Irish couple in Albuferia kidnapped at gunpoint and robbed

Murt10

Just listened to a piece on "Talk to Joe" about an Irish couple who were kidnapped and robbed at gunpoint last week in Abbuferia by a gang of three Roma gypsies.

They threatened to shoot him and sell his fiancee into the sex trade. They took them in a car to the bank machine.

To crown off their holiday from hell, they stayed indoors in their hotel and only went out again on the last night. When they came back they woke up to find that their hotel room was robbed, while they were sleeping.

Talk about traumatic

https://www.rte.ie/radio/utils/radioplayer/rteradioweb.html#!rii=b9_21491572_53_11-01-2019_


https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/irish-couple-robbed-twice-during-nightmare-holiday-in-portugal-1.3755148

Cee-Jay-Cee

Ah those Roma, they’re wee scallywags!

Woke Hogan

It was unpleasant for them personally but it's totally unremarkable as a story.

retalivity

Think the point of the call was that the insurance company refused to assist them.

Woke Hogan

Woke Hogan wrote: »

It was unpleasant for them personally but it's totally unremarkable as a story.

A delayed flight is unpleasant. This seems slightly more traumatic

MaryBrosnan

What was carrying them there. They should have gone to Galway or Kerry for their holiday.

pablo128

MaryBrosnan wrote: »

What was carrying them there. They should have gone to Galway or Kerry for their holiday.

Yeah and freeze to death. And instead of being robbed by Roma you get robbed by hoteliers and publicans in Ireland.

I have been on 'the strip' in Albufeira a few times. It doesn't strike you as the kind of place you would get kidnapped from, which makes this case a bit more unusual.

TCM

A very strange story!!!

Woke Hogan

Deleted User wrote: »

A delayed flight is unpleasant. This seems slightly more traumatic

Traumatic for them, then.

up for anything

Woke Hogan wrote: »

It was unpleasant for them personally but it's totally unremarkable as a story.

Unremarkable as a story that a couple would be kidnapped from a busy holiday resort? I find it shocking.

They were very 'lucky' to get away so lightly. If they'd been in South Africa they wouldn't have made it back alive.

questionmark?

Woke Hogan wrote: »

It was unpleasant for them personally but it's totally unremarkable as a story.

Irish couple kidnapped at gunpoint in well known and generally safe tourist area of an EU country, gun pointed at male whilst female threatened with been sold to the sex slave industry. Ya just a normal story and day huh!!

Greybottle

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

Ah those Roma, they’re wee scallywags!

To be fair they make decent pasta for the price they charge.

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

questionmark? wrote: »

Irish couple kidnapped at gunpoint in well known and generally safe tourist area of an EU country, gun pointed at male whilst female threatened with been sold to the sex slave industry. Ya just a normal story and day huh!!

Well, freak crimes can happen anywhere. Jastine Valdez in our own country in broad daylight last year.

4068ac1elhodqr

It's very strange as Portugal (esp Algarve) has always been seen as one of the safest countries/areas in Europe.
Not only robbed, but they had their hotel room ransacked also.

nim1bdeh38l2cw

All seems unbelievable

The Tetrarch

Michael Substantial Stabilizer wrote: »

All seems unbelievable

"credit and debit cards stolen as well as at least one mobile phone." :rolleyes:
You would know how many mobile phones were stolen.

Strazdas

Going by social media, virtually nobody seems to believe their story and think it's Walter Mitty attention grabbing stuff.

scamalert

Strazdas wrote: »

Going by social media, virtually nobody seems to believe their story and think it's Walter Mitty attention grabbing stuff.

Well seems they were taken one way or another and most likely by roma who do no justice when it comes to these towns to ruin reputation, only thing noticed that in entire town you'd rarely see any cops pass by, say if comparing to Spain's tourist places, at all during summer there, but that said its no different from any other tourist place elsewhere, as far as safety goes if you keep to yourself and dont draw attention its hassle free.


Strip is prob smallest one ive seen as its no more then 5 minutes to walk past and really crap, for any entertainment unless you want to lose hearing.

Murt10

Strazdas wrote: »

Going by social media, virtually nobody seems to believe their story and think it's Walter Mitty attention grabbing stuff.

Normally I would be very cynical of the story it sounds so far fetched, but the fact that the Talk to Joe team actually spoke to the Portuguese police lends credence to their kidnapping story.

Benny Biscotti

Having the room robbed on top of it too. Definitely into go fund me territory there.

pablo128

scamalert wrote: »

Well seems they were taken one way or another and most likely by roma who do no justice when it comes to these towns to ruin reputation, only thing noticed that in entire town you'd rarely see any cops pass by, say if comparing to Spain's tourist places, at all during summer there, but that said its no different from any other tourist place elsewhere, as far as safety goes if you keep to yourself and dont draw attention its hassle free.


