Increasing numbers of British expats seem to be getting targeted by criminal gangs on the Spanish costas. Something to bear in mind for anyone thinking of fleeing Britain for a new life in Spain...........


The Times 21st May

Panic sales on costas as gangs gas and burgle the British
By Edward Owen in Madrid and Daniel McGrory

CRIMINAL gangs are targeting British homeowners on the Spanish costas and using knockout gas to overpower their victims in exclusive resorts.
A spate of robberies and the murder last weekend of Winston Mills, 67, who was shot dead in front of his wife at their villa near La Manga, have prompted many Britons to put their properties on the market.

Some frightened residents block roads leading to their estate with sandbags every night and mount their own vigilante patrols at La Nucia, near Benidorm.

Victims have told The Times how the gangs sprayed them with an aerosol of anaesthetic gas that rendered them unconscious. One vetern British consular officer on the Costa Blanca, who was too scared to give his name, described how he was the recent target of a gang.

“I was asleep in my house with my wife, and my son was in another room. Suddenly I woke up and felt sweaty, sick and groggy for no reason. I staggered out of bed and I could hardly walk. I turned on the passage light, saw it was 5am and went to the bathroom where I vomited. I must have passed out again because it wasn’t until later that morning I realised that someone had entered the house during the night and robbed us, and I had not heard a thing.

“The robbers had even been next to our bed and stolen my wife’s jewellery and watch. They must have sprayed me with something to keep me asleep and that’s what made me ill.”

Police told him that he was a victim of skilled Eastern European gangs, mainly from Romania and Albania, who are stalking foreign residents. The police say that they are overwhelmed by the gangs’ activities. Mayors, worried about the damage being done to their area’s reputation, have promised to set up emergency task forces to cope with the menace, but British homeowners say that there is little evidence of extra patrols.

Chris Poole, a former police officer from Dudley, in the West Midlands, has set up a neighbourhood watch team to patrol the streets at Orihuela on the Costa Blanca. Worried British homeowners around Torrevieja, 30 miles south of Alicante, have set up 42 patrols.

Victims have complained that even when the gas gangsters are caught, lax laws allow them to go free. Some gang members have been detained as many as 25 times. Around Tarragona, hundreds of villas have been robbed in the past four months despite Operation Insomnia undertaken by the Civil Guard. Members of an Albanian gang were charged with 200 villa robberies. Britons who have tried to resist their attackers have been treated brutally. One pensioner was stabbed in the neck, tied up and left for dead as a four-man gang ransacked his home.

The frustration at the lack of police action led to a meeting last week between Enough is Enough (Ya Está Bien), a foreigners’ action group, and Etelvina Andreu, the regional government delegate in Alicante. She acknowledged that the extra police protection that was promised would not arrive until later this year. A spokesman for the Civil Guard said: “This is a paradise for [the criminals], with tens of thousands of villas and apartments. They go for wealthy-looking properties, especially with nice cars outside.”

hi there

after reading this articl today and a few more over the last week i would like to ask anyone if they have any idea what the crime level in javea on the costa blanca is like ie burglaries etc
i ask this question as myself and my family which includes an 8 year old boy are in the process of looking to move to javea this year when our house sale goes through but these articals have upset us alot so we need some more truthfull feedback on the town
please if anybody has any infomation on javea please send it to me or post it on this website
thankyou
mr j d haver
thehavers@tiscali.co.uk

Hi

I think that most of the criminal activity referred to in the article is taking place quite a long way down the coast from Javea in those more newly built resorts to the south of Alicante like Torrevieja, Orihuela Costa etc. Apart from the criminal gangs I would not touch those places with a bargepole anyway as the huge developments there seem to be 'jerry-built' with very poor build quality and lack of infrastructure. Sounds like they may also be turning into ghettos for elderly North Europeans.

Having said that I notice the article also refers to trouble in La Nucia near Benidorm which is not far from Javea so you are right to be concerned.
Have you visited the forum at BritishExpats.com they have a Spanish forum and its worth asking for info there. Heres the link :

BritishExpats.com Spain forum

I used to visit Calpe regularly though this was several years ago and I believe the area has become a lot busier since then. There was some crime though far from excessive and mainly confined to opportunist burglaries and the occasional bag snatch. Javea was a pleasant town with some character and historical features. Denia and Gandia also worth a look. Lots of Germans in Denia while mainly Brits in Javea (in those days anyway) Big masonic lodge full of Brits in Javea if you're into that sort of thing

Wherever you go my advice would be to avoid Brit-only ghettos. Live somewhere mixed where there are also Spanish people living. I noticed the police and the Guardia tend to take crime more seriously when its Spanish people making the complaints.

