Alex Trelinski
A GANG calling itself the ‘Copper Mafia’ has been busted by the Guardia Civil with 21 arrests and 13 imprisonments.
Based in the Madrid area, they have been linked to 102 copper thefts in eight regions of Spain, stealing goods worth €2.5 million.
Romanian police cooperated with the Guardia investigation called Operation Kuroma which netted people aged between 20 and 33 years.
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20 tonnes of copper has been recovered with the gang cheekily leaving a graffiti signature with the words ‘Copper Mafia’ at most crime scenes.
A Guardia probe helmed out of Valencia started in June 2024 after 37 copper thefts were reported in just two days.
The thieves focused on stealing thick copper cables from solar installations, treatment plants, and even wine cellars.
Essential services were disrupted with loss of electricity and water supplies to local communities.
Robberies were executed daily in their base area of Madrid province in addition to gang members travelling to Andalucia, Aragon, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y Leon, the Valencian Community, Extremadura and Murcia.
The Guardia Civil said the Romanian crew was split into three divisions with one group carrying out the thefts.
Another researched potential targets, while the third sold off the stolen copper which was initially stored in the Madrid area.
They committed multiple robberies over four or five days and were organised into relatively independent units which were boosted by new members arriving from Romania.
