Drugs are central to a large part of Ibiza’s economy. The island is wholly dependent on tourism and what sets it apart from other Mediterranean destinations are the clubs.
I know that the island is one of the most beautiful places on earth, but that’s a subjective view. Places such as Pacha, Space, Amnesia, El Divino and Privilege are what draw the holidaymakers. Not everybody comes to Ibiza to dance, but enough do to make the difference between wealth and poverty for the people who own the island.
Anything which drove the clubbers away from Ibiza would have a disastrous impact. As a result many people believe that there’s a conspiracy involving club owners and the police which leads to them turning a blind eye to drugs. I’m not so sure.
I have seen the heavy handed way the Guardia Civil - the national police set up originally by the dictator Franco – set up road blocks to search people and their cars. Outside DC10 or Space it’s not uncommon to see clubbers being searched in intimate ways that would have civil liberties groups up in arms in other countries. Both sexes are liable to find rough hands inside their underwear as they look for contraband. Those that are caught face hefty sentences. Jail in Ibiza is not paradise.
The problem is that drugs are so ingrained in the tourist culture that it would require a real police state to eradicate it. I tend to think the solution would be worse than the problem.
As far as I know there have been no deaths directly from ecstasy, cannabis or cocaine consumption on the island. Indirectly, of course, they may have been factors in the unacceptably high number of road accidents on the island. But alcohol was far more likely to have been to blame.
Equally, people who are high on drugs are much less likely to be violent than those who are drunk. Turf wars between dealers are a threat to Ibiza’s general tranquillity. There was one highly-publicised shoot-out between gangs in San Antonio earlier in the summer, but, despite hysterical warnings in the British press, this has been an isolated incident. If it turns out to be more than that I’ll revise my opinions.
I cannot see a way of removing drugs from Ibiza without doing a lot more harm than good. In theory I’d be in favour of legalisation to take the trade out of the hands of criminals. I’m just not totally sure about how well the state would manage it.
Friday, August 25, 2006
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Drugs in Ibiza – a personal view
To start with let me say I’m neither condemning nor condoning the taking of drugs. I’d just like to offer my take on it as somebody who lives and works in Ibiza.
First let’s look at what attracts holidaymakers to Ibiza. For many, perhaps most, it is a familiar Mediterranean destination. They stay in villas, hotels and apartments in holiday resorts such as Cala Llonga, Es Canar and Santa Eulalia which cater mostly for British and German families. There’s little sign of drugs in these quiet resorts.
But, what makes Ibiza different from anywhere else in the world is the music scene. Clubs such as Pacha, Space, DC10, Es Paradis, Eden and Amnesia attract less child-oriented crowd. Mostly they’re young, under 30, many are gay, others are straight, but the common thread is we don’t have the responsibility of children.
Being over 50, the age thing is important to me. If I was in Britain I wouldn’t be going to clubs. Here in Ibiza dance music is open to anybody. Nobody bats an eyelid about me being on the dance floor, but that certainly was not the case in the UK on the couple of occasions I went clubbing.
So, I can’t really comment on the British club scene. I can only imagine that ecstasy plays an important part. Most types of music have their related drug, whether it’s LSD with prog rock, marijuana with reggae or speed with punk. Okay, not every member of the audience partakes, but a fair number do.
Certainly clubbers here pop a lot of pills, but maybe proportionately no more than do in British clubs, it’s just that on any night in the summer perhaps 15,000 people are in Ibiza’s discos and music bars. What I’m saying is that if you drug-tested that number of people in British, German or Italian clubs I don’t know if you’d find more had taken cocaine, ecstasy or ketamine or not.
To start with let me say I’m neither condemning nor condoning the taking of drugs. I’d just like to offer my take on it as somebody who lives and works in Ibiza.
First let’s look at what attracts holidaymakers to Ibiza. For many, perhaps most, it is a familiar Mediterranean destination. They stay in villas, hotels and apartments in holiday resorts such as Cala Llonga, Es Canar and Santa Eulalia which cater mostly for British and German families. There’s little sign of drugs in these quiet resorts.
