Two people were arrested on June 22 while boarding the ferry that connects Corralejo and Lanzarote, for thefts committed using the "affectionate hug" method. The arrested are a man and a woman, 30 and 29 years old, of Romanian nationality and legal residents in the country, both with numerous police records for crimes of the same nature.
The investigations began on May 27, when the Civil Guard of Corralejo received a complaint for the alleged commission of a theft, in which an elderly person reported that while walking along a street in the urban center of this town, a woman approached him in a friendly and affectionate manner, with the intention of starting a conversation and physical approach, managing to attract him inside the entrance hall of a block of flats, to steal his wallet from his jacket, then leaving the place and later realizing that the amount of 1,500 euros in cash had been stolen from him.
According to the agents, when the investigation to find out the identity of the alleged perpetrators was already advanced, another similar complaint was received. In this case, another elderly person reported the theft of a gold chain worth close to 2,000 euros, of great sentimental value with the same "modus operandi", in this case seeking to get closer by surrounding the neck with their arms.
"The Civil Guard was able to verify how the detainee's husband also participated in this crime, who basically carried out security functions in case any victim resisted or opposed when committing the crime and also in turn to flee in the vehicle," they point out in a statement. Finally, both were identified and arrested in Corralejo inside the transport ship bound for Playa Blanca, before it set sail early in the morning of June 22, remaining at the disposal of the court later.
Arrest for theft in Caleta de Fuste
After being released for the aforementioned events, in the vicinity of the Judicial headquarters, the Civil Guard of the Puerto del Rosario Post arrested this couple again on June 24, for another theft crime by using the "affectionate hug" technique after receiving a complaint in which they allegedly stole the amount of 980 euros from a person in the town of Caleta de Fuste, municipality of Antigua.
The Civil Guard became aware of these events on June 23, after a complaint was filed by an individual, who reported that after a chance encounter with a woman, she hugged him affectionately, later noticing the theft of an envelope he was carrying with money, specifically 980 euros in cash.
Thus, knowing the previous facts, the Civil Guard focused its actions on the detainees, confirming their identity by faithfully matching the modus operandi and description of the alleged perpetrators.
For this reason, the appropriate steps were taken after the arrest of the alleged perpetrators, who were handed over to the corresponding Court, on duty, of the town of Puerto del Rosario; referring the case to the Criminal Court.
