A pioneering unit of the National Police has solved 41 violent robberies of luxury watches, resulting in the arrest of 34 suspects in the first four months of 2026 for their alleged links to these criminal networks which, using the city of Barcelona as a base, travel to other tourist areas across the country.
These are itinerant criminal networks responsible for numerous robberies in tourist areas with a high concentration of luxury establishments and foreign visitors, such as Madrid, Málaga, Marbella, Alicante, Palma and Ibiza.
Between January and April 2026, this pioneering unit of the National Police arrested 33 people in Spain and one more in France, leading to the resolution of 41 violent robberies, one homicide, three cases of bodily harm, one theft and one case of membership of a criminal group.
In addition, a further 43 individuals have been identified and are awaiting arrest. Investigators have highlighted that the main target of this criminal network is prestigious brand-name watches, as evidenced by the solved cases involving watches valued from €15,000 to as much as €100,000.
According to the National Police, the new unit is an “unprecedented” initiative to coordinate a permanent operation investigating the criminal activities of organised groups that carry out large-scale violent robberies of high-end watches across Spain.
Most of these criminal networks are based in the city of Barcelona, from where they travel in small groups to different parts of the country. Investigations have revealed that these crimes are committed by highly structured criminal organisations, which provide their members with all the necessary means to carry out their activities, including false documentation, accommodation and vehicles.
Once at the location, they select a victim and carry out surveillance until they find the right moment to act. The robberies are generally carried out with violence, and there have been cases with extremely serious consequences, such as an incident that took place in Ibiza last August, in which, during the struggle to snatch the victim’s watch, she was struck and fell to the ground, dying instantly.
In the usual modus operandi, at least one perpetrator carries out the robbery whilst another acts as a lookout and facilitates the getaway by vehicle, which sometimes creates dangerous situations for pedestrians and drivers. In some cases, they have a third support vehicle to quickly transport the stolen watch and make its recovery more difficult.
Among the methods used to avoid identification are the wearing of caps, face masks or sunglasses, as well as the use of false documents to book accommodation or hire vehicles, even going so far as to duplicate number plates to evade police action. After committing the offences, they return quickly to their base in Barcelona, where they dispose of the stolen goods.
The itinerant nature of these organisations poses a particular challenge for investigations, which has led the National Police to set up a unit tasked with leading a coordinated strategy at national and international level. This joint initiative has enabled closer cooperation between different police units, as well as with authorities in other countries, such as Italy’s Polizia di Stato, thereby making progress in dismantling these criminal networks.