Tourist faces arrest for stealing 41kg of pebbles from Sardinian beach

According to Euronews, the incident unfolded as the Frenchman was intercepted by local police while attempting to board a ferry from Porto Torres to the French Port of Nice. While conducting regular traffic searches, the officers discovered the stash in the trunk of his car, consisting of pebbles and stones plucked from the pristine shores of Lampianu beach.

Famous for its world-class white sand beaches, Sardinia has strict regulations in place to protect its coastal environment, which is why stealing or selling sand, pebbles, stones or shells from the island’s coastline is absolutely forbidden, and subject to fines of up to 3000€. In more severe cases, tourists can even face prison time if convicted on charges of theft with the aggravating circumstance of having stolen an asset of public utility. This incident isn’t the first of its kind. In 2019, another French couple was apprehended with 40 kilograms of sand stored in 14 plastic bottles.

Pierluigi Cocco, an environmental scientist from Sardinia, explained the potential impact of these thefts in 2019, highlighting that such activities, although seemingly innocuous, can have significant ecological consequences. “Only a fraction of the tourists visiting Sardinia spend their time digging up to 40kg of sand each. But if you multiply half that amount times 5 per cent of the one million tourists per year, in a few years that would contribute significantly to the reduction of beaches”.

As more environmental groups and campaigners, such as “Sardegna rubata e depredate” (“Sardinia robbed and plundered”), raise awareness on this urgent issue, authorities are cracking down on such thefts to protect the island’s pristine coastal environment. As for now, local authorities hope these actions are enough to persuade tourists from attempting to take pieces of the island’s natural beauty home as a souvenir.