Just two days ago, the National Police reported that they had arrested three individuals allegedly responsible for numerous jewellery thefts on the island of Tenerife. Although the police force detailed the operation carried out to identify these individuals, whom they even tracked, this Thursday the Civil Guard explained how they were intercepted at Tenerife North airport when they were about to flee to Madrid.
It was agents of the Civil Guard, belonging to the airport’s Fiscal Section, who noticed that three individuals, aged between 42 and 44, were acting suspiciously when about to pass through the security filter to the restricted area for boarding a flight.
The Civil Guard explains that two of the men were caught trying to pass this security control, each hiding a bag on their abdomen containing a multitude of gold pieces with a combined weight of more than 1.5 kilograms.
According to the Civil Guard, neither of the two could explain the origin of the gold and remained nervous and alert, with inconsistent answers and unable to provide specific details about the origin of the gold.
The third man was then found as he attempted to pass the same check, following the initiation of an investigation to clarify the origin and final destination of the gold, which revealed he was travelling with the first two.
After undertaking the appropriate actions, the Civil Guard agents contacted the National Police, who informed them of an open investigation aiming to locate the alleged perpetrators of various gold thefts that had been committed on the island, for which reason the Civil Guard handed over the three arrested individuals and the seized jewellery to the National Police.
According to the police, these men are suspected of having committed up to 19 robberies in Santa Cruz de Tenerife using a “sophisticated method” and followed a meticulous pattern to avoid detection. They used techniques such as the “slip” technique to access buildings without forcing doors, marking dwellings almost imperceptibly to verify their occupancy, and the “bumping” method (a technique to unlock lock cylinders) to enter without leaving obvious signs of forced entry.
Once inside the homes, they acted with extreme caution to avoid leaving any traces or biological remains, focusing on stealing easily transportable valuable items.
While two of the arrested conducted the robbery, the third remained outside performing surveillance duties to alert them of any police presence, explains the Police.
