Andorra Police Arrest Eastern European Thief in €1,800 Retail Heist

Police in Andorra la Vella arrested a 36-year-old non-resident man from Eastern Europe on Saturday evening for thefts totaling €1,800 at cost price from four shops along the Meritxell-Carlemany commercial axis, spanning into Escaldes-Engordany.

A clothing store's security manager spotted suspicious behavior after staff noticed missing items. He alerted police and trailed one suspect to an outdoor car park at a retail complex on Avinguda Tarragona. Realizing he was being followed, the man dropped a pair of stolen sunglasses and hid around four to six more pairs under a nearby parked car before escaping on foot.

Officers then turned to a second man acting suspiciously in the same lot. They detained him on patrimony theft charges and searched their linked rental vehicle. Inside were luxury branded clothing and accessories, one perfume bottle, two lined handbags designed to evade anti-theft alarms, two rolls of aluminum foil, and pliers. All items retained original tags and alarms, sourced mainly from Meritxell Avenue stores, with a cost value over €1,800—exceeding the €600 felony threshold.

The pair, experienced in European theft operations and part of groups targeting full-day hauls in Andorra, had spent Saturday stealing primarily sunglasses, high-end clothing, and accessories. While the pursued suspect fled, his actions guided police to the car and most of the loot, which they recovered.

The detainee, with no prior record in the Principat but known experience elsewhere in Europe, faced a judge Sunday afternoon via fast-track proceedings. He received a firm sentence, replaceable by long-term expulsion. His identity remains undisclosed, and no further details on potential additional accomplices have emerged.