A man was arrested in Fuenlabrada, Madrid, after allegedly breaking into a barbershop with a manhole cover in the early hours of August 5. He smashed the shop’s front window, then fled on foot through the city streets.
Information from the National Police account, officers on patrol noticed a man acting suspiciously as he carried a torn plastic bag. When they approached to check his identity, he ran, prompting a chase through several blocks. During the escape, he discarded black clothing and the bag, apparently trying to hinder identification and get rid of evidence.
The pursuit ended when the suspect crawled under a parked van to hide. Police found him and recovered what he had discarded. Inside the bag, officers found cash and a laptop. It also held hair care products, including creams and electric clippers, along with a pair of black socks believed to have been used during the break-in. The shop’s security shutter had also been forced open. The manhole cover used to smash the window was left on the pavement outside.
The man was taken into custody on suspicion of burglary with force and later brought before judicial authorities. The term “método del alcantarillazo” describes using heavy street infrastructure to break a shop window. Spain recorded 1,984,908 conventional-crime offences in 2025, excluding cybercrime, according to a 2026 report citing national crime data. That national total offers broad context on recorded crime, but does not show how many incidents involved commercial premises or this method.
Spain’s criminality rate is calculated as offences known to police during the year per 1,000 residents, based on the population recorded on January 1. It draws on information from the Policía Nacional and Guardia Civil, as well as regional and local police forces, and covers offences reported or otherwise detected. As summarized by Gráficas Electorales, it counts “offences and minor offences known to police in a year, through a report or their own action, per 1,000 inhabitants.” The measure reflects recorded crime, not every crime committed. Spanish law enforcement has also dealt with unusual incidents in recent years, including cases in which suspects tried to evade capture in public spaces or vehicles. One example was a couple fined for reckless behavior on the A-7 highway in Marbella, detailed in this related report on police interventions.
Fuenlabrada lies in the southern metropolitan area of Madrid, where the incident drew attention to the potential damage a forced-entry attack can cause a small business. The National Police urge business owners to reinforce security measures and report suspicious activity promptly. In this case, officers recovered the items described in the police account after searching along the suspect’s escape route.
