Police have arrested a man linked to the theft of a rare €5,000 accordion from a commuter train at Barcelona’s Passeig de Gràcia station. This instrument, one of only five of its kind in Spain, was recovered in France over a month after its theft and has now been returned to its rightful owner.
Your browser does not support the video tag.
The incident occurred shortly before 8:00 AM on 28 January, when the owner, a professional accordionist, was travelling on an R15 Rodalies de Catalunya train. After boarding at the centrally located Passeig de Gràcia station, she continued her journey as normal. However, upon arriving at her destination in Reus, she discovered her valuable instrument was missing.
She immediately reported the theft to the Mossos d’Esquadra, the Catalan regional police force, at their station in Reus. The force’s Investigation Unit (Unitat d’Investigació) launched an inquiry into the disappearance of the unique instrument.
An Online Tip-off and an Unlikely Story
Investigators got their first major break when they discovered an advert on Wallapop, a popular online marketplace for second-hand goods. The listing featured an accordion matching the description of the stolen one, which allowed police to identify a potential seller.
Reports from El Caso indicate that police arrested the suspect at his home in Ripollet, a town in the Barcelona metropolitan area, on 11 February. The man, of Maghrebi origin and with no prior criminal record, gave investigators what they described as an incongruous story, claiming he had found the €5,000 instrument abandoned in a public rubbish bin.
Police, who are regularly involved in complex theft investigations across the city, including a recent case involving a rental car scam at the airport, did not find his explanation credible. Authorities then charged him with receiving stolen goods (delito de receptación).
A Cross-Border Recovery
The investigation revealed another twist: the accordion was no longer in Spain. Apparently unable to find a buyer on Wallapop, the man had sent the instrument to his cousin, who lives in France, on 3 February.
The Mossos d’Esquadra coordinated with the suspect’s family to facilitate the accordion’s return from France. On Wednesday, 4 March, officials finally returned the instrument to its rightful owner in perfect condition, bringing the month-long ordeal to a close.
The suspect appeared before a judge on the day of his arrest and was later released with charges, as reported by Catalan news outlet betevé. He is required to present himself to the judicial authorities when summoned.
