A British man was pursued by two armed men suspected of robbing villas in the eastern Algarve after he took photographs of them on his mobile phone.
According to Portuguese daily newspaper Correio da Manhã, members of the foreign community in Malhão, near Tavira, on alert after a wave of robberies in the area, became suspicious of a parked car.
The incident started at around midday on Monday, when a woman received a call from a neighbour, who said that two suspicious looking men had knocked on her door claiming to provide a pool cleaning service.
The woman alerted her 58-year old husband and he went to the neighbour’s house and saw a grey Ford Mondeo with Spanish number plates.
He followed the car down a dirt road before stopping his vehicle and speaking with the suspects. At this point, he photographed them with the mobile phone.
According to reports, the suspects pursued him after he had taken the photos and tried to shoot him with a firearm.
The British man got into his car and drove off in the direction of the GNR station in Tavira, where the suspects fired at him on two more occasions. At this point, the suspects fled the scene and the GNR police, alerted by the British resident, gave chase and eventually arrested them at the Spanish border.
The two men are suspected of carrying out at least 11 robberies at villas from Tavira to Vila Real de Santo António.
The Algarve Resident contacted the GNR police in Tavira, who said that they could not give any information about the status of the suspects. P.S.
