When a single electric scooter is well cared for, a GPS tracker can be a smart choice. A Valencia resident managed to recover one stolen from the famous Malvarrosa beach and, with the tracker’s help, located it in Elche, about 170 kilometers away. That same initiative also disrupted an organized group that had captured the scooter. There were even talks of exporting such devices to Algeria. As reported on Friday, two detainees, aged 37 and 42, are Algerian nationals. The Elche police station explained the sequence of events.
The total value of eight seized scooters reached up to 700 euros, and the devices were later stolen in other cities to turn a profit, according to the National Police. The case began when the Valencia National Police alerted the Elche station about a high-end electric scooter stolen from the Ché beach. A geolocation device was installed so the owner could track the scooter in real time, with the signal showing it in the Santa Ana Torrellano district of Elche, allowing swift action and awareness of the scooter’s precise movements.
Elche National Police Station. CNP
wrapped in raffia
With this information, officers located two men in a suspicious posture and found they had passed through Elche while carrying three high-end scooters wrapped in raffia, origins unable to be justified. The recovered items did not include the stolen bicycle at that moment. The suspects were initially released but remained under scrutiny.
Minutes later, officers were alerted that the GPS location had shifted and now pointed to Torrellano within the Elche area. The same two men were spotted again, this time with five more electric scooters also wrapped in raffia. One of these matched a model stolen in Valencia, prompting a formal intervention by the Crime Against Property Investigation Team. Both suspects were arrested on site.
A scooter journeying along the cycle path in Elche. Axel Alvarez
to negligence
Checks confirmed that at least two scooters in their possession had been reported stolen days earlier in Valencia, one due to carelessness and another after the chain securing it on public roads was cut. The National Police suspects the detainees planned to ship high-end electric scooters stolen from Spain to Algeria. The investigation continues to identify the owners of the other five scooters. The authorities have not ruled out attributing additional crimes to the detainees.
The individuals were placed at the disposal of the court of inquiry, pending further actions in Elche. The rise in scooter theft is not only a growing trend but also a potentially lucrative business, prompting greater attention from law enforcement and residents alike. [Cited: National Police Agency]