Alex Trelinski
FIVE youths aged between 16 and 20 have been arrested for stealing racing pigeons from a Benidorm club.
The male gang were caught during a routine Policia Nacional traffic check in Alicante.
Officers were suspicious about the group and spotted seven birds inside their car.
The gang had forced cages to steal a total of 18 birds from Benidorm.
All five youths have been charged with robbery, with police recovering an additional seven pigeons which have been returned to their owners.
Last November, the same pigeon club was the victim of two robberies within ten days with 120 pigeons stolen worth €100,000.
Most of the birds were recovered in Alicante after the two thieves were spotted walking down a street with boxes containing the birds.
Also last year, the police arrested an Alicante province gang, including two children, for stealing racing pigeons which attract a high value for breeding purposes.
READ MORE:
- Benidorm racing pigeon club robbed of 120 birds worth €100,000 on Spain’s Costa Blanca
- Child thieves lead wave of racing pigeon robberies in Costa Blanca area of Spain
