The robbery of the watch store "Baltic Watches" in the Old Town this spring was committed by a group of four Serbs touring Europe, three of whom were detained in Finland.
According to the State Police (SP), as a result of an international investigation, three out of four members of an organized crime group were detained in Finland in October, who in April of this year stole about 80 watches during an armed robbery in Riga.
During the investigative activities and a number of international cooperation mechanisms, the members of the organized group were identified, and three of them were detained. Currently, the issue of extraditing these individuals to Latvia is being resolved, while the search for the fourth man continues.
On April 29, 2025, during daylight hours in Old Riga, the attackers, threatening with firearms and using physical force and pepper spray against store employees and visitors, stole about 80 exclusive wristwatches in just a few minutes. The damage caused to the store amounted to approximately 690,000 euros. After the robbery, the group fled through the streets of Old Riga and got into a car that had stolen license plates. The State Police began searching for the criminals, including announcing the "Slazdi" plan in parts of Latvia, but the robbers managed to escape.
In connection with this crime, the Criminal Police Department of the State Police of the Riga Regional Administration initiated a criminal case under Article 176, Part 4 of the Criminal Code for robbery committed with the use of firearms and resulting in other serious consequences, and under Part 1 of Article 185 of the Criminal Code for intentional destruction or damage to someone else's property. As noted by the SP, the initially obtained information raised suspicions that the criminals might be foreign nationals who arrived in Latvia for the purpose of committing a crime, which is why the State Police conducted operational activities at both national and international levels.
As part of international cooperation, law enforcement agencies established that the robbery was committed by four young men from Serbia, aged under 30. Continuing cooperation with other European countries, a series of operational and investigative actions were conducted, which allowed for the exact location of the wanted men to be established, and in October of this year, three members of the organized group were detained in Finland, while the fourth member of the group is still wanted. The individuals detained in Finland were already preparing to commit further robberies similar to those in Latvia, which also led to the initiation of a criminal case.
All three detainees have been recognized as suspects, and the Riga City Court has ordered their detention as a preventive measure. The Prosecutor General's Office of Latvia has applied European arrest warrants against the men, and currently, competent authorities abroad are deciding on the extradition of the individuals to Latvia for prosecution.
The investigation in Latvia in connection with the criminal offense continues, while simultaneously, an investigation is being conducted in Finland regarding the preparation of a criminal offense similar to that which was committed in Latvia, notes the SP.
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