01/02/2003 00:00
TW
0

THE Guardia Civil believe they have finally busted a gang responsible for over 70 holiday home burglaries over the past four months in the Sa Rapita area of Majorca. The gang was made up of seven minors, although three adults are also in police custody, who literally worked a criminal week, only breaking into the holiday homes on Mondays to Friday when the majority of home owners were back home, working either in Majorca or overseas. The crime wave, which started in September, has caused a great deal of concern in the area. Some residents have put their homes on the market while others have made sure that the bare minimum is left in the properties during the week. Each week since the end of the summer the gang has carried out at least one break in, most weeks a handful have been carried out. Despite the investigation having been on going since before Christmas, the police never suspected that the gang of kids who used to hang out together and belt about the area on mopeds, was the gang they were after. What the kids were really doing was casing out the properties and monitoring the movements of the owners. Over the past couple of weeks however, the gang's days were numbered. Police have been watching them for at least two weeks and swooped on January 24, arresting the seven teenagers, two Moroccans and a Spaniard, the latter suspected of being the “fence,” responsible for moving and selling the stolen goods. Because of the suspects' ages, the operation had to be monitored by the juvenile courts and a number of houses were raided as part of the swoop. So far a number of stolen items have been recovered. Police sources said last night that an estimated 30.000 euros worth of valuables have already been recovered and Campos Guardia Civil, with the assistance of the Local Police force, are working on returning the goods to their rightful owners. Police also seized 300 grams of hash resin in the raids. The investigation has however not yet been closed as police continue their hunt for more stolen items.