Brits warned of pickpocket surge in Spanish holiday hotspot ahead of summer
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
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North Wales Chronicle
an hour ago
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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. 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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.
