Thieves tunnel into Rome Bulgari store from sewers, steal nearly $540K in jewelry

A ring displayed at a jewelry store. Illustration photo by Unsplash

The heist occurred around midnight on June 9, according to The Independent. The thieves accessed the store through a hole they had dug in the floor of the shop, located on Via Condotti, a street known for its luxury boutiques.

Security footage captured three masked individuals triggering the store’s alarm. Police arrived within seven minutes but were delayed by a barricaded door, which took them an additional four minutes to breach. By then, the thieves had already retreated through the tunnel into Rome’s extensive sewer system, as reported by The Sun.

Authorities are now examining footage from nearby shops and the sewer network, and Italian media speculate that the thieves may have surveilled the store for months, possibly scoping it out as customers to learn about its layout and security.

Marco Placidi, leader of Sotterranei di Roma—a group that explores Rome’s subterranean archaeology—told The Times that the sewers in Rome can be walked through and typically hold less than 10 cm of water unless it rains. The system are not fully mapped, complicating efforts to trace the exact route of the robbers.

This incident follows a failed heist in August 2022, when thieves tried to tunnel into a bank near the Vatican. One thief, later dubbed "the mole man" by the media, was trapped in a collapsed tunnel for over eight hours before being rescued. His accomplices were captured by the police.