The Mossos d'Esquadra have arrested two men aged 58 and 42 as the alleged perpetrators of the burglary at the home of FC Barcelona goalkeeper Joan García in Baix Llobregat. The investigation links the group to surveillance at the homes of Jules Koundé and other break-ins in Peralada, Agullana, and Sant Pere de Ribes.
The central robbery unit of the criminal investigation division of the Mossos d'Esquadra has arrested two men aged 58 and 42, both with criminal records, for their alleged involvement in the assault on the home of FC Barcelona goalkeeper Joan García in a municipality in Baix Llobregat. The arrested individuals were remanded in custody after appearing before a judge.
The burglary occurred on January 10, while the 24-year-old goalkeeper was in Saudi Arabia with the team for the Supercopa de España. Around eight in the evening, Spanish time, the alarm went off at the home he shares with his partner, designer Anna Pesarrodona. Security cameras captured two individuals ransacking the property.
A patrol from the local police, another from the Mossos, and two security guards from the company contracted by the club for the safety of its players responded to the scene. A third individual, a woman, is also implicated in the investigation but was released as a suspect after appearing before the judge.
Investigators also attribute to the group the surveillance and preparations for an attempted burglary at the home of another Barça player, Jules Koundé, a robbery that they ultimately did not carry out. The police unit also links the suspects to other break-ins at exclusive homes in Peralada, Agullana, and Sant Pere de Ribes, where they were also detected while conducting surveillance.
At the head of the group, according to the investigation, is Arsim Blaku, an Albanian-Kosovar criminal with a long criminal history in Spain, particularly in Catalonia. His name surfaced in December 2006 as the alleged ringleader of the burglary at the Tous family's chalet in Sant Fruitós de Bages. That incident ended with the death of Gazmend Sinani, who was shot by Lluís Corominas, the son-in-law of the jeweller family, who was initially acquitted and in 2015 accepted a two-year sentence for manslaughter.
Blaku was accused of leading that burglary, and the prosecution sought seven years for him in 2011, although he was never tried and the case expired. In August 2015, he was involved in a wave of burglaries at chalets in the Girona region. During one of his escapes, he rammed a police vehicle and fled to France, but in November 2016 he was arrested again in Zaragoza. Prosecutor Víctor Pillado described him at that time as a "true property criminal."
"He was responsible for selecting targets and directing the prior surveillance work," according to sources from the investigation.
The group's modus operandi involved studying the movements of the owners for days, acting when the homes were empty, and disabling alarms and cameras. They exclusively sought cash, jewellery, and watches.
The most notable hit was that of Joan García, which occurred just days after the one suffered by brothers Pau and Irene Cubarsí at the house they share in another municipality in Baix Llobregat. The arrests, confirmed by police sources, represent a blow to a gang specialised in burglaries of footballers' homes. The arrested individuals remain in custody awaiting the continuation of the judicial investigation.
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