The ROCA Team of the Command of the Civil Guard of Las Palmas has arrested the employee of a security company for his alleged involvement in several crimes against property committed in different substations of the company Red Eléctrica de España S.A. In addition to a crime of document forgery, produced in different municipalities of Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura.
The investigation began months ago following a complaint filed by the aforementioned company, which reported the existence of unauthorized accesses to various substations since the month of August of the same year. The events affected facilities located in both, which evidenced the existence of "a repeated and planned criminal activity."
Following this complaint, the ROCA Team initiated a laborious investigation that included systematic controls in metal recovery centers in the province, as well as the analysis of security camera recordings. As a result, the alleged perpetrator of the events was identified and arrested, an employee of a subcontracted security company who, taking advantage of his access to the facilities, temporarily disconnected the video surveillance systems to steal metallic material that he subsequently sold in local scrap yards, thus obtaining an economic benefit.
The value of the stolen objects amounted to more than 67,700 euros
During the investigation it was possible to recover part of the stolen material. However, the rest could not be located, since, due to the time elapsed, it had followed the ordinary process of treatment and recycling in waste management. The total value of the stolen items, together with the damages caused, amounts to 67,795 euros.
Likewise, it was confirmed that the detainee would have used forged authorizations, endorsed with the seal of the security company for which he worked, with the purpose of concealing the true origin of the stolen material and facilitating its sale to metal waste managers.
The crimes committed affected critical electricity supply infrastructures, considered essential for the provision of services of general interest. This type of conduct can generate serious social alarm, especially if incidents had occurred in the electricity service. The action of the Civil Guard has made it possible to avoid more serious consequences and reaffirms its commitment to the protection of public heritage and the security of strategic infrastructures.