In a police operation at dawn, the Mossos d’Esquadra have arrested five men accused of stealing 16 competition pigeons from a Gavà dovecote. As reported by the Catalan police this Monday, those arrested on May 5 are between 19 and 30 years old and are accused of the crime of theft of animals.
At about 3 in the morning, agents from the Gavà police station were carrying out a preventive patrol when they received a notice of a robbery in an agricultural area. When they went to the scene, they located a vehicle with five occupants full of pigeons inside. They also carried feed and a special wooden cage for these birds.
The Mossos realized that the pigeons were for competition, of a specific breed. Some of the birds had their wings painted in various colors. The suspects gave conflicting versions of where the animals came from.
In parallel, the agents observed that a dovecote located within a nearby farm had forced chains and broken doors. With this indication the arrest was made. The pigeons, which have a value of between 20 and 3,000 euros according to the Mossos, have already been returned to their masters.
Those arrested have a total of 46 police records. They went to court and the judge ordered their release with charges.
