SUR
The Guardia Civil has arrested three men in Malaga province for their alleged involvement in the theft of four high-tech navigation screens from a Superpuma helicopter assigned to the Infoca regional forest fire response service. The stolen aviation equipment is valued at 1.2 million euros.
The investigation, dubbed Operation Heliplay, began in 2024 after the aviation company operating the aircraft reported the theft of the specialised navigation devices.
Shortly after the break-in, company executives began receiving extortion messages demanding cash payments in exchange for the safe return of the equipment. According to investigators, the requested ransom amounts were substantially lower than the market value of the stolen hardware.
Search operations in Malaga and Cordoba lead to arrests
Guardia Civil officers traced the extortion communications to two primary suspects: a former commercial helicopter pilot and an active aviation mechanic working at the time of the theft.
Investigators subsequently identified a third accomplice - a security guard tasked with hiding and guarding the stolen hardware.
During search operations across properties in Malaga and Cordoba provinces, officers seized computer hardware, mobile phones and SIM cards used to execute the extortion scheme.
Officers located the missing navigation screens at a property in Adamuz, Cordoba, where the third suspect was arrested and the equipment was recovered intact.
The operation was conducted by the Property Crimes Unit of the Guardia Civil Judicial Police Command in Malaga.