How Love Island resort has become ‘criminals' paradise' with knife-clad Rolex rippers, rapes & ‘open war' between gangs
Last week a reality TV star was rushed to hospital after reporting being drugged and robbed at a party
MAYHEM IN THE MED How Love Island resort has become 'criminals' paradise' with knife-clad Rolex rippers, rapes & 'open war' between gangs
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WITH its sun-kissed beaches and chic capital city just a short flight away from the UK, Majorca is one of the most idyllic Mediterranean holiday hotspots.
A favourite of A-list stars and royalty alike, celebs including Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, tennis star Rafael Nadal and King Juan Carlos of Spain all boast homes on the island.
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Majorca is one of the most idyllic Mediterranean holiday hotspots
Credit: Getty
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The luxurious Love Island villa in the Majorcan countryside
Credit: Splash
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Police officers during an anti-drug operation in the neighbourhood of La Soledad
Credit: Getty
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Last week reality star Vanessa Mariposa was left vomiting and unable to walk after she was allegedly spiked on a night out in Majorca
Credit: Instagram / @vanessa_mariposa
While Michelle Keegan and Mark Wright have even named their baby daughter Palma in a touching nod to their love of its trendy capital.
No wonder TV bosses chose the picturesque island as the perfect romantic back-drop for the Love Island villa.
But as the new series of the dating show starts on Monday, we can reveal a darker underbelly to the island far removed from its reputation as the more laid-back luxury sister to the Balearic party capital Ibiza.
Tourists have been victims of rape, daylight robbery and assault, while under pressure cops have already arrested 50 suspected pickpockets before the summer season has barely started.
Last week a reality TV star was rushed to hospital after reporting being drugged and robbed at a party in a horrifying ordeal.
Austrian model Vanessa Mariposa, 32, was left vomiting and unable to walk after she was allegedly spiked on a night out in Majorca.
She said: "I was robbed - my Cartier bracelet was taken off my wrist and my SIM card was removed from my phone.
'I'm convinced the people who did this had far worse intentions... otherwise they wouldn't have drugged us or taken steps to stop us from calling for help.'
The worrying attack comes as the local police union claimed the island is becoming a 'paradise for criminals' flaunting their shortage of personnel ahead of the holiday season, when Majorca is flooded with tourists.
Cops claim their numbers have dropped in recent years and have called for back-up to help them take on the crooks targeting tourists.
How Brit tourist hotpsots in Spain became rife with murders and butchery - V2
Luis Bernardo Fernandez, the provincial secretary for the Unified Association of Civil Guards (AUGC) in the Balearic Islands told The Sun a police shortage had direct implications for holidaymaker safety.
He also said the rising number of illegal migrants reaching the islands meant already-stretched officers were being diverted away from other duties.
And he described the increase in sex crimes, up more than five per cent last year, as 'extremely worrying'.
Knife-wielding Rolex rippers
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Thieves are arrested on the streets of Palma after robbing tourists
Credit: Policia Nacional
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Last year a Brit holidaymaker had his phone and a £100,000 diamond Rolex watch snatched off him while on a night out (pictured: a thief is arrested for robbery of a tourist's watch)
Credit: Policia Nacional
Official figures show more than 80,300 crimes in 2024 in the Balearic islands, 2.4 per cent more, while the national average fell by 0.3 per cent.
Meanwhile a travel expert in Majorca is warning Brits to be on their guard as pickpocketing gangs are targeting visitors as they land at the airport and in supermarket car parks.
Alex Smith has lived on the island for 20 years and runs popular blog Mallorca Under the Sun.
She has warned of a crimewave sweeping the island as it gears up for summer.
Alex says the thieves aren't just active in the popular party resorts of Magaluf and Palma Nova, but are also hitting quieter spots favoured by families and pensioners.
On her YouTube channel Alex warned: 'We are only one week into the summer holiday season, pickpockets are running rife around the holiday resorts right now.
Pickpockets are running rife around the holiday resorts right now
Alex Smith, local blogger
'We had pickpockets in Puerto Pollensa last year but they have been getting out and about.
'We're talking Alcudia, Calabona, Playa de Palma, Peguera, Antratx, and Formentor, and we're even talking supermarket car parks as well, or within supermarkets.'
