Portal de Lorca
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The arrested, with a wide criminal record, is credited with the alleged authorship of at least a dozen citrus thefts
Four companies in the agricultural sector of Lorca have been harmed by the theft of 12 tons of fruit
It is an organized group with geographic mobility between the provinces of Murcia and Almería
Murcia, May 7, 2017. The Civil Guard of the Region of Murcia, within the framework of the services established in the 'Plan against abductions in agricultural and livestock farms', has developed the operation PORTOCALE that has culminated with the dismantling of a criminal group dedicated to the theft of agricultural products, with the arrest, in fraganti, of its four members and the recovery of more than two tons of oranges.
There have been clarified a dozen crimes of citrus theft, in which four agricultural companies in Lorca have been harmed by the theft of 12 tons of fruit.
The investigation began at the beginning of the year when the Civil Guard learned of a series of robberies in farms dedicated to the cultivation of citrus, on farms in the hamlet of Almendricos Lorca.
Agents of the ROCA Team (against robberies in the field) of the Benemérita collected information and evidence that made it possible to find out that it was an organized group, an expert in this type of criminal activity, who acted with nocturnal activity.
In view of the recurrence of these events, the Benemérita ordered numerous surveillance of the area to prevent further thefts, as well as to verify the presence of people outside the companies harmed.
Geographical mobility between the provinces of Murcia and Almería
Simultaneously, it was learned that units of the Guardia Civil de Almería had identified a suspicious vehicle, occupied by two Romanian citizens, in agricultural areas of that province.
This information, together with that already obtained by the researchers, as well as the numerous surveillance devices established in the affected areas, allowed the location of a tourist when leaving one of the farms, in the direction of Puerto Lumbreras, with evident signs of carry excess weight.
A large police device
The police device, gathered at dawn in the area, was deployed to intercept the vehicle, in which two Romanian citizens who happened to be the persons identified in the province of Almeria, who, in addition, had a bulky criminal history for many thefts of agricultural products.
In tourism they transported 910 kilos of freshly cut oranges that were recovered.
The police device remained in the area to locate, that same night, a second vehicle when leaving another farm in the direction of the hamlet of Almendricos.
Once intercepted, the agents found more than a ton of oranges, so their occupants were arrested as suspected perpetrators of theft.
The development of the operation PORTOCALE has culminated with the clarification of a dozen crimes of thefts in which four companies in the agricultural sector of Lorca have been harmed, by the theft of 12 tons of citrus.
The arrested men, aged between 28 and 40 years, of Romanian nationality and with a bulky criminal record for crimes of the same nature, two tons of fruit recovered and the proceedings ordered have been made available to the Court of Instruction of Lorca (Murcia).
Source: Ministerio del Interior
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