Arrest in Alicante of a Violent Mobile Phone Thief Who Used Them for Shopping Sprees in Amsterdam

A 22-year-old Spanish man has been arrested while walking in Alicante. National Police officers managed to catch him, being a fugitive from Dutch justice facing 12 years in prison for theft and fraud offences.

The alleged perpetrator was subject to a European Arrest Warrant for Extradition (EAW), notified to the National Police in Alicante. Once aware of these facts, officers began the search to locate him.

The investigation involved a police operation to locate this 22-year-old Spaniard, which led to his arrest during a stroll in Alicante. The detainee faces a 12-year prison sentence.

The arrested individual has been brought before the Central Court of Instruction of the National Court, the body responsible for processing his extradition.

This young man, with prior records, committed the acts between late 2024 and early 2025 in Amsterdam. The detainee is believed to be responsible for at least three violent thefts by snatching devices from victims.

Both the detainee and his accomplices used a modus operandi of approaching victims with any excuse to engage them in conversation, creating a sense of trust and distraction.

At that moment, they used violence to steal the mobile phones victims were holding and fled on foot.

Both this alleged thief and his accomplices took advantage of the unlocked phones to place multiple online orders at various department store chains. They then visited the stores to collect the purchases in person.

These crimes resulted in a financial loss of €50,000, adding to the total economic damage caused to their victims. In fact, one of the thefts and frauds amounted to €19,000.