The National Police in Alicante arrested one of the country’s most wanted fraud suspects, who faced 18 court claims across Spain, including two that could have resulted in prison terms.
The suspect, a 36-year-old Spaniard, was detained precisely as he allegedly attempted to defraud a local seller who was about to exchange a high-end watch that belonged to him, after arranging a meet at a hotel in the city.
Prior to this thwarted scam, the same individual had already deceived another person by the same method, and that report led to his arrest. Investigators from the Economic Crime Group of the National Police in Alicante began probing a scam involving a buyer offering a luxury watch for sale through a popular online platform for second-hand items and flagged a potential nationally wanted fraudster in the province.
The victim had posted a property watch on a website for 13,500 euros. A man showed interest and contacted him by phone.
The seller set up a meeting at an Alicante hotel and sold the watch on the spot to the suspect, who then performed an online transfer for the required amount. He showed a bank transfer receipt, and the seller left believing the transaction had been completed.
However, the next day the victim checked his account and saw no funds. After contacting his bank and learning there was no pending movement, he realized he had fallen victim to an apparent fraud and reported the incident to the National Police.
Specialized approach
When the victim reached out to the officers, he was told that he had indeed fallen prey to one of the country’s most sought-after scammers, who had made a career out of this exact fraud pattern.
The investigators explained that the offender repeatedly used the same modus operandi. The transfers were not immediate; funds could be reversed later, and the culprit sometimes used forged receipts to mislead victims.
The suspect had accumulated up to 54 arrests and 18 court claims across multiple courts in Spain, including Barcelona, Manresa, Valladolid, San Sebastián, Avilés, Ciudad Real, and several Valencia region courts.
While the case was being pursued, an acquaintance of the victim learned of the matter and contacted him with news that a man wished to buy a watch in the same manner. The victim alerted the police in case there was a link to his report.
The authorities then established a special surveillance operation around the agreed meeting place, which turned out to be the same hotel where the first victim had been swindled.
Finally, the alleged scammer arrived at the meet, and the officers identified him as the fugitive wanted for the earlier fraud. He was intercepted and arrested on the spot.
The arrest yielded important data for the investigation and enabled the recovery of the deceived watch, which had been sold earlier to a Madrid shop.