Police crack down on gang after broken toe gives away thief

National Police officers in Alicante have dismantled a criminal gang specialising in house burglaries after a heavy gun safe fell on one of the suspects’ feet during a break-in, fracturing his toe.

Three men have been remanded in custody, and two other individuals, a man and a woman, are under investigation for their alleged involvement in the group operating across Alicante. The investigation began after one of the suspects suffered a broken phalanx during an assault on a residential property in the city of Alicante.

According to the National Police, the members of the gang forced their way into a home and stole 2,000€ along with several items, including a gun safe weighing approximately 200 kilograms which contained a 9×19 mm calibre competition pistol.

During the robbery, the heavy safe dropped onto the foot of one of the thieves, fracturing his toe. The man required hospital treatment, an incident that enabled officers from the Specialised Crime Group of the Judicial Police to link him to the burglary.

Four of the suspects were arrested in Alicante, and the fifth in Villajoyosa. The individuals, aged between 42 and 50, face potential charges including robbery with force in an inhabited dwelling, drug trafficking, membership of a criminal gang, and offences against road safety.

During the enquiries, officers discovered that one of the alleged gang members ran a hair salon in Alicante which he utilised as a cover for his illicit activities, balancing the business with house burglaries.

The National Police conducted three home searches and another at the commercial establishment, where they seized tools used for forcing locks, narcotic substances, and equipment intended for processing and preparing drugs for retail distribution.

Out of the five suspects investigated, the four men were brought before the judicial authorities, and three of them were ordered into prison by a judge.