A man was arrested in Almuñécar on Thursday, accused of at least four robberies in the municipality.

The 32-year-old, who has a criminal record, allegedly held up three chemists (pharmacies) and a Chinese bazar, as well as committing two burglaries in Salobreña cortijos.

The hold ups in the chemists between the 25th and 28th of last month caused alarm in that sector as the robber had been armed with a large knife (35-cm blade).

In each case he completely emptied the tills and in one robbery he also made off with six boxes of tranquilisers.

In each one of these robberies the man hid his face by pulling up a scarf, but in one of the hold ups he slipped over and one of the chemists saw his face, which helped the police to identify him.

What would have been the fourth pharmacy robbery failed as it was closed owing to a death in the family of the owner, so he hit, instead, the Chinese bazar next-door.

The alleged culprit had just been released from prison and is of no fixed abode, which made the arrest more difficult. However, a police patrol ran into him on the street, which was when he was arrested. Upon arrest they found the large knife on him.

(News: Almunecar, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)