As of: March 23, 2024, 6:27 p.m
By: Julian Mayr
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Press
Split
Spain's sunny Mediterranean coast also has a dark side.
Wanted criminals hang out here.
For an Austrian, the luxury life now came to an end.
Alicante – Live where others go on holiday.
A dream that came true for a 70-year-old man from Austria on the Costa Blanca in Alicante (Spain).
But even if the Austrian lived a luxurious lifestyle, he is not suitable as a role model.
The 70-year-old pensioner was a criminal wanted across Europe.
Now he was arrested in front of his villa.
Austrian “Most-Wanted Grandpa” sought refuge in Alicante, Spain
As the
Kronen Zeitung
reports, the so-called “Most Wanted Grandpa” is not only on the wanted list in Austria, but is actually one of the oldest, most wanted criminals in Europe.
According to the Austrian daily newspaper, the reason for this may have been several crimes, including investment fraud.
He is said to have stolen more than nine million euros.
An Austrian (70) led a wealthy life in the Spanish city of Alicante.
Now the wanted criminal has been arrested there.
© Martin Silva Cosentino/IMAGO
Illegally obtained money that probably financed his life in the Spanish coastal city of Alicante.
The Austrian lived there with his wife in a luxury villa in the city's posh district.
Spain's Mediterranean coast is apparently a haven for criminals.
In 2023, Spanish police arrested more than 200 internationally wanted fugitives from justice and criminals from Barcelona to the Costa Blanca to the Costa del Sol within less than a year.
One of the oldest most wanted criminals (70) arrested in front of a luxury villa
That's exactly where the big fish from the Alpine republic was caught in the net.
Spanish firefighters from the Guardia Civil arrested the 70-year-old man at the front door of his home as he had just gotten out of the taxi.
Information from investigators in Austria provided the decisive clue.
Even after the arrest of the man living in Spain, there are still two Austrians on the list of most wanted Europeans.
These include Martin Schnabl, who is suspected of selling drugs on a large scale as the head of a criminal organization, and none other than Tibor Foco.
The now 68-year-old was legally sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for the murder of a prostitute.
In 1995, Foco managed to escape and there has been no trace of him since.
Another suspected fraudster from Austria also took in not millions of euros, but a considerable sum.
An Upper Austrian woman is said to have sold 806 cakes and collected around 72,000 euros untaxed.