Dilip Kuner
SHE looks like your nan, but don’t let the walking stick fool you – a frail-looking pensioner was actually a seasoned sneak-thief.
In a plot worthy of a Netflix drama, Spanish cops have finally collared an 81-year-old serial burglar in Malaga after a string of audacious break-ins at holiday apartments.
Dubbed the ‘Abuela del Resbalon’ (Granny Slip-In), the elderly burglar exploited her harmless looks to glide into buildings without raising eyebrows.
Once inside, she used cut-up pieces of plastic, like old credit cards or shampoo bottle lids, to slip past poorly locked doors and make off with valuables, mostly cash and jewellery.
But her reign of sneak-thievery came to a crashing halt when she was caught red-handed by a stunned holidaymaker in the middle of a job.
READ MORE: Police arrest ‘zimmerframe bandit’: Elderly local man targeted tourists arriving at Mallorca airport
Local police say the guest came face-to-face with the ‘sweet old lady’ rummaging through drawers as if she owned the place.
She allegedly tried to blag her way out, claiming she’d walked into the wrong flat ‘by mistake’. On other occasions, she apparently posed as a cleaner to avoid suspicion.
Police say this isn’t her first offence. Far from it. The octogenarian has a rap sheet longer than a Spanish siesta, and investigators describe her as a ‘historical figure’ in home burglaries.
She’s believed to be behind at least five recent break-ins at tourist rentals in Malaga’s city centre, all carried out using the same ‘slip trick’ – sliding plastic between door and frame to pop the latch, as long as the door hadn’t been double-locked.
To add insult to injury, she often only nicked some of the valuables, leaving tourists scratching their heads wondering if they’d misplaced things or had too many sangrías.
The Spanish National Police swooped in after the in-flat bust and found her carrying multiple bits of plastic designed to defeat dodgy locks.
She’s since been remanded in custody by order of a judge, pending trial.
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