They approached elderly people in the parking lots of supermarkets and hospitals, threw coins on the ground and, when the victims bent down to collect the money, they took away their purses and wallets placed in the car. A well-thought-out technique, used dozens of times in various areas of northern Italy.
The Cremona police defeated the gang: four South Americans, investigated as alleged perpetrators, for various reasons, of 35 aggravated thefts. The investigation started from a complaint lodged by an elderly woman who was robbed in the square of a supermarket in the city. Her suspects had distracted her with the coin technique, then took her bag away from the car and used her ATM to withdraw money.
After following the suspects for a long time, the Cremona flying squad arrested two South Americans in flagrante delicto in Manerbio for the crimes of aggravated theft, resistance, injury to a public official and aggravated damage. The two tried to escape, chased by the police in a car. They were later reported as alleged perpetrators of a further 25 similar episodes. One of the two was arrested and is in prison in Brescia.
