on itv next monday

[scarlet]

on monday there is a programe on Itv at 8pm, about expats in spain who live inland finding themselves under attack from gangs of eastern european gangs. something I am not aware of. its another nail in the coffin, why dont they concentrate on the important issues like town halls, lawyers etc etc. it is ridiculous.

[olive]

I shall make a point of watching it as I live "inland".

A programme about "gangs of eastern european gangs" makes for better TV viewing figures than town halls and lawyers.

Has anyone on here got any hard evidence of such attacks? I wonder if there are similar attacks in the UK?

Maybe they are the same people that are attacking firefighters in the UK while they are trying to put out fires!

olive

[katy]

There was an article in the Spanish Sur about a month ago saying the E.European gangs had gone inland due to to stricter policing on the coast. Said there had been a large increase in this type of crime. The UK media must have picked up on this. I don't know how they know all crimes are done by E.Europeans though

[scarlet]

I know there was a couuple of burglarys in alhaurin and coin areas, but nothing that warrants a tv programme, maybe its the costa blanca as their are a lot more immagrants down that end. My husbands cousin live in torrevieja, and sit on their villa patio with a baseball bat to stop people jumping over the wall and stealing from their villa, which seems to be a common occurance. Its about time they did a documentary about the big problems in the uk, which seem to be a lot worse there.

[heathxxx]

A friend of mine was attacked in his home by an East European gang.

They gassed him & his wife in their bed and burgled the house. They live on the outskirts of Granada city.

They've still not caught the gang apparently.

This was about a year or so ago.

[scarlet]

this has been happening a lot on the coast, i think i would be more worried living in marbella or estepona, with the shootings being carried out by drug gangs etc, you could easily be in the way when the shooting happens, like a hairdresser in his salon did in marbella. the best alarm in the campo is a couple of big dogs.

[katy]

I have had properties in marbella for over 20 years and I only know (personally) one person who has been robbed. Know what you mean about the shooting in the hairdressers though that was dreadful.

Once had an Electrician from Cartama and he said you could not even leave a gas bottle outside or it would "walk", was a long time ago though maybe its improved. Doubt if the East Europeans were around then to blame.

[scarlet]

I have met loads of people all along the coast and marbella who have been mugged, burgled etc. Cartama must have changed a lot, and is still changing I dont know anyone who has a problem with stealing. But I live on land and not in the village houses, everywhere has gypsys even Marbella, they are usually the ones to watch. and some of the worst theives can also be english.

[brenda]

Have heard of 2 recent burglaries here - last one yesterday - that the Police are blaming on Eastern European gangs.

[Julie]

Hi Healthxxx

can you tell me what prove there was of your friends being gassed, as I have looked into people being gassed and there's doesn't appear to be any proof of this ever happening.

Scientist are saying its near impossible, or so I am told
Thanks

[scarlet]

i dont think he or she meant gassed as in gassed gassed if that makes sense, what happens on the coast is they spray a canister of stuff at you while you sleep, which i suppose keeps you asleep I think, but you do wake up perhaps a little groggy. get a big dog and you will be fine

[katy]

Julie you are correct it has been dis-proved many times. Sort of an internet myth. Think a lot have slept soundly and cannot believe they did not hear anything. I do think dogs are a deterrent and you get the pleasure of having them too

[Julie]

Hi Kate

Yes that is my point, as the last poster again said, they spray gas at you, i don't believe this to be true, so I am asking now the second poster, do you know of any proof that a person has had a gas sprayed at them?
Cheers

[katy]

I read but can't remember where that to put enough gas into a house to knock people out would take a tankerfull, this article was from a named expert. Others said it was put through the aircon, they said this was technically impossible. be prepared for the TV programme to go along with it though, they are very light-weight in their "factual" programmes, think they just like a trip over here!

[BENIDORM]

I've only ever heard about 'gas' being used to rob people in motor caravans, I did meet someone who had been attacked, and their rings were removed from their fingers while they were still 'knocked out'.

I would be most surprised if this method could be used to rob someone in a house..
Having being unfortunately robbed in Spain several times, mostly from cars or business premises, I don't think any would have been by Eastern block thieves, mainly gypsies, and the biggest robbery I suffered, was by a gang of Dutch thugs...

Doesn't matter where you are, you could be robbed, but don't get paranoid, just be vigilant...

I'm getting fed up of reading UK coverage of problems in Spain, in my opinion always 'blown out of all proportion', including demolitions, UK residents seem to be of the opinion that every Brit is having their homes demolished...
Yes, I do feel sorry for anyone who has suffered, but I believe it is only a very small percentage of people who are affected...

[Jool]

I agree Benidorm.....I have yet to see any UK programme or journalist who actually has their facts straight and reports anything accurately.....They always baulk at the real stories such as town hall corruption.......the inequitable political system and differences in relationship between Regional and local authorities of the same party and the others........I can understand some difference in feeling but to be so partial to town halls of your own persuasion and persecute the others and all those who live in them is tantamount to dictatorship....vote of us or else.....

[gerryh]

Hi Benidorm
I am a motor home user. I don't think there is any factual evidence of people being gassed in their motor home.
Almost all motor homes have fridges that run on mains, 12V or bottled gas. It is normal, for an overnight stop, to use the fridge on bottled gas. This uses a flame to run the fridge.
Anaesthetic gas is inflammable.
If thieves pumped gas into a motor home there would soon be a huge explosion. I suppose this would put the occupants and thieves to sleep, probably permanently
Before anybody mentioned the case, on BBC TV, about a couple getting gassed and robbed in their motorhome it is worth knowing that this ewas the alledged second time it had happened to them and a large amount of money and jewelry was stole.
Call me a cynic but I don't think anybody carries a large amount of money and jewelry in a motor home.
Perhaps their large insurance claim was significant.

[julian]

any UK journalist who got his facts straight and reported anything accuratly about Spain would be sacked the next day by the paper, or tv station, he works for !

[Julie]

I am also a motor home user, (new to the hobby, i have to say)
and this is were I was thinking about really, but I am told that a lot of people who think they have been gassed, have slept very deep, due to long traveling hours etc, I did post on a forum of 25k users about it, and none actually knew anyone who had been gassed in their motor home.
Thank God

[Miro]

A friend of mine was attacked in his home by an East European gang.

They gassed him & his wife in their bed and burgled the house. They live on the outskirts of Granada city.

They've still not caught the gang apparently.

This was about a year or so ago.

Never mind whether it's actually possible or not to gas someone in their home, how on earth did these people know that their attackers were East European??????????????????????????
They were (allegedley) gassed and therefore presumably unconcious at the time of the incident, AND the gang have never been caught. One can only presume that they left a calling card printed in Romanian, Bulgarian or whatever.
Could it just possibly be a case of the Spanish press being so bigoted that it dare not suggest that the culprits could by any chance have been, shock, horror, Spanish?? Or is it maybe too unbelievable that a Spaniard would bother to commit such a small scale crime, when they could instead run for mayor and rip thousands off in the same time taken to rob one household?