Furniture thieves caught after stealing €100,000 worth of 17th century furniture in Spain’s Castellon

TWO women have been arrested on suspicion of stealing several pieces of 17^th century furniture valued at €100,000 in Castellon Province.

An investigation was launched by the Guardia Civil in Oropesa in January after the owner of a country home in Borriol (Plana Alta) reported a break-in and the theft of the highly valuable items.

Officers discovered that the thieves had broken into the property by forcing the bars on a back window, opening the front door from inside and carrying the furniture out to a van.

The authorities eventually located the pieces in May at several antiques dealers throughout the province, where they were being prepared for sale.

By following this lead the Guardia Civil eventually traced the goods to one of the suspects – the 38-year-old daughter of a woman who was renting the country house at the time of the burglary.

She was arrested and charged with breaking and entering, theft and fraud, while the loot was returned to its rightful owner.

The second phase of the investigation culminated this week with the identification of the second suspect, a 49-year-old woman from Picassent (Valencia) who was already in prison serving a sentence for several previous crimes.

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