Alessandria: gangs of burglars defeated by the Carabinieri. Disconnected from each other, they struck simultaneously between Valenza, Bassignana, Pecetto and Quargnento
The Carabinieri arrested members of several gangs of burglars who, in recent days, robbed several homes between Valenza, Bassignana, Pecetto and Quargnento.
Alessandria: gangs of burglars defeated by the Carabinieri. Disconnected from each other, they struck simultaneously between Valenza, Bassignana, Pecetto and Quargnento
It is eight o'clock in the evening and the Carabinieri patrol has just finished the last of two inspections of a home burglary committed shortly before, when a report arrives regarding the presence of suspicious persons in the Rivarone area. At that very moment, along the Provincial Road between Valenza and Bassignana, The Carabinieri notice a black car with a large engine that, in the wake of the patrol, makes two laps on a roundabout and takes the road to the centre of Valenza at high speed. The Carabinieri started chasing the car, activating the lights and sound devices to order the driver to STOP, who instead fled, taking another roundabout in the wrong direction.
The Carabinieri of Valenza engage in a tight chase, but the criminals have no scruples and cut them off, they hit and damaged the Gazzella, endangering the safety of the Carabinieri, who fortunately did not suffer any injuries.
The chase continues in a dramatic fashion until Pecetto di Valenza, where the alleys become narrow, then again on a wider road, made slippery by the low temperatures and humidity: due to the high speed, the fleeing car skids and ends up against a fence. The doors open, the occupants jump out and run away on foot in three different directions. The Carabinieri focus on one of them, who is promptly stopped as he tries to climb over a gate. The man is wearing a balaclava and has with him pliers, a flashlight and a two-way radio.
Numerous burglary tools were found on the car, including a demolition hammer, pickaxes and flexible hoses. Further investigations revealed that the license plate installed on the car was counterfeit. The man, a 32-year-old, was arrested and transferred to the Alessandria prison awaiting trial.
Twenty-four hours pass and an operation by the Carabinieri of the Operations Section of the Alessandria Company, with the support of their colleagues from San Salvatore, Valenza and Solero, puts an end to the criminal activity of another gang.
The investigations began a few days earlier, after a failed robbery at a home in Quargnento. The Carabinieri discovered that the gang was using a rental car, the same one that was reported in the vicinity of other homes where thefts had been committed, between Quargnento, Bassignana and Pecetto di Valenza. Not only that, to avoid being too conspicuous, the gang frequently changes cars with other rentals, moves in the late afternoon, taking advantage of the darkness to avoid being spotted near the targets. The homes are chosen among the most isolated and reachable on foot through agricultural land, a technique to elude police checks as much as possible, while the driver remains in the area with the car, moving frequently to avoid arousing suspicion, ready to escape.
However, all this was not enough to escape the operation of the Carabinieri who, after having monitored the movements, habits and modus operandi for days, organized the capture of the four members of the gang.
The Carabinieri station themselves near a house that the thieves use in San Salvatore and, having spotted the criminals' car returning, wait for them to get out and enter the house to start the operation. The driver, left alone, is stopped first, despite a vain attempt to escape on foot and to resist arrest with force, while other Carabinieri enter the apartment and arrest the other three criminals despite their resistance.
The car contained burglary tools and a radio for communicating with accomplices, while a large quantity of stolen goods was found in the house.
All the members of the gang were arrested for resisting a public official and reported for receiving stolen goods and carrying objects capable of causing offence. Following the validation of the arrest, the GIP of the Court of Alessandria applies the measure of the ban on residence in the province to the four, a 27-year-old, a 30-year-old, a 32-year-old and a 39-year-old.
Reproduction reserved © Copyright La Milano