Three arrested in Orihuela after vape shop break in and attempted burglary

Officers from the Policía Nacional and the Policía Local of Orihuela have arrested three males, one of whom is a minor, on suspicion of breaking into a vape shop and attempting to burgle a mobile phone repair business in the municipality.

The incident began when the Cimacc 091 operations room received an alert reporting that three males were attempting to force open the main entrance of a device repair shop using a crowbar. Several police patrols were dispatched to the scene, where officers confirmed that the suspects had caused damage to the front door without managing to gain entry. Although the suspects had fled before officers arrived, an initial search of the surrounding streets failed to locate them.

A short time later, police received a second alert from a security guard at a local shopping centre, reporting that three males had jumped over the entrance gates to get inside the premises. Once inside, the group headed towards a vape shop, where they smashed glass display cabinets and stole a large quantity of merchandise before leaving the centre.

Patrols from both the Policía Nacional and the Policía Local of Orihuela responded immediately to the shopping centre. The on-site security guard provided officers with detailed descriptions of the intruders and confirmed they had already exited the complex.

Armed with these descriptions, officers carried out a search of the immediate neighbourhood. A Policía Nacional patrol spotted three males matching the suspects’ descriptions hiding in a nearby park as officers approached.

Police intercepted the trio and carried out a safety search, discovering several stolen items from the vape shop concealed within their clothing, along with tools allegedly used to execute the break-in.

All three were arrested on suspicion of robbery with force. The stolen goods were subsequently shown to the shop owner, who confirmed them as belonging to the store, and all items were returned.

Following the completion of police paperwork, the two adult suspects were transferred to the custody of the duty investigating courts in Orihuela, while proceedings involving the minor were referred to the Alicante Juvenile Prosecutor’s Office.

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