The Civil Guard has halted a pair of repeat offenders, aged 29 and 30, who allegedly used force to commit a string of robberies at eco-parks and waste-recycling sites across Alicante and Valencia. The suspects, held on remand after appearing in court, are accused of stealing recycling materials and reselling them at a local Alcoy junkyard. This operation underscores how organized thefts at environmental facilities can impact multiple municipalities and the recycling chain.
The investigation began last August when the ROCA Unit of the Ibi Civil Guard detected a noticeable rise in thefts at collection points and eco-parks throughout several towns in the two provinces. The team traced patterns in the incidents, including timing, method, and stolen items, which helped focus the inquiry on a relatively small number of repeat offenders.
social alert
Concern rose among managers of eco-parks and recycling centers as case volumes climbed. After thorough analysis of the information collected, the authorities coordinated with Local Police in the affected municipalities for months. The joint effort enabled Banyeres de Mariola and Muro officers to connect two Alcoy residents to the robberies being investigated, shifting the case from isolated thefts to a linked criminal pattern.
Recycling material recovered at the scene helped confirm the criminals’ operations, which involved targeting collection points and eco-parks across the region. The collaboration between agencies was essential to building the case and setting the stage for later arrests.
Recycling material in an ecopark.
The authorities later learned that the thieves preferred clean spots and eco-parks within a 50-kilometer radius of Alcoy. They operated at night and on holidays, often carrying out two or three robberies in a single night. The pattern suggested a small, disciplined group using a vehicle parked away from the target site, with one member entering to steal and another acting as a lookout outside.
Junk yard
All the stolen materials were sold at a junkyard in Alcoy within hours, yielding profits exceeding a thousand euros in a span of just six days of activity. On November 22, authorities executed arrests of two individuals still under investigation while they were driving the vehicle used in the robberies. They were taken to the Benemérita’s local offices for formal processing, and the case was documented as 14 offenses of theft by force at collection points and eco-parks in Banyeres de Mariola, Muro, Sax, Salinas, Oliva, and Ontinyent.
This sequence of events illustrates how a small team can systematically exploit environmental infrastructure, then monetize the stolen goods quickly through a secondary market. The ongoing investigation continues to map the full extent of the network and the financial trail tied to the offenses.