Good luck.

Might be worth watching for anyone considering moving to the Costas.......

ITV1 Monday 25 July

20:00 Tonight with Trevor McDonald

The increase in the number of British people moving to the coastal towns of Spain has seen a rise in organised crime, as petty thieves target the residents of the new seaside developments. Expats share their stories and experiences and provide a cautionary tale for anyone considering a life in the sun

thankyou for letting us know about the programme, we were actually phoned up by granada tv who wanted us to appear on this very program but we declined because we did not want to be filmed but we gave our views on the matter and what we had been told as for moving to javea im afraid we have been put off which has upset us alot because we spent 2 years going out there getting our life sorted ie schools area to live so very upset but we are now looking at cyprus as a home round the paphos area if anyone has any views on this we would welcome them, we will watch the program tommorrow though

May I ask a personal question ??

Why are you looking to leave the uk ?? One minute it was spain, and now you are looking at Cyprus. What's up ??

There seem to be a glut of cautionary stories about moving to Spain in the media at the moment. Here's the latest............

Another TV prog. on some of the drawbacks of buying abroad.

One of the main reasons not to buy now is that property is almost as overvalued as here in the UK, perhaps even more so in the case of Spain. With sales drying up though it looks like prices will be tumbling rapidly in the foreseeable future.........

quote :

Housetrapped in the Sun
Channel: Channel 4
Date: Tuesday 27th September 2005
Time: 20:00 to 21:00

Property expert Andrew Winter travels to Europe on a mission to help the British owners of three properties for whom the dream of a new life in the sun has turned into a nightmare. One hundred and fifty thousand Brits bought abroad last year and 100,000 are planning to go in the next six months. Across the continent a real estate gold rush is fuelling soaring prices and it seems everyone wants a slice. But there's a property time bomb waiting to go off. There are big risks buying abroad, whether it's in a stable western market or an emerging eastern economy. Right now foreign property is as much as a third overvalued, a particularly tough proposition for sellers. Andrew meets homeowners dealing with stagnating markets, property confiscation, legal battles and subsidence. The programme also reveals the results of a specially commissioned survey of 6,000 people about other foreign property nightmares, from frustrating bureaucracy to confusing property law and language difficulties.

Javea is a generally safe town, but it isn't true to say most of the crime is south of Alicante. Some of the worst affected areas are between Benidorm and Denia in terms of ex-pats being targetted. And that includes Calpe.

A lot of Brits live on "urbanisations" that are semi-legal at best or in rural houses that the Spanish would only use in the summer (they are like fridges in the winter!). The crooks know that the police rarely if ever patrol such estates and that many of the houses have no phones to call for help. They also know that most Brits speak little or no Spanish. Add to this the fact that a lot of Brits live like they are on permanent holiday (until the money runs out) and will leave doors unlocked, windows open, etc., and a lot of them present themselves as easy targets.

And putting it all into perspective, you are more likely to be robbed in your home town in the UK than in Javea.

The "worst" thing about Javea is the sheer number of ex-pats who now live there and the amazing amount of building that has gone on in the town since 2000.

Buying in Spain at the moment is a very risky business gioven the bubble nature of the market. Try renting for a year (Javea has hundreds of rental properties) to see if you really like it. Holidaying in Spain and living there are not the same and many Brit families go home after just a few months.

I've been reading these horror stories with interest and wondering if I'm on the same planet.

I actually live in Javea and while I know there is crime, I can't relate to the doom-mongering. I really don't feel in danger and it's a shame that some people are actually putting off coming to live here although I do question their commitment. I see police about here all the time unlike in England. It makes me feel safer to know they are around.

The best advice is to come here, not just read the papers or watch TV programmes - come here and talk to locals and make your own mind up before you make what is a very big move for many differing reasons.

The property market is currently flat and so yes it does make sense to rent first. I do also know people moving back but equally others absolutely love it here. I have more info. on my own site if you are interested in moving to Spain.

Mark