Brazil, Ilha de Itaparica: Three separate incidents in a week – March 2015
Published 9 years ago, updated 5 years ago
Posted as a comment on the Brazil main page by Thomas Rupp
March 30th, 2015
I’m in Itiparica for one week.
During this time one boat was boarded during the night and robbed (the owners and their dog were on the boat sleeping and the boat was open, they noticed the theft the next morning).
One couple was attacked by 4 locals with machetes whilst on the beach to the left of the marina during the afternoon, and their bag was stolen.
And one boat was boarded during the day while the owners were at the marina. Luckily another boat noticed the thieves on board and chased them in their dinghy.
Whilst these thieves were caught and hopefully, the nightmare is over, cruisers should be careful.
All of the involved boats are in the anchor field directly outside the marina.
I will tell the 3 couples about noonsite and see if they can send in first-hand reports.
Thomas Rupp
Itiparica, 30.03.2015
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See local news item about these incidents dated 20 April – http://marsemfim.com.br/alerta-em-itaparica-novos-assaltos-assustam-velejadores/#.VTek2PnF-Sp
Titled: Another place of Bahia is terrorized by robbers. The alert is now in Itaparica.
Use Google Translate, however, the message here is that most boats anchor off the marina and not inside the marina where security is much better.
http://www.tupinambafm.com/?p=9091
Google translation of above news article -“Member suggests creating nautical police to curb crime in the Bay of All Saints April 15, 2015, Bahia, Police State Representative Pedro Tavares (PMDB) suggested the creation of a Police Battalion Boating in the Bay of All Saints. The proposal was made during a meeting of the Committee on Infrastructure and Tourism Development of the Bahia Legislative Assembly (ALBA), on Tuesday (14), with the participation of the Secretary of Tourism of Bahia, Nelson Pellegrino (PMDB).
The parliamentary recalled that foreign sailors have been victims of armed robberies in Itaparica Island, as published by the Bahia News on Monday (12). “My idea is that you create a mechanism to combat this type of crime because it is a very bad impact to the state,” explained Tavares. The expectation is that the parliamentary secretary Nelson Pelegrino discuss the matter with the Secretary of Public Security (SSP).”
Authors note – This response is typical for most South American countries – lots of chest slapping AFTER an incident but it is all quickly forgotten. They posses neither the finance or the desire to do anything positive. Don’t hold your breath on this one. Even with a Policia Militar post on the Itaparica Marina for the past 4 years, crime in the area has not decreased. The number of incidents against sailors is not accurately reflected by noonsite reports – incidents continue to go unreported.
Thanks Ron for the extra details.
The beach robbery – information obtained from one of the victims – occurred at 12*53.55S 38*41.13W. The beach is situated 1.17km almost due south of the anchorage. Among the items stolen were an e-book reader a tablet and a ‘GoPro’ camera.
This beach is close to a very poor area of Itaparica which should be avoided. A few years ago a group of ‘yachties’ barbecuing on the same beach were robbed at gunpoint, during which time one of the ‘yachties’ was hit in the eye by a pellet from a shotgun blast.
The open display of jewelry, cell phones, cameras, and other electronics is constantly advised against.
According to second-hand reports, 3 young men aged in their late teens early twenties were chased by a ‘yachtie’ in his dinghy who saw the thieves aboard a neighboring yacht. The 3 young men tried to swim away. They were eventually apprehended and taken to the police station. A bag of electronics taken from the boat was recovered in the water. The thieves then accused the ‘yachtie’ of trying to run them over with his dinghy and there was some talk of serious charges being laid against the ‘yachtie’. The 3 thieves were retained in custody with a report that they would receive lengthy jail sentences.
NOTE* Under no circumstances should an adult lay a hand on a child or young person here in Brazil. I know first hand of a ‘yachtie’ who was arrested and imprisoned for detaining a child who he had caught pouring water into the fuel tank of his outboard motor.
Note to Editor. I asked one of the victims of the beach robbery to please file a report and request the others to do likewise but until the first-hand facts are reported this interim account gives what details I was able to gather.