The Spanish National Police arrested three people, all of Georgian origin, suspected of being part of a group dedicated to committing home robberies.
According to police information, to open the doors they used techniques such as 'bumping' - inserting a key that is hit to blow up the lock pistons - or 'picking', the classic method used by locksmiths.
After the arrests, the police say that they have been able to clarify 6 robberies, 3 of them committed in Madrid, 2 in Pontevedra and 1 in Vigo.
The investigation began after the identification of two men of Georgian origin who were driving in a vehicle with French license plates through the Madrid district of Usera. One of them was arrested for an alleged crime of false documentation, since he was carrying a forged Ukrainian driving license.
Further investigations allowed the officers to find out that they were the suspects in at least three robberies at homes in the region of Galicia, two of them in Pontevedra and a third in Vigo. Later, the police determined their possible involvement in three other robberies committed in the city of Madrid in February. All this led the investigators to suspect that the detainees were part of an itinerant criminal group made up of at least 3 members.
Door marking
As for the modus operandi, the police say that the suspects made a prior marking on the doors of the homes to be robbed.
They placed between the frame and the door an adhesive cord, practically invisible - with glue or similar - or transparent plastic or paper tokens, which easily come off when the owners of the homes open the door.
This ensured that the houses were empty at the time of the robbery if the markers were still in place.
One of the members of the gang watched the surroundings of the homes to be attacked, in order to notify his companions in case the owners, neighbors or a police patrol appeared.
Door-opening techniques
Once they made sure that the house was empty, they opened the access doors using different techniques, mainly based on manipulating the locks, such as 'bumping' and 'picking'. The police press release says that "these Georgian clans (are) true experts in the field."
In order to avoid leaving traces, they used socks or other clothing on their hands.
