TWO men who robbed 35 homes in April and May have been jailed by an Alicante court.

The burglars aged 36 and 37 plundered items worth around €200,000 including jewellery, watches, perfumes, electronic devices and cash during their crime spree.

On two occasions they fled police checkpoints putting other motorists at risk.

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The Guardia Civil arrested the men in Alicante City with authorities revealing the duo had a criminal record for burglary.

Their nationalities have not been revealed.

Though based in Alicante, the men travelled up and down the Costa Blanca to carry out robberies in tourist areas including the Orihuela Costa, Rojales, Sant Joan d’Alacant and Javea.

They also went over the border to Los Alcazares in Murcia.

An operation to catch them started after a spike in home burglaries on the Orihuela Costa.

They always struck during the evening and in the early hours of the morning, when properties were empty.

Homes in residential areas were targeted and the thieves would get in by forcing doors or windows, or even climbing to a window that was left open on a top floor.

They rummaged through belongings going for high-value items as well as cash with each break-in seeing goods taken worth several thousand euros.

Several homes were robbed on the same day- sometimes in different towns- and they switched cars to try to throw police off their trail.

The Guardia Civil investigation gathered enough evidence to identify the two men and surveillance plus checkpoints were tightened up in areas that were being looted.

On two occasions, the Guardia and the Orihuela Costa Policia Local tried unsuccessfully to stop their car which sped off dangerously.

That resulted in two counts of reckless driving being added to their charge docket along with the 35 home robberies.

ALICANTE City Council has warned about a spate of fake parking tickets being plastered on cars in the Central Market area.

Around 30 bogus tickets have been found so far, demanding a €140 payment- with a 50% discount for prompt payment.

The tickets have the council name and that of the DGT traffic authority on the top.

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The scam also features a QR code which the council says that nobody should scan under any circumstance.

The code is linked to fraudulent websites that are trying to get personal information including bank details.

The Policia Nacional is investigating the origin of the con.

Alicante’s Policia Local says an official ticket has a totally different design called ‘Complaint Bulletin’ with the Alicante City Council logo at the top

It does not have a QR code but instead a barcode with a reference number.

The fakes have been found on Calles Poeta Quintana, Manuel Anton, Campos Vasallo, Belando, Capitan Segarra and San Juan Bosco.

Authorities are not ruling out more bogus tickets being in circulation.

A ROMANIAN couple have been arrested in Denia after stealing bank cards from elderly people and clocking up transactions of €10,853.

The Policia Nacional said there were five victims aged between 64 and 88 years.

The man, 31, and woman, 36, operated in shopping malls in Alzira, Benidorm, Denia and Alicante.

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They picked their targets inside stores and looked for people making purchases of over €50 which meant they had to input their card PIN number at a terminal.

One of the duo would sneak up next to the terminal without attracting suspicion and memorise the secret number.

They then followed their victim and set up a distraction to steal their wallet.

With the bank card in their possession and knowing the PIN, they made cash withdrawals at ATMs and purchases of gift cards or high-value products in different stores.

They travelled to shopping areas in rental vehicles, making it difficult to identify and find them.

The Policia Nacional launched a special operation to catch the couple and found their latest rental car close to a Denia shopping area.

They were intercepted and arrested as they hastily left the mall.

Among their belongings was a recently stolen bank card, around €1,000 in cash, gift cards from various shops and clothes they used to change their appearance.

Officers said the detainees acted with skill and coordination, entering shops in broad daylight, and occasionally splitting up so as not to arouse suspicion as they chose especially vulnerable victims.

The couple had no criminal record.