Six arrested as Guardia Civil dismantles criminal organisation committing violent robberies

The Guardia Civil has arrested six people and dismantled a criminal group that has committed violent robberies in various businesses. According to an official statement released by the Guardia Civil, the criminals acted with “great violence” and “intimidated their victims with edged weapons and firearms.”

Six arrests following violent robberies in southeastern Spain

According to the Guardia Civil, the six members of the group, based in the southeastern Spanish region of Murcia, were arrested on suspicion of the crimes of membership of a criminal group, robbery with violence and intimidation, vehicle theft, extortion, receiving stolen goods, and drug cultivation or processing.

Weapons, stolen vehicles, and narcotics: Five searches yield shocking discoveries

The investigation began during the summer of 2026, after the Judicial Police unit detected a surge in a very specific type of robbery. They found that the victims were always gaming hall cash collectors or cashiers, and firearms were used in the holdups.

In total, to carry out the arrests, the Guardia Civil searched five homes in the municipality of Alguazas in the Region of Murcia under the name Operation Agon, which yielded two compressed-air handguns (consistent with those used in the robberies), a large quantity of ammunition of different kinds, tools used in stealing vehicles, clothing items, motorcycle helmets, five vehicles used during the commission of the robberies, and narcotic substances intended for drug trafficking.

An experienced group of violent criminals, hidden in plain sight

According to the Guardia Civil, the group of criminals relied on “extensive counter-surveillance measures, as well as informants who alerted them to police presence.” Furthermore, in order to avoid detection, the criminal group used stolen vehicles with swapped number plates to prevent them from being linked to the crimes committed.

Additionally, the members of the criminal organisation each had extensive criminal records, as well as significant experience committing violent crimes.

The criminals’ modus operandi, according to the Spanish law enforcement officials, was the following:

1. Preliminary surveillance: In the first phase of their plan, the criminal group would stalk the cash collectors before they entered the gaming halls.
2. Ambush: While the collectors were inside gathering the money, the robbers would wait nearby.
3. Attack: Just as the collector stepped outside the venue, the robbers would violently ambush them, threatening them with firearms until they were able to take the money or until it was handed over.

Around 20 crimes committed by criminal group: Murcian victims receive justice

In total, about twenty crimes involving robbery with violence or intimidation and vehicle theft have been registered across several municipalities in the Region of Murcia, including Las Torres de Cotillas, Ceuti, Lorqui, Archena, Mazarron, and the district of Sangonera la Verde.