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Brits warned of pickpocket surge in Spanish holiday hotspot ahead of summer

Brits warned of pickpocket surge in Spanish holiday hotspot ahead of summer

Daily Mirror29-05-2025
Nearly 50 pickpockets and petty thieves targeting tourist victims have been arrested in the past month by police in Majorca, who have drafted in early reinforcements to tackle an expected summer crimewave
A Spanish holiday island has been hit with an influx of thieves hunting for a five-finger discount.
Nearly 50 pickpockets and petty thieves preying on tourists have been apprehended in the past month by police in Majorca. The problem has gotten so bad the force has called in early reinforcements to combat an anticipated summer crime surge.

The National Police on the holiday island has initiated 'Operation Summer' ahead of schedule by bringing in additional officers from the mainland. These officers specialise in 'prevent and rapid response' crimefighting and will work alongside local police employed by the town hall.

A spokesperson for the force in Majorca said: "They will serve on the island for a month as a prelude to the incorporation of other units who will work in the municipality of Palma ahead of the arrival of reinforcements in Manacor in Majorca, Ibiza and Menorca. So far 19 people have been arrested in Palma's Playa de Palma coastal area, most pickpockets and petty thieves operating at night-time. And in Palma's urban area itself 30 people have been arrested who are also mostly pickpockets."
READ MORE: 'I pulled my toddler from boring nursery for a holiday - she won't ever go back'
According to police the culprits were swiping belongings from holidaymakers, including wallets and purses containing ID documents and bank cards, which they subsequently used for shopping or withdrawing cash from ATMs.

"When they were arrested, officers discovered a rental car that hadn't been returned to the hire company, leading to suspicions that they intended to keep it. €1,200 in cash was also seized, along with two mobile phones each worth over £850, documents, and other high-end stolen items like designer sunglasses" the spokesperson said.
All the recovered items had been reported as stolen and have since been returned to their rightful owners.
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, police apprehended two minors in Playa de Palma who were spotted crawling across the sand to steal from tourists who were in the sea. They were intercepted and the stolen goods retrieved.

According to the police, the detainees reacted violently during their arrest, kicking and punching the officers.
On Tuesday afternoon around 3.30pm near Palma Cathedral, two pickpockets were caught by police while stealing a purse from a tourist's bag. The bag, containing $1,500 (£1,180) was returned to the tourist.
A police source said: "The criminals we are tackling with Operation Summer are primarily targeting tourists who tend to be more distracted and carry large amounts of cash with them. Undercover coppers, disguised as holidaymakers to blend in better, have been catching thieves red-handed."
Although Playa de Palma, east of the Majorcan capital, is more frequented by German and Dutch tourists than Brits, British visitors to the island centre are among the top victims.
Every summer, the Civil Guard also drafts in additional forces in Majorca to deal with the surge of criminals who set up base on the island during peak season, exploiting the increased number of potential targets compared to winter.
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It would be easy to slip and fall into the void, Jay Slater inquest hears
It would be easy to slip and fall into the void, Jay Slater inquest hears

