Young woman arrested for stealing jewellery from Virgen del Carmen chapel in Marbella

A 25-year-old woman has been arrested by the National Police accused of stealing jewellery from the chapel of the Virgen del Carmen in the port of Marbella, which celebrated its big day Wednesday, as in so many other coastal towns in Spain. The faithful who regularly visit the Marbella chapel, located in La Bajadilla, were dismayed to learn of the theft from the religious image, from which numerous jewels of great artistic and sentimental value were stolen.

It was a security guard in the port area who raised the alarm that the glass casing housing the Virgin had been broken. Subsequently, a representative of the brotherhood filed the corresponding report for the theft. From that moment, an investigation was launched by the robbery unit of the National Police station in Marbella, who, with the assistance of the forensic specialists, were able to identify the suspect.

The investigation focused from the outset on the young woman who was arrested, although it was the evidence gathered in the chapel that enabled her to be fully identified and charged with the offence. The police carried out an extensive search to locate the woman and, after numerous enquiries, they managed to track her down in a prison in the province, where she was already being held for her involvement in other similar criminal acts.

Meanwhile, in a separate investigation, officers from the robbery unit became aware of the theft of various display and preservation materials from a storage facility belonging to a hotel, also in Marbella. According to the police, the incident had caused “significant damage” to the establishment in the lead-up to the summer season.

In a short period of time they were able to identify the alleged mastermind of the hotel theft. The man was arrested and during the subsequent search of his home, almost all of the stolen property, valued at 8,500 euros, was recovered.