Venice police arrest illegal porters accused of robbing and extorting tourists near Santa Lucia station

Venice's Squadra Mobile, working with railway police and prosecutors, has broken up a group of illegal porters who targeted tourists arriving at the city's main entry points. Three foreign nationals, aged 25 to 54, were jailed at the Santa Maria Maggiore prison while a fourth suspect remains at large.

The scheme

Investigators say the men worked the area between the Ponte della Costituzione (the Calatrava bridge) and the Santa Lucia railway terminal. They would forcibly grab suitcases from visitors, often elderly or women, and carry them across the bridge or down the station steps. The luggage was returned only after the victims paid sums the porters dictated on the spot, in an atmosphere of intimidation.

Victims targeted

The group systematically chose tourists from East Asia and the Middle East arriving at Piazzale Roma and the station. Police documented an attempted extortion and an extortion against two Israeli tourists on 21 February, a robbery of a Japanese visitor on 23 February, and an attempted extortion followed by a robbery targeting two Japanese citizens on 10 March.

A separate custodial order covered a robbery aboard a stationary train at Santa Lucia station on 24 January, linked to one of the arrested men and another illegal porter.

Wider crackdown

The operation is part of a broader push by Venice's police chief, Antonio Sbordone, against abusive portering. Authorities have also filed dozens of complaints for repeated violations of expulsion orders, including street-ban notices and urban Daspos (Dacur).