LISBON, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- Portuguese Police of Public Securtiy (PSP) detained three men suspected of belonging to a group that was involved in the theft of car wheels in the Lisbon metropolitan area, police said on Monday.

Commander of the Division of Criminal Investigation of PSP Lisbon Resende da Silva said that the men, aged between 21 and 27 years, were intercepted last Tuesday in Lisbon, after having stolen the wheels of two vehicles in Almada.

The police officer said that these men are suspected of belonging to a group that had spent several months stealing tires and wheels in Lisbon and in the peripheral areas.

"They had some practice already, and in 10 or 15 minutes they were able to remove all the wheels to a car and leave it sitting on blocks, in some situations causing damage to these vehicles," he said.

The officer said that in addition to the arrest of these three suspects, the authorities carried out investigations in warehouses, workshops, garages and car stands in the north and south of the Tagus river and managed to seize and recover 52 wheels, belonging to vehicles of various models, mostly Mercedes, BMW and Renault.

The authorities estimated that the total amount of these thefts and damages caused amounts to 120,000 euros.

The three suspects were sent to court and have already been indicted for 14 crimes.