In recent years so-called 'Rolex gangs' have been operating on the island, daringly using knives to slice the expensive time-pieces off victims' arms before making their getaway.
Last year a Brit holidaymaker had his phone and a £100,000 diamond Rolex watch snatched off him while on a night out.
And just last month the National Police Robbery Squad launched an investigation into the theft of a Richard Millie watch valued at £245,000 from a young man while he was walking in the centre of Palma.
The brazen criminal approached the victim from behind, assaulted him and managed to steal his watch.
In January two Chilean men were jailed for nine years and six years respectively for a series of robberies at luxury homes on the island.
The two stole cash and valuables worth an estimated half a million Euros.
Brits a target
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Brit tourists are being targeted as soon as they arrive at the airport
Credit: Getty
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A robber caught on camera thieving from a tourist's hire car
Credit: Policía Nacional
But it isn't just the super-rich falling victim to the criminal gangs - Brits have reported having phones, cash and valuables stolen from their beach sunbeds as they sunbathe or take a dip in the sea.
As well as thefts and burglaries there are even more serious crimes impacting tourists on the island.
A British woman was robbed and raped in a horror attack on a beach last year.
The 30-year-old told detectives she agreed to go there in the early hours of the morning with a man she met and ended up agreeing to have sex with him, before a second man appeared on the scene and forced himself on her.
They then fled the beach near Palma with her belongings, according to the holidaymaker.
Also last summer a British teenager was allegedly raped after being plied with alcohol in a bar on the island.
And a 21-year-old British tourist claimed she was raped by a man who intercepted her as she returned to her holiday apartment in Port D'Antratx after a boozy night out with friends.
Police later arrested a 40-year-old Senegalese man.
The previous summer an 18-year-old British girl was allegedly gang-raped by eight men at a Magaluf hotel. Seven French men and one Swiss are still in prison awaiting trial.
Last week police arrested a Senegalese man accused of stabbing a young Dutch man in the back in Playa de Palma after being kicked out of a bar.
I was robbed - my Cartier bracelet was taken off my wrist and my SIM card was removed from my phone. I'm convinced the people who did this had far worse intentions
Vanessa Mariposa
The victim had to be hospitalised in Son Espases with a punctured lung. The suspect was charged with attempted murder.
Police have already had their work cut out this year, despite the summer season only just getting underway.
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.
National Police on the holiday island announced last month that they had brought forward 'Operation Summer' by bringing in extra officers from the mainland specialising in 'prevent and rapid response' crimefighting to work along town hall-employed local police.
A spokesman 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.'
A National Police spokesman said that the arrests included pickpockets and someone wanted for drug trafficking.
They also seized cash, ID documents and high-end stolen items including designer sunglasses.
But with the island proving to be a lucrative hunting ground for criminals, it is unlikely that they will go quietly.
Violent clashes
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Many of the Algerian immigrants appear to have arrived on the island in small boats. Pictured: a rescue operation after a boat carrying migrants arrived in Palma
Credit: AFP
Last year a group of locals turned vigilante to tackle a group of Algerians who were alleged to be bringing violent crime to the island.
Police were called to the Palma neighbourhood of Son Gotleu after a street fight involving around 50 people broke out.
The clashes were described by one local newspaper as an "open war between racial groups".
A band of locals - an unlikely union made up of Spanish gypsies, Morrocans and Africans - took it into their own hands to confront a squad of Algerians, who are said to have installed a reign of terror and have turned the neighbourhood into a breeding ground for violent crimes.
Videos emerged depicting the violence of the clashes between the two troops, as well as efforts by the police to restore order.
Many of the Algerian immigrants appear to have arrived on the island in small boats, prompting the Balearics President Marga Prohens to blame the lack of troops from the State Security Forces and Corps (FFCCSE) for the growing problem.
She said: "The lack of FFCCSE troops is linked to difficulties in controlling the worrying crime data in the Balearic Islands.
"As a government, we can only share the concern that this brings to citizens, especially when migrants arriving on the shores of the Islands face them with defiant and obscene gestures.'
Around 2,000 migrants have arrived already so far this year. We have had so much immigration and there really aren't enough staff to deal with it
Luis Bernardo Fernandez
Mr Fernandez told The Sun: 'On the subject of immigration we have been overwhelmed.
