National Police dismantle Madrid network of 'Tren de Aragua' specialising in violent residential burglaries
Six people have been arrested for their alleged participation in three assaults on homes and apartments in Madrid, where they targeted victims of high purchasing power, gagged them and stole jewellery, watches, cash and cryptocurrencies worth a total of millions of euros.
National Police dismantle Madrid network of 'Tren de Aragua' specialising in violent residential burglaries
Officers from the National Police Force have arrested half a dozen individuals belonging to the 'Tren de Aragua' faction that was operating in the Spanish capital carrying out violent residential burglaries. The arrested individuals are accused of crimes including membership in a criminal organisation, robbery with intimidation, unlawful deprivation of liberty, fraud and drug-related offences.
It all began in the summer of 2025, when an assault took place on a detached house in a gated estate on the outskirts of Madrid. The intruders were carrying pistols and a device capable of blocking radio signals. They made off with watches and jewellery valued at one million five hundred thousand euros, two hundred thousand euros in banknotes and a virtual currency transaction worth another one million three hundred thousand euros.
The house occupants were restrained, with their limbs immobilised and their mouths taped shut using cable ties and tape, remaining in this condition for approximately five hours. During that time, the intruders beat them and made threats, at one point pointing their weapons at them after loading a round into the chamber.
Investigators determined that two of the arrested individuals also took part in another similar incident just seventy-two hours earlier. On that occasion, the target was a traveller who had recently arrived in Spain and was staying in a holiday flat. The robbers, equally armed, took valuable items and attempted, without success, to transfer money from their accounts.
A third robbery using the same method was recorded at another holiday rental. When the victim, also recently arrived in the country, resisted, one of the attackers shot him in the face, causing serious injuries that put his life in danger. For this reason, the homicide unit took over the investigation.
The gang carefully selected their targets from people with high financial capacity. They monitored their movements and habits in advance, or arranged meetings in holiday apartments using various pretexts.
To carry out the robberies and make identification difficult, the group had abundant equipment: handguns, masks, altered number plates and frequency blockers.
Once the six members of the network had been identified, the judge authorised simultaneous raids on six properties in Madrid, Murcia and Camarma de Esteruelas. During the searches, a blank-firing pistol, a signal jammer, two pairs of bent number plates, several watches and jewellery items, one hundred grammes of synthetic drugs—mainly ecstasy and ketamine—, mobile phones and more than two thousand seven hundred euros in cash were seized.
The six arrested individuals were brought before the judicial authorities. Three of them were remanded in custody.
Source: Ministry of the Interior
Source: Google News ES — Crime (es)