Alex Trelinski
A SAFE-CRACKING gang that broke into 42 Valencia and Murcia region businesses has been brought down by the Guardia Civil and Policia Nacional.
A hydraulic clamp and a hammer used in the night-time robberies was stolen from the San Vicente del Raspeig fire station in July.
The Kosovan-led group raided pharmacies, restaurants, banks and even two Burger King outlets in Ibi and Cartagena.
READ MORE:
- Drugs gang copied ‘Breaking Bad’ narco TV drama by laundering money via a car wash business in Spain
- Violent Albanian gang stole more than €10m by robbing luxury homes across southern Spain
- Seven British ‘gangsters’ in Spain who ‘ran a drug ring with bases in Marbella and Alicante’ are arrested: Multiple properties raided
Six members of the crew were arrested in Orihuela, Torrevieja, Benidorm, Villajoyosa, and Denia.
The detainees have extensive criminal records in Spain, with one of them having an order banning him from the country.
One gang member had committed a murder in Ukraine.
The ring-leader and four of his cohorts were jailed after appearances in various regional courts.
Items seized included €7,000 in cash, bolt cutters and lock-picking tools, GPS tracking beacons and walkie-talkies, as well as a machine to clone car keys and an Italian Police tactical vest.
Police investigations started last August after a wave of pharmacy robberies in the Alicante and Marina Alta areas.
The crew forced open doors, ripped open cash registers or safes, and fled in stolen high-end vehicles with fake license plates.
Around €200,000 of damage and stolen items were attributable to the gang.
In one case, they destroyed an ATM inside the Llocnou de Sant Jeroni town hall in Valencia with the help of the stolen fire station clamp.
They struck in over 20 towns and cities and last September encountered resistance from a security guard when robbing a real estate agency in Campoamor on the Orihuela Costa.
They fled and dumped their high-end BMW escape car into a canal near Los Montesinos to try to cover their tracks.
