Two Spanish nationals pleaded guilty to eight thefts from motor vehicles at the Magistrates’ Court yesterday.

The pair were arrested by the RGP after a call from a member of the public at 10pm last Tuesday evening, who reported that two men appeared to be tampering with vehicles in Vineyards Estate.

They were then seen to leave the area in a Spanish-registered car.

At 11pm that evening, Gibraltar Defence Police officers stopped the car in the area of British Lines Road, just as it was about to leave Gibraltar.

The two men were detained and the car was searched, and found to contain various items suspected of having been stolen from other motor vehicles found inside the car.

Amongst the items found were a logbook and ignition key of a motorcycle that was reported stolen from Naval Hospital Hill that same morning. It was later found nearby, with various items missing from the storage compartment.

The car’s occupants, Carlos MARTIN SALAS, 18, and Alvaro David REYES SALAS,18, who are both resident in La Linea, were then arrested by RGP officers on suspicion of a number of theft-related offences and taken to New Mole House.

An investigation by detectives in the Criminal Investigation Department then found that they had been communicating via mobile phones and engaging in the sale of items they had stolen from vehicles in Gibraltar, to others in Spain. On their phones were numerous images of motorcycle helmets.

They were then interviewed under caution, where they admitted to having come to Gibraltar for the purpose of stealing motor vehicles on multiple dates.

Later that same evening, they were charged with eight counts of Theft.

Following their guilty pleas at Magistrates’ Court yesterday, both were bailed until February 17, pending a pre-sentence report and a £2,000 cash deposit each.

Enquiries are ongoing into other thefts from motor vehicles in recent weeks.