The National Police Service has closed Operation Zodiac with five arrests in Elche and Murcia, halting a gang composed of individuals aged 19 to 42 from several nationalities who specialized in forcing safes in commercial centers. The case is proceeding in a Madrid court, where the suspects were brought to testify. Authorities report eight theft complaints totaling up to €65,000, with potential incidents in Elche, Alicante, Torrevieja, or Murcia. The suspects reportedly followed a cinematic modus operandi: they stayed inside after hours to maintain the ruse and avoid drawing attention.
The group conducted a traveling operation, seemingly to minimize suspicion, and targeted large retail areas in towns such as Torrevieja, Alicante, Elche, and Murcia. The crew appeared to be well-organized, sometimes manipulating the store’s main entrance security to disable the circuit. At times, members hid within organizations, enabling them to seize safe contents as closing time approached.
One detainee was photographed being transported by police after being detained, with the National Police Service present at the scene.
The operation that led to these arrests involved the Elche Police Station Judicial Police Brigade Investigation Group III and the Murcia Supreme Headquarters’ Special Crime Unit (UDEV). They face charges of robbery by force and falsification of documents. To complete the operation, three searches were carried out at residences in Madrid.
Nationwide operation
The investigation began after three robberies at several stores within a well-known Murcia shopping mall, during which around €14,000 was stolen from safes. Agents found that the ring targeted businesses in the minutes before closing, hiding in corners until workers and customers left, then emerging to seize money from safes. This pattern pointed to a coordinated approach across multiple locations. (CNP)
Tools used to force safes were recovered in the course of the investigations, illustrating the method employed at the time of the thefts.
In a parallel line of inquiry, Elche’s police force probed a separate burglary at a local mall, including clothing valued at €675 from one store. The same group’s method involved manipulating safety mechanisms near the main entrance to disable alarms designed to protect inventory. The analysis of footage from both investigation teams confirmed the same individuals were responsible for the Elche theft and for the Murcia shopping center robberies. (CNP)
Different robberies
Progress in the joint investigation and cross-agency cooperation helped authorities confirm that this criminal network operated across several Spanish cities. They repeated a similar course of action—hiding inside workplaces to launch thefts in a coordinated fashion. This pattern underscored a broader, networked operation rather than isolated incidents. (CNP)
Additional material linked to the case included items seized during searches, such as clothing, tools, and consumer electronics, reinforcing the picture of a deliberate, systematic effort to defeat security measures and steal from retail establishments. One incident in Elche involved the theft of a range of goods from a swimming-pool store, causing significant economic damage. Two more robberies occurred in shopping centers in Torrevieja and San Javier, where safes containing €26,000 were emptied using the same approach. (CNP)
As investigators identified the entire lineup of suspects, law enforcement conducted surveillance and traced addresses associated with those under inquiry. Ultimately, five people tied to the network were arrested in Madrid, all believed to be members of the same criminal group. (CNP)
Home records
Following the arrests, authorities carried out three residence visits in Madrid. The searches uncovered a range of items used in break-ins, including keys capable of opening safes, cylinder-pulling tools, spray devices designed to disable alarms, two signal jammers, various IDs used to misrepresent identities, clothing matching those reported in the thefts, mobile phones, and several high-end watches. These findings corroborate the group’s pattern of operation and help explain how the criminals maintained anonymity while executing thefts. (CNP)
Elche Police Station’s work during a month of intensified interventions against criminal activity demonstrates the ongoing commitment to public safety and to dismantling organized theft rings that target shopping districts and large retail hubs. (CNP)