The Guardia Civil has successfully dismantled a criminal group involved in the theft of telephone lines in Asturias and Cantabria. Known as ‘YAQUEDO’, the operation led to the arrest of six individuals, including five men and one woman aged between twenty nine and fifty one. The gang is believed to have stolen fifty three thousand metres of cable, resulting in an estimated economic loss of three hundred and eighty seven thousand euros for the affected areas.

During the investigation, authorities recovered over one thousand one hundred kilos of cable and clarified thirty seven criminal acts associated with the thefts. Most incidents occurred across various areas and localities in Cantabria, with significant impact on municipalities in the Valle del Medio Pas, Pisueña, and Campoo.

The investigation commenced in late twenty twenty four due to a series of copper cable thefts affecting low population density regions. These crimes continued throughout twenty twenty five, leading to residents in certain areas losing their telephone service due to the theft of cables from phone poles.

Three of the arrested individuals had previously faced charges in November twenty twenty four for similar offences, having stolen nearly two thousand metres of telephone cable at a cost of approximately twenty thousand euros to the affected company. Authorities have also investigated three additional men linked to recycling businesses in Vizcaya and Cantabria for potential involvement in these crimes.