The National Police are probing a theft involving a diplomat’s briefcase after a scheduled operation uncovered a bold heist in Madrid. In an incident tied to a diplomatic mission, more than 3,500 euros were taken from an Iraqi Embassy envoy’s briefcase, an apparent crime staged to force a stop by puncturing a vehicle’s tire so the thief could strike when the driver was vulnerable.
The event unfolded around midday on a recent Friday in the capital. The Iraqi diplomat, stationed at the embassy on Carril del Conde in the Hortaleza district, had driven to a nearby bank branch on Arturo Soria Street to carry out routine financial transactions. Police sources, speaking with the press, confirmed this sequence of events to the news agency EFE.
According to authorities, the envoy, 43, withdrew approximately 2,600 euros and 1,100 dollars. The money was stored in a briefcase that also contained various documents and keys intended for safes within the embassy premises. Moments after leaving the bank, the diplomat began to realize that a tire might fail, prompting him to stop at a gasoline station that was nearby for safety and to manage the tire issue.
As the diplomat prepared to change the flat, he noticed that one of the car doors was ajar and that the briefcase was missing. The scene did not reveal any obvious suspicious figures at the gas station, and no bystanders reported seeing someone approach the vehicle in the moments before the discovery.
Authorities believe that the robbery was carried out using a so‑called distraction technique. In this modus operandi, a vehicle’s compromised tire creates an opportunity for a quick assault, allowing the thieves to seize valuables while the victim is preoccupied with the mechanical issue. Police are treating the case as a deliberate, premeditated theft aimed at exploiting the momentary vulnerability of the driver.
Investigators are reviewing surveillance footage from the area and interviewing staff at the gas station and the bank to establish a precise timeline and identify potential witnesses. There is particular attention on the possibility that the perpetrators monitored the diplomat’s movements in advance and capitalized on the moment of tire trouble to execute the theft. At this stage, no further details about suspects have been released, and the Iraqi Embassy has been coordinating with local authorities to assist in the investigation and security review of embassy procedures connected to the incident.
The incident underscores the risks diplomats may face while conducting routine banking or administrative tasks away from their official compounds. It also highlights the importance of heightened situational awareness for individuals carrying significant valuables in public spaces. Police have reiterated to the public that anyone who witnessed suspicious activity in the vicinity of the gas station or the bank around the timeframe should come forward to aid the inquiry. The investigation continues with an emphasis on locating the missing briefcase and recovering the documents and keys it contained, or any of the contents that could be reconstructed from bank records and embassy inventories.