An alarm has sounded in its beginnings Catalonia the new method they apply bandits to grab bags, money and other valuables from the cabins of cars. The police of the autonomous province of Spain, “Mossos d’ Esquadra” called it the method “punch tires”.
According to the police, the phenomenon is seasonal, that is, they take advantage of the exits from the cities during the summer months and the increased traffic at the stations tolls of Catalonia. Then, they say, the “Mossos d’ Esquadra”, vehicles become targets and the gangs choose the highways as their place of action.
In the video they published, which contains excerpts from various thefts, the method is recorded and in this way they wanted to warn drivers and passengers to be more careful.
Els lladres també aprofiten els peatges per robar-te. Vigila el teu entron quan t’aturis
Thieves also take advantage of motorway tolls. Keep an eye on your surroundings when you stop #Mossos4Safety pic.twitter.com/DPTisYj4Pg
— Mossos (@mossos) July 18, 2023
It all starts with tolls
The gang activity, as the images published by the Catalan police show, begins at the toll road and ends a few kilometers down the road. They “stick” their vehicle behind a car in front that has approached a passing lane with a self-checkout, and then a passenger quickly gets out of the car and removes the valve from the rear right tire.
A few kilometers down the road, the driver of the target vehicle will notice a tire problem and pull over to a safe spot to check what’s going on. Then the gang members appear, offering to help the driver with the flat tire. And while he is occupied, another member enters the vehicle and snatches valuables such as mobiles and bags and then disappears before the victim realizes anything.
According to the figures of the Police Directorate of Catalonia, around 3,500 incidents of theft on motorways were reported in 2022 alone, with the vast majority of these taking place through the method of distracting drivers, such as what the authorities call “flat tires”.
Source: News Beast

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