Spanish Supermarket Chain Refuses Security Upgrade After Multiple In-store Robberies

Spain’s largest supermarket chain is refusing to update its security procedures following a rash of in-store thefts involving expat victims.

In a surprising update to a report that a British expat was robbed twice within ten days by thieves in the store posing as shoppers, a spokesperson for the Mercadona supermarket chain told the media there will be no shopper security upgrades. The initial report describing how one British expat was robbed twice in a ten-day period by thieves posing as shoppers was carried by The Olive Press English language newspaper, which asked its readers to send in details if they’d been robbed at any Mercadona stores.

The appeal brought reports from six more British expats detailing their similar experiences to the victim in the first report, giving a clear warning that organised gangs of thieves are targeting the popular supermarkets all along the coastline. Also mentioned was the lack of concern shown by staff in the stores, with the group of victims now calling for action by police and the Spanish authorities.

The refusal of the supermarket company to upgrade any of their obviously ineffective security measures by installing more CCTV cameras as well as barriers at tills shocked the victims, as Mercadona is Spain’s largest supermarket chain and is very popular with British expat customers. The victims’ reports included one from a 64-year old Briton who realised the minute her phone and purse were stolen and saw the two women who’d stolen her belongings heading for the exit. She immediately alerted an assistant who, with an associate, simply watched the two thieves stroll out of the store, making no effort to apprehend them. The pair jumped into a nearby car and sped away. Another victim reported she'd been robbed at the same store by two Eastern European-looking men whilst another man distracted her attention by asking about sugar levels in bread.