The thefts are not violent, but rather crimes of opportunity. Illustrative photo: Sofía Medeles.

Sofía Medeles (Ajijic).- Purse thefts have been reported in at least 17 places  in Lakeside in  the towns of Ajijic, San Antonio Tlayacapan, the municipal capital of Chapala and San Juan Cosalá,. The thieves have mostly targeted tourists and Expats.

One of the sites of the incidents was  the Lake Chapala Society (LCS) in Ajijic, a popular gathering place for both Expats and local Mexicans. LCS  executive director Luis Pacheco assured Laguna that the  two mishaps were not violent, but rather accomplished  by distracting the victims. 

«The two thefts occurred in LCS were not  violent,. The thieves – a foreign woman and two Latinos  – use a practiced modus operandi. There are at least 17 public spaces and restaurants, or businesses, where robberies of this type have occurred and, in some of them, the  thieves identified are the same ones who operated here,» said Luis Pacheco.

In the Lake Chapala Society property, located in the downtown area of Ajijic, there have been two incidents of this type. Photo: Sofía Medeles.

According to the LCS executive director, the modus operandi of the pickpockets is that the foreign woman approaches to talk to other tourists or Expat residents to distract them, while the other two people create a barrier and grab their  possessions. 

Pacheco pointed out that the person in charge of Ajijic’s office, Maximiano Macías Arceo, Chapala Security Commissioner  Sergio Conzuelo Ramírez, and the municipal president, Alejandro Aguirre Curiel, are aware of the events, so they are working together to create a crime prevention campaign in the area.

This was confirmed by Macías Arceo who said that this campaign would be focused on training restaurant owners, administrators, block chiefs, etc., in the prevention of crime, and that, although there is still no date to start, it will be announced through the department of Social Communication. 

Luis Pacheco  said  that the most important to reduce crimes is to reestablish the social fabric where  neighbors will have co-responsibility and support each other to take care of themselves and educate themselves about this type of crime.

Translated by Patrick O’Heffernan