But, what makes Ibiza different from anywhere else in the world is the music scene. Clubs such as Pacha, Space, DC10, Es Paradis, Eden and Amnesia attract less child-oriented crowd. Mostly they’re young, under 30, many are gay, others are straight, but the common thread is we don’t have the responsibility of children.
Being over 50, the age thing is important to me. If I was in Britain I wouldn’t be going to clubs. Here in Ibiza dance music is open to anybody. Nobody bats an eyelid about me being on the dance floor, but that certainly was not the case in the UK on the couple of occasions I went clubbing.
So, I can’t really comment on the British club scene. I can only imagine that ecstasy plays an important part. Most types of music have their related drug, whether it’s LSD with prog rock, marijuana with reggae or speed with punk. Okay, not every member of the audience partakes, but a fair number do.
Certainly clubbers here pop a lot of pills, but maybe proportionately no more than do in British clubs, it’s just that on any night in the summer perhaps 15,000 people are in Ibiza’s discos and music bars. What I’m saying is that if you drug-tested that number of people in British, German or Italian clubs I don’t know if you’d find more had taken cocaine, ecstasy or ketamine or not.
Either way, it does mean there’s an enormous recreational drug market in Ibiza. Rumour always has it that dealing has either kept a number of businesses going or financed them in the first place. It’s very hard to prove, anyway, because so much of the tourist business runs on cash and, certainly, not every cent is declared to the Spanish tax authorities.
Drugs are definitely easy to buy on Ibiza. Ask around the pre-clubbing bars and you’ll soon find somebody to sort you out. Again, that could well be the same in UK towns and cities, but, as I said earlier, age is more of a factor there. A 51-year-old such as me just wouldn’t knowingly come into contact with dealers.
The other big difference compared with the UK is that Ibiza is a holiday destination. The tourists enjoying themselves in villas, apartments and hotels are transient. In their home towns they’d probably get to know dealers over months of going to the same pubs and clubs. There simply isn’t time to develop those relationships on this Spanish island.
In short: A lot of drugs are consumed here and their sale plays an important place in the island’s economy. Is that a problem? If so, what should be done about it?
I’ll look at that next.
First let’s look at what attracts holidaymakers to Ibiza. For many, perhaps most, it is a familiar Mediterranean destination. They stay in villas, hotels and apartments in holiday resorts such as Cala Llonga, Es Canar and Santa Eulalia which cater mostly for British and German families. There’s little sign of drugs in these quiet resorts.
But, what makes Ibiza different from anywhere else in the world is the music scene. Clubs such as Pacha, Space, DC10, Es Paradis, Eden and Amnesia attract less child-oriented crowd. Mostly they’re young, under 30, many are gay, others are straight, but the common thread is we don’t have the responsibility of children.
Being over 50, the age thing is important to me. If I was in Britain I wouldn’t be going to clubs. Here in Ibiza dance music is open to anybody. Nobody bats an eyelid about me being on the dance floor, but that certainly was not the case in the UK on the couple of occasions I went clubbing.
So, I can’t really comment on the British club scene. I can only imagine that ecstasy plays an important part. Most types of music have their related drug, whether it’s LSD with prog rock, marijuana with reggae or speed with punk. Okay, not every member of the audience partakes, but a fair number do.
Certainly clubbers here pop a lot of pills, but maybe proportionately no more than do in British clubs, it’s just that on any night in the summer perhaps 15,000 people are in Ibiza’s discos and music bars. What I’m saying is that if you drug-tested that number of people in British, German or Italian clubs I don’t know if you’d find more had taken cocaine, ecstasy or ketamine or not.
To start with let me say I’m neither condemning nor condoning the taking of drugs. I’d just like to offer my take on it as somebody who lives and works in Ibiza.
