Alex Trelinski
FOUR Romanians have been ordered by a court to stay out of Guadalest after robbing numerous tourists.
A Villajoyosa judge bailed a 43-year-old man and three women aged 31, 34 and 37, but also took away their passports and ordered them to report to court every 15 days.
The Guardia Civil arrested the group after setting up road blocks on routes out of Guadalest.
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They said they were a well-structured criminal gang who pounced on tourists in a coordinated manner.
Several victims reported being robbed when walking through the Guadalest old town.
Each theft had the same routine involving a distraction technique which the Guardia called the ‘crutch method’.
A gang member would approach a target with part of an arm or their body covered with a sweater or scarf before sneakily stealing wallets, phones, documents, or jewellery.
Surveillance was stepped up and the Guardia identified several people who were around on the days that the thefts were committed.
Each of the four detainees had distinct roles like acting as look-outs, victim selection, distraction, and the subsequent escape.
Officers trailed them around Guadalest and after several thefts, the crew fled in a luxury car that arrived to pick them up.
It was intercepted on the CV-70 near Polop with almost €4,000 in various foreign currencies found inside as well as jewellery.
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