Georgian gang that robbed Italian minister Salvini’s parents' home arrested

The Italian police has arrested members of a Georgian criminal gang that robbed the house of the parents of Italy‘s Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini, as the group travelled across Europe performing burglaries.

Comprised of five people, the group was arrested on Monday, before it was revealed they were involved in the breaking-in of a Milan neighbourhood home where Salvini’s parents reside.

The original crime took place in the middle of August, in the Bande Nere area of the Italian city where the criminals broke into seven houses during a short period of time.

From the house of Salvini’s parents the gang took “everything they found”, said a news story by Milano Today newspaper.

The list of stolen items included a safe, with the theft discovered on August 16.

A subsequent investigation included studying of footprints left behind by the group and recordings of surveillance cameras in the neighbourhood.

Investigators concluded the apartment choice was coincidental and the house was a “random” target for the burglars.

Aged between 26-34, the gang used advanced methods to study their target homes, said the Italian newspaper.

The website for the paper said the group became known as the Band of the Glue, through their usage of adhesive substances on doors and locks.

The patches of glue were used in this way to inform the gang members which houses had been open at certain periods of time, said the report.

They were arrested while getting ready to leave Milan and had packed their suitcases. Residents of the district were then called in to identify their belongings among the stolen items discovered with the criminals.