May 24, 2024. The Civil Guard has arrested 36 people and investigates six others for the theft of 34,215 meters of cable in the provinces of Ávila, Valladolid, Córdoba and Sevilla. The extracted copper reaches would be valued at almost two million euros. They are charged with the crimes of robbery with force, damage, forest fire and membership of a criminal group.
The Ascia operation has been exploited since Ávila, after intensifying the services of prevention against telephone cable thefts in this province last summer.
While a surveillance device was being carried out, agents in February surprised two individuals by cutting off the telephone line on the N-110, in Padiemos (Ávila). After fleeing the site, they were intercepted and detained with a total of 870 kilograms of copper wiring, which were intervened.
Subsequently, another Civil Guard patrol surprised two people by cutting copper wire in another area a little further from Padiemos, who after the appropriate proceedings were brought to court for these events.
After these events, the investigators found the places where the cable was burned, surprising in fraganti the two people who were already detained, and a third individual, burning cables in the town of Vicolozano (Ávila). Those involved were also violating environmental standards, with the added risk of forest fires.
The main managers make a first trip to locate the optimal areas where they can act, preferably in places where the telephone line posts run parallel to the secondary roads.
Once the appropriate places have been inspected, they hire staff and organize and distribute them in groups, moving in vans to the designated areas, mainly during night time.
With different tools, they cut several hundred meters of cables. Later, others cut them into groups of approximately two meters - for better treatment and transfer - and others move them to the vans.
When they consider that they have collected enough, they go to remote and previously located places where they “burn” the protective shirts, in order to facilitate the clean extraction of the copper cable.
They then transfer the material to intermediaries and to already arranged scrap houses, where it is bought and laundered illegally. In this way, the economic benefit is obtained outside the legal channels.
A total of 38 criminal acts have been clarified within the province of Ávila. From this, 13,108 kilos of copper have been recovered.
This operation has been developed by the Heritage Group of the UOPJ (Organic Judicial Police Unit) and the ROCA Team, all belonging to the Command of the Civil Guard of Ávila.
The operation is part of the “Permanent Response Plan for Illegal Activities related to Copper” of the Secretary of State for Security of the Ministry of the Interior.
For more information, please contact the Peripheral Communication Office (O.P.C) of the Civil Guard of Ávila, by calling 690 733 383 or 920 22 44 00-Ext. : 1210009