For a Rolex that costs 5,000 euros in a store, some buyers in Naples can get it for 1,500 when they pass the word to street traders in the city of origin. The Camorra’s young gunmen — fresh from the streets of Naples — have found a lucrative way to finance August profits by stealing high-end watches in Italian cities, and beyond to France, Dalmatia, and especially Spain.
Police sources tell El Periódico that at least five Naples-based clans are active during tourist seasons, viewing visitors as a simple target. They scout tourists who walk with watches on their wrists along promenades, seaside paths, hotel entrances, and nightlife districts, waiting for the right moment when the victim becomes distracted.
That is when the hunter appears. He would walk beside the left side of the prey and, if skilled, seize the watch in a fraction of a second with a swift, almost tactical motion. Most incidents involve violence, as the wrists can resist the old-style fasteners. For this reason metal bracelets are preferred, according to one source.
The thief breaks into a run, or hops on a motorcycle with a partner waiting nearby. Not only pedestrians are targeted; drivers are also at risk. A common trick involves a rearview mirror: on several occasions they approach on a motorcycle, often with Italian plates, sometimes with fake plates. If a driver rests an arm on the window while stopped at a red light, the attacker can grab the mirror, and with the window open the thief may slip in to reclaim the mirror and grab the wristwatch in the ensuing moment. Then they vanish into the crowd in a hurry, or speed away on two wheels with a lookout.
Caza al ladrón
Police and security forces collaborate with the Italian State Police to track these criminals, who usually operate in pairs or small groups. Each summer they go on a patrol, and the police issue warnings about their activity. There are two hallmarks to their craft: first, they target upscale venues that attract wealthy tourists; second, they avoid remaining in one hotspot too long to prevent security faces from recognizing them. This is a seasonal migratory predation, heightened in summer but not exclusive to it.
Street robberies function as a kind of initiation ritual, a school for would-be mafiosi. The audacity of a violent pickpocket who yanks a Cartier or a Hublot on the run carries more prestige than the subtler theft of a Louis Vuitton purse on a terrace. In Italy, the gangs called “batterie” are the thieves who form para-military groups for the watch campaign, but the press and television have dubbed them “rapinarolex.”
Rolex is their favored brand, closely tied to the Camorra. This Naples-based criminal organization often acts as the receiver for loot hauled in from Catalunya, the Balearics, or the Costa del Sol. The spoils go to the lower levels of the crime network, providing a quick influx of cash. Watches, along with jewelry, mobile devices, and laptops, are cleaned, repackaged, and shipped to destinations such as China, the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey. There was a time when Russia also attracted buyers for these items.
For moving the watches abroad, the criminals rely on two routes: a trusted ring where money circulates hand to hand from one reliable intermediary to another, or an open account or visa in the destination country to satisfy a client. Stolen watch lots sent from Naples are valued at around half a million euros in this illegal market.
Saqueo
In Naples the thefts are so common along the waterfront that authorities have compiled a map of crime scenes. The rapinarolex gangs appear to distribute across zones, a pattern observed in the city and echoed in Spain as the criminals roam from Ibiza to the mainland, sometimes reforming after a police operation. In Ibiza a high-profile theft was recorded, including a watch valued at 28,000 euros.
While the theft can be lucrative, it is not a business for the faint of heart. Victims often react after the initial shock and pursue the thief. The criminals move quickly, and missteps are rare. A glance can reveal the difference between a genuine Patek Philippe and a counterfeit one; fake dials tend to shine differently than authentic faces.
During the Paranze operation, a group of five raiders was dismantled. They rented a vacation apartment and operated in Ibiza for months, a setting with less foot traffic than the more frequented district of Naples. Italian authorities report that Naples is now home to a sizable number of these criminals, reaching a level of systematic looting in 2023 across plazas, promenades, and other symbols of wealth.
[Citations: El Periódico; Italian police reports; Guardia Civil and Policía sources]