Refuse worker arrested in Mijas for car thefts: stones in the lorry exposed him
The Guardia Civil arrested a cleaning worker accused of smashing car windows during his night shift in Mijas. Stones hidden beneath the lorry's floor mats served as definitive proof.
Worker arrested after robbing vehicles during night route
The Guardia Civil had deployed a surveillance operation in Mijas following a surge in break-ins of motor vehicles. According to diariosur.es, in the early hours of Thursday a witness alerted officers: he had seen an individual smash a car window with a stone and then flee aboard a refuse lorry.
Officers proceeded to La Cala and found two vandalised vehicles with broken windows. The report had come from a hotel; upon reviewing security footage, they identified the cleaning service worker. The officers immediately contacted the FCC manager, the concession company for the municipal service, to determine which worker covered that route.
The lorry cab reveals the evidence
The operation located the vehicle without delay. When approached, the worker attempted to justify himself by claiming he had just been in an altercation with foreign nationals. That account collapsed seconds later during an inspection of the cab.
The civil guards found three V-16 emergency beacons, various tools and, as definitive proof, several stones hidden beneath the floor mats. The stones matched the characteristics of those used to break car windows. The worker insisted that the tools formed part of the lorry's standard equipment; the concession company denied that claim.
Investigation ongoing
The Guardia Civil continues to analyse whether thefts recorded in vehicles on previous days coincide with the hours and routes during which the arrested man was on duty. Mijas Town Council detected the anomaly early on Thursday when reviewing the night report: the route had not been completed, a circumstance that was verified through the GPS geolocation system incorporated in the fleet vehicles.
After contacting the company, it was confirmed that cleaning operations were completed by another worker. The arrested man is a temporary operative with a contract lasting only a few months. FCC has announced it will take measures following the incident.
Source: Google News ES — Crime (es)