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Costa Blanca police arrest violent teenaged gang following a spate of burglaries
| Published: | 29 Sep at 6 PM |
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Police in the popular Spanish expat hub of the Costa Blanca are warning British expats to take care following a surge in violent robberies by street gangs.
Costa Blanca police have arrested a gang of teenaged burglars targeting expats after a pensioner was badly beaten whilst confronting the intruders. The young robbers’ modus operandum was to wait until expats left their homes for an evening meal at a local restaurant before breaking in and stealing watches, jewelry, mobile phones and cash. Their last victim proved to be their undoing by catching them in the act, but not before they’d violently assaulted the 70-year old Briton and run away.
The gang were found hiding in undergrowth on a waste ground near the pensioner’s home in Orihuela near Alicante, having been tracked down by Spanish police officers through a ‘find my iPhone' app on the pensioner’s smartphone. According to police who made the arrest, the gang of four included two minors and all were Spanish. They were responsible for an estimated 12 to 15 burglaries in the area, with all or most of their victims part of the local British expat community.
A local police source told reporters the gang were deliberately taking advantage of the British habit of taking dinner earlier than Spaniards by waiting until owners had left their properties before breaking in and stealing money and valuables. Police were alerted to their crimes after they’d broken into a house and found the expat pensioner was still there. He confronted them but was shoved to the ground and punched, but managed to contact the emergency services, telling them they could trace the attackers through his iPhone. The gang had smashed the phone but, unfortunately for them, hadn’t managed to disable it.
Costa Blanca police have arrested a gang of teenaged burglars targeting expats after a pensioner was badly beaten whilst confronting the intruders. The young robbers’ modus operandum was to wait until expats left their homes for an evening meal at a local restaurant before breaking in and stealing watches, jewelry, mobile phones and cash. Their last victim proved to be their undoing by catching them in the act, but not before they’d violently assaulted the 70-year old Briton and run away.
The gang were found hiding in undergrowth on a waste ground near the pensioner’s home in Orihuela near Alicante, having been tracked down by Spanish police officers through a ‘find my iPhone' app on the pensioner’s smartphone. According to police who made the arrest, the gang of four included two minors and all were Spanish. They were responsible for an estimated 12 to 15 burglaries in the area, with all or most of their victims part of the local British expat community.
A local police source told reporters the gang were deliberately taking advantage of the British habit of taking dinner earlier than Spaniards by waiting until owners had left their properties before breaking in and stealing money and valuables. Police were alerted to their crimes after they’d broken into a house and found the expat pensioner was still there. He confronted them but was shoved to the ground and punched, but managed to contact the emergency services, telling them they could trace the attackers through his iPhone. The gang had smashed the phone but, unfortunately for them, hadn’t managed to disable it.
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