It's not occasional. They sell a lot. There is a lot of gullible people in this world and an endless supply of fresh tourists or kids from other towns landing in Lisbon everyday.
They only need to scam 1 person a day to make 50€. That's more than most Portuguese earn per day.
They scammed me when I was a kid (I wanted weed).
Don't you think I know what I'm talking about? You can buy drugs is Lisbon of course but real drug dealers aren't approaching thousands of people in the open streets of downtown Lisbon everyday!
Police leaves these guys alone because there is no real crime.
Scamming tourists is hard to persecute. Not worth it!
They sell a lot because they will force people to buy whenever possible. Most people buy it to be left alone.
> Police leaves these guys alone because there is no real crime. Scamming tourists is hard to persecute. Not worth it!
Often there is crime: forcing people to buy it's petty crime but most will not complain unless there is violence. It's nearly impossible to jail them with the actual political zeitgeist, making it a waste of time and money. This impunity leaves room for retaliation also.
They scammed me when I was a kid (I wanted weed).
Don't you think I know what I'm talking about? You can buy drugs is Lisbon of course but real drug dealers aren't approaching thousands of people in the open streets of downtown Lisbon everyday!
Police leaves these guys alone because there is no real crime. Scamming tourists is hard to persecute. Not worth it!