The man was robbed at gunpoint but the thief only got away with a fake watch. Photo / Twitter, NotizieFrance
The man was robbed at gunpoint but the thief only got away with a fake watch. Photo / Twitter, NotizieFrance
A Swiss tourist had a bizarre experience in Naples after he had a watch stolen at gunpoint then returned minutes later after thieves realised it was fake.
CCCTV footage showed the traveller sitting at a cafe table with another man in the square of Piazza Trieste e trave, just before midnight on Sunday. A man approaches their table, pulls out a gun and holds it to one of their heads as he pulls a watch off their wrist then swiftly walks off.
After seven minutes go by, another man walks through the outdoor seating of Monidee Cafe to the pair's table, returns the watch then walks away.
Why? Because the seemingly priceless Richard Mille watch was a fake.
Apologies and returned items may be rare in Naples but watch theft is not. The city has experienced a wave of incidents this summer as tourists return to the popular city. One tourism boss has suggested hotels give visitors decoy plastic watches during their stay.
One Naples councillor said the thief likely thought it was a $500,000 watch. Photo / Richard Mille
The unusual event was captured by the cafe's CCTV camera at the bar, which had the two Swiss male tourists in full view.
After a waiter brings over a menu and then walks inside, a large man in a regular shirt and shorts approaches the table, pulls out a gun and rips a watch off one of the tourists' hands, all within a matter of seconds. He then walks off and appears to jump into a car waiting nearby.
The tourists appeared shocked as they explained the event to a waiter but must not have been too rattled as they stayed at the cafe to have a drink.
Minutes later, a different man returns to their table while holding his arms above his head to indicate being unarmed. He delivers the watch back to the tourists and then disappears.
As touching as the act seems, the bar's owner said it was likely more calculated than that.
"They brought it back saying 'Sorry, sorry,' maybe as an attempt to get him not to report it," Antonio Visconti told CNN.
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
If the watch had been real, the risk of getting caught may have been worthwhile according to Francesco Emilio Borrelli, a councillor for the Campania region for the Europa Verde party, who campaigns against crime in Naples.
"They thought it was worth €300,000," she said, adding that the particular piazza had been a source of issues for some time now.
"There's no surveillance," she told CNN. "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."
Borrelli said young delinquents have become so confident about getting away with crime they no longer bother to cover their faces.
"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," she said.
Thieves will resell the watches immediately, which was likely how they realised it was a fake so quickly, Borrelli explained.
"Knowing the law, they sent another kid to return it. Because they know the bars there have CCTV, and they know that images were recorded.
"And in front of the law, to have brought the watch back means a much lighter punishment. Because they've committed the robbery, but they did bring back the property."
Monidee Cafe's co-owner Antonio Visconti said incidents like this were bad both for his cafe and the city of Naples. Alongside Borrelli, he has joined protests against the "degradation and criminality" in the piazza and demanded action be taken to protect businesses and people in the area.
Fortunately, according to Visconti, the Swiss tourists didn't appear too fazed by the event. Not only did they stay to finish their drinks, but allegedly described it as "a great adventure".
