A burglary gang that targeted luxury properties in Madrid was busted by police in Spain on Wednesday. According to the news agency AFP, the burglars have targeted at least two top-tier La Liga players.
The Spanish police have arrested six suspects in connection with "eight house burglaries since July 2022", a police statement said, as reported by AFP. Real Madrid's Brazil winger Rodrygo and Colombia striker Radamel Falcao, who plays for rival Madrid team Rayo Vallecano, were among the players targeted by the gang.
The burglars studied the footballers' lives through photographs and videos posted by their friends and family from inside their homes on social media sites. This allowed them to select valuable objects. Social media posts also helped them determine "when the owners were not at home".
By visiting near their properties, they studied the types of security systems being used and scoped out the best way to get in. The incident that tipped off police to their activity took place in May 2023 in the northern suburb of Alcobendas, involving a theft mainly of luxury watches and jewellery worth some 500,000 euros ($550,000).