Italy: Tourist fined $5,000 for stealing... beach sand

On June 5, the authorities of the island of Sardinia fined 41 people nearly 5,000 USD (about 115 million VND) for stealing sand, shells and rocks from the beach. The total amount of sand confiscated by the police was more than 100 kg. The theft was discovered when the subjects tried to leave the island by plane or boat. The stolen sand will be returned to the beach by the authorities when conditions allow.

Since 2017, the government has made it illegal to take sand from Sardinia's beaches. The law was introduced to prevent the negative impact of tourists stealing sand and seashells when visiting the Mediterranean island.

Previously in September 2020, a French tourist was fined 1,200 USD (equivalent to about 27.8 million VND) for taking sand on this island.

Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean and an autonomous region of Italy. The island’s idyllic white sands are strictly protected, and any tourist caught removing sand from the beach faces fines of up to $3,550 (about 82.3 million VND) or even jail time.

Thieves are known to target areas of the beach with unusually colored sand, pink or fine white. Control measures have become “much stricter” in recent years on the island, with locals and tourists encouraged to contact authorities if they see anyone illegally taking sand.

Ba Di