A 48-year-old man was arrested by the Policía Nacional in Granada, suspected of stealing from volunteers who were collecting for Ukrainian relief.

It seems that the arrested man, who has a criminal record, took advantage of a moment when the two Ukrainian women were distracted to steal cash in the form of euros and hryvnias (Ukrainian currency) as well as earrings, credit cards and a mobile phone.

Some of these items were one of the women’s handbag and others were in her companion’s purse.

The voluteers were collecting in a church in Zaidín, in the metropolitan area of Granada

The stolen items were found on the man, who had just been arrested for a crime committed a few days previously; the items came to light when he was being searched before being put into a police, holding cell.

As chance would have it, the police were working on finding out to whom the items belonged when at that very moment, one of the two women was reporting their loss at the Oficina de Denuncias y Atención al Ciudadano (O.D.A.C.) within the same police station.

The woman recognised some of the confiscated items and said that some of the others could belong to her friend who had had her purse stolen. Furthermore, the man allegedly used the credit cards to make several purchases for a total of 130 euros.

The suspect has since been released pending appearing before a judge.

(News: City & Metropolitan Area, Granada, Andalucia – Photo: AhoraGranada)