This weekend two men armed with a firearm, a motorcycle robbed a woman who was walking on Alberto Alcocer Street, in the Chamartín district, stealing a luxury watch valued at more than 20,000 euros. According to police sources, the two thieves violently approached the victim who was walking with a companion, stole the piece and fled on the motorcycle.
This is a type of crime that has been occurring for a few years in the wealthy neighbourhoods of Madrid and that led to the creation of a specific police group to investigate these criminal groups.
Robbed on the street in Madrid
The woman was walking down the street around five-thirty in the afternoon this Saturday with a companion, when two individuals on a motorcycle stood next to her. One of them stole the piece, brand Philippe Patek and valued at more than 20,000 euros, and fled with his crony.
This is alarming news for holidaymakers who are thinking of travelling to Spain, however, its not isolated to Spain, thefts like this are common in London. The woman’s companion tried to stop them and even blocked their path, but at that moment one of them pointed a firearm at him and he gave up. Police sources emphasize that for now it is unknown whether the gun was real or simulated.
It is way of working is commonly known as motochorro and it has become the hallmark of all the thieves who operate in the wealthiest neighborhoods of Madrid in search of exclusive pieces on the wrists of its inhabitants. In many of the operations against these criminals, it has been discovered that they are organized gangs in which each member fulfills a specific function.
There are some who are dedicated to observing and pursuing possible victims and indicating when is the best time to attack, others whose specialty is driving and those who know how to give the tug quickly and effectively. In the investigations carried out in Madrid, the agents have been able to verify all types of strategies, including thieves who disguised themselves as delivery drivers to go unnoticed. The police have arrested gangs who became very aggressive with their victims, to the point of causing leg fractures or head injuries.
The National Police has created two specific groups to pursue the watchmakersone is in Malaga and the other in Madrid. Many of these thefts have also been detected in Barcelona, where in just six months in 2022 the Mossos arrested 230 of these criminals.
This is where the most luxury watch owners congregate, by a per square meter and, therefore, a perfect field of action for groups of thieves.