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Chilean authorities introduced Tuesday that six worthwhile watches stolen from Canadian actor Keanu Reeves have been handed over to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), months after recovering them in a police raid.
The FBI will prepare for the watches’ return to Reeves, together with an engraved Rolex value at the least US$9,500. The 60-year-old actor’s six watches are valued at a complete of US$125,000, in response to Marcelo Varas, a police officer from Chile’s theft investigation squad.
Chilean prosecutors advised reporters that Reeves had recognized the watches as these stolen from his Los Angeles house throughout a string of high-profile burglaries in December 2023.
The announcement was made as Trump’s secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, arrived within the South American nation for conferences with Chilean officers about transnational crime, amongst different points.
According to authorities, the watches stolen from the John Wick actor’s Hollywood Hills house practically two years in the past turned up in Santiago, Chile’s capital, when police raided houses and uncovered stolen vehicles, iPhones, luxurious watches and designer purses.
That operation coincided with one other Chilean investigation, coordinated with the FBI, right into a spate of burglaries by South America-based crime teams focusing on multi-million-dollar houses within the U.S., many belonging to celebrities {and professional} athletes, reminiscent of Kansas City Chiefs soccer participant Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes.
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In February, seven Chilean nationals have been charged with conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property over burglaries through which they stole valuables value over US$2 million, in response to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Middle District Florida.
According to the criticism, the people have been members of a South American theft group that burglarized the houses {of professional} athletes across the United States.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office mentioned the people focused high-profile athletes within the National Football League (NFL) and National Basketball Association (NBA), after they have been away or taking part in in skilled video games on the instances of the burglaries.
Varas mentioned authorities have been nonetheless investigating any hyperlink between the theft of Reeves’ watches and the opposite high-profile burglaries.
In April, police in Chile introduced the arrest of 23 residents over the string of break-ins within the United States. The raid, codenamed “Operation Pennsylvania,” befell throughout dozens of houses in Santiago and led to the seizure of US$1.36 million value of products, in response to police.
“This phenomenon of international thieves has regretfully existed in our country for many years, but it’s unfortunately been on the rise recently,” prosecutor Eduardo Baeza mentioned throughout a press convention in April.
Johnny Fica, head of the Investigative Police of Chile’s (PDI) cash and asset laundering division, mentioned lots of the detainees had no felony information in Chile however have been profession criminals overseas that laundered belongings in Chile.
Fica mentioned the investigation started final 12 months and was carried out with data from the FBI. They confirmed photographs from the raid which featured drawers full of sneakers, designer purses, luxurious watches and extra.
“What you see is part of a life of luxury they had here in Chile. A lot of them liked to show off,” Fica mentioned, including that lots of the teams have been household or close-knit items.
“Their goal was clear, they wanted to enjoy the profits of their crimes in this country and they didn’t skimp on spending because they felt like they had, until now, impunity,” Fica added.
— With information from The Associated Press and Reuters
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