SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Chilean authorities announced Tuesday that they have handed over six valuable watches stolen from Canadian actor Keanu Reeves, including an engraved Rolex worth at least $9,500, to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. This transfer took place months after the watches were recovered in a police raid.
The announcement coincided with the arrival of Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem in the South American country for meetings with Chilean officials to discuss transnational crime and other pressing issues.
Notably, Noem herself was a victim of a robbery attributed to a Chilean national residing illegally in the U.S. when her purse was stolen last April at a Washington, D.C. restaurant.
Marcelo Varas, an officer from Chile’s robbery investigation squad, stated that Reeves’ six watches are collectively valued at $125,000.
The watches stolen from Reeves’ Hollywood Hills home were discovered in Santiago, Chile’s capital, during a police operation that also uncovered stolen cars, iPhones, luxury watches, and designer purses.
This operation was part of a larger Chilean investigation, coordinated with the FBI, into a spate of burglaries by South America-based crime groups targeting multimillion-dollar homes in the U.S. Many of these residences belong to celebrities and professional athletes, including Kansas City Chiefs football player Travis Kelce.
In April, Chilean police announced the arrest of 23 individuals in connection with this series of break-ins.
Varas added that authorities are still investigating any potential links between the theft of Reeves’ watches and other high-profile burglaries.
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