies in this police district, which targeted service areas in Las Pedrizas.
The crimes occurred at night, while the victims, primarily foreigners, were resting in their vehicles before continuing their journeys.
With the initial investigations, investigators began adding incidents committed at other service points throughout the province’s highways and motorways.
Torremolinos, Benalmádena, Fuengirola, Marbella, and Estepona all followed the same strategy near Málaga.
The difficulties in identifying the offenders in the absence of direct witnesses defined the investigation’s complexity. The
The crimes, always committed in the early hours of the morning and in low-traffic regions, occurred while the victims were asleep.
The assailants used security measures to prevent detection by surveillance cameras at petrol stations. The execution of this type of criminal activity posed a significant risk to the victims’ physical integrity, as the assailants would hit one of the vehicle’s door windows with a blunt object, causing the glass to break, resulting in the flying of small fragments that endangered people.
Because the activity was abrupt and short, the burglars were able to quickly grasp the victims’ suitcases and backpacks.
As part of the so-called ‘Cortijo’ operation, the National Police have identified 23 burglaries and one robbery involving violence.
Two cars were seized, as weremerous pieces of equipment used in the crime—hammers, pliers, scissors, screwdrivers, and knives—as well as various items of clothing, among other things.
Author: Derek Appleton
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