A specialized group that stole motorcycles in Barcelona falls
The Mossos have arrested two men and there is a third investigated for allegedly stealing a total of 16 vehicles
BarcelonaThey operated in the early morning, by van, taking advantage of the fact that the roads are full of delivery vehicles. One of them inspected the motorcycles parked on the street and, once the target was chosen, contacted by phone the van driver, who had previously rented it for the robbery. He approached the agreed location and parked in a discreet area while his partner removed the geolocation system built into the motorcycle to make it difficult to locate. Minutes later, they loaded the vehicle inside the van and quickly left the area. This was the modus operandi of a specialized group that stole motorcycles in Barcelona and its metropolitan area. The Mossos d'Esquadra have arrested two men as alleged perpetrators of 16 motorcycle thefts worth 104,000 euros, and a third is under investigation.
The investigation began in early January following the theft of several motorcycles. The first incidents took place in the districts of Sant Martí and L'Eixample in Barcelona, as well as in Sant Feliu de Llobregat. The robberies spread to other areas, such as the districts of Sant Andreu, Gràcia, Horta-Guinardó, and Les Corts, and in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Granollers, and Badalona. The Catalan police detected that most of the stolen motorcycles had similar characteristics and were parked on public roads, a fact that pointed to a prior selection of targets before committing the robberies.
Transfer to a private property
The group moved the stolen motorcycles to a private property located in Vilafranca del Penedès and also to an old farm in La Roca del Vallès. In some cases, they temporarily left the van parked with the motorcycle inside in an isolated area. If after a few hours they verified that the owner had not managed to locate the vehicle, they moved it to another drop-off point.
The alleged perpetrators were identified thanks to images provided by some neighbors, those recorded at gas stations, and information obtained through the Lectio license plate reading system. One of the detainees has over 14 previous police records, six of which are related to similar incidents. The second detainee has nine previous records for offenses primarily related to vehicle theft and damage, and had also previously been investigated for his alleged involvement with a criminal group. As for the third investigated person, for whom there is an arrest warrant, nine incidents related to this investigation are attributed to him.