The Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalan police) dismantled a highly active criminal group operating on Catalan motorways last week. The gang specialised in stealing goods from lorries parked in rest areas and parking lots on motorways and dual carriageways, reports the Spanish daily La Vanguardia.
The investigation began in October last year and led to the arrest of three individuals aged between 27 and 34, who are responsible for a total of 30 offences.
The inquiry was launched after several thefts of goods from lorries in rest areas along the AP-7 motorway, which runs from the French border to Malaga. The police also recorded a number of similar incidents on the C-25 and C-16 roads.
The modus operandi of this type of criminal group was typical. The thieves would go to a motorway rest area at night and cut the tarpaulin of a truck while the driver was asleep in the cab. If the vehicle was carrying valuable goods that could easily be sold on the black market, they would steal the cargo and transport it using vans or previously stolen vehicles, La Vanguardia explains. The stolen goods were then taken to the gang members’ homes and/or warehouses. The gang most often targeted cosmetics, branded clothing and footwear, and coffee.
According to reports in the Spanish media, the thieves were exceptionally brutal and reacted violently when confronted by the drivers of the vehicles they were robbing. During a raid on the thieves’ homes, police found fake firearms, which they had used to threaten their victims.
“Investigators managed to link the perpetrators to more than a dozen crimes, including burglary of a vehicle, robbery with violence and intimidation, damage to property, traffic safety offences, vehicle theft, document forgery, assault on law enforcement officers, and membership of a criminal group,” reports La Vanguardia.
The authorities do not rule out further arrests.
Desarticulem un grup criminal especialitzat en robatoris pel mètode conegut com “teloner” a camions estacionats a àrees de servei d’autopistes i autovies catalanes
Els tres detinguts sumen 30 antecedents policials i actuaven de nit aprofitant que els camioners dormien pic.twitter.com/gs2B3oaH8G
— Mossos (@mossos) March 14, 2025