The Guardia Civil has arrested three individuals, dismantling a criminal group dedicated to violent robberies and intimidation through the use of the mataleón method, robberies inside inhabited houses, and other crimes against property.
This investigation began with a complaint filed by a 42-year-old man at the Illescas Main Police Station at the end of January 2025. The victim reported being a victim of a violent robbery using the mataleón method, in which several individuals were involved. In the criminal sphere, the mataleón technique is used by street assailants to quickly immobilize or render their victims unconscious, steal their belongings, and flee before the victim regains consciousness, as stated by the Armed Institute in a press release.
Taking charge of the investigation, the Illescas Investigation Area managed to identify a vehicle possibly linked to the incidents, which was later located where the stolen cards were used, leading to the opening of a primary line of investigation.
This ultimately led to the identification of a criminal group consisting of four members, one woman, and three men, all with multiple previous offenses of a similar nature to those being investigated.
Once the focus was on this group, two more violent robberies using the mataleón method were identified in the days following the initial criminal incident, all carried out in the early hours near nightlife venues in the towns of Illescas and Pinto (M).
Furthermore, during the same period, there was a rise in burglaries in inhabited houses and a significant increase in vehicle break-ins in municipalities near Illescas. Through joint investigations by the Roca Team and the Illescas Main Police Station Investigation Area, one of the group members was apprehended in Illescas.
Regarding the stolen items, they were mostly taken from inside vehicles and consisted of easily marketable items with low traceability, making it challenging to locate and link them to the criminal activities.
After active operational efforts by investigators, two more targets of the operation were located in the province of Málaga, hiding in a campsite in Marbella (Ma) that was hard to access and monitor. Both individuals were arrested as they tried to leave without disclosing their next location, adding to the difficulty of a subsequent location.
Following the police operations, the detainees were handed over to the Marbella (Ma) Court of Investigation, which ultimately ordered their imprisonment.
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