Agents of the National Police and the Guardia Civil have completed a joint operation with the arrest of six men, three Spaniards and three Romanians, aged between 20 and 53, who were part of a criminal network devoted to the theft of horticultural products on farms in the provinces of Malaga, Granada and Almeria for their later sale to retailers.
The police have reported that the six detainees were allegedly implicated in 24 thefts of more than 26,500 kilos of avocados, mangoes, peppers, aubergines, courgettes and cherimoyas. Furthermore, they recovered 783 kilos of courgettes stolen in the west of Almeria, three vans used by the arrested and 3,330 Euro in cash.
Investigations started on 9 November after seven people were arrested during a robbery on an avocado farm in the municipality of Vélez-Málaga. On that day, the agents also recovered 2,401 kilos of avocados that the arrested men had stolen and intercepted three vehicles.
The investigations led the researchers to the town of Roquetas de Mar, Almeria, where a network was set up to steal large volumes of fruit, mainly mangoes and avocados, on plantations on the eastern coast of Andalusia. They identified a 41 year old man of Romanian origin, who was found to be in charge of planning the robberies, organising and transporting the crews and, lastly, delivering the fruits to the main suspect, who turned out to be an entrepreneur based in Almeria devoted to the purchase of fruit and vegetables, which, taking advantage of its situation as a wholesaler in the sector, sold stolen fruit and vegetables as legal products.
Source: diariosur.es
