British couple try to fight Italian gangster over £67,000 designer watch | World news

This is the disturbing moment a British couple tried to fend off a robber on the Spanish island of Magaluf over a designer watch worth more than £67,000.

Footage released today by the Guardia Civil shows the tourists struggling with the criminal.

His getaway driver is seen on a motorcycle watching the fight like a hawk.

In the video, a local resident with shopping bags is seen considering jumping in to help the victims.

Moments later, the robber throws the tourist to the ground, despite his wife’s valiant attempts to thwart the attack.

The criminal then flees with the jewelry in hand after ‘pulling’ it off the man’s wrist.

The Guardia Civil published the video after the arrest of the suspects – two middle-aged Italian men.

A police spokesperson said: ‘Detectives have arrested two Italian men aged 44 and 57 as suspected perpetrators of a violent robbery and fraud following a robbery in Magaluf.

‘A British tourist was walking through the resort with his wife when he was surprised from behind by someone who pushed him to the ground and then held his arm while ripping his watch from his wrist.

‘After a subsequent struggle with the male victim’s wife, he ran towards a motorcycle belonging to the second suspect who was waiting nearby.’

Despite how violent the attack was, the British man suffered only minor injuries.

The suspects left Mallorca very soon after their crime and returned to Italy.

They were identified and arrested after returning to the island and located.

“Apart from being accused of the robbery, they are also accused of fraud as they used fake documents to rent the motorbike they used to commit the crime,” police added.

‘The suspects are part of a gang that specializes in these types of crimes and are being investigated on suspicion of committing similar crimes.’

Police in several parts of Spain have set up specialized groups to tackle designer watch robbers, who usually come from Naples in Italy, North Africa or Eastern Europe.

Tennis star Grigor Dimitrov fell victim to gangs involved in robberies of designer watches in April last year.

The 33-year-old Bulgarian had a £62,000 timepiece ripped from his wrist in his car as he returned from training ahead of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell tournament.

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