Officers from the Manilva Main Station and the Fiscal and Border Patrol (PAFIF) in Estepona have arrested two men who were robbing a tobacconist’s in the town of Casares (Málaga).
The incident took place in the early hours of 14 February, when officers received a call from the Operational Services Centre (COS) of the Guardia Civil Command in Málaga, warning of a possible offence at the premises of the Marina de Casares Shopping Centre.
When the Guardia Civil officers arrived at the scene, they caught two men red-handed inside the tobacco outlet, just as they were taking the cash register and several cartons of tobacco.
To gain entry, the culprits had broken the front door by striking it with iron sledgehammers, causing substantial damage to the premises. The alleged perpetrators used a vehicle that had been stolen in Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz).
Inside the vehicle, officers found numerous tools and items for committing criminal acts, frequency jammers for disabling alarms, and a spiked chain similar to those used at police checkpoints to puncture tyres, which had been handmade and which the criminals would have used against police vehicles if caught by surprise. The two detainees, who have more than thirty previous records for similar offences, were brought before Examining Court no. 6 of Estepona for the alleged offences of robbery with force and theft of a motor vehicle.
Officers are continuing their investigation to determine whether the detainees may be involved in other robberies committed in the provinces of Málaga and Cádiz.
All the items stolen in the robbery at the tobacconist’s have been recovered, as has the stolen vehicle, and all have been returned to their rightful owners.