ITV News

time21 minutes ago

  • ITV News

It would be easy to slip and fall into the void, Jay Slater inquest hears

Lancashire teenager, Jay Slater, who went missing in Tenerife last summer, was begged by a friend to get back to safety after he ventured off a mountain road down a dangerous ravine, his inquest heard. The 19-year-old had told his friends he was 'in the middle of the mountains' and in need of a drink, as he attempted a 14-hour walk home the morning after taking drugs and alcohol on a night out, Preston Coroner's Court was told on Tuesday. Mr Slater, from Oswaldtwistle, was holidaying on the Spanish island and had been to the NRG music festival with friends at the Papagayo nightclub in the resort of Playa de las Americas on June 16 last year. But he vanished the next morning after going with two men to an Airbnb in a village in the mountains miles from his holiday apartment. A huge search was launched after he was reported missing on June 18, and his body was found by a mountain rescue team almost a month later in a steep and inaccessible area, near the village of Masca on July 15. An inquest into his death resumed on Thursday after it was adjourned in May so witnesses could be traced. Friend Bradley Geoghegan said Mr Slater had taken ecstasy pills, and possibly ketamine, along with cocaine and alcohol, on the night out before he disappeared. The next morning, Mr Geoghegan said he got a video call from Mr Slater, who was walking along a road and was still 'under the influence', the court heard. Mr Geoghegan said: 'I said put your maps on to see how far you were. It was like a 14-hour walk or an hour drive. I said, 'Get a taxi back', then he just goes, 'I will ring you back'.' Coroner Dr James Adeley asked the witness: 'Did you get the impression he was in any way threatened or fearful, or under duress in a difficult situation?' Mr Geoghegan replied: 'No. I think he probably got there and thought, 'Why am I here?', sobered up and decided to come back.' Another friend, Lucy Law, called him around 8.30am and had sent him a message saying: 'Go back to wherever the f**k you just came from before it gets boiling.' She said on the call she asked him: 'What on earth are you doing? 'Where are you? 'He was just, 'I'm in the middle of the mountains'.' She asked him what he could see, and he replied: 'Nothing. Literally nothing. There's literally just mountains.' Mr Slater also said he needed a drink and asked if cactus are poisonous. Ms Law added: 'By this stage, I'm panicking.' Another friend, Brandon Hodgson, in a statement to Spanish police, said Mr Slater contacted him on a video call around 8.30am showing him surrounded by mountains, with his phone battery down to three per cent. Mr Hodgson said his friend was 'laughing and joking' and got the impression he was 'out of his mind.' He told police: 'Jay is mentally very child-like', and so he called Ms Law so she could call him to 'solve the problem'. Excerpts from information from the Spanish authorities was read out by the coroner, Dr James Adeley, including excerpts from the local Mountain Rescue services. It said the search for Mr Slater continued for 29 days and involved large-scale operations involving helicopters, dogs, drones and rescue teams. On July 15, they searched the treacherous Juan Lopez Ravine, where Mr Slater's body was found, an area described as having sheer cliffs and deep dense undergrowth. It was a little used area as it has no water and has to be accessed using machetes to cut through dense vegetation. Around 20 metres above where the body was found was Mr Slater's Armani bag with his phone and nitrous oxide gas canisters inside. The Spanish authorities said they could not explain why Mr Slater 'took a chance' to leave the road to descend down the ravine and he was unfamiliar with the area and his phone battery had died. But the sea can be seen from the head of the ravine, and they suggested he may have believed he could reach a beach and get help. The report said: 'It would be easy to slip on the rocks and fall into the void. 'The death of the missing person must have occurred as a result of an accidental fall.' Earlier, Ayub Qassim said Mr Slater had asked to come back to the Airbnb apartment where he and friend Stephen Roccas were staying. Mr Qassim described Mr Slater as: 'On a buzz. Chilled, happy. Mingling in'it.' He told the inquest he went to bed when they returned and could hear Mr Slater downstairs. He was woken about an hour later because he needed to move his car and when he returned to the house Mr Slater was leaving and said he was going to catch a bus. He said: 'I went 'bro, there ain't no buses coming here any time soon'.' He said Mr Slater left, despite him explaining that buses did not pass regularly. He added: 'At that point I presumed he'd sit at that bus stop and that's it. He's waiting till the first bus comes and he's out of there.' Mr Slater's mother, Debbie Duncan had asked for the inquest into the death to be resumed on Thursday after a number of witnesses failed to give evidence at the last hearing in May. She said Mr Slater's family still had questions about their loved one's death that needed answers. Coroner's officer Alice Swarbrick told the hearing efforts had been made to contact Mr Roccas and Mr Slater's friend Brandon Hodgson, but neither had responded. The hearing in May heard from a number of witnesses, including toxicology expert Dr Stephanie Martin. The court heard analysis showed traces of drugs, including cocaine, ketamine and ecstasy, along with alcohol, were found in Mr Slater's body. Home Office pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd said his post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as head injuries, and Mr Slater's body showed no evidence of restraint or assault, with the pattern of injuries consistent with a fall from a height. Marieke Krans, from Dutch rescue charity Signi Zoekhonden – which uses dogs, helped in the search. She said the area where the body was found was about a three-and-a-half-hour walk from the Airbnb and was 'really steep, really dangerous', and it was 'easy' to lose your footing. The inquest will continue on Friday.

It would be easy to slip… and fall into the void, Jay Slater inquest hears
It would be easy to slip… and fall into the void, Jay Slater inquest hears

