The Mossos d’Esquadra have arrested four thieves between the ages of 22 and 42 this week, with close to a hundred police records, as alleged perpetrators of 13 robberies in shops in the Horta-Guinardó district of Barcelona. Most of the assaults occurred during the first months of this year.
Supermarkets, bakeries, hairdressers, restaurants and cafeterias were victims of these criminals, whose actions generated great social alarm among the commercial fabric, since, in addition to the stolen money, they caused damage that usually prevented the opening of the establishments the day after the events. , with the consequent reduction that the forced closure caused in its collections.
The viewing of the security cameras and the intensive patrolling of the area in civilian clothes led to the identification of the alleged perpetrators of the events. All the robberies had the same common denominator, which consisted of acting when the premises were closed to the public –in general at dawn- forcing the blinds of the establishments. Once inside, the thieves made off with cash, valuables and electronic devices.
“The detainees made their criminal activity their day to day,” the Catalan police said in a statement. In this sense, the investigation has concluded that they used the stolen money to buy drugs and, after consumption, slept in occupied premises or abandoned vehicles. During the day they spent much of their time wandering the streets waiting to commit some criminal act, usually at night.
The four arrested, one of whom accumulates 45 previous arrests for similar acts, went to court this week, but only one entered prison. The rest were released with charges.
