The Guardia Civil in Málaga has carried out a number of raids throughout the province, most notably in Mijas and Fuengirola, which have resulted in the arrest of thirteen people connected with armed robberies on homes along the Costa del Sol.
The thirteen detainees are made up of 7 Spaniards, 2 Moroccans, 1 Briton, 1 Belgian, 1 Argentinian and 1 Colombian. During an operation codenamed ‘Ronin’, the police raided sixteen homes in the province and seized a large number of items.
Amongst the items seized were 7 handguns, 1 Kalashnikov assault rifle, 2 hunting rifles, 2 machetes, 22 grams of cocaine, 200 grams of hashish, €5,000 in cash, ammunition and numerous items of clothing and equipment used for the purpose of robbing houses.
The hunting rifles were found to have been stolen in Madrid but it is thought that the handguns came from abroad as they were of a calibre, 8mm, not usually found in Spain.
The gang, highly organised in almost military fashion, have so far been connected to 30 violent robberies along the Costa del Sol. Although they threatened violence if their victims refused to cooperate, there were no actual serious injuries as a result of their crimes.
Operation ‘Ronin’ began back in January 2009.