The Civil Guard dismantles an organisation with branches in Alicante that defrauded 300,000 euros through merchandise trading

The Civil Guard, as part of operation 'Vencal', has dismantled a criminal organisation involved in fraud through wholesale merchandise trading. They presented falsified bank receipts. During the operation, 39 criminal acts committed since April of last year in 18 provinces of Spain, including Alicante, were clarified. Additionally, 10 people have been arrested and six others are under investigation.

The operation began following an investigation into a resident of a Bilbao neighbourhood for alleged fraud in purchasing 120 jugs of oil. Shortly after, agents received further information related to a new fraud in bulk oil purchases, whose alleged perpetrator also resided in the same neighbourhood.

During the investigation of these two frauds, the similarity between them was noted, as the same bank receipt was used as a false payment proof, and the perpetrators resided in the province of Bizkaia. Subsequently, the Civil Guard discovered that this fraud was also being committed from other parts of the peninsula.

The modus operandi of this criminal organisation involved an initial telephone contact with wholesale companies to urgently purchase various types of high-value merchandise, which they collected as soon as possible. They paid with prepaid cards in the names of third parties. Once the order was accepted, the perpetrators sent a false bank receipt with modified or falsified sections.

After collecting the goods and before the sellers could verify the payment, they cut off all communication, preventing any claims for the amount. Similarly, to collect the products, they planned routes through different provinces to carry out several frauds in one go. They used rental vehicles or hired a transport service. Once collected, the goods were transported to Bilbao.

It is noteworthy that, just as they defrauded trading companies, they also did so to transporters, hiring them for around 500-600 euros but only advancing a small deposit and not paying the total agreed amount after delivering the goods. Others were paid with the same false receipt.

Arrests and investigations have been carried out in Bizkaia, León, Zaragoza, Ávila, and Álava. Additionally, 39 frauds have been clarified in 18 provinces: Álava (1), Albacete (1), Alicante (1), Asturias (2), Ávila (1), Badajoz (4), Barcelona (9), Castellón (2), Granada (2), La Rioja (3), León (1), Málaga (4), Navarra (1), Palencia (1), Sevilla (1), Teruel (2), Valencia (2), and Zamora (1).

Among the products acquired by the organisation are perishable goods such as oil, meats (sausages, ham, and lamb), fish, cheese, and canned goods (asparagus and pickles). They also acquired electric scooters and high-quality PVC sheets, as well as eleven dogs.