The Guardia Civil arrested three people in Valencia and is investigating a fourth for assaulting more than 20 petrol stations in the Valencian Community.
The thieves took advantage of the night hours in which these service areas were closed, to violently break shop windows and doors. Once inside, their main objective was to access the money collected from slot machines and tobacco vending machines.
The robberies have taken place at service stations in the municipalities of Buñol, Canals, Chiva, Godelleta, Montesa, Siete Aguas, Villagordo del Cabriel and Villajoyosa.
The authors had very well defined their tasks in the assaults: a driver, a lookout and two executors. They used hammers, picks and hoes to break the windows and access the interior of the establishments.
The detainees even hid the stolen effects in the surroundings and returned the next day for them, to gain speed in the robberies.
They also transported the vending machines in garbage containers to a place they considered safe to break into them.
In the searches carried out in Mislata (Valencia) and Villajoyosa (Alicante), the Guardia Civil found packs of tobacco linked to the robberies, mobile phones, clothing and tools used in the commission of the crimes.
Between the material and the stolen cash, plus the damages caused by the authors in the thefts, an assessment of more than 123,000 euro has been made.
The proceedings have been delivered to the Courts of First Instance and Instruction number 2 and 4 of Requena and 2 of Alzira.
