Guardia Civil dismantles gang behind bank and gambling venue raids

The Guardia Civil has dismantled a criminal organisation specialising in robberies of bank branches and gambling establishments that operated in nine Spanish provinces, including Alicante, where it is believed to be responsible for six crimes. The operation, dubbed “Otello,” resulted in the arrest of five people and the solving of 52 crimes, six of them in Alicante municipalities, including Novelda, Torrevieja, and Crevillent, where gambling establishments were robbed, according to sources from the Guardia Civil. The investigation, led by the Albacete Guardia Civil’s Organic Unit of the Judicial Police and coordinated by the Hellín Court of First Instance, has dismantled a criminal group based in the Region of Murcia that travelled to different provinces to commit its robberies. The five arrested, aged between 39 and 52 and of Serbian and Spanish nationality, have been remanded in custody.

The organisation is linked to six crimes, part of a criminal operation that also affected Albacete, Almería, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Granada, Jaén, Murcia, and Valencia. In total, the Guardia Civil attributes to the group 11 bank robberies — seven completed and four attempted — and 15 robberies of gambling establishments — nine completed and six attempted — as well as robberies of car dealerships, vehicle thefts, document forgery, and theft of licence plates.

Safe robbery

The investigation began in March of this year following a bank robbery in Ontur (Albacete), where the perpetrators stole a safe containing more than 66,000 euro. From that point on, investigators identified a group with high geographical mobility and a perfectly organised structure. According to the Guardia Civil, the gang members operated with a very defined division of roles. They gained access to the establishments by breaking in and used hydraulic tools to pry out or open safes. When the size allowed, they moved the safes to secluded locations to force them open without risk of being discovered.

Hydraulic clamp used by the gang for their robberies

To hinder their identification, they used previously stolen high-end vehicles, to which they attached false licence plates or plates stolen from other similar cars. Furthermore, they operated wearing hoods, gloves, and dark clothing, and used properties known as “nests” to hide the vehicles, store tools, and plan their heists. During the operational phase, six searches were carried out, resulting in the recovery of over 34,000 euro from the organisation’s most recent robbery. Two high-end vehicles, three forged driver’s licences, communications equipment, frequency jammers, balaclavas, gloves, and a wide array of tools used in the robberies were also seized, including hydraulic pliers, angle grinders, bolt cutters, sledgehammers, and crowbars. The Guardia Civil has dismantled one of the organisations specialising in this type of robbery that operated in the Mediterranean coast and the southeast of the peninsula, with proven actions in nine provinces and a significant impact also in the province of Alicante.