A thief robbed two Swiss tourists at gunpoint while on holiday only for the Italian thieves to return 7 minutes later with the stolen watch. Why? Because they later realized it was a fake.
The turn of events was captured on camera in Piazza Trieste e Trento in Naples. The footage shows another man returning the watch, offering an apology. According to CNN, the owner of Monidee Café believes that the thief returned the watch saying “sorry, sorry” in hopes that it wouldn’t be reported. Most likely he realized it wasn’t an authentic Swiss-made Richard Mille and wanted to avoid the trouble.
If authentic, the watch would have been worth around €300,000, according to Francesco Emilio Borrelli, a councilor for the Campania region for the Europa Verde party, who campaigns against crime in Naples.
According to Borrelli, this specific square has been a hub for criminal activity for some time.
“I’ve been reporting problems in that piazza for some time, but there’s no surveillance. It’s a few feet from the prefecture, the [historical] superintendence and the army headquarters, and one of the most frequented squares by tourists. It’s one of the least safe areas of the city, and it should be one of the safest.”
Italian thieves return stolen watch in busy square in Naples
CCTV captured the bizarre robbery and odd moment of return.
Events like these are not uncommon in Naples. In fact, Naples is beginning to get “bad publicity” for events such as these. Allegedly, watch theft has become such an issue that youth delinquents no longer cancel their identities. Robberies such as these happen regularly with youngsters on scooters terrorizing both locals and tourists alike in this popular though unsafe hub of social activity.
The good news is, the thieves returned the watch and left the tourists unharmed to enjoy their Italian vacation.
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