Alex Trelinski
A POLISH gang that specially flew to Spain to carry out home robberies has been arrested by the Guardia Civil.
After two men were detained on the Costa del Sol in September, the criminals flew into Alicante-Elche airport to plunder more properties on the Costa Blanca.
Four more members of the gang were subsequently arrested after trying to fly out of Alicante with stolen jewellery and €4,480 in cash in their hand luggage.
One of the crew had a European Arrest Warrant out against him for nine counts of home burglary in the Netherlands which the Guardia said was a good indication of the gang’s reach across Europe.
An operation to bring the men to justice started last May after a robbery in Benhavis, Malaga province.
Their biggest haul was in Casares where they stole jewellery and cash valued at €600,000.
The Guardia probe uncovered five other crimes with local ‘partners’ providing details about properties and security systems to the gang while they were in Poland.
Four Polish nationals were identified as the perpetrators but after spending several days in the area, they flew back home on a flight that had not been pre-booked.
However, two of the gang were arrested on a return visit to the Malaga area in September, after committing three more home robberies and stealing from two cars.
All of the stolen items worth over €47,000 were recovered.
With two of their colleagues arrested, the crew decided to switch their attention to the Costa Blanca, and flew to Alicante-Elche airport on September 21.
They committed robberies in Pilar de la Horadada and Torrevieja, accruing items valued at over €30,000, but were subsequently caught in a Guardia security check at the airport.
Details of the arrests and the operation were only released on Thursday, and its not been revealed whether any of the men have been remanded into custody in Spain.
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