According to Llorens, these groups act as “seasonal thieves,” arriving in the Canary Islands during winter, when tourist numbers are highest, especially cruise ship passengers. Once the season ends, they relocate to other cities such as Barcelona, Rome, Málaga, or Mallorca.
The primary targets of these criminals are tourists, particularly the elderly and cruise ship visitors, whose stays on the island are brief. This circumstance makes it difficult for victims to file complaints, as they often lack the time to do so before their cruise departs, leading to an underrepresentation of the problem in official statistics.
“"When you talk to politicians, they usually say that statistics do not reflect this increase in robberies, of course, because these people are on the island for four hours and do not have the material time to file a complaint because they miss their cruise."
These pickpockets, mostly from Eastern Europe, blend into the tourist environment, speaking English and using caps and backpacks to conceal stolen items. They operate in pairs or groups of three, employing tactics such as asking for change to distract victims or even paying museum entrance fees to go unnoticed in places where visitors feel safer. Additionally, they rent cars to move coordinately between tourist spots.
Despite the efforts of tour guides, who coordinate with the police, the fight against these groups is complex due to current legislation. Llorens criticizes that if the stolen amount does not exceed 400 or 500 euros, the legal consequences are minimal, fostering a sense of impunity. The sector hopes that the proposed law on repeat offenses may offer a solution to this problem.
The guide warns that although the situation may improve at the end of the cruise season, these groups are recurrent and will return in October, emphasizing the need to raise awareness about a problem that negatively affects the tourist image of the Canary Islands.
