Overview
- National police said a new UDEV unit formed in January has clarified 41 violent thefts and made 34 arrests, including one tied to a homicide in Ibiza.
- Investigators identify Barcelona as the logistics hub, with small teams traveling to hotspots such as Madrid, Marbella, Ibiza, Palma, Málaga and Alicante.
- A recent case in Madrid highlights the pattern, where a tourist near the Hotel Villa Magna was choked with a sleeper hold for a €36,000 Rolex and the suspect was arrested the next day with €8,400 in cash.
- Teams scout victims in wealthy areas, strike in pairs with getaway drivers, sometimes use a third car to whisk away the watch, rely on false IDs and rental cars, and even duplicate license plates to dodge detection.
- Police cite Dubai as a preferred resale market and have stepped up cross‑border work, including preventive deployments at events like the Cannes Film Festival ahead of the summer tourist season.