The Civil Guard has arrested a 35-year-old Spanish man, and has investigated 6 other people between the ages of 33 and 42 and of Spanish and Moroccan nationalities, as alleged perpetrators of eight crimes of theft and a robbery with force in things. They were dedicated to the theft of copper cable from public lighting, in isolated urbanizations in the provinces of Alicante and Valencia. The injured parties have calculated that the value of the damages amounts to about 30.000 euros.
At the end of June this year, the Calp ROCA Team dismantled a criminal group, made up of six individuals, five men and one woman, of Spanish and Moroccan nationality, settled in the towns of Alaquás and Aldaia (Valencia), dedicated to commit thefts and robberies with force of public copper wiring, in urbanizations and facilities of different locations in Alicante.
The beginning of the investigations dates back to the end of June of this year, when three of the authors were identified in an urbanization in the town of Pedreguer, about to collect six coils with several hundred meters of wiring, which had previously been cut from the interior of manholes and lampposts.
Coinciding with that action, around those same dates there had been an increase in theft of copper from public lighting in various towns in the Marina Alta such as Tormos, Els Poblets and Vall de Laguart.
The ROCA Team of the Calp Company, after taking charge of the investigations, managed to identify a group of people, who had a long criminal history for acts of the same nature.
From their place of residence, the Valencian towns of Alaquás and Aldaia, went daily as far as possible from them to avoid being linked to the crimes they committed or, at least, to hinder the police investigation.
Later, after the theft of the wiring, they went directly to different junkyards of their trust in the province of Valencia to carry out the sale of copper and objects that they had just stolen, obtaining a great economic benefit from these sales.
In one of the junkyards, knowing that the effects were stolen, the owner received them, being therefore investigated for such events.
During the investigations, apprehensions of stolen effects were made and they could be returned to their rightful owners, managing to some extent alleviate the damage done by the perpetrators of the events.
Once the investigation was completed, the "ringleader" was arrested, who had left to reside with his wife, who was investigated, to the Huelva town of Palos de la Frontera on the suspicion that the Civil Guard had proof of their criminal acts. In addition, the vehicle they used in all criminal offenses was seized by the agents, leaving it at the judicial disposal.
After this first phase of the operation, a second phase was carried out, carried out in the Valencian town of Aldaia, which resulted in the imputation of the rest of the criminal group, with a total of 4 men as well as the investigation of the owner of one of the junkyards where they sold objects, for an alleged crime of reception.
The amount of public lighting stolen is several thousand meters, as well as different objects such as metal plates or motors.
Luckily, in Les Deveses we still have no public lighting for more than 20 years and we will not have that problem, despite the fact that the Sindic de Greuges has already urged the Denia City Council up to three times to provide lighting in areas such as Playa from Santa Ana, where there are even streetlights, but no lighting. What a relief and our thanks to the Denia City Council because that way they will not come to steal cables.