Thief steals bag during live TV interview. Viral video used to arrest him

Screengrab from video tweeted by @Politeia_ESP

A thief was caught stealing a bag in the background of a live TV interview in Spain – and the footage was later used by police to track him down. The incident occurred in Barcelona, a tourist city infamous for pickpockets, reports Majorca Daily Bulletin.

Ironically enough, Spain's public broadcaster RTVE was interviewing a tourist at a beach about his love for Barcelona as the crime took place in the background. The viral video shows the tourist praising Barcelona’s ‘beautiful beach and clean, cold water’ as the thief creeps into the shot and calmly walks away with a bag lying unattended on the beach.

Watch the moment as it played out in the video below:

Nos llega vídeo propagandístico de la televisión pública #españa, intentando “ blanquear “la situación de #inseguridadciudadana en #barcelona y la realidad se impone en directo. Ni los medios de comunicación públicos o subvencionados lo pueden ocultar aunque se esfuerzan. pic.twitter.com/PMobiNhOPx

— Politeia (@Politeia_ESP) August 14, 2022

“Thanks to a video published yesterday on social networks and the victim's report, we have identified and arrested the perpetrator of a theft on the Sant Miquel beach,” said Barcelona’s Guardia Urbana police force said on Sunday.

Police said that the thief took advantage of the owner’s momentary absence to walk away with their bag. The bag has been returned to its rightful owner. The bag was returned to its rightful owner.

According to Euro News, in May, authorities in Barcelona unveiled a plan to tackle rising crime as tourists returned to the popular coastal city after the pandemic. Under the plan, police presence on the city’s busiest streets has increased, and repeat offenders are being handed longer sentences.