On July 29, a 46-year-old Moroccan man, a resident of the Son Banya shanty town in Palma, was stabbed in the neck by another resident.
The National Police went to the scene around 3.20am. Before he fell unconscious, the man gave police the name of his attacker. He was taken to Son Espases, where he underwent emergency surgery.
The police were now looking for a 38-year-old Cuban, but they didn't have much detail to go on except the name. It was later established that he had left Mallorca that morning on a Ryanair flight to Malaga.
Over the next week or so, the Moroccan man gradually improved. He was able to recognise the attacker from photos and to provide a full statement as to what had happened.
On the night in question, he passed the Cuban's dwelling - there had been an argument between the two of them some days before. The Cuban told him he couldn't walk by his home. As the Moroccan man was walking away, he suffered a blow to the neck with a machete.
On August 16, the Cuban was arrested at Malaga Airport. He was preparing to leave the country.