The investigating court number two of Lleida will direct the investigation into a criminal network dedicated to the mass theft of SUVs of a Japanese brand and their export to Gambia. The Supreme Court has attributed the case to this judicial body in a firm and unappealable ruling that resolves the conflict of competence raised with a court in Almería.
The decision concentrates in Lleida a plot that operated in several provinces, but whose main core of investigation started in the capital of Segrià. The Mossos d'Esquadra of Lleida detected the first indications in August 2023, although the management of the robberies also extended through Girona, Almería and Huesca, while the shipments left in containers from Barcelona, Castellón and Valencia.
The Supreme Court attributed the case to Lleida due to the main origin of the investigation
The criminal chamber of the High Court has endorsed that the Lleida court should investigate the case, considering that the central part of the inquiries took place there. The resolution definitively closes the dispute over which judicial district should assume the procedure.
The progress of the investigation stemmed from the work of the Mossos d'Esquadra in Lleida on the repeated theft of vehicles of the same model. From that point on, investigators connected thefts committed in different territories with a structure that not only stole cars but also organized their export abroad.
One of the keys was the discovery of a footprint in a recovered vehicle. That trace allowed the identification of a French citizen allegedly linked to the network that channeled the export of the automobiles to Gambia.
The plot was dismantled between 2024 and 2025 with ten arrests
The investigation made it possible to dismantle the network between 2024 and 2025 and arrest 10 suspects. The group, according to the inquiries, maintained an organization spread across several points in the country to carry out the robberies, move the vehicles, and prepare their shipment in containers.
Barcelona figured in the goods exit phase along with Castellón and Valencia, while Girona and Lleida appeared in the operational management of the thefts along with Almería and Huesca. This territorial distribution was one of the elements examined in the judicial conflict of competence.
Furthermore, investigators identified a coordinator of the shipments and concluded that the organization used sophisticated technology to steal the vehicles. The first thread of the case began in August 2023 with the investigation opened by the Mossos d'Esquadra of Lleida into SUVs of a Japanese brand.