Strip is prob smallest one ive seen as its no more then 5 minutes to walk past and really crap, for any entertainment unless you want to lose hearing.

Any time I was there, I saw several well armed cops that you wouldn't look crooked at.

Granted it was summer time though.

Wheres Me Jumper?

Strazdas wrote: »

Going by social media, virtually nobody seems to believe their story and think it's Walter Mitty attention grabbing stuff.

no i disagree entirely.
Portugal is a fairly safe spot on the whole, but Albufeira does have a problem with this type of carry-on. Immediately after this guy another Irish guy was on Joe. He had been koshed over the head and robbed. The police who "discovered" him said he was lucky to be alive.

I know of several people who were robbed at gun-point there. In the case of one British couple the husband was shot and the bullet lodged just mms from his spinal column.

The perpetrators used to be Brazilian gangs, but from what I can make out the local Roma gangs are getting in on the act of late. Of course the Portuguese authorities are quick to play it down, as it's bad for business, but they are "fully aware" of the problems.

Personally i would continue to visit Portugal, but i would be extremely wary of Albufeira.

VinLieger

The hotel room being robbed on their last and only night they went out again is where this story jumps the shark

Wheres Me Jumper?

VinLieger wrote: »

The hotel room being robbed on their last and only night they went out again is where this story jumps the shark

well from what i could make out, they felt they were being followed and watched.
if that was the case, then it would not be so unbelievable imo.

Uncharted

#gofundMETOO

harr

As mentioned going by various posts on news sites ... people who know this couple personally have claimed its more than likely fabricated or majority of it made up... the Irish mirror have the story on Facebook and the comments under the story make interesting reading...

Spannerplank

questionmark? wrote: »

Irish couple kidnapped at gunpoint in well known and generally safe tourist area of an EU country, gun pointed at male whilst female threatened with been sold to the sex slave industry. Ya just a normal story and day huh!!

Give it a rest. Irishman (from safe eu country) attending a football match in another safe eu country assaulted by two guys from another safe eu country and left in a coma.

Sold I to sex slavery. The me a break

questionmark?

Spannerplank wrote: »

Give it a rest. Irishman (from safe eu country) attending a football match in another safe eu country assaulted by two guys from another safe eu country and left in a coma.

Sold I to sex slavery. The me a break

That was a nice ranty post from you wasnt it!
I was responding to a poster who said it was an unremarkable story. I presume you are referring to Sean Cox, if so are saying that what happended there was also unremarkable!?

Atlantic Dawn

Emergency flights home wanted yet he says later he had 3 bank cards stolen from the hotel on the last night after the initial card was stolen in the kidnapping, could he not have just bought his own flights home and then made a claim later if he was feeling so under threat? Most people I know with 4 bank cards would be able to fund flights home on them. He also mentions initially that €300 in cash was taken and €200 from the bank card from the initial theft by gypsies. Later he says a total of €1200 is gone in total after the room robbery so that would mean they had €700 left from the initial incident, plenty to fund home 'emergency flights'. Looking on Ryanair today, there's no Faro flight back to Dublin that is more than €55 from tomorrow until Saturday. Has he never heard of using the safe in a hotel room?

Whole tale sounded to me like a couple who went away, blew all their budget and wanted their parking in Dublin Airport covered.

pablo128

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Emergency flights home wanted yet he says later he had 3 bank cards stolen from the hotel on the last night after the initial card was stolen in the kidnapping, could he not have just bought his own flights home and then made a claim later if he was feeling so under threat? Most people I know with 4 bank cards would be able to fund flights home on them. He also mentions initially that €300 in cash was taken and €200 from the bank card from the initial theft by gypsies. Later he says a total of €1200 is gone in total after the room robbery so that would mean they had €700 left from the initial incident, plenty to fund home 'emergency flights'. Looking on Ryanair today, there's no Faro flight back to Dublin that is more than €55 from tomorrow until Saturday. Has he never heard of using the safe in a hotel room?

Whole tale sounded to me like a couple who went away, blew all their budget and wanted their parking in Dublin Airport covered.

If I was a cynic I'd say they were trying to turn over the insurance company.

McMurphy

Of all the make believe stories on the web, this one didn't happen most of all.

seamus

I wonder what their motivation is though. Why go to the trouble of filing a police report?

Maybe it's a half-truth, they got robbed while trying to do something dodgy, but filed a report saying they'd been mugged by gypsies.

Then finding themselves short on cash, decided to try and make some bank from the insurance company

Wheres Me Jumper?

maybe they never were in Portugal, and invented the whole drama in order to get on Joe.
people nowadays crave their 2 minutes of fame.

Fann Linn

Wheres Me Jumper? wrote: »

maybe they never were in Portugal, and invented the whole drama in order to get on Joe.
people nowadays crave their 2 minutes of fame.

