French Tourist Caught Stealing Sand From Sardinian Beach, Fined Rs 86,000

Rs 86,000 is a lot of money, right? Especially when paid as fine. Well, a French tourist's shenanigans has left a burning hole in his pocket as he was caught by Sardinian authorities for trying to illegally transport two kilograms of sand in his luggage.

Sardinia is a large Italian island in the Mediterranean Seam and authorities responsible for coastal protection in the area seized a plastic bottle containing fine sand, from the man, at Elmas Airport. He was fined €1,000.

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Sardinian Beaches

The white-sand beaches are highly protected and anyone caught trying to steal sand can be heavily penalised. The person can also be jailed from one to six years for theft with the aggravating circumstance of having stolen an asset of public utility.

A press release said, ¡°These behaviours not only harm the environment but also compromise the maintenance of the coastline for the sustainable development of tourism in Sardinia."

Growing urbanisation has led to a significant demand for sand in construction purposes and glass, for which desert sand is unsuitable. This has led to people trying to get away with stealing sand from beaches, but authorities are very careful about catching them.

AFP

This is not the first time such an incident has taken place.

A French couple was caught with 14 plastic bottles full of sand which weighed around 40 kg, last August in Sardinia, and faced a possible prison sentence of up to six years.

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Breaking the law is never a good idea.

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