The Civil Guard has arrested six men between the ages of 19 and 46, belonging to a family clan dedicated to copper theft, who allegedly committed more than 75 robberies with a loss of two million euros in several provinces, leaving them without supplies for fifteen Sewage systems left behind were sewage treatment plants in Valencia and Castellón. The thieves left their hand-painted signature wherever they stole to challenge security forces. “The Copper Mafia,” they wrote.
The investigation began at the end of August, when the Civil Guard focused on finding out who was responsible for the theft of two vehicles, tools and almost a kilometer of electrical cables from a company in the town of Bétera (Valencia). The value of the stolen items and the damage amounted to more than 180,000 euros. The investigators were able to prove that there was an organized group of people from the same family clan who were almost exclusively dedicated to stealing copper from companies and facilities such as sewage treatment plants, train stations or light boxes in large buildings.
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The perpetrators sprayed graffiti at the places they attacked, called themselves “The Copper Mafia” and challenged the security forces and authorities. They also did this through their social networks, reporting waves of thefts, including fifteen sewage treatment plants that left a large number of residents of different cities in Valencia and Castellón without supplies. The structure of the criminal organization.
The clan had a strong hierarchy: the oldest people, including the clan’s patriarch, performed administrative functions, received stolen goods, and allocated each member his “share of the loot.” They were responsible for setting up the operation and coordinating the “execution level” and the “support level”. The execution level was responsible for physically committing the crimes and handing over the property resulting from the robberies to the executive level. The support unit, in turn, was responsible for obtaining addresses, telephone numbers and other tools for committing criminal acts. Eventually, a reception area was found that was responsible for the irregular sale of stolen goods for money.
Out-of-school children
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The children of the members of the clan did not go to school and were instructed in the tasks of the criminal organization from an early age, according to the Guardia Civil message distributed this morning. The future of the clan depended on them as they represented the generational change. As part of the investigation, it was possible to prove the commission of more than 75 violent robbery crimes in the provinces of Valencia, Castellón, Cuenca, Albacete and Murcia, with damages and stolen items amounting to two million euros. Finally, six searches were carried out in mid-October, five at homes and one at an industrial warehouse where stolen goods were hidden and processed. A waste treatment plant where goods were sold in violation of applicable regulations was also inspected and sealed. In this way, the responsibility of all crimes and actors could be determined: from theft to the illegal sale of goods.
A total of six men between the ages of 46 and 19 were arrested during the searches, and one minor was investigated. Also confiscated were 1.5 tons of copper, 300 boxes of sanitary materials, professional construction tools worth 70,000 euros, five vehicles worth around 30,000 euros, two electric shock devices (Tasers), three large knives and copper cutting tools worth around 5,000 euros.