Glasgow Times

time21 minutes ago

  • Glasgow Times

It would be easy to slip… and fall into the void, Jay Slater inquest hears

The 19-year-old had told his friends he was 'in the middle of the mountains' and in need of a drink, as he attempted a 14-hour walk home the morning after taking drugs and alcohol on a night out, Preston Coroner's Court was told on Tuesday. Mr Slater, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, was holidaying on the Spanish island and had been to the NRG music festival with friends at the Papagayo nightclub in the resort of Playa de las Americas on June 16 last year. But he vanished the next morning after going with two men to an Airbnb in a village in the mountains miles from his holiday apartment. A huge search was launched after he was reported missing on June 18, and his body was found by a mountain rescue team almost a month later in a steep and inaccessible area, near the village of Masca on July 15. An inquest into his death resumed on Thursday after it was adjourned in May so witnesses could be traced. Friend Bradley Geoghegan said Mr Slater had taken ecstasy pills, and possibly ketamine, along with cocaine and alcohol, on the night out before he disappeared. A firefighter looks over the village of Masca, Tenerife, during the search for missing teenager Jay Slater. (James Manning PA) The next morning, Mr Geoghegan said he got a video call from Mr Slater, who was walking along a road and was still 'under the influence', the court heard. Mr Geoghegan said: 'I said put your maps on to see how far you were. It was like a 14-hour walk or an hour drive. I said, 'Get a taxi back', then he just goes, 'I will ring you back'.' Coroner Dr James Adeley asked the witness: 'Did you get the impression he was in any way threatened or fearful, or under duress in a difficult situation?' Mr Geoghegan replied: 'No. I think he probably got there and thought, 'Why am I here?', sobered up and decided to come back.' Another friend, Lucy Law, called him around 8.30am and had sent him a message saying: 'Go back to wherever the f**k you just came from before it gets boiling.' She said on the call she asked him: 'What on earth are you doing? 'Where are you? 'He was just, 'I'm in the middle of the mountains'.' She asked him what he could see, and he replied: 'Nothing. Literally nothing. There's literally just mountains.' Mr Slater also said he needed a drink and asked if cactus are poisonous. Ms Law added: 'By this stage, I'm panicking.' Another friend, Brandon Hodgson, in a statement to Spanish police, said Mr Slater contacted him on a video call around 8.30am showing him surrounded by mountains, with his phone battery down to three per cent. Mr Hodgson said his friend was 'laughing and joking' and got the impression he was 'out of his mind.' He told police: 'Jay is mentally very child-like', and so he called Ms Law so she could call him to 'solve the problem'. Excerpts from information from the Spanish authorities was read out by the coroner, Dr James Adeley, including excerpts from the local Mountain Rescue services. It said the search for Mr Slater continued for 29 days and involved large-scale operations involving helicopters, dogs, drones and rescue teams. On July 15, they searched the treacherous Juan Lopez Ravine, where Mr Slater's body was found, an area described as having sheer cliffs and deep dense undergrowth. It was a little used area as it has no water and has to be accessed using machetes to cut through dense vegetation. Around 20 metres above where the body was found was Mr Slater's Armani bag with his phone and nitrous oxide gas canisters inside. The Spanish authorities said they could not explain why Mr Slater 'took a chance' to leave the road to descend down the ravine and he was unfamiliar with the area and his phone battery had died. But the sea can be seen from the head of the ravine, and they suggested he may have believed he could reach a beach and get help. The report said: 'It would be easy to slip on the rocks and fall into the void. 'The death of the missing person must have occurred as a result of an accidental fall.' Earlier, Ayub Qassim said Mr Slater had asked to come back to the Airbnb apartment where he and friend Stephen Roccas were staying. Mr Qassim described Mr Slater as: 'On a buzz. Chilled, happy. Mingling in'it.' He told the inquest he went to bed when they returned and could hear Mr Slater downstairs. He was woken about an hour later because he needed to move his car and when he returned to the house Mr Slater was leaving and said he was going to catch a bus. He said: 'I went 'bro, there ain't no buses coming here any time soon'.' He said Mr Slater left, despite him explaining that buses did not pass regularly. He added: 'At that point I presumed he'd sit at that bus stop and that's it. He's waiting till the first bus comes and he's out of there.' Mr Slater's mother, Debbie Duncan had asked for the inquest into the death to be resumed on Thursday after a number of witnesses failed to give evidence at the last hearing in May. She said Mr Slater's family still had questions about their loved one's death that needed answers. Coroner's officer Alice Swarbrick told the hearing efforts had been made to contact Mr Roccas and Mr Slater's friend Brandon Hodgson, but neither had responded. The hearing in May heard from a number of witnesses, including toxicology expert Dr Stephanie Martin. The court heard analysis showed traces of drugs, including cocaine, ketamine and ecstasy, along with alcohol, were found in Mr Slater's body. Home Office pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd said his post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as head injuries, and Mr Slater's body showed no evidence of restraint or assault, with the pattern of injuries consistent with a fall from a height. Marieke Krans, from Dutch rescue charity Signi Zoekhonden – which uses dogs, helped in the search. She said the area where the body was found was about a three-and-a-half-hour walk from the Airbnb and was 'really steep, really dangerous', and it was 'easy' to lose your footing. The inquest will continue on Friday.

