Two Men Arrested For Allegedly Tampering With And Attempting To Steal Boats In Marbella Marina

TWO men who allegedly attempted to unsuccessfully steal several boats moored in Marbella’s Virgen del Carmen marina were arrested by the Local Police.

As reported in a statement from the Marbella City Council this Friday, August 25, the incident occurred at around 8:30 am on Tuesday 22 and was captured in full on the marina’s security camera system.

The suspects were spotted by a sailor who immediately notified the emergency services that he had observed two males acting suspiciously in the vicinity of the vessels harboured at the nautical facility.

They were in the process of manipulating a four-engine boat on dock No. 4 the caller informed the operator. When he approached them and reprimanded the two men, they made off in a northerly direction he detailed.

After receiving the alert, the Local Police Coordination Room deployed patrols to the location to investigate. The caller gave a full detailed description of the two alleged suspects to the police.

The police found five boats had been tampered with

On arrival at the Virgen del Carmen port, police officers checked the state of the boat that the two suspects had allegedly been tampering with. They discovered two screwdrivers of different sizes at the secene, along with a metal clamp.

All the wiring of the boat’s starting system had been exposed and was prepared in order to make an electrical bridge to start the engine. This damage was estimated to be in the region of €400.

A further search of the port uncovered four other vessels in similar states of manipulation. Three were on the same jetty with another one on dock No. 5. Each of them allegedly showed signs of a failed attempt to start their engines.

The suspects were located shortly afterwards

Thanks to the information provided by the sailor, the two suspects were located shortly afterwards by motorbike officers on Avenida del Mercado. One of the men – a 25-year-old Moroccan national – was detained while the second managed to escape. He was subsequently handed to the National Police for an alleged crime of attempted vehicle theft and damage.

A few hours later, at around 1:15 pm, members of the same police unit detected the suspect who had escaped them the day before, on Calle Nuestra Señora del Carmen.

He had attempted to change his appearance by wearing different clothing. Upon being spotted, he jumped over a wall to enter a house. When caught and questioned by the officers, the man admitted to having participated in the events carried out in the marina. He was arrested for the same offences as his fellow suspect.

The 20-year-old Moroccan male was found to have three mobile phones, a hard drive, a golden watch, €480 in cash, and another £95, all of which were confiscated and handed to the National Police.