And RTE is in on the act by allegedly contacting the Portuguese cops.

Fr_Dougal

This didn’t happen.

gmisk

I thought reading this story it doesn't make sense.....reading the Facebook story on Irish mirror is great craic, this guy seems like a total scumbag who has been done for assault and regularly rips people off, hopefully the police come down on them like a tonne of bricks for this BS

Mrsmum

It's like they threw everything plus the kitchen sick at the story in order to make it believable with the opposite result.

MarkHenderson

Terrible ordeal for them. Hope they find the scumbags who carried this out

gmisk

MarkHenderson wrote: »

Terrible ordeal for them. Hope they find the scumbags who carried this out

Do you genuinely think any of this happened?....Read the comments on the story on the Irish mirror Facebook..
https://www.facebook.com/191236384249467/posts/2330954113611006/

dudara

When I first read the article, I genuinely thought it was too far-fetched and frankly unbelievable. I frequently stay on the Algarve, and have never had anything but positive experiences. But then again, we've never stayed in Albufeira. Who knows? My scepticism level is still high though.

gozunda

dudara wrote: »

When I first read the article, I genuinely thought it was too far-fetched and frankly unbelievable. I frequently stay on the Algarve, and have never had anything but positive experiences. But then again, we've never stayed in Albufeira. Who knows? My scepticism level is still high though.

The Algarve has form for some similar incidents involving armed robbery etc

https://www.tripadvisor.co.za/ShowTopic-g189112-i331-k4797003-o110-Irish_tourists_robbed_at_gunpoint_in_their_villa-Albufeira_Faro_District_Algarve.html

http://www.theportugalnews.com/news/albufeira-robbery-suspects-caught/7763

Fann Linn

gmisk wrote: »

Do you genuinely think any of this happened?....Read the comments on the story on the Irish mirror Facebook..
https://www.facebook.com/191236384249467/posts/2330954113611006/

If, this didn't happen and this bloke is Walter Mitty, why did the Portuguese police confirm to RTE that an incident occured and they were investigating?

gmisk

Fann Linn wrote: »

If, this didn't happen and this bloke is Walter Mitty, why did the Portuguese police confirm to RTE that an incident occured and they were investigating?

They didn't confirm an incident occurred.
All I can see is below from them... The rest is all from the alleged victims.

Portuguese police are taking the incident “very seriously” and have two teams working on the investigation, RTE reported.

Fann Linn

gmisk wrote: »

They didn't confirm an incident occurred.
All I can see is below from them... The rest is all from the alleged victims.

Portuguese police are taking the incident “very seriously” and have two teams working on the investigation, RTE reported.

Listened to Duffy on Friday and cctv footage was mentioned also. Just find this so unbelievably bizarre that someone would put forward a fairytale for no apparent reason.

gmisk

Fann Linn wrote: »

Listened to Duffy on Friday and cctv footage was mentioned also. Just find this so unbelievably bizarre that someone would put forward a fairytale for no apparent reason.

The guy seems to be a scam artist tbh... Also done for assault.
It all seemed a bit random and far fetched for a reason..

anewme

Mrsmum wrote: »

It's like they threw everything plus the kitchen sick at the story in order to make it believable with the opposite result.

That's what struck me. Definitely a case of over egging it.

McMurphy

MarkHenderson wrote: »

Terrible ordeal for them. Hope they find the scumbags who carried this out

They'll be easily enough tracked I imagine.

Derry isn't all that big, and sure his and her photos all over Facebook.

uck51js9zml2yt

Wheres Me Jumper? wrote: »

maybe they never were in Portugal, and invented the whole drama in order to get on Joe.
people nowadays crave their 2 minutes of fame.

Indeed..I hear lahinch is nice:)

branie2

I've been to the Algarve three times, and nothing bad ever happened to me there.

Cockadoodledoo

Personally, if I was kidnapped at gunpoint with two threats (being shot and sold as a sex slave), I wouldn’t be overly enthusiastic about going out on the last night just to try and enjoy it.

He also said he gave his fiancée a bank card knowing there wasn’t any money in the account. That put her in a vulnerable position.... no?

Then when the card wouldn’t work, he was allowed to get out and help her and that is when they escaped. However when adding up how much they lost, he said €300 cash he had and €200 from the bank. How did they get the money from the bank??

Then they got robbed the second night. He said he got back to the apartment to find they had been robbed and woke up to find mobile phones etc missing. Did it happen while they were out or when they were asleep?

Thought he got a bit quiet at the end of the interview when Joe did a shoutout for anybody else that is in the airport.

enricoh

There was a few tourists done by the cops in brazil for making up robberies iirc. Looking for a quick payout from the insurance industry to keep the good times going!