It’s a stickup as thieving tag team brought to justice

A JOINT operation between National Police and the Guardia Civil, code-named ‘Boxii-Noel’, has resulted in the arrest of two men, aged 56 and 71, who are suspected of a series of three bank robberies committed using “violence and intimidation.”

One of the detainees was also charged with possession of illegal weapons, with two hand guns recovered alongside ammunition, knives, a bulletproof vest and a taser, plus clothing and other items used during the crimes, such as special tools for opening locked safes.

The first two heists took place in Cuenca and Toledo in January and August 2013, respectively, with the robbers locking two bank employees and two civilians in a small room during the second incident.

In April 2014 one of the men struck again, hitting a bank in the Madrid suburb of Mostoles while armed with the two pistols.

The police investigation proved complex since the three crimes were committed in different provinces, but have eventually got their men, one of whom has already spent 30 years in prison for a string of armed capers dating back to the 1960s.