Spanish police have warned British tourists to be on their guard against a gang of nasty thieves who spit on their victims and then distract them by offering to help clean them up.
Detectives have released footage of the bag snatchers at work, showing the ruse involving two men working together to attack a blonde woman and a young traveller.
Both incidents occurred in the Barcelona metro.
In one, a man in a black baseball cap is filmed spitting on the woman from behind as she buys a subway ticket, then offers to wipe the saliva he has left on her hair.
She is seen turning around almost instantly after feeling something hit her, but the cunning criminal is ready for her reaction and is already turning his back before pretending to be a good Samaritan.
Both incidents occurred in the Barcelona metro. A blonde woman was attacked by the spit then steal technique. The man can be seen cleaning the spit.
In the second incident, a young traveler is the target. The man spits on him and then an accomplice bursts in.
His accomplice, wearing a white baseball cap, approaches as the spitter wipes his saliva and makes sure to take his eye off a backpack he has left on the ground and was previously holding to his chest.
Once his accomplice has snatched the bag, he signals as if to say his train is arriving and disappears, leaving the female victim to realize she’s been targeted by clever con artists when it’s too late.
The second incident published by police is a close repeat of the sickening tactic, with a young man traveling lighter with a small suitcase and laptop computer as the victim.
A man believed to be the same person who attacked the woman approaches her on the platform of a Barcelona metro station and spits on the back of her hoodie.
He then turns his back on the traveler before he can find out who pointed something at the back of his neck and what it is.
In the moments after the ambush, the victim takes their eyes off their belongings for the seconds it takes for an accomplice to grab their laptop while their assailant plays sympathizer and offers to clean up the mess.
A spokesman for the Mossos d’Esquadra regional police in Catalonia, of which Barcelona is a part, said in a message alongside the images: “Beware of distractions of any kind that involve strangers on public transport, the street or wherever”.
The victim can be seen at the ticket machine before she is confronted by one of the men.
The man in the baseball cap walks over and spits at her before walking away and then engaging her in another conversation.
Her accomplice, wearing a white baseball cap, approaches as the spitter wipes the spit and makes sure she removes her eye from a backpack. Once the accomplice has snatched the bag, she signals as if to say her train is coming and disappears.
‘Keep your belongings under control at all times.’
It was not immediately clear today whether the gang exposed by Catalan police is believed to be operating in other parts of Spain.
Barcelona’s security has been in the spotlight in recent years and has become a favorite destination for professional watch thieves from places like Naples.
Tennis star Grigor Dimitrov became a victim of designer watch robbery gangs that attacked the city in April.
The 31-year-old Bulgarian had the £62,000 watch ripped from his wrist in his car as he was returning from training ahead of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell tournament.
The second incident published by police is a close repeat of the sickening tactic, with a young man traveling lighter with a small suitcase and laptop computer as the victim.
A man believed to be the same person who attacked the woman approaches her on the platform of a Barcelona metro station and spits on the back of her hoodie. As the man cleans the grill, the victim takes her eyes off his belongings and an accomplice takes his laptop.
When the man checks his bag after the thieves have left, he realizes his laptop has been taken from him and runs off.
The watch was described as a Swiss Bianchet watch valued at 70,000 euros (£62,560).
In June last year, Formula 1 driver Sebastian Vettel had a backpack stolen in the city.
He tried to chase down the thieves by hopping on an electric scooter after a bag was stolen from his Aston Martin when he stepped outside for a brief moment.
Last August, Barcelona footballer Robert Lewandowski had his £59,000 watch stolen while he was signing autographs before an afternoon training session at his club’s Ciutat Esportiva complex.
The striker ran after the culprit, who was eventually caught by the police who returned the watch to the athlete.
A month later, a British tourist was stabbed to death in the city, where rugby player and reality TV star Levi Davis disappeared in circumstances still under investigation, while trying to fight off the thieves who had snatched his bag.
I am Rakesh Sharma, I associated with Elite News as an Editor, since 2021. I take care of all the news operations like content, budget, hiring and policy making.