According to eldiario.es, the Civil Guard has arrested four of the alleged members of the organisation that are responsible for the robberies of homes of Madrid-based footballers.
Madrid football thieves caught
Over the past few months, several Atlético and Real Madrid players (as well as Zinedine Zidane) have seen their homes being broke into while they were away playing in their respective matches. In some cases there were family members inside the homes when the group entered. One of the detainees is of Albanian origin and is identified by the initials M. Z. He had already been arrested in 2007 for being one of the members of a gang that violently assaulted businessman José Luis Moreno in his own house.
Three potential residences were targeted in the community of Madrid and one in Toledo, on its outskirts. It was in this fourth home where the agents found the detainees. They were also able to recover a large number of stolen jewels, 10,000 euros in cash and some other valuables, including the Champions League runner-up medal of Atleti’s Thomas Partey along with his passport.
In the house of the Roji Blanco midfielder in Boadilla del Monte there was a housekeeper in at the time of the robbery. Casemiro was also a victim of a similar crime on the same day, that of the Madrid derby. In June, the group entered Álvaro Morata’s house, where his wife, his children, and the carer were inside the house. In that same month, Lucas Vázquez was also a victim, and on the same day, Isco and Zidane were robbed.
All detainees are of Albanian nationality and are accused of crimes of theft of inhabited housing, belonging to a criminal group, receipt of stolen material, theft of vehicles and documentary falsification. To perpetrate their crimes, they stole cars and changed their license plates, used transmission equipment and disguised themselves so as not to be recognised by identification cameras.
In addition to the four detainees, the Civil Guard believes that a fifth member could have fled to a country outside the jurisdiction of the European Union and is still on the loose. An international arrest warranthas been issued.