Three men and two women, aged between 19 and 32 years, residents of Calasparra, have been charged with more than 10 offences of theft from vehicles and burglary using force from houses in the country.
The arrests form part of Operation Duclos, an investigation by the Guardia Civil and the local police into various thefts from vehicles, businesses and houses in the country around Calasparra.
The investigation began when the Guardia Civil discovered that a chain of thefts from vehicles around a local Function Hall were related. The culprits threw a spark plug to break the windows of the vehicles and then plundered any valuables inside.
Officers organised various stake outs in the area of the crimes and, in the early hours of the morning over the weekend, they found a group of people, with multiple previous convictions, wandering around the area of the robberies.
Officers also carried out searches of various businesses which buy and sell metals and found various pieces of chairs, tables and fridges which were probably stolen from a .local restaurant.
Information obtained during the investigation of the five detainees led to the Guardia Civil to various abandoned properties in the area where they found property from thefts from vehicles and from properties in the countryside including bags, documents and credit cards. All were seized and have been returned to their owners.
The five arrested have been charged with more than a dozen offences of robbery with force and numerous stolen ítems have been recovered. They have appeared before magistrates in Caravaca.
