Recently, the National Police have arrested a total of 19 individuals belonging to a criminal organization dedicated to the fraudulent appropriation of homes through the crimes of document forgery, fraud, and money laundering.
Out of the detainees, two have been sent to prison. The operation also led to the seizure of forged documentation, electronic devices, and 40.77 kilograms of hashish, as reported by the security forces in a statement.
The investigation started after several victims reported the fraudulent occupation of their homes. The alleged perpetrators would change the locks and present fake documentation at notaries to simulate the sale of properties, registering them under their name and selling them to unsuspecting third parties.
The organization targeted properties in a state of abandonment or whose owners were elderly, deceased, or residing in other locations.
Through intermediaries with experience in the real estate sector, they would go to notaries to simulate sales transactions with forged contracts, creating a chain of transfers that made it difficult to detect the fraud.
MODUS OPERANDI
To give an appearance of legality, the organization used vulnerable individuals as supposed sellers or buyers, who would claim before a notary to have paid for the property in cash without providing any proof.
With these documents, they managed to register the property in the Property Registry and proceed with its sale.
It has been confirmed that the criminal organization illegally seized 18 properties in Tenerife, including a villa in an exclusive area of the capital. In one instance, they attempted to register the sale of a property for 120,000 euros, when its cadastral value was 1,378,001.48 euros, falsifying a contract in the name of a person who had been deceased for 40 years. The total value of the fraud amounts to 2,875,178 euros.
In February, a police operation was carried out with simultaneous raids in different locations: Santa Cruz de Tenerife, La Laguna, Arico, Granadilla de Abona, and Güimar.
During the raids, relevant documentation for the investigation, electronic devices, 40.77 kilograms of packaged hashish for distribution, and a precision scale used for weighing the drugs were seized.
The detainees were brought before the judicial authority, who ordered the imprisonment of two individuals.
The Territorial Management of the Cadastre of Santa Cruz de Tenerife collaborated in the investigation.
