Malaga hospital security staff restrain aggressive man on the lookout for items to steal

With the help of the CCTV cameras, they tracked him as he moved through different departments. They finally caught him in the pharmacy.

During his visit, the suspect tried to gain access to various areas of the hospital, such as the outpatient clinic, the ophthalmology department and other facilities in the Patio Azul.

The man's aim, healthcare sources told SUR, was "to steal items from the pharmacy". "He was lurking around with the intention of doing the same in the consultation rooms as well," they said.

The pharmacy stores medications and other pharmaceutical products, some of them very expensive and of great importance for patient treatment.

For the security staff, who were closely monitoring him through the CCTV cameras, "it was clear that he wanted to enter the consultation rooms". "Two security guards positioned themselves between 50 and 70 metres away from him to keep an eye on him, but they decided to intervene when he tried to enter the pharmacy," hospital sources said.

The pharmacy is "the most heavily guarded part of the hospital", given the nature and price of the products it sells.

The hospital's management established that the suspect had no medical appointment and was not accompanying anyone who was a patient there.

During the security staff intervention, the man became very aggressive and tried to attack one of the security guards, so it was necessary to use force to ensure that he no longer posed a threat to patients, visitors, doctors and nurses.

The hospital activates the security protocol as soon as anyone from outside the hospital approaches the pharmacy, because its protection and surveillance are of the highest level.

The security staff had to restrain and handcuff the suspect until the National Police arrived. He was subsequently taken into custody.

This is Clínico's security team's second success in just one week.

On 25 August, they restrained a 44-year-old Hungarian, a familiar face for the city's hospitals. The security guards quickly set up a trap, which led to his arrest by the National Police.

A few days before his arrest, staff at the Clínico saw him lurking around patients' rooms. According to sources, he had committed similar offences in other health centres.

However, he was allowed to go free precisely because the minor nature of this offence meant only a minimal criminal penalty.

On Tuesday last week, at around 2.45pm, the security team learnt of a man matching the description who was walking around the rooms in a suspicious manner, "as if he were on his way" to do something. A doctor came across him as he was leaving one of the rooms.

The security guards kept an eye on him as he moved through the sixth, fifth, fourth and third floors, not only by watching him directly but also by tracking him via the CCTV cameras. The idea was to ensure he did not pass through those floors again.

A short while later, another call reported that an elderly woman staying in another room had allegedly had her rucksack stolen. When they eventually found the rucksack, it no longer contained any documents or valuable items.

The staff, in consultation with the centre's management, decided to speak to the man as he was leaving. They stopped him in the lobby by the main entrance.

The security guards arrived there with the rucksack. They asked him which room he was in and whether he was a visitor or a relative of a patient, but he was unable to answer.

At first, he explained that the rucksack was his and that he'd left it behind, although the security guards already knew that he'd got rid of it by throwing it on the fourth floor. The suspect slung it over his shoulder to stick to his story. He also denied having been loitering around the rooms or entering them.

The security workers searched him and found the elderly woman's identification documents and other items, including money, necklaces, a watch and several packets of cigarettes. According to sources, after initially denying the allegations, the suspect admitted to the offences.

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