– GUARDIA CIVIL
The Civil Guard of the Region of Murcia has developed in San Pedro del Pinatar (Murcia) the operation ‘Inspa’, an investigation initiated to clarify the theft of electric scooters, which has allowed to dismantle a criminal group composed of five young people, who are attributed with the alleged authorship of the crimes of belonging to a criminal group, robbery with force and theft.
So far, as the investigation is still open, the Benemérita’s Citizen Security Prevention Unit has cleared up a dozen crimes and recovered part of the stolen scooters and other items of dubious origin.
The actions began at the end of last year, when the Civil Guard detected an increase in crime in the municipalities of San Pedro del Pinatar and San Javier in which the number of cases of theft of electric scooters had increased, according to sources from the Benemérita in a statement.
The first steps of the operation allowed the civil guards to obtain clues to draw the modus operandi used in the theft of scooters and verify that behind the authorship of the thefts was a group of young people.
The criminal group carried out a prior study of their targets. The first cases detected were located in educational centres, where the perpetrators acted in a coordinated group and took advantage of school hours. Once the target was selected, one of them was in charge of surveillance. Meanwhile, others jumped over the school fence and stole the scooters parked in the school playground, which were handed over to a third who picked them up on the other side of the fence and, finally, they all fled the scene.
In addition to educational centres, the criminal group also acted in areas with a large influx of people, such as shopping centres, or in the middle of public roads, both in San Pedro del Pinatar and San Javier. In a car park reserved for this type of vehicle in a shopping centre in San Javier, several thefts of electric scooters were again carried out, also taking security measures to avoid detection.
As a result of the investigations carried out and thanks to the collaboration of the public, the civil guards of the San Pedro del Pinatar Investigation Area identified several young people and established the main line of investigation to identify the rest of the members of the criminal group.
While the operation was being concluded, the Guardia Civil detected that one of the suspects allegedly stole an electric scooter in broad daylight in front of a shop in San Pedro del Pinatar, even confronting witnesses to the incident.
The Civil Guards have identified the five members of the criminal group, including a minor, and, after obtaining all the necessary evidence, they set up a search operation that has culminated in their location and arrest/investigation as alleged perpetrators of the offences of belonging to a criminal group, robbery with force and theft.
The Guardia Civil has recovered part of the stolen scooters.
Following the arrests and investigations, the young men assumed responsibility for the facts and, in collaboration with the Local Police of San Pedro del Pinatar, the Guardia Civil carried out a search of a garage where they recovered two stolen electric scooters and a large amount of effects that are presumed to have an illicit origin, bicycles, tools and electrical appliances, among others.
So far, the analysis of the information obtained during the investigation has led to the clarification of a dozen crimes, although the operation remains open, not ruling out the involvement of the criminal group in more criminal acts or the existence of more people who have collaborated with the former.
The detainees, those under investigation, the effects seized and the proceedings have been placed at the disposal of the Court of Instruction of San Javier and the Juvenile Prosecutor’s Office of Murcia.