11 released by Torrevieja court after being brought before it too late

Last Friday, April 24th, a court in Torrevieja granted provisional release without bail to eleven individuals who were detained by the Guardia Civil as members of an organised gang that was dismantled in the Vega Baja and l’Alacantí regions. The gang was involved in vehicle theft and drug trafficking. The majority of them were brought before the court outside of the legal 72-hour period that followed their detention.

On Friday, the detainees, who were represented by lawyers Francisco Miguel Galiana Botella, Aitor Esteban Gallastegui, and Enrique Giménez Aznar, participated in a prison hearing in Plaza 2 of the Instruction Section of the Court of First Instance of Torrevieja. Despite the fact that all indications indicated that the individuals in question would be incarcerated, the unexpected occurred.

Several attorneys opposed the imprisonment of their clients and reported on the prosecution’s request for pretrial detention for the detainees. They contended that the detainees had been brought before a judge outside the legal 72-hour time limit. In the interim, lawyer Francisco Galiana, who also raised this issue, postponed his report and requested that the magistrate initiate a preliminary investigation. This investigation would require the court aides who conducted the searches to certify the commencement of the inspections and the presence of handcuffs on the detainees at that time. This was all done to prove that the detention commenced between 6:00 and 6:30 a.m. last Tuesday, which was the time when the searches commenced, and that the detainees were brought before a magistrate at 7:30 a.m. last Friday.

The defence contended that the deprivation of liberty commenced at the commencement of the searches, and that this is the time that should be considered when calculating the 72-hour period from the arrest, despite the fact that the Guardia Civil read the detainees their rights at nine in the morning.

The magistrate issued a lengthy order shortly after the prison hearing was suspended, granting the release of the eleven detainees and imposing precautionary measures such as the withdrawal of their passports and the requirement to appear in court twice a month. Additionally, the order prohibited the detainees from leaving the country.

The judge has examined all of the evidence that the Guardia Civil has collected regarding the gang, which is committed to the theft, manipulation, and transfer of stolen vehicles abroad. While she suggests that preventive detention is appropriate, she also observes that the majority of the arrests were conducted at six a.m. on April 21st, and the suspects were brought before the court at seven thirty a.m. on April 24th. Consequently, the magistrate declares that the “legal detention period has been exceeded,” necessitating the immediate release of the individuals who were apprehended.

A highly specialised group

The Guardia Civil’s Investigation Units in Sant Joan d’Alacant and Torrevieja have conducted an operation known as “Grezech-Garaz,” which has resulted in 16 arrests and numerous searches. The operation was primarily conducted in the Vega Baja region, with a few searches conducted in l’Alacantí and Mar de Cristal (Cartagena). In the provinces of Alicante, Valencia, Murcia, Almería, and Madrid, the organisation is responsible for the theft of at least 15 vehicles using key-cloning technology, as well as narcotic trafficking activities, according to the Guardia Civil. The operation resulted in the recovery of eleven hijacked vehicles.

The majority of those apprehended are of Polish descent, although there are also Serbian and Ukrainian citizens. Five additional individuals were released after appearing at the Guardia Civil station, in addition to the eleven arrested and brought before a magistrate in Torrevieja. The operation is still ongoing, and an additional ten individuals identified during the investigation are still at risk of being apprehended. Additionally, a European arrest warrant issued by Poland for drug trafficking necessitated the remand of one of the individuals who was released last Friday. The National Court had already ordered his imprisonment the day before.

The criminal organisation that was dismantled was committed to the theft of vehicles, their subsequent unlawful trafficking, and their modification to give them a legal appearance. The detainees were stationed in different cities throughout the province, including Torrevieja, Bigastro, San Miguel de Salinas, Algorfa, Orihuela Costa, Los Montesinos, Jacarilla, Mutxamel, Guardamar del Segura, and Sant Joan d’Alacant, as well as in Mar de Cristal in Cartagena.

The investigation has determined that a group of Polish citizens is dedicated to the technical aspects of vehicle theft, cloning, electronic manipulation, and document forgery within the network. Additionally, a branch from the former Yugoslavia is responsible for security, counter-surveillance, logistics, and the cross-border export of stolen vehicles.

The organisation employed reconnaissance vehicles to identify police presence and maintained garages and warehouses as “cooling-off” or hiding places for stolen vehicles. Additionally, they maintained workshops to manipulate electronic systems, license plates, and chassis numbers. They also managed car rental and dealership businesses, which they employed to either market stolen vehicles or impede their detection by law enforcement.

Substantial technological advancements

The investigation has revealed that the network employed sophisticated technology to clone smart key codes and initiate vehicles without the need for force. Two additional Hyundai Tucsons were subsequently discovered in the vicinity of the garage in Torrevieja, where eight vehicles from the KIA, Hyundai, and Mitsubishi brands were recovered.

Electronic devices, frequency jammers, vehicle documentation, body parts, and materials purportedly used to falsify vehicle identification numbers were discovered during the investigations, in addition to cash, narcotics, vehicle keys, and licence plates from a variety of countries. Officers discovered over €16,000, marijuana, suspected cocaine, hashish, scales, a vacuum sealer, a drone, a jammer, a beacon and numerous mobile phones at a residence in Algorfa.

Additionally, authorities confiscated 19 vehicle keys, documents, licence plates, parts with chassis numbers, motorcycles, jet skis, and other items from a warehouse in Bigastro. In a separate incident, they confiscated an Obstar briefcase at a residence in San Miguel de Salinas. This tool enables them to connect to the vehicle’s control unit, program blank keys, and start vehicles as if they were using an original key.

The investigation also indicates a potential connection between the branch that is dedicated to vehicle larceny and another that is associated with drug trafficking, which could have implications for other European countries.

The Guardia Civil regards the group as having a well-organised and stable structure, with a clear division of responsibilities. These responsibilities include the theft of vehicles, their concealment in warehouses and garages, the manipulation of licence plates and frames, and the preparation of the vehicles for sale or transfer.