Two muggers in Albufeira forced a young mother to write them a cheque to the value of 500 euros recently, in full view of many passing pedestrians. The thieves later tried to cash the cheque at a local bank, but were thwarted in their attempt because the victim had, in the interim, communicated the theft to the GNR who had already identified the suspects.
According to the woman in question, everything happened at the beginning of the month, when two men approached her on a road near Pingo Doce, demanding some scrap paper. The mother agreed and opened her handbag. The two assailants noticed her chequebook and issued verbal threats to convince the woman to write them out a cheque for 500 euros. Fearful of not obeying, she complied with their demands. But, after the men had fled the scene, the victim went to her local GNR and told the police what had transpired. She also informed her bank that the cheque was stolen.
Some days later, the GNR received a phone call from an Albufeira bank employee telling of two individuals trying to cash the aforementioned cheque. When the authorities arrived at the bank, the men had already fled the scene. But the police were soon hot on the trail of the robbers and they were eventually caught. Both were Brazilian men, aged around 50 and accompanied by a 16-year-old girl, one of the attacker’s daughters. Both men are now in police custody.
