Three pickpockets pretend to be tourists to steal wallets from people visiting the Galleria. Arrested by law enforcement.
The method is well-established: those who steal by pickpocketing disguise themselves as tourists and mingle with the crowds of people shopping in the Galleria and in the other commercial districts that extend from Piazza Duomo.
Once they have identified their target, they form a line and rob the person. At 5pm yesterday , the same scheme was executed once again under the Octagon.
At the time, Mobile officers were present to observe the events as they unfolded and arrested two female thieves , both Bulgarian and aged between 21 and 24, who had criminal records for various offences.
During the anti-pickpocketing blitz, the investigators of the “Contrasto alla crimine diffusa” unit, led by Marco Calì and Michele Scarola , observed two women, one of whom had already been arrested the previous year.
Investigators decided to monitor the women’s movements both inside and outside the stores.
The two pickpockets arrested while sharing the money
After a few minutes, they stood behind a 54-year-old Irish man who was on holiday in Milan with his daughter. The 24-year-old stood next to the man to cover the movements of her accomplice, who opened the woman’s bag and managed to remove the wallet from inside .
Once the 90 euros inside were recovered, the two culprits were stopped in Via Pellico while they were dividing the money.
The Irish woman was unaware of the robbery until she was contacted by phone by the police. She then went to the police station to file a report and recover the stolen money.
They often pretend to be pregnant
To escape arrest, these pickpockets often pretend to be pregnant. As Pascu Salomè , a twenty-year-old Romanian, did a few days ago , who together with two accomplices had robbed a 27-year-old Chinese citizen.
Her appeal “ I am pregnant ” to escape capture by the Flying Squad police was of no avail . She and her accomplices were banned from living in Milan.
