The Guadalajara Civil Guard dismantled a very active criminal group dedicated to stealing goods from trucks in the province, as well as in Toledo, Madrid, Zaragoza, Burgos, Cáceres and Gipuzkoa.
The operation known as “Monopolis” helped solve a total of 36 crimes and resulted in the recovery of three tractors and three semi-trailers. There is six arrested and four under investigation, between 20 and 50 years old -eight Spaniards and two Moroccans-.
It started last February after a theft with intimidation of a truck tractor in the Cantos Blancos industrial zone in Cabanillas del Campo. The investigation clarified that it was an organized and hierarchical criminal network.
Modus operandi
He the boss assigned tasks while a surveillance team monitored the industrial areas to observe movements and select a target. Ultimately, a response team carried out the thefts.
Sometimes they would steal the complete articulated assembly and other times they would steal a tractor head from a different location and move to the chosen trailer, pretending to perform a hitching operation as if they were a professional of transportation.
To avoid detection, they disabled the vehicles’ GPS devices and They were traveling “escorted” with a shuttle car which drove in front of the truck to warn of a possible police check. In addition, another vehicle was traveling alongside the truck.
They then sold the goods and abandoned the truck in another industrial area. The products were varied, such as household appliances or clothing.
The detainees face possible crimes of belonging to a criminal group, theft with force, theft with violence or intimidation, damage, theft, falsification of public documents and theft or theft of use of vehicles .
