Jewellery thief caught in south Tenerife trying to sell stolen ring
The National Police have arrested a man accused of stealing 16 rings from a jewellery shop in a shopping centre in Costa Adeje, in the south of Tenerife, after he was traced while trying to sell one of the stolen items.
The suspect, a 38-year-old man with a long criminal record mainly linked to burglary, allegedly took advantage of a busy moment in the shop to carry out the theft.
According to police, the man waited until staff were distracted attending to other customers before approaching a display stand and taking an entire tray containing 16 white gold rings. The stolen jewellery was valued at around €9,000.
Breakthrough in the investigation
Officers launched an investigation immediately after the theft and began analysing security camera footage from the shopping centre to reconstruct what had happened.
However, the key breakthrough came through routine monitoring of second-hand markets and pawn shops. Police detected a ring being pawned whose description matched one of the items reported stolen.
Once the jewellery shop owner identified the ring as part of the stolen collection, investigators were able to identify the suspect.
Suspect recognised by police
In a twist of timing, officers later recognised the suspect when he was in police custody. Following coordination with the judicial authorities, police processed the necessary paperwork to formally charge the man with the jewellery theft. He has since been placed at the disposal of the court.
Investigations are continuing as officers attempt to locate the remaining stolen rings.
Share:
