The Police Headquarters said in a statement that an off-duty National Police officer in Elche stopped a robbery of a 77-year-old man using the “affectionate theft” method by holding three people, two men and a woman, aged 34 to 41, until a uniformed unit arrived.
The victim left his house, and a car pulled up next to him. There were two males and a woman inside. One of them asked him how to get to a cheap restaurant, which seemed like a way to get his attention. Then, one of the men asked him about the gold chain he was wearing and said he wanted to buy it as a gift for a family member. He also showed him a wallet with a lot of cash in it.
At the same time, the man stepped out of the car and walked up to the victim, who started to feel someone touch his neck. The old man noticed a neighbour coming up to him at that moment. He recognised him as a national police officer and waved him over.
The officer, who was not on duty, went to where his neighbour was and told him he was a police officer. He could see that one of the men was holding a gold necklace that the victim recognised as his own, and it was worth approximately a thousand euros.
The officer called for help from other units on duty while holding these three people in the car. They were later apprehended as suspects in a theft.
The police investigation was finished, and the three individuals who were arrested, all of whom had criminal records, were taken to the Elche investigative courts.
