Stolen agricultural goods have recently been recovered by the Guardia Civil to the value of € 50,000.

The goods were confiscated as part of a police operation which concentrated on identifying a gang who were dedicated to stealing from farms, agricultural centres and local parks and gardens and as a result of arrests made the Court of Instruction No. 1 of Berja, last week, has sentenced five of the eight gang members arrested to imprisonment. Operation Spargeré was the code name of the action, in which the Civil Guard dismantled a gang dedicated to stealing and receivingagricultural equipment along the entire Almeria coastline. The Civil Guard Commander said that the detainees, all Romanian, have been charged with the crimes of conspiracy and the continuing offense of theft. In total they are thought to have been responsible for up to 20 acts of burglary committed in municipalities west of Almeria and Nijar. Among those arrested is a man whose family runs a catering establishment that bought all of the stolen tobacco and alcohol. They are charged with the offense of receiving stolen goods. The investigation began in the middle of February, following a spate of thefts from farms and transport companies. They included agricultural machinery and diesel trucks which were stolen from their company car parks. Once they had gathered enough evidence, the Civil Guard Operation Spargeré which involved about 50 officers, was activated early in the morning when they simultaneously swooped on five homes in the towns of Almeria, Roquetas de Mar and Adra. The operation saw them making seven arrests whilst, at the same time, they were able to recover stolen goods worth close to 50,000 euros. Among the goods seized were several LCD TVs, laptops, printers, multifunction devices, cash registers, vehicle catalysts, numerous tools, drills, grinders, cleaners, trimmers, plaster mixers - projectors, home appliances, 400 packs of cigarettes. Between them the prisoners have a history and more than thirty prior arrests for crimes against property. The investigation remains open and a spokesman said he had not ruled out further charges or arrests. The arrests are the result of the constant activity by the Civil Guard in the investigation of organized groups who are engaged in crimes against property, specialising in the commission of robberies in agricultural and public facilities.