Alex Trelinski
A SQUATTER robbed 21 neighbouring properties in Denia in less than a month.
The 31-year-old man was a trained plumber and stole taps and pipes which were pawned off to local scrapyards.
The Policia Nacional identified and arrested the culprit who had a record for burglary.
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He worked out which homes were empty and climbed walls to access them or entered through less visible areas to cause significant material damage.
Once inside, he concentrated on removing taps, pipes and other metal elements from water and gas installations.
He even went as far as chipping away at concrete structures to access hidden piping.
Police investigations started when a wave of similar robberies happened in a concentrated area of Denia.
All the targets had no security systems and had exterior metal elements accessible from patios or gardens.
In several cases, the man actually switched off gas and water supplies before stealing piping.
He was identified within days as stolen objects sold to scrap yards were tracked by police and matched up with missing items.
For all his efforts, police believe that he only made around €1,500 from the plundered goods, but the damage caused is significantly higher as property owners are still totting up the cost of his visits.
The squatter’s home was just 900 metres from where most of the robberies were carried out and a search uncovered various tools used in his crimes including pipe cutters, wrenches, and crowbars and other hand tools.
Not content with squatting, he also had an illegal electricity hook up.
The man has been charged with multiple counts of robbery, electricity fraud, and illegal occupation of a property.
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