British robber seized at airport

43-year-old man is accused of robberies in Benidorm and on the Costa del Sol

NATIONAL Police have arrested a 43-year-old British man allegedly involved in two robberies in Mijas (Málaga) and Benidorm thanks to an operation carried out at AlicanteElche airport recently.

Police have this week released information about their ‘Operation Mechanic’ police investigation, during which a second person was also identified but has not yet been arrested.

'Operation Mechanic' was initiated at 10.30 on March 27, when the 091 emergency call centre informed police about a vehicle that had avoided a Guardia Civil traffic checkpoint on the A-7 motorway in Cádiz. The car on seeking the checkpoint turned round and took off in the wrong direction down the A7 heading towards Algeciras.

The car was later found abandoned in the area of Nagüeles. At first sight, the car contained a cash register and coins were scattered on the seat.

At that moment, both Guardia Civil and local police officers were attempting to find the vehicle’s occupants.

When a full search was done on the car, officers found garments and tools used to commit robberies such as gloves, balaclavas, false licence plates, crowbars, axes, hammers, pliers, screwdrivers and cold chisels. They also found several expensive looking watches of well-known makes which turned out to be fake, as well as many documents.

After checking out the car and the documents and personal effects, investigators found that the documents were connected to two violent robberies – one carried out at a Benidorm home. Here two men wearing hoods broke in to the property and robbed the owner, who was alone at home, taking €4,000 and her handbag with her personal effects.

They then locked her in a bathroom, where her husband found her when he returned home an hour later.

The second robbery took place on February 17 on a street in Mijas (Málaga). A resident was assaulted by two men who walked up to him and then beat him, taking his personal effects.

Officers also discovered that the car was a rental that had been hired by a 43-year-old British man who was travelling with a fellow Brit.

As a result of all the information received, officers reached the conclusion that both men had participated in both robberies, so less than 24hours after initiating their investigation, the man who hired the car was located and arrested at Alicante-Elche airport when he was trying to fly back to the UK.