Picky thieves RETURN stolen watch to tourist after realizing it was a knockoff
A Swiss traveler's wristwatch, stolen by two skilled criminals in Italy, was returned after they realized it was a poor imitation. A viral video shows two visitors having a drink shortly before midnight on July 17 in Naples' busy Piazza Trieste e Trento. Moments later, a robber approached them with a pistol in his hand, demanding that they hand over their watch. He then grabbed the watch and walked away.
Seven minutes later, a different guy entered the cafe's outside dining area, raised his hands in regret, and then returned the watch to its owner. The video was recorded by the Monidee Café bar's CCTV camera, where they were sitting. Moments later, another guy shows up, apologizes to the surprised owner, returns the stolen watch, and leaves, according to the video. While this incident was taking place, the targeted tourist finished his drink and didn't appear very alarmed by the terrifying incident.
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Rapina ad un turista svizzero ad un caffè di Piazza Trieste e Trento: pistola alla testa per portargli via l’orologio e poi glielo riconsegnano perché vale poco. La denuncia dei titolari del locale:"Tutto questo in centro città. Serve un presidio costante delle forze dell'ordine” pic.twitter.com/aKRU1yKg39
— Francesco Borrelli (@NotizieFrance) July 19, 2022
The manager told CNN that he thinks the daring burglar probably returned the watch given that it wasn't a Swiss-made Richard Mille and wasn't worth the trouble. "They brought it back saying, ‘Sorry, sorry,’ maybe as an attempt to get him not to report it," co-owner Antonio Visconti told CNN.
According to Francesco Emilio Borrelli of the Europa Verde political party, who serves as a councilor for the district of Campania, the would-be thieves estimated the value of the person's watch at $307,000. Borelli also said that the heist's location has long been a target of criminal activity and lately has turned into a spot where people park illegally after hours.
"They don’t care. They’re using a pistol at 13, 14 years old — the guy who did this knew how to use it, he even pointed it at the head of the Swiss tourist," Borelli said. The ruthless burglars took watches with the intention of selling them as soon as possible, but Borrelli claimed that the thieves soon discovered the haul was fake. "So, knowing the law, they sent another kid to return it," he said.
Borelli also pointed out that the burglars know that bars have CCTV cameras that capture their every move. Hence, they brought back the stolen property in front of the cameras in order to be subjected to a "lighter punishment". "Because they’ve committed the robbery, but they did bring back the property," said Borelli.
Visconti expressed that unfortunate events like these have given Naples a poor reputation. "For years, we’ve been saying the same things — we need a social pact, we need to reboot our sector. We are not used to this kind of violence, but we suffer aggression every day. We are waging a war against this kind of thing, but we are on our own," he said in an interview with CNN.