The Fake Embrace That Left a Trail of Victims in Alicante: Couple Arrested for Assaulting Elderly Women on the Street

For months, the National Police tracked a couple who turned a gesture of affection into a trap. In the middle of a walk or at the market exit, they approached elderly women, pretending to know them. They greeted them warmly, gave them a hug, a kiss... and in that moment of confusion, they snatched the jewellery or money they were carrying. When a victim realised the deception, the so-called affectionate theft ended in violence.

The investigation began in Alicante after a surge in such robberies was detected between February and April. The Specialised Crime Group of the Provincial Police Station quickly linked the cases: same gestures, same victims - elderly or mobility-impaired individuals - and a couple who vanished as quickly as they acted. Within hours, they could be from the urban centre of Alicante to Torrevieja, Gandía, or Valencia.

The officers confirmed it was an itinerant group operating along the Mediterranean coast. In total, ten thefts in Alicante province alone, with several more in Valencia, where they even assaulted a woman who tried to resist the robbery.

After months of tracking, the trail led them to Santa Coloma de Gramanet (Barcelona), where the couple had hidden to avoid capture. There, with the support of the Judicial Police Brigade of the Catalan capital, the final operation was carried out. In the house search, officers found numerous pieces of jewellery and cash from the robberies committed along the coast.

The arrested - a woman and a man aged 30 and 26, both with criminal records for property crimes - have been brought before the Investigating Court on duty in Santa Coloma. The police do not rule out further charges, as among the recovered items are pieces of jewellery that do not belong to the known victims so far.

The so-called 'affectionate theft' has become one of the most common criminal modalities in the tourist areas of the Valencian Community. The National Police warns that the perpetrators often exploit the trust and vulnerability of the victims, mostly elderly women, to act quickly and disappear without a trace.