The operation resulted in the arrest of nine individuals, seven men and two women aged between 29 and 52. Six searches were carried out in the Alicante towns of La Nucía, l’Alfàs del Pi, Altea, and Villajoyosa. During the operation, officers recovered nine stolen vehicles and seized over 71,500 euros in cash, a large quantity of parts from dismantled vehicles, fake identity documents, tools for opening and stealing cars, devices for reading and modifying ECUs, and two vehicles allegedly used to commit the thefts.
The investigation identified an organization allegedly structured in several levels. The group included individuals dedicated to the direct theft of vehicles, a financial apparatus to economically support the activity, and intermediary companies used to give a legal appearance to the stolen cars. The procedure involved acquiring damaged vehicles from auctions or scrapyards, retaining their original documentation to give a new identity to the stolen vehicles.
The group selected vehicles with demand in the European market and whose opening and starting systems were compatible with the investigators' technical means. Once the target was located, they installed geolocation devices to monitor its movements and choose the most suitable time and place to commit the theft. Subsequently, the vehicles were opened using homemade electronic systems and transported to hidden homes or warehouses, where they were fitted with forged license plates and their identity was modified.
Investigators detected two main ways to legalize the cars. In some cases, real documentation from damaged vehicles was used. In others, cloning was employed using falsified documents from foreign vehicles, allowing the car to be registered in another country and obtain new, apparently legal documentation.
The operational phase included arrests in l’Alfàs del Pi, La Nucía, Villajoyosa, and Altea. Specifically, three arrests were made in l’Alfàs del Pi, two in La Nucía, two in Villajoyosa, and two in Altea. The six searches uncovered stolen vehicles, parts, tools, and documentation allegedly linked to the criminal activity. The detainees have been handed over to the investigating courts of Benidorm and Villajoyosa. The investigation remains open.