First let’s look at what attracts holidaymakers to Ibiza. For many, perhaps most, it is a familiar Mediterranean destination. They stay in villas, hotels and apartments in holiday resorts such as Cala Llonga, Es Canar and Santa Eulalia which cater mostly for British and German families. There’s little sign of drugs in these quiet resorts.
But, what makes Ibiza different from anywhere else in the world is the music scene. Clubs such as Pacha, Space, DC10, Es Paradis, Eden and Amnesia attract less child-oriented crowd. Mostly they’re young, under 30, many are gay, others are straight, but the common thread is we don’t have the responsibility of children.
Being over 50, the age thing is important to me. If I was in Britain I wouldn’t be going to clubs. Here in Ibiza dance music is open to anybody. Nobody bats an eyelid about me being on the dance floor, but that certainly was not the case in the UK on the couple of occasions I went clubbing.
So, I can’t really comment on the British club scene. I can only imagine that ecstasy plays an important part. Most types of music have their related drug, whether it’s LSD with prog rock, marijuana with reggae or speed with punk. Okay, not every member of the audience partakes, but a fair number do.
Certainly clubbers here pop a lot of pills, but maybe proportionately no more than do in British clubs, it’s just that on any night in the summer perhaps 15,000 people are in Ibiza’s discos and music bars. What I’m saying is that if you drug-tested that number of people in British, German or Italian clubs I don’t know if you’d find more had taken cocaine, ecstasy or ketamine or not.
Either way, it does mean there’s an enormous recreational drug market in Ibiza. Rumour always has it that dealing has either kept a number of businesses going or financed them in the first place. It’s very hard to prove, anyway, because so much of the tourist business runs on cash and, certainly, not every cent is declared to the Spanish tax authorities.
Drugs are definitely easy to buy on Ibiza. Ask around the pre-clubbing bars and you’ll soon find somebody to sort you out. Again, that could well be the same in UK towns and cities, but, as I said earlier, age is more of a factor there. A 51-year-old such as me just wouldn’t knowingly come into contact with dealers.
The other big difference compared with the UK is that Ibiza is a holiday destination. The tourists enjoying themselves in villas, apartments and hotels are transient. In their home towns they’d probably get to know dealers over months of going to the same pubs and clubs. There simply isn’t time to develop those relationships on this Spanish island.
In short: A lot of drugs are consumed here and their sale plays an important place in the island’s economy. Is that a problem? If so, what should be done about it?
I’ll look at that next.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Stealing for a living
Okay, I know I was going to talk about drugs today, but instead another negative Guardian article about living in Spain caught my eye: Crimewave may mean the party is over for Ibiza. This time the problem is house break-ins.
This has happened to a number of friends of mine who have isolated villas. In fact one of them says he has had enough and he’s going to sell up and buy a couple of apartments instead. I should say that robbery is not the only problem he’s had, but renting out his house is the way he makes his living. It’s a beautiful place so moving on is a big step for him.
Sometimes, although you don’t condone the break-ins, you can understand why they happen. Many big houses are unoccupied for all but a few weeks each year and they’re filled with easy-to-sell bits and pieces. Their owners seek seclusion which gives the thieves plenty of time to go about their business.
Burglaries seem to peak at the beginning and end of the season. The reason is: summer jobs are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, but people who arrive in April or May can be without any real income until the middle of June. Then the season sort of peters out in September or October, but, workers are seldom given much notice of when their jobs are going to end. So, robbery is a way to make ends meet or to provide cash to get home.
The Guardian article quotes a hotel-keeper who blames drug dealers for causing the problem. My initial thoughts were unprintable, but thinking about it he may be right. Dealers rely on holidaymakers as much as anybody else for their income. So, they also have to make a living when there aren’t tourists around.
Maybe drugs are the root problem. I will put some of my thoughts on the subject into writing tomorrow. Really.
This has happened to a number of friends of mine who have isolated villas. In fact one of them says he has had enough and he’s going to sell up and buy a couple of apartments instead. I should say that robbery is not the only problem he’s had, but renting out his house is the way he makes his living. It’s a beautiful place so moving on is a big step for him.
