Individual Detained, Home Burgled, Car Stolen, and Civil Guard Catches Them Due to Forgotten 'Contactless' Key

There are mistakes that can be fatal, as known by the 8 individuals arrested by the Civil Guard of the Region of Murcia for alleged crimes of robbery with violence and intimidation, illegal detention, and belonging to a criminal organization. The agents have developed operation 'Farwest', an investigation initiated to clarify a violent robbery committed between the municipalities of Torrevieja and Torre Pacheco (Murcia).

In this case, the Civil Guard responded to a call from the private security service of a well-known urbanization, located in the municipality of Torrepacheco. In the early hours, this worker alerted the Civil Guard of having allowed passage to the occupants of an off-road vehicle, which had been stolen from one of the residents.

In this case, the 'contactless' card of the vehicle was also a key factor. Once the assailants had detained the owner for hours to burgle his house and steal the vehicle, they decided to leave it outside the urbanization. However, they did not realize that it was the owner who had the card in his pocket, so a few meters away, the vehicle displayed the message "key missing". The alleged criminals decided to return, and it was at that moment when the agents arrived, managing to recover the car, jewelry, money, and a television.

A Citizen Security patrol identified the three occupants of the car and initially arrested them as suspected perpetrators of the robbery. The investigations carried out around this robbery allowed the identification of the owner of the off-road vehicle, who recounted to the agents the journey to his home, detained in his own vehicle by the now detainees.

The chronology of events began when he was at a leisure venue in the municipality of Torrevieja, where he had an argument with a known person. The noise of the venue did not allow them to understand each other, so they went outside where, surprisingly, he was approached by two individuals with whom he struggled until the venue's security staff intervened.

The victim decided to leave, at which point three young men, who apparently had seen the assault, offered to accompany him in his car and guide him to leave the area. However, they led him to a dead-end wasteland where they instructed him to turn off the engine.

Immediately, a car arrived, in which was the person with whom he had argued at the venue and three others, one of whom, the most violent, struck him in the chest and side, demanding the passwords to his online banking with which they made several transfers.

Subsequently, his seven assailants forced him to get into the car and drove for more than three hours to various ATMs and gaming halls in the Vega Baja of Alicante, seizing more than 9,000 euros. Finally, the supposed leader ordered the three young men who had initially accompanied him to take him to his home in Torrepacheco, burgle it, and steal his car.

The victim, at the wheel of his own car, entered the urbanization where he resides while his companions threatened him not to give any signal to the security guards at the access control. Once at his home, they beat and threatened him until he indicated where he kept valuable items. They then forced him to get back into the car to leave without raising suspicion through the monitored access.

When they passed the control post and moved a few meters away from the main entrance, they ordered him to get out and continued driving, however, the car key, a contactless type, remained in the victim's pocket, who deduced that the assailants could not go far, so he ran to take refuge in the security personnel's booth and alerted them to what was happening.

When the vehicle's display showed the message: 'key missing', the assailants realized the mistake and turned back to re-enter the urbanization and search for the victim, as they had no other means of escape. The private security service had already alerted the Civil Guard and blocked their way while the patrol arrived.

Operation 'Farwest', developed by specialists in Judicial Police of the Civil Guard, has concluded with the arrest of a total of eight people - six men and two women - as alleged perpetrators of the crimes of robbery with violence and intimidation, illegal detention, and belonging to a criminal organization, as well as the recovery of jewelry, money, a television, and the off-road vehicle in which they intended to flee. The detainees and the proceedings were handed over to the Court of Instruction of San Javier.