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Shock moment Ibiza tourist has £500k Rolex swiped from wrist in SECONDS

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Brits flock to the party island every summer
Brits flock to the party island every summer

THIS is the shocking moment one Ibiza tourist has a €500,000 (£430,000) watch stolen from right off his wrist.

Zara McDermott's new BBC show Ibiza: Secrets of the Party Island has revealed how watch-targeting gangs take only seconds to snatch a timepiece.

Zara looks on as one tourist reveals how his watch was stolen right off his wrist qhidqxiqrqidrrprw
Zara looks on as one tourist reveals how his watch was stolen right off his wristCredit: BBC
Police show CCTV footage of how one criminal stole a €500,000 (£430,000) from a man inside a Rolls Royce
Police show CCTV footage of how one criminal stole a €500,000 (£430,000) from a man inside a Rolls RoyceCredit: BBC
The watch stolen was a Richard Mille
The watch stolen was a Richard MilleCredit: BBC

Zara, 27, is no stranger to a holiday on the island, having visited there many times, including as a social media influencer.

Having showcased the glitz and glamour of life in Ibiza, she's now revealing the dark side to the island, including its criminal underbelly.

The idyllic island popular with Brit tourists looking for a good time has developed a problem with watch crime.

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Spanish police show Zara how one €500,000 Richard Mille watch was stolen off the arm of a man inside a Rolls Royce.

An undercover officer plays CCTV of a man in a motorbike helmet walk past the Phantom casing the watch.

He then doubles back to the motor with its window down, reaches inside, and after a quick struggle, yanks the watch off the man's arm and jumps on the back of a motorbike.

Zara says the crime took place so quickly, with the officer saying it only takes three seconds.

The officer says: "They know when he leaves the hotel that this man has this watch on his wrist.

"Three seconds, half a million Euros, it is a great business. These gangs came here only to do this. Quick money."

Police later arrested the gang and found cash, cellphones, and the motorbike helmets.

"We have more [stealing] and more because of wealthy people," says one police officer.

On the strip one night in early June, police find one tourist who has had a €10,000 (£8,600) Rolex snatched right off his hand.

The man describes one man coming up to him and grabbing his arm then forcing the watch off it before he can react.

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Zara says: "It feels like quite a public place to steal someone's watch."

Police say he would have been followed and targeted because he was drunk and because he was wearing a VIP wristband.

"It's not something casual," replies the officer.

"Gangs are coming here who make these kinds of robberies."

Zara meets Marcus, a Brit who runs a private security firm on Ibiza, who explains how the crime outfits works.

Marcus says street level crime is sophisticated and the gangs are Neapolitan mafia who specifically come to the island to steal.

He says: "Some of the gangs that come here check themselves into four and five star hotels for two months.

 "That's a working expense that's got to be covered before they start putting money in their pockets."

Marcus says that higher ranking members of the gangs can be seen in the VIP areas of the clubs and can spend €40,000 a night partying.

He adds: "They're partying on the money they've made stealing from the people surrounding them in VIP."

Marcus says that when an expensive watch is spotted then a gang member will follow them out of the club, while another will then follow them back to their home.

The thieves will then break into the house and steal the watch and then get it on the black market in wealthy cities like Dubai.

Brit Marcus says the stealing gangs are Italian mafia who come to the island for several months and also party
Brit Marcus says the stealing gangs are Italian mafia who come to the island for several months and also partyCredit: BBC
Zara says if you're going to Ibiza your 'valuables will be safer left at home'
Zara says if you're going to Ibiza your 'valuables will be safer left at home'Credit: BBC THREE

James Halpin

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