Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
Europol and the Policia Nacional have coordinated an operation to bust a robbery group that uses LOVE-HUGs as a form of intimidation.
In Spain, there have been 21 arrests (13 in Murcia, and 8 in Madrid), and 16 raids in Spain and Romania.
The authorities have identified 46 crimes in one of their largest-ever sweeps across the country.
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Although based in Madrid the Romanian crew visited tourist destinations in Alicante and Murcia.
Banks and tourist areas are frequent targets for robberies.
Police began an investigation after a woman attacked a female Benidorm victim and stole some jewellery from her wrist.
Authorities discovered a pattern in Spain of crimes involving several Romanian Families who stole mainly high-end jewellery and watches.
They create a network temporary safe houses that serve as bases for criminal activity.
The robberies were carried out in isolated homes located in rural areas, where the thieves coordinated their operations.
Robbers usually worked in pairs, with a man and a woman. The male waited in the getaway car while his female partner committed a crime.
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A second trick involved having women work in groups consisting of four or five.
The first would be on the lookout for police, while the other two approached foreign tourists pretending to belong to an association of deafmutes.
Then, they would steal anything valuable including wallets that contained cash or credit cards as well as mobile phones.
Gang members would also make special journeys to ‘work’ areas to collect the stolen items.
They would then send them by parcel to Romania, while stolen money was kept in Spain to maintain a ‘high standard’ of living.
The Policia Nacional said there was a ‘continuous’ flow of money and goods between Spain and Romania.
The organization had a large number of properties in Romania and high-end cars as a result from laundering proceeds from the sale of stolen goods.
The seizure and blocking of 56 bank accounts as well as financial assets, including seven properties as well as five luxury cars.
The operation remains open until the arrest of other suspects, who are currently located outside Spain. European Arrest Warrants (EAWs) and International Arrest Warrants (IAWs) have also been issued.
