Thieves on the Costa del Sol are increasingly entering cars to steal valuable items without leaving a trace of evidence.
They are able to do this thanks to so-called signal jammers, which are remote-control devices small enough to fit in the palm of a hand.
A 32-year-old man is the latest to be caught with such technology, after allegedly raiding a string of cars in Malaga’s historic centre.
According to the Policia Nacional, the suspect targeted public car parks close to hotels, focusing on holidaymakers who had left their vehicles while sightseeing.
The investigation began after multiple tourists reported returning to their cars to find valuable belongings missing, despite having locked the vehicles correctly.
Officers noted that none of the affected cars showed any signs of forced entry. Stolen items included high-value personal belongings, luggage and other travel essentials.
Police believe the man watched victims as they loaded their bags into their vehicles, then used the device to block the signal from their keys, meaning when they pressed the ‘lock’ button, the car’s central locking system did not engage.
Once the tourists walked away, he allegedly helped himself to whatever was inside.
CCTV footage from the affected car parks, along with additional enquiries, led investigators to identify the suspect, who it later emerged was already banned from entering Malaga province.
A surveillance operation was set up, and officers arrested him as he was leaving one of the car parks where several of the thefts had taken place.
He was found carrying the signal-jamming remote used to disable the locking systems.
Police also discovered he had been driving without a valid licence.
The man has now been brought before the courts and is being investigated for five counts of theft from vehicles, one offence of breaching a court order, and a road-safety offence for driving without the appropriate permit.
Read more Costa del Crime news at the Spanish Eye.
