Between the Australian Grand Prix and the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Scuderia Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was in the Italian coastal city of Viareggio when ‘fans’ asked for an autograph on a dimly-lit street before mugging him. There were three Neapolitan thieves who took a two million euro watch off the wrist of the Monegasque driver.
That very rare chronograph, a Richard Mille Rm 67-02, moreover personalised by the parent company with a dedication at the height of the case, would have made – according to the investigations of Neapolitan investigators – a tour also in Italy, specifically in Naples, before ending up in Spain where it might have been sold. The three thieves, in Viareggio, had passed themselves off as fans of the driver. First a selfie to distract him, then the heist. Finally the escape, all the way home: to Cavone, as revealed by Italian daily newspaper Il Mattino, that reveals the area of Naples from which the three criminals, ‘experts’ in this type of heist, would have left.
Il Mattino reports that the three seasoned criminals tried to sell the watch in their usual circles but nobody wanted to take the risk on a piece that was so obviously stolen and identifiable. The police investigation, led by deputy commissioner Raffaele Giardiello, revealed that the perpetrators celebrated immediately after the theft with a lavish lunch in Tuscany.
The perpetrators were reportedly already known to police at the time of the incident. The watch was kept in Naples for some time before finding a location for it. According to the investigation, it then left Campania and may have arrived in Spain, where it would have been sold at a much lower price than its real valuation: about two hundred thousand euro. The robbers, however, have not yet been arrested.
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