The Spanish police announced this Tuesday that they dismantled and arrested five members of a cell of the criminal gang of Venezuelan origin Tren de Aragua who committed violent robberies in homes in the European country.
The suspects carried out a “prior study of the victims,” mainly “people with high purchasing power,” the National Police said in a statement.
Then, They accosted them near their homes, forcing them to return to them, “they gagged them and tied their hands and feet with zip ties and adhesive tape and later coerced and threatened them.” with firearms” to hand over the valuables, said the press release reviewed by AFP.
On one occasion, they carried a loot of watches and jewelry valued at more than 100,000 euros and 10,000 euros in cash from a house in a luxury development near the city of León, in the northwest, where they acted with “particular violence and intimidation against the residents,” including minors, the police explained.
The five detainees are accused of belonging to a criminal organization, robbery with violence and intimidation and illicit possession of weapons, among other crimes, said the authorities, who added that four of them were remanded in preventive detention.
The activities of the criminal gang Tren de Aragua, born within the Venezuelan prison known as Tocorón and with a presence in several Latin American countries, have been increasing in Spain, where the police have a group dedicated to the fight against the organization.
The police have arrested around twenty members of the band in Spain, considered “terrorist” by the United States.
