Chilean authorities introduced Tuesday that six priceless 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 organize for the watches’ return to Reeves, together with an engraved Rolex price not less than US$9,500. The 60-year-old actor’s six watches are valued at a complete of US$125,000, based on Marcelo Varas, a police officer from Chile’s theft investigation squad.
Chilean prosecutors instructed reporters that Reeves had recognized the watches as these stolen from his Los Angeles residence throughout a string of high-profile burglaries in December 2023.
The announcement was made as Trump’s secretary of Homeland Safety, Kristi Noem, arrived within the South American nation for conferences with Chilean officers about transnational crime, amongst different points.
In keeping with authorities, the watches stolen from the John Wick actor’s Hollywood Hills residence almost two years in the past turned up in Santiago, Chile’s capital, when police raided properties and uncovered stolen automobiles, 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 properties within the U.S., many belonging to celebrities {and professional} athletes, corresponding to Kansas Metropolis 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 during which they stole valuables price over US$2 million, based on the U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace in Center District Florida.
In keeping with the criticism, the people have been members of a South American theft group that burglarized the properties {of professional} athletes round the US.
The U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace mentioned the people focused high-profile athletes within the Nationwide Soccer League (NFL) and Nationwide Basketball Affiliation (NBA), once 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 in the US. The raid, codenamed “Operation Pennsylvania,” befell throughout dozens of properties in Santiago and led to the seizure of US$1.36 million price of products, based on police.
“This phenomenon of worldwide thieves has regretfully existed in our nation for a few years, but it surely’s sadly been on the rise just lately,” 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 most of the detainees had no legal data in Chile however have been profession criminals overseas that laundered property in Chile.
Fica mentioned the investigation started final yr and was carried out with info 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 a part of a lifetime of luxurious they’d right here in Chile. Quite a lot of them appreciated to point out off,” Fica mentioned, including that most of the teams have been household or close-knit models.
“Their purpose was clear, they needed to benefit from the income of their crimes on this nation and so they didn’t skimp on spending as a result of they felt like they’d, till now, impunity,” Fica added.
— With information from The Related Press and Reuters
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