Pole Robert Czik had hidden his brown eyes behind sunglasses.
Wearing a cap and coat, he tried to go unnoticed in the crowd at the El Kiosko cafeteria, in the Centro Plaza commercial space in Marbella (Málaga, 150,725 inhabitants), next to the bullring and a step away from the luxury of Puerto Banús.
It was his favorite place, where he went almost every morning.
It was also his biggest mistake.
Last Thursday, around 11:30 in the morning, a group of police agents, in a quick gesture, took the mobile from his hands, immobilized it and proceeded to arrest him without him hardly having time to react.
Until then he had a search and capture order from the National Court and was part of the European Most Wanted Fugitives 2022 list, which includes the most prominent fugitives from justice in each country.
He was one of the three most wanted in Poland.
He had 6,000 euros in cash, a wad of 10 and 20 euro bills in his fanny pack.
And in the wallet a fake ID.
He is already in prison awaiting extradition.
Until his arrest, the fugitive went completely unnoticed in the commercial area of Marbella, where he periodically, dressed in dark clothes and with his face little exposed, he tasted a coffee with a piece of pastry.
But in his recent 44th birthday - he celebrated them on February 20 - Czik accumulates a long criminal record.
The fugitive went completely unnoticed in the commercial area of Marbella, where periodically, dressed in dark clothes and with his face barely exposed, he would enjoy a coffee with a piece of pastry.
But in his recent 44th birthday - he celebrated them on February 20 - Czik accumulates a long criminal record.
The fugitive went completely unnoticed in the commercial area of Marbella, where periodically, dressed in dark clothes and with his face barely exposed, he would enjoy a coffee with a piece of pastry.
But in his recent 44th birthday - he celebrated them on February 20 - Czik accumulates a long criminal record.
🚩A fugitive wanted by the Polish authorities has been arrested in #Marbella
🔹He led a group in Poland that committed tax and criminal offenses
🔹He was one of the ➕important white collar criminals
🔹Included➡ @Europol's #EUMostWanted list#ENFASThttps://t .co/9AxOOByjfJ pic.twitter.com/MoAFiLYhA7
– National Police (@policia) March 7, 2023
According to the authorities in his country, he was allegedly responsible for organizing and directing a criminal group dedicated to committing tax and criminal offenses to launder large sums of money.
He issued VAT invoices to mislead tax authorities, created false accounting documentation and his criminal group earned a "steady source of income" on a large scale, according to Europol.
He is considered one of the most important white-collar criminals in Poland and has been accused of numerous crimes: against public order, document forgery, money laundering, tax offenses and belonging to a criminal organization.
Born in the city of Rzeszów (almost 200,000 inhabitants), in the southeast of his country, he hid in Spain.
In May 2021 he was already arrested in a routine control in Marbella.
The judge released him with charges and a delivery date to his country was agreed.
Czik didn't show up, he ran away again.
Then the National Court issued a search and capture order, which is why he has now been arrested.
In Poland, however, they had been looking for him for a long time.
For the authorities, he was so important that they decided to include him among the most wanted criminals in Europe in 2022 and released a file with his photo and some of his characteristics: 185 centimeters tall, brown eyes and "traces of tattoos." in the face".
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In October of last year the Polish police contacted the Spanish.
They were convinced that he was still hiding in Spain.
It was not easy to find him since he was highly mobile geographically and moved quickly between provinces.
The two locations where he was tracked the most were Alicante and Malaga, just the favorite destinations for those on the run from justice because they find anonymity there among large urbanizations and foreign communities.
According to police sources, he always maintained strong security measures and maintained an attitude of "extreme vigilance" observing what was happening around him at all times.
"He did not leave clues, he did not make mistakes, he took great care of himself," says one of the agents who has participated in the investigation for six months.
Until the numerous hours on the street of the group that has persecuted him took effect and someone gave the key information: his usual breakfast place.
Last Thursday, March 2, during a monitoring and surveillance device, Czik was located, precisely, having a coffee in peace at El Kiosco, where he used to go many mornings.
It is a place located on the outskirts of the Centro Plaza commercial space, next to a roundabout and the Marbella bullring, a few meters from Puerto Banús.
He had hidden behind sunglasses, a cap and a coat, all in dark colors.
He did not save him from arrest, which was carried out by several National Police officers.
During the search of his belongings, more than 6,000 euros in cash and a forged Polish document were found with which he managed to impersonate another person.
The investigation has been carried out by the Fugitives section of the National Police of Madrid and Malaga with the support of the Special Response Group for Organized Crime (Greco) Costa del Sol. He is already in prison and is expected to be extradited in the next ten days.