Swiss people robbed in a shopping center near Milan

What should have been an excellent memory turned into an unfortunate misadventure for eight Swiss tourists in Italy. They were returning from a stay in Florence when they decided to stop at a shopping center in Arese, in the north-eastern suburbs of Milan. Goal: do some shopping and snack on something before going home.

But a very bad surprise when they reached their minibus parked in the parking lot 90 minutes later: the vehicle had been broken into. No broken glass but an entire window taken out of its frame. “It was done so professionally that at first we didn’t realize it was a theft,” says Anna*. But the observation is there: “All the suitcases had disappeared, with clothes and goods worth 10,000 francs”.

The Swiss, stunned, return to the shopping center to seek help. But neither passers-by nor security officers noticed anything. “We feel so helpless in these moments,” sighs another member of the group. Who criticizes the lack of support from the police. “It was really annoying. We still expected them to help us,” he emphasizes, angrily.

The friends were still able to find some of their belongings and their suitcases thanks to the location function of their stolen AirPods. The thugs had in fact thrown them into the street in a nearby residential area. But the luggage was empty. “They took everything that could be quickly resold,” explains Anna.

Once the shock passed, the Swiss admitted to having been reckless in leaving valuable objects in the minibus. “I never thought something like this could happen. In the future, either someone will stay near the car or we will take everything with us,” she says. “Because with a Swiss plate, you seem to be particularly in the crosshairs of thieves.”

*name known to the editorial staff