Summer crimewave in top holiday spot popular with Irish as tourists targeted by criminal gang amid protest chaos
IRISH people abroad are being warned of a criminal gang taking wallets, phones, ID documents and designer items from unsuspecting tourists.
Police in
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Palma de Mallorca in a popular holiday spot amongst Irish tourists
Credit: Getty Images - Getty
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The summer crimewave comes alongside protests against tourists
Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
And nearly 50 pickpockets and petty thieves who "have their sights set" on tourist victims have been arrested in the past month by
National Police on the holiday island announced on Monday they had brought forward 'Operation Summer' by bringing in extra officers from the mainland.
The top cops, working alongside town hall-employed local police, specialise in "prevent and rapid response" crimefighting.
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,
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The summer crimewave comes as tourists heading across Europe fear they will be targeted by protestors holding
across the Spanish archipelago's islands, including Tenerife, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura, last May, with around 23,000 chanting: "The Canaries has a limit."
And
This summer,
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Meanwhile, detectives in Majorca revealed the first arrest figures linked to the 'Operation Summer' advance last night.
Thousands of anti-tourist protesters flood Spanish hols hotspots & call on mob to super glue holiday rental locks
So far, 19 pickpockets and petty thieves that were operating in the Palma's Playa de Palma coastal area at nighttime have been arrested.
In Palma's urban area, cops said 30 people who were "mostly pickpockets" were lifted by officers.
Detailing the latest arrests this week, the spokesman added: 'On Tuesday police in Playa de Palma arrested three men, two Romanians and a Moroccan, on suspicion of theft, fraud and misappropriation..
GANG WORKING TOGETHER
'One of them turned out to be wanted for drug trafficking.
'They are members of a criminal gang specialising in targeting tourists holidaying on the Majorcan coast.
'They acted on a task-sharing basis, taking belongings from holidaymakers including wallets and purses with ID documents and bank cards they then used for purchases in different shops or to take out money from cash machines.
'When they were arrested officers seized a rental car they had not returned to the hire car firm which they are suspected of intending to keep.
'€1,200 in cash was also confiscated from them along with two mobiles phones worth more than £850 each, documents and other high-end stolen items like designer sunglasses.
CRIMINALS 'CRAWLING ON SAND'
'All the items recovered had been reported stolen and have been returned to their rightful owners.
'In the early hours of Tuesday morning police arrested two minors in Playa de Palma they had spotted crawling across the sand to take the belongings of some tourists who were in the sea.
'They were intercepted and the stolen items recovered.
'The detainees reacted aggressively when they were being arrested by kicking and punching the officers.
'On Tuesday afternoon around 3.30pm near Palma Cathedral two pickpockets were intercepted by police as they pinched a purse from a holidaymaker's bag.
'The officers were able to return the stolen purse, which had 1,500 US dollars and other valuables inside, to the victim on the spot.'
STING OPS
One police insider told today how the criminals officers are tackling as part of Operation Summer "have their sights set" on tourists who tend to be more distracted and carry large amounts of cash.
They added: "Many of the offenders are being caught red-handed by undercover cops disguised as holidaymakers themselves so they can blend in better."
Although Playa de Palma east of the Majorcan capital is more popular with German and Dutch tourists, Irish nationals are being targeted in Palma centre.
The pickpocket and petty theft figures released by National Police earlier this week are separate to those of another national Spanish police force, the Civil Guard, who are responsible for areas like party hot spot Magaluf.
The Civil Guard also brings in reinforcements every summer in Majorca to cope with the influx of criminals who base themselves on the island during peak season to take advantage of the fact there are more people to target than in winter.
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Nearly 50 pickpockets and petty thieves have been nabbed by police in Majorca over the past month
Credit: Getty Images - Getty
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Locals at a demonstration against mass tourism in Majorca last summer
Credit: Alamy Live News
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Distracted tourists are being targeted by the criminals
Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
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