Axarquía shoplifter allegedly responsible for 35 offences remanded in custody

Spain’s National Police have arrested a 44-year-old man as the main suspect behind a series of thefts from shops and pharmacies in the coastal town of Torre del Mar on the eastern stretch of the Costa del Sol. The man is allegedly responsible for 33 theft offences and two further robberies with violence, according to a statement issued by the force on Monday 5 February.

Pharmaceutical products and bottles of olive oil were among the items he allegedly took in a spate of incidents between September 2023 and 29 January, when he was arrested.

More than 80 traders in the town reported incidents and they started to share information via a WhatsApp group. SUR reported on the incidents in December.

The investigation found that the suspect would enter the shops silently before helping himself to items. Most of the thefts did not involve confrontations with shopkeepers. However, the use of violence or intimidation was reported in two of the incidents. Finally, the images collected by the shops’ security cameras, together with the photographic recognition of the suspect by the victims led to the identification of the perpetrator.

According to the National Police, the suspect, who is a repeat offender and has been arrested on numerous occasions in recent months for similar crimes, has been remanded in custody awaiting a court appearance.