The Civil Guard of the Region of Murcia, as part of Operation Zoopicare, has dismantled a criminal group involved in the theft of commercial vehicles. During the operation, three members of the criminal group were arrested as alleged perpetrators of the crimes of burglary and vehicle theft; and five stolen vehicles were recovered.
The operation began last year, when the Civil Guard detected the theft of heavy agricultural machinery from farms in Cieza.
Officers from the Civil Guard's Citizen Security Prevention Unit and the ROCA Team (Counter-theft) launched the operation to investigate the events in order to clarify them and attempt to recover the stolen items.
Beginning of the operation by the Civil Guard
In the first steps of the operation, carried out at the scene, the Civil Guard officers determined that the robberies involved the use of force to gain access to the farm's facilities. The objective was to steal forklifts, and to do so, they first stole a truck from the same company, onto which they loaded the forklift and transported it to its new destination.
Shortly after, with the operation already underway, investigators found the stolen truck in an industrial estate in the municipality of Calasparra, loaded with the forklift that had also been stolen from the farm in Cieza. The forklifts were recovered and returned to its owner.
As a result of their investigation, the Civil Guard established the main line of inquiry into a vehicle and its occupants, who had been spotted loitering in the area where these types of thefts were being committed and where the truck loaded with the forklift had been found.
A few months after the operation began, the Civil Guard located another truck. This time, it was located in the municipality of Cieza and had two forklifts inside. Investigators confirmed that the three commercial vehicles were listed as stolen, so they were seized, brought to court, and returned to their owners.
The perpetrators were arrested and brought before the courts.
The investigation led the Civil Guard to a criminal group, comprised of three individuals residing in Murcia and Valencia, who were allegedly behind the crimes under investigation.
Once all the necessary evidence was obtained, the Civil Guard launched a search for the suspects, which culminated in their location and arrest as alleged perpetrators of the crimes of burglary and vehicle theft.
The detainees, the seized belongings, and the investigations conducted have been handed over to the Cieza (Murcia) Court of Instruction.
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