Civil Guard Arrests Three for Copper Cable Theft in Alicante and Albacete

La Guardia Civil ha dismantled a criminal group dedicated to the theft of copper cables in the municipalities of Alicante and Albacete. In total, three individuals have been arrested for stealing around three tonnes of this material during their nighttime raids in the towns of Alicante and Albacete. Additionally, the Civil Guard is investigating the manager of a recycling plant, who was responsible for purchasing all the stolen metal and managed to earn 15,000 euros in just three months.

The investigation began after the theft of 700 meters of copper cable was detected in Pinoso. Thus, the Field Robbery Team (ROCA) of the Ibi Company initiated the corresponding inquiries, identifying two of the alleged perpetrators, who had numerous prior offenses for similar acts.

Subsequent investigations revealed that since August, the group had been continuously stealing this metal in different towns, managing to seize 3,000 kilograms of copper and causing an economic loss of 50,000 euros to various municipalities.

According to the Civil Guard, the modus operandi was always similar: the perpetrators acted at night, transported the stolen material to an area where they removed the plastic coating, and subsequently sold it at a recycling center.

Thus, during the early hours of October 31, Local Police and Civil Guard officers in Onil caught one of the suspects loading copper into the car boot, but he fled and managed to escape. He could not repeat this on November 7, when a covert surveillance operation by the ROCA Team of Ibi arrested two of the individuals as they were about to sell 120 kilograms of copper stolen hours earlier in Salinas. The operation also recovered documentation where they recorded illegal sales.

In the following days, a third perpetrator was arrested. Additionally, the head of the recycling center where the sales were made has been investigated for a continuous crime of receiving stolen goods, having gained approximately 15,000 euros in just three months through the acquisition of several tonnes of copper from the thefts.

The clarified crimes committed in the Alicante municipalities of Pinoso, Onil, Salinas, and San Vicente del Raspeig, as well as in the Albacete towns of Albatana, Caudete, Fuente Álamo, and Ontur, have been resolved thanks to the effective collaboration between the ROCA units of Ibi, Almansa, and Hellín, as well as the Local Police of Onil and Elda.

The detainees are two men aged 36 and 41 and a woman aged 38, while the investigated individual is a 26-year-old man. They are charged with 11 alleged theft offenses, the crime of receiving stolen goods, document forgery, and another against road safety, each in their degree of participation. They have been brought before the Courts of San Vicente and Novelda, which have ordered their release with charges.