Alicante (EFE) strength in homes and scams that acted in five European countries.
The gang developed great mobility and roaming, quickly changed their address in Spain and made many trips around Europe, using false documentation to rent homes, the National Police reported.
17 house searches have been carried out in five countries, in which jewelery, stolen effects, a large quantity of facsimile-type banknotes and a money-counting machine, used in the execution of the scams, as well as various false documents, have been found.
The robberies with force in homes were mainly committed by young women, supported by a man who transported them in a vehicle. To access homes they used the slip technique, which consists of sliding a plastic sheet between the door frame and the latch.
They were also specialized in carrying out “rip deal” scams, a form of deception in which the perpetrators, mainly men, posed as high-level businessmen in a foreign country, deceived the victim by interested in buying a real estate property luxury, gold or jewels and they agreed to raise the market price in exchange for the seller agreeing to exchange high-value paper money for a smaller one.
In that exchange, the scammers gave the victims bills that were simply paper clippings, except for a small amount that they used to deceive during the transaction.
ARRESTS IN TWO PHASES
In the first phase of the investigation, in which almost 200 police officers from five countries have intervened, five members of a well-known Italian-Croatian clan were arrested in the town of Orihuela (Alicante), who were seized of various jewels among their belongings. and luxury effects, in addition to a plastic card used in the robberies with force to open doors, two apparently forged documents and cash in the amount of 4,300 euros.
The second phase has resulted in the arrest of 26 members of the organization in Croatia, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain and France, the majority in the latter country.
TIPS TO AVOID THEFT IN HOUSES
To avoid being a victim of home burglaries, the National Police reminds that you must always lock your home, be attentive to plastic witnesses, be careful when announcing that you are going on vacation, make the home appear inhabited, be alert if there are strangers on the farm, and consider the access door as important as the lock.
In case of detecting any anomaly in the access door of the house, do not touch anything, do not enter and immediately notify 091.