A 42-year-old man was arrested in Barcelona’s city centre on Friday afternoon, ending a 48-hour crime spree that saw at least five armed robberies target shops and taxi drivers across Barcelona and L’Hospitalet de Llobregat.
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Plainclothes officers from the Mossos d’Esquadra apprehended the suspect on the busy Carrer d’Aragó in the Eixample district. He was carrying a silver and black pistol at the time of his arrest, which police later confirmed was a replica weapon.
A City on High Alert
The rapid succession of attacks prompted a major police operation; capturing the suspect became a top priority for both the Mossos d’Esquadra and the Guàrdia Urbana. According to La Vanguardia, authorities were concerned about the escalating violence and increasing frequency of the robberies.
Police mobilised patrols across the Sants, Les Corts, and L’Hospitalet districts as investigators worked to build a profile of the assailant. They meticulously studied his appearance from various security camera recordings, focusing on his clothing, trainers, and backpack.
The Two-Day Robbery Campaign
The series of robberies began in the early hours of Thursday morning in the neighbouring municipality of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, an area where authorities have recently been active in other crime prevention efforts, including raids on international drug rings.
The suspect first hailed a taxi, asking the driver to take him to the Sants neighbourhood. Upon arrival, he brandished the pistol and forced the driver to hand over a reported €300 and a wallet before fleeing on foot. Shortly after, he repeated the same method with a second taxi driver in the same area.
His activity continued into Thursday. Around 11 am, he robbed a Coaliment supermarket on Carrer de Cardenal Reig in the Les Corts district, taking the cash register’s contents. This brazen daytime attack further heightened concerns among local businesses, particularly as the area has seen other recent criminal activity, including another armed robbery in Les Corts.
On Thursday evening, the crime wave moved to the Sant Martí district. At approximately 10:30 pm, the man entered a supermarket on Carrer de Mallorca, threatened a worker with the pistol, and stole around €100. The victim later told police the man had cocked the gun in front of him in an act of intimidation.
The final attack occurred later that night in a shop on Carrer de Padilla in the Horta-Guinardó district. Here, the suspect not only threatened the employee but also assaulted him, causing a minor facial injury before escaping.
Investigation Leads to Arrest
Investigators partially identified the man and tracked his movements through the city. Sources reported that the suspect often changed his sweatshirt to evade detection.
On Friday at around 5 pm, two plainclothes officers from the Mossos’ special ‘Fura’ unit, actively searching the Eixample district, spotted a man matching the description. They approached him, confirmed his identity, and discovered the replica firearm, bringing the two-day manhunt to a close.
Police are holding the suspect, identified by El Caso.com as a 42-year-old Cuban national, at the Mossos d’Esquadra police station in Les Corts. The investigation remains open as authorities work to determine if he is connected to any other recent robberies. He is expected to appear before a judge over the weekend.
