Thieves try to raid Guardia Civil’s €800,000 laughing gas stash near Málaga

The thieves couldn’t fit all the pallets in their vehicle, so they walked away empty-handed twice, then came back a third time with an angle grinder. Six people have now been convicted over the raid on a warehouse where the Guardia Civil had sealed in almost €800,000 of laughing gas.

Guardia Civil sealed a warehouse with €800,000 worth of gas inside 

The Guardia Civil had seized 46 pallets of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) bottles, a drug that has become hugely popular with young people. The pallets were stored in a warehouse on the La Rosa industrial estate in Alhaurín el Grande, near Málaga.

Officers sealed the building and left the cargo inside. It was valued at almost €800,000, and it didn’t stay untouched for long. 

On the night of Monday April 22 2024, three men forced the lock but couldn’t take anything, because the pallets were too bulky for the vehicle they’d brought. Two of them came back on Friday May 3 and again left with nothing.

A third visit with an angle grinder finally worked

In the early hours of Saturday May 4, the thieves cut the padlock on the barrier with an angle grinder and walked into the compound. This time they got away with boxes of the gas, and most of the pallets were taken to the home of one of the accused in Mijas.

The court noted that none of them had permission to sell the substance, which acts on the central nervous system and can cause euphoria and hallucinations when inhaled. 

Luxury watches, a Bentley key and burnt-out cars 

The case goes further than the warehouse. In June 2024, one of the suspects broke into a house in Alhaurín el Grande, forcing a gate, a padlock, three doors and two windows. He took €5,000 in cash, the keys to a Bentley, a Mercedes and a flat in Mijas, a Volkswagen Transporter, a safe and 16 watches, including an Omega and a Rolex worth €10,000 each.

Days later, a court-authorised search turned up number plates, GPS trackers, lock picks, binoculars, surveillance cameras and 11 gas cylinders matching those stored in the warehouse.

Officers also traced stolen vehicles, including an Alfa Romeo Stelvio taken in Estepona. According to the ruling, it was fitted with false number plates and used to keep watch on the gas because the gang planned to return for more. The cars were later set alight on open ground opposite the Zalea neighbourhood in Pizarra and burnt out.

Six convicted for the raid and for handling the cylinders

The Audiencia Provincial (provincial court) of Málaga sentenced six people in a ruling dated July. Three were convicted over the warehouse raid, while the other three were given six months each for receptación (handling stolen goods) linked to buying the cylinders.

Combined, the sentences top 14 years in prison, and one of the six faces five years and nine months plus fines. All six accepted the facts, their sentences and the compensation they owe, so the ruling is final.

That means they now have to pay for the damage and the items they took, and the court has ordered the seizure of several vehicles and any items that didn’t belong to the victims.