The Civil Guard dismantles a dangerous gang of robbers in Granada
The 11 members, one of them a minor, have been detained in Atarfe and Granada capital
It has been verified that at least 30 establishments would have docked, obtaining a loot of more than 65,000 euros
They used pistols, catanas, machetes and even a submachine gun to threaten their victims
The Civil Guard, within the framework of the ABS operation, has dismantled a dangerous gang of attackers who had their base in the Almanjáyar neighborhood of the Granada capital, specialized in the robbery of gas stations, supermarkets, hospitality establishments and mobile phone shops . They are responsible for at least 30 robberies with violence and intimidation and 4 robberies of use of motor vehicles perpetrated in the Granada Metropolitan Area.
Eleven people between the ages of 16 and 31, all with police records, have been arrested in the towns of Atarfe and Granada. Some of the detainees were serving sentences and took advantage of their prison permits to commit robberies.
During the searches carried out in the homes, a simulated pistol was recovered from those used in the robberies, two stolen mobile phones, clothes and effects related to the investigated robberies.
The operation began in December 2019 after verifying that in the town of Atarfe there had been a large number of robberies at gas stations and supermarkets with the same modus operandi, and that these robberies had later spread to other municipalities in the Granada Metropolitan Area .
The first investigations by the Civil Guard pointed to a group of young criminals from the town of Atarfe; although later the investigations had to be expanded upon discovering a second group of robbers in the Almanjáyar neighborhood of Granada and that both were connected. Two of the detainees had met at a juvenile center and had managed to unite the Atarfe gang and the Almanjáyar gang into one in order to broaden their criminal horizon, since the robberies spread throughout the Metropolitan Area.
This gang entered the establishments armed with pistols, submachine guns, catanas and machetes, intimidating their victims, who did not hesitate to hit if necessary, to seize the cash register and then fled on previously stolen motorcycles or cars.
The agents have verified that so far the now detained would have robbed 30 Granada establishments, obtaining loot of more than 65,000 euros.
High security measures
All the members of this gang had previously been detained for similar events, so they had experience, and that meant that they were taking security measures that made their identification very difficult. To do this, they hid their faces with full-face helmets, goggles and balaclavas, and covered the shoes with plastic bags so that they were not recognized in the images of the security cameras. In addition, the clothes they used in robberies were not kept at home; They used stolen cars and motorcycles that were disposed of after the robberies and had an operations base in a flat located in an alley in Almanjáyar, in an area where police surveillance was not possible without being discovered.
Another feature of the arrested robbers is that they were especially active. For example, on December 31, 2019, in just 20 minutes, two of the detainees docked armed with a submachine gun and using a stolen motorcycle at a gas station in Albolot. Immediately afterwards another one in Maracena and finally another one of the gas stations of a well-known commercial park in the municipality of Pulianas.
The first two arrests took place last February; Although the exploitation phase of this operation took place last June, at which time the leaders of this criminal group were arrested and three house searches were carried out, one in Atarfe and two in Granada. The last arrest occurred on July 2.
The investigation has been carried out by agents belonging to the Heritage team of the Organic Unit of the Judicial Police of the Commandery of the Civil Guard of Granada.
To complete this information you can contact the Peripheral Communication Office of the Civil Guard of Granada, on the phone 958.185419.
