Spanish police have warned Irish holidaymakers to be on their guard against a gang of vile thieves who spit on their victims and then distract them by offering to clean up the mess.
Detectives have published footage of the bag snatchers at work, showing the ruse involving two men wearing baseball caps working together to target a blonde woman and a young traveller.
Both incidents occurred on Barcelona’s metro system used by thousands of Irish tourists visiting the city and nearby holiday resorts.
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In one clip, a man in a black baseball cap is filmed spitting on the woman from behind as she buys a tube ticket before he then offers to clear up the saliva he has left in her hair.
She is seen turning round virtually instantly after feeling something hit her, but the cunning criminal was ready for her reaction and was already with his back to her before putting up his Good Samaritan pretence.
His accomplice, wearing a white baseball cap, moves in as the spitter wipes away the saliva and makes sure she takes her eye off a rucksack she has left on the ground that she was previously holding.
Once his accomplice has snatched the holdall he makes signs as if to say his train is arriving and vanishes, leaving the female victim to realise she has been the target of clever con artists when it is already too late.
The second incident released by police is a close repeat of the revolting tactic, with a young man travelling lighter with a small suitcase and a laptop.
A man believed to be the same person who targeted the woman approaches him on a Barcelona tube station platform and spits into the back of his hoodie.
He then turns his back to the traveller before he can work out what has hit him. In the moments afterwards, the victim takes his eye off his belongings and the accomplice returns to swipe his laptop.
A spokesman for the regional Mossos d’Esquadra police force in Catalonia, which Barcelona is part of, said in a message alongside the footage: “Watch out for distractions of any kind involving strangers on public transport, the street, or wherever.
“Keep your belongings under control at all times.”
It was not immediately clear today if the gang Catalan police exposed are believed to be acting in other parts of Spain.
Barcelona’s security has been under the spotlight in recent years and it has become known as one of the favoured destinations of professional watch thieves.
Tennis star Grigor Dimitrov became a victim of the gangs of designer watch muggers targeting the city in April.
The 31-year-old Bulgarian had the€70,000 timepiece ripped off his wrist in his car as he returned from training ahead of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell tournament.
In June last year Formula 1 driver Sebastian Vettel had a backpack stolen in the city.
He tried to chase down the thieves by hopping on an electric scooter after a bag was grabbed from his Aston Martin as he got out for a brief moment.
Last August, Barcelona footballer Robert Lewandowski had his €65,000 watch stolen from him as he signed autographs before an evening training session at his club’s Ciutat Esportiva complex.
The striker sprinted after the culprit, who was eventually caught by police who returned the watch to the sportsman.
