Alex Trelinski
THE Guardia Civil has warned tourists visiting popular Costa Blanca beaches to keep valuable items out of sight in their parked cars or risk being a robbery victim.
The advice comes after a spate of burglaries committed by two dangerous fugitives from French justice.
The Algerian nationals, aged 31 and 42, had European Arrest Warrants issued against them.
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One of the men faces a murder charge and was also wanted for a violent robbery in Spain.
The other had escaped from a French prison where he was serving time for robbery, fraud, and extortion.
Both have been handed over to the National Court to process their extradition.
The duo were arrested by the Guardia Civil after 10 vehicles were plundered in car parks near beach areas in Calpe, Moraira, and Javea.
Inquiries started in May after a spate of car break-ins close to beaches used by tourists.
The men went to the unsupervised parking areas and after making sure nobody was around, they forced doors or windows to help themselves to cash, jewellery, and electronic devices.
A Guardia surveillance operation spotted the fugitives in a car with one of them getting out to throw a stolen backpack into a rubbish container.
The men were detained and numerous pilfered items were found in their vehicle.
They including a camera, tripod, selfie stick, external battery, jewellery, high-end perfumes and €1,500 in cash plus tools used to force open vehicles.
The ‘thrown-away’ backpack was returned- along with other items- to a foreign tourist.
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