More huggermuggers apprehended
Suspects were wanted by other courts around Spain
NATIONAL Police have arrested two people in Yecla (Murcia) – which is close to Villena and the Alicante province border – for a series of thefts committed by distracting victims ‘with extravagant displays of affection’ in the street.
Several members of the public, principally senior citizens, had reported falling victim to robberies like these, a police spokesman explained.
The victims said they had been approached by a person who asked them a seemingly innocent question – such as where was the medical centre, the name of a street, or if they knew of anyone who needed a carer, then thanked them with a handshake or a hug, stealing their wallet, jewellery or watch in the process.
The police set up a special operation to try and catch those responsible, and the suspects, a man aged 29 and a woman, 26, both Romanian nationals, were apprehended when they were about to strike again on a street in the town centre, according to the spokesman.
He noted that robberies like these are committed by two or three people who belong to a larger group which moves all around the country, carrying out a certain number of thefts in one area before moving on to another, to make it harder for law enforcement to catch them.
There is always a possibility they might use force if they are unable to steal the belongings unnoticed using their skill alone, he warned.
Sometimes they even offer
sexual favours to older people, and they usually prey on elderly people who are less likely to be able to defend themselves or to recognise their assailant afterwards.
These two suspects already had police records and arrest warrants in various other cities, including Madrid, Valencia and Málaga, and a court in Yecla ordered them to be subject to ‘the appropriate precautionary measures’, the spokesman added.