Milan – From Naples to Milan to hunt for luxury watches, using the usual "mirror" technique and a precise target: motorists with Rolexes and other valuable timepieces on their wrists.
The State Police, coordinated by the Milan Public Prosecutor's Office (Department VII), executed a precautionary custody order issued by the preliminary investigations judge (GIP) of the Court against two Neapolitans, aged 38 and 47, both with specific criminal records, held responsible for two robberies carried out on Viale Fulvio Testi.
Investigators consider them true "specialists" in the field: according to the Flying Squad, this isn't the first time Neapolitan criminals have been identified in the Lombardy capital for copycat heists, often involving loot totaling tens of thousands of euros. This phenomenon, in recent months, has once again put the spotlight on security in the city, especially in light of high-profile victims like the TV host Stephen DeMartino, robbed of his valuable watch in Milan in a similar manner.
The arrested individuals were located in Naples by officers from the Anti-Robbery Section of the Milan Flying Squad, in collaboration with their colleagues from the Naples Flying Squad. The precautionary measure follows an investigation that combined tailing, surveillance, and, above all, a long and painstaking analysis of video surveillance footage along one of the city's busiest thoroughfares, Viale Fulvio Testi.
According to investigators' reconstruction, the two men allegedly struck on at least two occasions, just a week apart. The first occurred on February 5, 2025: the victim, stopped in traffic, was approached by the robbers and robbed of a luxury watch estimated to be worth approximately €20.
The second episode, contested in the provision, is dated February 12: in this case the loot would have been a vintage watch, also of considerable economic and collectible value.
The modus operandi of the mirror technique
The modus operandi is the one now known as "mirror technique", but it was a robbery rather than a simple scam. The two, investigators explain, initially traveled on two scooters in search of a potential victim, selected based on the watch on their wrist and traffic conditions.
Once they had identified the target, they would leave one of the vehicles and continue on the same scooter, starting a tight tail between traffic lights and traffic jams.
When traffic slowed and the victim's car was forced to proceed at a walking pace, the trick was implemented: the scooter driver deliberately hit the car's left rearview mirror, simulating accidental contact and prompting the driver to roll down the window to check the damage and reposition the mirror.
At that moment, the accomplice sprung into action: already having got out of the vehicle, he quickly approached the door and violently snatched the watch from the victim's wrist before fleeing on the scooter.
The work of the Mobile Squad investigators allowed them to reconstruct in detail the movements of the robbery duo before and after the robberies. Through meticulous analysis of surveillance cameras, they were able to trace the motorcycles used, track their movements around the city, and connect the vehicles to a group of individuals already known to law enforcement for specific criminal records, including in Milan.
From there, the stakeouts and observation services started, which allowed the suspects to be identified and their habits and acquaintances to be documented.
Once the serious and specific evidence was gathered, the Prosecutor's Office requested and obtained a warrant for their pre-trial detention from the investigating judge. The two suspects were eventually arrested in Naples and transferred to prison, pending preliminary hearings.
Meanwhile, the investigation continues: investigators are verifying whether the gang may be responsible for other similar incidents, committed or attempted, in the Lombardy capital and beyond, in a now consolidated context of "crime commuting" between Campania and Lombardy.
Changes and revisions to this article
- Article updated on 29/11/2025 at 13:46 - Article revised
- Article updated on 29/11/2025 at 13:51 - Content updated
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Comments (28)
Munnezz
They are from Salerno
And who else?
NEAPOLITANS
Nothing else needs to be added
Lallo Nobbile Cialdini, you're still around. I thought you were extinct...
Pasquale Saggese, no way... I'm enjoying the pension you taxpayers pay for me on the Côte d'Azur...
Lallo Noble Cialdini, what are you enjoying yourself for? You don't know what it means to enjoy yourself. You're miserable. You don't have the most essential thing: dignity...
Practically a ricotta
Giuliano D'Ambra is a jackal who hates Naples and Neapolitans are a piece of shit from Turin
They are thieves….
You Milanese are full of thieves now, they are Neapolitans and that's it
Pasquale Saggese: Rotten grass dies hard.
Irma Cesarano yes but her Piedmontese race will become extinct sooner or later
Lallo Nobbile Cialdini, if you'd spared yourself this one too, you'd have made a better impression... your only interest is to denigrate Naples... get busy with something else... maybe you can succeed...
Pasquale Saggese There are over six million Piedmontese people worldwide, nearly 4,2 million of whom live in Latin America, where emigration has been massive since the 19th century. The main historical and current destinations are the Americas (especially Argentina, Brazil, and the United States), Europe (especially France, Spain, Germany, and the United Kingdom), and Australia. This diaspora is kept alive by Piedmontese associations abroad and initiatives that tell their story. WAIT AND HOPE!!!
The art I admire as a child I dreamed of becoming a robber but fate was cruel to me... maybe in another life go Naples
Lallo Nobbile Cialdini you are also of foreign origin lota if you are a piece of shit idiot
Things that can happen on the road
I'm not from Naples... But from Salerno...
Alessandro De Maio are from Salerno
Lallo Nobile Cialdini
If it's not soup and wet bread
But look, they weren't from Paris
Pasquale Di Giovannantonio we living shit
Pasquale Di Giovannantonio and you who know how to do Munezz because even you are Neapolitan you are a banker you someone said bad words you say these things
Simple
I read the article and think the theft situation in Milan is worrying. It's strange how criminals manage to strike without being stopped. I hope the authorities do more to protect citizens.
I agree with Caterina, but it's also important for people to be careful and not underestimate their safety. The techniques used by these thieves are cunning and require everyone's attention.