A VIOLENT robbery suspect has been arrested at Madrid airport while allegedly trying to flee Spain wearing a luxury Rolex watch stolen from a Swiss tourist during a brutal attack at a rural property in Almeria.
The suspect, a Venezuelan national living in Malaga, was detained by officers from Spain’s Policia Nacional at Madrid-Barajas Airport as he attempted to board a flight to Caracas.
Authorities say he was found with the victim’s Rolex still on his wrist.
The arrest follows a violent robbery at a country house in Cuevas de los Ubeda, Almeria, where an elderly Swiss couple were attacked by a man who forced his way into the property alone, threatening them with a fake handgun.
According to investigators, the attacker beat the couple with a glass bottle, kicks and punches.
The male victim suffered serious injuries, including an open fracture to his arm, head wounds and multiple bruises, and was later flown to Switzerland for treatment.
The woman suffered a head wound requiring stitches, along with bruising to her arms and legs.
The suspect quickly made off with the Rolex, cash, bank cards, mobile phones, jewellery and the keys to the property before fleeing the scene.
But police were able to identify the suspect after reconstructing his movements from victim and witness statements.
Officers discovered he was planning to leave Spain imminently and moved quickly to intercept him at the airport, just four days after the attack.
During the arrest, police recovered the stolen Rolex along with three other luxury watches, two mobile phones and gold jewellery – the origin of which is still being verified.
The suspect has been remanded in custody and faces charges including robbery with violence and causing bodily harm.
His partner has also been arrested on suspicion of helping him flee the country, though investigators have not attributed any direct role in the assault to her.
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