Fugitive wanted over thousands of euros in stolen alcohol caught in Alicante

Alicante residents may have been living alongside an international fugitive for months without even knowing it. A 26-year-old man was tracked down and arrested by Spain’s Policía Nacional after Austrian authorities issued a European Arrest Warrant for him in connection with a series of thefts committed back in January this year.

Police say he was involved in at least 11 break-ins at Austrian supermarkets, where hundreds of alcoholic drinks were stolen. He had already been sentenced in Austria to three years in prison before managing to flee the country. Investigators in Spain subsequently began looking for him after receiving the European arrest request and eventually located him in Alicante, where a  patrol from the Policía Nacional arrested him. 

Eleven supermarket robberies

The crimes took place in Austria, according to the information provided by the Austrian authorities, the suspect was not acting alone when the robberies took place and confirmed he was working with other people at the time, although how many are implicated and if they have also been arrested is still unknown. What is known is that the group only targeted supermarkets and concentrated on stealing alcoholic drinks, with the value of the stolen goods reaching in the tens of thousands.

The Spanish police account describes the offences as robberies involving force and violence, Austrian authorities subsequently sought the man’s arrest after he left the country and was convicted. The case eventually crossed borders when investigators learned that the wanted man could be in Spain.

Police track him down in Alicante

Once Spanish police were aware of the European Arrest Warrant, the officers began uniting their efforts to establish if he was in Spain and if so his whereabouts. The investigation eventually led them to Alicante, where a patrol from the Policía Nacional located the 26-year-old and arrested him.

The police also confirmed at the time of his arrest that he has not been connected to the recent supermarket thefts in and around the Alicante area. The offences for which he was wanted have only taken place in Austria months earlier.

Three-year prison sentence awaits

It is unknown how he managed to escape justice and flee the country, in most cases passports are retained to prevent this from happening, his disappearance led Austrian authorities to issue the European Arrest Warrant, allowing authorities in other European countries to locate and detain him.

He is now being taken through the required police procedures before being brought before the Central Investigating Court of the National High Court in Madrid. That court is responsible for handling the proceedings connected with his eventual extradition to Austria where he will carry out his three year sentence, which may turn out to be longer if he is condemned for avoiding arrest and fleeing the country. 

Almost €30,000 in alcohol

The value of the stolen drinks is one of the more unusual details of the case. Across the 11 supermarket robberies, the alcoholic drinks taken by the group has been estimated to be around €30.000. The police information does not state exactly how many bottles or what types of alcohol was stolen or even explain where the drinks ended up or if they ever were located. It does, however, establish that the thefts were carried out by several people repeatedly over a period of time rather than being a single supermarket break-in.

His story ends in Spain

For the liqueur thief his story ends here, he will now face the extradition process before the Spanish courts, so that he can serve out the prison sentence already imposed by his country. His adventure began with 11 supermarket robberies, copious amounts of stolen alcohol of which its whereabouts is still unknown, and a few months holiday in Spain’s sunny Costa Blanca, He can’t complain really. And who knows, maybe at some point all those bottles of alcohol will show up along with a lorry load of KitKats.