Accused of extorting an elderly woman living in Quartu, a 42-year-old woman was arrested by officers from the Cagliari Police Headquarters . Using the "fake carabiniere" technique , they allegedly stole approximately €10,000 in cash and numerous pieces of jewelry from the victim.
The operation, conducted by investigators from the Property Crimes Section of the Cagliari Flying Squad, allowed them to quickly identify one of the alleged perpetrators and, above all, to recover the entire loot , which was then returned to the victim.
The scam began with a phone call. On the other end, a man identified himself as a member of the Carabinieri and, in alarming tones, told the elderly woman that her car had been involved in a serious robbery committed by four people in Cagliari.
According to the false soldier's story, the robbers had used a cloned license plate identical to that of the victim's car , a circumstance that could have exposed her to serious judicial consequences.
Preying on the woman's agitation and fear caused by the false news, the interlocutor then convinced her of the urgent need to conduct some checks on the money and valuables kept in her home . For this reason, a self-styled "court official" would shortly thereafter appear at her home, to whom she was supposed to hand over the assets.
The victim, deeply shaken and convinced that she was truly at the center of a delicate legal matter, followed the instructions given, handing over approximately €10,000 in cash and numerous pieces of jewelry to the man who showed up at her door . Only after the alleged suspect left did the alarm go off.
Investigators from the Flying Squad immediately began their search, reconstructing the suspects' movements and quickly focusing their attention on a hotel in the center of Cagliari, believed to be used as a temporary logistics base.
The investigative hunch proved decisive. . A subsequent search of her home and her room
