TWO female pickpockets have been banned from Valencia City for the remainder of the Fallas celebrations after stealing a wallet from an Italian tourist.
The robbers were brought before a duty judge on Sunday on theft charges and for belonging to a criminal gang.
The court issued the ban- running until 8pm on March 20- to avoid further crimes during a busy time in the city and after hearing evidence that the women were part of a professional criminal group.
READ MORE:
- Group of 20 professional pickpockets who travelled to Spain’s Valencia to target tourists are arrested
- Female gang of pickpockets are arrested after targeting tourists in Spain’s Valencia
- Pickpocket gang pinch wallets and phones in busy areas of Spain’s Valencia
They have been warned that they will be arrested after they defy the ruling and would almost certainly be jailed.
A police report stated that they were members of a group that prowled packed streets looking for victims- mainly tourists.
Some of the gang members were spotted distracting an Italian victim, whilst others kept watch and stole a wallet that the tourist was carrying in her bag.
The Valencia judge said the theft ‘showed professionalism typical of organised criminal gang that choose large cities such as Valencia for their operations, and especially when they are full during events like the Fallas’.
Professional pickpocketing gangs are nothing new in Valencia with mainly female perpetrators arrested regularly in recent years- only to make a return.
The judge imposed the banning order under the Criminal Procedure Law, which allows for prohibiting people living in or going to certain areas which is ‘less burdensome’ though remanding people into custody.
“This measure is agreed upon for as freedom of movement must be put aside to ensure the right to property and public safety,” the judge stated.
“It is essential in order to prevent the continuation of criminal activity by those arrested, manifested both in their way of acting in a coordinated group with other perpetrators who could not be arrested, and in the criminal records on file,” he concluded.
Click here to read more Valencia News from The Olive Press.
