A 47-year-old man, who specialised in stealing Lego-type construction sets, has been banned from toy shops in Barcelona after being arrested by the Mossos d'Esquadra. He was caught attempting to steal two boxes of building bricks from a shop in Sant Martí.
The man, who has been arrested 16 times previously, would resell the stolen construction sets on online marketplaces or in second-hand shops. A court has now issued a restraining order, prohibiting him from approaching within 500 metres of any toy shop for six months.
Investigators linked the suspect to a series of similar thefts across Barcelona and Rubí. Police said the man had entered one specific shop in the Sant Martí district four times, always stealing his preferred items: boxes of Lego bricks.
Police Operation Leads to Arrest
Police reports show the man had stolen more than twenty boxes of construction sets, valued at approximately €2,000. The Mossos d'Esquadra had received several complaints about similar robberies from five toy shops in Barcelona and one in Rubí, located in Vallès Occidental.
On 16 April, plain-clothed Mossos d'Esquadra officers set up an operation at a toy shop in the Sant Martí district. They intercepted the man as he tried to leave the shop with two boxes of construction sets he had not paid for. He was then arrested.
This arrest aims to curb a specific type of retail theft that has affected several businesses. The court's restraining order is a direct measure to prevent further incidents involving this individual and toy shops.
