Joshua Parfitt
VALENCIA’S 2018 regional marathon champion has been implicated in a string of thefts for which he uses his prodigious legs to run from the law.
Jaouad Tougane, born in Morocco but raised in Spain, has been arrested twice in 15 days for crimes including the robbery of a woman’s handbag.
Earlier this month, Tougane snatched the handbag in a bathroom at Valencia’s Estación del Norte, before powering away.
Police detained the athlete minutes later.
The champion athlete had 15 days previously been arrested after stealing a till with €800 inside from the third floor of a commercial centre in Valencia.
He was arrested after CCTV identified him via two moles on his face.
Just last Saturday, the youth was implicated in three more thefts after he was intercepted with clothes and a cleaning robot taken from two shops and a supermarket.
Tougane was taken before National Police, but not arrested because the value of the stolen items did not exceed €400.
Most of the thefts Tougane has committed in recent weeks have resulted in nothing, as €400 is the limit of a minor crime for theft.
The young man reportedly does not resist and shows a calm and collaborative attitude with the police.
In this way, the marathoner accumulates minor crimes – but never arrests.
Tougane’s family believe he is still aiming for the Olympics, according to Las Provincias, but the athlete has been dropped form the Club Atletisme Playas de Castellón where he trains.
