A 22-year-old mother and her two babies who were allegedly detained in their home by the woman’s a 27-year-old Romanian partner were reportedly freed by National Police.
The suspect allegedly held the woman and the couple’s babies – aged 19 and 4-months-old – and threatened her if she tried to escape, according to the initial investigations.
He is now facing charges of domestic abuse and illegal detention.
Taking advantage of a lapse in her partner’s concentration, the woman reportedly alerted her mother in Romania by mobile phone. She then reported the case to the Romanian police in the Cluj province, who contacted National Police in Almeria.
Agents went to the property and arrested the suspect on the spot, freeing the three victims who were later taken to a reception centre ran by a non-governmental organization in Almeria.
It took just six hours from when the victim’s mother raised the alarm to the arrest.
And National Police said the speed was down to international cooperation between police forces in Spain and the Romanian province of Cluj.
Police highlighted the importance of cooperation between different countries, which they said saved three victims’ lives on this occasion.
The 27-year-old man testified before a judge, who released him on bail after passing a restraining order against him, enforceable through an electronic tag the suspect will now have to wear.
The arrest fell within the Secretary of State’s national security plan and an official crime targeting agreement between Spain and Romania.
