Acrobatic gang of thieves studied Instagram accounts of celebrities to plan heists in Italy

Diletta Leotta is a well-known TV sports presenter

Italian police have arrested a suspected gang of acrobatic thieves who are accused of monitoring the Instagram accounts of wealthy footballers, influencers and models to plan their burglaries.

The gang were allegedly caught on surveillance cameras climbing up drainpipes and leaping onto balconies as they targeted the homes of celebrities in Milan.

Police said the four members of the gang studied celebrities’ Instagram feeds to learn where they lived and what the inside of their apartments looked like. 

They are said to have paid particular attention to the type of windows installed and tried to work out floor plans.

The victims included Diletta Leotta, a former showgirl who is one of Italy’s best-known television sports presenters.

€150,000 worth of cash, jewelry and expensive watches, including four Rolexes was stolen from her apartment in Milan. The burglary took place last June.

The gang are also suspected of raiding the home of Eleonora Incardona, a bikini model and ‘influencer’ who has nearly half a million followers on Instagram. 

Designer Gucci, Chanel and Louis Vuitton handbags and clothes, as well as cash and jewelry, were stolen from her flat during a burglary in December.

Achraf Hakimi (L) plays for Inter Milan

Credit: AP

A third high-profile victim was Achraf Hakimi, a Moroccan footballer who plays for Inter Milan, who had expensive watches stolen from his apartment last month.

Francesca Crupi, a prosecutor in the case, described how during a burglary one man “with a leap, climbed up to a window on the first floor of an apartment and forced it open to gain entry.”

The arrested men were named as Samuel Milenkovic, 26, Shkelzen Kastrati, 44, and Cristian Radosavljevic, 24. The fourth member of the band is 17 and cannot be named for legal reasons.

After a string of successes in northern Italy, the gang was allegedly planning heists in Monaco.