Guardia Civil catch woman ‘red-handed’ in Zamora attempting to start a forest fire

A woman has been placed under investigation by the Guardia Civil in the Zamora region of Sanabria. She is suspected of allegedly attempting to start a forest fire.

The suspect was caught in the act by the police while trying to set fire to an area of ​​brooms located on a mountain in the municipality of Robleda-Cervantes.

Officers from the El Puente barracks, assisted by a Seprona patrol from Puebla de Sanabria established a discreet surveillance operation in the region. This was initiated on April 20, after a fire was detected in the area.

According to a statement last Saturday, May 13, from the Government Sub-delegation in Zamora, fires of similar characteristics had occurred in this same region in previous years.

As reported in the statement, on April 27, the operation finally paid off. The officers caught a middle-aged woman ‘red-handed’ as she tried to start a fire using a direct flame.

The subsequent fire was quickly extinguished by the policemen to stop it from spreading. They identified the culprit and she was placed under investigation for the crime of attempting to start a forest fire.

Proceedings against the suspect have been taken over by the Puebla de Sanabria Court of First Instance and Instruction. It continues the investigation to determine whether the woman could be responsible for similar outbreaks that occurred previously in the area.

The Guardia Civil stressed the importance of the collaboration of members of the public in such instances in order to prevent such crimes from taking place that could endanger the lives or safety of the general public.

They pointed out that according to the Spanish Penal Code, if found guilty, a sentence of between one and five years in prison can be handed to the offender.

Additionally, where a fire is deemed to have endangered lives, these penalties could be increased to between 10 and 20 years in prison, as reported by 20minutos.es.