The trial of the duo who tried to rob a jewelry store in Aveiro will begin on Monday

On Monday, an Aveiro court will begin proceedings on two foreign nationals suspected of trying to rob a jewelry store in the city center and kidnap an employee in April 2022.

Two men, aged 33 and 50, who are in pre-trial detention, are charged with aggravated theft in the form of an attempt, clearly competing with the crime of kidnapping.

The case dates back to the afternoon of April 16, 2022, when the two defendants went to the Crisálida jewelry store on Lourenço Peixinho Avenue to rob it.

According to the indictment of the Public Ministry (MP), consulted by Lusa, the defendants entered the establishment, where there was only one employee, and began to try on watches.

However, one of them grabbed the employee from behind and wrapped his arm around her neck, immobilizing her, after which the defendants dragged her into the most private part of the store, accessible only to owners and employees, where they tied her legs. hands and covered his mouth with duct tape.

After immobilizing the victim and silencing him, the defendants put on gloves, closed the entrance to the establishment and poured the contents of six suitcases with various items of sterling silver worth more than 20,000 euros into a bag and backpacks. carried.

The deputy also mentions that the defendants unsuccessfully tried to open the establishment’s safe, where other more valuable items were found.

Around 3:40 p.m., the manager arrived at the establishment and, finding it strange that the door was still closed, and seeing the clock lying on the counter, remotely accessed the images captured by the establishment’s CCTV circuit, thereby learning about the robbery, in which he immediately called PSP, who appeared on the spot a few minutes later.

Hearing the sirens of police cars, the defendants turned the CCTV cameras so that they would not continue to record their actions.

Then one of the defendants stayed with the victim, and the other went around the entire upper floor of the institution, trying to find an alternative way to escape, which he failed to achieve.

Also according to the investigation, one of the defendants made three phone calls, calling the caller “the boss”, noting that after the last of these phone calls and “apparently following the orders of the authorities”, the robbers released the employee and, A few minutes later, they left the institution, being immediately arrested by the PSP agents who were there, who set up a security perimeter.

In addition to these two defendants, the authorities suspect that this organized group included at least two other foreign nationals, one of whom was intercepted by PPR officers a few days before the robbery, in Estarrech, when he was in a car with false testimony. number plates.

At that time, this person was prosecuted, and the specified vehicle was seized, and objects related to the commission of crimes were found inside.

In this sense, a certificate was obtained, allowing the investigation to continue to establish the involvement of other suspects in the commission of facts.