The Guardia Civil have arrested a criminal gang who have carried out a series of very violent robberies in Tenerife, in which they pretended to be police officers to gain the trust of the victims. The four detainees, and four others being investigated, have been charged with robbery with violence, breaking and entering, illegal detention, and intimidation.
The investigation began at the beginning of the year after a robbery committed in a prestigious company located in the south of Tenerife. The robbers gagged and beat the victims to get the loot, according to the Guardia Civil press release.
The robbers had prepared for their assault, studying it in great detail and executing it with surprising speed. They also immediately ‘washed’ the stolen money, for which they had a stable structure of collaborators from whom they purchased all kinds of goods.
In another robbery carried out in the town of Abades (Arico), the robbers dressed and identified themselves as Guardia Civil agents, then stopped a worker in a company vehicle, in charge of transporting cash for a business in the town. The victim was left handcuffed and the thieves fled with the money.
During the arrests, the detainees tried to flee and barricaded themselves in someone else's home, but the arrest ended with four of the gang being taken into custody, and the recovery of 243,000 euros in cash, which is the amount that was stolen according to the affected company.
The operation concludes with the investigation of the eight members of the organization (all of them residents on the island of Tenerife), the recovery of all the stolen money, and the seizing of seven vehicles, as well as identification vests, masks, and caps with logos of the Guardia Civil on them.
The investigation has been carried out by agents of the Guardia Civil belonging to the Crimes Against Property Team of the Organic Unit of the Judicial Police of the Command of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, under the protection of the Court of First Instance and Instruction No. 1 of Güímar, and with the coordination of the Provincial Prosecutor's Office of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