Sometimes, although you don’t condone the break-ins, you can understand why they happen. Many big houses are unoccupied for all but a few weeks each year and they’re filled with easy-to-sell bits and pieces. Their owners seek seclusion which gives the thieves plenty of time to go about their business.
Burglaries seem to peak at the beginning and end of the season. The reason is: summer jobs are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, but people who arrive in April or May can be without any real income until the middle of June. Then the season sort of peters out in September or October, but, workers are seldom given much notice of when their jobs are going to end. So, robbery is a way to make ends meet or to provide cash to get home.
The Guardian article quotes a hotel-keeper who blames drug dealers for causing the problem. My initial thoughts were unprintable, but thinking about it he may be right. Dealers rely on holidaymakers as much as anybody else for their income. So, they also have to make a living when there aren’t tourists around.
Maybe drugs are the root problem. I will put some of my thoughts on the subject into writing tomorrow. Really.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
UK media in guns and drugs frenzy
Ever since I posted that last article about the shoot out in San Antonio I’ve been thinking about the impact of drugs on Ibiza. I’ve also been looking at the media coverage given to the island this summer for an article to appear in Pacha magazine, although I wasn’t able to go into detail about the drugs issue.
(Focusing on the positive coverage such as this one from the New York Times wasn’t a matter of cowardice. Articles about the drugs scene can so easily be overtaken by events that I didn’t want to write something that would be out of date by the time the magazine appears.)
Anyway, this Sunday Mirror article is typical of the ones that have appeared since the shooting. It’s not factually inaccurate, but I don’t think it’s exactly true either.
Having worked for too many years in newspapers I’m pretty sure that what happened was that the original story about the shooting was sufficiently interesting for the news editor to send a reporter over to Ibiza for a few days. That meant he had to come back with something to justify the cost of sending a journalist over.
He couldn’t say, even if he thought it was true: “It seems to have been a one-off event and it’s been dealt with by the police.” If he tried that he certainly wouldn’t be top of the list next time an expenses paid trip to the sun came up. He might even lose his job completely.
Instead he comes up with:
Every story has had some variation on this unnamed source working with the police. There’s no hard evidence of any follow up and I’m inclined to think there won’t be. It is, however, in the interests of journalists and the police to suggest there is a real threat. Both want more resources and this is one way to get it.
In my next post I’ll give you my take on the Ibiza drug scene. Meanwhile even a supposedly serious newspaper has got carried away with itself...
(Focusing on the positive coverage such as this one from the New York Times wasn’t a matter of cowardice. Articles about the drugs scene can so easily be overtaken by events that I didn’t want to write something that would be out of date by the time the magazine appears.)
Anyway, this Sunday Mirror article is typical of the ones that have appeared since the shooting. It’s not factually inaccurate, but I don’t think it’s exactly true either.
Having worked for too many years in newspapers I’m pretty sure that what happened was that the original story about the shooting was sufficiently interesting for the news editor to send a reporter over to Ibiza for a few days. That meant he had to come back with something to justify the cost of sending a journalist over.
He couldn’t say, even if he thought it was true: “It seems to have been a one-off event and it’s been dealt with by the police.” If he tried that he certainly wouldn’t be top of the list next time an expenses paid trip to the sun came up. He might even lose his job completely.
Instead he comes up with:
An insider helping police with their investigation said: "There's a lot of bad blood over what's happened. There's talk of hired hands and relatives flying in to Ibiza hell-bent on revenge."
Every story has had some variation on this unnamed source working with the police. There’s no hard evidence of any follow up and I’m inclined to think there won’t be. It is, however, in the interests of journalists and the police to suggest there is a real threat. Both want more resources and this is one way to get it.
In my next post I’ll give you my take on the Ibiza drug scene. Meanwhile even a supposedly serious newspaper has got carried away with itself...
