Rare is the day when the summary of police news from the last 24 hours in Catalonia does not include one or two thefts or attempted theft of high-end watches. Some events that have as their main setting the city of Barcelona and, specifically, the districts of Ciutat Vella and Eixample, the most common spaces for action. Yesterday, the Catalan police released a note detailing three of the police actions and this newspaper was aware of a fourth. In just over 48 hours, agents arrested ten thieves and recovered three of the pieces. All those arrested have been released.
Every time the president of Amics del Passeig de Gràcia, Luis Sans, is asked about security, the businessman recognizes the great police effort in recent times by the Mossos d'Esquadra and the Guardia Urbana, but points out the watchmakers as a species that does not stop growing and acting.
Last week alone, 25 thefts of watches considered high-end were reported in the city of Barcelona, that is, with a value greater than 3,000 euros, up to stratospheric figures. The last four operations show a different modus operandi and the extent to which the police follow these criminals closely. But they show that groups of watch thieves are very active. The Mossos have not dismantled the specific group dedicated to this modality, the so-called Titani.
On Monday afternoon, the Ciutat Vella group of criminals observed the suspicious attitude of four regulars who were closely following a couple of tourists who were entertained at the opening of a tourist apartment on Hospital Street. When they were about to pounce on the targets, another individual noticed the presence of the plainclothes police officers and began whistling to alert them. Despite the scare, the four main perpetrators and the two who carried out surveillance work were arrested. The victim was wearing a watch worth 40,000 euros and her partner had another of a similar value.
On Tuesday, at 9 in the morning, a citizen security patrol in Eixample arrested an individual who had previously detained the son of a man from whom he had tried to take the watch while running. The thief approached the victim on a scooter, tried to rip off his watch and, despite punching him hard in the face, fled without the loot. The victim's son ran after the criminal and together with other witnesses managed to catch up with him, subdue him and hold him until the arrival of a Mossos patrol.
In the afternoon at the Gòtic, a man reported the theft of another 40,000 euro watch when he was having a wine on a terrace. The fura viewed the images from the establishment's cameras and recognized the thief, whom they had identified ten minutes earlier not far from there. They went for him. And, despite the short time that had passed, the suspect had already changed his clothes and gotten rid of the watch. Of course, he was wearing the same very characteristic sports shoes.
At night, on Vía Laietana, the Ciutat Vella fura also arrested two thieves who violently assaulted a young man and took his watch. They recovered the piece but a few meters away the screams of another American tourist warned of the theft of his 26,000 euro watch.
