Since the beginning of the summer, Rome has been plagued by house burglaries. The police officers of the Ponte Milvio police station have already arrested 14 thieves of Georgian origin. Commissioner Roberto Ricciardi explains today to the Roman edition of Republic who have a particular technique: “They are fast, they do not make noise. They choose empty houses, wear bandanas and hats, so they try to escape the cameras.” And again: “They monitor the buildings that interest them. They start from the top floor and mark all the doors with a glue line or with a piece of accordion paper left between the door and the door. After mapping all the doors, they come back within three days. If the map is in place, it means it is empty.”
How they enter
Ricciardi explains that thieves get in easily in many cases: “With old locks, it takes a second. Those with the European cylinder need more time. They can use the Mickey Mouse decoder, or remap the keys with thin styluses or aluminum tabs that they insert into the lock. They compress them, take them out, go home, retype them and come back. Among the thieves, there are those who use acid, aqua regia, which completely corrodes the lock. Once inside, they take everything in 4/5 minutes without making a noise.” We usually defend ourselves “with double maps, or with digital peepholes. They are usually connected to your phone and when activated, they turn on a light. Another solution is the defender. When Georgian thieves come to carry out inspections, they show up with hats or bandanas so as not to be identified by the cameras. Meeting strangers on the stairs dressed like that is a red flag.”
Who am I?
These thieves, the commissioner explains, “are the lowest of society in their country. They are lured and sent to Italy. They are almost all drug addicts, they use the money to buy heroin and cocaine. When we follow them, we see that they often go to Tor Bella Monaca. They stay in Rome for a few weeks, take the shots they have to take and then leave. They rely on a network of compatriots, often also caregivers, or rent rooms in the suburbs. They use rental cars.” Then, “they send gold and jewels to Georgia, but a few days after the robbery, we always find everything in their house. When we arrest them, they seem educated. They do not cooperate, they deny, they pretend not to understand Italian. They know that after their arrest they will be released.”
The name change
These thieves easily enter and leave Italy because “their law allows them to change their surname, but not their name and date of birth. This prevents us from monitoring the names entering the airports. The people arrested go to Georgia, change their name and return to Italy. To be able to identify them, you have to take their fingerprints. Just two days ago, we arrested two Georgians in Cosenza. They were in a car that we were following from Rome. They seemed to have no criminal record. Then it turned out that they had already been arrested and convicted under different names.”
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