The 'fishermen' gangs who are now targeting luxury watch thefts from top-end tourist resorts around Spain

In Italy, a 'paranza' is a small fishing boat similar to the 'menorquina', slightly more rounded at the bow and stern, used by crews of between two and four who go out to fish for smaller species. The term is also used for a typical dish consisting of a mixture of small fish and seafood dipped in flour and fried in hot oil.

In Spain, the 'paranzas' also go fishing, but not exactly in search of anchovies or red mullet. This is the term used in police jargon for small groups of thieves - between two and five members - who travel from the Spanish Quarter (Quartieri Spagnoli) in Naples to steal luxury watches in Marbella, Ibiza, Barcelona, Madrid, the Levantine coast or, as happened recently, the Basque Country. Their usual targets are tourists in crowded areas and concert or sports event attendees.

Chief inspector Francisco Barba - head of the robbery section of the specialised and violent crime unit (UDEV) - warns that this is no ordinary crime. Organised crime groups are now targeting luxury watch thefts because a single robbery can yield millions. Right now, it's the most profitable type of crime in the short term - some watches are worth more than an apartment. In Ibiza, thieves once stole a Richard Mille watch valued at 1.2 million euros, although most range between 6,000 and 500,000.

Even the Italian mafia has begun to devote part of its resources to watch theft. Investigators have detected links between the paranzas and the Neapolitan Camorra. The police have identified groups of Italian criminals made up entirely of camorra members, who steal for the organisation and use the proceeds to finance the purchase of drugs or weapons. There are also other groups that have nothing to do with the mafia, while a third type consists of both Camorra members and individuals not related to the Italian mafia. These gangs may even have a history of blood crimes or vendetta against other groups.

For organised crime, luxury watches have become a kind of safe haven, like gold. Not only do they retain their value on the black market, but their price can even increase due to the long waiting lists - up to 10 years - at jewellery stores and official retailers for certain models or because of limited editions that aren't even available through legal channels. Moreover, they are also a form of money-laundering, as there is no official or fiscal record of the units that come from the theft.

The chief inspector has been investigating Italian paranzas for years, which has allowed him to study closely the role of each 'fisherman'. There is usually a woman in the group, who scours leisure areas to identify potential targets. In criminal slang, they are known as 'spinners', as they go around until they identify the next prey. They are the most unnoticed by the police and the most difficult to identify.

The information is then immediately passed on to the direct thieves, who use a scooter to get to their target. The chief inspector of the UDEV says that "the person who carries out the attack is called a 'rapinador'". "The attack is executed by placing the fingers in a specific position- not on the clasp of the watch, but on the bezel, which, if damaged, is easier to repair. The victim's instinctive reaction is to pull in the opposite direction, which actually helps the watch break loose," says Barba. The 'rapinador' has a higher status within the gang and, therefore, gets a bigger share of the money from the sale of the watch.

Another very common theft method is the mirror method, which is used when the victim is in a car, usually stuck in a traffic jam. The thief approaches on a motorbike, gets off and walks behind his target's vehicle. The rider then passes by the car and gives the side mirror a seemingly accidental bump. As the driver reaches out to correct its position, the other offender appears out of nowhere and snatches the watch. "They are very selective about the brands," says Francisco Barba. "They look for Rolex, Richard Mille, Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe, which is the crown jewel."

The paranzas act as if they were tourists. "They stay in properties that the organisation owns in the area or they use holiday rentals. The local environment helps them go unnoticed. In addition, Italian gangs do not usually use local fences, so they often take the watches out by plane or by road. Men simply wear them on their wrists, while women use their body cavities. A year ago, the police in Madrid arrested a woman who was about to catch a flight to Italy, carrying three luxury watches hidden in her vagina.

The police have tightened their siege around the paranzas. With the help of the Italian Polizia di Stato, the Spanish police have drawn up a census of all the criminals identified for the theft of high-end watches and have found that there is an army of a thousand itinerant thieves who move around the country - and now also around Europe - to carry out theft "campaigns". When they hit and finish with one area, they move to another.

Neapolitan gangs started operating in Rome or Milan, where the situation forced Italian law enforcement institutions to respond forcefully. "Paradoxically, they are no longer active there," said chief inspector Barba. In Europe, there was a similar turning point a year ago. Europol - the continent-wide police coordination body - devised what is known as an 'action day' involving mainly Spain, Italy, France, Austria, Germany and Greece.

The plan was to compile all the international arrest warrants issued by different countries - most of them from Spanish courts - and coordinate a joint operation on Italian soil. A dozen arrests were made, all of them targets of high interest to investigators. Since then, National Police officers in Spain believe that some of the gangs might have moved to French towns such as Nice, Cannes or Monaco. But the campaign has only just begun.