The National Police has arrested in Palma three women of Romanian nationality as alleged responsible persons for a crime of belonging to a criminal group and theft in an attempted degree, after they were caught when, allegedly, they were trying to appropriate personal effects from several older people who were waiting to board the Sóller train.
As the National Police has reported, the events occurred last Monday, when officers from the Group for Thefts were carrying out prevention and control tasks in the area around the railway station, a spot with a large concentration of users and, according to the investigation, a usual setting for the actions of specialized groups for pickpocketing while people are distracted.
During the course of the operation, the officers detected three women who, allegedly, would be part of a criminal group dedicated to this type of theft and that, according to the inquiries, would operate with a clearly defined division of functions.
The police initiated discreet surveillance and observed how one of the suspects positioned herself behind an elderly man who was waiting to access the train and was trying to take his mobile phone and wallet, while the other two, allegedly, handled monitoring and distracting.
After this first attempt failed, the three women changed platforms and positioned themselves behind another passenger. In this second action, one of them would have tried to open the woman’s backpack, while her companions controlled the surroundings and kept the victim occupied.
At that moment, one of the suspects became aware of the presence of the officers, so the three began fleeing in different directions with the intention of hindering the police intervention. The officials managed to intercept two of them before they left the area, while the third initially managed to escape.
In parallel, the officers took statements from the affected people. The passenger who suffered the second attempted theft indicated that she had realized that she was carrying the handbag open and that she was missing about 200 euros.
After corroborating the facts, the police detained the two women initially held as alleged perpetrators of a crime of theft and belonging to a criminal group. Later, the third member was also located and arrested.
MORE THAN 50 DETAINED SINCE THE CREATION OF THE THEFTS GROUP
Last May, the National Police launched the Thefts Group, attached to the Provincial Brigade of Judicial Police, with the aim of strengthening the prevention and prosecution of this type of crime in Palma.
This unit, made up of around a dozen officers, focuses its work on the areas with the highest incidence of pickpocketing and on investigating specialized groups involved in thefts, many of an itinerant nature, as well as individuals dedicated specifically to pickpocketing.
Since its creation, this group has carried out more than 50 arrests, for the most part “in fraganti,” in locations with a high concentration of citizens, such as Playa de Palma, the Bellver Castle, and the center of the Balearic capital.