Alicante: Phone Seller Threatened With Knife After Second-Hand App Meetup

A man tried to steal a phone from its seller at knifepoint during a meetup arranged through a second-hand sales app, before being arrested through a police sting.

The listing seemed ordinary enough: a phone for sale, an interested buyer, a meetup arranged through a well-known second-hand sales app in Spain. But at the moment of exchange, the buyer suddenly grabbed the phone and ran off without paying.

The seller didn't give up — he chased the man down. That's when things turned dangerous: the man pulled out a knife and threatened him to stop him from getting the phone back.

Police ultimately set their own trap to catch the 28-year-old suspect: investigators arranged a second meetup, this time using another interested buyer's phone. The suspect showed up and was arrested still carrying the same knife used in the first incident.

He is now facing charges of attempted robbery with intimidation.