Federal Police dismantled gang stealing telecommunications cables in Mar del Plata: six arrested
The Federal Operational Unit Division broke up an organisation that was stealing network cabling on the Atlantic coast, disguising itself as public utility technicians.
Six arrested for systematic theft of network cables on the Atlantic coast
The Argentine Federal Police dismantled a gang dedicated to stealing telecommunications cabling in the coastal zone of Mar del Plata, according to reports from elliberal.com.ar. The investigation was initiated following a complaint from a telecommunications company, whose representatives warned of a series of thefts of the network infrastructure that caused interruptions to mobile communications in several areas.
With authorisation from Federal Court No. 3, headed by Dr Santiago Inchausti, the Federal Operational Unit Division (DUOF) Mar del Plata took on the investigation to identify those responsible.
Modus operandi: lorries with fake service company logos
Analysis of film recordings, undercover surveillance and tracking operations made it possible to identify six men who made up the criminal structure. The group used two vehicles—a cargo lorry and a private pickup truck—to which they affixed visual identifications of service provider companies, in order to appear to be carrying out legitimate work in public places.
Investigators placed a satellite tracking device (GPS) on the pickup truck, which made it possible to record the movements of the suspects. The gang also had two other support vehicles whose occupants wore service worker clothing and carried tools typical of the industry, all with the aim of not raising suspicion among residents.
Simultaneous raids on three addresses
As the case progressed, investigators identified three addresses linked to those implicated, located on Rosales Street, Cataluña Street and Street 429 in Mar del Plata. With the body of evidence collected, the court ordered the raids to be carried out simultaneously.
During the operations, officers arrested the six suspects, all men of Argentine nationality and of legal age. Two of them attempted to escape by throwing themselves from the third floor of a balcony, suffering various injuries; they had to be taken to a nearby hospital under police custody. Specialist firefighter personnel from the province of Buenos Aires intervened in the operation.
Seizure of vehicles, cash and drugs
In the raids 14 mobile phones were seized, five vehicles—among them the lorry and pickup truck used in the crimes—11,266,000 pesos in cash, 4,200 dollars, a replica pistol, a large quantity of copper pipe offcuts, a water pump, three hand-held radios (HT), numerous bags, clothing related to the fraud and several doses of marijuana.
Two of those detained had criminal records for "attempted theft" and "aggravated theft" respectively.
The six arrested individuals were placed at the disposal of the magistrate overseeing the case for the crime of stealing cabling and for violation of National Drugs Law 23.737.
Source: Google News AR — Crime