Moved through the sewer, drilled a hole in the floor to break in
Disappeared after theft within 11 minutes before police arrived
A cinematic theft occurred at the Bulgari flagship store near the Spanish Steps, a tourist attraction in Rome, Italy.
Police officers stand outside the Bulgari flagship store on Condotti Street in Rome, Italy, on the 9th (local time). [Image source=EPA Yonhap News]
On the 10th (local time), Yonhap News, citing the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, reported that "three thieves broke into the Bulgari flagship store late at night on the 8th and stole jewelry and watches worth at least 500,000 euros (about 740 million KRW)." They used an extraordinary method reminiscent of the Hollywood movie 'Ocean's Eleven.' They broke through the floor to infiltrate.
The police believe they went down underground through a manhole, traveled hundreds of meters through a sewer tunnel to a point directly beneath the store, and then drilled a hole to break in. After entering the store through a utility room, the alarm system was triggered, and a police patrol car arrived within 7 minutes. However, the officers on the scene had to spend an additional 4 minutes opening a door blocked by the thieves. During these 11 minutes, the thieves gathered valuables and calmly disappeared again through the sewer tunnel.
Although three thieves were captured on the store's internal closed-circuit television (CCTV), the police suspect there may be more accomplices. The thieves left a metal crowbar at the crime scene but left no fingerprints. The police believe they visited the store beforehand to understand its layout and security system and are analyzing past CCTV footage.
The media stated, "The criminals appear to have moved through the sewer tunnel running beneath the Trevi Fountain to a point directly below the store and carefully drilled the hole over several days. No one in the water noticed any sound or vibration."
Italy's Bulgari is considered one of the world's four major jewelry brands alongside France's Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, and New York's Tiffany & Co. The Bulgari flagship store is located on Via Condotti, a luxury shopping street near the Spanish Steps in Rome, where luxury brand stores such as Herm?s, Cartier, Gucci, and Bottega Veneta are also concentrated.
Meanwhile, this is not the first time thieves have dug tunnels for theft in Italy. In August 2022, thieves also dug a tunnel targeting a bank in central Rome. At that time, the thieves rented a shop near the bank and began digging the tunnel, but heavy rain a few days earlier weakened the ground, causing the road above the tunnel to collapse. One of them was trapped underground for more than 8 hours. He was eventually rescued by emergency responders, and the remaining three accomplices were arrested by the police.
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