SEVEN Ukrainians have been jailed after items worth over €1.2 million were stolen from refugees in Alicante province and the Murcia region.
The Torrevieja-based gang also had assistance from a Russian couple and their son who provided them with vehicles for their robberies.
The group have been charged with seven burglaries in Catral, Guardamar, the Orihuela Costa, Pilar de la Horadada, Torrevieja, and San Pedro del Pinatar.
All but one of the robberies occurred in Ukrainian households.
The Guardia Civil are investigating whether further robberies took place and have recovered cash, jewellery, watches, phones, laptops, tablets, and stamp collections valued at over €1.2 million.
Victims were mainly Ukrainian women who fled their homeland with their children after last year’s Russian invasion and already had second homes in the area.
The criminals carefully studied the daily routine of potential victims and followed them when they went shopping.
At an opportune moment, a GPS tracker was placed underneath their car which allowed them to know when it was safe to rob their property.
Lock picks were used to force open front doors and if they did not work, the gang simply broke windows to gain access.
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