November 14, 2023.- In a joint operation of Guardia Civil and Ertzaintza, framed in the operation called “HABITAT-MENA2”, 5 people have been arrested and as many other searches have been carried out in homes in Bilbao and Cantabria. This group has so far been blamed for 42 crimes of robbery with force characterized by the same “modus operandi”, although investigations by both police forces continue.
It is an itinerant, organized and disciplined group, extremely active, with a clear distribution of functions among its members, and that employs strong security measures. As a result of the investigation, they are also attributed to the commission of crimes of documentary falsehood on license plates and belonging to a criminal group.
The Territorial Criminal Investigation Service of Álava de la Ertzaintza and the Organic Judicial Police Unit of the Command of the Civil Guard of Burgos, had been investigating in their respective territories, and separately, an increase in thefts perpetrated this year inside homes.
The events created great unrest among the victims and a climate of insecurity among the neighbors who feared for their properties, given the apparent impunity and speed with which the assailants committed the illicit.
Research
In addition to the achievements of the research itself, citizen collaboration was decisive to follow a clear and defined line of research.
The inquiries and inquiries carried out on certain persons were made in agreement between the two police forces, coordinating the information through the Anti-Terrorism and Organized Crime Intelligence Center (CITCO).
From that moment onwards, efforts were joined and together the investigations continued, which already focused on the presence of an active criminal group, possibly settled in the northern peninsular region.
The countless discreet follow-ups carried out with mixed teams of both Units, allowed us to know the important security measures used by the group to hinder police work.
The operatives of Ertzaintza and Guardia Civil managed to determine and verify the identity of its members, the multiple and habitual changes of domicile - in a short space of time and sometimes in subleasing rooms - and the numerous vehicles they used in their travels, in which it was usual to replace license plates repeatedly to hinder their locations.
In recent weeks, in an operation coordinated and executed by both Corps simultaneously and jointly, five house searches were carried out in Bilbao and Cantabria, which have culminated in the arrest of five members of the band and the intervention of two vehicles where tools have been found commonly used to access, illegally and with the use of force, homes; also jewelry, money, telephone terminals and other belongings, whose origin and origin is being collated.
Although the investigation is still open - new arrests and clarifications are not ruled out - this operation has so far attributed to this criminal group 42 robberies with force, in Álava, Bizkaia, Burgos, Cantabria, La Rioja, León, Madrid, Navarra, Palencia, Soria, Valladolid and Zaragoza.
The operation involved a significant deployment of personnel and resources, and the investigations were carried out by the Judicial Police Organization Unit of the Burgos Civil Guard and the Territorial Criminal Investigation Service of the Ertzaintza in Álava (S.I.C.T.A. ).
For the registers, in addition to having a significant deployment of troops, special units such as the Ertzaintza Intervention Unit, the Rapid Action Group (GAR) of the Civil Guard, Cinological Services with guides and dogs trained in detecting paper money of both police forces have intervened.
The investigations conducted, the detainees and the effects of the intervention were placed at the disposal of Examining Court No. 2 in Villarcayo (Burgos). The group, after being brought to justice, has been released on charges.
Modus operandi
It is a group that did not hesitate to make long trips to perpetrate the crimes. In order to establish their criminal objectives and get to know them perfectly, they studied their location, escape routes, police presence, schedules and routines; the first homes –especially single-family homes– were the ones that assaulted during the absence of their inhabitants.
To do this, they used numerous vehicles replacing the original license plates with others. One of the components was always at the wheel to facilitate the escape, another was deployed in surveillance work, while the rest operated, forcing windows to access the interior of the houses.
They dealt with the illicit quickly, removing drawers and cupboards, collecting money, jewelry and small objects, but of great value, easily transported for later introduction and sale in the black market.