'Around 2,000 migrants have arrived already so far this year. We have had so much immigration and there really aren't enough staff to deal with it.
'Police are moved from Majorca to the other islands of Ibiza and Formentera to help out.
'In the summer reinforcements are usually brought in to boost police numbers but what is happening is that not everyone can come because of the high rental prices.
'In Ibiza there's nowhere to live. In Majorca it's impossible.
"There is all this talk of summer operations and reinforcements but there's always going to be a problem when there's no extra incentives for Civil Guard officers to come here, which is something we've been fighting for for years.
'As things stand today, the Balearic Islands are a place of punishment for officers who get transferred here.
'Nobody wants to come to places like Majorca because of the high cost of living and the fact officers don't get any extra wages or housing allowance of any kind.
'There is an increase in the number of officers but the ideal number of Civil Guard officers for the Balearic Islands should be around 1,730 and at present we currently have only around 1,200 to 1,300.
'We would need around 500 more and 500 are not going to come in the summer.
'The lack of police officers is definitely a factor that goes towards explaining these very concerning crime figure increases.'
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Palma Port is a popular area with joggers, cyclists and boaters
Credit: Getty
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And they spent 12 happy years together as the world swooned over two of the best-looking people in the world falling for each other like the love stories Hollywood is famous for. But as with so many blockbusters, young love turned to bitter hatred and Angelina filed for divorce in September 2016 — citing 'irreconcilable differences'. Now, all these years since the 2005 movie that birthed 'Brangelina', there is little sign of that attention-loving anarchy which defined Angelina's early showbiz life. And certainly no sign of the wild love life she once enjoyed — in fact, the beautiful A-Lister seems so resolutely single that pals are wondering, has marrying the sexiest man in showbiz ultimately turned her off men altogether? Priority is the kids While Brad has bounced back bigger than ever — living with girlfriend Inés de Ramón and garnering a slew of acting awards — Angelina seems to have become something of a recluse. Except from a few dinner dates with The Weeknd — where neither party confirmed a romance — she has remained resolutely single. Angelina Jolie is in 'goddess mode' with new beau – while Brad Pitt is 'putting on for the cameras' with his, says pro Even rumours she was dating Brit rapper Akala were quickly quashed. Despite allegations of abuse by Angelina, Brad has emerged relatively unscathed from the ugly eight-year divorce battle that ensued between them, before they finally finalised their divorce late last year. Meanwhile Angelina, who turned 50 last week, is still recovering from the turmoil, and the general consensus is that she would be hard-pressed to ever date again. Ange still has difficulty trusting, I don't know if she'll ever fully get over the trauma of her divorce. Source close to Angelina She may have been 'lucky' enough to marry the world's sexiest man but, in the wreckage of their acrimonious split and legal battles, she is now off men for good. Speaking exclusively to the Sun, sources tell us Angelina's scars still remain, and are unlikely to ever heal. 'Ange still has difficulty trusting,' says an insider close to the mum of six. 'I don't know if she'll ever fully get over the trauma of her divorce.' Despite being together for years, it was not until 2014 that Brangelina married, at their French vineyard-estate Château Miraval. She wore a veil emblazoned with doodles by their six children. 'It does feel different,' she told Vanity Fair shortly after. 'It feels nice to be husband and wife.' Yet two years later, the dream was over — its collapse sparked by a now-infamous bust-up on a private jet. Within a week of that, Angelina had filed for divorce, alleging in court papers that Brad, in a series of drunken rages, had attacked her and 'choked one of the children and struck another in the face'. 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As for the kids, four of the six are now legally adults so no longer qualify for custody — but have evidently distanced themselves from Brad entirely. It is believed Maddox has not spoken to him for years — while last year an old Instagram post by Pax resurfaced, in which he called his dad a 'world-class asshole'. Zahara and Shiloh are also said to have ceased contact with Brad, as they both now go by the surname Jolie — Shiloh even filed legal documents to make it official. At this point, only Vivienne and Knox are believed to have any contact with their father. But while Brad has seemingly lost the most from the Brangelina divorce, he looks to have had the biggest bounce-back. Just look at where he stands today — at the age of 61, with the world still at his