Four people have been arrested in Alicante by the National Police for allegedly stealing a tourist’s mobile phone using pickpocketing techniques. Three suspects were caught red-handed, while a fourth, suspected of acting as a lookout, was apprehended several days later.
The suspects comprise two men and two women aged between nineteen and thirty-nine. Investigators believe they formed a travelling group of thieves originating from Bosnia, specialising in thefts across tourist hotspots along the Mediterranean coast.
The investigation commenced when plainclothes officers from the Central District Police Station spotted four individuals observing pedestrian crowds on a central street in Alicante. Suspicious of their actions, the officers initiated discreet surveillance.
According to police findings, the group targeted a walking couple. One individual acted as a lookout, two others formed a human screen behind the victims, and one of the women extracted the mobile phone from the tourist’s bag unnoticed.
Officers intervened straight away, recovered the stolen device, and detained three of the suspects. The fourth person escaped before being caught, prompting police to establish a targeted search operation that led to his arrest near the Alicante train station days later.
Further enquiries indicate the suspects travelled frequently between various tourist towns to target foreign visitors. Two members of the group had been spotted earlier that same morning in Benidorm, highlighting their mobility. Authorities also connect them to other networks employing similar methods across Spain.
All four detainees have appeared before the duty judge in Alicante to face allegations of theft.
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