Civil Guard agents have arrested two Spanish nationals who were caught red-handed stealing sun gloss from the roof of an industrial warehouse in Sax, Alicante Command reported.
The operation, christened Placax, was carried out as part of the ‘National Plan against copper theft’. The two arrested were charged with multiple counts of forced robbery and handed over to the Villena Guard and Order Court, which ordered both to be released on injunctive relief.
On June 1, the Civil Guard learned that some people had stolen about 400 meters of copper and various photovoltaic panels from an industrial warehouse in the municipality, through a complaint from the director of a company dedicated to acquiring, converting, and subsequently marketing renewable energy. The entire Sax is worth about 50,000 euros.
Ibi Civil Guard Roca Team, learning about the events, decided to start the Placax operation to shed light on the reported incidents and to identify the perpetrators.
After examining all documents provided by the complainant, the investigators decided to painstakingly visually inspect the ship from which the reported material was stolen.
After a visual inspection, the agents concluded that the culprits would soon return to the ship to remove the rest of the solar panels and copper that were still in place. From then on, investigators, together with colleagues from the Sax Post, launched a surveillance operation in the area where the affected ship was located.
It didn’t take long for the device to come to fruition, and on the next morning, June 2, the two men found red-handed climbed onto the roof of the ship without any restrictions and at a height of more than 8 meters. . . . The criminals had already smashed various photovoltaic panels, which they threw from the place where they dismantled them. Near this pile, individuals had prepared a small truck to use as a means of transportation.
At the request of the inspectors, the criminals descended, leaning on the beams and columns of the ship, where the Civil Guards were waiting for them. After being identified, they were both arrested at the scene and charged with two robberies by force.
Both offenders are two Hispanic men, aged 28 and 33, residing in Alicante and having multiple records for similar incidents.
The detainees were handed over to the Villena Guard and Instruction Court, which ordered both to be released on precautionary measures.