feet. Despite all the drama and acrimony around his collapsed marriage, his reputation seems untarnished. I guess I'm in transition as a person. I feel a bit down these days. I don't feel like I've been myself for a decade, in a way. Angelina in 2023 Undoubtedly, there must be pain behind the scenes when it comes to his estrangement from the children, but he has played down any notion of enduring trauma. Brad said as much in his recent interview with GQ magazine, claiming the divorce, after all the drawn-out wrangling, was not 'that major of a thing'. He added it was 'just something coming to fruition, legally'. Angelina has remained silent since signing on the dotted line, but she has previously hinted at the chokehold that their fractured relationship has continued to have on her. In 2023, she told Vogue magazine: 'I guess I'm in transition as a person. I feel a bit down these days. I don't feel like I've been myself for a decade, in a way.' Her life has been solely focused around her kids, and they are — by all accounts — her greatest joy. That has been clear enough whenever she has walked the red carpet in recent years, always flanked by at least one of her children. Still, it's her priority as a mother that has also kept her undercover - and stuck in a city she hates. Last year, she complained that she was forced to stay in LA, where Brad is based, while her twins were still underage. 6 Brad with girlfriend Inés de Ramón Credit: Rex 6 Angelina was snubbed by the Oscars for her role in Maria, as opera singer Maria Callas 'I am here because I have to be here from a divorce,' she told The Hollywood Reporter. 'But as soon as they're 18, I'll be able to leave. When you have a big family, you want them to have privacy, peace, safety.' Snubbed by Oscars The subtext is that she neither feels privacy, nor peace, nor safety in her current surroundings. As for her acting career, she's tentatively dipped her toes back in - but the actress has failed to match the blockbuster success she had in the nineties and noughties. There's a reason Angelina is still single, and it's not for a lack of men lining up to date her A source We're told her performance as opera singer Maria Callas in last year's Maria was supposed to be her big comeback, but while she earned a Golden Globe nomination, she was snubbed by the Oscars. And rubbing salt into wounds, Brad's career continues to go from strength to strength. In 2020, he won his long-awaited Oscar for his role in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood - proving that Hollywood held no grudges towards him amid his and Angelina's war of words. He's since seen box office success with Bullet Train, while early critics who have seen his new movie F1 say it's the 'perfect summer blockbuster' - adding that Brad is back on top. The optics are that - while Angelina is stuck, Brad is soaring. And the same rules apply when it comes to romance. For his part, Brad is now happily shacked up with jewellery designer Ines de Ramon, 34, and the pair live together in his Los Angeles mansion. Meanwhile, Angelina hasn't dated anyone publicly since splitting from Brad. Ange is not in the same place as Brad since the divorce, even though she is over him. She's focused on her children, finding peace and keeping her life private. Source close to Angelina As our source explains, she's prioritised her kids and career over romance. That doesn't mean she's not over Brad - it just means that, having been burned before, she's unwilling to jump out of the frying pan and into the fire. 'Ange is not in the same place as Brad since the divorce, even though she is over him,' they said. 'She's focused on her children, finding peace and keeping her life private.' Another insider recently weighed in, 'There's a reason Angelina is still single, and it's not for a lack of men lining up to date her. "Fact is, she keeps them all at a distance because she's so terrified of getting hurt again the way she did with Brad.' Needless to say, this year is a pivotal one for Brangelina. It's now been 20 years since they went head to head as lovers-slash-enemies in Mr & Mrs Smith - before reality dramatically imitated art. Now, the divorce is final, the Brangelina era is over, and it's time for both to move on. Brad may be several steps ahead of his ex, but - with another movie, Couture, in the pipeline, as well as a successful clothing brand, Atelier Jolie - there's every hope that Angelina will reclaim her place in the limelight. For the moment, it seems she's biding her time and counting down the days until her twins turn 18, and she can make some big changes in life - including leaving LA. In the meantime, we're told she's happy surrounding herself with a 'very small circle of trusted friends' and keeping any dating options on the back burner. That former wild child may have baulked at the lack of her headline-grabbing antics, but the bottom line is Ange will always choose peace. Once a hellraiser, she then went through hell. And as the trauma subsides, she's licking her wounds and biding her time. And rubbishing any idea that she needs a man to make things better.
