WATCH – Spain’s police dismantle violent criminal gang who used a child to commit brutal robberies

THE Mossos d’Esquadra police force have arrested 8 people who belonged to a dangerous criminal gang that were dedicated to committing violent robberies in Spain’s Catalonia.

The Catalan police confirmed that they had dismantled the gang who reigned terror on mobile phone shops across Barcelona and Girona. Two of the arrested individuals even used their own child in the robberies in a bid to go unnoticed before the thefts were carried out.

Their modus operandi was always the same with members of the gang entering a shop with a motorcycle helmet on to conceal their identity, before using violence and intimidation to push employees to hand over mobile phones and cash. They would then flee the scene on stolen motorbikes to avoid arrest.

Cop policial contra dos grups de lladres multireincidents especialitzats en els robatoris violents a botigues de telefonia mòbil. Els 8 detinguts acumulaven 75 detencions. Més info 👇https://t.co/hlE0paD8Jh pic.twitter.com/KDHONemTBj

— Mossos (@mossos) February 9, 2020

When using the minor, members of the gang would enter inside the establishment with the child as if they were a normal family looking to purchase a new phone. Once gaining the attention of an employee, other members of the group would storm inside the premises to commit the robbery, which police state were always extremely violent.

Investigators were able to link the gang to at least 20 robberies, but believe many more have been unreported.

As Euro Weekly News understands, the operation to dismantle the gang led to €140,000 worth of mobile phones being seized in addition to large quantities of cash.