Lorraine Williamson
What looked in 2022 like a shocking one-off burglary at a luxury holiday villa in Ibiza now appears to have formed part of something broader. Investigators have linked the robbery suffered by Italian footballer Marco Verratti during a stay at a property owned by Ronaldo Nazário to the same Albanian criminal group that Spanish police say was behind a series of violent home invasions in other parts of the country. Europa Press, citing Policía Nacional, reports that the suspects were part of a travelling gang allegedly dedicated to armed robberies in occupied homes.
That gives the Ibiza case a different weight. It is no longer just a celebrity crime story from a summer island break. It now sits inside a wider investigation into an organised group accused of targeting wealthy households, using firearms and intimidation, and hiding stolen goods in remote stash points. Policía Nacional says the operation was carried out with the support of Albanian police and has resulted in five arrests, with the investigation still open.
Why the Ibiza case still resonates
The original robbery drew huge attention because of the names involved. Verratti, then a Paris Saint-Germain player, was staying in Ibiza in a house owned by former Brazil striker Ronaldo when the property was targeted. Reports at the time made it one of the island’s most talked-about crime stories, combining celebrity, luxury property and the unsettling sense that even high-profile guests were not beyond reach.
Now, nearly four years later, that case has returned in a far more serious context. Investigators say the same organisation is suspected of carrying out violent robberies in occupied homes, including attacks in Marbella that allegedly involved threats, beatings and firearms. That does not just revive interest in the Verratti case. It suggests Ibiza was one stop in a wider pattern of carefully planned, high-value attacks.
Not an island story, but a travelling network
One of the most striking features of the police case is how mobile the alleged gang appears to have been. According to the official account relayed by Europa Press, the suspects were based in Catalonia but had support structures in Alicante, Murcia and Málaga, while also operating across other European countries. Police say they used false identities, changed telephones regularly, swapped number plates and travelled in high-powered vehicles acquired abroad using fake or third-party documentation.
That matters because it helps explain how crimes in places as different as Marbella and Ibiza can end up under the same umbrella. These were not, police suggest, isolated local offenders. They were part of a mobile criminal structure able to move between regions, choose affluent targets and disappear again quickly.
How police say the gang worked
The alleged method was direct and intimidating. Policía Nacional says the group selected victims with a high economic profile, especially those living in detached or semi-detached homes. Three members would allegedly enter the property, often between 7.00 pm and 2.00 am, while a fourth stayed outside in the getaway car to warn of police presence and prepare a fast escape. Their preferred loot was jewellery, exclusive watches and cash.
Police also say the gang took extensive steps to avoid detection. They hid their faces, paid cash for fuel, discarded phones frequently and communicated during operations via walkie-talkies with concealed earpieces rather than standard mobile calls. Investigators believe stolen valuables were later hidden in outdoor “zulos”, or secret stash points, in remote areas.
Arrests from Albania to Barcelona
The investigation unfolded in two phases. The first took place in Albania in September 2025, where police carried out four home searches and arrested one suspect. Another alleged member was traced to Italy under a European Arrest Warrant. The second phase came in Barcelona in January 2026, where further searches led to more arrests and the seizure of more than €10,500 in cash, four luxury watches and designer handbags valued at over €50,000. A woman linked to the case was also arrested this week in Barcelona, and police say more detentions are possible.
What this means for Ibiza
For Ibiza, the story cuts into a familiar tension. The island’s international image is built on glamour, luxury villas and celebrity visitors. But that same concentration of wealth can also make it attractive to organised criminal groups looking for high-value targets. The link between the Verratti robbery and this wider police operation feeds directly into that concern.
It also shifts the emphasis away from celebrity gossip and back towards security. The more significant question now is not simply that Marco Verratti was robbed during a stay in Ibiza. The robbery may have been one episode in a wider series of violent, mobile and internationally connected raids on wealthy homes in Spain.
A Balearics headline with a national shadow
Seen in that light, the Ibiza Verratti robbery is no longer just a Balearics headline revived for nostalgia value. It has become part of a bigger national crime story — one that has already stretched from Marbella to Barcelona, from Benidorm to Albania, and may yet bring further arrests. For readers in Ibiza and beyond, that is the real significance of the latest police move.