Marbella 112: young woman almost chokes to death on stolen gold chain

Marbella doctors discovered a gold chain during an emergency surgery on a young woman who almost choked to death on 12 July. It turned out that the police had been looking for exactly that item that same morning, after a man had reported it stolen.

The first incident happened at around 5am in one of the alleyways of the Marbella marina. A man alerted the Local Police that he had been the victim of a violent robbery.

He reported being approached by two young men, accompanied by a young woman, who forcefully yanked a chain he was wearing around his neck and snatched it away.

The police reviewed security camera footage from the area and confirmed that the cameras had recorded the two thieves fleeing the scene.

The patrol that responded to the report broadcast the physical descriptions of the perpetrators over the radio. Another unit in the area located two young men who perfectly matched the description of the thieves. The victim also identified them at the scene.

The police searched the suspects, both in their 20s and of Moroccan origin, but they found no trace of the chain. The young woman who was with them was also nowhere to be seen.

The second intervention took place three hours later, when a witness alerted the police that a young woman was lying semi-conscious in one of the hammocks on the Faro beach, next to the marina. According to the man, she was having serious difficulty breathing.

An ambulance took the woman to the Costa del Sol hospital, where doctors performed an emergency surgery.

In the meantime, the police examined her belongings for an identification document, but it appeared she was not carrying any. She was, however, carrying two mobile phones, one of which was unlocked.

During the search of the phone, the police found a Spanish foreigner identification number (NIE) that belonged to one of the men they had arrested earlier.

At around 10am, the police received a call from the hospital. The doctors informed them that, during the surgery, they had removed a gold chain from the young woman's throat.

The woman was admitted for observation and remained sedated due to the severity of the asphyxiation she had suffered. The police could not take her statement, but they ordered a patrol to guard her during her stay at the Costa del Sol hospital because of her alleged involvement in the robbery.

The three detainees appeared before a judge once the woman's condition had improved. She went to prison following her hospitalisation.

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