The Mossos d'Esquadra have arrested in Barcelona a young man of 18 years old as alleged perpetrator of a crime of receiving stolen goods linked to several mobile phone robberies by snatching on the street. The arrest was carried out during a surveillance operation on a stolen motorcycle that, allegedly, was used to commit these assaults in the Verneda area.
The investigation places the suspect approaching the victims aboard that motorcycle, snatching their phone, and fleeing at high speed. Police action focused on that vehicle after detecting its possible relation to several reported incidents in the Sant Martí district.
Surveillance on a stolen motorcycle in La Verneda
The agents of the Sant Martí Citizen Security Unit located the motorcycle and identified its driver when he was riding without a helmet through Barcelona. The coincidence between the descriptions provided by different victims proved key to closing in on the alleged perpetrator.
Also decisive was the complaint filed by a victim whose mobile had just been stolen with the same procedure. That new case reinforced the line of investigation opened by the Mossos and allowed to more directly link the suspect with the robberies.
The geolocation of a mobile allowed to locate him
One of the stolen phones was still on and its geolocation allowed the agents to pinpoint a specific point where the device could be found. The police officers moved to that location, where they located the suspect and proceeded to his arrest.
In the intervention, the Mossos recovered five mobile phones and the stolen motorcycle that was allegedly used to commit the snatches. The arrested young man accumulates more than eight police records, mainly for robberies with violence and intimidation, damages, and robberies or thefts of vehicles.
The detainee was brought before the court the day after the arrest, while the investigation remains open to clarify his possible connection with other robberies committed with the same modus operandi in Barcelona.