highly-organised gang who specialised in night-time burglaries while their victims were sleeping in their beds have been arrested.The Eastern European delinquents were based in a residential complex in Orihuela Costa.
They are known to have committed at least 20 break-ins in the provinces of Alicante, Murcia and Málaga.
The thieves used cars stolen in previous burglaries to carry out future assaults.
A special organised crime squad from the National Police had been tracking the gang since November, 2006 but the criminals, originally from Albania, got wind of the investigation and evacuated their Orihuela Costa home, escaping to Torrequebrada in Málaga.However the officers were able to follow and arrest four members of the gang.
Two of the men from Albania are suspected of carrying out the burglaries and two Spaniards are accused of giving them logistical help and fencing stolen property.
Police suspect there are other members of the gang at large who have not yet been identified.Officers discovered that the burglars had been sending large sums of money to Albania along with other stolen goods by post.
They also found an underground bunker used by the thieves to hide the booty they stole during the break-ins.Following the arrests officers raided two properties in Torrevieja and another in Torrequebrada, seizing a hoard of jewellery, eight designer watches, two televisions, cameras and other objects.