The Guardia Civil of Ibiza has dismantled a criminal group dedicated to drug trafficking and robberies in luxury homes on the island. The operation, called ‘Moradores’, culminated with three simultaneous entries and searches in the towns of Sant Josep and Sant Antoni and with the arrest of nine men the Guardia Civil has informed in a press release that nine men, most of them of North African origin, have been arrested.
The operation, which aimed to dismantle the criminal activity, has had the collaboration of the Local Police of Sant Antoni.
The group operated throughout the island, especially in isolated residential areas, where they entered homes, and areas of great tourist affluence such as Platja d’en Bossa or Ibiza airport, where they used to commit thefts.
Modus operandi
The modus operandi employed consisted of role distribution to maximize the effectiveness of their robberies. This strategy ranged from surveillance and selection of their targets to the subsequent resale of the stolen goods on the black market. After carrying out a robbery, they stored the stolen objects in strategic locations and then transported them to the Peninsula by sea, hidden in goods transport vehicles.
As a result of the investigation, it was possible to locate the alleged home of the thieves, where they stored all the stolen effects and where they also, the agents found a marijuana plantation.
At the same time, the Guardia Civil became aware of the preparation of a transport of “merchandise” that they intended to carry out through the ferry that connects Ibiza with Denia. This fact, in addition to other indications, triggered the simultaneous entry and search of three houses and several vehicles, which resulted in the intervention of a cache of marijuana and a multitude of stolen effects: high-end watches, electronic devices or cell phones for a value of approximately 170,000 euros.
Operation ‘Moradores’ not only resulted in the arrest of the suspects, but also in the helped to clarify thirteen crimes against property between robberies and thefts, including the theft of three high-end watches that have been returned to their owners.
These arrests are part of the Safe Tourism Plan in which the Guardia Civil reinforces security in areas where there is a high concentration of tourists.
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