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British pensioner suffers head injury in Benidorm robbery
The Alicante thieves used the highly dangerous ‘mataleón’ technique to incapacitate their elderly victim
An elderly British man has been seriously injured in a violent robbery in Benidorm. The National Police have arrested two suspects accused of using the ‘mataleón’ or ‘choke hold’ technique to incapacitate the foreigner and steal his wallet.
In a stroke of luck, a couple of plain-clothes officers were in the vicinity of the attack and saw the entire assault unfold. According to their statements, one of the thieves grabbed their victim by the neck and held him in a strangle hold while the other swiped his credit cards and id.
The officers, immediately shouting “Stop, police”, managed to get the two attackers to release the victim, who fell to the ground and hit his head against a wall.
After calling the emergency services and asking a member of the public to stay with the elderly man, the agents gave chase and managed to catch the perpetrators just a few metres from the crime scene.
The victim was transferred to a health centre where he was treated for a head injury.
According to the National Police, the ‘mataleón’ technique is executed in a matter of seconds. It consists of surprising the victims from behind by passing their forearm around their neck to strangle them, with the aim of interrupting the blood supply that goes to the brain and thus cause them to faint, at which point their belongings are stolen.
It is a “very dangerous” technique for the victim, since the prolonged lack of blood flow to the brain, together with the victim’s anxiety about the situation, can cause serious harm and even long-term damage.
In other news: Bodies of missing German couple found on the Costa Blanca
Image: Policía Nacional
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