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VIDEO: Police nab Madrid skyscraper bomb hoax suspect

A man suspected of making hoax bomb threats, including to a Madrid skyscraper that houses several embassies, has been arrested, police said Wednesday.

Published: 24 April 2019 14:44 CEST
VIDEO: Police nab Madrid skyscraper bomb hoax suspect
Police cordoned off the building after the hoax call on April 16th. Photo: AFP

The unidentified man, who was detained Tuesday in Madrid for causing public disorder, is believed to have called the Australian embassy, located on the 24th floor of the 57-storey Torre Espacio or  Space Tower, on April 16th  claiming there was a bomb inside, a police statement said.

A video of the suspect being led away in handcuffs was posted on the Ministry of Interior twitter account:

 

The hoax call prompted police to evacuate the 235-metre (770-feet) high building in northern Madrid which also houses the British, Dutch and Canadian embassies.   

The man is also suspected of  a hoax bomb threat made to the Ecuadoran embassy in Madrid on April 11th. 

 He had been detained in the past for making a false bomb threat to a “German foundation” in the Spanish capital, according to police.

READ MORE: False alarm: workers return to Madrid skyscraper housing UK embassy after fake bomb threat

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OFFBEAT

Madrid police end escaped camels’ night on the town

Eight camels and a llama took to the streets of Madrid overnight after escaping from a nearby circus, Spanish police said on Friday.

Published: 6 November 2021 09:35 CET
A camel in a zoo
A file photo of a camel in a zoo. Photo: ATTILA KISBENEDEK / AFP

It was not immediately clear how the long-legged runaways managed to get out but Quiros Circus, which owns them, blamed sabotage by animal rights activists.

They were spotted at around 5:00 am wandering around the southern district of Carabranchel close to where the circus is currently based.

“Various camels and a llama escaped from a circus in Madrid overnight,” Spain’s national police wrote on Twitter, sharing images of eight two-humped camels and a llama hanging around a street corner.

“Police found them and took care of them so they could be taken back safe and sound,” they tweeted.

There was no word on whether the rogue revellers, who are known for spitting, put up any resistance when the police moved in to detain them.

Mati Munoz, one of the circus’ managers, expressed relief the furry fugitives — Bactrian camels who have two humps and thick shaggy coats – had been safely caught.

“Nothing happened, thank God,” he told AFP, saying the circus had filed a complaint after discovering the electric fence around the animals’ enclosure had been cut.

“We think (their escape) was due to an act of sabotage by animal rights groups who protest every year.”

Bactrian camels (camelus bactrianus) come from the rocky deserts of central and eastern Asia and have an extraordinary ability to survive in extreme conditions.

These days, the vast majority of them are domesticated.

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