AN armed robbery on the Costa del Sol ended in humiliation after punters laughed a machete-wielding would-be thief straight out of a café.
Footage shows the masked man – his head covered by a motorbike helmet – slamming a machete onto the counter shortly after 5pm on Sunday, while customers and staff calmly carry on as if nothing unusual is happening.
According to reports, the attacker demanded ‘the money, now’ in English. But patrons and staff at La Barraca de la Abuela in Mijas, near Malaga, mistook the attempt for a practical joke by a café regular – brushing it off with laughter.
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Amused customers and waiters burst out laughing as the confused intruder looked around, seemingly unsure how to respond to the unexpected reaction.
One waiter chuckled as he grabbed the machete from the man, inspecting the blade and noting it was ‘chipped.’
A customer even mocked the situation by imitating the robber’s demand: “The money, now? We’ll call the police!”
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Taken aback by the ridicule, the would-be robber eventually walked away empty-handed.
It was not until reports emerged of a similar incident at a nearby venue that those at the café realised the episode may have been genuine.
“At first, we didn’t even bother reporting it – we would never have imagined it was a real heist,” a café spokesperson told Diario SUR.
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