BURGLARS behind a crimewave on an urbanisation in Rincón de la Victoria (Málaga) used 'sleeping gas' on the occupants, say police.
At least six homes were broken into in the early hours of Friday morning on the Colinas de Procusan complex in the Cala del Moral area of the Costa del Sol seaside town.
Residents were unaware of what was happening until they woke up the next day feeling faint, dizzy and nauseous, with headaches and sore throats, and in some cases, vomiting.
Homeowner José Luis Gómez says the thieves must have been looking for cash, since they did not touch any of the laptops, cameras and other portable goods in the affected homes, but their owners found their purses, wallets and handbags in their gardens with all the money having been taken out.
He says the intruders took advantage of the fact that many residents had their windows open at night because of the hot weather.
Occupants are now very concerned about burglars using sleeping gas, since it can have harmful effects on children, the elderly and people with poor health.
Lorenzo Galdeano, a gardener on the estate, says the burglaries took place in five of the 24 blocks on the complex and always in first-floor apartments, “because the ground-floor flats have iron bars on the doors and windows.”
He adds that in some cases, the burglars took car keys, but changed their minds about stealing vehicles when they saw that the garages had CCTV cameras.
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