Three arrested, four robberies: what is happening on the streets of Orihuela?

Police have arrested three men aged 20, 21 and 46 in Orihuela who are suspected of being involved in a series of robberies involving violence or intimidation. The investigation covers two separate episodes: according to police, one of the suspects is linked to three attacks on women, while two others are suspected of attacking a man using a technique known as the “mataleón”.

Three attacks, the same pattern

The first investigation began after three women reported being attacked. Two of the victims were elderly. Investigators noticed similarities in the circumstances and the way the attacks were carried out.

In the first case, a woman was about to enter her home when a man approached her. A struggle followed, and the suspect managed to snatch her handbag before fleeing.

Just four hours later, a second attack took place. An elderly woman was walking alone when, according to investigators, the same suspect pushed her to the ground and then took her handbag before running away.

In the third case, according to the investigation, the man followed a woman along the street for some time. He then approached her, a struggle followed, and he again took her handbag.

The similarities between the three incidents allowed investigators to connect them, identify the alleged perpetrator and organize a search.

The “mataleón” and a more violent robbery

The second investigation concerned an attack on a man who was walking along the street.

According to investigators, one of the two suspects approached him from behind and used a technique known as the “mataleón” — a chokehold that caused the victim to fall to the ground.

Once the man was on the ground, police say, both suspects continued to beat him. One of them ripped a chain from his neck, and the victim’s mobile phone was also stolen.

Following the investigation, both suspects were identified and arrested.

When were the arrests made?

The official police statement was published on August 30, 2026. The published information does not specify the exact dates on which the arrests took place.

It does state that, after the suspects had been identified, police organized a search operation and subsequently arrested all three men.

Following the necessary police procedures, the detainees were brought before the duty investigating court in Orihuela.

They are, of course, suspects. The final legal assessment of their actions will be determined by the courts.

Are four robberies a lot?

The arrest of three suspects does not, by itself, tell us how unusual this type of crime is in the Vega Baja. The official figures from Spain’s Ministry of the Interior provide some context.

In Orihuela, 121 robberies involving violence or intimidation were recorded in 2025. In 2024, there had been 91.

That represents an increase of 33 percent.

It works out at roughly ten such robberies a month — or one every three days.

In Torrevieja, 314 such cases were recorded in 2025, compared with 282 in 2024. That was an increase of 11.3 percent.

In Pilar de la Horadada, there were 41 cases, compared with 27 the previous year. The increase was 51.9 percent.

In Santa Pola, by contrast, the figure fell slightly: 37 cases compared with 38 a year earlier.

There is an even more interesting comparison. Across Spain as a whole, 62,061 robberies involving violence or intimidation were recorded in 2025 — 1.5 percent fewer than in 2024.

The local arithmetic is therefore rather curious: while the national figure declined slightly, it increased in several municipalities in the Vega Baja.

That is why the story of the three arrests in Orihuela is more than just another police report. The figures show that violent street robberies are not an exotic exception in the area.

And if we return to the four incidents that led police to the three suspects, one detail is particularly unpleasant: in three cases the victims were women, two of them elderly. In the fourth, a man was suddenly attacked from behind and ended up on the ground.

A handbag, a chain, a phone — an ordinary haul.

What was not ordinary was the way it was obtained.