It would be easy to slip… and fall into the void, Jay Slater inquest hears
It would be easy to slip… and fall into the void, Jay Slater inquest hears

North Wales Chronicle

timean hour ago

  • North Wales Chronicle

It would be easy to slip… and fall into the void, Jay Slater inquest hears

The 19-year-old had told his friends he was 'in the middle of the mountains' and in need of a drink, as he attempted a 14-hour walk home the morning after taking drugs and alcohol on a night out, Preston Coroner's Court was told on Tuesday. Mr Slater, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, was holidaying on the Spanish island and had been to the NRG music festival with friends at the Papagayo nightclub in the resort of Playa de las Americas on June 16 last year. But he vanished the next morning after going with two men to an Airbnb in a village in the mountains miles from his holiday apartment. A huge search was launched after he was reported missing on June 18, and his body was found by a mountain rescue team almost a month later in a steep and inaccessible area, near the village of Masca on July 15. An inquest into his death resumed on Thursday after it was adjourned in May so witnesses could be traced. Friend Bradley Geoghegan said Mr Slater had taken ecstasy pills, and possibly ketamine, along with cocaine and alcohol, on the night out before he disappeared. The next morning, Mr Geoghegan said he got a video call from Mr Slater, who was walking along a road and was still 'under the influence', the court heard. Mr Geoghegan said: 'I said put your maps on to see how far you were. It was like a 14-hour walk or an hour drive. I said, 'Get a taxi back', then he just goes, 'I will ring you back'.' Coroner Dr James Adeley asked the witness: 'Did you get the impression he was in any way threatened or fearful, or under duress in a difficult situation?' Mr Geoghegan replied: 'No. I think he probably got there and thought, 'Why am I here?', sobered up and decided to come back.' Another friend, Lucy Law, called him around 8.30am and had sent him a message saying: 'Go back to wherever the f**k you just came from before it gets boiling.' She said on the call she asked him: 'What on earth are you doing? 'Where are you? 'He was just, 'I'm in the middle of the mountains'.' She asked him what he could see, and he replied: 'Nothing. Literally nothing. There's literally just mountains.' Mr Slater also said he needed a drink and asked if cactus are poisonous. Ms Laws added: 'By this stage, I'm panicking.' Another friend, Brandon Hodgson, in a statement to Spanish police, said Mr Slater contacted him on a video call around 8.30am showing him surrounded by mountains, with his phone battery down to three per cent. Mr Hodgson said his friend was 'laughing and joking' and got the impression he was 'out of his mind.' He told police: 'Jay is mentally very child-like', and so he called Ms Law so she could call him to 'solve the problem'. Excerpts from information from the Spanish authorities was read out by the coroner, Dr James Adeley, including excerpts from the local Mountain Rescue services. It said the search for Mr Slater continued for 29 days and involved large-scale operations involving helicopters, dogs, drones and rescue teams. On July 15, they searched the treacherous Juan Lopez Ravine, where Mr Slater's body was found, an area described as having sheer cliffs and deep dense undergrowth. It was a little used area as it has no water and has to be accessed using machetes to cut through dense vegetation. Around 20 metres above where the body was found was Mr Slater's Armani bag with his phone and nitrous oxide gas canisters inside. The Spanish authorities said they could not explain why Mr Slater 'took a chance' to leave the road to descend down the ravine and he was unfamiliar with the area and his phone battery had died. But the sea can be seen from the head of the ravine, and they suggested he may have believed he could reach a beach and get help. The report said: 'It would be easy to slip on the rocks and fall into the void. 'The death of the missing person must have occurred as a result of an accidental fall.' Earlier, Ayub Qassim said Mr Slater had asked to come back to the Airbnb apartment where he and friend Stephen Roccas were staying. Mr Qassim described Mr Slater as: 'On a buzz. Chilled, happy. Mingling in'it.' He told the inquest he went to bed when they returned and could hear Mr Slater downstairs. He was woken about an hour later because he needed to move his car and when he returned to the house Mr Slater was leaving and said he was going to catch a bus. He said: 'I went 'bro, there ain't no buses coming here any time soon'.' He said Mr Slater left, despite him explaining that buses did not pass regularly. He added: 'At that point I presumed he'd sit at that bus stop and that's it. He's waiting till the first bus comes and he's out of there.' Mr Slater's mother, Debbie Duncan had asked for the inquest into the death to be resumed on Thursday after a number of witnesses failed to give evidence at the last hearing in May. She said Mr Slater's family still had questions about their loved one's death that needed answers. Coroner's officer Alice Swarbrick told the hearing efforts had been made to contact Mr Roccas and Mr Slater's friend Brandon Hodgson, but neither had responded. The hearing in May heard from a number of witnesses, including toxicology expert Dr Stephanie Martin. The court heard analysis showed traces of drugs, including cocaine, ketamine and ecstasy, along with alcohol, were found in Mr Slater's body. Home Office pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd said his post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as head injuries, and Mr Slater's body showed no evidence of restraint or assault, with the pattern of injuries consistent with a fall from a height. Marieke Krans, from Dutch rescue charity Signi Zoekhonden – which uses dogs, helped in the search. She said the area where the body was found was about a three-and-a-half-hour walk from the Airbnb and was 'really steep, really dangerous', and it was 'easy' to lose your footing. The inquest will continue on Friday.

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