For the second time so far this year, the Guardia Civil has been forced to set up a special unit to try and combat a spate of robberies occurring in various, often isolated dwellings throughout the Axarquia. In Alcaucín alone there have been twenty burglaries in the past month.
This is the second wave of robberies in Alcuacín, with more than thirty having taken place between December 2012 and February 2013. Most robberies on this occasion took place at premises owned by foreigners and only used periodically.
In the new wave of robberies, there have even been instances of theft while the owners were inside the property.
Many of the targeted properties are in isolated areas, making it very difficult to provide adequate policing on a regular basis. The areas most affected by this surge in crime are Alcaucín, Puente Don Manuel, La Viñuela, Canillas de Aceituno, Periana and the coastal areas of Vélez-Málaga.
In many cases the thieves only take gold and other valuable items, in others there has been much destruction of property. Alcaucín has an estimated 1,800 buildings on rural land, many of them totally isolated.