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Residents in Alhaurín de la Torre in Malaga province's Guadalhorce valley are on high state of alert following a spate of burglaries in the El Romeral neighbourhood.
SUR can confirm thieves have broken into nine houses in the Huertas del Romeral residential estate in the past two weeks, as well as four other properties in Lagar de las Pitas, which happened last Friday night.
The thieves, according to victims, are committing the burglaries at night and gaining access to homes by breaking fences and discovering open windows. Some have even had their locks broken. Once inside the property, they jump fences going from one house to the next.
On the night of Friday 27 September, at least four houses in Lagar de las Pitas were broken into where Alba* (fictitious name to protect identity) was one of the victims. "We raised the alarm at around 11pm," said the resident, who reported the incident to Guardia Civil the next day where she met residents of three other properties.
"They broke into two other houses and tried to break into another one, but there was a woman with her child and she started screaming, which seems to have scared them off," Alba said. Security cameras at Alba's property captured how two hooded men entered the house wearing gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints. Residents in this part of the neighbourhood have now created a WhatsApp group to keep each other informed.
Meanwhile, in the case of the Huertas del Romeral housing estate, the first burglaries took place overnight on 12 September and 13 September, according to Mario*, one of the victims. "There wasn't a single drawer left that they didn't throw on the floor, they went with the intention of plundering," he said. The resident pointed out that this is his second home, so he did not keep any valuable belongings in the house, although thieves, after turning the house upside down, fled with some cash.
He found out about the robbery the next day, after receiving a call from his neighbour, who was also robbed. "That night they went through three houses," Mario said. "The worst thing is the worry, you don't know how you're going to find the house," he added.
Meanwhile, in the case of Juan*, another victim, the burglary took less time than the length of a dinner party. He and his wife had gone out to a restaurant with some friends and when they returned, they were unpleasantly surprised. "We found the house a mess, it looked like a hurricane had hit," he said.
When he was about to enter his property that night, he realised something was wrong as the gate would not open with the remote control. "I got out of the car and saw that the gate had been smashed," he said. At that moment, a Guardia Civil patrol passing through the area checked the entrance before inspecting the property, which they found with the gate open and the lights on.
"What we saw when we entered was saddening, all the drawers were open and everything was thrown on the floor," Juan said. What hurt him most, he said, is that the thieves got away with several family heirlooms, whose sentimental value, he added, is incalculable. The heirlooms included a watch that belonged to his grandfather and chains that belonged to his aunts. The thieves also found money that his wife had saved in the hope of buying a sewing machine.
President of the community, Manuel Hinojosa, said the robberies are causing residents to feel worried, since in addition to the nine robberies, there have been nine attempted.
Police sources said an investigation has been launched following the spate of incidents. According to these sources, several complaints have been received in recent days. Residents are requesting meetings with Alhaurín de la Torre town hall to demand more police presence in the Romeral area, as well as to improve the lighting in the neighbourhood.
* All victims' names are fictitious in order to protect their identities.
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