This is the shocking moment a mugger was wrestled to the ground by a pair of quick-thinking Brazilian brothers while on vacation in Barcelona.
Rio de Janeiro residents Gabriel and Gustavo Galindo were sightseeing when they heard the cries of a Portuguese tourist who had been robbed of his gold chain.
As the thief attempted to flee down the narrow street, Gabriel swung and tripped him to the ground, viral surveillance video footage showed.
The perp immediately stood up and continued to run when he was tackled to the ground by Gabriel.
Gabriel, who just like his brother is black belt in jiu-jitsu, placed the suspect in a rear naked chokehold – one of the most effective moves, but also deadly because it can cut off the flow of blood to the brain and heart.
He then pinned thief to the ground for about 10 minutes as multiple bystanders delivered their own justice before the local police arrived and placed him under arrest.
‘We confirmed that he had indeed stolen the Portuguese man’s necklace,’ Gabriel told Brazilian news outlet G1.
‘I put him on the ground to introduce him to Brazilian jiu-jitsu. By this point, a crowd was already mad with rage at the unfortunate man.’
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Gabriel Galindo poses for the camera after he and his brother helped arrest a thief who stole a chain from a Portuguese tourist in Barcelona on Wednesday. The Rio de Janeiro resident, who is vacationing in Spain, told Brazilian news outlet G1 that they heard the victim screaming for help when they sprung into action
Barcelona cops arrested a suspect who snatched a chain from a Portuguese tourist on Wednesday
‘Some of the angry people started giving him a massage, but I didn’t have the heart to let them hurt him too much,’ Gabriel added.Â
Gabriel said that he and his brother did not want to stay around to take any questions from the police and abandoned the scene as soon as cops placed him under arrest.
‘We ran away when the police arrived. God forbid I waste the day at the police station,’ he said.
‘I’d never experienced that before. But when I saw the situation and saw that he was coming towards me, I just went to intercept him. Because I know how angry it is to be robbed like that.’
Barcelona ranks as the most dangerous city in Spain with 8.56 crimes reported per 100,000 habitants.
Gabriel Galindo, a black belt jiu-jitsu fighter out of Rio de Janeiro, applied a rear naked chokehold after he tackled a man who had robbed a Portuguese tourist in Barcelona on Wednesday
Viral video footage showed Gabriel (pictured in the tank top) tripping a suspected chain snatcher (left)Â
A law enforcement report from July did show an 8.8 percent decrease in criminal incidents in the first quarter of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024.
Figures also showed a 6.8 decline in thefts and a 5.5 percent decrease in violent robberies during the first three months of the current year.
Daily Mail reached out to the National Police for comment.Â
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Mugger gets nasty shock after targeting victim while MMA fighter was watching nearby