Chilean authorities announced Tuesday that six precious watches stolen from Canadian actor Keanu Reeves have been handed over to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) months after they recovered them in a police attack.
The FBI will arrange for a return to the watch to Reeves, including an engraved Rolex worth at least 9,500 US dollars. According to Marcelo Ballas, a police officer with the Chilean Robbery Investigation Squad, the 60-year-old actor's six watches are rated at a total of $125,000.
Chilean prosecutors told reporters that Reeves identified the watch as people stolen from their Los Angeles homes during a series of notable robberies in December 2023.
The announcement comes as Trump's Secretary of Homeland Security Christie Noem arrived in the South American country for a meeting with Chilean officials on cross-border crime, among other issues.
The clock stolen from the John Wick actor's Hollywood Hills home nearly two years ago appeared in Santiago, the Chilean capital, according to authorities.
That operation coincides with another Chilean investigation coordinated with the FBI, and belongs to celebrities and professional athletes such as Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes, a South American-based crime group targeting multi-million-dollar homes in the US.
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Seven Chilean citizens were charged in February with a conspiracy to rob an interstate transport of stolen property against a robbery, according to the US Law Office in Central Florida.
According to the complaints, the individual was a member of a South American theft group that robbed the homes of professional athletes across the United States.
The US Lawyer's Office said individuals targeted well-known athletes from the National Football League (NFL) and the National Basketball Association (NBA).
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Ballas said authorities are still investigating the connection between Reeves' watch and theft of other famous robbers.
In April, Chilean police announced the arrest of 23 citizens in a series of US invasions. Police said the attack, called Operation Pennsylvania, was called Operation Pennsylvania, and took place in dozens of homes in Santiago, leading to the seizing of goods worth USD 1.36 million.
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“This phenomenon of international thieves has unfortunately been around for many years in our country, but unfortunately it has been increasing recently,” prosecutor Eduardo Baeza said at an April press conference.
Johnny Fica, head of investigative police in the Chile (PDI) Money and Asset Laundering Division, said many of the detainees had no criminal history in Chile, but were career criminals overseas who washed their assets in Chile.
According to FICA, the investigation began last year and information from the FBI was carried out. They showed images of The Raid, featuring drawers filled with shoes, designer wallets, and gorgeous watches.
“What you see is part of the luxury life they had here in Chile. Many of them loved to show off,” Fika said, adding that many of the groups are family or close units.
“Their goal is clear and they wanted to enjoy the benefits of crime in this country, but they didn't skip spending because they felt they had been exempt from it,” Fika added.
– Using files from Associated Press and Reuters
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