Police have arrested 24 people and charged another 16 in connection with the theft of tons of copper wire, steel cable and lead in various parts of the country.
The network of thieves was highly organised, operating in cells in different parts of the country and carrying out robberies in Extremadura, Castilla-La Mancha and Andalucia. The arrests were made in Cádiz, Sevilla, Huelva, Málaga, Córdoba, Jaén, Badajoz, Cáceres, Cuenca and Logroño.
Operation ‘Tempul’ began in late January after the discovery that a group of thieves had stolen a large amount of copper wire from a thermal plant in San José del Valle, Cádiz province. The thieves returned a few days later to commit a similar robbery at the same plant.
Thermal plants were very often the targets of the network and the raids were well planned and organised.
The stolen metals were either stored at a facility in El Charco de la Pava, Sevilla, or in two scrapyards in the city, the owners of the scrapyards being well aware of the dubious origin of the metals.
At the end of the operation, 24 people were in custody, 16 more were charged and police had recovered 6 tons of copper, 3 tons of stainless steel, 800 kilos of lead and various tools and machinery used to commit the robberies.
Raids on a number of houses also resulted in the seizure of 12 cars, 34 mobile phones, jewellery, a plasma TV and various documents relevant to the investigation.