Palma garage break-ins: suspect held after 68 raids

A man is on remand after police linked him to up to 68 garage break-ins in Palma during August. The cases included forced entry into vehicles and storage rooms, as well as the theft of two cars. National Police officers arrested him on Friday 28 August.

The break-ins hit the Palma neighbourhoods of La Teulera, Cas Capiscol, Son Rapinya, Son Dameto and Alfonso el Magnánimo. Most happened at night, police said, with car windows smashed and doors to residents’ storage rooms forced open.

A trail of break-ins through August

On the 6th, ten vehicles were broken into. During the night of the 18th to the 19th, police recorded 15 vehicle break-ins and eight storage-room break-ins.

Between the 19th and the 30th, investigators counted another 15 vehicle break-ins, ten in storage rooms and the theft of a motorbike. In the early hours of 26 to 27 August, the suspect allegedly broke into eight more vehicles and stole a car after finding its owner’s key in another vehicle.

Officers at the National Police’s West station gathered the reports and concluded that the same person was likely behind the cases. Police said the man had no known address and had also operated in the Part Forana and beyond Mallorca. He had already been arrested in Manacor in mid-August over break-ins at two shared garages.

Police advice for garage users

The National Police says drivers should wait until a garage entrance gate has fully shut before moving on, to stop strangers getting inside. It also urges people to watch for suspicious people near entrances or inside garages and call 091 immediately if they spot anyone looking into vehicles or acting as if they are keeping watch.

Valuables, garage-door remote controls and spare vehicle keys should not be left in view inside cars, police said. Pedestrian doors should stay shut and locked, rather than being wedged or left permanently open.

Topics: Police · Palma · Manacor

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com