Police make arrests after stolen church cheques cashed

POLICE in Almeria have arrested two people for fraud after two cheques stolen from a church were cashed.

They were taken from a drawer in the church of San Antonio de Padua in the Havana neighbourhood of Ciudad Jardin. Allegedly, the cheques were stolen by a person the police called ‘the Brain,’ who then forged signatures and passed them to the two people to cash for €8,700. Police say ‘the Brain’ has fled with part of the booty to Stockholm in Sweden.

The investigation began in February 2015 when the parish announced the cheques as missing. Four or five days previously the cheques had been presented at a bank. Bank staff, concerned about the validity of the two cheques, worth €4,350 each, contacted the parish to see if the priest had authorised the transaction. This raised the alarm at the church, prompting checks.

Police then went on to arrest 21-year-old MA and 28-year-old JJA on suspicion of theft.