A group of Bosnian pickpockets based in Spain, who were heading to the Olympic Games in Paris, have been arrested in Madrid and Valencia by the National Police.
The main targets of the 17 members of the gang, all from the same family, were tourists.
Although they were based in Madrid and Valencia, the investigation found that they regularly travelled to Andalusia to carry out “criminal campaigns”.
OPERATIONS IN PARIS
They had also planned a special operation in Paris, as the city received a large number of tourists and sports fans.
They have been charged with multiple thefts, as well as human trafficking, fraud, money laundering and document forgery.
Searches at the homes resulted in the seizure of two high-end vehicles and almost 100,000 euros in cash, as well as foreign currencies such as Colombian pesos, Swedish krona and Indian rupees.
The men in the gang coordinated the activities while the women committed the robberies, sometimes under threat from the men.
If robbery victims resisted, they were attacked or threatened.
Mid-ranking male and female members lived in different squatted properties, allowing them to easily change their centers of operation.
They all carried false documents under false identities.
The men transferred all the profits out of Spain, mainly to France, Italy or Bosnia, through a money laundering method known as “smurfing.”
This involves a large number of people making small transfers to bank accounts in the names of legitimate customers.
The criminal organization is also accused of several frauds involving credit and debit cards stolen from the victims.
