Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
Two men were arrested in Barcelona after allegedly posing as police officers and trying to rob a French tourist in the Eixample district, while a third suspect remains at large.
The incident happened on 5 November on Carrer d’Alí Bei, where three men approached the visitor and claimed to be carrying out a police identification check. According to the report, they then led him towards a quieter spot and tried to search his bag.
Uniformed Guardia Urbana officers arrived as the suspects were handling the tourist’s belongings and caught two of them at the scene. The third man fled before police could arrest him.
French identity card taken in the attempt
The victim told officers he believed the men were plainclothes police at first. He later filed a complaint after his French identity document was taken during the attempted theft.
Police also recovered a 40cm extendable baton from one of the arrested men, apparently carried to make the impersonation more convincing. Officers seized €280 from that suspect and €1,460 from the other.
Sources said the third suspect was later identified from photographs shown to the victim, but he had not been located at the time of publication. He has been reported and is wanted in connection with the incident.
A common street trick aimed at visitors
Impersonating officers is one of the risks tourists can face in busy city areas, particularly where victims may be less familiar with local policing. In this case, the alleged plan appears to have unravelled as soon as a real patrol reached the scene.
The arrests were made by the Guardia Urbana, Barcelona’s city police force, which intervened to stop the suspected theft and restore order on the street.
