Raqueiros and Praieiros were authentic ground pirates. The first ones were more sanguinary and used to murder the shipwrecked, since dead sailors don't speak. The Praieiros simply caused the shipwreck and waited in a beach for the remains of the ship.  
  
The operating way was very simple: in the tempest nights, they put lamps on the cow horns, so that the ship that navigated in front of the coast believed there was another ship or population very close. When the ship sailed to the coast looking for protection, it was heading to a sure end.  
  
Although Galician ground pirates are the most famous ones, there is perseverance of the same figures in Brittany, Cornwall, Ireland and Wales. It is thought that, as it happened in marine piracy, ground pirates had established certain information systems among them. Like this, it was possible to know when would a ship cruise a concrete territory. It is curious to observe that all these piracy poles have got a common denominator: the Celtic roots and the old relationships among all these countries.  
 

Shipwreck taxes 

Shipwreck taxes allowed the feudal lord a shipwrecked goods value percentage. In this way, the lord was welcoming and almost legally protecting ground piracy, and it is even believed the lord gave information to the pirates. 
  
Many tales can still be heard about the Raqueiros. According to the people, nobody knows them, though they did exist and they used the night to looking for possible victims.