A 42-year-old maintenance man from CEIP Orobal, a public school in the Gran Canarian town of Arucas, has been arrested, accused of stealing valuable IT equipment, including eight laptops, four tablets, and a projector, and selling them in shops across the island's capital for almost a year.
The laptops, each valued at €600, were part of a larger haul that was uncovered when the school's secretary reported a theft on April 10th. The exact timing of the thefts was initially unclear, as the disappearance was only noticed when an attempt was made to replace four missing laptops in the school's computer room.
Further investigation revealed that additional devices were missing from their original storage boxes in the school's inventory.
Investigators quickly determined that there had been no forced entry into the school, the computer room, or the storage area, leading them to conclude that the perpetrator had unrestricted access to these areas and that it was an “inside” job.
This was confirmed as the investigation traced the missing devices to second-hand shops in Las Palmas, matching the serial numbers to those on the inventory records from the school.
The arrest of the suspect on April 29th led to the recovery of some of the stolen equipment, which has since been returned to the school. The Guardia Civil has noted that security measures at the school have been strengthened to prevent future incidents.
