Toledo.- The delegate of the Government of Spain in Castilla-La Mancha, Milagros Tolón, has announced today an important operation, called “Komora” and carried out by the Civil Guard, and that has allowed “to dismantle a dangerous criminal group responsible for about 50 criminal acts, mainly robberies with force in supermarkets, in the provinces of Toledo, Madrid and Ciudad Real”.
Milagros Tolón, who was accompanied by Colonel José María Gil Cubo, interim head of the Civil Guard Command in Toledo; and by the deputy delegate of the Government of Spain in Toledo, Carlos Ángel Devia, has pointed out that 5 people between the ages of 21 and 31 have been arrested and 4 home searches have been carried out in which part of the stolen money was recovered, weapons, tools used to commit the robberies and 10 vehicles that they had stolen to carry out the crimes.”
The way to proceed, said the delegate, “consisted in accessing the premises through the use of heavy tools for breaking or forcing the grilles and doors, flow boxes and other security elements that were inside. In order to do so, they made no use of the different alarm and security systems existing in these establishments and moved in previously stolen high-end vehicles, sometimes using these vehicles to access the premises and even attack the security forces that came to the notice.”
The operation of the Civil Guard began on December 6, 2024, as a result of a powerful robbery perpetrated in a supermarket in the town of Seseña, “committed by a group of at least 4 individuals who managed to steal from the main safe of the supermarket up to 8,700 euros”.
Based on the investigation carried out by the Civil Guard, it was determined that the alleged criminal group responsible was formed by members settled in municipalities in the northern area of the province of Toledo and the southeast area of Madrid.
Multiple criminal records
Milagros Tolón has clarified that “these were people specialized in the commission of this type of crime with a multitude of backgrounds for crimes against heritage that were perfectly coordinated and organized. The activity of this band intensified coinciding with the Christmas period, highlighting a robbery in the town of Méntrida (Toledo), where 17,000 euros were stolen; and another in a perfumery in Alcázar de San Juan (Ciudad Real), from where products worth 47,000 euros were taken.”
These individuals were increasing the aggressiveness of their actions, “coming to carry out several shots in the air to intimidate a driver and steal the vehicle and various effects that it carried inside.”
With the indications collected, on February 11, the Civil Guard carried out 4 house searches in Seseña (Toledo) and in the Madrid towns of Griñón and Ciempozuelos, where the four members of this criminal group were detained and where part of the cash from the criminal acts was recovered. The fifth member was arrested yesterday, Wednesday, February 19.
They were also seized:
3 short firearms,
2 short firearms,
a knife type white weapon,
a ballistic vest,
technical means on which they relied for the commission of thefts and for the theft of vehicles,
40 perfumes of luxury brands
130 grams of narcotic substances
6.625 euros
And several jewels of great economic value.
During the development of the operation “up to 10 stolen vehicles have been recovered. At the end of the operation, this criminal group is charged with up to 49 total crimes, which has been broken down by the government delegate:
1 crime of belonging to a criminal group.
18 robberies with force.
1 robbery with violence.
14 vehicle thefts.
3 theft of license plates.
3 of illegal possession of weapons and ammunition.
3 of usurpation of real estate.
3 of falsification of public document.
1 of damage in official vehicle.
1 against public health.
1 of electric fluid defraudation and the like.
Therefore, as Milagros Tolón has summarized, “there are 5 those detained by the Civil Guard as allegedly responsible for about 50 criminal acts, mainly robberies with force in supermarkets carried out in Toledo, Madrid and Ciudad Real, in an operation that has allowed to disarticulate a dangerous criminal group and recover 10 stolen vehicles and part of the money stolen”.
Important operations in recent months
This operation is in addition to others carried out in recent months also by the Civil Guard in the province of Toledo and which today has been remembered by Milagros Tolón:
-Operation Burdisso, which allowed the arrest of 5 members of a band operating in the region of Torrijos.
-The 12 detainees of Operation Rantai, who were acting in villages of Toledo, Ciudad Real and Cuenca.
-Another 10 detained for thefts in homes and ponds that belonged to a disjointed criminal group in La Puebla de Montalbán.
-Or the operation that allowed to arrest last year 6 people related to the theft of crucifixes in cemeteries in the province of Toledo, to mention just a few recent examples.
“For all of this, I would like to acknowledge and thank once again the work of the Civil Guard and all the State Security Forces and Corps,” said the Government delegate.
Peace of mind versus alarmist messages
Milagros Tolón wanted to make it clear that “in the face of alarmist messages I want to convey, therefore, a message of tranquility to the citizens: the Civil Guard and the National Police work every day to guarantee our security and maintain order and coexistence, and the Government of Spain works to provide them with better means and more resources”.
He also wanted to thank “the citizen collaboration. Security is a joint task and any information provided to the Security Forces can be key in resolving investigations such as this. Thank you to the Civil Guard for your permanent work and congratulations to each and every one of the agents who participated in this operation and who has made it possible to dismantle this criminal group.”