Mallorca police arrest seven after Playa knife attacks

Seven people have been arrested after street sellers who tried to stop tourists being robbed in Playa de Palma, Mallorca, were allegedly threatened, attacked, bitten and stabbed. Spain’s National Police said the suspected group had been active since May. The arrests were announced on 5 September.

Investigators say the suspects mixed in among street sellers before approaching tourists and carrying out robberies, at times using dangerous objects and violence. Members of a Senegalese street-seller collective stepped in to help the victims and attempted to stop the thefts.

Police say the group then turned on those sellers with threats, coercion and assaults. Some of the alleged attackers bit and stabbed them.

The Judicial Police began its investigation after meeting representatives of the Senegalese collective, receiving complaints from its members and hearing from tourists who said they had been robbed. Once officers had identified the suspects, they mounted night-time operations with the Citizen Security Brigade’s Operational Response Group.

The seven detainees are suspected of threats, coercion, assault and belonging to a criminal group. A court has imposed varying orders barring them from Playa de Palma. The Playa de Palma Hoteliers Association says it will take part in the case through its lawyer.

Topics: Police · Protests · Tourism · Politics · Palma

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com