The National Police have arrested one of Spain’s most wanted fraudsters in a hotel in Alicante. The 36-year-old Spanish man had accumulated up to 54 arrests and 18 judicial warrants from various courts, including those in Barcelona, Manresa, Valladolid, and several from the Comunitat.
The criminal was caught in the act while allegedly trying to defraud a citizen who was selling a high-end watch. They had arranged to meet at a hotel in Alicante, where he was apprehended by the National Police.
According to a statement from the security body, the investigation began following a complaint from a citizen who had been defrauded while selling a high-end watch online. The case was taken up by agents from the Economic Crime Group of the National Police in Alicante.
The victim stated that he had listed the watch for sale at 13,500 euros and was contacted by a man over the phone, arranging a meeting at a hotel in Alicante. During the meeting, he sold the watch and was shown an immediate bank transfer confirmation. However, the money never arrived, and when he contacted his bank, he was informed that no transaction had been made.
Upon contacting the agents, he was informed that he had fallen victim to one of Spain’s most wanted fraudsters. This criminal had the same modus operandi: making non-immediate transfers that were later retracted or using pre-falsified bank confirmations.
By chance, an acquaintance of the victim, upon learning about the incident, reported that he had been contacted to sell a watch in the same manner and informed the National Police. They arranged to meet at the same location where the initial victim had been defrauded.
Agents arrived at the scene, located the fraudster, intercepted him, and arrested him on the spot. The surprise arrest allowed officers to gather relevant data for their investigation, successfully recovering the defrauded watch which had been sold at an establishment in Madrid.