Group specialising in the violent theft of high-end watches dismantled

The Guardia Civil, in a joint operation with the National Police and the Polizia di Stato of Italy, has dismantled a group specialising in violent robberies of high-end watches. These organised groups, originating from the city of Naples, transferred to Spain and during short stays, carried out various robberies in tourist areas.

The continuous contact between the Spanish and Italian authorities allowed the detection of the arrival of these groups or some of their members in Spain and the control of them in the national territory in order to pursue and clarify their criminal activity.

Five arrested and a watch valued at 28,000 euro recovered

As part of this operation, last May it became known that a highly interesting suspect was on the island of Ibiza, and a motorcycle with Italian number plates was also located, which they usually use to commit robberies, as well as the apartments where they were supposedly staying. Once the motorcycle and the suspect’s movements were controlled, it became known that there had been an attempted robbery and three robberies with violence on the island.

As a result of the efforts made by the investigators, it was possible to identify the perpetrators of the first crimes committed, in addition to identifying another person who would serve as support for locating victims and driving the support vehicle. However, the arrest of the aforementioned perpetrators could not be carried out, since they left the island to return to Naples.

Subsequently, and thanks to the continuous police control exercised over the potential perpetrators of these robberies with violence, it was confirmed that in mid-June the alleged perpetrators of the robberies committed in May had returned to Ibiza, thus establishing a police operation for close monitoring by investigators.

Thanks to the efforts and control that were carried out from that moment on, it was possible to specify the temporary residence where they would be staying during their stay on the island, an apartment located on the coast, as well as the motorcycles and false number plates used to commit the robberies.

This operation clarified two new incidents that occurred in Ibiza, specifically the violent robbery of a high-end watch valued at 28,000 euro, which was recovered by investigators, as well as the attempted theft of another watch.

The events were in keeping with the classic modus operandi of these Neapolitan groups: prior surveillance in areas with a high influx of tourists, choice of victim, rapid and violent action and the use of a moped to escape.

Following surveillance and follow-ups, the house where they lived during their stay in Ibiza was entered and searched, leading to the arrest of the five members of the group.