Guardia Civil have arrested a man in connection with a violent robbery at the home of an elderly woman in San Javier in 2021. The suspect was identified following fresh DNA analysis carried out as part of Operation ‘Ayuno 26’, which remains ongoing.

The investigation began five years ago after the victim opened her front door on 8 May 2021 to a man pretending to be a delivery driver. Moments later, three masked men forced their way inside and threatened her with a knife. They searched the property and tried to open a safe fixed to the floor, but failed.

The group instead stole jewellery valued at more than 12,000 euros, along with a laptop and a high-end mobile phone, before fleeing. During a detailed forensic examination, officers found a fragment of a latex glove believed to have been used by the attackers.

That sample was sent to the Guardia Civil’s Criminalistics Service laboratory for analysis. Recent checks against national and international DNA databases identified a man with an extensive record for violent and aggravated robbery across the Region of Murcia. He has been arrested on suspicion of robbery with violence and intimidation, unlawful detention and making threats.