Two arrested over Sant Cugat restaurant bag thefts

Mossos d'Esquadra, Catalonia's regional police, have arrested two men aged 28 and 38 over three alleged handbag thefts at restaurants in Sant Cugat del Vallès between 14 and 19 August 2025. Police say a third suspected member of the group is wanted.

The victims were women whose bags were allegedly taken while they were inside hospitality venues. In two separate incidents, police say cards from the stolen bags were used for fraudulent purchases and cash withdrawals totalling about €6,000 in one case and €8,000 in the other.

For restaurant customers, the investigation concerns thefts carried out inside venues rather than a single street or neighbourhood. Anyone affected can find the Ajuntament's details for the Mossos d'Esquadra district station in Sant Cugat del Vallès.

Municipal cameras linked vehicles to the three cases

Mossos investigators from Rubí, working with Sant Cugat Local Police, reviewed footage from municipal surveillance cameras. They identified two vehicles that were present in all three alleged thefts and linked them to three suspects, according to the police investigation.

Three alleged thefts took place at Sant Cugat restaurants from 14 to 19 August 2025.
Two suspects were already being held in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat on 25 August over another alleged theft.
Rubí-based Mossos officers travelled to L'Hospitalet and arrested the pair the following day in connection with the Sant Cugat cases.

Police say one of the three suspects used different identities. An arrest warrant has been issued for the third man, who remains wanted.

Theft and fraud reports fell in Sant Cugat during 2025

The alleged incidents occurred during a year in which reported crime in Sant Cugat fell by 9.73%, from 3,987 offences in 2024 to 3,599 in 2025, according to the Ajuntament's annual balance using Mossos data.

That wider fall does not remove the direct risk faced by diners in the three cases under investigation. The same official figures recorded 1,345 theft reports in 2025, down 19.36% year on year, while reported fraud fell from 310 to 210 cases.

“During 2025, crime in Sant Cugat fell significantly,” said Maria Medina, deputy inspector of Mossos d'Esquadra and head of the Sant Cugat police station, in the municipal crime report.

Mossos consider the three men to have acted in a coordinated and planned way as an organised group dedicated to theft.

Primary sources: cugat.cat, santcugat.cat, premsa.santcugat.cat, Cugat Mèdia. Reported by radiosabadell.fm, TOT Sant Cugat, totsantcugat.cat, puntvalles.cat, lesvegueries.cat, Diari de Sabadell, ACN, El Periódico, tvsantcugat.cat, Ràdio Sabadell.