A dangerous gang whose members raided homes while armed and with the occupants inside has been dismantled by the Guardia Civil in Manilva, in an operation that has so far led to the arrest of at least three people, one of them a minor. Sources from the force consulted by El Confidencial said that the operation that led to the dismantling of this organised group was carried out last Friday, with the municipality being one of the places where searches and arrests took place. These included the arrest of a 17-year-old, who on Monday was awaiting being brought before the Juvenile Prosecutor’s Office.
The same is not true of two other adults who were arrested and, after being brought before a judge, have already been remanded in custody. This precautionary measure, which is adopted in cases of extreme seriousness, gives an idea of the scale of the alleged crimes. The sources explained that the organisation was dedicated to robbing homes with the occupants inside in order to seize valuables. The thieves burst into homes armed and were clear that they would use violence if that was the quickest way to achieve their goal.
Officers from the Judicial Police team in Estepona carried out several house searches last Friday in which they looked for items from the robberies, as well as other evidence linking those arrested to the reported offences. This operation by the Guardia Civil was preceded by another intervention that dismantled two gangs dedicated to burglary and street-level drug dealing in the province of Malaga.
In the seven searches carried out in the Malaga towns of Benalmádena, Nerja and Torrox, officers seized large machetes, an imitation firearm, a Taser device, defence sprays, as well as a large number of items from the robberies: jewellery, high-end watches, cash, electronic devices, as well as precision scales, cutting material and various narcotic substances.
The network carried out surveillance in housing developments and isolated homes belonging to wealthy residents in order to monitor their routines. Based on the information obtained from their victims, they carried out violent and intimidating raids on homes while the occupants were inside, so as to obtain money and jewellery from safes. Officers were able to clear up more than 50 robberies committed in several different municipalities.
