Man arrested for planting GPS tracker on employee's car amid ongoing sick leave dispute
11 September 2023, 15:23 | Updated: 11 September 2023, 15:30
A man has been arrested after planting a GPS tracker on an employee's car amid a long-running dispute over sick leave.
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The businessman was arrested and held by Spanish police after allegedly attaching the tracking device to the bottom of the employee's car - who was signed off with anxiety at the time.
The incident allegedly marked the culmination of an ongoing work dispute between the employee and his boss.
The pair's fractious relationship is said to have taken a turn when the employee unexpectedly discovered the GPS device, planted on the underside of his vehicle, as he was washing it.
“I got underneath the car and saw that the plastic had been broken and there was this device attached,” the anonymous employee told Spain’s Antena 3 news.
“Nothing like this has ever happened to me before and it creates a lot of insecurity, especially given the reason I was on medical leave," the employee told the news channel.
Adding: "This only makes it worse and heightens anxiety.”
Upon further investigation, it was found that the SIM card installed in the device was registered in the name of a company hundreds of miles away.
It's reported that the company, based in Zaragoza, hadn't realised it was being billed for the SIM until it was flagged by police.
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Despite the accused man having no apparent link to the company in question, investigators saw it fit to proceed with the arrest.
The businessman now also stands accused of document fraud in relation to the SIM card contract, as well as property damage in relation to the employee's car.
A Seville court is now in the process of considering evidence and will now decide whether to proceed with criminal charges.
