A new BBC1 television programme is underway and it is about the scams, cons and problems experienced by tourists abroad. They want to know if you’ve been had.

Examples of scams are:

-  bags/luggage stolen

-  tricked into boat trips

- taken advantage of in Taxis

-  locals posing as a uniformed officials.

If you experienced any of these or any other situations that conned you out of  money or put you in a tricky spot then then Auntie Beeb wants to know.

Post a comment below or if you prefer to be contacted privately then send me an email and I will pass it on.

So there we were, obviously a shifty looking crew, me, two kids, a grandmother and a big daft dog with a halter-type face mask on. We were plodding along the street at snail’s pace, the dog, huge as he is was neither pulling nor showing any interest in anything other than his ‘weans’ as he likes to keep an eye on them when they are gadding about.

On the other side of the street, a wee hairy mop of a dog was yapping its head off and slinging bribes in our direction, but Tito, to his credit, didn’t blink an eye at it.

That didn’t stop a police car from coming to a stop a couple of feet ahead of us and the coppers inside it, giving me a stern talking to about the fact the dog didn’t have a muzzle on. Actually the face mask he was wearing gives me more control than a muzzle would and also effectively pulls his mouth shut if there were to be any trouble. The pc on the other side of the car got our and bobbed about shouting that this was a dangerous dog. “No, he’s not!” my mother scoffed while Tito threw himself to the ground with a huge sigh of boredom.

Only a couple of days before an elderly lady had been mugged in the area by three local boys on a scooter. One got her round the neck, while a second grabbed her bag. In total they got away with about €150 in booty but they left the woman feeling very shaky and upset. Worst of all is that the locals say even the police know who the wee thugs are but can’t touch them because they are under 16.

Meanwhile, Tito’s eyes had glazed over and he rolled on his side totally disgusted with this interruption to our pleasant family walk. We were finally let off the hook after being threatened with a steep fine and assorted dire penalties if the dog was not wearing a muzzle the next time they saw me with him.

Do you think it would have made a difference if I told the police that Tito was under 16?

Busted at Reina Sofia

A 47 year old foreigner was arrested at Reina Sofia last Thursday under suspicion of drug trafficking.

Entering Tenerife on a domestic flight, the man’s nervousness  attracted the attention of the officers there who searched him and found two bags hidden about his person that after analysis were found to be full of cocaine with a gross weight of 1 kilo of narcotic.

Busted in Candelaria

In another drug related bust, a 28 year old had his collar felt in Candelaria after a period of surveillance led the police to suspect him of drug trafficking. After searching the individual’s home the officers recovered 12.5 grams of cocaine, two grams of hashish and two grams of marijuana and assorted drug-traficking paraphernalia.

Busted in Güimar

The Guardia Civil successfully brought to justice the nineteen year old high roller who kicked in the door of a local casino, forced open the till and made off with €70 in change.  As a resident of the town in which he committed his dastardly act, the youth was quickly aprehended after he was identified by witnesses.

A gang of Balkan jewel thieves who call themselves The Pink Panthers have been nicking luxury goods and raiding jewellery shops from Tenerife to Timbuktu. One of the gang, Rifat Hadziahmetovic, from Montenegro was arrested as he tried to leave Cyprus on a fake passport and is currently being held pending a hearing regarding his extradition to Spain on March 31st

Inspector Clous… Andreou informed the press that the suspect was “…initially detained on suspicion of possession of forged documents, but further inquiries revealed he was wanted by Interpol for being a suspected part of the Pink Panther gang,”

Apparently the suspect was also identified by a tattoo on his leg though no information is currently available to support the rumour that it was of a large pink cat.

Hadziahmetovic is wanted in Tenerife among many other places for the theft of luxury items including watches and precious jewels, with the watches alone having an estimated value of 660,000 euros (877,000 dollars), according to an Interpol message received by Cyprus police.