Gang violence erupts as rave craze returns
With the rebirth of dance culture, hard drugs are openly for sale on the streets of Ibiza. Tonight, 40,000 ecstasy tablets will be bought on the island. Now the brutality that underpins the trade is boiling over, and the party paradise is turning into a nightmare world of contract killings
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Shoot-out in Ibiza
Everybody knows “recreational” drugs form an important part of Ibiza’s economy. Without Ecstasy the whole dance music scene would never have happened. But then neither would the hippy and prog-rock scene have occurred without cannabis and LSD.
But despite the large amounts of money being made by dealers so far there has been little real violence. So it was a shock to hear about the shoot-out in San Antonio yesterday. What seems to have happened is that one group of English gangsters opened fire on another gang in a British-registered BMW.
Hopefully this was a one-off event, the same as the fatal shooting of a Madrid “used-car dealer” last summer. Apparently nobody involved had anything to do with the island.
Here’s how Google translates the story from the local paper El Diario de Ibiza:
Three hurt in Sant Antoni in a shooting between English bands by the control of the drug trafficking
Two people were stopped by a pair of the Local Police in the place of the facts, whereas the Civil Guard has arrested other six suspects in different points from the island. The delinquents carried out between 20 and 30 firings
Three wounded, two of them of gravity, and eight stopped is the provisional balance of a shooting that happened at dawn of yesterday in the avenue Doctor Fleming de Sant Antoni.
The most reasonable hypothesis whereupon works the Civil Guard is that the incident is an adjustment of accounts between two bands of British delinquents who try to control the drug trafficking in Eivissa during the high season. The arrests took place in several municipalities of the Pitiüses and, according to official sources, it does not discard that the number of prisoners increases in the next hours.
The facts happened on the one of the dawn of yesterday. According to the Local Police, to the height of number 5 of the avenue Doctor Fleming, a vehicle that circulated in direction towards the crossing with the avenue of Portmany (a Seat white Leon) was placed in parallel to another one (a BMW X5 of black color and British matriculation).
The first vehicle they left the first firings, to which they responded from the other car. A shooting began therefore in which, at least, they took place between 20 and 30 firings.
According to police sources, the attacked vehicle presented/displayed between eight and ten impacts of bullet. In the facade of the Soft Clinic and a store of souvenirs, as opposed to which it happened everything, two and five shots could be appreciated, respectively.
To the few minutes of the shooting personaba a pair of the Local Police of countryman who was serving by the West End and who was alerted by passers-by. According to the councilman of Interior, Joan Pantaleoni explained, “the agents arrived when already he was being taken care of the wounded.
Thanks to the description of several witnesses were come to the halting of two people who could be implied, although this end must be confirmed in the investigation”. Another one of the presumed gunmen fled at least with the Seat Leon, a vehicle that was later found in the municipality of Sant Josep, in the neighborhoods of Sant Jordi.
Agents of the Civil Guard reviewed yesterday the camera of security of the Local Police located in the avenue Doctor Fleming to verify if she caught the moment of the aggression or recorded both to some of vehicles. Also members of the Meritorious one were in charge yesterday to review all the dustbins of the zone, as well as the bottom of the zone of beach nearer the place of the event.
They looked for the arms with which the firings were made, something that had not obtained to average behind schedule of yesterday, according to explained the insular director of the State, Jose Manuel Bar.
Adjustment of accounts
The most reasonable hypothesis with the one than works the Civil Guard is that “it is a litigation related to the world of the drug between two bands of British delinquents”, explained Bar. “Reason why we know, they did not have a residence rooted in Eivissa and its stay is transitory. This is important because we are not speaking in question of Mafias established in the island, something that we are not arranged to tolerate and against which we will act with the greater forcefulness”.
“Rather we would be speaking of two bands of delinquents who have come here to take advantage of that in summer there is more business with the drug trafficking and have had east confrontation by the control from the market”, added.
Bar wanted to emphasize that “although it has taken place in Sant Antoni, could have happened in any other point of the island”.
