YOUR COURIER IS OUT A DAY EARLY NEXT WEEK, www.thecourier.es
Edition 364
A
DUE TO EASTER
Bogus Readers Nabbed
n Alicante Provincebased gang of three men and two women, who pretended to be working for the Iberdrola power company to gain entry into elderly people’s homes and then steal from them, have been arrested by the National Police. They co-ordinated robberies in Cartagena and Elche, as well as further afield in Castellón, Valencia and Zamora. Elderly women were targeted by the gang, as they paid home visits to say they wanted to read an electricity or gas meter, and they would then steal money, jewellery, or any other items of value that they could lay their hands on. The National Police in Cartagena, who have been leading the investigation, say that the gang have been
A
Friday 23rd March 2018
operating for the last two years throughout the country, and that their inquiries remain open, as more potential incidents are being looked at. They detained the five individuals at addresses in Alicante, Villena and in a hostel in the Madrid area, where two of the accused were looking for new victims. Three of the group were refused bail when they appeared before a Cartagena judge, who accepted a request from prosecutors for custody on the grounds that they would be likely to reoffend. The catalogue of incidents included an 83-year-old Cartagena woman being robbed of 1,400 euro in cash and 12 thousand euro of jewellery, whilst a victim in Castellón had her stolen
2 Bed 1 Bath Ground-Floor Bungalow with Pool in San Luis Y RT PE E O PR F TH K O EE W
Property ID: 503 - 69,900€ SEE OUR AD ON PAGES 16 & 17 FOR OUR LATEST ADDITIONS
jewellery pawned off in a Torrevieja gold shop. In another robbery, a Valencia resident had their bank card stolen, with over a thousand euro being withdrawn from ATM machines.
The gang members, who live in Alicante, San Vicente, and Villena have been charged with a variety of crimes including theft, fraud, impersonation and belonging to a criminal group.
Luxury Dog Kennels With Quality Owner Accommodation For Sale
Shirts Off His Back
n Irish resident of Torrevieja has been arrested for planning to sell fake sports shirts at a big profit, after shipping in the counterfeit goods from China into Alicante-Elche airport. The 27-year-old man was detained at his home, after a joint operation between Guardia Civil and the Tax Agency, and has being charged with infringing copyright. He had shelled out three thousand euro for the fake shirts, which would have netted him around 75 thousand euro, if he had been successful in selling them online. The authorities had their
suspicions aroused when five packages arrived at Alicante-Elche airport from China, addressed to a Torrevieja residence. The packs were opened up and high quality counterfeit shirts were discovered, which would have been difficult for non-experts to work out that they were fakes. One of the football club emblems did not exactly match up with the way it should have been embossed on the shirt, following a close examination, and that led investigators to their conclusion that they had netted a full consignment of illegal copies.
Go to page 34 to read more!