The Mossos d'Esquadra have arrested four people allegedly integrated into a criminal organization dedicated to the assault of tobacconists and shops in several towns in Urgell. The investigation places the arrested individuals in a chain of robberies with violence and intimidation committed in mid-March, with special incidence in Bellpuig, Anglesola, Belianes and Verdú.
The group, formed by three men and one woman between 25 and 39 years old, allegedly acted with large knives, masks and a second vehicle intended for counter-surveillance tasks. Two of the detainees accumulate more than thirty criminal records.
A succession of assaults in a few days
The investigated sequence begins on March 16 with the theft of approximately 1,500 euros in a Montblanc supermarket. A day later, on March 17, a particularly rapid offensive occurred. In less than 15 minutes, three tobacconists were assaulted in Belianes, Bellpuig, and Anglesola.
That same night, a robbery was also committed in a supermarket in Verdú. All these events would have been carried out with violence and intimidation, following a common pattern that allowed investigators to relate them to each other.
Stolen and burned vehicles after the crimes
The investigation suggests that the perpetrators used a system to interfere with the immobilizer of the stolen vehicles. Those cars were used in the robberies and subsequently burned in an area of Urgell to hinder the identification of those involved and eliminate traces.
Within the framework of the investigations, the Mossos located six stolen vehicles in less than 48 hours. They also identified the use of a second car that served to monitor the surroundings and facilitate the escape.
Arrests in L'Espluga de Francolí, Tàrrega and Cervera
On March 31, a suspect was arrested in L"Espluga de Francolí. In that operation, electronic devices, mobile phones, clothes, watches, and other technological devices were seized.
Subsequently, two people were arrested in Tàrrega, where agents located and seized the vehicle allegedly used for surveillance and escape tasks. The fourth detainee, a man, was arrested last Thursday in Cervera.
The case remains under investigation to determine the degree of participation of each of those arrested in the different hits attributed to the group and to close the scope of a criminal activity that affected several commercial establishments in the demarcation in a few days.