Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
A GANG that specialised in stealing duty-free goods from the Alicante Elche airport was convicted of theft.
Three men, two women and all of Romanian origin purchased cheap tickets for the airside of the facility.
The Elche court sentenced each of them to a year in prison and for 40-months, they were prohibited from going within 500 metres or the Costa Blanca airport.
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In January 2024 the Guardia Civil started an operation following a rise in thefts of tobacco and perfumes from airport duty free shops.
They collected evidence that a sophisticated criminal operation was being run by an organised criminal group.
The group members worked in small groups and purchased tickets for nearby destinations to bypass security checks to gain access to the duty-free shops.
After stealing from a business they left the terminal, without boarding a plane.
Some of them made a full day out of it, boarding a flight and stealing in the airport at their destination.
The suspects would give themselves some time to think before attempting to steal again at the Alicante Elche Terminal.
They were difficult to identify because of their way of operating.
Items stolen in Alicante had a total value of over €7,600.
The Guardia Civil identified them and saw three crew members who bought tickets to Palma de Mallorca at the airport.
After boarding the Palma flight, they were arrested for stealing duty free goods.
Two of their colleagues were intercepted and detained before leaving Alicante-Elche airport after stealing €1,125 of cigarettes, which were returned to the shops.
