The Paseo de España in the area of the park overlooking the seafront and the Paseo de los Curas in Málaga has become the favourite haunt of the ladies who, using the pretext of selling carnations and rosemary, relieve unwary tourists of their money.
The presence of these women and other habitual criminals is governed by the sailing schedules of the cruise ships arriving and departing Málaga. With departing ships, the added advantage for these villains is that tourists are often in a hurry to return and the boat has often already sailed by the time the tourist realises they have been robbed.
The thieves are very skilled and in the case of the flower sellers, they seem to be aware of a police presence even if the officers are not in uniform. The thieves work in groups and alert each other to any danger, and catching them red-handed is no easy task for the police.
However, last year the police handed out 339 sanctions to flower sellers and charged 58 with disobedience, a new and more effective tool in the police armoury. The flower sellers have a total disregard for the law and charges of disobedience are thought to be more effective.
So far this year there have been 128 sanctions and 25 charges of disobedience.
Two flower sellers who distracted a German tourist while a third person allegedly relieved said tourist of €150 were found to have a record of 31 prior cases of theft. This sort of situation is not at all uncommon, many of the thieves having a long criminal past.
The problem, as always, is actually catching the thieves red-handed.