“It gave the chance of which they were there, since it could have happened in any other site”, stressed.
That the ochos practiced haltings (two at he himself moment of the aggression and other six during the following hours) have happened in different municipalities from the island would reinforce this theory, explained Bar.
But despite the large amounts of money being made by dealers so far there has been little real violence. So it was a shock to hear about the shoot-out in San Antonio yesterday. What seems to have happened is that one group of English gangsters opened fire on another gang in a British-registered BMW.
Hopefully this was a one-off event, the same as the fatal shooting of a Madrid “used-car dealer” last summer. Apparently nobody involved had anything to do with the island.
Here’s how Google translates the story from the local paper El Diario de Ibiza:
Three hurt in Sant Antoni in a shooting between English bands by the control of the drug trafficking
Two people were stopped by a pair of the Local Police in the place of the facts, whereas the Civil Guard has arrested other six suspects in different points from the island. The delinquents carried out between 20 and 30 firings
Three wounded, two of them of gravity, and eight stopped is the provisional balance of a shooting that happened at dawn of yesterday in the avenue Doctor Fleming de Sant Antoni.
The most reasonable hypothesis whereupon works the Civil Guard is that the incident is an adjustment of accounts between two bands of British delinquents who try to control the drug trafficking in Eivissa during the high season. The arrests took place in several municipalities of the Pitiüses and, according to official sources, it does not discard that the number of prisoners increases in the next hours.
The facts happened on the one of the dawn of yesterday. According to the Local Police, to the height of number 5 of the avenue Doctor Fleming, a vehicle that circulated in direction towards the crossing with the avenue of Portmany (a Seat white Leon) was placed in parallel to another one (a BMW X5 of black color and British matriculation).
The first vehicle they left the first firings, to which they responded from the other car. A shooting began therefore in which, at least, they took place between 20 and 30 firings.
According to police sources, the attacked vehicle presented/displayed between eight and ten impacts of bullet. In the facade of the Soft Clinic and a store of souvenirs, as opposed to which it happened everything, two and five shots could be appreciated, respectively.
To the few minutes of the shooting personaba a pair of the Local Police of countryman who was serving by the West End and who was alerted by passers-by. According to the councilman of Interior, Joan Pantaleoni explained, “the agents arrived when already he was being taken care of the wounded.
Thanks to the description of several witnesses were come to the halting of two people who could be implied, although this end must be confirmed in the investigation”. Another one of the presumed gunmen fled at least with the Seat Leon, a vehicle that was later found in the municipality of Sant Josep, in the neighborhoods of Sant Jordi.
Agents of the Civil Guard reviewed yesterday the camera of security of the Local Police located in the avenue Doctor Fleming to verify if she caught the moment of the aggression or recorded both to some of vehicles. Also members of the Meritorious one were in charge yesterday to review all the dustbins of the zone, as well as the bottom of the zone of beach nearer the place of the event.
They looked for the arms with which the firings were made, something that had not obtained to average behind schedule of yesterday, according to explained the insular director of the State, Jose Manuel Bar.
Adjustment of accounts
The most reasonable hypothesis with the one than works the Civil Guard is that “it is a litigation related to the world of the drug between two bands of British delinquents”, explained Bar. “Reason why we know, they did not have a residence rooted in Eivissa and its stay is transitory. This is important because we are not speaking in question of Mafias established in the island, something that we are not arranged to tolerate and against which we will act with the greater forcefulness”.
“Rather we would be speaking of two bands of delinquents who have come here to take advantage of that in summer there is more business with the drug trafficking and have had east confrontation by the control from the market”, added.
Bar wanted to emphasize that “although it has taken place in Sant Antoni, could have happened in any other point of the island”.
“It gave the chance of which they were there, since it could have happened in any other site”, stressed.
That the ochos practiced haltings (two at he himself moment of the aggression and other six during the following hours) have happened in different municipalities from the island would reinforce this theory, explained Bar.
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