Spanish police detain 34 suspects in operation against luxury watch theft gangs
Joint operation with Italian police recovers six watches valued between €20,000 and €450,000, resolving 28 violent robberies on the Costa del Sol and Ibiza during the summer.
Criminal gangs specialising in luxury watch theft dismantled
The Spanish National Police has detained 34 people following an international coordination operation against criminal gangs that committed violent robberies of luxury watches targeting wealthy tourists on the Costa del Sol and Ibiza during the summer, according to The Olive Press.
The joint operation with the Italian Polizia di Stato has resulted in the resolution of 28 violent robberies linked to eight criminal groups. The suspects face charges for document falsification, receiving stolen goods and assault.
Among the recovered items are six high-end watches valued between €20,000 and more than €450,000 each. One of them has already been returned to its owner. Additionally, officers seized one vehicle, four motorcycles, 14 false registration plates, four forged identity documents, fraudulent driving licences and several mobile phones.
Operational method of the gangs
The criminal gangs operated by arriving at tourist destinations for brief periods and disappearing after committing the crimes. In Ibiza, some members posed as tourists and divided specialised roles: pairs of lookouts identified victims on seafronts, marinas, nightclubs and car parks. Snatchers seized the watches whilst accomplices on motorcycles ensured their escape; they subsequently used rental vehicles to quickly move the stolen goods.
Other groups based in Barcelona used extreme violence against their victims, including asphyxiation and blows with motorcycle helmets. To evade detection, the gangs used false identification, cloned or altered registration plates, face coverings and, in one case, a signal jammer.
Key operations and arrests
The National Police established a special coordination unit in January to address the problem at national and international level. During the summer, it concentrated efforts on Ibiza, Marbella, Estepona and Barcelona, where several gangs maintained bases and hideouts; it also monitored Madrid as a distribution centre for stolen goods, Palma and the port of Denia.
In one of the largest operational successes, officers detained several members of a gang at Ibiza airport as they attempted to depart. A watch valued at more than €450,000 was hidden among the personal effects of a woman. Likewise, police detained a group outside a nightclub in Ibiza immediately after they had snatched a €50,000 watch.
On the island they also located two fugitives sought for the violent theft of a €155,000 watch in Madrid. On the Costa del Sol, the most serious attack occurred in late July in Marbella, when four men assaulted a tourist at the entrance to his home, snatching his watch. The perpetrators were located in Estepona, where a search recovered the watch and the clothing used in the robbery.
Escalation at the end of the season
The gangs intensified their activity in late August to take advantage of the final weeks of the high tourist season. In the second half of the month, controls and surveillance at ports and airports resulted in 20 additional arrests before the suspects could leave the islands.
All 34 suspects have been placed at the disposal of the courts. The investigation remains open and police do not rule out further arrests. Officers note that the violence involved constitutes a threat not only to victims but to the image of Spain's main tourist destinations.
Source: The Olive Press