Dismantling of the 'Hole Gang' Following a Major Jewelry Heist in Rome

The 'Hole Gang' was dismantled following a heist that took place on the night between October 2nd and 3rd, 2023, which resulted in a theft of 800,000 euros from a jewelry store on Via Bocca di Leone, in the center of Rome. Eight precautionary measures were issued by the GIP of the Rome Tribunal - and carried out this morning by the Carabinieri of the Rome San Lorenzo in Lucina station - during the blitz that took place at dawn along with the preventive seizure of assets worth 120,000 euros. The suspects are eight, five men and three women, with various roles in the gang. Three men are seriously suspected of aggravated theft in competition in the jewelry store, and have been arrested, one woman for receiving stolen goods and money laundering and the other four, two men and two women, for receiving stolen goods. The Carabinieri's investigation, which lasted about three months, started after the movie-like theft committed through a hole opened in the wall adjacent to the store. Once inside, the thieves opened the safe containing jewels worth a total of approximately 800,000 euros. The investigations were conducted thanks to dynamic services and technical activities of geolocation and telephone interception. Of the three arrested men, the actual perpetrators of the theft, two were responsible for entering the store by making a hole in the adjoining wall with a pickaxe and opening the safe with a blowtorch while one, who ended up under house arrest, acted as a lookout. Investigators meticulously reconstructed not only the approach path taken by them on the day of the theft through the integrated analysis of every useful camera present in the area but also the inspections carried out in the preceding days. Among the arrested are a 65-year-old Roman, already involved in investigations for thefts in apartments and jewelry stores carried out with the 'hole technique' and the use of a blowtorch in 2004 in a villa in Porto Cervo, in 2006 in a jewelry store in Terni, in 2016 and 2020 in apartments in Rome, and two Roman brothers, aged 57 and 55, the former an expert in the field of locks and already known because involved in similar investigations and the latter unrecorded, unsuspected. THE RECOVERY OF THE JEWELS About 400 pieces, including jewels, precious stones, diamonds, valuable watches, were recovered by the Carabinieri during the investigation. Some were recognized by the owner of the jewelry store while for others the Carabinieri continue the checks to trace back to the owners to whom they can be returned. The jewels were found during the 13 searches ordered by the Deputy Prosecutor Giovanni Conzo, who directed the investigation and coordinated the specialized group of the Rome prosecutor's office that deals with serious crimes against property. On the same occasion, a large and sophisticated technical equipment of high level was found, rudimentary self-made keys and several hundred keys to be duplicated (blank), equipment suitable for the faithful reproduction of any type of European cylinder key included, oxy-acetylene flames, crowbars, wifi ear endoscope (small camera used to inspect the inside of locks), 15,000.00 euros in cash, large suction cups suitable for transporting heavy glass plates and part of the clothing worn during the inspections and the theft in the jewelry store on Via Bocca di Leone. At the request of the Rome prosecutor's office, the GIP ordered the preventive seizure, aimed at confiscation, of jewels of very high value, in the possession of the suspects, as they were disproportionate to the declared incomes, found by the Carabinieri and subjected to real bond, for a value equal to 120,000 euros.