Robbery in Como: Ticino resident arrested (cross-border guide)

Context

In brief

• A 32-year-old Italian lived in the Bellinzona area
• The last two fugitives from the robbery arrested
• The robbery took place on 24 aprile in Como
• Gold loot worth approximately 90'000 euros

Key facts

What → armed robbery at a jewelry store Where → via Asiago, Como When → 24 aprile Arrested → a 32-year-old Italian resident in Switzerland and a 25-year-old Italian from the province of Monza Loot → gold jewelry worth approximately 90'000 euros

The raid on via Asiago

A 32-year-old Italian resident in Switzerland is among the two people arrested by the Polizia di Stato di Como for the armed robbery carried out at a jewelry store on via Asiago. The man lived in the Bellinzona area, according to Ticinonline. Along with him, a 25-year-old, also Italian and residing in the province of Monza, was handcuffed.

The two arrests concern the robbery carried out on 24 aprile. The report identifies them as the last two fugitives from the robbery. That day, four people arrived in front of the jewelry store in a rented car. One of them stayed waiting in the car, while the others entered the store.

The robbers had a pistol and their faces were covered by balaclavas. Inside, they threatened the employees and smashed the glass display cases with hammers. Within a few minutes, they had therefore removed the contents, consisting of a very large number of gold jewelry items.

The value of the stolen goods was approximately 90'000 euros. The reconstruction describes a rapid and violent action, focused on the display cases and the jewelry kept in the store. The location indicated for the robbery remains the jewelry store on via Asiago, in Como.

Operational details

The Mobile Squad's investigation

The arrests between April and May

Friday's raid fits into a broader investigative context. Before the operation that led to the arrest of the 32-year-old resident in Switzerland and the 25-year-old from the province of Monza, the investigation had already led to the arrest of three other members of the gang, detained in April and May.

The Como Mobile Squad conducted the investigation into the robbery. The investigators' work made it possible to identify and gather important evidence against all the people who took part in the heist and its instigator. The picture reconstructed in the report therefore includes both the perpetrators of the robbery and the person identified as its instigator, without further details on the individual positions.

The investigation did not end with the arrests. During searches following the arrests of the suspects, part of the stolen goods, which had not yet been passed on, was found. The recovered merchandise was returned to the jewelry store, thereby linking the Mobile Squad's activities also to the recovery of some of the stolen goods.

The discovery concerns some of the many gold jewelry items taken from the store. The source does not indicate the number of objects recovered, but specifies that the stolen goods had not yet been passed on and were returned to the jewelry store. These are the elements that complete the picture of the investigation, together with the arrests carried out in the preceding months.

The investigation described by the Como State Police therefore includes the arrests in April and May, Friday's raid and the searches carried out after the arrests. The investigators gathered evidence against the people who took part in the heist and its instigator, while some of the stolen goods returned to the targeted store.

Key points

The documented follow-up

From recovery to restitution

For the jewelry store on Via Asiago, the concrete outcome already indicated is the restitution of part of the loot. The recovery took place during the searches following the arrests of the suspects. The objects found were part of the gold jewelry stolen and had not yet been fenced. The source states that the goods were returned to the jewelry store.

On the investigative front, the most recent step is the Friday raid, in which the last two fugitives indicated for the heist were taken. The 32‑year‑old Italian residing in the Bellinzona area and the 25‑year‑old Italian residing in the province of Monza join the other three gang members arrested in April and May. The Como Mobile Squad has gathered evidence against the people who participated in the robbery and its mastermind.

The case maintains two explicit territorial references. The robbery was committed on Via Asiago, in Como; one of the two arrested resided in Switzerland, in the Bellinzona area according to what Ticinonline reported. The other arrested was residing in the province of Monza. The link with Ticino indicated in the news concerns therefore the residence of the 32‑year‑old, while the scene of the robbery and the centre of the investigation remain in Como.

For the shop, the documented result is the return of part of the stolen merchandise. For the investigation, the most recent result is the arrest of the two fugitives, after those of the other three gang members. Thus remain linked the developments communicated by the State Police: the Friday raid, the searches following the arrests, the discovery of the loot not yet fenced and its return to the jewelry store.

Source: laregione.ch