Serbians Among Five Arrested in Spain Over 52 Heists

Spain’s Civil Guard has arrested five people over a string of break-ins at bank branches and gaming arcades in the southeast of the country. Those held are Serbian and Spanish nationals, aged 39 to 52. The Civil Guard command in Albacete announced on August 5, 2026, that the arrests closed out an investigation codenamed Operation Otelo.

The group is accused of 52 criminal offenses across nine provinces. Investigators say the organization was based in the Murcia region, with the provinces where it is suspected of operating forming a band around that base, stretching from Almeria in the south to Valencia in the east.

It all started with a safe in Ontur

The investigation opened in March 2026, after a break-in at a bank branch in the town of Ontur, in Albacete province. The perpetrators forced the entrance, used hydraulic tools to rip the safe out of its housing, loaded it into a high end car fitted with fake plates, and made off with more than 66,000 euros.

That case gave investigators their first lead. Five months passed between the Ontur break-in and the arrests, the time it took the Civil Guard to link a series of crimes across the southeast to a single group and track down the locations it used.

How the group allegedly operated

According to the statement, the suspects arrived fully masked, in hoods and gloves and dark clothing, to avoid leaving traces. They used previously stolen high end vehicles fitted with forged plates or plates taken from other cars.

They had two types of targets: safes inside bank branches and cash exchange machines in gaming arcades. They forced their way in, then either cracked the safes on site with hydraulic tools or tore them from their housing. When the weight allowed it, they hauled the whole safe to a secluded spot and broke into it there, undisturbed.

The Civil Guard says the group did not operate haphazardly.

“The organization had a perfectly defined structure and a clear division of roles among its members,” the Albacete command said in its statement.

What six raids turned up

Six raids carried out in the closing phase of the operation turned up:

• more than 34,000 euros in cash, from the most recent break-in attributed to the suspects
• two high end vehicles used in the crimes
• three forged driver’s licenses bearing photos of some of those arrested
• walkie talkies and frequency jammers
• hydraulic tools and protective gear, including gloves, balaclavas, and headlamps

How many offenses are attributed to the group, and where?

The 52 offenses break down as follows: 11 break-ins at bank branches, seven completed and four attempted; 15 break-ins at casinos and gaming arcades, nine completed and six attempted; two break-ins at car dealerships; two vehicle thefts; six license plate thefts; 15 counts of document forgery; and one count of forming a criminal organization.

Of the 26 break-ins targeting banks and gaming arcades, ten stopped at the attempt stage. Roughly one target in four held.

By province, Albacete carries the most cases, 12 in total. Almeria follows with 11, Granada with seven, Alicante with six, Cuenca with five, then Jaén and Murcia with three each. Ciudad Real and Valencia have two cases each.

All five suspects ordered held in custody

The court in Hellín, in Albacete province, which is coordinating proceedings in the case, has ordered all five suspects held in pretrial detention. The case is being handled by the Civil Guard’s Criminal Police Unit in Albacete, with support from the same command’s citizen security unit.

The suspects face charges of aggravated theft, vehicle theft, license plate theft, document forgery, damage to property, and membership in a criminal organization. Guilt will be determined in court, and the sheer number of offenses charged means the case will move through several judicial jurisdictions, since the crimes were committed across nine provinces.